Warsaw Pact VS NATO

[Fog of War]

Need some help with this one :  Me vs the AI Danube Front Bolt From the Blue.

Enjoying it greatly but need help on the operational  level please. I`ve read Kool Kat and Mowgli`s excellent  tactics posts above  and been playing like the usual PzC games ( arty strike, air strike, units fires trying for disruption and assaults works)  but it just seems battering across the front just grinds my guys down as the  ( better then usual ) AI feeds in fresh units in front of my spear points. 

At T 39 it looks like a stalemate. Also I certainly don`t seem to have  the 2-3 to 1 odds that NATO was expecting on fighting.

I know, I seem like a PzC newbie whining but been playing since JT`s HPS days....
I need some  advice.

Rich

[Kool Kat]

Hi Rich: 

Any response to your request for advice? 

Could you give more details on what you are struggling with? 

[Fog of War]

Hi Rich: 

Any response to your request for advice? 

Could you give more details on what you are struggling with? 

Hi Kat

After looking at AAR`s I thought I would just advance to contact with the Fronts closest WP units , see what develops, shoot all the Arty  &  Air we can and then try to  Blitz through along the whole line !!   After all, this Is The Great Patriotic War II !

Any breakthroughs would be supported by the second echelon Divisions, the Third echelon Divisions would replace the resting Guards Divisions in the first wave so they could pass through the expanding ( hopefully ) breach's of the second echelon  troops.

Sounded good, but everything is just stuck .  and looks like I`m out of special munitions at Turn 40.

[Kool Kat]

Hi Rich: 

Any response to your request for advice? 

Could you give more details on what you are struggling with? 

Hi Kat

After looking at AAR`s I thought I would just advance to contact with the Fronts closest WP units , see what develops, shoot all the Arty  &  Air we can and then try to  Blitz through along the whole line !!   After all, this Is The Great Patriotic War II !

Any breakthroughs would be supported by the second echelon Divisions, the Third echelon Divisions would replace the resting Guards Divisions in the first wave so they could pass through the expanding ( hopefully ) breach's of the second echelon  troops.

Sounded good, but everything is just stuck .  and looks like I`m out of special munitions at Turn 40.

Gent: 

Here are tactical ideas that I have used in my PBeM MC games:

• Focus on one sector and blitz through it.
  
• Use scout helos ahead of your main offensive axis to uncover hidden enemy units.
  
• Follow your scout helos with gunship helos to bust up uncovered enemy armor.
  
• Hit detected enemy units with arty. Use air strikes on important targets (HQs and arty).
  
• Deliver arty mine ordnance along your flanks at natural choke points (bridges and cross roads in woods). You want to slow the movement of enemy reinforcements being rushed to plug gaps.  
  
• Each turn, look to use your armor and mech units to flank entrenched enemy forces. Cut off their withdrawals, surround, and then eliminate.
  
• WP has the numbers. Use them. Make sure you can muster 3 WP armor units to NATO's 1 armor. But, don't move mech units adjacent to NATO armor that has not been dispersed or you will pay big time!
  
• Unleash WMD only if your WP forces get bogged down or you need to force an opening to a close objective hex. On the turn you deliver chemical ordnance, make sure you "unstack" all your WP units to present fewer big targets for the NATO retaliation with tactical nukes. 
  

Hopefully, these ideas will help your game play! 

[Fog of War]

Hi Rich: 

Any response to your request for advice? 

Could you give more details on what you are struggling with? 

Hi Kat

After looking at AAR`s I thought I would just advance to contact with the Fronts closest WP units , see what develops, shoot all the Arty  &  Air we can and then try to  Blitz through along the whole line !!   After all, this Is The Great Patriotic War II !

Any breakthroughs would be supported by the second echelon Divisions, the Third echelon Divisions would replace the resting Guards Divisions in the first wave so they could pass through the expanding ( hopefully ) breach's of the second echelon  troops.

Sounded good, but everything is just stuck .  and looks like I`m out of special munitions at Turn 40.

Gent: 

Here are tactical ideas that I have used in my PBeM MC games:

• Focus on one sector and blitz through it.
  
• Use scout helos ahead of your main offensive axis to uncover hidden enemy units.
  
• Follow your scout helos with gunship helos to bust up uncovered enemy armor.
  
• Hit detected enemy units with arty. Use air strikes on important targets (HQs and arty).
  
• Deliver arty mine ordnance along your flanks at natural choke points (bridges and cross roads in woods). You want to slow the movement of enemy reinforcements being rushed to plug gaps.  
  
• Each turn, look to use your armor and mech units to flank entrenched enemy forces. Cut off their withdrawals, surround, and then eliminate.
  
• WP has the numbers. Use them. Make sure you can muster 3 WP armor units to NATO's 1 armor. But, don't move mech units adjacent to NATO armor that has not been dispersed or you will pay big time!
  
• Unleash WMD only if your WP forces get bogged down or you need to force an opening to a close objective hex. On the turn you deliver chemical ordnance, make sure you "unstack" all your WP units to present fewer big targets for the NATO retaliation with tactical nukes. 
  

Hopefully, these ideas will help your game play! 

Thanks Mike !!

[Ricky B]

Agreed great tips. From my experience, the use of WMD typically results in stalemate, rather than a breakthrough. But that may be poor usage by myself/opponents that result in both of us being bogged down rather than achieving critical breakthroughs.

Rick

[Kool Kat]

Agreed great tips. From my experience, the use of WMD typically results in stalemate, rather than a breakthrough. But that may be poor usage by myself/opponents that result in both of us being bogged down rather than achieving critical breakthroughs.

Rick

Rick: 


The use of WMD is a two-edged sword. You have to be careful that when you deploy WMD, you do not create a second breastwork / defense line for the enemy! In one MC game, my Warsaw Pact opponent was advancing to secure a city VP hex. He deployed persistent chemicals against my defending NATO forces. I simply moved back one hex into prepared entrenched positions secure knowing if he advanced into the chemical impact hexes, his units would suffer Disperses and be vulnerable to attack. 

[Ricky B]

Agreed great tips. From my experience, the use of WMD typically results in stalemate, rather than a breakthrough. But that may be poor usage by myself/opponents that result in both of us being bogged down rather than achieving critical breakthroughs.

Rick

Rick: 


The use of WMD is a two-edged sword. You have to be careful that when you deploy WMD, you do not create a second breastwork / defense line for the enemy! In one MC game, my Warsaw Pact opponent was advancing to secure a city VP hex. He deployed persistent chemicals against my defending NATO forces. I simply moved back one hex into prepared entrenched positions secure knowing if he advanced into the chemical impact hexes, his units would suffer Disperses and be vulnerable to attack. 

Exactly Mike. It was always a struggle to take out critical defenders (or attackers if defending at the time of first use) without blocking the advance, and be able to penetrate deeply enough afterward to get past the barriers created. And then avoid return fire hitting key attacking stacks.

The worst was in Korea, where we ended up with solid lines of impacted hexes limiting attacks to a few spots, probably had too many WMDs for the two sides, the European ones aren't as thick as that, at least!

[Kool Kat]

Gents: 

IMO, the more "interesting" WMD option is the non-persistent chemical ordnance. It's four times more lethal then persistent chemical ordnance AND there is a 50% chance per turn after deployment that it may dissipate and be removed. Non-persistent chemical ordnance makes for interesting tactical decisions and makes temporary the phenomena of a second breastwork / defense line for the enemy!

[Jeff Conner]

Gentlemen

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is as the WP player, you have to be very aware of the advantage that NATO armor has when the visibility is only one hex. You need to press hard on those NATO units that have thermal imaging sights so that at night they are too fatigued to counterattack. WP night attacks need to be leery of running into ambushes as even a few Leopard IIs where you weren't expecting them can ruin your nighttime soiree. I tend to lager my WP divisions at night around their HQs to try and avoid low fuel effects as much as possible, but your mileage may vary.

Jeff Conner