Blocking Soviet forces in the marsh

[Zardoz02]

I'm having trouble preventing Soviet units moving through the big marsh area east of Brest-Litowsk. I've looked at the forum posts on this subject, notably this one:

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... ?p=3866220

The idea of having a "picket line" of infantry divisions across the marsh seems like a good one but not so easy to do. The problem is in the AGS sector.

I've got the 6th Army distributed across the area of the marsh in the AGS sector. What I find is that many of these units have difficulty getting resupplied. The problem is not so acute in the AGC sector because of the railway line to Gomel which runs through the marsh in that sector.

The supply overlay shows the problem hexes in the centre of the marsh in the south.

Is there any way to keep units supplied in the middle of the marsh? Otherwise a hole in my line in the AGS sector seems unavoidable. What am I missing?

[*Lava*]

I've got the 6th Army distributed across the area of the marsh in the AGS sector.

How you handle the marsh areas is, IMO, one of the big problems which a player has to overcome.

If you don't push hard in AGC, 2nd army gets really strung out and it will stall your attack.

As for AGS, I push almost immediately for Kiev, skirting the marsh as much as possible. I don't worry about maintaining a line with 6th Army, I worry about destroying all the regular army units (Red), in the area.

Here is where I am in my present game:

Marshes.jpg (229.09 KiB) Viewed 270 times

[Zardoz02]

The marsh problem influences a couple of other key decisions. In the south there is a question of whether to swing Pz Gp 1 down towards Odessa or up towards Kiev. In the centre there is a question of whether to use the southern-most Pz Gp 2 to work with Pz Gp 3 in encircling Soviet forces up to Smolensk, or to swing it down to Gomel to block of supply to the marsh.

At the moment I'm trying moves that put pressure on the AI to withdraw from the marsh. We'll see what happens.

One thing I've worked out from your picture and your videos, and from other resources, is that I'm not making fast enough initial progress. Your pic below is from 20 July but I'm at about the same position in mid August. Which means I'm needing to rest and refit my units at the same time.

Kiev, Smolensk and Luga in the north are probably the points to reach before having to rest and refit units.

[*Lava*]

Here is a couple of things to remember:

You get AP bonuses¨in the first 5 moves, so don't be afraid to make deep penetrations with your panzers initially before cutting off a large chunk of Soviets.

Another that I haven't seen talked about much is that once you have a group surrounded, check to see how much AP the encircled Soviets have. If they are showing "0" than you can make a successful attack on them with far fewer troops then you might think.

Once surrounded, attack with your infantry.

So generally my panzers move forward and surround and then let the infantry catch up and destroy the isolated units. Once the infantry has caught up with the panzers, then it is time to look at how to use them to move forward and cut off more Soviets.

For me, playing as the Axis, I am more focused on destroying the Red Soviet regular units then on taking geographic locations.

This is the AAR which I use as a template for my campaign, though it is a PBEM game, and the AI will not allow you so much freedom:

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 9#p4155489

[Zardoz02]

Thanks for that AAR link. That is better than the one I have been following:https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 4&t=352122

I do know to wait for isolated Soviet units to run out of supply and drop to minimum AP and readiness before attacking them. At the moment I'm trying to work out the minimum number of units I need to keep them isolated from all possible supply routes. I think there is no need to completely surround them which frees up units for other duties.

Anyway this is only my second serious playthrough. I doubt that I'm going to win this time but I think I have just about enough information to formulate a serious strategy for the next go.

[*Lava*]

I am creating a 3 part AAR video series of a game I just finished on challenging difficult.

I've posted Part 1, in the AAR section of the forums, perhaps you might want to take a look.

Cheers!

[Zardoz02]

3 parts is perfect - nice and succinct! Excellent work.

I think I'll save them until I finish my current game at least. I've got enough hints and info now to play effectively. I'll see if I can come up with a winning strategy first.

BTW there's another guy currently posting gameplay vids. I don't agree with all his tactics but there are some things to be learned there:

https://www.youtube.com/@theguywhoplaysDCBarbarossa