Recently I played a quick game and the scenario was A Delaying Action. This was a great way to show how only three patrol markers and really set the patrol phase in your favor. Most games I've seen played or played in had each player using four deployment markers. The rules state that some scenarios will let you pick between three and four and there has been discussion about the benefit of only three. Well today I found out when playing a delaying action as a the defender, you only get three patrol markers, and it was awesome.
So normally, you and your opponent take turns moving the patrol markers on the board until one side has all of their markers locked down. However, with 4 markers each side I've seen this usually leads to static lines near the center of the board and sometimes doesn't really showcase creative deployments. But, what is really cool I have noticed is that if you play with three markers and your opponent has four, you can force the ending of the patrol phase before your opponent can place to their optimal setting with their fourth marker. In other words, you can stick your opponent with poorly placed markers. With your three, you have a better chance of picking better deployment spots and that is huge.
In today's game, the layout worked in favor of the defending Germans. The Germans did have to place on the far side of a short river with a small bridge crossing. The rest of the board was covered in large expanses of forest. This benefited the Germans as they could cross the bridge quickly and get to good defensive positions on the bridge. The Russians actually got stuck with jump off points in the forests with one jump off point at the back of the board because the three German patrol markers were locked rather early. And I really think that helped the defending Germans because the Russians were forced to place within forests and then really decide how to advance from the woods and into the heavily defended German territory.
The phases played quickly and the Germans were able to get good defensive positions along the bridge defending the jump off point that the Russians needed to secure a victory. One jump off point in a nearby woods did allow the Germans to place along a wood edge in a tactical stance overlooking the potential Russian deployments. As luck would have it, the Russians deployed in the woods and each time they approached the woods edge, they were attacked by waiting Germans on their phases. A good combination of dice rolls and only placing three markers to force an early end to the patrol phase forcing the Russians to not place in optimal places. Basically, the Germans won. Great game because I learned that just using three patrol markers can give you a great placement advantage as the defender. Use them to pin your opponent early and force them into bad placement spots.
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