I'm the Worst Player, and other Musings

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I'm the Worst Player, and other Musings - 8/27/2016 6:52:56 PM

bdiamond

Posts: 29
Joined: 9/24/2009
Status: offline

For the life of me, I can't seem to make it past Smolensk/Kiev/Narva. By the time I hit this area, the Soviets seem stronger, and well entrenched, and my Panzers are pretty chewed up, despite a rest. What's the secret?

Also, I often have to think, did the more pragmatic of the German generals look at this vast expanse of land, and just think to themselves how futile the whole damn thing was? My humble opinion, the war was lost on June 22nd, 1941. How the hell did they ever think they could succeed?

Anyway, time to think about starting a new game! It's early September, and my armies are pretty much finished in the east.

Post #: 1

RE: I'm the Worst Player, and other Musings - 8/27/2016 10:53:12 PM

JervisBay

Posts: 34
Joined: 1/1/2012
Status: offline

I'm no expert but just a few thoughts.

I recall it's very discouraging facing a wall of second-echelon russian stacks from Narva to Kiev, just as your own armies tire. In the initial advance I try to remember to manoeuvre and isolate rather than fight with my mobile units to save them and try to get bridgeheads across major rivers instead, but its tempting when there are so many targets. Then rest and change posture to offensive, while the infantry catch up - handily, this usually coincides with a fuel crisis as well.

Once facing the wall though you have to change expectations for at least six weeks, finding the weaker stacks, using optimal odds, isolating just one or two at a time so that Ivan gets weaker and weaker, until hopefully you can get back into a manoeuvre and surround phase again before the mud hits in mid-october. Often though, its down to only one or two crucial attacks that begin that final collapse, so check you have artillery and air support where they are needed and whether any precious cards can be played.

Russian reinforcements I think are much sparser in the autumn and the lighter-coloured conscript units are often very brittle - you can check the opposing units to see if they have any heavy equipment.

Good Luck in a great game.

(in reply to bdiamond)

Post #: 2

RE: I'm the Worst Player, and other Musings - 8/29/2016 1:32:15 AM

demyansk

Posts: 2840
Joined: 2/20/2008
Status: offline

I am the worst, lost to jzborg in 29 turns, just horrible playing

(in reply to bdiamond)

Post #: 3

RE: I'm the Worst Player, and other Musings - 8/29/2016 10:24:39 AM

Turenip

Posts: 5
Joined: 5/2/2016
Status: offline

It is a rough spot. It can help if you have a fast enough start on Turn 1 - you can encircle the central army by pushing as forward as you can with your infantry, and then sending in armour to complete the encirclement after they're done. The game is complex and small steps can have large repercussions.

Be sure your panzergruppe has a Focus card played on it. I've also found that the high-octane fuel processed as a part of a decision can be very helpful here. It's fuel processed from soviet airplanes, I think, not sure, decision options offer either "ONE PANZERGRUPPE" or "TWO PANZERGRUPPEN".

Do not be discouraged, the massing of second echelons at Smolensk is definitely a challenge, even for me as an experienced player. Once I bypassed them by sending the newly deployed army through the Pinsk marches, making them appear at Gomel and effectively outflanking the enemy. Another time, I've advanced from the north, through the plains.

Also a tip: It's useful to play with players your skill level. If you're a beginner, playing other beginners is a good way to figure out the mechanics, as you discern the small individual steps to success, rather than being faced with an indiscernibly complex winning strategy.

Best of luck!

< Message edited by Turenip -- 8/29/2016 10:25:37 AM >

(in reply to demyansk)

Post #: 4