Slitherine

glenghiscan wrote:Cav div41 v sspanzer41

Medium force size? You should have plenty of armour. While the Germans do have an advantage, these games are winnable by the Soviets.

And do keep in mind, you don't need to win more than a couple of battles to prevent the Germans from winning.

But please do let me know what you feel could be improved and we can work it into the next round.

I was actually wondering what the Soviet cavalry division entails myself, just simply out of curiosity.

The problem with skirmish maps they tend to be very one sided like this one was in my opinion totally unwinable for soviets unlike the axis who had 150mm howitzer that fired every round and APC with Mgs where as I had choice of trucks at 40 credits 1 At and a mortar crew the only good choice I had was 1 t34

MacD2013 wrote:I was actually wondering what the Soviet cavalry division entails myself, just simply out of curiosity.

If you look in the folder, you can see what each of the divisions consist of (with min and max). The game then scales the forces based on the size (still trying to figure out the formula there).

If the lists need tweaking, it's no problem. We can do that for the next round.

Let me know if anyone has any suggestions there.

glenghiscan wrote:The problem with skirmish maps they tend to be very one sided like this one was in my opinion totally unwinable for soviets unlike the axis who had 150mm howitzer that fired every round and APC with Mgs where as I had choice of trucks at 40 credits 1 At and a mortar crew the only good choice I had was 1 t34

The 150mm certainly has an impact on the game but it's one of the early war advantages. Later in the war, the shoe would be on the other foot.

You should have a number of BT7's for sure...and they are killer against German armour. The big mortar would help and maybe a truck or two...but I have won in playtests as the Soviets...so these games are winnable depending on your opponent.

Again, we can amend the army lists if you have suggestions. Do keep in mind though, this is 1941. The Germans did have an advantage and the campaign should reflect that. It is however a race against the clock.

Brummbar44 wrote:

MacD2013 wrote:I was actually wondering what the Soviet cavalry division entails myself, just simply out of curiosity.

If you look in the folder, you can see what each of the divisions consist of (with min and max). The game then scales the forces based on the size (still trying to figure out the formula there).

If the lists need tweaking, it's no problem. We can do that for the next round.

Let me know if anyone has any suggestions there.

Ah I can't on iPad, or rather I don't know how to find the folder haha.

MacD2013 wrote: Ah I can't on iPad, or rather I don't know how to find the folder haha.

Ahhh...good point.

Here is the text file, not sure if you can open it on iPad...let me know and I can make it into a PDF if nec.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/812 ... MYLIST.TXT

I thought it would be to do with the early stages of the war .ill be off while Monday as I'm off to the east coast with the family I'm sure my team can cope with any decisions while I'm away

Glen had plenty of armour for a Cav. div, but most of it was Bt7's. He put up a good fight and one more T34 would have made it more balanced. But an SS panzer v cavalry was always going to be difficult. The Cav div was destroyed so needs to be removed from the OOB.

collier4 wrote:Glen had plenty of armour for a Cav. div, but most of it was Bt7's. He put up a good fight and one more T34 would have made it more balanced. But an SS panzer v cavalry was always going to be difficult. The Cav div was destroyed so needs to be removed from the OOB.

Thanks for the report, campaign map and situation updated.

Looking at the possible force mix, the Soviets seem to have the option of (for example) more T34s in both the armour and cavalry divisions. Perhaps there are insufficient points to purchase a competitive army, without skewing historical realism too much. As a suggestion, can resource points be increased slightly?

collier4 wrote:can resource points be increased slightly?

This has me thinking... more excitement next round guaranteed!

I've never been able to pick part of my force yet...

MacD2013 wrote:I've never been able to pick part of my force yet...

Seriously? There are very few issued units, you should have the ability to purchase some of the units. I hope games are being set up correctly.

Ya not yet.

MacD2013 is about to defeat me in the second battle. This like the last was very one sided...I just had no answer for his t34s . The map itself forced me to defend on ground ill suited for stopping his tanks. What I could buy was bought, nothing that could stand up to the T34s and I was aggressive in my attacks, a number of point blank side and rear quarter shot to no avail.

Also the games were set up correctly!!

skyrider wrote:Also the games were set up correctly!!

Ok, thanks. Not sure why Macd couldn't purchase units then?

So it seems that we have an impasse on the forces. I have an Axis commander saying the Soviets are too hard to beat and a Soviet commander saying the opposite.

Suggestions?

To be honest Im not really smart enough to come up with a solution. However, so much of this game can be attributed to getting that one tank shot when you need it and the percentage is relatively high. In Skyrider and I's game I was able to disable the weapons on a PzIIIJ with my first shot and it totally changed the game for me. If I don't disable that tank, its another tank with 3 rounds and the very next turn he had moved the majority of his armour to counter my move and it appeared the next turn, in all likelihood I'd have been done for. I can't speak for Glen's game, but I had just the 2 T34s (with 4 T26s and 2 BT7) and if I don't get some fortune, I think Skyrider could have beaten me.

I also think we have to remember that it is 1941, the first two rounds would not be designed for even play. The Soviets didn't mount a concerted defense until Smolensk/Kiev really. If we do this in the future it would be neat to incorporate some maps from the actual game, if our game took us there of course. The mission on the outskirts of Leningrad, the Kiev pocket one etc. Then pass off a Leningrad/Stalingrad city map with a Kharkov city one or something. To give it some flavour.

Good points MacD2013.

Games can go one way or the other when forces are fairly balanced. WIthout the balance, they wouldn't be much fun.

I think I may have a solution for the next round. Let's see how this whole round plays out.

Please let us know when your battles conclude and what the results were.