Needing some strategy advice

[ricomaurer]

Loving the game so far, but I am getting a little perplexed how to play effectively. I try to encircle small Russian pockets in order to destroy them and hence save fuel, but I never seems to be enough. I try for large scale encirclements, but I burn up all my fuel and my advance grindes to a halt. I try using combined arms, but I use up all my fuel. I try using infantry followed up by mobile units to exploit my breakthroughs, but it isn't enough to crack the Russian line. Hoping some fellow players can give me tips or advice on what I could do better or improve my game play.

[Jmac]

Rico.

The challenge with this game unlike other games where you play scenarios is that all your choices are important and affect the outcome of your conflict. It is not enough to make good command choices in the field your big choices at the start of the game have an impact as well.

I can try to give you tips but everything is connected.

#1 your mobile troops create the break throughs and your infantry follows them.

#2 You have 3 army groups, the pace of each group is going to be a little different as your focus and supply situation will vary differently.

#3 Try not over extend your units, this seems simple yet it can be very very difficult to follow. Remember something very important, chasing a unit that is badly hurt or broken isn't always the best policy in the bigger picture if that is going to make you divide your troops. ( always try using your forces in coordination and support for one another....aka do not go rogue unit)

#4 Always try to remember napoleons maxims of concentration of mass. Do not engage on a unit by unit fight unless you are defending a line you created and they are counterattacking. Always try to attack with min 2-4 units on the unit you are trying to break. Again do not over extend and use all your troops in coordination with one another.

#5 Learn from your mistakes and apply them to the next engagement or battle.

#6 Use terrain to your advantage. Don't let your troops charge up a hill and hammer into soviet teeth that will chew up your units. Mobile warfare isn't like ww1, sometimes going to the side will make them move and then you can chew them up piece by piece.

#7 make good strategic choices that support your overall strategy and your objectives for each group.

#8 Truly deep dive into understanding the logistic and truck & train system. If not you will stall like the germans did.

At the end game they give you a really great performance evailuation. I wish I could link the Pdf but I'm not savvy like that. Here are some of my results though.

#1. Leadership 5 stars 100%

#2. strategic 5 stars 100%

#3 tactical 95%

#4 logistic 91%

#5 civil affairs 60%

#6 eithics 85%

Overall 88% I was recommended for promotion and granted an estate in bavaria.

Here are some stats you might find interesting.

I killed 523 soviet units.
Killed by AGN 117
killed by AGC 200
Killed by AGS 206

Out of 888 total battles I won 790 and lost 98

My difficultt level was at 102 and soviets at 93

I captured lenigrad on sept 10 1941
i captured moscow and rostov both on oct 12th 1941 ending the game.

Hope this helps

[charles_d_berger]

All good tips... here's a few more, in no particular order:

1) Use posture wisely. Blitz posture is powerful, but if you leave all your panzergruppe on blitz all the time, you will run out of fuel frequently. You'll almost always want to have one of the centre PzGs on sustained offensive, and actually I often prefer to switch some or all of the PzGs to sustained offensive as early as turn 3 or 4, to make your fuel really stretch.

2) Really large encirclements are possible, but you need to plan very carefully. Make sure you have fuel, airbases, blitz posture, artillery, command bonuses all line up before launching the attack. Use two prongs, focus on one breakthrough hex using infantry and motorized troops, and rush panzers through the gap.

3) For tough enemy positions that you can't outflack, stack on the bonuses. There is almost nothing in the game that can resist a full assault from 3 hexes by a panzergruppe on blitz posture, with command bonuses, luftwaffe support etc. It will be bloody, so use it sparingly, but at times a massed full assault by most of a PzG is needed.

4) Take your time while hurrying up! Of course there is time pressure, but often you'll want to take a turn or two to let engineers reduce fortifications, let artillery build up, let fuel accumulate, refit a PzG or some divisions with many broken-down vehicles, etc. Don't be afraid to rest, you need to at some point.

5) Encirclements really are the key to winning as the Germans. You can't win by frontal assaults, even a 4 or 5:1 loss ratio in your favour isn't good enough. If you can't manage big encirclements, multiple smaller ones is just as good.

6) Don't forget to manually adjust your retreat percentages and reinforcement threshholds as needed. If you have a panzer division exposed, but with a line of retreat, set it's retreat to 25% and it will fall back quickly if attacked. If you have just close a huge encirclement, set relevant retreat percentages to 100% to ensure the ring stays shut against the inevitable relief or breakout attack. If there are units you need reinforced, make sure to set them for priority reinforcement.

7) Manage relationships well! Sounds easier said than done, and that's true... but keep in mind having a strong + relationship with an army group commander means you will often get bonus APs, which can mean the difference between trapping an enemy army or letting it get away. And especially work on your staff efficiency stat - the higher you can get it, the easier everything else becomes. Positive relationships in this game mean lower PP expenditures involving those commanders, which in turn makes it easier to improve other relationships, and so on. Positive relationships snowball in a positive direction, while too many negative relationships will result in a PP death spiral.