I think I may have found a deficiency in the Scorched Earth setups presented in TEMs #21 and 22. In many of the setups, intermittent lake hex 3121 in the south of the Baltic MD has only four points defending the hex. Can't the German player, using armor from 3rd Panzer and artillery from 9th army, overrun this hex in the surprise tum, thereby messing up these defensive plans?

Putting only 4 points in 3121 is a gutsy move (Harald Hansen in Grenadier #25 recommended 5), but it is perfectly safe-if you call your opponent's hand if he tries to pull a slick one!

Here's the strongest stack that can be assembled out of 3rd Panzer Group and 9th Army:

3x 12-10 Pz XX halved against intermittent lake = 18
1x 5-3-8 mot Art III = 5
1x 5-3-8 Art III = 5
1x 5-3-6 Art III = 5
1x 3-1-8 Rkt III = 3
1x 3-8 Art III = 3

This is maximum stacking and the total strength points only come to 39. One point short of the required 10:1 overrun odds. Hmmm...

Naturally, the next thing a clever player will start to do is scrounge for another 5-point artillery unit out of another army. 4th Army is too far away, so the only candidate is 16th Army. Aha! There is a 5-3-8 Art III, and it can start in 2923. Now things really get hairy.

The German player must choose a single hex from which he will conduct his overrun. He has only two choices: 3221 or 3122.

If he chooses 3221, then the 5-3-8 Art III from the 16th Army can't make it. It would have to spend 4 MPs to move to 3221, 2 MPs to enter 3121, and 3 MPs for the 10: 1 overrun (since it is not motorized) for a total of 9 MPs--too many.

If he chooses 3122, the 5-3-8 Art III from 16th Army can now make it, but the 5-3-6 Art III from 9th Army can't. The closest it can set up is 3221 or 3222. From there it would have to spend 2 MPs to enter 3122, 2 MPs to enter 3121, and 3 MPs for the 10:1 overrun (since it is non-motorized). This equals 7 MPs; again, too many.

So, if in your last SE game your opponent overran your 4-point stack in 1B:3121, did he do it legally? Better look again, you may have been slimed.