How does one play the Russians?

[Aetius]

There are a number of things I usually do when playing the soviets and that I hope I can show you in our mirror game. Playing the soviets is really very very different from playing any other army. I found out long ago that finesse is not the way to go. This is a mass army that only suceeds when it makes the germans feel it.

To put it in more practical terms:
- Don't worry if your units get disrupted when firing. They will, eventually, anyway. The important thing is that they keep pounding the germans so that their fatigue keeps climbing and their effectiveness is reduced.
- Stack as high as you can so that the german assaults are prohibitively costly to the germans.
- All the while, keep your line safe from the german's isolate-and-pound tactics.
- Try to stabilize the line so that you can put the soviet artillery to work.

Easier said than done? Maybe. In this particular scenario the mud that lasted for two days is a great help in curtailing german mobility, though. When the ground is firm it means that you have to have numerical superiority - about 3 soviet divisions to every german one just to be able to hold your line before it starts leaking badly.

Another thing is that you can't be afraid to take casualties. Be as indiferent to them as soviet generals were...

Rui