Directive 21 playtesters thread

[larryfulkerson]

So um......I think I may have a problem. I went to the menu and started to choose "computer player" but my finger slipped on the mouse and I chose "End Turn" instead with the result that there was no Soviet turn 50. And I didn't save the turn as a file either, so now I'm trying to decide if I should start over or just carry on without a Soviet turn 50? What do you guys think?

[hmota]

My first try in Dir 21 scen...map after 1st Turn...Russians lost 92 units and 2100airplanes...my losses 155 airframes...I move two SS div to the south to help hungarian army to strike north...I get three combat rounds with land units and another two with air units...

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: SMK-at-work
Partisans - ah....so I can use all those security and Hungarian units in the front line then!!

So um......yes the Hungarians are available to use but there was a ton of security forces that aren't present in D21 as units presumably because they were off chasing partisans somewhere.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: hmota
I get three combat rounds with land units and another two with air units...

So um....you run your attacks separately ( land and air )? I usually just lump them in together and hope for the best. Or maybe I don't understand what you mean.

[Pax25]

I go through the order of battle when deciding where to move a unit to where and that way nobody gets skipped, but it must be faster to just start at the top of the map and start moving units until you get to the bottom of the map and there's nobody else to move. But you run into the problem of maybe having skipped moving somebody somehow.

Thanks for the reply. I use a similar system where I start by analyzing the entire board and make all obvious moves first (ie.-those applicable to my overall strategy). Then I go through the entire OOB, centering on each HQ and looking at each formation for all units with MPs remaining. I move, dig in, or place on reserve those units, then I resolve attacks and repeat the whole process.

[sPzAbt653]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

ORIGINAL: SMK-at-work
Partisans - ah....so I can use all those security and Hungarian units in the front line then!!

So um......yes the Hungarians are available to use but there was a ton of security forces that aren't present in D21 as units presumably because they were off chasing partisans somewhere.

Just a clarification, all original security units are in D21, but they are slowly withdrawn every five turns up until turn 25, to simulate the needed increase in rear area security. A few units stay in until later.

The Hungarians were used in the front lines, weren't they?

[SMK-at-work]

Larry I suggest forgoing your own T51 to even things up.

And yes the Hungarians were used in hte front lines "in real life"...but one of their armies is full of "SEC" units, and lets face it - generally the German allies aren't that flash! :/

So I've been keeping all the German MP and SEC units, both Hungarian armies and the Slovaks as rear area garrisons awaiting the expected partisans.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: SMK-at-work
Larry I suggest forgoing your own T51 to even things up.

I did skip the next available Axis turn but then it seemed that the Soviets were getting an unfair advantage and besides I have a railroad engineer who keeps spawning off-rail and therefore useless so I thought I'd just start over with a newer version of Directive 21.

ORIGINAL: SMK-at-work
So I've been keeping all the German MP and SEC units, both Hungarian armies and the Slovaks as rear area garrisons awaiting the expected partisans.

I got to turn 50 and didn't see any partisans to chase down and kill.

[larryfulkerson]

Hey this newest version of Directive 21: somebody moved the Pioneers to somewhere else. Now I have to go look for them when I need an engineer. Drat.

[hmota]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

ORIGINAL: hmota
I get three combat rounds with land units and another two with air units...

So um....you run your attacks separately ( land and air )? I usually just lump them in together and hope for the best. Or maybe I don't understand what you mean.

first three round I attack together with air and land units (first round takes 30% of turn, second 20% and third 10%) after that I have zero MP on land units so I can´t attack further...so another two rounds I attack with air

[sPzAbt653]

ORIGINAL: SMK-at-work

...awaiting the expected partisans.

Sorry about that SMK. I left a lot out of the briefing because I didn't want to make it unbearably long, and let's face it, who reads them anyway? I've been working on rewriting the original background document that they put together for FitE so that we will have a D21 specific document that is easy to navigate.

[sPzAbt653]

... somebody moved the Pioneers to somewhere else.

OKH pioneer and artillery units are now under the Korps Hq's that they were associated with. It doesn't in any way change how you can use them, but it's a different way of locating them. I think after a few turns you get used to it. Maybe a little longer for us old timers that have been playing with the original setup for several years. [:(]

[SMK-at-work]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

ORIGINAL: SMK-at-work
Larry I suggest forgoing your own T51 to even things up.

I did skip the next available Axis turn but then it seemed that the Soviets were getting an unfair advantage

Yeah...you've captured Leningrad and Stalingrad and the Sov's are getting an "unfair" advantage....awww...you poor thing - let's have a hug for Larry! lol

[SMK-at-work]

T50 in my game & I might bring it to a close soon - there are only 348 soviet units in play this turn, many of which are air units and border/recce regts.  Plus Elmer has put some of them in really strange positions which isn't helping him.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: SMK-at-work
Yeah...you've captured Leningrad and Stalingrad and the Sov's are getting an "unfair" advantage....awww...you poor thing - let's have a hug for Larry! lol

Thanks, I needed that hug !

ORIGINAL: SMK-at-work
T50 in my game & I might bring it to a close soon - there are only 348 soviet units in play this turn, many of which are air units and border/recce regts. Plus Elmer has put some of them in really strange positions which isn't helping him.

Bring it to a close? Why not go after those 348 units? What cities have you captured so far? What's the Soviet production rate for Rifle Squads? What do the front lines look like? Pictures, I need pictures.

[SMK-at-work]

I'll do a gif of hte last 20 turns this afternoon - Sov rifle squad replacement rate is 469, with about 11000 in service and 135,000 dead....I've just captured Gorki with an advanced recce Regt & survived the counterattack, am adjacent to Maikop with a Pz Gren division and am 1 move away from Astrakhan - although it is garrisoned and that Pz div went into reorg - thought I'd play on for a bit to see how the shock 80 affedcts things....

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: SMK-at-work

I'll do a gif of hte last 20 turns this afternoon - Sov rifle squad replacement rate is 469, with about 11000 in service and 135,000 dead....I've just captured Gorki with an advanced recce Regt & survived the counterattack, am adjacent to Maikop with a Pz Gren division and am 1 move away from Astrakhan - although it is garrisoned and that Pz div went into reorg - thought I'd play on for a bit to see how the shock 80 affedcts things....

And you did all this in just 50 turns? My hat is off to you dude. Sounds like you could teach me a trick or two since I'm nowhere near what you've accomplished.

[SMK-at-work]

Larry you just got to be completely ruthless - Elmer can't handle a swarming attack that doesn't really maintain a solid front, so any unit that was in orange or better got pushed into the nearest gap (whilst keeping divisions mostly together....)

Here's how turns 24-33 went - IIRC up until the mud ceasefire - in 2 turn chunks 'cos it'll only let me upload that much at a time

Turns 24-25:

[SMK-at-work]

T26-27:

[SMK-at-work]

T28-29: