The last shot in post 56 I believe is a 2k map. What did you think of the extra territory?
Difficult to tell, as only about 1/4 of the map was actually fought over. I appreciate having space for flanking moves or space in general as it makes a battle less predictable in terms of where the enemy attack is likely to come from/where the enemy units are most likely to be located, but as the objectives were clustered in only a small portion of the map, I don't really have a feeling for how a battle on a 2000x2000 map would play out if the objectives would be dispersed across the entire map.
Are you interested in an early war PBEM game at some point?
At some point, certainly.
There are, as I see it, a few problems in terms of balance with early war battles that might be a problem in PBEM's. If the Germans have veteran crews in Panzer III's and the Soviets have T-26's or BT's, the Soviets are likely to lose, because they're less likely to hit their targets and even if they do hit their targets, their hits are less likely to penetrate then the German return fire because the armour on the Soviet tanks is weaker relative to the firepower of the enemy.
However, if on a wide open map, the Germans would have Panzer III's and the Soviets a few T-34's and KV-1's, the Soviets are likely to win because the Germans don't really have the means to disable them if the Soviet player can keep his distance and knows what he's doing.
There's not really a middle ground, at least not with a core like mine. You're either in a battle where superior ROF and accuracy (through the elite bonus or medals/awards) will win you a battle with a Soviet 1930's tank force, or in a battle where you're close to powerless against the handful of 1940's tanks at normal combat ranges.
It's not that the battles I'm fighting are easy per se, but as soon as the Soviet tanks and AT guns are gone, which can happen quite quickly, the battle still essentially comes down to mopping up the infantry.
When I started the campaign, I was expecting the Soviets to outnumber me 2:1 or 3:1 in tanks in most battles. That would've made things quite challenging. However, I believe I've outnumbered the Soviets in tanks in every battle thus far, or have at least had the same amount of medium tanks.
If the Soviets outnumber the Germans, they have a chance even with 1930's tanks, as they can then use some tanks to draw German fire whilst other tanks, BT's for example, race across the map to the German flank.
Currently, due to my unit placement the AI is forced into medium to long range (by 1941 standards) tank duels, which they can essentially only lose with 1930's tanks.
As soon as the Soviets get more T-34's, the upgraded 1942 model 45mm AT gun or 76.2mm AT guns and heavy tanks, the picture changes completely, even if I'd be using the best Germany has to offer at that point (Panzer IVF/2's maybe and long barreled Panzer III's) because in that scenario, basically everything the Soviets have can knock out my tanks. Currently, those T-26's or BT's can mostly dream about knocking out my tanks. Even if I would not reload a battle as soon as one of my tanks is knocked out, I'd lose at most 2 or so out of 12.
I don't think they stand much of a chance at this point with the equipment and experience they are likely to have.
Out of curiosity: what's the chance the Soviets will get T-34's or KV's at this point, in July or August?
