Slitherine

quote:

Dinglir

Meanwhile, in the center I am going to run, run and then run some more. I intend to establish my first real defense in the area around Smolensk and then let it gradually stiffen all the way to Moscow. This way, the Germans will be at a stiff disadvantage to their supply system once the battle is joined for real. It will also allow me to pour the initial resources north into the defense of Leningrad.

quote:

ORIGINAL: MattFL

Looking forward to this one.

Personally, I wouldn't have stood in the south the way you are and would have hopped all the biggest baddest units on the rails to the north and occupied Kiev and the Dnepr now giving up everything west of that. You are fortunate that his opening didn't net more of your units down there, no sense giving Huw another crack at them. You're even more fortunate that he failed to flip hexes running east, so his infantry isn't going to be able to threaten the Dnepr/Kiev until Turn 4 at the earliest, but which time you could be well entrenched and force him to head to the southeast route. But his panzers may still be able to net a bunch of your guys in their current positions, so will have to wait and see what happens down there.

I'm also not a big fan of the checkerboard style picket lines in the north and center if only because they are too far west. I like putting out some pickets around 2 hexes ahead of my main line, but that far forward and i think they all get encircled without really slowing anything down.

Looking forward to the next manuscript!

Huw Jones has been playing a long time, so I'm sure you'll get a good game from him (though i do remember him mostly playing Soviets from past AAR's....)

quote:

The Center:
I have never really seen the Germans crossing the Dnepr on round two, and I am not so sure I like it. Such a move would leave the Panzers very short of fuel and very far from the backup infantry. If the Soviets rail in massive reinforcements, I fear that it may bite the Germans really hard. But as I said, I have never seen it done, so all this is just speculation on my part.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dinglir


The North:
I credit the checkerboard defense using Airborne Brigades and NKVD Units to HardLuck, who demonstrated it to me rather well in our last game. I have no idea if he can actually claim credit for the idea, but I found that it works well for delaying the German advance.

quote:

ORIGINAL: 821Bobo

Yep, checkerboard is here from day one.

quote:

ORIGINAL: 821Bobo

quote:

The Center:
I have never really seen the Germans crossing the Dnepr on round two, and I am not so sure I like it. Such a move would leave the Panzers very short of fuel and very far from the backup infantry. If the Soviets rail in massive reinforcements, I fear that it may bite the Germans really hard. But as I said, I have never seen it done, so all this is just speculation on my part.

It is long time I played Axis but I have been always trying to get across on T2. Yes, 1-2 Panzer divisions will be most probably pinned down and out of fuel on the east bank, but on the other side having bridgehead will put Soviets out of balance. In the first few turns there is not enough units for proper defense and blocking bridgehead can consume a lot. As a result Soviets will be weaker on other places. Leningrad approaches, landbridge etc.

quote:

Dinglir
In order to do this, I have gone over the Air Regiments type by type, noting how many replacement aircraft is available and setting up the correct number of Air Regiments to receive replacements (ordered by experience). In the instances where I have to few replacement aircraft available, I have set the most
experienced Air Regiments to automatically upgrade the aircraft type.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Telemecus

quote:

Dinglir
In order to do this, I have gone over the Air Regiments type by type, noting how many replacement aircraft is available and setting up the correct number of Air Regiments to receive replacements (ordered by experience). In the instances where I have to few replacement aircraft available, I have set the most
experienced Air Regiments to automatically upgrade the aircraft type.

I noted before you posted this might be a bad process as it ends up leaving a tail of near empty other airgroups - is this a change of policy or are there different reasons here?

quote:

ORIGINAL: MattFL
So right now he has a difficult decision to make but my guess is that next turn you'll have a difficult decision to make. If I'm SHC in this situation, no way I risk losing my best units in a stand up fight with panzers in Estonia. The threat of it is enough to make him act, then the right play is pull them back to safety.

quote:

ORIGINAL: MattFL

Nice update, keep 'em coming.

As for the encircled MOT division in Estonia, he'll definitely get away and my guess is if HJ wants he could try to encircle or zoc lock your 2=5 and 5=5 in the process potentially drawing you into a fight with some of your best units that you don't really want. But this requires a totally wasted turn or even two of PZ Division movement into an area that PZ's shouldn't even really be in delaying any real attack on anything meaningful. It's shocking to see your High CV soviet units in and around that area. It almost forces him to rescue that MOT unit or face serious attack and possible disaster if he remains encircled as you have the CV there to put a real hurt on him. So all in all you have put him to a decision. Of course another option for him is to just ignore your big CV Units and try to smash through the PSKOV line to the western hex of PSKOV while flipping hexes for his infantry next turn and then put you to a decision of whether to pull your big CV units out or risk getting them caught out there even if they rout the MOT unit.

So right now he has a difficult decision to make but my guess is that next turn you'll have a difficult decision to make. If I'm SHC in this situation, no way I risk losing my best units in a stand up fight with panzers in Estonia. The threat of it is enough to make him act, then the right play is pull them back to safety.


In the south, German Panzers seem to be attacking towards Bucharest.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dinglir

quote:

ORIGINAL: Telemecus

quote:

Dinglir
In order to do this, I have gone over the Air Regiments type by type, noting how many replacement aircraft is available and setting up the correct number of Air Regiments to receive replacements (ordered by experience). In the instances where I have to few replacement aircraft available, I have set the most
experienced Air Regiments to automatically upgrade the aircraft type.

I noted before you posted this might be a bad process as it ends up leaving a tail of near empty other airgroups - is this a change of policy or are there different reasons here?

The idea is that all those empty or near empty Air Units will be sitting in the National Reserve waiting for aircraft numbers to be available for replacements.

I have never tried this particular strategy before playing as the Soviets, but I would like to try actually making my airforce capable from the beginning of the game. I guess that having four Air Regiments of 15 fighters is better than having six Air Groups of 10 each. This game, I set out to test my theory.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Telemecus
I suppose you already know that for me it depends on the air doctrine - i would ask but assume it is too sensitive to reveal here. Clearly having ten in an air group of maximum size 20 would be useless if your percentage required to fly was 55%, and dangerous if close to that?