Matrix Games Forums

Well, you never know until you try [:)]  Even the added strength of a regiment could be enough to change the final odds in your favor. 
 
Marquo

Turn 62. August 20 1942.

The Soviets continue to pick on the Finns. Probably a good decision. The Finns have limited replacements, and are weak from their exertions in winter. The Finnish army is retreating according to plan. Map after Axis moves.

Interesting chances he is taking to a point. Russian units that are not dug in that well away from rail lines.

Be a shame with a panzer drive to the shores of Lake Onega and cut that mess off. [:D]

I was kind of toying with the idea actually. Give ground to the north but let the German panzers stand where they are. No good panzer terrain though, and I doubt Q-Ball will fall for it...

Oh, I am sure he is doing recon like crazy, but the same terrain that will slow the panzers a bit is also the same terrain that may provide an element of surprise for you. You don't have far to go, even with the terrain.

Part of it is what you plan on doing in 1942. While you won't launch a big operation, he will probably launch several small operations just to punch up the casualties, etc. In a normal situation where he has open terrain and rail lines, it would be extremely difficult to pocket much of anything without him being in a position to immediately break it. Not saying he won't up here, but it appears to be far harder for him to reenforce the area and rescue any troops you may get encircled before you can clean them out and blunt his drive.

No question this operation would have some risks, but then again cutting off several tank corps, including guards units, is a temptation.

At this point the front has degenerated to the usual trench warfare - although T is in worse shape than is even typical, making it an even a bigger problem.  This is in the long run a losing proposition for T.  So he needs to seriously consider desperate actions. 
 
Of course a failed desperate action that makes things worse for him isn't exactly desirable either.  He would have to make every effort to make such a gamble a success (SUs, prioritized reinforcement, HQ build up, air support, etc.)
 

Can you post a OOB?

Like to see how your doing compaired to my self vs Hoooper, figured I might be able to help some.

Or at least tell you what not to do.

I know you still have a good air fleet so that should be a big help.

Looking back on what happened to me I might consider setting Infantry ToW at 80%.

Won't that just speed up the collapse?

ORIGINAL: Encircled
Won't that just speed up the collapse?

If it fails? Definitely.
It it works, it might make a real difference.


Hmm...
Failure is definitely bad, while success may not actually mean anything in the end.

Not exactly the most promising risk versus gain comparison is it?

I'm still in favor of him doing a fairly significant pullback to shorten lines. His infantry are in such shape that single divs will be hard pressed to hold without major forts and panzer backup. That's one hard lesson I've learned in my 43 game with Oleg: by mid to late 43, the Russians will bust your lines wherever they want to and can bring the necessary tubes and rifle corps to bear.

ORIGINAL: Encircled

Won't that just speed up the collapse?

No, I don't think showing an OOB will speed up the collapse. [;)]

Turn 63. August 27 1942.

The Soviets have launched a number of probing attacks in selected places along the front. They succeed in all cases, though mostly at heavy cost.

Edit: For the record, 3 out of 4 of those attacks shown here succeeded due to the 1-1 rule.

I try some counterattacks. Most are somewhat more successful than this, but this one is not atypical.

The northern front after Axis moves. Elements of 2d Panzer Army are arriving. This will give us the option of a counteroffensive if conditions seem favorable.

OOB turn 63.

Our OOBs are fairly close at this time of the game. This seems a bit odd to me given the casualties in your game. Can you post your total casualties for ground an air?

For the record, 3 out of 4 of those attacks shown here succeeded due to the 1-1 rule.

What exactly is the 1-1 rule?

At the end of a combat if the attackers CV is 2:1 over the defenders a retreat is forced. But a Soviet attacker only needs to get a 1:1 to get the retreat result.

ORIGINAL: Tarhunnas

This is the kind of combat result that I would love to be explained in detail by someone.

4:1 odds vs. 1:1.5 losses, that looks like a getting a '1' on the 4:1 column of a CRT...

This is the kind of combat result that I would love to be explained in detail by someone.

Pretty simple: mortars are extremely effective defensive weapons in the game and the Soviets have plenty. Mortar teams are rarely disrupted in the initial bombardment by artillery and the fire of the attacker is pretty poor at 500 meters, so mortars can generally fire twice before your infantry can do anything.

For some reason, German defensive fire seems to be less effective than Soviet defensive fire. Keep in mind that the loss results you see are with the additional casualties. If you remove them, such as in a version we're testing, casualty ratios can become really poor for the Axis.