1201_01a Close Call at Kubinka HTH

[Plain Ian]

Moscow ’41 versus Moscow ’41 alt (1201_01a: Close call at Kubinka)

Based on Comrade P’s prompting I’ve downloaded Volcano’s Alt scenarios and had a quick look at it. I think it’s interesting to see the changes within the different units (German/Soviet) and also how that effects the balance between German and Soviet formations.

The first change that I see is that ALL German Infantry units are Morale B. That does not have much impact on the scenario since only the German 292nd Division in the Standard scenario was classed as A Morale. (probably a scenario balancing decision to help Germans crack open the front line?)

Soviet infantry formations are now all rated as D Morale including the Motor Rifle Bn’s of the Tank Brigades. In the Standard scenario the 32nd Rifles Division has quite a few Morale C units and even the 222nd Rifle Division has a full regiment of C Morale units. The Motor Rifle Bn’s were all C Morale in the standard scenario. This will have an impact.

So lets look at the new factors.....if you can make them out sorry.


 
German units:  Not much difference really. The Soft factors have gone down slightly and the Hard factors all adjusted I guess to reflect armour changes in the tank units. (I’ll try and look at these later) Interestingly the Pioneer unit has been differentiated a bit now by having higher Hard and Assault factors.

Russian units:  The standard Rifle Bn has been dramatically chopped. Its lost half its Soft factors and it no longer has a ranged Hard factor. It is also less capable in Assault. The Sapper Bn has been levelled up slightly and is now just a Rifle Bn with a slightly enhanced Assault value. The Motor Rifle Bn still retains its role as a good Assault unit but that’s about it. Its Soft factors have been reduced (its main weapons are SMG’s) and it now has no Hard factors? (is 0 really correct?)
German versus Russian:

The changes in alt clearly reinstate German unit superiority. Even with the Frozen Weather penalty I would expect German infantry to perform as well as Russian infantry in fire fights? The Russians do retain their superior Defense factor difference (16) but I’m not sure what impact that has in the game engine?

I’m not a PzC expert. This was just a quick snap shot of the Alt/McNamara changes to the scenario. I’ll maybe see if there are changes in the Parameter. I think I noticed that Unit Recovery for both sides was halved (4%/2% to 2%/1%) and there might be others. I’ll also show changes in armour and artillery whilst I’m waiting on my turn.

If anyone wants to read the Alt changes there is a superb Word document in the download which details exactly what was changed and why. I’d recommend everyone to read it. 

I’d also recommend the German player to use #1201_01a_Kubinka_Alt.scn if they want to give themselves a better chance! <G>