hugh04
Posts: 165
Joined: 9/14/2011 Status: offline
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I would like to suggest a variant of the axis 41 strategy that may be able to hurt an aware competent soviet player. Lets assume that the south is going to end up as a large space for time play by the soviets. No matter how many troops are added to the axis southern drive, if the soviet is willing to trade land for space he can preserve his army. Axis response is to add no reinforcements for the south and eventually to remove much of the artillery and all the engineer su's from the south for use elsewhere. Take all the population centers on offer. The key to the axis summer drive is soviet attrition, not encirclement. Every unit on every front will attempt to participate in a deliberate assualt every turn. This most definitely includes panzers. Encirlcements will eventually be a result of attrition not a primary cause. The goal is to beat down every 3 str inf div and every arm div to str 1 ants. In the north, concentrate the 18, pz1 and 1/2 of 16th army between the middle of the luga and narvogrod. The goal is to have at least 6 stacks of inf and 2 3stacks of panzers fully supported by engineers and artillery pounding away as early as possible. The goal is to force the soviet to use recenlty routed units in the front line, as this means more routes and more casualties. Eventually, the soviet will break. However, if the north is the only place this is happening, the soviet will be able to take the pounding. The center is the key. All original (5) panzer corp stay in the center. The landbridge is attacked on turn 2 and you never ever let up. If a panzer unit has 21 mps, that means you can move 3 hexes and make a deliberate attack. You do not care about terrain or really anything, the goal is to get a deliberate attack using as many of your units as possible. There is no flank protection. Flanks are places that single or double stacked german inf can launch deliberate attacks. Again, the strategy for every turn is to maximize the amount of german units participating in deliberate attacks. The end goal of this stratetgy is a soviet army made up of exhausted strength 1 and 2 units. Soviet stacks of 3 units whose cv is 3, 4 or 5 are ripe to be rounted, no matter what fortification level or terrain. The challenge for the axis is very active su management so artillery and engineers are in the right place at the right time. If 4 to 5 engineers are in a deliberate attack level 2 and even level 3 forts simply melt away as if they are not there. Since soviets will fight for leningrad and moscow, axis forces will be able to make these attacks. I will post an AAR of a game I am in right now. It is turn 16. Leningrad fell around turn 10 and Moscow was isolated at the end of the german turn 16. 2.9 million soviet casualties with atleast 200k in pockets at end of axis turn 16. Outside of pockets there are maybe 2 or 3 soviet inf div with a strength of 3, there are 30 to 40 routed units. In the south the soviet has completely dominated the axis by giving ground as needed and stiffening where possible. While I do not believe I have won, the soviet has been hurt, his army bled and there is still 1 more clear and 3 snow turns left before blizzard. The soviet army size is 4.1mm. This has not been done with dashing encirclements but rather blunt, staightforward bashing with artillery, engineers and the luftwaffe in support. Axis forces were concentrated, flanks ignored for the most part. And the rule every turn was to try to get every unit to participate in a deliberate assualt every turn. Every unit meant every panzer too. Unrelenting pressure through deliberate attacks can reduce the soviet army. If the soviet does not allow pockets, then don't try for them just do a straight ahead boring beat down. Applied without mercy and everywhere you can, it is an effective strategy. vandev
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