Impressions after first games as Russians

[ChuckBerger]

I wasn't expecting to enjoy playing the Russians as much as the Germans. After all, who likes to defend against the might of the 1941 Wehrmacht?

To my great surprise, it's an absolute blast... some notes:

1) I really enjoyed getting to know my army generals in detail, watching them develop, trying to preserve the armies of the good ones so they could really have a chance to shine, keeping tabs on the heroic general who inflicted massive losses on the Germans on the Dvina, then again on the Narva, and then (with three divisions left, totalling perhaps 5000 men) leading the way back in to Riga months later.

This personal aspect of the game really adds so much. Watching a "toadie" general manage to get lucky and fully activate his army a few times, until he actually becomes a competent officer... only to be executed on some paranoid whim of Stalin's. It makes you really care about your troops, because you want to see their general succeed.

2) German AI isn't capable of large-scale encirclements. It just barges through. That's terrifying on the first few turns, but it also results in heavy attrition of the panzers. The German AI also isn't afraid of losses - several times it took 10-15K losses on multiple consecutive turns assaulting a fortress before finally wearing it down. These two things combined make for a hard time in the opening months, but also ensure the German will lose on normal against a competent defender. The AI simply runs its formations into the ground. And without the ability to encircle large numbers of troops, it's just no contest. But I look forward to playing on challenging!

3) I'd love the ability to transfer a general to a different army. This would make me care even more about good generals... and therefore care even more about Stalin's paranoia. As it stands now, Paranoia didn't seem like a big enough deal.

4) Playing as Germany, you just leave your Panzergruppen on blitzkrieg, and shift the others on to sustained offensive, at least for most of the game. Playing as Russia, you have to think far harder about posture, and I found myself changing a fair bit. This part of the game is deeper as Russia, especially if you're aiming for an "active" defence with plenty of local counterattacks.

5) In my game, I bled the Germans heavily on the Dvina and Dniepr. German AI never got through the Vitebsk-Gomel line in the centre, but I was impressed with its steamroller in the North and South. In late August I launched a major strategic offensive from Polotsk, aimed at Riga. It succeeded, and all of German AGN was cut off up around Narva/Luga and destroyed. I then pretty much rolled up the German line all the way south to Kiev. Capture Konigsberg in mid-October for the auto-victory.

6) The simulation of the command and control problems faced by the 1941 Red Army - especially the activation mechanic - is just superb. It feels right, and gives a historical result. Eg, Russian regular army units were tough enough in a stand-up fight, but their C&C and their senior leadership were so terrible, and their offensive doctrine so dominant, that they were easily outmaneuvered, not easily outfought.

7) By end of September, pretty much all my armies were partially activating every turn, and in the key sector (centre), it was basically all full activations except a handful every turn. It seemed a bit too easy, I would have expected greater ongoing real activation difficulty through the end of 1941.

Enjoy!

[Vic]

Thanks for sharing your feedback! I am taking notes!

And yes please try a higher difficulty level. We put them in there for a reason

Best wishes,
Vic