Kharkov '43 campaign game

[Strela]

Hi Guys,

All interesting posts and examples of how little things can make a big difference over time. If I was going to make some immediate tweaks it would be to tone down the German replacement rate back down to say 1% (it was upped to 3% in the 1.01 patch) and also the bunker building percentages. I also think the alt artillery rule is a good leveler but it works both ways.

This is a difficult campaign to get 'right'. The elite German formations have to last the whole campaign with little in the way of reinforcement while the Soviet player does get further forces over time. That said it also allows the Germans to hold a lot further forward than they did historically and to do some a-historical things such as GD's rub out of some of 69th armies components as shown in the AAR. The German's had the mobile forces that are present as they had a lot of terrain to cover.

Raiser has it right though, particularly on the north map you have to move mainly at infantry speed. Ideally the Soviet focus on clearing the fast roads and have the infantry then coming forward 5 hexes a turn. Big sweeping advances with the Soviet armor will have you losing it (as Popov found out) unless you have a way to bring infantry forward quickly as well. Please note that it took close to two weeks for the Soviets to get to Kharkov and it was only 40th Army's gradual build up that turned the balance. So rushing ahead at least when facing the SS is not necessarily the best idea. That said, it can be used that way when not facing the SS etc as was historically done to 298th Infantry Division.

In the south it is appears to be more problematic. The German's have a lot of firepower with the Panzer Divisions present with more arriving pretty quickly. In some respects it has allowed the players to launch pre-emptive strikes before the Soviets got a chance to move forward and get established. It may be that adding 100 points of fatigue to all the Panzer Divisions on entry would suffice to make the German player more reticent. In our play tests players were cautious about using the Panzer Division's too aggressively due to the spread out terrain they needed to hold, but it appears in the AAR their superior mobility is being used to move forward, attack and retire.

The Soviets probably needs to work out how to be where the German is not in the south also. Sending one tank corp off to the south west will force the German to think twice before grouping his forces too tightly and committing them all in the Slavyansk area.

Finally, all the above highlight how different play styles can have different effects. The Panzer Campaign system does allow players to push their forces harder than in real life. Many of the play test team were of the more 'conservative' variety and tended to try and maintain their forces for extended operations. But the game does allow players to blitz for a day or two and if one player has become extended then they can be defeated in detail. Keep in mind the historical advance rates and don't try to rush except when you know you are in clear space. I am guessing this game was half way through Feb 6th day. It is worth reading the historical notes (in the players notes) to see what was happening on that day - the Soviets were only just reaching the Donets south west of Kharkov (Pechenegi) and had to wait three whole days (30 turns) just to bring enough infantry and artillery forward to try and break through here. The same was happening in 40th Army's territory where the infantry were on a broad front to spread the German 168th Infantry out and it was the Tank Corp that finally turned it's flank.

So consider the few parameter file tweaks (replacement rate and bunker creation) and be very aware of the Soviet speed of advance - it wasn't the breakneck pace all are assuming. That said it is obvious that people have really enjoyed the variety here and it would make sense for the teams to reverse positions and try again - see what the feedback was like after that!

Thanks for sharing though - it gives us an idea of what has to be considered when designing scenarios and some of the things that players will get up to!!

David