Arad is a recreation of a battle between Soviet and German forces that occurred along the Hungarian border in September of 1944. Of the various map types within Red Orchestra, Arad is considered to be a tank map. It's very open, with rolling countryside populated sparsely by groups of trees, two villages, and some other buildings scattered about. A small, easily fordable river winds through the countryside, spanned by a short bridge that connects the two villages.

In terms of structure, Arad is a fairly symmetrical map. At the beginning of a round, each side starts with two objectives. The Soviets start at the north side of the map holding an open field (North Field) and a village (North Village). The Germans start at the south side of the map holding an open field (South Field) and a village (South Village). In order to win the round, a side must capture and hold all four objectives.

Given sufficient forces, a general strategy for either side could have armor concentrate on taking/holding the open fields while infantry focused on the villages. Sending infantry to the open fields just doesn't seem like a good idea to me, as an alert enemy can use armor to decimate them in short order. However, in the villages, infantry can use the buildings for cover and concealment. Armor in this close environment is highly susceptible to both sappers and anti-tank infantry, as well as artillery called in by enemy Commanders.

I haven't yet figured out the best way to use armor. So far the games on this map typically involve a quick thrust by armor toward the enemy's open field, but these fields can be hard to take because each lies so close to the enemy's rear. Reinforcements are fairly close at hand for the defending team, so the attacker must maintain a strong presence in the area if he is to capture and hold a field. It seems the fields are where the stalemates occur most often, with each side's armor eventually taking up covered positions and blasting away at each other across the plains.

Perhaps capturing the villages first is the key. A coordinated infantry/armor push on a village, supported by an initial artillery barrage, could gain a strong foothold. This could be enough of a threat to draw the enemy's tanks into the village, exposing them to anti-tank infantry while leaving their field unprotected. Then, with both villages captured, a push could be made on the enemy's remaining field from multiple directions. This might work if it could be executed quickly enough to prevent the enemy from mounting an effective counterattack.

Any ideas?