PzC Tournament - Smolensk '41 - invitation

[Plain Ian]

So in theory 3 infantry companies of the same Battalion stacked in one hex should suffer the same losses in men as they would if they are combined into a battalion. 

But the total fatigue increase suffered will be higher since the engine just works out total losses based on the size of the target in the hex then randomly assigns losses to the various units in the hex....then Fatigue gains are worked out based on unit size. (Comp/Bat etc)

The reason I ask is because I'm playing Bulge Herbstnebel as the US player and I am playing it as if it was a company sized game. If I stack 2-3 companies or god for bid combine them, I get whacked. If the German forms big stacks he gets whacked. Except of course the Panthers and King Tigers......

Its different and difficult to play but I think it works.

As you say, the losses suffered for a battalion would be the same on average whether or not it was broken down into its three companies. But the fatigue would also be the same on average. It accumulates three times faster for a company but each company is only getting a third of the firepower directed against it. The overall effect is equivalent, ignoring randomness. This makes sense to me.

Note that if we are talking about the Alternative Direct Fire optional rule, that the firepower would not be proportioned out in equal thirds as described above but would be directed primarily against the targeted unit. Regardless the overall average effect is still the same whether broken down or not. And this also makes sense to me.

But in a more general sense, the Alternative Fire rules make absolutely no sense to me, as I have already mentioned, since the high and linear rate at which they ramp up firepower seems totally absurd. It may work for games with very low unity density but I would not have thought Bulge '44 was in that category. If the Germans are to advance as they did historically they will need to concentrate their units in attack. I would have thought the Alt Fire rules would cause serious difficulties in this regard. So, I would never use these rules myself with this title but if you are finding that they work, then that is great.

I forgot about the fact that there is a target so fire isn't proportionally spread. 

I think the reason it might work in Bulge Herbstnebel is because the OOB is based on companies.

At the moment there are two types of battles -

- meeting battles (villages/crossings) which usually means a retreating company fending off advancing companies which because of terrain/weather/stacking slowly accumulate to over power the defender...or he pulls back/runs away. (motorised)

- traditional set piece battles with long front lines (in woods) but again company front line, faced off with mainly company sized units which plays a bit like WWI with the artillery causing most of the casualties. Rotating and resting is the order of the day but that's not going to last long for the US player.

It does feel strange sometimes that a large portion of a Battalion/Regiment/Division is sitting idle while a small portion bleeds away but isn't that what happened?

And if the Germans DO make a Bulge then the amount of ground to cover or front line increases. You cannot have a Battalion everywhere. Of course whether the game bulges or not then depends on the skill of the players using his initial units.

The middle to late game might not be so fun as with all the reinforcements it will probably becaose a battalion type slug fest.

Anyway I'll maybe post a few snaps of my games to show how things are going and see if I can get some more handle on losses.