Increasing the Schlagkraft - firepower and breathrough ability of soviet units

[matt.buttsworth]

Hello

While I have learnt over time how to defend increasingly well as Russian and how to iniitially attack as German in my games as Russian once the Germans begin after the blizzards of 41/42 to recover power in their defensive lines I find it difficult to build up the attacking power and breakthrough abillity of Soviet units so that they can have their own blitzkreig like attacks.
Instead, because I have not learnt how to do this properly I must painstakingly breakthrough one german line after another and the game becames one of World War One like series of battles of gridning success.

what is the best way to increase the firepower and breakthrough ability of Soviet units including that of infantry corps to make the initial break in the german line and cavalry, tank and mechanised units ability to continue to rapidly advance and breakthreough any other lines.

Matthew Buttsworth

[morvael]

- give mobile units (mech and tank corps) to high admin leaders in tank armies, which increases chance for high MP
- take care of vehicles, as vehicle shortage in units means less MP (you have to wait as after '42 you have shortage of vehicles so they need to build up)
- build up morale of mobile units in victorious battles, they also have to wait to have their base morale increased (the base for Guards will be 80 in mid'44 - 60+10 for mobile+10 for Guards - and over 80 it's easier to enter enemy hexes)
- concentrate 3-4 tank armies to have a chance for encirclement of a chunk of Germans
- attach high CV support units to those mobile forces (and regular rifle corps too)
- build artillery to assist in breaking first line

All in all you will never achieve the freedom of Germans in '41, there is simply too much concentration of forces, they are not 1=1 ants, they build forts very fast, and he will have strong panzers in reserve to counter attack and break encirclements - all those things Soviets were lacking in '41.

The only chance is to wear him down (deplete his armaments and manpower pools) so his unit with each turn will become weaker and weaker and then you will have your chance. I am waiting for this moment in my PBEM game. For full effect you really have to wait to '44.

[loki100]

Also worth bearing in mind the Soviets didn't particularly rate 'blitzkrieg' as practiced by the Germans. So their model of offensive operations was closely related to how their army was organised.

The problem was that in 1941 their mobile forces were in badly designed formations (the tank divisions had too much armour) and of course in June were just starting a major re-organisation. In 1942, and this is well modelled in the game, they are on the right lines (Tank Corps/Tank Armies) but lacked key elements (esp trucks) to pull this off (and were also still learning the hard way that Tank heavy formations were not the answer).

By 43, they pretty much had the OOB and a doctrine fitted to what the Red Army could do well. By trial and error they had produced effectively two armies, one of quantity (the bulk of the combined arms armies and the rifle divisions) and one of quality (the armoured formations, Guards armies and the bulk of the Shock Armies - for some reason 2nd Shock was never that effective). The problem they then had was that while they could beat the Germans, the Germans declined to make it easy for them.

Compare the battles 43-45 with August Storm in Manchuria. The latter was probably the purest demonstration of the Soviets conception of operational warfare, against an enemy who had no means to cope.

But in game, till 43 you are not going to be able to do much but attrition and small breakthroughs

[morvael]

Remember that Germans start with 15CV mobile units, opposed by 1-2CV ants. The Soviets build up their own 15CV mobile units, but the Germans are not down to 1-2CV ants and they still have their 15CV mobile units, so there is no chance at mirroring their '41 exploits.

A simplification (Germans weaken, especially in infantry; Soviet units get stronger than 15CV etc.), but you get the idea.