metaphore
Posts: 238
Joined: 9/4/2021
Status: offline
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1941 Campaign
Axis player / Novice -> Semi-Experienced (> 500 hrs?)
Normal* difficulty (FOW; Mvmt FOW; Enhanced Player TB control)
1.00.11 -> 1.01.09
HWM 457
*The Challenge was to capture every Objective City at least during the same turn as indicated in the Victory Schedule;
*No Air Directive used (Air superiority, recon, bombing, etc.) except Naval interdiction with Rumanians and a single Ju 88 Geschwader.
=> Challenge failed 31 Aug 1941 (T11)
Axis Commander was executed for failing to take Dnepropetrovsk on turn 10.
I've tried, but a brand new thick and strong red wall was immediately teleported to defend it. Trying to capture Dnepropetrovsk by brute force during this turn would have seriously crippled the whole Panzer force South of the Pripyats Marshes making other objectives impossible to achieve in time. It's very probable that I would have failed to take it anyway.
Consequently, the city won't fall before at least a couple of turns unless the Soviet AI will retreat from this sector when the German spearheads will bypass it South and/or North (probably also giving up to defend around Zaporozhye) - Tallinn/Kiev/Odessa were left to be isolated the same way. Nonetheless, Odessa garrison is still rated at 254! despite full isolation for several turns... On top of it, hundreds of tons of supplies were actually airlifted to this place well within range of several full groups of 109! Hence, I'm also guessing (with good reasons) that I won't be able to take it anytime soon or I will probably fail here too.
As for Rzhev... then Kalinin... hmm.
I still can't figure out how to achieve those in time without bleeding to death all my infantry divisions and not being able to advance anywhere else. In another try at the same game, I've taken Vyazma on turn 3, Smolensk and Velikie Luki both felt on turn 2. Ten turns later, I was still struggling to avoid a complete isolation of the main part of this front without any hope to complete those objective in time. The red wall was reconstitued much faster than I could advance. Of course, It became stronger and stronger, then deeper and deeper!
If the push in one direction become too obvious, due to the concentration of mobile forces, the AI will just build wall after wall of units all the way to this objective. I can trick it by pretending that I will strike there but strike somewhere else, usually at the limit of my mobile forces MPs. But it doesn't work at all in dense terrain or bad weather. Obviously, MP cost is the issue considering the AI ability to withdraw forces all over the front in order to build a very dense unit wall from one turn to another (regardless of terrain cost and communications, even in normal difficulty settings).
Losses Axis
Manpower: 193K (53K KIA)
AFV: 322
Aircraft: 203
Losses Soviet
Manpower: 2,052K (1,581K POW)
AFV: 8,169
Aircraft: 6,277
Soviet Div. Destroyed: 173
Armor Div.: 23
Mech Div.: 10
Infantry Div.: 117
Cavalry Div.: 16
Mountain Div.: 6
Security Div.: 1
On map Soviet Manpower: 3,494K (at the start of turn 11)
(curiously, even the Soviet theater box manpower total is actually slowly raising)
Soviet manpower influx here is a major issue too.
From the AAR posted here, in multiplayer games, this total at the same stage (with equivalent losses) is about 1M less manpower for the soviet on map. I've kept the Soviet Army growth under 3.5M for 10 turns with constant pocketing but at one point (soon!), I would have had to take a break while the Soviet will be 1M stronger in the meantime. Yet, 15 Soviet Div. + Odessa garrison are still waiting to surrender. Nonetheless, the above means that the average losses that the Axis need to inflict each turn is well over 200K in order to limit the growth of the Soviet force to something manageable (If someone want to reach all those objectives representing historical frontline and timeline).
Last, during those 10 turns, I didn't experience a single Soviet counterattack... while, at the same time, I was pocketing or holding the line with some very weak regiments at 0 CPP and 100 fatigue!
AI behaviour is also quite boring: build a red wall as dense and deep as possible all the way to the objective, magically withdraw everything (not fully pocketed) when it's outflanked and start the same thing again and again.
Even the AI air activity was reduced to barely nothing (recon) just after a few turns.
I guess it's the reason why the Red Army is growing and growing like that: it's simply not fighting.
(*edit: typos)
< Message edited by metaphore -- 9/17/2021 1:27:37 AM >
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