Goofy,
I hardly know where to begin.
Well as a wise singing would-be nun once sang “let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start….” Sorry I came over all Julie Andrews for a minute [:D].
You're not doing it all wrong, but you are doing lots of it wrong.
Well evidently, otherwise I wouldn’t be in the position I am. But I will take your comments in the positive manner I assume them to have been given, and respond as follows:
I think one big problem is that you are not planning and executing any encirclements, but rather pushing forward on a broad front.
No, I am planning encirclements – but either not very well (because I am not a very good war gamer), or they just haven’t come off because of poor execution. However I can confirm I am not seeking to win the game by inching forward against enemy formations that can - and will – quite gladly soak up the losses.
This is a recipe for German defeat.
Yes I know! – I have yet to win a game as the Germans – but not through want of trying to do the right thing.
It appears you have 3 of your panzergruppe operating all side-by-side, pressing ahead slowly and not trapping any Russians.
The reason I have three PzG operating together is because I am trying something different to make a breakthrough. Through, no doubt bad play, I failed to make the progress I thought I could make at the start of the game. As a result, the Soviet player (who is one an excellent war gamer by the way) allowed me no margin for error. He retreated, he blew bridges, he did all that I would expect of such a fine player. That being the case I was quickly faced with the Soviet wall. In a couple of previous games as the Germans I have tried to breach said wall. And each time I have been bled white before getting very far.
I have no chance of breaching dug-in, often fortified Soviets, three deep usually behind rivers or in forests or both! I thought I would try and catch my opponent off guard and so have tried to concentrate the panzers. This has proven relatively successful considering where I was a few turns back.
Instead, you should be using PzG in well considered and planned pincer attacks. In the centre, use PzG 2 as one arm of the pincer, and PzG 3 as the other arm. Take a turn or two to position them well. Make sure they have AP bonuses. Then have them lance through the Russians, driving in a straight and narrow line deep into their rear areas.
Yes I have tried this, but like in real life Operation Blau, my Soviet opponent has manoeuvred his forces well and there has not been much to bag before units have slipped away. By no means all, but far too many.
In your last operation, all 3 PzGs were operating on the same axis of attack, and the Russians fell back behind the river easily. Instead, you should have had one pushing up through Orsha, say, while another hooks around the north of Smolensk. You could have trapped a dozen or more divisions there.
This is where I am clearly lacking in expertise in the game. Yes this sounds great, and if possible (by a competent player) a killer move. BUT – without the panzers operating as they have done I would not be able to dislodge one – maybe two – lines of defence, and that’s before I get anywhere near Orsha! If it’s possible for the Germans to beat the wall – please tell me the secret!
Otherwise, I think you are overestimating the Russians seriously. You keep saying you're worried about counterattacks etc., afraid to advance panzers without infantry support,
Yes I am wary of them because although I have not won as the Germans, I have won as the Soviets and I know about hurting the Germans if they get too over excited. Now whether, in the context of this game and the wall I am facing, I am being too cautious or not, I don’t know but you may be right.
afraid to cross a river even after a successful attack.
NO! I did not have the AP left after spending AP trying to get rid of the defenders on this side of the river!
You must be more aggressive and not so risk-adverse to win here. In the last screenshot, you have divisions lines up along the Dniepr at Smolensk in stacks of 3 and 4. Unless you're planning to attack south across the river from Smolensk, this is overkill.
No – that is exactly what I am building up to do – otherwise the ton of Soviets that have fled east (or will do so shortly) will make any gains north of the river pointless.
You need at most 2 divisions per hex, and one per hex might do. Get the rest of that 2PzG where it needs to be to attack!
See above.
Finally, I wonder if there are some mechanics that you're not quite getting right. For instance, you say 4th Army doesn't have enough APs to attack across the river, even after sitting there for a few turns. Would be worth trying to work out why. Are they still on blitzkrieg posture, and therefore accumulating huge amounts of fatigue? Or is something else going wrong with that army? Use your army and division reports to figure out what's amiss.
4th Army has insufficient AP, as far as I can tell, only because it is exhausting itself trying to break dug-in Soviets across water. No I am not in Blitzkrieg mode. I am having to ration attacks to repair readiness, but then the Soviets simply entrench.
Good luck, this game is still totally winnable.
In the hands of a competent player perhaps……[;)]
