Q-Ball
Posts: 7336
Joined: 6/25/2002
From: Chicago, Illinois
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Flaviusx
How do you think your morale and casualty ration are now compared to earlier versions?
My viewpoint is admittedly limited; I have only played 4 PBEMs, it's just that they ones I have played I have always done an AAR, so they are pretty well documented. But here is my take vs. my game against Tarhunnas.
I think the Combat casualty ratio is about the same, though I have noticed a divergence in the last couple turns of combat.
Combat Ratios vs. Game w Tarhunnas:
The Top Line numbers (below) look like I am getting a better ratio. The Russians lost about the same number of casualties, and the Axis suffered almost 200K LESS. But if you look beyond that, I think the Combat Ratios are about the same.
The big delta is in POWs; I have captured alot more in this game than Tarhunnas did against me. There are many reasons why, not least because I ran more as Soviets than B-G did early, but net effect is that in this game I have pocketed more units than Tarhunnas did.
There has also been alot less actual combat fighting; Tarhunnas pushed his guys to the end in his game, and I ran the Wehrmacht very gently, IMO. He burned out all his tanks, I didn't.
I think you have to exclude POWs in Combat Ratios, because POWs are a function not of Combat Results, and Firing, but maneuver. My worst combat result was against 12th Panzer, but not because it's morale was low, but because it was surrounded. Same for the Soviets. Changing experience and morale rules should have little to no effect on POWs, except as a by-product of maneuver. That's it.
Excluding POWs, the ratios are about the same: Vs. Tarhunnas, 2.17 to 1, and against B-G, 2.24 to 1. Anecdotely, it feels the same.
The last couple turns have seen a divergence; I have acheived closer to 5 to 1. Is this due to a change in the Red Army? Getting to 2nd line cadres? Is B-G putting bad units on the front too willingly? Is if a function of the types of attacks I am doing (very low risk ones, as I'm ONLY trying to up the Red Army body count)?
I personally don't think it needs tweaking. I am trying to stay side-neutral, as I like to play Soviets more than Germans actually, and my next game will be as Soviet. But I think, so far, the balance feels right. We need to get further to see how it plays out. So I think the GAME is good.
Now, if we are trying to model closer to HISTORY, it's not quite there, but you can argue vs. History that the Germans need more help. The Germans were more depleted than I am into winter, particularly in tanks. But per Glantz, the Red Army was down to 2.8 mil men in Q4 of '41; at that number in-game, it would be a runaway. The game doesn't sufficiently model logistical limits, so an actual 2.8 mil count would be a disaster for the Soviets in the game. On the other side, I don't see the Germans getting 3,000 tanks together for Blau in-game, if they press as hard as they actually did for Moscow. So HISTORICALLY, things are off, but maybe that's OK if the game feels balanced.
T-23: Turn 2 of Snow
Back to the war......we are focusing on running-up the Red Army body count, while at the same time preparing for Winter.
This turn, I am sending some key units back to Germany, like GD Mot (99 morale), and 90+ morale infantry, and 8th Panzer, which has a morale of 95. I need some units for my 1942 Schwerpunkt; I need to resist the temptation to touch these guys.
I continued straight-ahead attacks, and attached some screenshots of what I hope to accomplish this Snow. It's all about hitting Red Army formations so they are depleted come Blizzard, and creating a 1-2 hex "Buffer" that I can cede the first turn of Blizzard to limit attacks. That's pretty much it.
I am creating alot of FORT ZONES, but not for digging, but to prevent fort decay, as I just don't have enough units to cover all my forts, and at any rate, I would rather keep a 1000-man Fort Zone in the open than a 10,000 man HQ. I just have to make sure I pick them up before the Russians are close, as I don't need to give him cheap POWs either. I expect to lose a couple in Blizzard, but hopefully not more than that.
OOB Numbers:
My German OOB hangs around 3.4 mil, with 2000 tanks. The Soviet one is what I am really watching.
Last turn, we finished at 4.37 mil. Imagine my surprise when I opened the turn, and the Soviets were up almost 200,000! Yikes!
I loaded a game from Soviet side, and didn't realize how much the Red Army gets during Snow; something like 200,000 Siberians, about 15 full Rifle Divisions and more, arrives from the east. That's a big boost!
I am revising the Projected Soviet OOB come Blizzard; I expect they'll start around 4.7 mil. That would be 300,000 less than my game vs. Tarhunnas (almost exactly the difference in POWs), but still plenty to cause me grief.
Not looking forward to winter.....
AIR WAR: Finally the Luftwaffe is getting some licks in. I should have pulled my bombers sooner, because I haven't noticed a big drop in my capability, but now that all my airforce is just high-quality fighter pilots, we are doing a number on the Red Air Force. This is how it should be!
Any reason that B-G might be bombing all my HQs? I have noticed this for awhile now. Maybe it's to limit supplies or kill leaders, though the Germans have some depth in good leadership. Anyone have a guess? (Don't tell me a specific reason if B-G posted one).
Just curious.
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< Message edited by Q-Ball -- 10/17/2011 6:27:39 PM >
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RE: Death Ride to Russia: Q-Ball (Axis) v Bletchley Ge... - 
It's morale. Soviet morale is lower now than before, and German morale is higher. It just is. You're just not seeing the dynamic in play now. The Germans are more mobile; they make more attacks; they get more morale; and are taking less losses doing so than ever before thanks to the way this ratchets up. The opposite effect is going on with the Soviets. 
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