Moscow '42 Files Update (as at Jan 23rd, 2013)

[ComradeP]

It was mentioned before, and I think there's probably a reason for some German units releasing (well) before the Soviets in front of them, but would it be possible to consider fixing the units belonging to IX AK, XXXX AK (mot) and XXXXVI AK (mot) in place until the Soviets opposing them activate?

Initially, I thought they would need to be able to withdraw a bit in order to avoid being flanked, but as long as V AK isn't fixed the Soviets shouldn't be able to flank them in two days.

I've only been playing against the AI, of course, but you can prepare some really ugly surprises in the two days you currently have to reorganize your defensive line without any risk of being attacked.

As a more conservative suggestion, releasing 1st and 5th Guards Mortar Battalions and the 537th Army Artillery Regiment together with the Rifle divisions north of them would at least allow you to provide your troops with artillery support in case the Germans withdraw. The artillery still releases with their army HQ on the 13th, unlike the infantry which releases on the 8th to support 16th Army.

The Germans already get generous replacements, more than they would get from a 1% normal rule (because in that case, they get diminishing returns when they get stronger, and currently they always get 6, 8 or 9-10 men on average depending on battalion size) and just being able to walk away from the Soviets whilst they're fixed makes it impossible for the Soviets to apply any real pressure to those German units (if they withdraw). By the time the Soviets reach them, they'll have regained some strength and will have interlocking fields of fire and good artillery support probably.

I know I'm still greener than green in terms of actual "genuine" experience with the series as I haven't played against a human yet, but I've literally been trying to figure out a counter to this for several months and there are just too many things working against the Soviets to allow you to launch a good attack against a well defended position with units retreating when necessary. As the Soviet infantry units are slow and can only move and assault up to 1 hex range away, moving back one hex completely removes the danger of being hit by an assault.

The Axis units ~west of Moscow not being fixed gives them a big advantage in that area in case they decide to pull back a bit to shorten/rationalize their lines.

2nd Panzer Group has a couple of turns to make some initial changes to their dispositions, but the guys west of Moscow have 2 days before the Soviets can respond. That's a lot of time that if used well will cause serious problems to the Soviets.

Parts of 4th and 9th Armies being able to refit to (near) full strength before you can attack them is one thing, as like Dog Soldier said they have flanks and you don't need to assault 700-800 men battalions in bunkers per se. However, add to that the Germans being able to withdraw in good order north of 4th Army and the balance starts to shift to the Germans. It will take a few days to move the Soviet units opposing 4th and 9th Armies to areas where they can be of use, but it's possible and if you do things right you'll have breached 4th Armies northern flank and 9th Army will nearly be cut in half by a breakthrough near Kalinin. When Kalinin Front starts to get serious and the reinforcements arrive, you can at least direct them to sectors where you've broken through and you don't have to remove the ~5 westernmost 9th Army units from their bunkers when they're full strength. They'll have to withdraw at some point.

Due to the higher mobility the Germans have, if a German player withdraws he essentially forces you to fight on his terms. Any situation where you have to catch up with him greatly favours him and if he has the initiative, he can also let more units rest and refit.

Whilst the Germans have a good refit rating and good mobility for their mobile units, they can still be hit hard large concentrations of artillery (and the upgraded Katyusha's will really hurt him when massed), which is the main counter the Soviets have to the ahistorically strong Germans in case the German player withdraws. It's really quite staggering how quickly the Germans refit if left alone. You might call that a big "if", but as I've posted before: there are many sectors of the front where you simply can't do much if anything about it due to your own units being frozen.

The Soviets still have a fairly unforgiving withdraw schedule in the 16th Army area as well. Losing 2 Guards divisions whilst the Germans are quite strong before you can reach them can really hurt.

Personally, I'd appreciate it if you'd take a few minutes to think about the possibilities in terms of strength gain and preparing traps. The quality gap between Soviet and German unit is substantial enough to allow the Germans to keep the Soviets stuck in a disrupted loop if they can regain some strength. It's like the Sukhinichi I scenario all across the front if that happens, and it's ugly for the Soviets.

I'm beginning to like the rest of the balance of the scenario (although the Germans can afford to give up a lot more ground than would be historically acceptable as the points for the objectives are not very high compared to points from preventing losses) as in many cases you can prevent the Germans from refitting or at the least counter it by concentrating forces.

As another note on peculiar releases: XXXXIII AK currently releases with the rest of 2nd Panzer Group on turn 4, whilst it's also in the release list for the 14th (when the Soviets opposing them activate).

In my opinion, which may indeed not be worth much, the German replacement rate and the way the release schedule favours them in a number of sectors, which makes it nearly impossible or simply impossible to break through their bunker line is the main threat to the balance for the campaign.

Any value based on a percentage, like the replacement rate, can have unbalanced results over a longer period if enough time is available for it to reach a maximum effect (which the Germans can achieve by pulling back whilst leaving a rearguard behind, or because they're in bunkers and the Soviets nearby are fixed for several days). One of the percentage chance things the Soviets have working in their favour is that their air units are smaller and thus more numerous, so statistically speaking there is a higher chance that one of those will be available than one of the Luftwaffe's air units.