I've been pondering getting into an East Front campaign game but I would like to play something that is fairly balanced, that is to say balanced in terms of quality and quantity of forces involved.
I'd love to hear from you campaign game afficinados out there. Cheers.
All the east front games are russians with the quantity advantage and Germans with the quality advantage. I think K44 is probably the most balanced campaign where both sides get to attack and defend but perhaps a bit hard to win for the Russians due to the vp levels.
K43 could be a good choice too. There are a number of ahistorical strategies that can skew the game, but these can ususally be handled by house rules before the game. But there are lots here who will disagree.
S41 with the xp2 campaign is pretty interesting but I think it is too hard for the Germans with explicit supply in my view. Playing with virtual supply trucks might be a good match.
Fury
I have no east front titles and was thinking i had better try one out, i was leaning towards S41, but lets see what the guys say! :)
I agree about XP2 for Smolensk. Kharkov is close but not quite. I think Korsun is too hard for the Soviets overall, mainly because even if the pocket forms with most of the Germans in it and they get destroyed it still won't be a major victory, it requires then chasing down and crushing the panzers south of the pocket area, who can really just run away.
Rick
S41 is a great game and the perfect primer for learning to play the Soviets. If you can win as the Soviets in S41 XP2 or get a draw in the in the stock scenarios, you will have mastered the art of PzC defense.
K42 is a good game, until the German offensive starts on the south.
R42 is a real slug fest. To win a s the Russians you really have to learn to be real patient and maximize your small advantages.
K43, release more of the Soviet reserves early and the Germans can do whatever they want. This game allows both sides ample attack and defense opportunities.
K44, as long as the weather is bad the Soviets can pursue and sometimes close with the Germans. Once the visibility is more than one hex, the Soviets get greased by the abundance of German units that can fire more than one hex and still back up out of harms way.
Can not comment yet on M41 or S42.
Dog Soldier
I love K42, my first PzC, but as stated the German counter attack from the south will undoubtedly crush the Soviet offensive. Maybe the answer is to play the First Half campaign, featuring only the Soviet phase of the battle. This is 80 turns, more than enough for most pbem games, and should be balanced I believe.
OK, let me pose another noggin scratcher. If two players exchanged a move a week each, would it be possible to play the entire campaign game of Moscow '41 before the end of the world (Dec 22, 2012 according to the Mayan calendar). Math, like work, is one of the four letter words I hate the most so I need to know this before I undertake such a humungous task.
Regarding the end of the world, I don't really understand this stuff, I just like to spread panic and fear. So, time to invest in a time share on the Moon, folks. And by the way Nostradamus, you had your chance and you blew it. I believe the summer of 2006 was the date you chose for Armageddon. Damn U.N. Time to give those ancient cocoa leaf chewing Mayans a chance.
If you don't have much time I wouldn't play the M'41 long campaign game as the German.
You're libel to be a bit disapointed.
If you don't have much time I wouldn't play the M'41 long campaign game as the German.
You're liabel to be a bit disapointed.