Slitherine

quote:

ORIGINAL: HardLuckYetAgain
Very nice save of the Mountain Division, along with the Armor that was there too ;-). Mr Stalin has taken that commander of that front off the kill list, for now........ ;-P. I do see 3 "good" divisions (the 2 attack value with experienced squads) going to be working on the German railroad soon.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Grognard1812

Soviet GT 5

Recon flights showed a suspicious accumulation of panzer units just west of Smolensk - could indicate a HQBuildUp.
Not taking any chances, the Soviet units retreated setting up a new defensive position behind the Dnepr to avoid
a possible pocket attempt by the panzers. The best defensive lines are behind rivers and having 2 units in
each hex is ideal, this makes it difficult for the panzer units to attack across and have to go around the flanks
which burns up their movement points.

quote:

The Mountain Division's escape path was blocked by the German Mot Regiment located 2 hexes Northwest of it.
An attack by 3 Soviet Divisions forced the Mot Regiment to retreat allowing the Mountain Division to
escape over the Dnepr river, able to fight another day. It is under one of the stacks on the North side of the
river. This Soviet attack was the only one out of 4 that succeeded, as the others were against Divisional
sized Axis units which failed.

quote:

Soviet GT 5

Recon flights showed a suspicious accumulation of panzer units just west of Smolensk - could indicate a HQBuildUp.
Not taking any chances, the Soviet units retreated setting up a new defensive position behind the Dnepr to avoid
a possible pocket attempt by the panzers. The best defensive lines are behind rivers and having 2 units in
each hex is ideal, this makes it difficult for the panzer units to attack across and have to go around the flanks
which burns up their movement points.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dreamslayer

quote:

ORIGINAL: HardLuckYetAgain
Very nice save of the Mountain Division, along with the Armor that was there too ;-). Mr Stalin has taken that commander of that front off the kill list, for now........ ;-P. I do see 3 "good" divisions (the 2 attack value with experienced squads) going to be working on the German railroad soon.

From the telegram of Stalin to Khrushchev(member of military counsil of the SW front)

"The reliable information has been received that you all are panic-stricken from the Commander of the South-Western Front to the members of the Military Council and intend to divert troops to the left bank of the Dnieper.
I warn you that if you take at least one step in the direction of withdrawing troops to the left bank of the Dnieper, you will not be up to the last opportunity to defend the areas of the F.R.s on the right bank of the Dnieper, you will all suffer a cruel punishment like cowards and deserters ".

=)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Grognard1812

The Soviet Air Force attempted to respond by concentrating their Air Force in the area and increasing the
Fighter interception level to 300%.

Doing the math, the Luftwaffe started the game with 249 Messerschmitt BF 109 E (with another 220 in the force pool)
Fighters and 593 Messerschmitt BF 109 F fighters, and 161 BF 110 Fighter Bombers for a total of 1062 Fighters and
161 Fighter Bombers. In the game on GT 5, German Factories produced a total of 30 Messerschmitt BF 109 F Fighters
per turn with only 57% going to the force pool for the Eastern Front - only 17 fighters each turn. Six BF 110 E
are produced each turn with only 4 going to the force pool of the Eastern Front.

In Contrast, on GT 5 Soviet Factories in the game produced 72 MiG 3 Fighters, 25 Yak 1 Fighter Bombers and 66 LAGG 3
Fighter Bombers for a total of 163 per turn - 8 times more than the production level for the Luftwaffe.

The Axis only lost 16 Fighters on game turn 3 and 18 on GT 4. On Game Turn 5 the Soviet Air Force lost 795 planes
compared to 110 for the Axis, but most importantly the Luftwaffe lost 73 BF 109 Fighters, loses the Luftwaffe
cannot sustain long term.

quote:


Please realize I was taking "horrendous" loses in all airframes in our game. But I had an excellent core of fighters with high experience by turn 7.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Crackaces

Besides the building Soviet experience angle.... know that the 109E3’s Withdraw ..so shooting those down is a wash ..I wonder if the German player is strategizing around that fact?

quote:

ORIGINAL: HardLuckYetAgain

quote:

ORIGINAL: Crackaces

Besides the building Soviet experience angle.... know that the 109E3’s Withdraw ..so shooting those down is a wash ..I wonder if the German player is strategizing around that fact?

I'm sure Tyronec did in our game. I found the withdrawing 109-E's up front. Gronard1812 will have to speak to his game. But imho there should be a steeper penalty of sorts(replacing lost aircraft to full before withdrawing) for doing so. I'm not condemning the use of withdrawing units but saying that "free" throw aways should be discouraged ;-)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Crackaces

quote:

ORIGINAL: HardLuckYetAgain

quote:

ORIGINAL: Crackaces

Besides the building Soviet experience angle.... know that the 109E3’s Withdraw ..so shooting those down is a wash ..I wonder if the German player is strategizing around that fact?

I'm sure Tyronec did in our game. I found the withdrawing 109-E's up front. Gronard1812 will have to speak to his game. But imho there should be a steeper penalty of sorts(replacing lost aircraft to full before withdrawing) for doing so. I'm not condemning the use of withdrawing units but saying that "free" throw aways should be discouraged ;-)

Or a detail to play the game optimally .. As a newbie player just learning the game ... I am at a crossroads.
If you are of the ilk that WitE is a great game and not a simulation then using withdrawing units is another detail amongst many details required to master in order to win. If you are of the ilk that home rules and restrictions to play will somehow make WitE a "simulation" then choose your opponents wisely.
I have just come to realize for example, using SU's that withdraw -- is that gamey? There are so many strategic, operational, and tactical considerations that optimize play and provide a better chance for victory in the end.

..............

Different subject but on the same tract
I see posts discussing comparing raw CV's and wondering about combat results .. estimating 2:1 and getting 1:3 There are so many factors that go into a combat result that again mastering all the details goes to the victor
I just crossed a minor river attacking with 3 units each with 3 SU's each (1 jgpz and 2 pioneer units) and 6 divisions in reserve .. (one reserve unit activated) ..I bombed all the units behind to fatigue possible enemy reserves being committed, and had many stukas that joined the ground attack, the enemy air was exhausted before the attack... I got across
Now a simple hasty attack with the same 2:1 calculation without preparation I predict fails ...

So rather than think this as a simulation ...I think of this as a very very complex game with some probabilities calculated from historical data ... the game is maximizing probabilities .. if you do something that cannot be countered and it assures an outcome that is gamey .. but in no way is WitE a simulation ...

quote:

Make a withdrawl totally random imho. But again we are playing a game that is modeled after history. I think all events should be randomized instead of following the actual WW2timeline. That way both players have to adapt to adversity instead of an omnipatent knowledge of foresight of what is about to happen. Just my 2 cents.

quote:

ORIGINAL: HardLuckYetAgain

quote:

ORIGINAL: Crackaces

Besides the building Soviet experience angle.... know that the 109E3’s Withdraw ..so shooting those down is a wash ..I wonder if the German player is strategizing around that fact?

I'm sure Tyronec did in our game. I found the withdrawing 109-E's up front. Gronard1812 will have to speak to his game. But imho there should be a steeper penalty of sorts(replacing lost aircraft to full before withdrawing) for doing so. I'm not condemning the use of withdrawing units but saying that "free" throw aways should be discouraged ;-)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Grognard1812

quote:

ORIGINAL: HardLuckYetAgain

quote:

ORIGINAL: Crackaces

Besides the building Soviet experience angle.... know that the 109E3’s Withdraw ..so shooting those down is a wash ..I wonder if the German player is strategizing around that fact?

I'm sure Tyronec did in our game. I found the withdrawing 109-E's up front. Gronard1812 will have to speak to his game. But imho there should be a steeper penalty of sorts(replacing lost aircraft to full before withdrawing) for doing so. I'm not condemning the use of withdrawing units but saying that "free" throw aways should be discouraged ;-)

Yes, Tyronec is using BF 109 E3 in the front lines. He probably transferred them there from the Axis force pool.
Since they were in the Force pool wouldn't they stay there until the end of the game, unless the Axis player manually
transferred them to an air unit?

This is an interesting way for the Axis player to get the use of another 220 fighter planes that he would not
normally get to use in the game, as newer variants of the BF 109 had replaced them. Historically they probably
would have been used as training aircraft and not placed in the front lines unless in an emergency.

quote:

ORIGINAL: HardLuckYetAgain

quote:

ORIGINAL: Grognard1812

quote:

ORIGINAL: HardLuckYetAgain

quote:

ORIGINAL: Crackaces

Besides the building Soviet experience angle.... know that the 109E3’s Withdraw ..so shooting those down is a wash ..I wonder if the German player is strategizing around that fact?

I'm sure Tyronec did in our game. I found the withdrawing 109-E's up front. Gronard1812 will have to speak to his game. But imho there should be a steeper penalty of sorts(replacing lost aircraft to full before withdrawing) for doing so. I'm not condemning the use of withdrawing units but saying that "free" throw aways should be discouraged ;-)

Yes, Tyronec is using BF 109 E3 in the front lines. He probably transferred them there from the Axis force pool.
Since they were in the Force pool wouldn't they stay there until the end of the game, unless the Axis player manually
transferred them to an air unit?

This is an interesting way for the Axis player to get the use of another 220 fighter planes that he would not
normally get to use in the game, as newer variants of the BF 109 had replaced them. Historically they probably
would have been used as training aircraft and not placed in the front lines unless in an emergency.

Tyronec mentioned in his opening statements he was using AP's to do so if I remember correctly. It is nice to get a lot more rubber on the tire doing so.

quote:

ORIGINAL: tyronec

Finland. The attack up north fails but his fortification is reduced and will hopefully get past next turn, but it will be a long hard slog for the Finns. In the isthmus have cut off two units and should take out the port next turn.

AGN. In front of Leningrad there was a CV 12 stack in the front line and with the help of my HQB from last turn was able to cut through 40 miles. Even if he can push back one of these units would hope to cut off the city next turn.
Below Lake Ilmen we get past the river line, which should create a threat to his rear.

quote:

Finns .. Do you have HQ's with appropriate SU's within range? Also .. I have units behind in reserve that sometimes pass their checks and participate. I also attack the Soviet units in reserve to increase fatigue and maybe increase the die roll required to participate as reserve ... I can say for sure all of these extras sometimes is the extra edge to get to 2:1 adjusted CV

quote:

ORIGINAL: tyronec

quote:

Finns .. Do you have HQ's with appropriate SU's within range? Also .. I have units behind in reserve that sometimes pass their checks and participate. I also attack the Soviet units in reserve to increase fatigue and maybe increase the die roll required to participate as reserve ... I can say for sure all of these extras sometimes is the extra edge to get to 2:1 adjusted CV

Yes, the attack was well set up. Note the Finnish CV.

quote:

Then you just did not get those reserve units in (bad luck :( ) .. and you lost 6% because of two commands involved in the attack .. ..

quote:

ORIGINAL: tyronec
Yes, I did the convert some groups down to 109E3. There is a disadvantage in that think some of those planes get transferred to allies.