Defending Russia

[timolang63]

So I've played a number of games against the AI and have done pretty good as the Soviets. i.e. try not to get surrounded and slowly retreat until Winter.

I think I've figured out supply and defense, building forts and so on. I am surprised how often the Axis just blow through units, despite being orange re supply. I sometimes leaves units in contact too much, and pay the price then too. In any case, about 3.5 million men in the field.

The air game is pretty hard though - and it's difficult to know if I'm doing that correctly. I've sent all my level bombers to the reserve so mainly have fighters and fighter-bombers left. I put a few naval bombers over the Black Sea and Baltics, but everyone is pretty much assigned to ground support. I just saw an old guide (from 21) that suggested getting rid of all fighters except for MiG-3s. What's the best advice for Red Air Force in Sep-Oct 41?

Map position for Sep 41 isn't great -- holding in the north from Lake Peipus to Valdai Hills to Moscow, but I just lost Tula. The center is a bow, from Tula down to well east of Gomel, and then horizontally across to Kharkov, which was just surrounded. Then another bow south in a long arc to Kherson. Odessa holds out.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

So I've played a number of games against the AI and have done pretty good as the Soviets. i.e. try not to get surrounded and slowly retreat until Winter.

I think I've figured out supply and defense, building forts and so on. I am surprised how often the Axis just blow through units, despite being orange re supply. I sometimes leaves units in contact too much, and pay the price then too. In any case, about 3.5 million men in the field.

The air game is pretty hard though - and it's difficult to know if I'm doing that correctly. I've sent all my level bombers to the reserve so mainly have fighters and fighter-bombers left. I put a few naval bombers over the Black Sea and Baltics, but everyone is pretty much assigned to ground support. I just saw an old guide (from 21) that suggested getting rid of all fighters except for MiG-3s. What's the best advice for Red Air Force in Sep-Oct 41?

Map position for Sep 41 isn't great -- holding in the north from Lake Peipus to Valdai Hills to Moscow, but I just lost Tula. The center is a bow, from Tula down to well east of Gomel, and then horizontally across to Kharkov, which was just surrounded. Then another bow south in a long arc to Kherson. Odessa holds out.

Is there a question in here besides, "What's the best advice for Red Air Force in Sep-Oct 41?"? Personally I love the Lagg3, but that is just me (cannons). But a competant Soviet player should be able to answer the question for you, if anyone is still around now days.

[M60A3TTS]

From the manual, 19.2.2 PLANES

In air to air combat a number of these are important.

Planes that have high manoeuvre values,
rate of climb and
higher maximum speed

will have an advantage in terms of positioning and possibly attacking first. The armour and
durability values will help a plane survive being hit.

Soviet FFBs with a maneuver value lower than the LaGG-3: none
Soviet FFBs with a rate of climb value lower than the LaGG-3: none
Soviet FFBs with a higher maximum speed lower than the LaGG-3: Hurricane, I-16 (all types), I-15(bis), I-153

If you can get the cannon of the LaGG-3 in a position to fire, sure, you can have some success. But the numbers don't support that assumption.

Whoever suggested getting rid of all planes but the MiG-3 is Out to Lunch.

MiG-3 was built as a pure high altitude interceptor that would be in it's element defending cities. The inability to provide effective Ground Support escort at lower altitudes that drastically reduced the maximum speed doomed the MiG-3 to a niche role, thus it's early termination of production at the end of 1941. Yak-1 while inferior all around to the Bf-109 series is nevertheless the go-to fighter until Yak-7B starts to arrive in the Spring of 1942.

So basically in 1941, use MiG-3 for escort of high altitude level bomber, interceptor or other missions it can undertake over 20k feet.

Yak-1 primary fighter below 20k feet, and then LaGG-3 in an important secondary role as it's production numbers can keep you from having to deploy Polikarpov I-15s and I-16s.

[56ajax]

Well it depends on who you are playing and what settings are chosen but generally speaking

1. Retreat
2. Determine where you are going to defend Leningrad amd Moscow and start to fortify
3. Rail your best units to the defense of L and M
4. Optimise your commander structure to the game limits -Div, army, front
5. Reduce Toes to 50% for junk units or those which may not escape the Panzers
6. Get your best leaders in place
7. If a unit cannot escape place it on a fort but disband the fort if possible.
8. Build or expand airfields where you think the front will be for your winter offensive.
9. Move off the map any unit that is set to disband in the next couple of turns
10. Disband Mot Construction Units to free up trucks.
11. In the Baltic region defend on a rail line as combat causes damage to the rail and negates the Baltic rail conversion benefit.
12. Cut off spearheads with junk units after T1
13. If you get a chance hit Axis Allies hard

I'm sure there is lots more

[HardLuckYetAgain]

If you can get the cannon of the LaGG-3 in a position to fire, sure, you can have some success. But the numbers don't support that assumption.

Thanks for writing it up. But it isnt an assumption for using them. I am using them because I want to use them.