Chez Barrrie's on Sunday

Firestorm practice battle - No Retreat Mission - Russians defending.

Barrie's Russians: 2x Strelk, Rockets, Flame tanks, HQ with 2 a/tank (1500 pts) + 2 IS2 (Firestorm platoon).
Jim's grenadiers: 3x Grenadier, 2 HMG, 3 Pak 40, 105's, 5 MkIVH, HQ with P/S (1500 pts) + 3 Stug (Firestorm platoon).

The No Retreat Mission is a modified HTL. The Germans advanced 1 Grenadier, HMGs & the MkIVs on their left directly at the closest objective. 2 Grenadier, HQ plus the Stugs advanced on the right. The Paks advanced to a position with a good field of fire & took out the Russian a/tank guns & the artillery blasted away from the rear. The Russians put a Strelk on the forward objective, Rockets behind & the flame tanks in ambush. The Russian ambush was used on their left. It popped a Stug & attacked the forward Grenadier. But the Grenadiers pushed them back & despite high losses counterattacked with the Stugs in support to destroy them. On the other flank the MkIVs attacked the Strelk. The Grenadiers & HMGs were stopped by Russian fire and the Panzers kept failing morale, but the Panzers had a charmed life with saves & kept going back in - whitling the Strelk away. The Russians had rotten luck with reserves - before they got them, the Stugs were threatening the left rear objective, while the other had been abandoned by the Strelk - which although they had beaten off the Panzers for the 3rd time were below half strength & failed morale. The 105s hit the reserve Strelk & pinned them. When they failed to unpin they couldn't dispute the objective giving the Germans a major victory.

Pic 1: From behind the Russian lines. The ambush is the white tanks on the left.

Pic 2: The end. The 2 Stugs hold the objective while the Strelk are pinned down by arillery. The other one has been abandoned by the Strelk but the MkIVs had retreated first & haven't advanced to take it.