Matrix Games Forums

I recently tried to play USSR against AI and it is really tough. Often I don't have the AP to run away so I generally feel forced to defend, and I am reluctant to abandon positions just to have Germans get a free shot at me in the open.

1. What are the main defensive lines in each theater? Should I just follow the rivers?

2. How important is it to defend in cities/forests/swamps rather than clear terrain? I feel that I can get too attached to what I feel are good positions but I'm not sure how much good that actually does in combat.

3. Do you generally put your entire army in one line, multiple division/hex? Or spread out and in depth?

4. What do I do with those leftover divisions that I've somehow managed to save? Can they be reassigned? I have a handful of HQ with just 1-2 division left but its somewhat cluttered.

5. How important is trying to save my starting army? A lot of reinforcements are designated conscript.

6. Do the starting tank divisions get any use later? I try to keep them back but I don't know if they can get any stronger.

Follow the river lines and stay in the forests and marshes. Reports show the bonuses.

Keep armies together and stack 2-3 divisions if able.

Use up those remnants by clogging them in front of the panzers. Then shoot the hq general.

Don't save anyone. Everyone dies. You get more armies and deploy them asap. Set some to defend mode immed.

Late reply but anyways.

1. Rivers are prime defensive locations, along with forests and swamps. German bridgeheads across rivers are an exceptionally good target for counterattacks.

2. Basically anything that isn't clear plains/fields will hamper the effectiveness of attacking troops (you can view the exact percentages by mouseovering the terrain box on the top of the screen in game). Forests, woods and swamps give a 40% combat bonus to soviet units(20% if there is a road present).

Try not to get too attached to good positions though. If a solid defensive position comes under threat of encirclement, then it's no longer a good position.

3. Basically always a line of at least 2 hexes deep. When directly facing a PZG, 3 or even 4 hexes deep, depending on the terrain. This will make decisive breakthroughs and encirclements much harder to achieve, as well as providing good positioning for counterattacks should a breakthrough happen.

4. Against German AI you can use the ragged armies as any sort of cannon fodder you please, as the AI doesn't dabble with PP, and thus won't get anything extra from finishing off armies.

In PBEM, however, you can pull those ragged armies off the line to prevent the German player from gaining PP from the destruction of army HQ's. (Should all units under an army HQ get destroyed, it gets disbanded, awarding the German player half the PP's.)

5. As important as it is to save any forces. A significant portion of the starting army will likely be destroyed in the early turn, but save whatever you reasonably can. There's no need to sacrifice men into encirclements.

6. Starting tank divisions are very good at augmenting any counterattacks. Just try to move them around as little as possible before sending them into a battle. Soviet tank crew training pretty much guarantees at least 10% losses in breakdowns every time you move a tank division. One can easily lose 50% of a division's tank strength before it even sees combat, if they're moved unnecessarily.