With the Bridge now ready to blow, the priority for the British commander is to recover A and B Companies to the home bank and destroy the bridge before the enemy tanks break through.
At last luck changes for the British, with a high troop activation dice throw, two of the Chieftains depoly on to the high ground, following more good luck as the Artillery Forward Observer requests a fire mission to take out the annoying Swatter ATGW launcher. His request for fire is granted by being allocated a regiment of 155mm guns. Five rounds fire for effect sees 90 shells slam into the hill, obliterating the BRDM Swatter launcher:
The rest of the British movement sees A and B Companies begin their withdrawal.
On the other hand, the Soviets have a very poor activation; limited to just one pot shot at a Chieftain, that misses.
This pause allows the British infantry to break clean and pull back, and the Chieftains to take up their new fire positions on the higher ground:
The Soviets now have better luck, and realising that the bridge will be blown soon, their commander decides to push his armour forward en masse. Three companies of tanks supported by two infantry companies surge forward:
The soviet tanks now come into range of the Chieftain 120mm guns and two T-55s are soon on fire:
Meanwhile most of B Company and the A Company APC make it to the bridge and cross over:
The soviet tanks rumble forwards and A Company comes under serious pressure and is unable to move, taking fire from infantry and tanks:
On the other flank Soviet tanks push through the abandoned B Company forward positions:
But are halted by accurate fire from the Chieftains:
Another T-55 is hit as it attempts to break through A Company:
The remnants of A Company capitulate as they are overun by tanks. In the centre, two tanks of the Soviet centre company rush for the bridge, as those men of B Company who managed to escape cross over to the home bank:
The British Commander decides that A Company is lost, the survivors of B Company on the far bank will have to swim for it as he gives the order to the engineers to blow the Bridge:
The Bridge collapses into the river and the enemy advance is halted. The Chieftains kill two more T-55s before pulling back from their firing positions.
The battle is a win for the British, although they lose over a third of their infantry and tanks. However; the Soviet advance has been halted for the time being.
The last headlong assault was very costly for the soviet commander. He has lost over half of his tanks and failed to take his main objective, the bridge.
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