ORIGINAL: Speedy
OOB.
Due to Sir Robin the SU OOB is growing and there's little I can do about it.
Frustratingly I've also not taken any other industry apart from HI as DF has evac'd just in time.
I hope to create a squeeze with pressure on Leningrad, Moscow and Kharkov area simultaneously.
Hill billy tactics are really the norm now for the SHC. In several games by turn 8 the SHC has 4.5 to 4.7 million men. A 7.3 to 8 million man army by June 1942 is comman atleast in 75% of my games now. With the latest HQB nerf its kinda a given your going to be facing 7.5 millionish man army by June 42.
Industry for myself and many of the better players is window dressing and 100% meaningless other then manpower points. Only vs below average players is a GHC player going to get 70 armament pts destoried and the game will be over by early 42 anyways.
The key is using this tactic to your advantage. The screen they put up I use to get the morale of key GHC infantry (12-24) to 90+ and the panzers also. Its a nice little morale booster.
The screen can be easly removed by causing rout after rout using a single mot unit flipping hexes behind the screening units, where and when you want to remove it.
I chain to get east asap taking out manpower points as fast as possible.
I explain both methods in the war room.
Most of my games after 1.06 release I get less then 3 million dead russians by December 1941 and fase armys between 7.3 and 7.8 million by June 22 42.
The only way to defeat this hill billy tactic is take allot of land, Leningrad, Moscow to Rostov. At this point the manpower return for 42 will be less then 80k per turn.
Then you need to put atleast 9 Infantry( I put 12 to 15) 90+ infantry units in citys, plus all the 90 plus armor I can.
The armor I will pull as needed.
You will then have to retreat at least 2 hexes a turn west during blizzard in December. You can't lose more then 10 divisions during blizzard.
If your able to do the above 4 things you can easly grind down the russian army during 42. Punching a hole in the fort belt is easy if you have the 90+ morale infantry units.
Generally you get some 15-30 + pockets early in summer that cause a manpower crunch for the SHC and the 80k replasements cant keep pase with loses. Sure they have 1 million + armament points, but no one to hand the guns to.
At this point your over running all the citys that the SHC took back then some causing and even greater manpower crunch+ the AP crunch.
If your able to do this then during 1943 do can grind with the Red Army stalling it out 10 to 20 hexes east of Leningrad/Moscow/Rostov. There is zero chance at this point of the SHC getting anywheres near the 41 border.
Leningrad and Rostov are givens in most cases if your know how to build your moral up and set-up the Infantry Corps right. There is no hex on the map a Corp of 90 morale infantry can't take including an assault across a major river into a lvl 3 fort. Might take 2 turns, but it will fall and always has for me.
The key is Moscow. I send extra panzers from AGC to AGN and AGS, but try to send them back by turn 12ish. All the new infantry units I send to AGC as they arrive. I will add 2 Corps from other armys to 2nd army.
I generally can start grinding towards Moscow by turn 12, vs runners by turn 10. This should be more then enough time to take it out.
Don't get down because you get zero armerment points or kill less then 3 million reds before December.
Morale is king for the GHC and Manpower centers is a very close 2nd.
Panzer CV is very deceptive I personally dont care what the CV and tank numbers are by turn 12 as long as I have my Infantry Corp line busters setup and am withen 120 miles of Moscow. The panzer units I use to help rout the lines and hold hexes the infantry cant get to. The Mot units you should be able to keep near 100 TOE all of 41.
Hope this helps.
To cross the river in south have 6 good infantry assault a hex( should be atleat 7 det lvl as the cv will be withen a few points)
Make sure to HQB 2 panzer Corp. The 3rd HQB the following turn. Air drop on the 2 Corps the following turn.
You should be able to clear a hex with infantry then 1 panzer corp clears the 3 hexes near bridge head. The none build up Corps clears first if possible and sets up for the following turns HQB. The bridge head should be large by the time all the panzers are over. You should also have had at least 6 other infantry divisions close enough to cross after the bridge head was cleared.
The next turn you should be able to raise some hell. Once across the south falls like a house of cards as the SHC will be sending help to Center.