Forums

The Drive on Smolensk
by Michael Avanzini & Rick Bancroft

"As the German Army closed the pocket around most of Western Fronts Armies near Minsk, both Col.Gen. Guderian and Col.Gen. Hoth turned their eyes toward their primary object, Smolensk. Hitler, worried that the panzers would advance too far too fast, ordered them to halt and help the infantry reduce the pocket. Guderian and Hoth, were convinced that Smolensk, along with Vitebsk, could be captured quickly before the Red Army had a chance to dig in on the east banks of the Dnepr and Dvina Rivers. Against orders, they continued to advance. Brushing aside the Soviet counterattack at Lepel, they stood ready to capture prize. (83,300 sq km - 168 Turns, Explicit Supply)"

File name: xp2 SmolenskRevised.scn - Link to db.


See rules at bottom of post. I have but one preference and that is to play Germany, so looking for someone to command the Red Army for 168 turns. :)

The database says out of 37 games played, 3 draws, 18 GER wins and 16 SU wins.




Any takers?


Edit, rules as follows:
- Automatic Defensive Fire
- Virtual Supply Trucks
- Quality Fatigue Modifier
- Counterbattery Fire
- Night Fatigue

If there's a need to change these rules for the sake of game balance of course that can be done.

Not an offer to play but rather an offer of some advice, for what it's worth:

I've played this one a couple times and I really like the OOB and the extended map. I would however, suggest that you consider playing without explicit supply. From my experience the German supply levels are too low, the Russians far too high and the game turns into a game of hunting the supply units -- the Germans to keep the offensive moving must capture Russian supply, and the Russians go partisan in the swamps and try to ambush German supply. If the levels were adjusted this may be realistic, but I did not find it so much fun. I have not played with just vst's but I think it would be better....my 2 cents.

Fury

So what's the difference between 'Virtual Supply Trucks' and 'Explicit Supply' and what would happen if none were selected?

Hi

With "Explicit Supply" you have supply units, either moveable (trucks) or fixed (dumps), within the range of which your troops have to be to draw supply (fuel and ammo) - the supplies drawn are expended and finite therefore the supply units disappear over time, and are replaced either through the capture of enemy supplies or via the reinforcement process.

with "Virtual Supply Trucks" - supply is drawn from supply sources as depicted on the maps, but the game automatically calculates supply status using a movement algoritm, which effectively reduces the efficiency of supply delivery the further you are from a source. This is particularly relevant if in difficult terrain because it use the movement cost of trucks to work out the "transport" cost.

If "neither" of the above is chosen then the system uses map supply sources only, and the global supply value delivered by them.

Dont forget the relevence of HQ's in the above as the distance from the HQ affects the success of the refuel/reammo of a unit.

I try whereever possible to play with VST's because they add the realism of the logistical "tail" without the labourious task of managing the supply units themselves, thus allowing you to concentrate on the combat side of the campaign.

Thanks for the great info guys! Still looking for a opponent though. :)

I'm with Hadge on this one. I like the VST method better, although I thought explicit supply worked nice in the Desert games. But the VST shows the importance of keeping within HQ command range. 33vortex, in case you haven't discovered it yet, hitting the "H" key will give you a range. Combat units will show you the range of their fire (mostly useful for artillery, IMO), and HQ units will show the command range.

Thanks Jim! I did find the usefulness of the 'H' key already. :)

Also, by the way, I'd go for quality fatigue modifier in this game as well. I believe this is historically accurate. Before this option was available I played the game a couple times and the German fatigue was off the scale in a few days after killing a bunch of Russians...another 2 cents.

Fury

Ok, tyvm for pointing that out Sgt Fury.

Any takers? :)

Tired of waiting... anyone who feel like he's up for it can take it. If you're a veteran player you probably have a good chance to stop me, especially if you've played this scenario before.