Help Request: Supply Lines

[MarkShot]

This is the Leningrad Scenario. Now, up to this turn I managed to defend my supply line and make good progress North.

As I understand it, rails need one owned hex on both sides for freight to transit. So, just sitting on the rail hexes are not enough. You must bracket it.

In this scenario the area before AGN expands hugely. It does not really seem feasible to advance as a continuous front line. Thus, some compromise seems needed between clearing Red Army units and provide flank defense of the rail line.

But still as you see, my line was cut, and this will possibly cost me 2 weeks, and victory (Ending on T17.)

How to do this properly? Thanks.

Screenshots below intuitively from North to South.

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[Jango32]

The Leningrad scenario is no different from the GC scenario. Get all of PzGr 4 over the Daugava river on turn 1, reach Pskov and possibly take it on turn 2 while using 1 division to advance into Estonia, turn 3 reach the Luga and cross it.

[K62_]

That has to be the most impressive snake I've seen in this game yet. Have you tried advancing on a broad front instead? You have more than enough troops to cover a Narva - Novgorod - Idritsa line. Also, if you defend far enough from the railway you can afford to leave a 1-2 hex gap between the units in your screen.

[Wiedrock]

Screenshots below intuitively from North to South.

Thanks for adding that, at first I thought you'd be playing a Chinese Wall-Mod with West on top.

[MarkShot]

Well, I am still exploring and learning. This is why I come here to ask the experts.

I know there are some good YT series which I could watch. But I run into two problems:

* I watch late at night on an iPad Pro (13") and often fall asleep. Since when in front of my PC, I want to play.

* I don't have the patience to watch 200 hour playlists.

But still, I will try to advance more broadly. One things I am struggling with is how to use armor to race ahead after punching a hole through the line with infantry. I worry about them getting cut off. Yes, I know I can have them take an airfield and build a depot; and fly in freight.

Thanks for your suggestions.

[Wiedrock]

Yes, I know I can have them take an airfield and build a depot; and fly in freight.

You can also fly in supplies into hexes without airfields and/or depots, where the efficience is just smaller (as far as I have understood).

I worry about them getting cut off

Every spear-head has flanks, this flanks in this game you build with units which are not in adjacent hexes, so leaving 1/2 hexes space inbetween to cause the whole flank to have the ZOC of the units.

[K62_]

But still, I will try to advance more broadly. One things I am struggling with is how to use armor to race ahead after punching a hole through the line with infantry. I worry about them getting cut off. Yes, I know I can have them take an airfield and build a depot; and fly in freight.

After a breakthrough I like to advance as much as I can into empty space leaving gaps of 1-2 hexes between my units. I will leave no gaps next to enemy units. It ends up looking something like this:

map stalino end.JPG (181.12 KiB) Viewed 1775 times

The Leningrad scenario is actually not a good scenario for beginners since the difficult terrain makes it hard to learn proper maneuvering. You often have to be content with more limited breakthroughs here but the general principles still hold:

map leningrad end.JPG (203.19 KiB) Viewed 1775 times

I would recommend practicing on the Destruction of Southwestern Front scenario insead. Once you figure out how to maneuver in the open steppe, you will have an easier time adapting your techniques to the difficult conditions in the north.

[MarkShot]

I am replaying and broadly advancing.

It it true. I have the units to do so, but I wonder about the clock. That's how I ended up with the narrow rail corridor leading to the gates of Leningrad with 4 weeks left.

It might have worked with better recon on the flanks.

Especially if air missions were not required to be squares. I find that to be quite restrictive in many scenarios. Of course, sometime you can fake rectangles as your own map holdings are excluded.

---

I had played HOI4 and was very angry (retired systems designer/software engineer) when I saw how ground combat was leveraged to make air and sea combat with as little additional work as possible. They game is a very disappointing money grab joke. When I saw this and read the manual, I knew it was what I was looking for.

[MarkShot]

I have yet to complete the scenario, but three observations about advancing on a broad front.

* I have reached Leningrad proper on T10. That was faster than a narrow railway corridor. I think a broad front actually draws off Red Army units from massing along the rail approach even though my schwerpunkt is the double rail line.

* The Red Army units don't seem to make attempts to cut the supply line when they are very distant from it. Now, of course, a kamikaze suicide charge could win it for them, but I think the AI is predicated on survivable operations and not sacrificial missions.

* Is this a good or bad scenario for a beginner? Well, I don't really consider myself a beginner although I have more hours with WITW than WITE-2 so far. But the scenarios are varied and teach different skills. I see them as learning modules. Such that when you assemble what they teach, you are ready for the experience of the GC.

I had a gaming decision to make for the new year. It kind of went like this given limited time: WITW/WITE-2 v MIUS/CM2 v EU4/CK2/CK3. I threw out the PDS games as meaningless and no challenge sandboxes. Now, normally I would have gone with endless scenarios of MIUS/CM2, but I chose GG, because I don't really want hours of analysis prior to every game which is what a focus on a mass collection of scenarios is. Despite you could say WITW/WITE-2 are slow moving, you will eventually know the map and OOB very well. Then, it is really easy to jump in and play. The challenge ceases to be the analysis, but instead the approaches applied.

And I am expecting that the GCs are vast enough that replay will not become boring.

Again thank you for your suggestions of fluidity. I was very tight/heavy front oriented as I just finished some WITW France scenarios which a very much static line v static line.

[K62_]

* I have reached Leningrad proper on T10. That was faster than a narrow railway corridor. I think a broad front actually draws off Red Army units from massing along the rail approach even though my schwerpunkt is the double rail line.

That is awesome! I am glad you have got it to work.

* The Red Army units don't seem to make attempts to cut the supply line when they are very distant from it. Now, of course, a kamikaze suicide charge could win it for them, but I think the AI is predicated on survivable operations and not sacrificial missions.

That is a good observation if you plan to play the AI indefinitely. In PBEM, human players will often try to run sacrificial units into your supply lines (cavalry, weak tank divisions etc.). Having a weak screen of regiments helps with those situations.

* Is this a good or bad scenario for a beginner? Well, I don't really consider myself a beginner although I have more hours with WITW than WITE-2 so far.

Sorry, my bad for assuming things. People are (hopefully) learning and exploring at all levels of experience with the game.

I chose GG, because I don't really want hours of analysis prior to every game which is what a focus on a mass collection of scenarios is. Despite you could say WITW/WITE-2 are slow moving, you will eventually know the map and OOB very well. Then, it is really easy to jump in and play. The challenge ceases to be the analysis, but instead the approaches applied.

And I am expecting that the GCs are vast enough that replay will not become boring.

Again thank you for your suggestions of fluidity. I was very tight/heavy front oriented as I just finished some WITW France scenarios which a very much static line v static line.

It sounds like you are making all the right steps for getting into this game. It is always a pleasure to help! And I agree, on the Eastern Front the Germans should generally try to stay fluid (at least until they are clearly on the way back to Berlin).

[MarkShot]

K62,

No mistake in assumptions. I know it is very time consuming to help others in the forums. I greatly appreciate your wisdom.

I am constantly looking for my mistakes. Like I think as I advanced, there should have been 1 or 2 more weeks airfield attacks. Maybe the opposition would be far less effective if the Red Army was blinded as I moved towards Leningrad.

[EwaldvonKleist]

Snake in the East 2
Grow your snake by gobbling up VP locations on the map. Watch out for Soviet cavalry that can cut off your snake.

More seriously,.by advancing on a broad front, you actually need less troops to defend your supply lines than you do using a snake. Look at the AARs, they show how to advance effectively on a broad front.

[K62_]

Snake in the East 2
Grow your snake by gobbling up VP locations on the map. Watch out for Soviet cavalry that can cut off your snake.

[DarkHorse2]

How to do this properly? Thanks.

Wow, very impressive.

I have never actually played that scenario, but can't imagine your current advance is what the original designers had intended.

Only suggestion I can offer is to figure out how to advance on a little bit of a broader front than what you have shown. The supply problems you have got to be experiencing are the stuff of nightmares for Germany.

I really cannot envision any successful advance on Leningrad resulting from bypassing all of the Baltic Sea ports.

But that is just my take and could be completely wrong?