Slitherine

Campaign: PzC Slovakia mod by Augustin Malar. viewtopic.php?f=147&t=40309
Status: completed.
Rules: General difficulty level, normal random dice.
Initial prestige: 25
Final prestige: 33
Casualties: AI - 170 units, player - 20 units.
Scenarios: 6 scenarios played - 2 decisive victories, 4 marginal victories.

Final core:

4 Horska pechota,
4 150mm H vz37,
3 T 3N,
2 Parasutista,
2 Marder 38T H,
1 Inzinieri,
1 88mm vz37,
1 Bf-109G-6,
1 Ju-87D-3,
1 Tatra OA vz30.

(20 core units)

Best unit: "Infantry 3" (Inzinieri/Combat engineer). Kills/losses: 132/73, 245 experience, 11 units destroyed.
Unit created on 23rd March 1939. (Border war with Hungary) Has 2 heroes: +1 Spotting, +2 Defense.
Awards: Bronze medal for bravery, Order of the war victory cross 2nd class, Silver order of the Slovakian cross

Campaign path:

1) Border war with Hungary: MV, no core casualties.
Big map, a lot of mountains and rivers. Annoying Hungarian air force and prestige shortage. Stopped the Hungarian attack near Kolonica. In the south managed to cross the Cierna Voda river. On the 12th turn I was unpleasantly surprised by the Hungarian tactical bombers. Finally recaptured everything except for Ulic.

2) Invasion of Poland: DV on turn 15, no core casualties.
Very low on prestige. Very limited deployment hexes. Upgraded my artillery and infantry. A lot of rivers and mountains again - nice detailed map. Saw some new Polish units like Border Protection infantry. Slow movement through mountains with a lot of infantry and artillery - reminded me of WWI mods for the old panzer general. Scenario is hard, but I managed to get a decisive victory on the last turn.

3) Battle of Lipovec: MV, no core casualties.
My air force is very weak, can't really do much against Soviets in the air. Mission is hard, a lot of Soviet units - mountain infantry, BT-7 tanks, but some victory hexes are unguarded. Took all objectives except one - Illintsi.

4) Battle of Rostov: MV, no core casualties.
Strong Soviet air again. Armored counter-attack including the KV-1A tank.

5) Saratovskaya: MV, no core casualties.
Tough mountain map. My core got surrounded in the middle of the map. Soviet armored attack from the west and partisans from the east. Spent about 10 turns destroying partisan units, so couldn't get the last objective in time.

6) Slovak National Uprising: DV, no core casualties.
Big and complicated map. A lot of mountain hexes. Many auxiliary units including armored trains. The AI had a very strong German force with Tiger tanks and experienced infantry units. I took the corners of the map with my core forces, but missed the German attack in the central area. The AI force got stuck a bit in the mountains and was eventually destroyed.

Some screenshots of the campaign.

Some more screenshots.

Campaign: Soviet Grand Campaign - DLC 37-41 by nikivdd.
viewtopic.php?f=147&t=79298

Status: completed.
Rules: general difficulty, no reloads.
Initial prestige: 100
Final prestige: 5892
Casualties: AI - 559 units, player - 83 units.
Core losses: 11 core units lost.
Scenarios: 14 scenarios played, 12 decisive victories, 2 marginal victories.

Final core:
8 KV-1B (1 SE),
5 203mm M1931,
3 T 34/41,
2 Guards,
2 Soviet Mnt 39,
2 SU-6,
1 Soviet Eng 39,
1 Panzer IVF,
1 Hurricane Mk. I,
1 Polikarpov U-2,
1 Tupolev Tu-2.
(27 core units, 1 SE unit)

Best unit: "Tank 10" (SE KV-1B) - experience: 201, kills/losses: 373/59, 33 units destroyed.
2 heroes: +1 attack, +1 initiative. Order of glory 1st class award. Unit was created on 1st October 1939 - Wytyczno.

Campaign path:

1) Yangasala. DV on turn 10, no core casualties.
Easy introductory scenario. I quickly found and destroyed all the panzers.

2) Khasan. DV on turn 11, no core casualties.
Easy scenario again. The only problem is some entrenched Japanese infantry in mountain hexes.

3) Khalkhin - Gol. DV on turn 13, no core casualties.
Here I received SE BT-7 tank. This scenario is more difficult - a lot of Japanese tanks, well entrenched infantry and strong air force. The turn limit is generous though.

4) Bastion Polesie. DV on turn 11, 1 core unit lost.
By the 7th turn I destroyed Polish border defence units east of the river Slucz. Lost 1 tank here due to the counter-attacks near the towns of Sarny and Berezne. (Polish Cavalry and an armored train)

5) Szack. DV on turn 12, no core casualties.
Mission is quite easy. Heavy fighting in a forest in the middle of the map, trying to penetrate Polish defenses and get to Szack. Finally took Szack from the south and then moved north for the last objective.Encountered some captured T-26 tanks.

6) Wytyczno. DV on turn 15, 1 core unit lost.
More difficult mission. I flanked the main Polish force and destroyed their HQ in Wytyczno, but got ambushed again by Polish cavalry and a ton of AT units. 1 core infantry unit lost.

7) Petsamo. DV on turn 15, no core casualties.
It was an easy scenario. I took Petsamo on the 6th turn, then advanced to Kolosjoki.
I expected some traps, but there weren't any.

8.Ivalo. DV on turn 18, no core casualties.
The map is big, but you only need to capture 2 objectives for a DV.
Low visibility because of the snow and a lot of Finnish ski infantry.
Took Nautsi on the 9th turn and on the 16th turn attacked Ivalo from the south and the east.

9) Viipuri. DV on turn 16, no core casualties.
Big, nice and very enjoyable map. Also much easier than I expected - player has plenty of resources and time.
At the start I decided to break the southern part of the Mannerheim line. I had air superiority and even a small fleet which is nice. The snow slowed my advance significantly again, but on the 9th turn I took Koivisto in the south and Summa in the center. It was suggested in the briefing to destroy the Finnish naval artillery guns, but there was no need for that.

10) Brody. DV on turn 18, 4 core units lost.
This scenario is quite challenging, I really enjoyed playing it.
German air is very strong. AI had a lot of tanks including captured and SE units - indestructible Matilda II was the most annoying. Most dangerous German attack was in the northern part of the map, around the town of Luck.
I lost 1 scout plane and 1 tactical bomber, but by the 7th turn all the units of the German forward column were destroyed.
Then the next attack wave started and It was much tougher - lost 1 mobile AT and 1 regular infantry in the north.
On the 11th turn the Germans broke through the defense line and I started retreating.

11) Mogilev 41: DV on turn 10, 2 core units lost.
Again quite challenging escort mission.
AI ground attacks from multiple sides. AI also has air superiority. Lost 1 infantry and 1 KV tank defending a river crossing.

12) Yelnya: DV on turn 13, 2 core units lost.
The map is quite big, but the scenario is not very hard. I stopped the German advance and recaptured the objectives.
The only problem is AI air superiority.

13) Bryansk 41: MV, 1 core unit lost.
Hard mission.
Neverending wave of various German units trying to cross the river. Lost 1 infantry here. AI air superiority again.
Bad terrain - mud, rain - everything is slow. Very annoying German flamethrower tank destroyed a lot of my auxiliary units.
The final wave of the German attack began as It started to snow. I couldn't recapture Kirov and Bryansk, so I got a MV here.

14) Winter offensive: MV, no core casualties.
Big snowy map. German air is not so strong here. New German marder units. A lot of gebirgsjager units on hills.
Massive AI counter-attack with captured T 34's in the south of the map. I also captured a Panzer IVF tank.
I could not capture the last airfield on time.

Some screenshots from Soviet DLC 37-41.

Some more screenshots from the Soviet DLC mod.

I finally finished the Operation Sealion campaign. A "cursed" campaign for me: I tried to play it to the end many times, and always had to stop playing it for some reason.
Overall It is a challenging campaign with interesting and very detailed scenarios. One of the features is a huge amount of various structures and strongpoints on the maps. Air heavy core is viable here and is working very good. I am not sure about the general difficulty, because it feels very uneven - some scenarios are easy while others are super hard.

Campaign: Operation Sealion.
Status: completed.
Rules: general difficulty, standard starting core without import, normal dice, no reloads.

Campaign path:

1. Channel Islands: DV on turn 10, no core casualties.
2. Eagle Attack: DV, no core casualties.
3. Cliffs of Dover: MV, 5 core units lost.
Made a bad mistake here during the initial landings and lost a lot of core units.
4. Canterbury: MV, no core casualties.
Fallschirmjager mission. I managed to take only one bridge.
5. Gravesend: DV on turn 22, no core casualties.
The map is quite big and complex. The mission difficulty is medium.
From the very beginning a tough British attack supported by a lot of planes. Many annoying bocage hexes - so It's hard to organize an attack, and as many annoying Matilda II tanks.
One of those tanks actually managed to retake one of the objectives and it was a pain.
I stopped the British advance on turn 6. Used my strategic bombers to sunk the British battleships. Gravesend was captured on turn 20.
6. Crossing the Thames: DV on turn 23, 6 core units lost.
I liked this mission a lot, although I lost a lot of paratroopers and planes here.
British forces are retreating from Gravesend trying to hold the other shore.
The AI has a lot of planes and a formidable fleet. I dropped some paratroopers to the other shore of the Thames and captured the airfields there. Then I crossed the river with my main force. On the 19th turn I captured Tilbury and started to advance on Grays. It was suggested in the briefing to build a pontoon bridge, but I decided against it.
7. Basildon: MV, 1 core unit lost.
This scenario is quite tough. It is a defensive mission that turns out to be an offensive operation because of the changes in objectives. I lost 1 grenadier infantry here and could not get the last objective - Rainham.
8. Luton: DV on turn 17, no core casualties.
Big, flat map. No rivers. There was a dangerous British force in the eastern part of the map with Valentine II tanks and Lend Lease units. Its surprise counter-attack along with some British armored trains caught me off guard. I spent a lot of turns fighting back. Luton was captured on the 14th turn. Overall the mission is quite easy - I captured everything and cleared the whole map.
9. London Siege: DV on turn 22, 1 core unit lost.
It was an exhausting mission for me - long and quite tough.
Again, a defensive mission that turns out to be an offensive one. The storming of London was very slow because of the terrible dice rolls. A lot of units pouring out of London trying to break through. Lost 1 tank stopping them. Also here I met some Churchill tanks and SAS infantry units for the first time in this campaign.
10. Oxford: DV on turn 19, 1 core unit lost.
Here I tried to field one Panzer II flamethrower tank and it was killed immediately on the first turn. The AI didn't like it and threw everything to kill the poor little tank. Some scripted fuel shortage effects. A lot of overstrength on AI units, but overall an easy mission.
11. Coventry: DV on turn 23, no core casualties.
This scenario was easy. The only problem is again a lot of overstrength on the entrenched enemy units.
12. Irish Sea: DV on turn 18, no core casualties.
Nice and interesting scenario.
Rainy weather and heavy fighting from the very beginning. A lot of British submarines in the sea supporting a huge AI fleet. I captured Manchester easily on the 7th turn and took the Isle of Man with paratroopers. Belfast and Holyhead were captured on the 14th turn.
Bypassed the British defense line and took the last objectves on the last turn.
13. Hadrian's Wall: DV on turn 18, 2 core units lost.
A "Mannerheim Line" scenario. Very nice mission, I liked it.
An armored counter-attack from the start with the prototype Churchill tanks.
I attacked the Hadrian's Wall from the flanks: on the 8th turn I collapsed the British left flank and on the 11th turn the right. Lost 2 artillery units in the process. The fiercest fighting was around Newcastle upon Tyne. The scenario is challenging, but it is made much easier, because It also gives you captured bridge engineers and commando units.
14. Antonine Wall: DV on turn 15, no core casualties.
An easy scenario.
The scenario is similar to the previous mission. The British are retreating again.
I organized a naval landing supported by a paradrop to the rear.
Here I had a total air superiority which always feels nice.
15. Orkney Islands: DV on turn 26, 1 core unit lost.
Great scenario - epic sea and air battle.
The map is cool looking with a lot of small islands and a majority of sea hexes.
From the start I decided to sink all the British ships and bought an additional strategic bomber for that. I had a strong fleet of my own ships here. I dropped some paratroopers unsuccessfully - lost a lot of them. Lyness was captured on 16th turn, then Kirkwall on the 24th. I got a decisive victory as I sunk a ton of British ships.
16. Reykjavik: MV, 1 core unit lost.
The map is as challenging as it looks. Rainy weather and muddy ground.
US submarines attack from the start with the support of a horde of British planes. Finally I landed my troops near Grindavik. On the 14th turn I captured an airfield near Keflavik.
Reykjavik is well defended: a lot of American infantry and tanks around it. I captured Reykjavik on the 24th turn and was satisfied with a marginal victory.

(16 scenarios played, 12 decisive victories, 4 marginal victories, 18 core units lost)

Casualties: player - 89 units lost, AI - 1176 units lost.
Final prestige: 1413

Final core:

12x Panzer IV F/2 (2 SE),
6x Bf 109G,
3x Wehrmacht Inf,
3x Gebirgsjager,
3x Pioniere,
3x 21 cm Mrs 18,
3x 21 cm Nblwf 42,
3x Sturmpanzer I,
3x Ju 87D,
3x Do 217E,
2x Grenadier,
2x Wurfrahmen 40,
2x 8.8 cm Flak 36,
1x StuG IIIF,
1x He 177A.

(50 core units, 2 SE)

Best unit: "11th Infantry" (Pioniere). Has 150 experience. Kills/Losses: 344/115. (32 units destroyed) Has 1 hero: +3 Attack. Has 1 award: Iron Cross 2nd Class. Unit was created on 28th June 1940 during the Channel Islands mission.

A screenshot from the Sealion campaign: Slovak infantry captures Basildon.

I imported my core from Sealion into the GC West 42/43 Campaign using a mod from Nikivdd.

viewtopic.php?f=121&t=81687

Campaign: Sealion to GC West 42/43.
Rules: general difficulty, normal dice, no reloads.
Initial prestige: 10229
Final prestige: 39

Campaign path:

1. St. Nazaire: MV, no core units lost.
Tough attack from the western part of the map - a lot of British infantry supported by artillery and light tanks. Then commandos spawned in the docks. I made a small mistake and they managed to destroy 1 U-Boat.

2. Bayonne: DV on turn 12, no core units lost.
British forces are everywhere an they have an undisputed advantage in numbers here. They easily pushed me back in the north of the map. In the south I did better and quickly destroyed the saboteur units - the trains were saved. Then I moved north and recaptured the objectives.

3. Hardelot: DV on turn 16, 1 core unit lost.
British mobile force landed near Hardelot - a lot of LRDG infantry. I don't have that many units to keep them in check. Lost 1 mobile artillery to a quick British counter-attack. Although the mission is not that hard, it is a bit annoying, because you constantly need to your weak forces to respond to one after another commando landing.

4. Dieppe: DV on turn 11, no core units lost.
My plan was to hold the central and right areas of the map. Again I can deploy only a few units. The mission is not really hard. The Allies had a formidable fleet and air, but I slowly pushed the landing party units back into the sea.

5. Gironde: DV on turn 18, no core units lost.
This mission was easy for me. I managed to sunk HMS Tuna with a tactical bomber.
The British landing party was quite strong and came from two directions. I quickly broke the British force advancing from North West. In the North-East the attack was more serious, but I dealt with it eventually. Then I just recaptured the objectives and got a DV.

6. Syracuse: DV on turn 7, no core units lost.
I was a bit low on prestige here. Evacuation mission is not hard, but I spent a lot of prestige repelling American attacks. In the end I evacuated 13 Italian units.

7. Etna Line North: MV, no core units lost.
I disbanded all the evacuated Italian units to get some prestige. Here I decided to save my remaining prestige by holding onto the objectives in the center without attacking. I easily disabled American airforce with my veteran fighters and AA units. In the end I even attacked a little and recaptured Falcone with my SE Tigers.

8. Messina: MV, no core units lost.
Here I decided not to evacuate units and just to hold objectives. Here I faced waves of British and American units and a very strong fleet. I held the line near Monforte San Giorgio and Ali Termen without problems destroying many AI units, but spent quite a lot of prestige.

9. Catanzaro: DV on turn 17, no core units lost.
Nice and challenging scenario, I liked it.
It was a more conventional Panzer Corps mission - advancing and capturing objectives, fighting a mix of Italian and British units. AI had air superiority here in addition to a strong fleet making the advance along the shore problematic. Then I faced a massive British counter-attack from the south near the port of Pizzo. I ran completely out of prestige by the end of this mission.

10. Taranto: MV, no core units lost.
Thankfully I received about 1000 prestige here. Again I faced a mix of Italian and British forces and some Italian ships. The British were trying to land from the sea and disrupt my advance on the Italian ports. I sunk all the Italian ships, but didn't get all the objectives on time, so got a MV.

11. Volturno Line: MV, no core units lost.
Very hard mission.
I divided my forces into two battlegroups to cross the river Biferno and take the objectives held by the British. I quickly advanced in the north against the British, but in the south the Americans pushed me back across the river. I was out of prestige by the 10th turn. On turn 12 I faced a powerful American counter-attack. I had to pull back all my units seeing the AI's superiority on the ground and in the air. I managed to hold only one objective in the south and got a MV.

(11 scenarios played - 6 decisive victories, 5 marginal victories)

Casualties: player - 39 units lost (1 core), AI - 494 units lost.

Final core:

8x sIG 38(t) M,
7x Panzer IVF/2,
7x Fw 190A,
5x 43 Grenadier,
3x 43 Wehrmacht Inf,
2x Kradschutzen,
2x Panther D,
2x Panther A,
2x SE Tiger I,
2x StuG IIIG,
2x 8.8 cm Flak 36,
2x Bf 109G,
2x He 177A,
1x Pioniere,
1x 43 Gebirgsjager,
1x Pioniere 43,
1x Panzer IVG,
1x Panzer IVH,
1x KV-1C(r),
1x 7,5 cm Pak 40,
1x Marder IIIH,
1x Ju 87D,
1x Bf 110F.

(54 core units, 2 SE units)

Best unit: "AT4" (StuG IIIG): 267 experience, kills/losses: 561/105. Has 1 hero: +2 attack, +2 Initiative, +1 movement. 57 units destroyed. Has 1 award: Iron Cross 1st Class. Unit was created on 28th September 1940 - Canterbury scenario.

Campaign: GC 1942 East with my core imported from 39/40/41 GC's.
Rules: general difficulty, normal dice, no reloads.
Initial prestige: more than 100000. Final prestige - about 100k.
(carefully maximized prestige gain in previous years to be prepared for the eastern front, spent at least 20000 prestige during the campaign)
Casualties: 20 core and 46 auxiliary units lost. The Allies lost 3078 units from 1939 to 1943.

Campaign path:

(12 scenarios played - 10 DV's, 2 MV's)

1. Kharkov 42: DV on turn 15, 1 core unit lost.
Rainy weather and muddy ground, also heavy Soviet tanks. But the mission is not that hard.
I deployed my units in 3 balanced battlegroups with light air support. Launched successful attacks in the North and South. The most dangerous Soviet counter-attack was in the center supported by strong air. 8th turn: captured Svatove in the Soviet rear. Broke the Soviet flanks by turn 12 and started a new assault in the center.

2. Simferopol: DV on turn 12, no core casualties.
Smaller map and I have air superiority here. This scenario was easy.
I decided to go more air and tank heavy. Also deployed some AA units to defend Karl and Gustav artillery units. Unfortunately the time limit didn't allow me to capture all the flags and get all the prestige.

3. Sevastopol assault: MV, 3 core units lost.
This scenario is quite hard - there are a lot of Soviet units and serious fortifications in the city with artillery and AA support.
I deployed 2 battlegroups here with a lot of artillery and strong air support including 4 veteran strategic bombers. On the 7th turn I entered the city. Destroyed all the forts and all the Soviet ships, but couldn't take the last objective on time. Lost some artillery here.

4. Voronezh: DV on turn 13, no core casualties.
This scenario was easy, I destroyed all the Soviet units on the map without problems.
Created 2 battlegroups here: one to storm Voronezh directly and the other to cross Don river near Yelet. Turn 3: crossed the Don river. Turn 5: repelled the counter-attack in the center. Voronezh was well defended, but the Soviet rear beyond the Don was unprotected.

5. Novoanninsky: DV on turn 13, 1 core unit lost.
Easy scenario - cleared all the map and captured all the flags.
Although I'm not used to these big maps of the Eastern campaign - felt a bit overwhelmed.
Deployed 2 tank groups - one moving along the Don river with strong air support and mobile AA. A lot of Soviet planes here as predicted in the briefing, but my airforce is strong enough to counter it. Got a bit stuck between the Soviet units advancing in the center. 9th turn: captured Novoanninsky.

6. Ilovlya: DV on turn 16, 4 core units lost.
Nice and challenging scenario. Thankfully, the turn limit is generous, so I got a DV.
Again deployed 2 main groups with a lot of air and strong air support. Nasty counter-attack from the east - a lot of T-34/43 tanks and SMG infantry. Even more serious counter-attack from the south. I had to temporarily fall back from Ilovlya under pressure from Soviet armor. 12th turn: destroyed Lend Lease train in the south.

7. Buzinovka depot: DV on turn 14, no core casualties.
I liked this scenario, easy, but quite original.
Here I deployed my entire airforce to support the attack on the depot from two sides.
The Soviets have a lot of Lend Lease units here and we had an epic tank battle - my captured equipment vs the Soviet Lend Lease tanks and planes...
Some annoying unit spam in the south of the map - air and ground units appearing out of thin air.

8. Storming Stalingrad: DV on turn 24, 4 core units lost.
Huge city map. Tough scenario. I had problems here, because I spread my forces too thin trying to respond to threats from multiple directions.
I deployed a lot of infantry here with my superheroes. Left the Italians to guard the objectives in the West. In the North my battlegroups got stuck against the enemy's AA/AT units and experienced tanks. In the south my attack went faster. A lot of Soviet fighter planes appeared, but they were too weak to harm me. Moving through city, destroying Soviet infantry units and concentrating on taking the airfields. 7th turn: sneaky attack on my western airfields. The Italians were surrounded and struggling, so I sent a small force back to help them. Finally the majority of my forces got stuck for one reason or another. Nevertheless on the 12th turn I repelled the Soviet attack around the western airfields.
In the north one of my pioniere units survived an attack from 5 SMG infantry units without the artillery backup. Not all of my units were as lucky, unfortunately, and I lost some of them here. I captured all the objectives, got a DV on the last turn, but It was tough, mainly due to the huge amount of Soviet infantry with overstrength.

9. Stalingrad docks: DV on turn 21, 3 core units lost.
Nice scenario, I liked it. It's not very hard, but is very big and complex, so it took me a long time to complete.
Here I deployed an air heavy core to counter Soviet naval reinforcements. A lot of Soviet fighter planes over Stalingrad and a horde of infantry. Soviet reinforcements kept coming using river transports despite my bombing. Slow and steady advance through Stalingrad.
15th turn: I captured the Pavlov's house with massed grenadier attack. T-34 factory was taken by the Italians. Then my forces broke to the Railway station in snowy weather with frozen ground.
I took the final objectives despite multiple Soviet counter-attacks and got a DV.

10. Stalingrad ruins: MV, 1 core unit lost.
I obeyed orders as I had a ton of prestige and my losses were acceptable, so no reason to retreat at that moment.
I didn't really know how to correctly deploy here or how much air do I need. It looked like the AI could attack from any direction, but it turned out the only dangerous attack was from the south. Finally I decided to deploy 3 groups around the city with moderate air support. I sent the Italians to capture the objectives in the south which turned out to be a mistake. 10th turn: the Soviets launched an attack from the north, but I was ready for it with entrenched infantry, so this attack was easily repelled with Rudel flyind around one-shotting enemy units. 15th turn: sudden Soviet attack from the south. Snowy weather. Italians were crushed in 2 turns. My core units got stuck in the snow and could not help them. 20th turn: the AI overwhelmed me with the southern attack. I had to regroup all my forces and lost 1 StuG here. I managed to hold 6 objectives for a MV, but It was tough for me.

11. Kotelnikovo: DV on turn 12, 3 core units lost.
Medium difficulty scenario - the annoying thing is the waves of armored Soviet reinforcements.
I went tank heavy with moderate air support organizing an attack from two directions - west and south. A lot of Soviet tanks in the south, but by the 8th turn I mostly eliminated the Soviet armor.

Overall notes about the campaign:
First time playing the eastern grand campaign. I was preparing for a long time reading all the scary posts from the forum.
Campaign is hard, but not the hardest I played. The difficulty comes from big maps and an overwhelming amount of enemy units with prestige shortage problem, I guess.
But I had a huge stockpile of prestige, so I spent it freely. And I had a huge core with a lot of veteran units including superheroes like Rudel and Oleh Dir.
Had to get used to big maps with huge amount of enemy units. Some maps (Stalingrad) are complicated with many directions of possible enemy attack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT3BFzSD6YY - just found a good video about the 1942 East campaign.

Final core:

22x Panzer IVG (3 SE),
7x Wehrmacht Inf,
7x Grenadier,
6x Fw 190A,
5x Wurfrahmen 40,
4x 21 cm Nblwf 42,
4x Sturmpanzer I,
4x He 177A,
3x Ju 87D,
3x 17 cm K 18,
2x 21 cm Mrs 18,
2x Pioniere,
2x Kradschutzen,
2x M4 Sherman(r),
2x StuG IIIF/8,
2x 8.8 cm Flak 36,
2x Sdkfz 7/2,
2x Bf 109G,
1x KV-1C(r),
1x SU-122(r),
1x Bf 110F,
1x Bf 110G.

(82 units, 3 SE)

Best unit: "Infantry 14" (Grenadier - Oleh Dir). Has 425 experience, 801 kills, 69 losses, 75 units destroyed. Has 2 awards: Iron Cross 1st Class, Knight's Cross. Unit was created on 9 september 1939 - Lodz scenario. Has 1 superhero - Oleh Dir. (+3 Initiative, +3 movement)