Matrix Games Forums

Hi All,
Have been running my first full campaign as the Soviets vs AI, its early September and for the last few turns it feels like the game is slipping away from me, however I just realized that I don't have any point of reference as to where I should be as the Soviet player at this stage!
Map wise I have a good block around Narva and Luga in the North, but AGN panzers have crossed to join AGC for a push on Moscow. They've outflanked the Orsha line and I'm now falling back to Rzhev/Vyasma area. In the South they are pushing through the Deneiper line almost at will it seems... the conscripts just don't seem to cut it[:(]
Stat wise I'm ahead in terms of troop numbers in the field, but casualties are running at about 4.5-1. Is that sustainable? (I never bothered to check the stats in the German campaign)
I have managed to destroy several panzer divisions, and a lot of the remaining "fast" divisions are getting low on strength, but far far too many (I mean nearly all!) of the German Infantry divisions are virtually at full strength and therefore plenty capable of a slugging match.
So - with space to trade for time fast running out, am I right to be pessimistic??

I also have some general queries on strategy for the Soviet player:
"More power from the politburo" card - is this ever viable against a real opponent, or is it a white elephant? Managed to play it early against the AI by virtue of its slow methodical progress so managing paranoia was feasible (still risky). Against a much more aggressive play I'm not sure the hefty PP tag it comes with makes it a likely bet early on.

What do people do with Zhukov? I find that once I’ve slapped a marshall into shape, and then darted about blowing key bridges I’ve got to September and never used him for anything aggressive! Now I’m looking I find it very hard to see an opportunity that I can take advantage of when I need min. 3 days notice (move, hope not delayed, play all out card, wait until next turn).

Cheers
Steve

Sounds like you're having fun, and a good challenge...

There's no real benchmark in terms of where you should be on territory, force preservation in is my view more important. Falling back to Vyazma is no big deal, if you still have a sound army to make a stand there.

4.5:1 loss ratio isn't bad, but really as Soviets you want it down around 3:1 to be assured of victory. The AI runs down its panzers pretty fast, as you've found, so the long term challenge is definitely the wall of infantry. In the centre, once the panzers are neutered, you need to find an army or two or three to put on to offensive posture, ideally with Zhukov in charge of the lead army, and take the fight to the Germans. Their infantry divisions die just as quickly as yours when they are surrounded and out of supply.

The south is a tough theatre. As you say, the conscripts don't cut it. Divert a couple of regular armies south if you can afford to. My games always end early with me grabbing Konigsberg or Warsaw, so I don't actually know if Rostov can be held all the way through the game. The Axis forces in AGS are far stronger than they were historically. 1.03 should redress the balance a bit here, due to a better starting posture for the Russians in Bessarabia.

On the "More power from the politburo card" - no, probably not viable against a real human, especially after it was nerfed in 1.02 with a big cost increase.

Zhukov: plan ahead. Where will you need to make a strong defensive stand, or where do you want to try for a strategic counterattack? Put Zhukov in charge of that army and watch him work his magic. I love to put him in a fortress (Riga, Odessa, Kiev) with a garrison and about six divisions and their headquarters on at least neutral posture. Dug in, and with "all out" card. The German AI will crash against it, losing up to 15K troops each attack, sometimes for 6 to 8 consecutive turns before the fortress finally falls. And luckily, Zhukov always makes it out!

Take. Konigsberg... I have no idea how you achieve that, which just goes to prove what I thought – I really am just mediocre LOL!

Having lots of fun with this game so far.

Well, a pep talk from chuck and a more assertive attitude has certainly changed things. Saw what looked like a weak point in the German dispositions opposite Rhzev so threw a pair of fresh regular armies at it, with a conscript army in defensive posture supporting.

It’s now nearing the end of September and they’re still pushing west to the edge of Ostrov and Dauga! I’ve gone from the lows of thinking the game is lost, to the highs of thinking I was going to pocket 20 Divs of AGN at Smolensk only to watch the AI carry out a (slightly) disorganised retreat and then counterattack .

Things now seem balanced on a knife edge. Casualty ratio is hovering around 4:1, but 12 German Divs have been destroyed with another 5 surrounded. I’m confident Leningrad & Moscow are safe – but Southern Front continues to be ground to pieces by AGS and the “foreign press” has announced the German Strategy is Military Independence – so any objective goes!!

Taking Konigsberg is not as hard as it sounds - just do more of what you're doing at Rzhev! The German AI really can't deal with a major breach, as you've found out in your push through to Ostrov and Daugavpils.

Once you take a dozen divisions out of the German OOB, the AI starts to run low on units and you'll find each subsequent pocket easier and easier to create.

Generally the AI will not send enough troops to seal a major breakthrough. It will send 4 divisions when really 10 are needed. So you surround and kill the four easily enough, and the AI sends another six, except now it should be sending 20 and pulling back AGN from Luga. So you kill the six and cut off AGN, and the last push into East Prussia is virtually without opposition.

It's all about pushing the AI to a certain tipping point, and from there is all snowballs in your favour.

Get some extra regular armies down to Rostov, at any price!