RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (Full Version)

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Mehring -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 9:35:19 AM)

Fast forward to T26.

Here you have routing Romanians everywhere. It's fun, it's good for our morale, atrites the enemy and promises to bestow guards status on our combat units.

[image]local://upfiles/23816/82D87F88E10F4DB38B50628FCA6A9B2D.jpg[/image]



Mehring -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 9:55:14 AM)

But by t32, he's holding his line with German regiments and with my extended lines of communication, picking away at them costs me more than it does him.

The Crimean Front has retaken Stalino and Makeevka (never lost Gorlovka) but...

[image]local://upfiles/23816/A02031E4876C48D99F5E626130170EB3.jpg[/image]



Mehring -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 9:57:21 AM)

... here's the problem-

[image]local://upfiles/23816/9FE4B33EE7144A58A12ABD62CCD8A154.jpg[/image]



Mehring -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 10:08:30 AM)

It will be spring before I'm able to reconnect the Crimean railnet and in spite of a successful amphibious landing at Odessa and pushing to the outskirts of Krivoi Rog and Nikolaev I can go no further. My units are hopelessly depleated and attrition wears them down faster than the enemy. More units are rotating to and from the front than actually man the front. I have to withdraw and the Odessa operation proves an expensive mistake, costing me a Cavalry Corps and guards Division.

This front is undoubtedly a thorn in the enemy's side but it is not, and cannot be a strategic issue because of that rail net. By holding on here, you can cause your enemy anxiety and pain and perhaps lay the foundations for a future strategic offensive, if you have the forces to invest in it. That won't be for a while though and if you're stretched thin, I say again, don't build up unrealistic hopes in this front.

[image]local://upfiles/23816/3F220399D14247BC886252EF01A3AA9E.jpg[/image]



Erik Rutins -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 2:02:37 PM)

Good counterpoint, Mehring. I guess I see it as a zero sum game for the Germans. If they are forced to defend an extended line at the start of the winter, with Rumanian divisions on the front lines, that is far better than having them defend a shorter line with only German divisions. If the Soviets rout the Rumanians and force the Germans to redeploy more German divisions to the Crimea / Dnepr front, it means that other areas of the line will be even weaker during the Blizzard, making it more likely that attacks along the southern front could shatter it and lead to greater gains by Spring. I don't think Crimea on its own can roll up the German line, but I think it is a major strategic plus to the likely effectiveness of the Blizzard counter-offensive.

Regards,

- Erik



Flaviusx -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 3:58:35 PM)

I'd push that crimean bulge hard all the way to the end of January, and then withdraw back to the chokepoints. Don't let him pull a backhand blow during March snows.



Q-Ball -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 4:05:31 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Flaviusx

I'd push that crimean bulge hard all the way to the end of January, and then withdraw back to the chokepoints. Don't let him pull a backhand blow during March snows.


This is the plan. Trying to hold all that empty ground is suicidal; the Germans can take 2-3 hexes at the bottleneck on HQ buildup, and everybody is cooked. There is also nothing really worth defending above the bottlenecks, just empty space and a few villages.

The principal is this:

Long Lines in Winter = Soviet advantage. Make them as long as possible. I am actively trying to do this.

Long Lines in Summer 42 = German advantage. You need to tighten up, or you are exposed to massive pocketing.

I understand Mehring's point, but I'm not trying to open a permanent front like he did.

I am trying to cut the rail line along the Dnepr from Nikolev, which right now is the only one to Stalino area. I am trying to force Tarhunnas to divert units from elsewhere, and/or pull back from the Donbas. Then run. the bigger I make the bulge, the more units he will need to contain it, regardless of how strong those units are. Forcing him to pull units from elsewhere in the front will pay dividends. Minus the Crimea bulge, he already has 95+ hexes to cover with non-Finns, which should stretch the Wehrmacht.

A summer defense is ONLY feasible, IMO, if you can secure the Dnepr river all the way through Dnepropetrovsk. I probably can't.

PS: Mehring, I also think routing piles of Romanians isn't a bad result anyway. Though they are not Germans, a) that will chew-up armament points, and b) the Germans need every man in the line they can get their hands on, regardless of quality. The fewer Romanians around, the more the Wehrmacht has to carry the load.



Ketza -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 4:11:58 PM)

My game against 76mm I was able to destroy quite a few units in this area during snow. Its a deathtrap for Soviets in the spring.



Mehring -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 4:13:35 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

Good counterpoint, Mehring. I guess I see it as a zero sum game for the Germans. If they are forced to defend an extended line at the start of the winter, with Rumanian divisions on the front lines, that is far better than having them defend a shorter line with only German divisions. If the Soviets rout the Rumanians and force the Germans to redeploy more German divisions to the Crimea / Dnepr front, it means that other areas of the line will be even weaker during the Blizzard, making it more likely that attacks along the southern front could shatter it and lead to greater gains by Spring. I don't think Crimea on its own can roll up the German line, but I think it is a major strategic plus to the likely effectiveness of the Blizzard counter-offensive.

Regards,

- Erik

There are two factors in this game to which I give a lot of weight and which make me doubt whether the Russian can achieve anything more than a good handful of victories and a modest advance.

Firstly, unless I'm mistaken, the Axis player in this game is one of the most skillful around. If that's correct, I think it very unlikely that when his Romanians rout- and they will- he will panic and over react with a massive German defensive redeployment to the Dnepr, thus significantly weakening his line elsewhere.

Secondly, and following from the first, with just a small investment of German troops the line will stabilise and reform. From that point onwards, and more so the more the Russians advance, the relation of investement shifts sharply in the German's favour. If for every German regiment bolstering the Romanian line there are 3 or even 4 Russian divisions (one on the front, the other two or three travelling to and from refitting), we have diminishing returns to the extent that the German is actually weakening the Russian ability to make powerful attacks elsewhere. It becomes very expensive for the Russian even to maintain a cohesive front line, let alone attack.

I should add that what my screen shots don't show is the Black sea and Azov ports, later the westernmost railheads, crammed with depleted divisions hoping for some replacements. This is not a sure thing at the best of times, let alone with such damaged industry and loss of population centres as Q-Ball has suffered.

If the Axis forces are in reasonable shape there is also a danger, increasingly pronounced as winter advances and its effects on them soften, that the Germans will be able to mount a counter-attack on any Russian deployment north of the Dnepr, with very unfortunate consequences. I was lucky in this respect, but I had air superiority and a good fleet of recce planes hard at work all through winter.



Mehring -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 4:21:19 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

PS: Mehring, I also think routing piles of Romanians isn't a bad result anyway. Though they are not Germans, a) that will chew-up armament points, and b) the Germans need every man in the line they can get their hands on, regardless of quality. The fewer Romanians around, the more the Wehrmacht has to carry the load.

Don't get me wrong, I love routing Romanians. It's delicious. All I'm saying is there's no strategic advantage to be gained at this point and to be wary of the risks. I agree with your plan to hit and run though, you'll do better than I did.



hfarrish -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 5:44:40 PM)

I did use this strategy in one of my PBEMs and I thought it worked pretty well...albeit under old blizzard rules (and I started with a lot less bridgehead than you, Q-Ball). It is possible to do the link up - really essential if the plan is worth a damn, but Mehring is right, you have to get and secure that rail link. Otherwise your Crimean forces will be a total mess by the end of the blizzard and ripe for a pretty harsh counterattack.




Q-Ball -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 9:24:44 PM)

Turn 23: SNOW

Tarhunnas has stopped his Snow Offensive. He cleared the Industry out of the DONBAS, but other than that, he's pretty much done.

I was hoping he would continue to push it; I will post detailed stats next turn, but his losses I think are high for this stage: 838,000, including 8,300 Guns and 3,914 AFVs. Mine are over 3.3 mil now and will probably touch 3.5 mil just before the Blizzard. Not great, but acceptable.

But he did the prudent thing, which is halt and get the shovels out. He has some lvl-2 and 3 up already (Germans are good diggers), but there are still some soft-spots in the line that I see.

Attached is a shot of the line: It's long. Very long.

In general I hope to make it longer; I am attacking out of salients, forcing him to either lengthen the line further, or just fall back out of prepared positions. At that point, I hope to uncork further attacks up and down the line. That's the theory anyway, it's easier to make Red Arrows on a Map than it is to actually pull it off.

Crimea: Good feedback here on the forum! It is an interesting debate on what to do/not to do with the Crimea. A subject in itself.

It is suddenly getting more attention from Tarhunnas; 2 divisions are now on the Dnepr, including the "Ersatz 10th Motorized". The original was destroyed in Moscow. The new one has a CV of 4. I guess they are just "average" now. I bet I see the 3rd and 20th before too long.

[image]local://upfiles/6931/EC7F5254A4A145EC8B8779F8C4C66605.jpg[/image]



wpurdom -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 9:56:23 PM)

Kudos on your morale recovery. You did very well with the psychological trick of pretending you were taking over someone else's game and taking a fresh look. As Nemo121 discusses in some of his recent postings, normally when someone takes a blow like you did, they either try increasingly desperate measures, or lose the ability to contest the initiative. After the uncharacteristic, egregious error of leaving a couple of vital cities unprotected, your play seems to have been as exemplary as possible in a FOW game.



Mehring -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 10:22:21 PM)

Not sure about arty but his losses in men and AFV are indeed heavy. His units should be quite depleted and vulnerable. I hope you have some sinew left in your divisions to make the most of December.

What about aircraft? Nobody ever mentions aircraft!



randallw -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 11:10:07 PM)

Getting some construction brigades ordered up will help fix the rail lines much quicker; two of them can handle one hex in a single turn.



Klydon -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/16/2011 11:43:22 PM)

Part of the issue is there won't be any rail lines repaired that are within 5 of a Axis unit. 



Sabre21 -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/17/2011 1:17:17 AM)

Using your map, I placed the red/pink arrows in areas that I would make my intital assaults. The green arrows would be follow on assaults providing the red/pink proved satisfactory.

In that area I placed the blue circle, if you hit that bulge you will force it to retreat or face envelopment which will create a bigger bulge that if you have additional armies in training to take over in January, should be able to press north towards Moscow where few forts currently are. This could result in him facing a large envelopment in the center.

Further south near Kharkov and the Crimea, I would strike out with the intent to envelop Kharkov and then yurn southwest towards D-town providing the initial battles were favorable. The Crimea pocket would try and cross the major river and head to D-town from the south. Here again he would be faced with a major pocket and may be forced to withdraw.

I would keep the pressure up along the line to limit his transfer of units to threatened areas.

Your armies you start the blizzard with will run out of steam after about 4 or 5 turns so you will need fresh armies ready to take their place or at least have several spare good divisions that you can rotate out for heavily damaged ones.

Both of the bigger envelopment plans are overly ambitious but will at least force him to react to you. I'm also not sure how well the Soviets will do considering all the channges that have taken place over the last few beta patches.



[image]local://upfiles/3042/D2182631936246D490DFDB78BAF31D6D.jpg[/image]



hfarrish -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/17/2011 1:41:38 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: randallw

Getting some construction brigades ordered up will help fix the rail lines much quicker; two of them can handle one hex in a single turn.


Hopefully he would have hordes of them by now...



randallw -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/17/2011 2:44:18 AM)

PDH probably likes that map quite a bit.



Q-Ball -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/17/2011 4:50:54 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Sabre21



[image]local://upfiles/3042/D2182631936246D490DFDB78BAF31D6D.jpg[/image]


Sabre:

Really nice Map. This helps, though my plan has some differences. Alot of that is because I can see the ground better, you guys just see dots on a strategic map.

The Blue Bulge is actually Panzers; we won't be pocketing those, and I think they are pulling back out of that salient, which is a wise move.

I am making a big push in front of Moscow; that one is obvious. But the line there isn't great; I have pushed 3 Infantry divisions BEFORE the Blizzard.

North, around Vishny Volochek, I am attacking; weak sector, plus I want to cut the rail line.

I am enveloping Kharkov; north of the town, I am committing a SHOCK army. This Army is loaded with good units. South of town, I also sent fresh Rifle units to punch a hole. Kharkov is a big target given the rail lines.

I am also attacking heavily south of Stalino, and out of the Crimea.

All of this, I hope, will cause him to pull-off the Sea of Azov and make a general withdrawl.

That is a good point on RESERVE units; I have most of my good units toward the front now. I am pulling back all currently "Unready" units to set to REFIT, to feed to the fire once our first-line is spent. I also have a strategic reserve of around 12 good rifle Divisions spread in various spots. I don't think that's quite enough though. I probably need to plan better in this area.

I do have a Reserve Cavalry Army; I plan to make 4 Cav Corps Dec 1, and deploy this big force where I seem to be making the most progress.

ONE LAST NOTE: Tarhunnas has failed to garrison the port between Nikolev and Odessa (Ostrakov? or something like that). We have a house rule limiting Amphib to 3000, but I will be dropping a couple units there. Why not? That should be extra irritating!

Production:

See the current production below. Not great, but somehow, I still have an Armament surplus. Is this typical? I thought Soviet players were reporting Arm shortages.

I have taken alot of steps to limit Armament Burn, like disbanding AT Bdes, Not building any support units except Construction Bdes. I have disbanded some Motorcycle Regts, which are Armament Hogs, to provide replacements for the remaining ones. I have disbanded some AA units. I even disbanded 3 203mm Regts to provide some replacements so I don't build any. I guess all of this worked, because I have enough Rifles to go around. Maybe disbanding a couple high-Arm Hog units for replacements is a good idea.

I need to make more Tanks, but I saved all the Tank factories, so I suppose that's typical.

[image]local://upfiles/6931/DE24A3AB399F468589BFC46C4F722226.jpg[/image]



vlcz -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/17/2011 8:00:23 AM)

quote:

around Vishny Volochek, I am attacking; weak sector, plus I want to cut the rail line....
I am also attacking heavily south of Stalino...


I would be wary with those sideshows, it is easy be driven by an "attacking because I can" mood, but those forces sometimes could be better used as reserves for the main effort.

Soviet attacks are basically casualties exchanges, concentrating your force in few areas concentrates his casualties.

And if you suceed in the kharkhov operation he will retreat from stalino indeed.



Q-Ball -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/17/2011 10:21:35 PM)

Turn 24: Last Before Blizzard


D-Day
Tarhunnas had a brain fart, because he left Ochakov completely uncovered. In our game, we have a house rule limiting Amphib landings to 3,000, which I did. That's still enough, though, to get 2 Divisions and 2 Bdes ashore, and cause havoc. This will really be a problem for him.

He really has 3 choices, all pretty horrible: 1) Divert a Panzer Corps, and attempt to wipe out my guys, 2) divert about 6-8 units to contain them, or 3) ignore them while they rampage the railway.

Lesson to all Axis Players: Drop a Romanian Division in Ochakov sometime during Mud. If they are dug-in, they can't be moved.

Elsewhere:
Not much to report; I made one failed attack, and then thought: Why expend energy now, when I can hit some units next turn that are depleted? So we didn't attack.

We moved all kinds of units stacked up on the front. I hate to tip my hand like that, but I want as many MPs available as possible, and at any rate, it's not easy to shift units in Blizzard.

I am holding Reserve Divisions behind the front, and forming 2nd Shock Army around Voronezh. I don't have the HQ yet, but I am holding some 2-4 CV Rifle units for 2nd Shock. By the time I get the HQ, I should have a good idea on destination.

Losses to date:
I forgot to take screenshots, but the Germans are up to 870,000 in losses before the Blizzard; we topped 3.4 mil.

Current OOB: Germans at 3.3 mil, and we just topped 5 mil.

Blizzard: With the Crimea bulge, and big pushes on either side of Kharkov, plus several line-extending ideas I have, I foresee that Tarhunnas is going to pull off the Sea of Azov, and back toward Dnepropetrovsk. In fact, the way he has his units arranged makes me think he is thinking this. Not sure. but I think he's going to have to surrender alot of ground here.

[image]local://upfiles/6931/4AE8D894BDB544F5B567F92E55864CAC.jpg[/image]



Mehring -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/17/2011 11:10:47 PM)

I'd say getting 9 of his Divs along the Dnepr is a triumph of sorts if you can attack elsewhere.

Your air losses are around average in my experience, but I would have wanted to bag another 1000 or so German planes by now.

That's a nice trick detailing the Axis rail net. Think I'll borrow that.

Some comparisons with T25 of my current

air war-

[image]local://upfiles/23816/B76127E9B00442AF987345FD3E789F2C.jpg[/image]



Mehring -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/17/2011 11:21:13 PM)

...and production. I made no effort to conserve armaments and really was a bit uneconomical with my arty SU construction. On the other hand I lost the Leningrad factories so they weren't eating anything.

[image]local://upfiles/23816/06FC933871E544689A96F1549CDA85A1.jpg[/image]



Sabre21 -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/18/2011 2:56:00 PM)

In the future amphib operations will be limited. The 3000 pts per turn I think will also include transport ability from what I gather from Pavel. That figure may change slightly one way or another. From what he tells me, there probably will be no amphib operations outside of the Crimea, so attacking that one port like you did might not be doable in future patches (1.05?)



Q-Ball -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/18/2011 5:27:30 PM)

T-25: First Turn of Blizzard

Overall, I was pleased with the turn, and I think I am presenting Tarhunnas with some serious problems, incluidng a few units that will have to be rescued.

TACTICAL PLAN: One of my objectives is to get German units in a "Bear Hug". Rarely do you have the mobility to completely surround a unit, but by putting divisions on either side of it, the Wehrmacht Infantry can only move 1-hex Backward. If the flanks around that divisions are being pushed back faster than that, eventually that unit will be surrounded and destroyed. This is the plan; I put several units in "Bear Hugs" this turn. They will all be rescued, but I hope to get Tarhunnas in a continuous Hug-Rescue-Hang-On loop that will cause massive German losses on ground he doesn't want to defend.

North:

The Finns are attacking Leningrad Front. I have really not given them anything, because there isn't much up there. At some point I will have to address that, like if the Finns are approaching Cherepovets, but aside from that, I don't care.

Around VISHNY VOLOCHECK, I already cut the rail line from Leningrad to Moscow. I probably will not reinforce this area, but I would like to at least re-take Torzhok and Vishny, because I might be able to hold them long-term, and reap the Manpower

In front of MOSCOW, Tarhunnas fell back 2 hexes, so my advances were limited. The Troops in front of Moscow are not very strong, and I don't see any reserves. I wonder if he is giving up Moscow. I hand't planned on a direct push on Moscow, but we're going to push if he's going to let us. In about 2 turns, he has to fight or let me have it.

Center:
The Germans pulled out of the salient from Ryazan to Tula, and abandoned Ryazan. There is a Panzer Army defending Tula, as he needs that rail junction, so I am pushing on them.

Further south, I have a good breakthrough going north of OREL, taking over the first line of forts and going 2-hexes deep along that front. This attack is Northwest, which should force him to either lengthen his lines, or further pull back between Moscow and Tula.

Kharkov: This is a major objective; I have a good start on each side of town.

North of Kharkov, and south of Kursk, 1st Shock Army blew away the German front. We are rolling here. Belgorod also was surrounded; temporarily for sure. Tarhunnas is shifting his Mountain units NORTH toward this break; that will slow 1st Shock for sure, though open up possibilities further south.

South of Kharkov, SW Front is accross that river, which disappears next turn anyway in the Snow. There is a Panzer corps south of town.

South:
This is where things are getting out of hand for Tarhunnas quickly.

See picture, we are pinching Stalino; if things go well on the flanks, I think we can HUG and overrun a unit or two as they withdraw to the West.

I have a CAVALRY ARMY forming and moving forward here; this Army consists of 4 Entire Cavalry Corps that I have been hoarding, with Sapper and tank attachments. These guys are going to be trouble for the Germans........

On the CRIMEA front, Tarhunnas has now committed a total of 19 German Divisions. So, if I wanted to divert troops, missions accomplished. We broke through defenses south of the Dnepr, which weren't terrible strong, further evidence I think he is doing a major pullback.

The landing around Ochakov, though, is going to turn into my Dunkirk! Tarhunnas has 4 divisions there now, and bombed the port to bits, so I can't get the units out. They are on beachhead supply now. I think they are toast; 2 divisons, plus 2 tank Bdes. Oh well, at least they tied down some Germans.

Reserves:

Given that my units around Stalino are likely to be doing more marching than fighting, I am moving all my reserves from this area to KURSK. I want to push west there, and create a massive bulge that will stretch his lines. This is one reserve army.

Another Reserve Army, 2nd shock, is forming around Voronezh. Next turn I will pick a destination, but there are many tempting choices......

Panzers: As a sign that Tarhunnas is stretched, nearly all his Panzers are on the front. I haven't done a head-count, but I think only a few units are unaccounted for. This is good: The longer they spend outside, the better. I will also make a point of attacking these units to lower their morale; this turn, we successfully attacked 6 Mobile units, including an SS unit.

[image]local://upfiles/6931/E93D34B5E39642B98971BC0E2ED462B8.jpg[/image]



Q-Ball -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/18/2011 9:12:07 PM)

BLIZZARD: Objectives and Numbers Update

OBJECTIVES: My objectives in the Blizzard are pretty simple.

First and foremost, is to equalize our armies. Accomplish this primarily by:

1. Forcing Wehrmacht to keep units in open, where they will lose morale. I specifically want the Panzers to spend the winter outside.
2. Forcing Wehrmacht units to retreat, losing more morale. Again, Panzers come first
3. Killing Germans
4. Frequent attacks to help units acheive GUARD status

From a long-term production standpoint, I am concerned about MANPOWER. Capturing ground in the Winter should help address this somewhat.

First, by creating space, I can protect the industry and Manpower that is still undamaged in Russia, trading space for time.

I also hope to long-term hold some of the ground I take. This is probably more likely up north, rather than the South, where I'll probably end up surrendering any gains. I need to hold Manpower at least 17 turns to realize any benefits (so they repair). At least if I take some centers, they will re-migrate if the Germans take it back. Every little bit helps.

MERGE: My former opponent gave me an interesting tip: He kept his Winter offensive going extra long, by MERGING Rifle Brigades into his attack units. This allowed alot of units enough attacks to reach GUARDS status, where they might wear out otherwise. It also kept the momentum going.

I have alot of Rifle Brigades with 800 or 1,000 men. Few are on REFIT, and I was mostly planning to use them as diggers, until I could create divisions with them. But this MERGE idea is interesting; I ditch a non-useful unit cluttering the map, and give a Rifle Division a shot in the arm. Or in the case of Naval Bde, which I can't combine into Divisions anyway, a BIG shot in the arm!

I would like a few Brigades as diggers in 1942, but I think most of them are going to be used as Replacement Units during my offensive.

What do you guys think of that tactic?



Mehring -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/18/2011 9:46:19 PM)

quote:

MERGE: My former opponent gave me an interesting tip: He kept his Winter offensive going extra long, by MERGING Rifle Brigades into his attack units. This allowed alot of units enough attacks to reach GUARDS status, where they might wear out otherwise. It also kept the momentum going.
I'm curious to see how this pans out. Avoiding refit till April 1942, I use brigades primarily to dig and to prevent fort degredation. Then they make usefull substitutes for the 3rd division in rifle corps formation.



Flaviusx -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/18/2011 9:48:27 PM)

I'm wary of merging rifle brigades. In the long run, this just reduces your army size. You can get something like 75 new rifle divisions in May 1942 by keeping those brigades around -- enough to fill out a good half dozen reserve armies. This is like a 20% increase in the numbers of rifle divisions, and a 450 rifle division Red Army is going to eventually become a 150 rifle corps Red Army.

I do abuse the merge fuction with tank brigades later on, though. Since you get way more of these than you need or can logistically afford to convert to corps.



Encircled -> RE: Defender of the Revolution: Q-Ball v Tarhunnas (6/19/2011 12:15:29 AM)

Not a bad idea, though it would probably depend on just how successful your blizzard offensive is.

If you are on the verge of a massive breakthrough, then it might well be worth doing

Its the constant problem of balancing short term gain with long term objectives (as usual!)



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