Improving Night Move Disruption

[Dog Soldier]

I still find night assaults too easy to do without disruption, however. While I'm playing against the AI, I don't understand why that is particularly important; whether I'm assaulting a disrupted AI or human-controlled unit, shouldn't the result be the same? Generally I don't do night assaults unless I'm rather confident that they'll succeed, and if they do succeed the attackers are almost never disrupted, which seems odd.

"While I'm playing against the AI," says everything. I think if you play a human opponent you would not find such 'easy meat' as what the AI leaves for you.

Here is how a human would deal with the situation that you will never see playing the AI.

That disrupted unit may have been retreated so now you need to risk night disruption to move back into contact in your turn. After moving up, you then may not possess the MP required to assault that turn.

My turn, I pound your pursuing unit(s) with artillery and retreat the disrupted unit again. It is already disrupted, no risk to me except for the fatigue gained for night movement.

Your second night turn you move up again, risking disruption for those units which survived the artillery bombardment or rallied after being disrupted by it. You end your turn again without sufficient MP to assault.

My turn. Not only can I hit your pursuing units with artillery, but also you now walked in to a couple of hexes packed with fresh defending troops who, at the least, shoot your pursing unit(s) to Hades or, if you disrupt from a repeat of last turn's artillery bombardment, assault your up to now pursuing unit(s) causing huge fatigue on your troops, push your boys back a hex or two, and leave your troops in no condition to continue pursuing should I decide (as the Germans usually do in M42 winter) to continue to retire to a better line of defense at dawn.

Score - You have for your efforts a gaggle of badly mauled troops in one unit or several.
Me - I have one unit still disrupted but no longer pursued as it retires while the other units move off as a fire brigade to the next hot spot. Maybe one of my 'hit squad' units stays behind to make sure no other new enemy units try to push on this area until the companion unit recovers from disruption and some fatigue. I can bet it will before your troops do.

While this tactic may not always work, it will more often than not. There are many more things a human opponent will do that you will never see playing the AI. Nothing is certain in war or PBEM play as it is when playing the pinata called the AI.

The AI never thinks more than one turn at a time, IMHO. A human opponent obviously will.

The AI is your drill sergeant at boot camp. It will teach you the basics. When you arrive at the front though, the 'old hands' will want to rub that green off you fast so you do not get them killed. Be prepared for all your well thought out tactics that worked so well in 'training' against the AI, to go out the window for the most part when you play PBEM and you get your head handed to you. The best push through this initial frustration and are rewarded by learning how deep the rabbit hole goes in this series of games. There are many subtleties in these games that are only revealed by experience. And experience comes from bad decisions. I know. Been there, done that.

You will have many hours of enjoyment after this second learning curve. After all this is a hobby and a game. No chance having learning cut short as in real war.

Dog Soldier