Matrix Games Forums

The real problem was that Hitler was enamored by Fredrick the Great in that offense is the best defense. Well that didn't work and he should have played defensively against the grow Soviet power, with only selective bulge snipping when necessary. But Hitler was a fool, thank God.

ORIGINAL: map66
One solution, based kinda on the stacking rules from SSG's Decisive Battles, would be to give Soviet units in '41 a significant boost if say 3 divisions are stacked in one hex, while a penalty if only 1 is. Put in historical terms, 10 miles was an awful long line to hold for an under-strength '41 Soviet division, but they did indeed mount excellent defenses where forces were concentrated densely (east of Smolensk for example.)

Interesting idea; the range of fixes that various people have proposed is rather fascinating, hopefully the devs will be able to figure out something that works better than the current game.

ORIGINAL: Capt Cliff

The real problem was that Hitler was enamored by Fredrick the Great in that offense is the best defense. Well that didn't work and he should have played defensively against the grow Soviet power, with only selective bulge snipping when necessary. But Hitler was a fool, thank God.

Freddy himself was lucky and saved by a timely regime change in Russia. Interesting to speculate what would have happened in Germany if Prussia was reduced to minor power status, as very nearly happened.

Pak guns were the bane of the Panzers' existence. Wittmann considered tank kills "meaningless" compared to destroyed Paks. Seems to me, the Pak-Panzer relationship needs to be re-examined to keep the tanks in check (at least post-1942, when the Soviets finally learned how to effectively use them).

ORIGINAL: Flaviusx

ORIGINAL: Capt Cliff

The real problem was that Hitler was enamored by Fredrick the Great in that offense is the best defense. Well that didn't work and he should have played defensively against the grow Soviet power, with only selective bulge snipping when necessary. But Hitler was a fool, thank God.

Freddy himself was lucky and saved by a timely regime change in Russia. Interesting to speculate what would have happened in Germany if Prussia was reduced to minor power status, as very nearly happened.

True, another Napoleonic axiom that a general needs to be lucky is well proven. An yes with no Bismark what would Europe look like?

I'd guess we'd still get a Germany, but it wouldn't be a Prussian dominated one. Or dominated by any single German state, perhaps. The structure would be much more federalized in nature, like modern Germany and unlike the Second Reich.

ORIGINAL: Flaviusx

I'd guess we'd still get a Germany, but it wouldn't be a Prussian dominated one. Or dominated by any single German state, perhaps. The structure would be much more federalized in nature, like modern Germany and unlike the Second Reich.

Perhaps we would have seen a Austrian dominated German State instead.

As to Kursk; I have always been of the opinion that the battle was a form of mobile defense in von Manstein's eyes. He saw it as a continuation of the Kharkov operation after a relatively short rest period. While I don't think that victory in this one battle would have had a decisive change on the outcome of the war, it would have certainly given the Germans a much better footing in 43 and 44. The damage to the Soviet armies would have been great enough to delay their late summer/fall offensive to the winter at the earliest, while simultaneously shortening the German lines significantly.