Turn 31-30
Things were going great up until now. Starting from turn 31, situation became much less rosy. First, my leading tanks of Motorized 2/1 are ambushed by a hidden engineer squad, which resulted in two M48s destroyed. Lagunari try to push from the south, but the resistance there is fierce, and the tanks of Mot 1/1 that pushed through the southern bridge are hit by Soviet mechanized infantry with one tank lost to RPG fire. But the worst is not that.
The worst came when my aircraft doing air strikes in eastern Orsiglia spotted the equivalent of a tank battalion+ BTR company moving inside the town from the east. At least a company of T72AVs, 1 company of T62Ds and the BTR company push towards my forces. That is definitely a force that the forces of mine that crossed the bridge cannot fight and I have to fall back.In addition to that, I decide to erect a defensive line composed of the tanks of Mech battalion that are not committed to the attack at Correglioli, Cavalry mechanized and armored, as well as any ATGMs I can spare. The defensive line is at (1).
Thanks to this new force, Soviets retake eastern side of the bridges, knocking out the HQ element of 1st tank company supporting Motorized 1/1. However, one T62 is lost from tank fire and one T72 from Milan fire from across the river. Half of T62D company pushes south, destroying a M113 TOW tank destroyer of mine. When they push further, they lose 2 T62s and 4 BTRs from MILANs and close range infantry LAWs and they stop. The other half tries to push through the southern bridge, but my M48s from across the bridge damage one T62D. ATGM fire is less effective vs. T62Ds because of the APS they carry.
Soviet T72 tanks try to push across the northern bridge, but they are halted by tank and ATGM fire. Artillery fire destroys the bridge and sends one T72 into the river. 4 tanks are stranded at the bridge and they are destroyed by M48 fire from close range as well as rifle squad close assaults. That does come at a price though, as 3 M48s are destroyed, with a fourth one heavily damaged and combat ineffective. Mortar fire causes casualties to Soviet MGs and Strela teams.
Lagunari infantry halts the advance of Soviet infantry but suffers heavy losses. Lagunari MGs also cut down any Soviet riflemen trying to cross the southern bridge. Eventually, Soviet armor pushes towards the south bridge, but tank fire and ATGMs cause losses and artillery destroys that bridge as well. By turn 40, things have come to a stalemate. Both sides are at opposite sides of the river, while Portuguese artillery, mortars and air strikes cause significant losses to Soviet infantry and vehicles.
Meanwhile, Mech 2/1 pushes inside Corregiogli, engaging and destroying a mech inf platoon. The sole remaining Hind helicopter makes the advance slower than usual. When they push more, they encounter one more mech inf platoon. Tanks and dismounts engage them. In total 2 out of 4 objectives inside Corregiogli are captured by turn 40.
Motorized 2 battalion also pushes inside Melara, with two out of its 3 companies. BTRs and reserve infantry squads are spotted and eliminated. One dug in T55 fires at a M48 but does not penetrate, and the T55 is destroyed buy overwatching ATGMs from across the river. By turn 40, 4 out of 5 objectives captured in Melara, as a tank duel leaves one M48 and the last T55A destroyed.
Thus, the Soviet counterattack is halted by Portuguese artillery blowing up the bridges and any visible target shelled by mortars and artillery and attacked by tank fire and ATGMs. I do plan to resume the attack, however, with the M48 armor and the reserve mechanized company remaining (3/1). That being said, I doubt I have the time to capture he entirety of Orsiglia, so I just want to recapture at least one bridge. Finally, the methodical advance towards both Corregiogli and Melara bore fruit, both towns almost completely captured with relatively light losses.
Turns 41-50
Things start to get quieter as all parts of Corregiogli and Melara are captured.
A team of a mech ifn platoon of Mech 3/1 and 8 tanks advances towards Old Orsiglia from the south. They lose in total 3 tanks, but they do manage to knock out 2 BMPs and 3 tanks and recapture the eastern part of the southern bridge, aided by mortar strikes and the survivors of the LG. So, as the battle comes to a close, I do recapture the southern bridge, but everything else east of the Po river regarding Orsiglia remains in Soviet hands.