Slitherine

I am playing as the Germans on Kursk (multiplayer) and can't figure how to get my forces across the river to take the objectives without them getting creamed in the process. On Cobra, it seems my opponent has unlimited prestige while I have none. My forces are getting wiped out and I can't replace them. Anybody got any tips for these two maps?

Dominus wrote:I am playing as the Germans on Kursk (multiplayer) and can't figure how to get my forces across the river to take the objectives without them getting creamed in the process. On Cobra, it seems my opponent has unlimited prestige while I have none. My forces are getting wiped out and I can't replace them. Anybody got any tips for these two maps?

Hello Dominus, these scenarios are designed for single-player, so it is possible that they are very unbalanced for multiplayer. I checked with the scenario editor, and in Cobra the Allies start with 11000 prestige and 27 core slots, the Germans start with 0 prestige and 1 core slot, which means that any German units destroyed cannot be replaced, even if you manage to get some prestige. The bocage (close terrain) in the center of the map heavily favours infantry, so the German tank advantage is difficult to exploit.

Kursk is also unbalanced, the Allies start with 1822 prestige + 65 each turn, the Germans start with 4022 + 270 each turn. Core slots: Allies have 70 (81 units on the map, so if they lose more than 11 they can replace further losses). The Axis have 31 core slots, so you have to spend some prestige to fill the core.

In the North, you probably can bypass the river by crossing the Oka river from east to west with your forces using the bridge engineer, in the South it is more difficult, there the choice is push over the river, take your chances with the rough terrain to the East or try a very long route along the West. Crossing rivers is very costly, especially if you cannot do it quickly. There are no clear gaps to cross the river safely, so you are forced to fight from the river, and without heavy artillery support or air support this is very costly. Units can be locked in easily and a smart player will quickly move some artillery and tanks to cover any gaps appearing.

So perhaps playing these scenarios with a handicap for one player or some sort of 'house rules' would be a better way to have some fun?

lol, I guess they are realistic as far as history is concerned!

Even more unbalanced, Bagration - I enjoy playing this as the Russians and stomping the Germans in 2 turns, but historically they were not overrun in 24 hours, more like a week. I think that there should be some chance for a German player to at least live (at least as long as historically) in all three. And wasn't the south where the Germans made the only decent progress at Kursk? - that side should be a bit easier. In GC I chose the south and got *this* close to that last objective on Oboyan - which would have given me a chance to attack Kursk itself. So they aren't as historical as it seems

- BNC

The main objective of the scenario designers was to make single player game challenging, not to make multiplayer games balanced let alone realistic.

You simply cannot have all three simultaneously.