Ostfront H2H

[Grymme]

Your scenario looks beatiful and very well researched. But it also looks daunting to play. Maybe you should show it to the WITP crowd and the WIR people. This certainly seems way up there for the obsessed people

[Captain Cruft]

Yes indeed. I made the thing and I still find it daunting ... [;)]

It's also (IMHO) good fun and a real challenge. If you play against yourself to start with there's no chance of being embarrassed either.

[british exil]

Downloaded today to see what the real thing is about.

When you play do you really fight both sides or do you let one side dominate the other?
Never played a H2H game alone. Was just wondering

[Captain Cruft]

I do my best for both sides. However, the Germans do tend to unavoidably dominate at the beginning ...

[Captain Cruft]

Turn 4 GE perspective

Strategic map from German perspective at start of turn 4 (July 13th).

Great gains in all areas, possibly excepting the Romanians. AGN has crossed the Divina at Dvinsk and the panzers of AGC are in the process of encircling Minsk and heading for the bridges at Borisov and Bobsuisk. In the south AGS has taken Tarnapol (an important rail junction) and we shall begin addressing the forts of the Stalin Line this turn.

[Captain Cruft]

The Soviet airforce facing AGC is really struggling. Luftwaffe interdiction now extends beyond Smolensk nearly to Vyazma.

There are quite a lot of Soviet fighters spread around the area, the problem is that most of them are not ready enough to intercept.

[jjdenver]

Hey Captain Cruft,

I forgot that you are the designer but it seems you are from your comments in this AAR. I have some comments:
1) This is one intriguing scenario! Your innovations such as tank refits, railheads, recruiting changes, etc are waaaaay cool.
2) I'm really enjoying your AAR so hopefully you keep it up as I'm having a great time reading it.
3) I'm somewhat dismayed by the almost complete lack of German tank casualties - it appears that only 1 Pz38(t) was killed on turn 1 - seems low as the Germans had success but took casualties through the early stages of Barbarossa - bleeding them white by the time of Operation Typhoon. Some German panzer divisions started Operation Typhoon with as little as 2000 to 2500 troops left and only a couple dozen panzers I think.
4) The Soviet morale loss at first seemed too harsh since if the Soviets are pushed back to Moskva, Leningrad and lose Rostov they might lose their will to fight when historically they fought extremely hard when pressed back into the interior. But the addition of the NKVD units seems like a great way to balance this out. Very nice.
5) Lastly I hope you will consider extending this scenario into 1944. If you would consider that I'll playtest this version with you.

Thanks for your contributions to the AT community!

jj

[Captain Cruft]

Thanks for the comments.

You are probably right about the tank casualties. However, bear in mind that 1 "tank" is supposed to represent 10 actual vehicles. Also, German industry only produces about 4/5 AFVs per turn IIRC and these have to be trained up and transported to the front, so any losses cannot be replaced for quite some time.

I'll post the total losses thing again after T4 is finished.

The morale thing is indeed very experimental, but I was very concerned with preventing the Soviets from just running away. Which would probably be most player's instinctive behaviour.

[jjdenver]

Instead of using the morale mechanism to prevent running away is there any way to either:
1) move more production west - maybe production that only functions for "X" number of turns but would incent the Soviets to hold on to them?
or
2) grant some sort of "vp" for holding west that will then affect the strength of Soviet reinforcements in 1942?
or
3) lock some Soviet units in place for X number of turns around major defensive points such as Kiev/Minsk/Riga/Odessa so that the Soviets need to hold that area until the units are able to retreat west?

or I don't know - maybe I'm not thinking of some other good alternative

[Captain Cruft]

There is already quite a lot of production out west.

Not sure if options 2 or 3 are possible. It's ages since I looked at the editor.

[Captain Cruft]

End turn 4 (July 13th)

Strategic map from Soviet perspective.

[Captain Cruft]

T4 losses

Screen 1

[Captain Cruft]

Screen 2

[Captain Cruft]

Screen 3

[Captain Cruft]

Stalin Line breached

It's turn 5, and 1. Panzergruppe has broken through the Stalin Line south of Shepetovka, following the gap between two rivers. There are no barriers now (except troops) before the Dneiper and Kiev ...

[Captain Cruft]

Just to illustrate how the Soviets can be dangerous.

The SS 'Leibstandarte' division was all on its lonesome on the northern flank of the Stalin Line breakthrough. Without, as it happened, any fighter cover. So the Soviets threw about 50 planes and 1.5 mech corps at it. With the result below. Although it is interesting that the division did not retreat. That could be the high morale I suppose.

[jjdenver]

What is limiting Soviet effectiveness? I've seen you refer to their lack of effectiveness a couple of times - is it just starting fatigue, supply, bad equipment? Is this something that fades over time? I know that in the GPW scenario Germans get 200% combat power for 4 turns - is it something like that?

[Captain Cruft]

It's a combination of things.

Low relative experience
Low readiness
Insufficient staff in the HQs
Insufficient supply due to Luftwaffe

There is no explicit combat bonus for the German ground units.

You can look at the thing in the editor for full details, or just fire it up. You don't have to actually do anything to see most of this stuff in action ...

[Joshuatree]

I think you really made one of the best scenarios available. It's a masterpiece. But like others, it is the seize of it that stops me from playing it... and the lack of an AI ofcourse
Would love to play it on a smaller scale though.

[Captain Cruft]

Making a smaller scale scenario would be nearly as much work as doing the thing in the first place unfortunately.

I don't find it that large once you get used to it. About 2 hours for a turn on average.