Crackaces
Posts: 3858
Joined: 7/9/2011 Status: offline
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From my perspective, in terms of combing strategy, operational maneuver, and tactical decisions, WITE is one of the most brilliant war games to date. The player(s) that only focus on one or two of these facets will be at a disadvantage against players that understand how strategy, operational maneuver, and tactics are integrated into this game. I propose that the tactics of this game are expressed in the use of SU's. Many wargames have a combat value (offensive and defensive) and a combat results table. The old war colleges exclaimed that 3:1 was ratio needed to guarantee victory, and many wargames, especially AH, used this mantra to design relatively dimensionally flat wargames. WITE is very very different. WITE deftly integrates a concept of firepower into the combat results. I have written volumes in AAR's and I have posted in various places my understanding of firepower. But in summary, it is a very complex game of Rochambeau, or "rock. paper, scissors" Except you have light, medium, and heavy armor, dive bombers and level bombers, infantry and infantry weapons, and artillery. If those combinations are not enough, within these categories are good and bad match ups. The combinations are made complex by the famous (or infamous ) Grisby die roll. There are leadership checks, morale checks .... With all this complexity it is very easy to be overwhelmed and just think CV and 2:1 ... The Soviet's are discussing discovering the Panzer divisions. From a high level these units represent 5 CV per medium tank. What is not being discussed (at least in this AAR) is the SU's required to neutralize the German tanks, and directly lower the CV per unit. One huge advantage of blizzard -- blizzard light or the harsh blizzard is the fact that damaged AFV's have a die roll for destroyed. From a tactical (and strategic over time) perspective I am expecting anti-tank SU's either in the units or on map AT units. The skeptical Soviet will exclaim that the AT guns are worthless but a 45mm matched up vs a Pz II will damage and possibly outright destroy the device. Out of 50 tanks match up against say 5 and you have a 10% cut in armor. But I am not seeing this thus far. Thus, I feel pretty good that the exchange in terms of blood for space and time will be a profitable one... From my perspective the Soviets see winter and the ability to cut through the German lines like butter. Reality is that an aggressive German commander willing to sacrifice manpower and devices can put up a good fight. Quite possibly not only flounder the Soviet plan -- but set up a strategic advantage for the summer.
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"What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we know for sure that just ain't so"
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