Scenario Of The Month - October: Crisis on the Oder

[Kool Kat]

Gents: :smoke:

Since I was playing the Russians... and battling Petri not too long ago in this scenario... I'll weigh in from the Russian perspective. :eek1:

First - I liked this scenario somewhat... but felt that the map was rather small and severely restricted flanking movement. In other words, the German forces were deployed along the known enemy lines of advance... and the Russians had little choice, but to try to bulldoze their way through the German pillboxes. I'm sure this was historical, but IMO, this makes for a game with fewer offensive options. I also felt that the Russian did not have adequate artillery. Certainly, in this late war scenario... the Russian side should be able to field more then just 3 76mm batteries! :(

Russian players need to effectively utilize smoke, and terrain to close in within striking distance of the German pillboxes... and then overwhelm them. Speed is essential. Delay too long and German armor with its long range cannon, will pick off your exposed IS-2's. Use infantry to assault and "kick out" any stubborn panzergrenadiers holding forward positions... and then use your infantry to hold the VP hexes.

I agree with Petri that infantry takes a "back seat" to armor in this scenario. Majority of Russian infantry is truck-mounted... making it difficult to keep up with your armor off-road and very vulnerable to enemy fire. I found deploying and effectively utilizing my infantry to be difficult because of a lot of open terrain. Only on the Russian right flank, where the terrain is dominated by a large hill with patches of forest, could I effectively use the Russian infantry.

Be alert to where your forces can (and can't) cross the Oder River. Much of the Oder is a "major" river which means it can only be crossed at a bridge. The river also divides large sections of the battlefield. Several times during this scenario, I found some of my Russian units "isolated" from the major battle because of river hexes that could not be crossed.

Finally, because your Russian units are operating on a small map... with restricted avenues of advance... defended by pillboxes... panzergrenadiers... Panthers... and Mark IV's... expect armor casualties. Speed, a little recklessness, and a lot of intestinal fortitude... will go a long way for the Russians in "Crisis on the Oder." :cool2: