44 Soviet GC vs AI: An examination of the late war conditions

[Mike13z50]

ORIGINAL: DTurtle

I didn't see you mention it, so I thought I would: You can also set a lot of surplus/useless units on static. That way they won't use any vehicles. In addition, you get some APs in order to do your massive reorganization faster.

That is a good idea, I have about twenty infantry divisions in static on area's where I am just holding.

I have to rethink the tank organization. It turns out that the two "Mech Corps" may look like an Army but they are not. They only have 250 support where the Tank Armies have 700. Lots of broken tanks if you load them up. I was on the treshold of disbanding the four worst Tank Corps for 10k trucks, but will wait for next turn to see how the trucks look. I will probably set them on static along with a couple of Mech Corps if I'm still low.

Tank Corps use 2000+ trucks. Mech Corps use 3300+. Nothing else comes close.

I disbanded 6 Army HQ, 1 Air Army HQ, Romanian Tank Div, 22 Tank Bdes, 5 Sp Bdes, and 28 Airbases. That put almost 10k trucks back into the pool and those units won't be using any trucks to draw supply. I also sent every level bomber and all tac bombers except the IL2M3 (latest model Sturmvik) to the National Reserve along with all 24 squadrons of P39Q and 6 or 8 older fighters. I think level bombers are a big truck hog.

I'm also rethinking the HQ elimination, having realized that the HQ is supplying the armies. Eliminating HQ's doesn't eliminate the Armies. Until I can get everything out from under, or have units in close proximity to Front HQ and on rail line, I don't think I gain much by just poofing the HQ.

When you disband a HQ with units under command the units change their "HQ" to the one the HQ reported to. So if an army is under Stavka they are attached to Stavka, under 1st Baltic they are attached to 1st Baltic.

So if you assign an Army to Stavka then disband it, all the troops can be reassigned for free because they now report to Stavka. Usually it would be cheaper to reassign the troops and then disband the HQ. It cost 51 AP to reassign an Army, 11 to reassign a Corps, 1 AP for Divisions and Bdes. <All number are to Stavka with Vasilevesky and his 9 Political and 9 Admin rating> It is almost always a savings in AP to assign a unit to Stavka first then immediately assign it where you want it.

So if you had an army you wanted to get rid of with 5 Corps or 4 Corps and more then 7 divisions you would save a couple of AP.

[Mike13z50]

End of Turn 7.

I was off work today, and spent the majority of it researching the Red Army. One stinking turn was all I played. But it was a good turn. I'll take a 6-1 casulty ratio anytime. I also eliminated two elite mobil units, and 9 infantry divisons. Pocketed another six units this turn and am over the river and past the swamps.

If my work on trucks pays off, I should have high movement counts on the mobil reserves. Infantry and artillery are well positioned forward to break the new crust. Time to push the button.

[Mike13z50]

Not bad, reduced requirements by 26k and increased vehicles in units by between 2 & 5%.
I'm going to put that work I did on SU to use and eliminate 10 or more truck hogs per turn until I get to a good place. I'm also putting excess units in static, and will continue to look for units to eliminate or merge. The last two front HQ unlock next turn, some Air Bases and AT units need pruning.

[Mike13z50]

Finally the tanks are loose. Many Panzers pocketed.

[Mike13z50]

ORIGINAL: governato

ORIGINAL: Mike13z50

Who needs pioneer battalions when you have on board sapper brigades? My first impression is that this changes the selection of SU attachments to rifle corps, more combat power less sappers. Probably should prioritize sapper attachments to tank, mech, and cav corps for breakthrough attack where the sapper brigades can't keep up.

I noticed them sapper units in my GC43 campaign. Awesome lads. It's August and they are currently loading up their truck with dynamite...headed for the Donets basin for a fateful meeting with the SS Viking division... My worry is that they count toward the max stacking rule of three. I imagine that they could be used as a part of a first wave designed to take the fort level down (and suffer awful casualties, must suck being a sapper) and then let a stack of three GDs Corps step in...that would be realistic Red Army procedure. But maybe one could just attach 3x3 sapper SU regiments to the 3GDs Corps stack, no?

Any suggestions? Tests?

They do limit you to two combat units in an attacking hex, but those should both be Corps=six rifle divisions. When you have two hexes to attack from, 5 Corps+1ENG. Use artillery first to knock his fort level down, you can deliberate attack with artillery only (twice from two hexes away). I'll have to try just attacking with an Eng and artillery.

[Mike13z50]

5th Guards Army takes the first train to Budapest, well Arad which is 15 hexes from Budapest.

The entire 3rd Ukrainian Front will follow

[Mike13z50]

You inherit a bunch of Romanian Infantry, the best of the bunch is 41/41 exp/morale.
They use Soviet manpower and equipment! (19.3 Soviet Allied Armies) If they are active you can just disband them for 1 AP.

If they are static, and a bunch are, then they are a good candidate for the MERGE function.

Be warned you will take an experience and morale hit for sucking them in.

Might be best to set a 50% toe and just leave them until you have spare AP to disband.

[Mike13z50]

By placing a Soviet unit next to the national borders you flip Bulgaria and Yugoslavia to neutral territory. (19.2)

Neither side can enter or trace supply through. Now the Germans cannot railroad around the flanks of Romania.

[Mike13z50]

New primary strategic objectives are LVOV, BUDAPEST, and BRATISLAVA.
I've already have Hungary rolling every turn for surrender, capturing Lvov will do the same to Slovakia. Taking Budapest and Bratislava force their surrender, then Germany will stand alone.

The Slovaks only have 20k worth of troops but flipping their territory (assuming it does, rules are not clear) would be major strategic gain.

[randallw]

I have tried attacks by arty units, and generally did not get great results.&nbsp; In previous Grigsby games you could fire to your heart's content, but now the opposing side shoots back!&nbsp;[:'(]

I did not ready every message in detail so maybe you already looked at this....you might want to disband the AT brigades; they aren't very powerful, use up one point in HQ command load, and use a serious amount of vehicles for their size.

[Mike13z50]

ORIGINAL: randallw

I have tried attacks by arty units, and generally did not get great results.  In previous Grigsby games you could fire to your heart's content, but now the opposing side shoots back! [:'(]

I did not ready every message in detail so maybe you already looked at this....you might want to disband the AT brigades; they aren't very powerful, use up one point in HQ command load, and use a serious amount of vehicles for their size.

Thanks for reading.

I disbanded all the SP AT units and all the regular ones except for the Guards units. I figure I'm in uncharted territory here and they might come in handy on approaches to Berlin. The Germans have such low CV, or are on static(?) that they have yet to attack a hex that has only a single AT or Sapper BDE, both with CV of 1!

On the Artillery only attacks, you are not doing them to inflict casualties but rather to inflict disruption and knock back fortifications.
I was just going with 1 big push at first, and getting no where. Then I tried arty first followed by combined arms and started pushing him back.

When he is not entrenched you can just combine the Arty with the infantry attack. BUT hitting a 2+ fort square with CV of 20+ with a three stack of arty first will often drop the cv down to 10. I'll try and post an example tonight.

[Mike13z50]

An example of Artillery Prep

50th Army is surrounding a three stack in lvl 2 forts in clear terrain.
The enemy has 10th PzGren Div, Von Wethern Mot. Bde, and 31st Inf Div (Volksgren).
The stack is displaying a CV of 9 at start. 50th Army engages with 6 brigades of Artillery in a pair of deliberate attack. After the two artillery preps the stack is down to a fortification lvl of 1, and CV of 5. 50th army than attacks with 121st Rifle Corps, 307th Rifle Division and 50th Assault Eng Bde and achieves odds of 5.1 forcing the enemy surrender and capturing 18k men, 250 guns and 50AFV. Soviet losses are just over 1,000 men and 46 guns.

Looking at the values shown in the combat report you see the 10th PnzGren goes from cv (79)=>(44)=>26; vW Mot Bde. (28)=>(17)=>(9); 31st Inf Div (8)=>(4)=(2). So the PnzGren is reduced 2/3, the others by 3/4 before the main attack.

I reloaded from turn start save three times and conducted the attack with the same units without the prep and had these results:
1st attack 10.6-1 1119m 20guns surrender
2nd attack 1.7-1 2244m 34 guns held
3rd attack 4.6-1 794m 13 guns surrender

So 2 out of three attempts were successful with lower casualties. Against isolated surrounded units to be sure. Form your own impressions; my experience in this battle has found the artillery prep critical to busting up his forts.

[Mike13z50]

Disbanded 32 of my units==>Destroyed 33 of his.

[randallw]

That is some mass panzer death.&nbsp; Maybe you could show the losses by equipment type?

[Mike13z50]

ORIGINAL: randallw

That is some mass panzer death.  Maybe you could show the losses by equipment type?

It included 400 Panthers, 40 Tigers and 9 King Tiger, I'll post a screen cap tonight.
<edit> I don't have an end turn save from that turn but here are the total tank losses as of this turn.

[Mike13z50]

5th Guards Tank Army reports the liberation of Riga.

[Mike13z50]

Mainly a maneuvering turn. Used most of my rail capacity this turn. Deployed most of 3rd Ukrainian Front into western Romania for the invasion of Hungary. Need to begin moving reinforcements into Brestlitovsk. Railhead there is 150 miles west of the one coming on the Minsk line, and it has two lines, one leading north to Konisgsburg, one west to Warsaw. Leading elements of 8th Army, Leningrad Front shipped in this turn.

[Mike13z50]

My efforts to reduce truck usage has reduced requirements to 178k from 232k on turn 7. Still holding around 140k in the pool. Romanian 3rd Army stumbled on Panzer bde in mountain hex wile moving NW into Hungary.

3rd Ukrainain Front is ready to begin march on Budapest.

[Mike13z50]

1st, 2nd, & 3rd Baltic Fronts are tasked clearing the Baltic Coast north of Riga.

[Mike13z50]

1st, 2nd, 3rd Belorussian, Leningrad, 1st, 2nd, & 4th Ukrainian Fronts advance to the western German border. Once we hit Koenigsberg the front narrows dramatically. Will have very narrow army frontage. I will start merging units next turn, especially in 1st Belorussian Front which is still 85 over cap.

I've been eliminating 10 SU per turn, mainly Light SP gun regt equipped with SU-76 & 100 trucks.