Uranus Soviet stagnation

[gwgardner]

I'm playing the Soviets in the Uranus full campaign. After an initial success isolating Stalingrad, I have found it impossible to breakthrough the German lines anywhere.

I do use combined arms, I pay fairly close attention to not over-stacking or using too many units in any given attack.

I've had no success breaking out into the steppes north of the Caucasus passes or even reducing the final holdouts in Stalingrad.

All of my units are in the 'green zone' of their HQs.

My air force seems to be perpetually on its last legs - overuse? poor supply?

Do any of you more experienced players have tips on how to proceed?

[Vic]

A screenshot of one of your units would help here to diagnose your issues. It might be a supply issue.

best wishes,
Vic

[gwgardner]

ORIGINAL: Vic

A screenshot of one of your units would help here to diagnose your issues. It might be a supply issue.

best wishes,
Vic

Thanks. I will do so just as soon as my opponent makes his turn.

[gwgardner]

What does 'ratio' refer to. Such as Sturmovik (5x).

[Urpå]

Sorry, I don't have time to do the turn this evening but, at the risk of commiting high treason [:D], I'll give some of my observations.

After the initial few turns the repeated exposure of small stacks/single units with low readiness allowed a lot of easy wins. VVS not flying any real CAP contributed a lot too IMO. My bombers have been largely unimpeded and I've been wondering why the VVS is doing almost nothing on the defensive. I assume their readiness is too low and/or they are too far behind the lines?

On ground attacks, are you making sure the concentric and divisional bonuses remain high? I think some of your attacks must've had that issue as I couldn't figure out another reason.

Stalingrad; my supply situation has improved dramatically now that the pocket has shrunk. Fixing your air issue should fix this as well, since the JU52s would take casualties upon delivery. Although, it's only December, so I'd definetly like them to survive at least a while. I mean they did until February RL.

In general; you really don't want to move small stacks next to German units. Especially when exposed from multiple sides and when low on readiness. I've lost count on how many times I've racked up easy wins against those. Extra, extra especially, don't move a defeated unit back to the front next turn. That's an even easier win and, due to less morale, they are more likely to panic or brake increasing losses.

You should get rid on Govorov at Voronezh Front. Judging from several -25%s I guess he is still in charge.

Ratio, I believe, refers to the number of individuals inside a unit. In that case 5 sturmoviks.

[gwgardner]

Haha, thanks for committing high treason! Very useful info and I'll try to improve.

I do generally combine bombers with fighters on missions. By CAP perhaps you are referring to the intercept level? I've never adjusted that.

[Urpå]

By CAP I mean interception but not (necessarily) the intercept level.

Your fighters simply haven't been doing many interceptions during my turns. Maybe the units are too far from the front or have low readiness.


Looks like I mistook Golikov for Govorov in the last post. Anyway, getting rid of the dead wood in various commands is a good idea. I believe I saw -50%/-50% this turn. I didn't know that's even possible. Army and Front must've had simultaneous out-of-depth penalties[&:]


One more thing sprung to mind. You should not leave artillery on the frontlines, at least not without adequate cover. Prime targets for either side.

[gwgardner]

Here's an example infantry unit.

[gwgardner]

I guess this is the culprit for lack of replacements - ie, there are none! Hardly.

[gwgardner]

Alright, I'll shakeup the whole darned command structure! Heads will roll.

Perhaps I also need to prioritize certain areas of the front.

[Urpå]

You should take a pic of the Stavka/Basic Details for the overall supply amounts. That ought to reveal if there's a general supply issue. Some areas definetly have local issues (supply movement AP goes >100) until the Stalingrad rail line is cleared.

In Case Blue/Trappen Soviet side will receive less supply than required, at least for a while. I actually don't know how long it lasts as I haven't played a long enough game with the Soviets. Maybe Uranus scenario has the same.

[Vic]

ORIGINAL: gwgardner

Here's an example infantry unit.

This looks just fine. This unit has full readiness and supply and excellent morale in fact.
Any bad combat results must be due to something other.

The key for the Soviets is always superior numbers. Focus like 4 tank corps, with artillery support on a 2-3 hex stretch in a place where the Germans are not waiting and it should be a pleasure to slice through their lines.

Best wishes,
Vic