Tactics in 'Iron Curtain'
Scenario Two: SPEARHEAD, Part 3
By Doug McNair
August 2007

The American infantry advance meets Soviet armor head-on in today’s episode of my Iron Curtain Scenario 2 replay. As Episode Two ended, battle had begun between American and Soviet units south of Berlin, with Soviet tanks opening fire and obliterating American trucks trying to infiltrate Soviet lines and resupply the cut-off troops and civilians in Berlin.

American light tanks and APCs fared even worse as Soviet heavy tanks opened fire all along the line, but then American deployment of smokescreens dampened Soviet tank fire long enough to assault and capture the southeastern woods and the southern slope of the hill on Board 21. The Soviet front line units have begun a slow pullback, with tanks massing north of the hill while others continue to trade fire with American tanks near the road. With American armor far inferior to Soviet AT firepower, the Americans will have to advance very carefully behind woods, hills and smoke if hope to breach the main Soviet defensive line.

The battle continues.

Turn 9: 0800 Hours

The Soviets lost twelve steps in the first hour of combat while the Americans lost thirteen (tank steps count double), so both sides now have an initiative level of 2. The Americans win initiative by one activation, and the one good-order INF unit left from the supply column assaults the two JS-2 tank platoons northeast of the hill on Board 21, while their disrupted lieutenant moves southwest to try and link-up with the demoralized INF fleeing back to American lines.

Both sides inflict an M2 result on the other in the assault, with the Americans performing brilliantly by rolling a 6 on the 5 column of the Assault table while the tanks only roll a 3 on the 18. The Americans pass the morale check while one of the JS-2 platoons is demoralized, and then the American INF rolls a 6 on one die and can fire its short-range AT weapons at the other JS-2 platoon. Their AT firepower is a 6 and so is the armor strength of the JS-2s, and the Americans roll a 10 + 1 (for no Soviet infantry support) =11 to kill one JS-2 step (counts as two Soviet step losses) and demoralize the other! With all the JS-2s that were chasing fleeing American infantry suddenly swarmed and demoralized, the INF platoon is avenging the lost supply column in spades.

This is not acceptable to the Soviets, who hammer the assault hex with offboard artillery fire since tanks are immune to most bombardment results. The M1 result disrupts the American INF unit, giving the JS-2s a chance at survival. Then the American M26 heavy tanks in the town hex at the north edge of Board 18 fire on the T34/85s in the central town on Board 21, since the eastward-drifting smoke blocks the LOS of the only Soviet tanks that have the Americans in range. They kill one T34/85 step and demoralize the other (counts as two Soviet step losses).

The Soviets can’t afford to lose any more steps this turn, so their offboard artillery hits the hex in the southeastern woods that American INF and M39 APCs piled into last turn. With a column shift bonus for the hex being stacked to the max, the roll of 10 scores an X result, and the Americans lose an INF step (one American step loss) while the other INF step plus two M39 APCs in the hex are disrupted.

But then the remaining good-order INFs plus a lieutenant assault the demoralized Soviet HMG unit in the neighboring hex, while an American HMG and INF pile into the woods behind him (the APCs don’t join the assault because they would be exposing themselves to tank fire from the central town if they did). The assault wipes out the entire HMG unit by inflicing one step loss with a 1 result and then another by demoralizing it a second time (two Soviet step losses). The woods are now clear of Reds!

The Soviets are now in a rather bad situation. Not only have they lost numerous valuable tank and HMG steps this turn, they can’t afford to start a general withdrawal yet because that would doom their two JS-2 platoons in the assault hex northeast of the hill and give the Americans 12 VPs. So, the Soviets have got to hold their main line until their forward units can fall back to it, so they start by sending a lieutenant colonel plus an INF and two M3 halftrack units out of the eastern woods to rescue the demoralized JS2s.

The Americans can’t afford to let such a golden opportunity to kill lots of Soviet tanks slip away, so they start laying smoke so American APCs can charge out and unload their troops right in the face of the JS-2s. American mortars drop two smoke markers directly in front of the JS-3s in the woods north of the hill, and then the Soviets pour mortar fire into the assault hex with the JS-2s, scoring an M2 result which demoralizes the American INF!

Suddenly the American INF is in big trouble, because it already activated and can’t recover till next turn. The Americans lay more smoke, and the JS-2s then fail their recovery rolls, exit the assault hex and flee one hex northeast toward the woods (it’s a damn good thing the American INF is demoralized or it would have gotten free shots at the tanks as they left).

Then two American M3s go over the top and down the northwest slope to drop two INF units off with the disrupted Lieutenant who’s next to the demoralized INF. The Americans try and fail to place another smoke marker, and the Soviets send a T34/85 unit down from the reserve to take the place of the reduced-demoralized one in the central town. The Americans successfully extend the smokescreen up the north slope of the hill, the Soviets start pulling their roadblock units north to the central town. and then the rest of the American APCs go over the top of the hill and unload an INF and two HMGs, then pull back behind cover so they don’t get blasted by Soviet tanks once the smokescreen dissipates. American INF and HMGs make ready to assault the Soviet troops on the hilltop, while two M26 heavy tank units drive to the southwestern slope where they can just barely get LOS on the demoralized JS-2s to the north.

The Soviet position on the hilltop is now untenable — the Americans are preparing to assault with a strength of 30+ which could wipe out half the Soviets on the hilltop in one turn. And while the Soviets have enough troops to bring themselves up to the 30+ column if they all pile into the same hex, they’d likely just get bypassed by American tanks and APCs sweeping west of the hill. So the Soviets pull back north from the hill toward the woods.

Demoralized American INFs fail to recover and flee to the western slope, and T44s out in the open pull back north into the woods. More American tanks advance to the hill, and then the Soviets commit half of their northern reserve, using strategic movement to send two INF units on halftracks plus two Su-76 self-propelled artillery units south to reinforce the Soviet left flank against the expected assault by American INF from the eastern woods.

In response, the Americans lay more smoke in front of the central town and move another M26 tank unit into the town hex on Board 18, where it and another M26 can fire on the T34/85s in the eastern town without reprisal (since they’re outside the range of those Soviet tanks). The Soviets respond by moving the T34/85s out of that hex and moving in JS-2s, which do have the range to hit the town on Board 18, and won’t be spotted until they fire.

The Americans respond with more smoke right in the face of the JS-2s, and if that smoke lasts it will also help screen the infantry advance north to the eastern town. The turn then ends on a Fog of War roll after several American tank units advance to the hill and Soviets redeploy and make (or fail) recovery rolls. Then, all but one of the ten American smoke markers on the board dissipates — the one that remains just north of the American INF and HMGs who just topped the hill.

The Soviet tank corps took a horrible beating this turn, and the score is now Soviets 14, Americans 39!

Turn 10: 0815 Hours

The Americans have now lost 14 steps while the Soviets have lost 18, so Soviet initiative drops to 1 while American initiative stays at 2. Nevertheless, the Soviets win initiative by one activation, and find themselves in a very, very target-rich environment. There really aren’t any good options, so they start by trying to save the demoralized JS-2s, which both fail to recover morale and flee northeast toward the woods.

But the Americans want those JS-2s dead, and an M26 tank unit on the top of the hill opens up with opportunity fire on both of them. Both shots miss, and the JS-2s make it to the woods (chalk up one small Soviet victory). American mortars then drop smoke in front of the woods so Soviet JS-3s there can’t kill the M26s that missed the JS-2s. Though annoying for the JS-3s, the sudden appearance of smoke directly in his rear is a gift for the Soviet lieutenant colonel, who pulls his halftracks into the smoke and then into the woods so they don’t get obliterated by American tank fire from the hill.

American offboard artillery lays smoke in front of the central town on Board 21 to keep the Soviet tanks there from shooting at the American tanks in the town on Board 18. The JS-2 in the eastern town trades shots with the M26s in the town hex on Board 18, but all shots miss. A Soviet lieutenant in the smoke cloud south of the woods can just barely spot the southeastern woods hex where the Americans assaulted and wiped out the Soviet HMGs, so he calls in Soviet offboard artillery there and demoralizes an American HMG and an INF while disrupting the remaining INF!

That turn of events puts a serious damper on the eastern American advance (especially with Soviet reinforcements coming in from the north), so American offboard artillery drops a smoke marker just west of the woods to keep the Soviets from doing the same thing again. The lieutenant in the smoke then drops Soviet offboard artillery on the American INF and halftracks out in the open northwest of the hill, disrupting one of the INFs there. With mortar fire likely to come in next the Americans decide they’ve had enough and call-in an artillery barrage on the Soviet lieutenant in the smoke hex. The roll of 10 on the 55 column scores an X result, killing a Soviet halftrack (one Soviet step loss) and disrupting the lieutenant and one of the SMG units with him.

But he’s not demoralized, and he calls in the expected mortar fire which demoralizes the just-disrupted American INF. The Americans drop their last smoke marker of the turn in front of the Lieutenant to stop any further artillery spotting, and then a T34/85 unit moves out of the eastern town to a position from where they’ll be able to obliterate the M39 APCs in the southeastern woods. The American tanks to the south are out of range from the T34/85s, and if they broke cover to close range they’d get blasted by the JS-3s and T34/85s in the central town.

So, the Americans in the southeastern woods are on their own, and they activate to recover morale and let their good-order INF units charge the T34/85s before Soviet reinforcements put them permanently on the defensive. Opportunity fire from the eastern town scores an X result, killing an American INF step (one American step loss) and disrupting the other. The APCs move to the westernmost woods hex to get outside the T34/85s’ LOS, and a demoralized INF in the woods recovers but the demoralized HMG does not and dives for cover with the APCs. Soviet reinforcements then move in from the north.

The Americans need to restart their western advance and push north beyond the hill. But the Soviets have a huge amount of tank strength in the woods north of the hill and in the central town, so the thin-skinned American tanks and APCs won’t be of any use until American infantry can push into the woods to pin down the Soviet tanks there.

The Americans work on recovering the morale of their demoralized INF on the hill, with mixes success. The Soviets then press their advantage against the American infantry in the southeastern woods, sending a T34/85 tank unit from the central town into the woods right next to the American M39 APCs and the demoralized HMG unit. Opportunity fire from American tanks misses, and with all American infantry in the woods disrupted or demoralized, only the American APCs would be able to assault the tanks next turn. But assaulting would expose their position and get them smoked by all the other Soviet tanks in the area, while not assaulting will get them smoked by the adjacent T34/85s point-blank. They’ll have no choice but to retreat.

The turn then ends on redeployments and recoveries, and all but two of the smoke markers dissipate, with one drifting into the central town and the other staying where it is, so it keeps protecting the Soviet lieutenant and the rest of the Soviet infantry screen south of the western woods.

The score is now Soviets 15, Americans 42 — but the Soviets have pulled-off an orderly withdrawal into the western woods while reinforcing their entire line with reserves, and the American advance has stalled.

Turn 11: 0830 Hours

The Americans have lost 15 steps while the Soviets have lost 19, so initiative levels remain Americans 2, Soviets 1. But the Soviets win initiative by one activation again, and the T34/85s in the eastern woods fire on the adjacent M39 APCs.

But somehow, the overwhelming AT fire kills just one APC unit (one American step loss). With that miraculous occurrence, the APCs decide to hold their ground, and the American lieutenant and his one good-order INF east of the woods assault the T34/85 unit that moved east of the woods to force the APCs into evasive action. Both sides only score an M result, but the Soviets fail the morale check miserably and become demoralized. The American INF then tries and fails to fire its short-range AT weaponry, but the reduced INF in the neighboring hex recovers to good-order and will be able to join the assault next turn.

The JS-2s in the eastern town kill two steps of M4/76s that fired on the T34/85s moving into the eastern woods last turn (counts as four American step losses), and then the major and the INF unit from the same hex move south into the woods to join the T34/85s. The American mortars and offboard artillery lay smoke in front of the central town and around the just west of the eastern woods so American tanks can move in to support the infantry there. Soviet offboard artillery is ineffective, and the Americans move a platoon of M26 heavy tanks to a point near the swamps to deal with the T34/85s in the eastern woods. Then Soviet INF reinforcements move adjacent to the assault hex east of the woods, and Su-76 self-propelled artillery move into the eastern town, forming what will be a massive fire team with the two halftracks there.

The Americans need to outflank the Soviet line in the western woods, and they really want to kill those JS-2s before they can recover morale, so they start laying smoke in front of the woods in preparation for advancing their remaining good-order infantry off the hilltop. Soviet mortar fire disrupts the American lieutenant who’s waiting to receive the advancing U.S. troops, and the turn ends abruptly on a Fog of War roll before the Americans can move out but also before any of the demoralized Soviet tanks can recover. All the smoke markers by the western woods either dissipate or drift into the trees, but two smoke markers near the central town and the eastern woods stay in place.

The score is now Soviets 20, Americans 42.

Turn 12: 0845 Hours

The Americans have lost 20 steps while the Soviets are holding at 19, so American initiative drops to 1. But they beat the Soviets by one activation, and the M26s by the swamps kill one step of the demoralized T34/85s east of the eastern woods but fail to demoralize the other step again (two Soviet step losses).

The Soviet infantry reinforcements then pile into the assault hex while the remaining T34/85 step tries to recover morale. The Soviet assault goes horribly wrong, rolling a 1 for no effect while the American infantry rolls a 6 on the 13 column, killing a Soviet INF step (1 Soviet step loss) and demoralizing the other step of that unit, while disrupting the other Soviet INF (their leader is OK). The T34/85s fail to recover morale and flee the hex. Seeing their chance to wipe out the Soviet counterattack, the American lieutenant brings in the reduced-strength INF and counterassaults the Soviets, and kills another Soviet INF step with no damage in return (one Soviet step loss) but not hurting the morale of any Soviet unit or leader.

With their tanks and infantry east of the woods getting slaughtered, the Soviets in the woods have got to act now or they’ll get slaughtered too when the American infantry re-enters the woods. The T34/85s in the woods kill another M39 APC (one American step loss) but roll a 2 for the second shot and fail to kill the last one. The Soviet major then assaults the last M39 and the demoralized HMG with it but neither side does any damage, so the Soviet counterattack against the American east flank fizzles badly.

An American smoke-laying attempt fails, and American and Soviet tanks trade fire in the center while two more Soviet INF platoons and a captain move to the eastern town to reinforce the dying counterattack. One step of T34/85s in the central town is killed and another disrupted (two Soviet step losses), and an M26 tank step dies but the other step of the unit passes its morale check (two American step losses).

American offboard artillery then fires for effect on the Soviet infantry screen south of the western woods. The M1 result demoralizes the Soviet lieutenant in the hex but has no effect on the HMG and SMG unit there. The Soviet lieutenant colonel orders him and the infantry screen back into the woods (the lieutenant fails to recover morale and flees two hexes into the woods), and then orders the JS-3 unit in the same hex with him to fire on the spotted M26 heavy tank unit on the hilltop. It scores one hit, killing an M26 step and disrupting the other (two American step losses). Then, the demoralized JS2s in the neighboring hex try to recover morale, and the full-strength unit succeeds.

American offboard artillery starts laying smoke north of the hill in preparation for the long-delayed infantry advance, and the Soviet major in the eastern woods assault hex takes the radical step of calling in two artillery barrages on his own hex, which keep the American HMG unit there demoralized even after it recovers while disrupting a Soviet INF.

One of the two American INF in the adjacent woods hex to the south recovers morale, and then an American lieutenant enters the assault hex and counterassaults the Soviets along with the as-yet unactivated APC there. Both sides roll terribly and do no damage. One last Soviet artillery battery hits the assault hex east of the woods but is ineffective, and then two American HMG units advance down the northern slope of the hill behind the smokescreen while demoralized and disrupted American INF and tank units farther up the hill recover and APCs advance to the hilltop.

The turn then ends on a Fog of War roll after a few recoveries and redeployments. Three of the five smoke markers remain on the board, but one drifts uselessly into the eastern woods.

The score is now Soviets 29, Americans 56, with the badly-mauled Soviet counterassault east of the woods adding greatly to American VP totals.

Turn 13: 0900 Hours

The Americans have now lost 29 steps while the Soviets have lost 25, so both sides’ initiative is now zero. The Americans beat the Soviets by one activation, and they reinforce the assault in the eastern woods with an extra INF unit but do no damage. Their HMG unit there does recover morale as does an adjacent INF, but the unfortunate Soviet INF in the assault hex east of the woods fails to recover from demoralization and flees the hex, effectively blocking any fire the Su-76s and halftracks in the town might hit the assault hex with if the other Soviet unit there is eliminated.

The Americans do eliminate the other Soviet unit (one Soviet step loss) but the Soviet lieutenant gets out of the hex alive. Soviet and American tanks then again trade fire in the center and to the east. One M26 tank step in the town hex on Board 18 dies while another is demoralized (two American step losses), and the last demoralized T34/85 step east of the woods dies (two Soviet step losses) along with a Soviet halftrack on the road (one Soviet step loss). One INF unit in the eastern town joins the demoralized INF east of the woods while the other plus a T34/85 move south into the woods to join the assault.

American offboard artillery goes to work on the Soviet line in the western woods, firing on the hex occupied by the lieutenant colonel commanding the forces there. The hex is stacked to the max, putting the fire on the 70+ column, and the roll of 4 scores an X result, killing a KMS Prime Mover and a halftrack (one Soviet step loss), disrupting an INF unit, and demoralizing the JS3 tank unit!

That makes the JS3s sitting ducks for the M26s on the hill, so the lieutenant colonel activates and orders units to redeploy across the line while trying to get everyone else to recover. The demoralized major rolls a 2 and recovers to good order immediately, the full-strength JS2 recovers to good order, but the INF stays disrupted and the demoralized JS3s fail and flee north into the woods.

That is very good news for the Americans, whose mortars start laying smoke in front of the woods in preparation for a combined-arms assault. The Soviets send another tank unit from the forward reserve into the central town so it can fire on any American tanks or APCs that advance north of the hill, and the Americans keep laying smoke, preventing the Soviets from calling in offboard artillery or mortar fire on any American infantry.

The unlucky T34/85 tank unit in the eastern woods finally smokes Lucky the APC (although it takes two shots to do it) for one American step loss, and the Americans complete the smokescreen for the assault on the woods.

And then the turn ends on a Fog of War roll (AAAUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!). The Americans receive an order from HQ to NOT, REPEAT, NOT ADVANCE until General Ego arrives, and the Americans on the hill watch as all their smokescreen dissipates, while the smoke marker by the eastern woods drifts southeast, blocking any fire against Soviet tanks in the woods from the M26 tanks out in the open by the swamps.

The score is now Soviets 32, Americans 69.

Turn 14: 0915 Hours

The Soviets beat the Americans by one activation, and the major in the assault hex in the eastern woods brings in a tank and an infantry unit for a combined-arms assault on the Americans. Soviet luck in the east finally turns, with the attack rolling a 6 on the 24 column while the Americans roll a 1 on the 13 column for no effect. The good-order American INF unit in the hex dies and the HMG unit becomes demoralized.

The Americans have nothing left in the woods but the demoralized HMG and a reduced-strength INF, and counterassaulting the Soviets would be suicidal since the Reds would fire on the 30+ column on defense. But the Americans can’t let the Soviets retake the woods —that would give Soviet heavy tanks a short-range fire base from which to wipe out the remaining tanks of the American center and then crash in on the American rear.

But that pesky smoke marker is blocking the M26s from firing on the assault hex, so the reduced-strength M26 in the town hex on Board 18 fires while the other one tries to recover from demoralization. The tank rolls a modified 11, killing one T34/85 step and disrupting the other (two Soviet step losses), but the other M26 fails to recover and flees.

Then Soviet offboard artillery hits the American infantry east of the woods . . . and rolls an 11 on the 42 column, scoring an X result which kills an INF step (one American step loss), and disrupts the lieutenant there (the other INF is OK). The Americans have plenty of lieutenants but precious few INF near the woods, and if that last INF doesn’t make a dash for the woods now the Soviets will get there first. So the disrupted lieutenant tells them to go while he recovers, and they make it unscathed through massive opportunity fire from Su-76s and halftracks in the eastern town, adjacent Soviet infantry, and adjacent T34/76s in the woods!

Soviet offboard artillery hits the HMGs on the hillside south of the woods, and once again the American mortars start laying smoke in preparation for an assault there. Soviet mortar fire is ineffective — and the turn ends on a Fog of War roll again! General Ego insists on having his personal film crew there to record for the final assault on Soviet lines for posterity. . . .

All American smoke markers dissipate, and the main American assault force on the left starts to gather moss while their infantry on the right fight heroically for that damn patch of woods.

The score is now Soviets 33, Americans 73.

Turn 15: 0930 Hours

The Soviets roll a 5 to the Americans’ 1, and beat them by two activations. Even with disrupted infantry and a reduced, disrupted tank, the Soviet assault in the woods fires on the 30+ column because it gets a +4 column shift for having a leader, having higher morale, fighting a demoralized enemy and having tanks and infantry combined.

The Soviets score a 2 result to wipe out the demoralized HMG unit (two American step losses) and demoralize the lieutenant with them, while the Americans do no damage. The lieutenant escapes the hex to join his captain, but then Soviet offboard artillery hits that hex and disrupts the INF unit there. The captain makes one last-ditch effort to hold the woods, trying to rally his troops while sending the INF that ran through hell to reach the woods to assault the lone T34/85 in the northernmost woods hex. Units recover, but neither side does any damage in the assault. Soviet infantry moves into the woods from the east, splitting the American INF assault off from the American leaders, while a demoralized Soviet INF from the disastrous assault east of the woods flees north.

With their eastern flank crumbling, the American assault on the western woods has to go forward this turn or else, and waiting for the artillery to lay smoke is doing nothing but draw interference from the Brass. So, American offboard artillery fires for effect on the Soviets in the woods, rolling a 4 on the 55 column for an X result, killing an SMG step (one Soviet step loss) and disrupting an HMG unit and a halftrack. Soviet offboard artillery is ineffective, but a second American offboard artillery shot rolls a 10 on the 42 column and scores another X result, killing an INF step (one Soviet step loss), demoralizing the other and disrupting an SMG unit.

Mortar fire from both sides fails to break enemy morale, and then the JS3 tanks in the central town destroy the last M26 step in the town hex on Board 18 (two American step losses). That all but cracks the American center, so the American assault on the left has to go forward NOW! The HMGs take the lead . . . and catch hell from the central town, whose tanks and HMGs roll a 12 on the 22 column to wipe-out an HMG unit entirely (two American step losses).

The second HMG unit makes it through opportunity fire from the town, but when it reaches the edge of the woods the lieutenant colonel orders point-blank fire and rolls a 3 for an X result, killing one HMG step (one American step loss) but failing to disrupt or demoralize the other or its lieutenant! The American INF follows along with its Lieutenant, and the Soviets roll a 4 against it, killing an INF step (one American step loss) and the lieutenant with them, but once again failing to shake the morale of the INF! Upon these few rests the fate of the entire American offensive.

The Soviets then respond with an infantry advance of their own . . . right down the road. Two infantry platoons from the central town move south with a lieutenant and pick up the reduced INF who’s the last remnant of the roadblock. Nobody bothers them, because any American tanks or APCs on the hill who fire will reveal their positions and promptly get smoked by T34/85s and T44s. Instead, the Americans have to start drawing on their tank reserve, moving three old M4 Sherman platoons out of the southernmost town and into the town hex on Board 18.

More Soviet mortar fire against the American infantry rushing the woods is ineffective, but if that infantry is going to have a chance in hell of making a successful assault, the Soviet halftracks supporting the front lines have to go. So, two M24 tank units on the hilltop open fire, but roll very badly and only manage to kill one out of three halftracks (one Soviet step loss). JS2s return fire and kill one M24 step while demoralizing the other (two American step losses), and the other JS2 step with them recovers from demoralization.

A reduced M26 heavy tank unit moves forward to firing position on the north face of the hilltop, and an INF unit charges down the slope to join the assault group. They just barely pass a morale check caused by opportunity fire from the woods, and then Soviet onboard artillery from the northern reserve hits the lead assault units (which are just barely inside its range), and the M2 result disrupts their lieutenant and demoralizes the HMG. But in a gift from God, the Soviets take friendly fire from the artillery on the 21 column, rolling a 10 on themselves and again demoralizing their own demoralized SMG unit for a step loss (1 Soviet step loss).

The initial target hex of the American assault is now down to one disrupted SMG unit and a lieutenant colonel, but the only unit that can assault it is a reduced American INF. If they don’t make it into the woods the advance will have to be called, off, so the Americans move their tanks and APCs to the north side of the hill for a climatic duel with the Soviet tanks in the woods and the central town. The turn then ends on recoveries and redeployments (with Soviet reserves moving south), but not before the M4/76s in the southern woods kill a T34/85 step in the eastern woods plus a KMS Prime Mover (two Soviet step losses), and the T44s in the western woods kill an M24 tank step on the hill (two American step losses).

So with the game half over, the Americans are way ahead on points — Soviets 45, Americans 89 — but their right and center are on the verge of collapse and their left is about to stake everything on a Forlorn Hope. American tanks will open fire from the hilltop to try and knock out Soviet tanks and halftracks in the woods, but return fire from Soviet heavy tanks will exact a heavy toll. And with more Soviet tanks and infantry on the way from the north, the Americans may be in for the fight of their lives.

Can the Americans hold their ground and grind the Russian hordes into red paint, or will the Red Army crush all before it and establish communism in Berlin forever? Tune in next time and find out!

Click here to order Iron Curtain!