This post covers 23 minutes of play, from minute 31 - minute 53 of the battle - taking us over the halfway point of a 1hr 30min encounter. I'll split this report into two parts, the first covering my counter attack against the woods positioned just in front of the enemy crossing points. The other the fghting in the village of Dybow on my right wing.
To begin with the woods, I left the last post on a relatively positive note; as my reinforcement Jagdpanzers, to use a rugby phrase, were 'smashing it up the middle', focusing the counter attack on the Northern Woods to eliminate the Soviet bridgehead. In the process they destroyed a large number of enemy tanks in return for the loss of only one of their own.
Things start off brightly in this new series of turns. Despite my worst fears about taking on the dreaded enemy JSIIs, I'm able to KO two of enemy monsters which have made it into the Northern Woods, and another just the other side of the railbridge, in return for the loss of only one Jagdpanzer. The relative close range of the enggagement (400m-600m), and overwhelming firepower of line of my line tank destroyers proving too much for the slow rate of fire coming from the JSIIs. Another T34 is also taken out during this initial spell of fighting in return for the loss of another of my SPGs. With the enemy bridgehead greatly depleted I feel confident about my chances of expelling them back across the river. As the last of the JSIIs is KOed, the last of my 88mm Flak shells are dropped on the Northern Woods, targeting Soviet infantry which must be hiding in there.
Scratch one JSII out for the count
The JSII came under a barrage of fire
My Jagdpanzers assaulting the Northern Woods lined up
This shot gives you an idea of my Jagdpanzer's location as they assault the Northern Woods The Soviet tank icons are mainly for tanks positioned the other side of the river
A JSII just the otherside of the river between the Northern and Central Woods bites the dust
Then calamity strikes, one of Jadpanzers spots a T34 lying in wait behind a cluster of saplings. The panzer unleashes a shot, only to see it explode in the trees in front of the enemy tank. Seconds later the T34 responds and instantly knocks out my Jagdpanzer. No problem I think, I've got enough tank destroyers and AT guns trained on the front of the woodland to spot and deal with this lone ranger of a tank. How wrong I was, as over the next couple of turns the T34 proceeds to destroy another three Jagdpanzers. At one point in the action I had five tank or AT guns trained on the part of the woods with a clear blue target line to where the T34 was positioned. Despite this none could get a LOS on the hero T34, and I paid dearly for it.
Rambo
... and his victims
Having successfully stalled my counterattack, the T34 pulls back into the safe hinter of the woodland. Before it 'ramboed' me, the Soviets were in a dyer situation, and I think it's possible the hero of the hour was the last surviving tank left in the Northern Woods.
Despite this frustrating incident, Strachwitz seems to recognise that his bridgehead is in desperate need of reinforcements. Manoeuvring what looks like the last of his armour into a stretch of woodland located just the other side of the river, he seems to be readying to cross. My last armoured defenders with LOS on the Soviet's immediate approach to the crossings being two Jagdpanzers located on the left flank.
Unfortunately, the jagdanzer positioned further back has its gun critically damaged by an enemy shell as it tries to engage the Soviet tanks, so I pull it back into a ditch and will keep it hidden there for the rest of the game. This left me with one Jagdpanzer to try and pin down the Strachwitz's right flank and prevent him sending reinforcements across the river.
My Jagdpanzer survives but has its gun knocked out
My own lone ranger does a fantastic job over the course of the rounds covered by this thread, knocking out one ISU, positioned by the enemy assault guns knocked out earlier in the encounter, and then at least another couple of enemy T34s as they try to move across river. Essentially pinning down the Strachwitz's entire right wing, allowing me to counterattack his bridgehead without the fear of more Soviet armour joining the Soviet assault.
Meanwhile, my star performer positioned further forwards pins down Strachwitz's right flank and prevents reinforcements moving across the river
Unfortunately the infantry company I originally had defending the Northern Woods, has by this point in the encounter been reduced to a few panicking survivors. Although they manage to reach the edge of the Northern Woods objective zone, they are making very slow work of killing off the last few Russian infantry in woods, as they turn and flee when they come under any sort of Soviet fire. The loss of a Jagdpanzer in the Central Woods to an enemy grenade which immobilised it, before a T34 finished it off with a shot to the flank, shows the danger of moving armour into woodland without close infantry support. So until I can push the enemy out of Dybow and use my infantry located in the village to assault the Central and Northern Woods objective zones I fear I'm going to struggle to expel the Soviet infantrymen.
I just about manage to reach the edge of the Northern Woods with a few of my surviving grenadiers but their morale and numbers are severely depleted making the counter attack slow work.
One of Strachwitz's T34s about to finish off the Jagdpanzer immobilised in the Central Woods
I receive the last of my reinforcements, a platoon of four Jagdpanzers, towards the beginning of the series of turns covered by this post. Two are moved into Dybow, and two to support my dwindling counter attack on the Northern Woods.
Which brings us to Dybow. During the turns covered by my last post Strachwitz had been making steady progress assaulting the village. His intense barrage of the part closest to the bridge at the start of the scenario had killed many of the defenders nearest the river. For the first 10 minutes or so of the turns covered by this post Strachwitz drops harassment artillery fire on Dybow, stretching well back into my infantry positions. There is little I can do during this barrage, so I hunker my infantry down to see it out. Under his covering artillery fire, Strachwitz manages to make some steady progress, capturing the part of Dybow closest to the bridge, and at one point almost entirely pushing me out of my Dybow objective zone.
Strachwitz must have brought a hell of a lot of heavy ordinance to his OOB. Here is a shot of another barrage dropping on Dybow, flattening most of the front end of the village.
However, his infantry have little armoured support. With only one T34 in close support, and another tank in the Central Woods capable of providing fire support. As the last of his barrage is seen out, one of my newly arrived Jagdpanzers KOs the T34 in close support of the infantry assaulting Dybow. Opening up the part of the village captured by Strachwitz to a counterattack. I begin this in earnest around the 47 minute mark, with about two thirds of my company defending Dybow having survived Strachwitz's bombardments and subsequent infantry led assault of the village. They are supported by 3 Marders and one Sdkfz quad 20mm flak wagon. With much of the front end of the village's buildings flattened by artillery fire, reasonable lines of sight are opened up, allowing me to unleash my infantry's MG42s on the Soviets. The flakwagon proves to be particularly devastating against the Soviet infantry, and by the end of the turns covered by this post they are falling back in disarray and panic.
As the Soviet artillery finishes its fire mission my grenadiers begin their counter attack. Their objective is the recapture Dybow, which will open up lines of sight across the Soviet's approach to the bridgehead.
The flakwagon's quad 20mm guns cut a couple of panicked Soviet infantry to pieces as the Soviets are unable to mount any significant resistance to my counter attack
So there we almost have it... except one last encounter right towards the end of the turns covered by this post. With the Jagdpanzer on my left flank proving more of a tree trunk than a thorn in Strachwitz's right side, and stalling his efforts move reinforcements across the bridge, Streachwitz's drops a number of barrages in and around its position, but to no avail. With all else failing, he decides to role the dice. He rushes his hero T34 out of the Northern Woods towards the Jagdpanzer, which doesn't have LOS on the Soviet tank. Somehow the T34 manags to loop around the small patch of woods which the Jagdpanzer is using as cover without being shot up by an AT gun. At the last minute one of the PAKs spots the T34, penetrating its rear armour, but not fatally. As the T34 and Jagpanzer both desperately spin round to face each other, the Soviet tank's turret wins the day, spinning quicker than my SPG can rotate on the spot. The T34 KOs my Jagdpanzer. Seconds latter the T34 is spotted once more by the PAK team who force the crew to bail with a couple of penetrating shots. A bold move pulled off Strachwitz, which may yet prove crucial to the battle's outcome.
My star jagdpanzer is mercilessly cut down 
Unfortunately though, it comes a fraction late as my star performer, having knocked out at least five enemy tanks, burns brightly in the early morning sun. Its loss means that the crossings are now once again open, and I see a JSII moving over the river in the midst of Jagdpanzer's point-blank duel with the T34. At the end of the final turn covered by this post, I move four Jagdpanzers to a strip of woodland stretching back from the Northern Woods, I can only hope they will spot and destroy any enemy armour moving across the bridge and ford.
My aim for the next few turns will be to counterattack through Dybow with my infantry and push the Soviets completely out of the village. This will enable me to manoeuvre my Marders into a position which will give them flanking shots Strachwitz's armour moving towards and across the bridgehead.
Until next time, over and out.
