Slitherine

good morning or evening

i've read two weeks ago that a player use 2 cavalry units & 1 sturmpanzer & 1 tank for the "treatment" of minor objectives

good idea

And the question is : in '39 & '40...perhaps even '41 does a player tried to developpe in large scale this concept ? A large cavalry force/core with sturmpanzers & tanks ?!

It seems silly because cavalry is very weak in defense, (but better than classic infantry on attack ) and we have to consider this :
- heros can change this fact for some units
- with proper technique, sturmpanzers always near the cavalry, the C's defense could be interesting
- the cavalry is very cheap & have no truck needs...even a 13 steps's cavalry is cheap. Perhaps a better way to accumulate prestige if losses are not too strong ?
- perhaps the speed of the battle will change, with a better progression

It's theorically seductive, but on the fields...I'm not sure !

Then on '41 or 42 DLCs (before stalingrad) the cavalry is updated and the infantry follows the line
anybody have tried this ?

I've always liked cavalry and think it is one of the hidden secrets.

Its an interesting concept but practically I think it ends up being a prestige waster because eventually you will get other infantry types anyway.

Cavalry is mobile and has good spotting range but it isn't as mobile as an infantry unit in a half-track. You actually can advance faster and take secondary objectives faster with half-track infantry backed up with wurfrahmen in 41. Having said that I do like cavalry but from a pure prestige point of view I think it wastes prestige.

but for the warsaw scenario it's a challenge, i will try a day, with arty just behind (and we must preserve the 3 INF of Poznan ,-)

here I've got two ones from 1939 to 1941, with one with attack hero (I'm at Smolensk on FM level). On openfields it's a good unit with a 1 tank and arty support (wurfr. !). For the large maps with many objectives for instance like another player said I remember. One to see at 3 hexes if the obj is occupied or not, then 1) arty + 2 unitsleft destroy (or almost) the defense if only on unit, 2)take it if none, or 3) prepare for a one time assault and occupation for the next turn.

But his weakness is real, we have to be careful if an ennemy counterattack is a probability, so advances cavalry like recos in front of the major kampfgruppe(s) is a "not to play" risk

to respond to brettz

even with "base"infantry (with hf : about 230 pp cost in front of 130...) you have to be careful so the rythm is dependant of seighting, and the low arty speed. I think it's almost the same rythm of progression.

subsidiary question : is rpts for a 200 Htrack integrated to the costs ? I think yes, so fast infantry could be expensive in terms of pp

In a long term processus if cavalry is changed at the end of '41 it may save pp's. Don't forget cavalry rpts are very cheap. And a *** Cavalry is fun (I've got one in my core)

But it's purely theorical, in fact it's for the challenge when bored to make same '39 start strategies ,-).

kokkorhekkus wrote:to respond to brettz

even with "base"infantry (with hf : about 230 pp cost in front of 130...) you have to be careful so the rythm is dependant of seighting, and the low arty speed. I think it's almost the same rythm of progression.

subsidiary question : is rpts for a 200 Htrack integrated to the costs ? I think yes, so fast infantry could be expensive in terms of pp

In a long term processus if cavalry is changed at the end of '41 it may save pp's. Don't forget cavalry rpts are very cheap. And a *** Cavalry is fun (I've got one in my core)

But it's purely theorical, in fact it's for the challenge when bored to make same '39 start strategies ,-).

True but you will end up with the halftracks once you upgrade your cavalry anyway. Once 43 infantry becomes available cavalry is no longer really an option because it doesn't get upgraded. I think cavalry is a very good choice in 1939 but it starts to fall off in 1940 and by 1941 isn't all that good. I usually don't get the 200 point halftrack and stay with the 100 point one though because upgrading my entire CORE to the new halftrack ends up costing over 1500 prestige for what I see as a small benefit!

I have, in the past, used 2 cavalry in the 1939 DLC and I find them very useful with their extra movement and their expanded sight distance. They are often able to get into rough terrain that infantry wouldn't because of their longer move distance. I guess my point is that while I like them I don't think you save prestige with them in the long run because of the need to upgrade them later. Still fun to use though!

for the fun here's an approximation

so...upgrade of 7 cavalry to INF units with HTracks beginning 1942 = about 1500 pp. (we keep the base Poznan INFs for a total 10 INF/CAV Core)

For pp consideration It's hard to calculate the difference between Rpt costs between cav/inf for 3 campaigns. cav rpt are about 1/2 inf (with truck or Htrack), rpts cost . So...if we spent more than 3000 pp of rpt (on the field or during deployment phases) for INF betwenn '39 and the end of 1941 (without Streets of Moscou fights ,-) cavalry is cheaper even for that.

I don't think i will try to count for about 30 scenarios but it's probable that we spent more than an average 100 pp infantry rpt/scenario ?

My english speaking is poor, excuse me.