Having tried a bunch of the single scenarios, I'm going to try and tackle the US Campaign. I'm going on holidays in a week, so there will be a pause for a couple of weeks while I chase the shade in St. Maarten. Hopefully, I will have my forces deployed and the battle started before I head South.
The first scenario has me in charge of 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Armd Division (Hell on Wheels).
So, after thinking about this overnight, I have done a little research. In the last game I played, the Soviets had about 15,500 worth of VPs. I had a saved game from near the end and played it out so that I could check the number of TBs I was facing. By checking the Soviet record at the end, I was up against 5 TB - I thought I was going to be facing a TR - so this was a little bigger.
It also means that each TB is worth about 3,000 points. I could try to get more exact, but I'm too lazy and only really need this kind of comparison.
In this scenario, the Soviets have over 28,000 points. Using the logic from above, that means that I'm likely facing roughly 9 TBs along with their arty, AD, Helos and HQs. This might actually be 7 TB and a couple of MRB (Motor Rifle Bn) or something similar.
I had started my look at the Soviets and guessed that I would be facing two TR (6 TB and 2 MRB) so that is fairly close. I'm going to leave my first two options like that and add a third that includes an independent TB as an additional force.
The Soviets do not like getting into the woods, which is going to be difficult in this scenario.
Most likely – Option 1
Most dangerous – Option 3
Options 1 and 3 are almost the same.
It would be nice if my recce/forward elements can observe enough Soviet movement early on to help me decide which one the Soviets are doing – or whatever they are doing.
As stated earlier, the area along the B3 is important, controlling it or having direct fire on it will help slow down Soviet movement.
I like the first option – defending forward gives me more ground to trade off as the Soviets advance. Also, using the river as an obstacle seems to make lots of sense in slowing the Soviets down.
The problem with Option 2 is that I give up too much ground and the use of the river as an obstacle. So, I’m not going with it.
I like the idea of shaping the battle though. I think that the Soviets are likely to advance with 2 TR forward. This means that the risk of too many Soviet forces getting into EA 1 too quickly is not that high.
I’m going to go with Option 3.
I want to save my FASCAM to use it to slow down or contain the Soviets as they try and push out from EA 1. I can also use my ICM when the Soviets are in EA 1.
2nd Armd Bn has a very important role – back stop EA 1 and being ready to attack the flank of a Soviet push in the 3rd Inf area.
True enough. For some reason, I keep thinking that I'm going to have some time to get forces forward... Oh well, the enemy always has a say on the battlefield.
This is going to be fun. It should be an interesting ride.