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M60A3TTS -> RE: June 1945 (9/4/2018 4:03:47 PM)
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Your build choices were similar to those of topeverest although I think he was even more extreme in terms of building units.
You were being thrifty on admin point spend by not buying rifle corps in 1942 and that was not the way to go IMO. Since unit loss replacements in 1942 are no longer requiring large AP spends, by late 1943 there isn't a great deal needed to spend the points on. I try to manage my AP spend so I have about 50 rifle corps (mostly guards) by the end of 1942 and have enough in the bank to build another 50 on the first turn of 1943. From there, I will add another 50-60 before summer, and round it out with 20 more as time progresses. That amounts to 180 rifle corps. You still need a small group of rifle divisions, brigades totaling about 40 division equivalents, and AT-brigades to cover the entire front. Once East Prussia is cleared, assuming that Leningrad is Soviet controlled and the Finns are out of the war, disbanding all units of the Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts is the final major change to my OOB.
I don't know what you consider "tons" but 28-30 tank corps and 24 cavalry corps along with 8 mechanized corps have always provided me with an adequate exploitation force that can help you get to Berlin. More than that often sit idle waiting for the infantry to help create the breakthrough.
Medium tank regiments in support units I have mentioned before in other threads: don't do it in quantity. When the tank corps TO&E changes in November 1943, you are going to consume a lot of the medium tank pool as the corps go from 99 medium tanks to over 200. Heavy tank regiments and flame tank bns/regts can take the support slots if that is what you are looking for.
Tactically, too often Stef has been able to hit at your tank corps in counterattacks not involving an exploitation. Your mobile troops should always be off the front lines unless in an exploitation role. This lessens fatigue and conserves your tank force. As you have demonstrated so clearly, the Soviets have a limit on how many tanks they can field. Even when in exploitation, you should not be stacking three tank corps because they are so manpower light. Mix in the cavalry and mech corps and the loss ratios will be better. Having an infantry army in a position to assist an exploitation is often a good idea, although not enough Soviet players do this because they think with enough tanks they can win consistently and that is just not the case. By the way, I have never had an issue with cavalry corps not being useful right up to when Berlin is stormed.
From 1943 on, the Soviet objective is to grind down and exhaust the German infantry division. The combat engine is just not going to beat down your average panzer division to the needed degree. But you can still decrease the value of that panzer division by beating up the infantry to such an extent that the panzers have to start going into the front lines. Once they do that, their reserve functionality is lost and fatigue rises, making their intervention in important battles more difficult. That is when the Axis performance can be visibly seen to slide.
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