Rails to Vyazma!

[PeeDeeAitch]

I don't do enough testing, I freely admit it. Too much "seat of the pants" play, and trusting gut instincts. However, I have played a lot, quite a few GC vs the AI, at least 6 games (current or over) against people.

When it comes to rail repair, no one strategy is right. However, I think I have seen some players not maximizing their rails in the center. The trick is not to double up (maybe only if you face the absolute worst sort of Comrade Robinski, and even then I am not sure that 1 more hex a turn is worth it...), but to use what you have wisely.

Here is an image of what I do - it is not perfect, there really is no right or wrong. However, it is designed to support the sort of advance that I want to have in my "mobility" thread.

The Center has two repair units. The top helps out the AGN repair unit until they split at the initial swamp - then the top on hugs the rail line along the Baltic Zone (excepting the one place it must dip down) to speed up repair. By turn 14, with proper breakthroughs, it can be in Vyazma and the upper part of the Center can have fairly decent supply.

The lower of the Center units does not drive to Minsk, but rather the long straight rail line just north of the Mashes. By turn 14 it can be beyond Gomel and heading east.

This has allowed me to get more supplies for a Moscow Drive (or threat there), not have to use HQ buildup for the tanks in near Vyazma, and have nice parallel lines to link up north south during mud/snow preparing for emergencies.

Really, this is not perfect, it is just the way I do it...

[Altaris]

I do this too, makes the most use of the Baltic Rail Repair bonus. I also take the FBD unit west of Brest-Livotsk and send him south, since you really only need 1 line in the center, but you can do a lot of branching off in the wide expanses of the Ukraine.

[Mynok]

But then you can't do the red line in his picture, and that's really a critical railroad, and the fastest way to get railheads to the south-center area.

[Q-Ball]

Those are the exact lines I use.

In the North, probably everyone goes the same way: Branch off that blue-line to Riga, then Pskov, then left-turn for Leningrad

In the SOUTH, I send one line toward Kiev, and another from Romania toward Nikolev/D-Town

An important consideration also is creating a Beltway before winter, i.e. a north-south line to link them all together. You can't really move reserves around without it.

For that, I like to go Pskov/Vitebsk/Mogilev/connect to that Red Line

[Mynok]

And I'll sneak one south to the Kiev line during mud/snow if I can to link up the center east of the marshes.

[morantbay]

Total noob question here, I am just a few turns into my first campaign.

How do I persuade the rail repair units to actually repair the rail point I wish? This thread suggests you can do this by placing them on the rail line, but when I do this I see repair parties deployed all over the place anyway - very frequently the line deeper into Russia is the last one they decide to get to. As a result, seven turns in they are still swanning about near the border making a nice dense rail network there and little progress east has actually been made. 

I've tried placing them at the juncture between damaged and undamaged rail, as well as a few hexes deeper in on the desired line, I can't see any positive difference either way ....

[Mynok]

There are three FBD units that you control that are for repairing rail lines. All the little const battalions are run by the computer.

[morantbay]

Thanks for the reply Mynok. I got that the FBD units were for rail repair but I wasn't seeing that tiny blue "RRC" text link on the unit icon to actually make them do it. The scales have fallen from my eyes Thanks.

[Mynok]

It's never obvious until it is. Then it is. [:'(]

[marty_01]

ORIGINAL: Mynok


There are three FBD units that you control that are for repairing rail lines. All the little const battalions are run by the computer.

Four FBD units ... at least at the start of the 41GC. There is one over in Rumania attached to 11th Army (i think its 11th Army?)

[JAMiAM]

ORIGINAL: marty_01

ORIGINAL: Mynok


There are three FBD units that you control that are for repairing rail lines. All the little const battalions are run by the computer.

Four FBD units ... at least at the start of the 41GC. There is one over in Rumania attached to 11th Army (i think its 11th Army?)

Actually, five, if you count the one in Rumania. One for AGN, two for AGC, one for AGS, one for 11th Army.

[marty_01]

You're right. My bad. I forgot AGC starts with 2.

[vilcum]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball
In the North, probably everyone goes the same way: Branch off that blue-line to Riga, then Pskov, then left-turn for Leningrad

Maybe only sensate people does that [:D], Vs. computer (only played soviet side in PBEM) a dash for Leningrad may be better served by converting the full baltic states line avoiding pskov and the triple cost over that rail

[PeeDeeAitch]

Actually, as Q-Ball said, the Pskov route is the better one, as it allows the drive south of Leningrad to be more fully supported too.

[PeeDeeAitch]

Perhaps a bit more open to play style, here is my southern rails routes. The reason for these paths is to maximize my speed to the east. If one remembers my Gomel route in AGC, then the fact that the AGS line goes further south makes more sense. I drive to Lvov if at all possible on turn 1 to jumpstart this line (having converted hexes to and through Lvov means full speed rail on turn 2) The 11th Army line goes to the Dnepr Bend to supply any push beyond Stalino (one of the logistic sore points).

The problem always is lateral lines, if the advance is too far or too fast, the chance of linking up before middle blizzard is tough.

Your mileage again will vary.

[Farfarer61]

A variant is to send the Green FBD up from Chernovsty in Romania( after sending it there by RR) , as was common in the old WITE (paper). All the RR Bots will convert the Lvov pocket are for you - there will be many of these chomping away. You can even send it to Kirovograd/D Town/Stalino and send the Purple FBD down into the Northern Crimea ( or further) if you are a Crimea/Kuban attack fanboy.

[PeeDeeAitch]

The problem with that, for me at least, is that the southern part of the Lvov Pocket finishes up the last, thus costing several turns of full builds. I have found that clearing and converting the rail path early on works the best. The annoying autofill around Lvov is still there, of course, but I can get a jump on supplying the south through Lvov.

[Q-Ball]

RE: Pskov, I build there in the North; realize going through Estonia is quicker, but a) you lose some of the speed because you convert more hexes, and b) that move can ONLY support the Leningrad area. You will still have to build to Pskov, if you want to start linking all your lines together. It's more efficient to just build to Pskov, and turn left for Leningrad, then come back and build south from Pskov to link-up with AGC's lines.

PDH, those are good in the south, a couple options:

1. I prefer to send the green line more through Kiev; that makes it easy to link up with an AGC FBD coming down through Gomel/Chernigov

2. Blue is good, except that if you are going deep in the Crimea, you have to build closer than Nikolev, or during mud, all your units in the Crimea will be out of supply and isolated; it's too many MPs to the railhead.

You have to think not only of building East, but also North/South, because you need a "beltway" during the winter to move troops along the front lines

[PeeDeeAitch]

I know, my biggest problem is always taking too much land east. Beltways suffer until later in blizzard because of the need to extend railheads since I am too far to the east.

If I pummel the Crimea, I can have sea supply from Kerch...at least that is the goal [:)]

[kevini1000]

OK so I agree with the blue and red rail line routes. But why split one at the swamp hex then to Riga and then to Pskov. Why not split them at Daugavpils then one to Pskov and the other to Vyazma.

For the red one do you back it up with the Southern repair unit. then what about the 11th army repair unit.

Thanks