Turns 21-30
I messed up with the pictures, so I had to remake the map. While slightly annoying, it gives me the opportunity to present the current situation much better, with all the destruction that happened.
In Malureni at (1), Russians made some last ditch efforts to capture the village, but to no avail. The three surviving Bizonuls together with supporting infantry proved too much to handle inside the narrow, ambush friendly streets of the village. Only a couple of immobilized T-80s , some BMPs and a few exhausted rifle squads is all that remains of the Russian force, which settles for bombarding the village mercilessly.
In Cosmesti at (2), Russians eliminate all resistance there and firmly control the village. They still have trouble moving around it, since the Romanian tanks and ATGMs from across Siret River cause troubles for them. They resort to shelling the Romanian positions there to disrupt them.
The depot at (3) is also captured. The surviving scouts put up a heroic resistance, tying down Russian infantry for 10 whole turns before the latter managed to eliminate them with the help of artillery. A very good result, considering the area is not an objective and only served as an outpost for scouting and calling artillery.
The big action these 10 turns happened in the urban area east of the bridges. Russians made a three pronged attack, slowly pushing the Romanian defenders back. Romanian casualties were horrific. By the end of turn 30, only 3 Romanian BMPs survived, all other forces being dead, wounded or captured. The only force that had any impact on the Russian steamroller was the excellent MRL artillery, which fired non-stop at the attackers around (4). I put only one strike marker, but in reality there should be like 30 there. Russian infantry was completely locked down and could not advance an inch. The T-80s though were quite persistent and eventually crossed the bridge. The Bizonul tanks at (6) tried to stop them, but they were all destroyed, as well as one more 100mm AT gun that was spotted. The Romanian infantry looked helpless to stop the T-80s, but the force that came to the rescue was the tank destroyer platoon at (5). This TD unit which up until now had made negligible impact on the battlefield was to save the day now. Firing from (5), they managed to knock out all T-80s that tried to cross the bridge, firing to their left side. The Russian T-80s had used all their APS shots by then and even their advanced ERA had taken several hits from the constant artillery shelling and/or RPG shots. That made the TD ATGMs very effective. Russians had to stop their advance and try to defend their possession (the bridge). My plan is to bring one Bizonul platoon (located now at 7) and together with the infantry there, counterattack and reclaim the bridge.
In addition to all this action, there is constant shelling everywhere. Russian artillery managed to neutralize the 120mm mortar platoon and also cause casualties at the Romanian reserves at Marasesti and Cosmesti Vale. Romanian artillery hunted the Russian AA defenses, mostly unsuccessfully. Russian SAMs managed to shoot down or kill all of my helos, another disappointing asset on my part. Zero participation in the battle, only casualties from them. On the bright side, I do not see any Russian aircraft any more, a testament to my own AA effectiveness as well. These Gepards truly are amazing. I decided to use my remaining aircraft to attack the Russians at (4), hopefully knock out the remaining tanks and soften them up before the final counterattack. I expect heavy losses, but I don’t want to give up the bridge without a fight.