Fall Kreml: German bunkers?

[Dog Soldier]

The best part about your question does not require a rule change. It is a tactical problem we created on purpose for the German player to solve.

Keep in mind, that the attraction of the Fall Kreml CG scenarios is that they allow for both sides to become very creative. A Soviet offensive spoiling attack on the southern Moscow sector while the panzer divisions are 100 Km away banging away at a hard double bunker line? Well I say that is GREAT! Too many eastern front games have the Soviets set up as pinata to take body blows all game from the German player and wait for the game clock to run out.

Not so for M42 Fall Kreml.

Neither side is OP (over powered) enough to ignore the possibility that you will be in trouble in some previously 'quiet' sector of the front. These CGs have a very large front.
If the defending Soviet player can seize the initiative in a sector with a spoiling attack rather than just passively sit in their bunkers and wait until a German breakthrough which requires a general withdrawal to the second line of defense, then I think that makes the game so much more fun!

Hint: recon really becomes an important element in M42 Fall Kreml for both sides. Waste those recon assets and you are blind. It is a big map! Soviet cavalry really become a threat and not just a piece of chrome in M42 Fall Kreml.

Having German units, which are in starting positions, that while dug in, are vulnerable to local Soviet artillery wearing them down, is a tactical problem for the German commander to solve. No need IMHO to take away this flexibility for the Soviet player by mandating a rule change for artillery.

As Strela points out in his post on this tread, the Soviet player has this flexibility, at a price. Can / should a Soviet player try a limited offensive on a quiet sector? Will the German player react by diverting some of his main attack force? Is the Soviet player only sticking his head in a noose? Can the Germans afford to lose an infantry division that will be needed later when the front moves back from the starting positions to the second line in a Soviet strategic retreat?

Are you a very conservative general or do you like to take a chance now and then? I have met both types of players here at the blitz. Both styles of play have merits and detraction.

Removing these possibilities would make the game less interesting. Each side in the M42 Fall Kremel has the capability to really surprise the other side. The players have to think out-of-the-box. Being a fictional 'What-if" situation frees the players from the usual well known historical outcomes. The Fall Kreml scenarios were based on actual historical situation plans drawn up by both sides during the war, just in case. What you, the player do with this situation is not constrained at all by our design.

That is on purpose. Trust me. It can be a lot of fun. (Except for the AI who was not programed for fun. It is the ultimate pinata player!)

Dog Soldier