Nix77
Posts: 561
Joined: 10/2/2016
From: Finland
Status: offline
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Here's a picture from my recent game. I broke through the blue front line with several infantry deliberate attacks, and then poured in 3 corps of panzers to lock the movement of the strongest Soviet units.
Optimal situation is of course that you'd make two breakthroughs, here another should have been along the red arrow, but I just didn't have enough punch for that. So this is a semi-finished pockets, the units inside aren't isolated, but are ZoC-locked ie. they can't move that much, but they can make forceful counterattacks. That's why I've tried to double up the divisions on every hex of the (semi)encirclement.
Complete encirclement is what you're normally looking for, but in this case I had the chance to start destroying the strongest divisions of the Red Army, so I settled for a half-finished product :)
Optimal pocket would also have 30-mile wide breakthroughs (yellow hex should've been cleared too), so you can pass through the hole without hindrance, and supply would flow through better on the following turn. I have also tried to avoid clear hexes, so that counterattacks wouldn't be that effective.
Another method of pocketing, if you have the MPs stashed up on your panzer corps, is to convert lot of hexes behind the Soviet front and isolate them without creating a wall of surrounding units. Here you can leave a thinner screen of panzers, since the converted hexes make it more difficult for the Soviet player to move and counterattack. Having the +1 Soviet attack bonus selected makes thin encirclements screens more risky. If you feel confident, use regiments (split divisions with "b") to spread your ZOC as wide as possible. This works especially well on the beginning turns.
Couple of main points:
- Infantry with pioneers close by the breakthrough point, preferably disengaged from the front and rested. They will break the line.
- Built-up panzer corps ready close by to exploit the hole. Bonus for waiting 3 hexes away from the front in non-clear terrain for surprise effect! :)
- It's a good thing to have extra infantry that don't participate to attacks to exploit and guard the first hexes of the breakthrough and secure supply through it. This leaves panzers more MPs to move in deep.
- If you have spare MPs, convert as many hexes as you can, that makes it difficult to escape and bring in rescue divisions
- Beware any high morale mobile cavalry, they can often ruin a perfect pocket
- Tip for the Soviets: bring in air supply to the pockets, the CV values will rise considerably. Use night missions if there's heavy LW fighter presence. If you have spare SAD bases, keep those inside any expected future pockets. They can spread to supply evenly for the units inside the pocket, or enable 100% air supply efficiency for the units in same hex or adjacent (only bases that have not moved).
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< Message edited by Nix77 -- 2/1/2017 12:04:13 PM >
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Pocket building for beginners? - 
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