Matrix Games Forums

Lobster - 3rd version - the traditional flag as HQ. and zoomed out Better or not?

One more - This is a great website;https://vijsko.blogspot.com/2023/04/tac ... world.html

"Command HQ or Staff" symbol Feels a bit golf-y

less golf-y (Soviet style); Seems most easily identifiable to me

Made the Romanian RR Repair and Bridging units functional instead of just eye candy. Go to the original post to download.

Scenario tip: The large number of units can make the scenario seem overwhelming. But if you go through the OOB from top to bottom using the next unit button it becomes much easier to play. For both sides. This is the method we are using and it works great.

Scenario tip: With the large number of units traffic jams are going to happen especially in the first few turns for the Axis. To maximize movement points use the large number of MP units to reduce congestion through their Traffic Control function. Even some HQ units have MPs that can help reduce traffic congestion.

I was taking an interested look at the scenario. Quite impressive.

I was however puzzled by the "152mm How" equipment.
It seems to be missing any ranged capability?

HQ strings have a proper description in the OOB.
Fixed Soviet 152mm Howitzers. Thought I already had cuz it's okay in the game I'm currently playing.
Thanks for pointing that out.

If you want to keep your moving units from undergoing interdiction strikes keep them out of airfields and off of roads and rail in urban areas if possible. Moving through an airfield is the most likely tile type to be interdicted. Next is urban. So don't let the game make movement decisions for you.

I cannot stress this enough. Save your turn often. Nothing is more depressing than to spend two hours on a turn and have the game crash. It is NOT crash proof.

Lobster - on most maps there is shown an actual highway - improved road - from Minsk to Smolensk and on to Moscow - on the north bank of the Dnepr. You have a regular road from Minsk, through Orsha, and to Smolensk on the south side.

Was that not there in 1941?

Germans have it marked as under construction in this 1941 map.

http://maps.mapywig.org/m/German_maps/s ... 2.1941.jpg

Some sections were completed. Some were not. The Germans completed the route sometime in late 1941 or early 1942. If I were doing a scenario that lasted beyond 1941 I would put in the road. Looking at this map section from an OKH situation map dated 29 June, 1941 you see the black rail but no road next to it. The old road is on the south side of the river. If the new road existed it would be on the north side of the river by the railroad.

Yes - I see that. So, its a fault in my logic. I assumed the German 1941 maps were more expectation than reality so I avoided looking at them. With the 1943 versions, I assumed "well, now they know what's there and not there" which does not take into account the Germans building a few vital roads.

Thanks, gents.

Here's the 1941 I did not look at - showing Lobster's accuracy - no road;

Couple of more examples. The top one is another situation map from 28 June. 7th Panzer is already past Minsk. The road is shown as dashed lines. Under construction. The second is 1942 and the road is completed past Smolensk.

And honesly the Vyazma → Mozhaisk stretch should be secondary, not primary. It was narrow, dirt, turned to mud in the rain, no shoulders and two way traffic was difficult at best.

Just to muddy the picture. This is a Russian map from 1941 listing 4 levels of roads.

I assume "black highway" means asphalt/hard surface. It's the thicker black line, the thinner is the rail. This type is shown from Minsk to around Orsha, then continues as "regular" highway north of the river towards Smolensk (not on map).
On this the road north of the river is of higher quality than the one south of the river, which is listed as "improved dirt road". (green)

"Federal Highways: In general, Russian federal highways are significant roads that connect major cities and regions, often referred to as "black highways" due to their importance in the country's transportation network.
These highways play a crucial role in the transportation infrastructure of Russia, connecting various parts of the country and facilitating trade and travel."

In other words it has nothing to do with pavement. In general a major highway in Russia in 1941 would be an improved gravel/crushed rock road, packed, with two way traffic and dirt or gravel/crushed rock shoulders. It doesn't mean the road was completed but it most certainly was planned and parts completed or well under construction. It was indeed a "black highway".

In 1941, according to German and Soviet sources, there were about 7,000 to 10,000 miles of asphalt or concrete roads in all of the USSR with 70% to 75% being west of the Urals.

"Hard‑Surfaced Roads (All Paved Types)
Soviet official statistics (NarKomAvtoDor) and German OKH intelligence reports converge on:
• ~70,000–80,000 km of “improved” roads in the entire USSR
→ ~43,000–50,000 miles
But this category included:
• gravel
• crushed stone
• macadam
• cinder‑surfaced roads
…not just asphalt or concrete.
Only a fraction were true all‑weather paved roads."

It shows on this 1941 RKKA map as well, but I've read that the Germans discovered in 1941 what the Soviets already knew; Don't fully trust the Soviet maps. That's what started this tangent of the thread - me trying not to rely to much on the 1941 maps and why I was using the German 1943 maps.

There are a few good maps on this site like this specific one; http://www.etomesto.com/map-atlas_rkka/ I vaguely remember reading that in the Soviet system nobody wanted to admit things like in this case the money to build the missing section of highway was used elsewhere, so cartographers would just put it there so that they weren't dragged into it.

On the flip side, the RKKA map does NOT show a bridge at Beshenkovichi (west of Vitebsk), but Soviet orders in early July planning for the Lepel counterstroke specifically stated to blow that bridge to protect the left flank of the 22A digging in behind the Dvina/Daugava;

In Western terms, by any measure, this was a secondary road along the entire Minsk to Moscow route at any time in the war. But in terms of the Soviet Union at the time it was a super highway.
I think the map I made actually overstates primary roads. But I have no concrete information other than the maps of the period that I have. Even that main Minsk to Moscow road reduced traffic by 50% when it rained. It's the only road I have lots of information on because it played such a large part in the operations of Army Group Center.