Matrix Games Forums

Maybe this is a dumb question, but is there ever a time when as the Soviet on the offensive you want to do an HQ buildup? It would seem that the same functionality that works for the Germans should give benefits to the Soviets, but I've never seen any advice/commentary to this regard.

I can think of a number of reasons for this (first and foremost, there is just relatively little Soviet player experience across the board in 42 and beyond), from the AP cost to the burned trucks, but just curious if anyone has done the homework to see if there are situations where the benefits outweigh the costs.

You might start doing them around late 43.

Soviets just don't have the APs or trucks to spare for this before then.

Also, grinding through one fort line after another doesn't exactly lend itself to massive pocketing and exploitation opportunities.

Generally speaking, beating the Wehrmacht is an attritional affair, not about tank rushes. If everything goes right then you can start doing some true blitzkrieg stuff by 1944. No decent German player is going to hand you a Stalingrad pocket in 1942. You will have to beat him into submission first until the point the Wehrmacht is looking like a bad souffle and on the verge of collapse. Then and only then will HQ buildups pay off.

Makes sense, thanks - at some point as more of us start getting late war experience we probably need to start some kind of thread about late war Soviet tactics and operations. 95% of the stuff on the board deals with '41 to blizzard end.