Spring Awakening 45' - Questions for Designer

[ComradeP]

Another thought as you consider updates: in the historical campaign (and I assume its variants) the behind-the-front hard road network enables options for the Axis player to shift armor/mechanized forces to attack different areas of the Soviet front, not just the north where they were historically concentrated. This is great! It adds uncertainty and aids in replay. However, the Soviet placements and release and arrival times all presume the historical axes of assault. If other areas are attacked by shifting masses of the German armor south, e.g., the Bulgarians, the Soviet side forces remain fixed and cannot react.

This is not a huge issue, since there are downsides, IMO, to this strategy as well. But you may want to assess the ability of the Soviet side to react to different or unorthodox strategies. If you do so, you may also want to adjust the Axis VP values in the west and south, to make these different approaches worthwhile to the Axis. Perhaps there are historical reasons not to do so, since the Axis seems fully committed to a major northern push. But in game terms, it may be useful to do so.

Another approach would be to provide each side strategies, where the Axis can alter where they deploy and the Soviet side likewise, creating a "guessing game." This is more for "what if" type variants though.

Historically, such a move would've been nearly impossible after the start of the operation given the Axis lack of fuel.

My assessment is that the Axis would be bled white in a frontal attack against a skilled opponent. Even if they can take the objectives, I doubt they can hold them.

That's why I moved many SS units in our PBEM. It's far more entertaining than WWI in 1945 in the north.

I'm curious which units you feel should be released at a different stage. Looking at the release schedule, the vast majority of the Soviet forces are released at the end of day 1. A corps at the northern end of the map is released on the 8th of March, the start of day 3, which doesn't seem unrealistic considering that there are Axis forces north of the map and the Soviets are trying to minimize unit commitment in preparation for what would turn into the Vienna Offensive. 

The two corps closest to the Danube are only released until the 12th of March, but that still doesn't seem too much of a stretch in a situation where some Axis mobile units move south. The approaches to Budapest and the Danube crossings would always need to be protected.

If anything, I'd say the Soviet release schedule is quite flexible. All Red Army frontline formations in the south start released, for instance, even if the Axis forces in their sector are permanently Fixed. 

I didn't attack any formation that was Fixed at the time, as far as I know, though the Bulgarian units opposing my Drava crossing were Fixed for 3 turns when my first unit reached the other side. I guess it might be an issue if a pontoon is constructed earlier. Giving the Bulgarian 12th and 16th Infantry Divisions a T release trigger would solve most of the issue.

On last thing. You may want to consider making the furthest SE corner of the map impassable. Neither side has forces there, but if you lay a bridge across the big river, you can cross and cause mischief in the undefended rear of an unsuspecting foe. I assume IRL both sides would have some notional forces in the SE corner, but these were left out (I assume to reduce unit counts). You may want to put whatever units were in those areas on map just to cover the entire river line. Or you can do what you did in the far north, and just create an impassable area.

Yes, an impassable line of hexes east of Osijek is a good idea. I noticed it wasn't there, but didn't move anyone up there. There's already a ferry and a rail bridge there.

Great game by the way. Once the dust settles, I think Spring Awakening 45' will be right up there with the top tier Panzer Campaigns.

I'm enjoying our PBEM quite a bit. 

Some sort of reduction to losses would be helpful to both sides, given the small average unit size. A downside to using alt values is that they make tiny units nearly bulletproof and larger units take more losses. I don't think I need to see Katyusha or 30cm Nebelwerfer strikes against stacks with alt indirect fire to have an idea of how punishing those would be.