Serbia '14

[Volcano Man]

Right, the post was also for everyone else too, so I didn't mean to make it seems like its was directed entirely in your direction.  But yes, I considered those things and felt it wasn't right to rate the A-H above the Germans, nor similar to the Russians in assault, and the French I consider a special case which accounts for their lower defense and lower soft attack. That's basically what I was trying to say to everyone. But really, I have to explain my position in detail if questions are being asked, right? 

Besides that, and this is for everyone really: all I can say is that it took 6 years to come up with the final result, based on readings and testing. The unit values are solid in my opinion, having played all the campaigns personally. So I hope everyone gives it a bit of patience and explore the depth a bit; a couple of weeks or months of observations won't do it justice.

[stigmatress]

Been playing the series ever since Smolensk 41 and have to say that I consider the WWI titles the best. Serbia looks to be the best of that lot as well. Congratulations on a fine product. One thing that I have noticed in playing the second scenario is that partisans seem to be a bit overpowered with enemy units on the front lines of battle. Basically, I find it impossible to move my Austrian MG units without getting disrupted. I can see this when partisans are in my rear but did not think that they have much of an effect on units in the front lines of set piece battles. Perhaps there is a way to lessen this impact if MG and artillery are moving with deployed infantry. Just a thought.

[stigmatress]

I should add that the campaign notes are almost worth the price alone. I consider myself a good student of history but I did not know diddly squat about this campaign. I think the game will help me get up to snuff.

[Volcano Man]

Thanks for the compliments. :)

Yes, you have to patrol against the partisans (Chetniks), which cancels out their effects if you are within 2 hexes from them. Certainly they are powerful though, but with infantry moving up in non-T mode movement, the disruption to MGs are usually just a nuisance. If you are getting lots of disruptions, then it implies that there is more than one Chetnik unit in the area, perhaps.

I think near the very end of the notes is a section on Patrolling. Check that out if you haven't -- hopefully it helps.

(Also, if you come across Chetnik units with infantry, just assault them every time and they can't stand up to it.)

[Mr Grumpy]

Having tested this title and having played the AH side over hundreds of moves as the AH commander you will grow to despise the Chetniks with their ability to disrupt units in T mode via the partisan feature (which I believe has only ever appeared in one other PzC title M44), because this feature (along with the patrolling feature) has been so underused by players I guessed that like myself players who take on the AH forces will suffer the same frustration as I have over the last 5 years! 


So the key here is planning ahead, before you move your units forward in T mode you need to consider if there are any Chetnik forces within 3 hex's of your moving units, if so you will need to detail a battalion or cavalry unit to go into the patrolling mode which will negate the Chetnik effects.


The difficulty is that some Chetnik units may not be in your LOS so there is a certain amount of guesswork/ gut feeling when it comes to selecting if you should detail units to patrol and inevitably there will be times you will have not needed to do this. Disrupted battalions/cavalry units are allowed to patrol so these would normally be the units you would normally select (providing they are in advanced positions) leaving you units in good order for other tasks.


As Ed said you should assault Chetnik units even if they are not disrupted (just like MG/FG units) as this will wear them down over time and it should be noted that disrupted Chetnik units have no effect on movement in T mode.


As the Serb player obviously you try to hide your Chetnik units just behind the line to make life as difficult as possible for the AH player as he advances, also they are very useful in mountain areas where AH units have to use certain roads and of course bridges where all units have to go into T mode. 


If at all possible try to not allow them to be assaulted as the AH player will try to do this any chance he gets!

[Volcano Man]

Thanks for that post Darran.

Indeed, certainly the Chetniks slow down the A-H advance, which is historical, and a pesky Chetnik commander will stay just out side of patrol range (the 3 vs 2 range is intentional). But the A-H units can move forward deployed, and patrol, and be negating the Chetniks with patrols without the Serb commander knowing it.  So it creates a very interesting cat and mouse game to find and suppress the Chetniks. It is also a good use for the E quality A-H infantry battalions and the cavalry squadrons.

Not sure how many time I have raised my fist... "those _____ Chetniks!!!" in our campaigns. Too many to count. Ahh the memories.

[Andrea G]

I wish to thank Volcano Man for having brought to light such an obscure theatre, at least for me.
The research done is astounding, and, as many other users already said, is well worth the price of the game.
I am looking forward to see a middle east title featuring the turks in palestine/sinai and, maybe a "strafe expedition" game pitting A-H versus Italy :-D

[ComradeP]

The 4th invasion might be the most complex scenario of any PzC/FWWC/PB games in terms of length of the frontline attacks from all directions into the "central" part of the map. It's a great design, but the complexity might result in few reported games. It's an impressive campaign scenario.

It requires a lot more planning than more straightforward "push the enemy in a certain direction" scenarios.

[Mr Grumpy]

I wish to thank Volcano Man for having brought to light such an obscure theatre, at least for me.
The research done is astounding, and, as many other users already said, is well worth the price of the game.
I am looking forward to see a middle east title featuring the turks in palestine/sinai and, maybe a "strafe expedition" game pitting A-H versus Italy :-D

Most people would be forgiven for thinking the fighting in WW1 was all concentrated on the Western Front as that is all that most books/TV/Movies seem to want to push, however as this title proves there are some really interesting campaigns to be researched other than the Western Front, the really great things about these games is that you learn as you play so it really is win, win!  

The other great thing is that Ed also likes obscure military history so nothing is off the table for future titles! 

[Mr Grumpy]

The 4th invasion might be the most complex scenario of any PzC/FWWC/PB games in terms of length of the frontline attacks from all directions into the "central" part of the map. It's a great design, but the complexity might result in few reported games. It's an impressive campaign scenario.

It requires a lot more planning than more straightforward "push the enemy in a certain direction" scenarios.

Indeed, we have a 4th campaign team game ongoing which looks like it is going to be an absolute blast, as you say multiple fronts on a massive map, multiple nations represented AND strategy options, its going to be a steep learning curve!