Menschenfresser
24 Jul 03, 10:07
Although I am not completely finished playing my first game of this scen, I couldn't wait to recommend it...especially since now we have a forum for just such things.
This scenario attempts to model the German invasion of Poland in 1939, but there's an aspect of it that tickled my fancy. While most scenarios involve two forces going head to head at somewhat equal strengths (or at least one side should be able to throw up a defense which could halt the onslaught), this scenario makes no such claims. It says right at the start of the briefing:
A historical result between the two players will result in a draw despite the fact that the Germans will crush the Poles by the end of the scenario.
The Poles win by holding onto scoring cities and towns for as long as possible. Each turn that passes, they receive the face number of points for those towns they still hold. Warsaw is worth 20. The Poles get 20 points for each turn they hold it. You can see how they can quickly rack up a good score.
I played the German side of the coin. The Germans have a big shock bonus for the first turn; however, I found it somewhat useless along some parts of the front (eg the northern side). Many German units start well off the frontier, meaning they burn most of their first turn just arriving at the battle.
This scenario really has it all: armor battles out on the plains, infantry grudge matches in the forests, guerrillas in the rear, sieges, pitched battles, and running defenses. But one thing the Germans have to be very careful of is their loss tolerance. It is five times the normal rate, meaning the Germans can really suffer point-wise if they take heavy casualties.
The Germans are given a choice: skirt the Polish defenses and head straight for the points, or try to destroy the bulk of the Polish forces as soon as they meet them. I tried to run the middle road, heading straight for the big VPs, but not ignoring the enemy along the way. The interesting thing about fighting the Poles is that they don't have enough units to hold the Germans everywhere. The can hold you along one or two fronts for some time (not forever). My opponent chose to hold the northern side of the front and I can see why because these units are closest to Warsaw. Not only that but there are far less German units in the north that in the south around Cracow. In the south, what seemed to happen was that I ate up the Polish units a few at a time. After about ten turns, after the front begins to collapse, the Germans end up with a great deal of idle units.
In the south, especially on the border to eastern Poland, I left several units relatively unguarded...and I paid for it. They ended far in my back field, in an area that is heavily forested. They blew bridges and cut off my supply line. Luckily, once Cracow falls, my units in the extreme south don't have much to do. I was stalled in heading for the eastern most VP town because my opponent managed to cut off my supply and during several turns, kick around the drained divisions.
The Germans really feel an urgency to advance, and the Poles can be a headache when they defend roads that are shielded on either side by forests. A lot of the terrain prevents the easy skirting of defending units, and it is along these choke points the Poles have the advantage.
This isn't a game of many combat rounds. Even the careful German player will love to get two rounds. Toward the end, as the battles decrease, it is easier to get more than one round.
I think the more skilled player ought to play the Poles. The game may be slightly skewed in the German favor, but as the game unfolds, I didn't feel this. It's only looking back that one can make such a statement. The only other scenario I've played that felt like this one is Mons1914. However, toe to toe, the Poles can hold ground against the German infantry.
German victory lies in heading straight for the towns and in never letting the Poles breathe. It's better to take equal casualties, despite the x5 loss ratio than to sit around and let them keep you from getting to the cities or allowing them to escape deeper into Poland.
The Polish victory seems to lie in keeping as much of their units as fluid as possible, picking choke points and good terrain. I can see from the German side that the Polish player has to think differently about defense. Sometimes even causing the German player to flank you is a success. Two places to watch are the plains in the southwest and the plains in the north. At the outset, the German player is not committed to sending his units down a particular axis. I sent some strong armor to the plains in the sw and it paid off. Those were the units that ended up taking Lodz and Warsaw.
All in all, a challenging, fun scenario. Hats off to the designer.
While it is an Opart300 and the map is of good size, there aren't that many units to tend to. There are open spaces on all sides, leaving plenty of room for both forces to maneuver. Airforce is there, but somewhat insignificant. I would classify it as medium on the small side.
:drink: :drink: :drink: :drink:
It gets four drunken grognards out of five.
This scenario attempts to model the German invasion of Poland in 1939, but there's an aspect of it that tickled my fancy. While most scenarios involve two forces going head to head at somewhat equal strengths (or at least one side should be able to throw up a defense which could halt the onslaught), this scenario makes no such claims. It says right at the start of the briefing:
A historical result between the two players will result in a draw despite the fact that the Germans will crush the Poles by the end of the scenario.
The Poles win by holding onto scoring cities and towns for as long as possible. Each turn that passes, they receive the face number of points for those towns they still hold. Warsaw is worth 20. The Poles get 20 points for each turn they hold it. You can see how they can quickly rack up a good score.
I played the German side of the coin. The Germans have a big shock bonus for the first turn; however, I found it somewhat useless along some parts of the front (eg the northern side). Many German units start well off the frontier, meaning they burn most of their first turn just arriving at the battle.
This scenario really has it all: armor battles out on the plains, infantry grudge matches in the forests, guerrillas in the rear, sieges, pitched battles, and running defenses. But one thing the Germans have to be very careful of is their loss tolerance. It is five times the normal rate, meaning the Germans can really suffer point-wise if they take heavy casualties.
The Germans are given a choice: skirt the Polish defenses and head straight for the points, or try to destroy the bulk of the Polish forces as soon as they meet them. I tried to run the middle road, heading straight for the big VPs, but not ignoring the enemy along the way. The interesting thing about fighting the Poles is that they don't have enough units to hold the Germans everywhere. The can hold you along one or two fronts for some time (not forever). My opponent chose to hold the northern side of the front and I can see why because these units are closest to Warsaw. Not only that but there are far less German units in the north that in the south around Cracow. In the south, what seemed to happen was that I ate up the Polish units a few at a time. After about ten turns, after the front begins to collapse, the Germans end up with a great deal of idle units.
In the south, especially on the border to eastern Poland, I left several units relatively unguarded...and I paid for it. They ended far in my back field, in an area that is heavily forested. They blew bridges and cut off my supply line. Luckily, once Cracow falls, my units in the extreme south don't have much to do. I was stalled in heading for the eastern most VP town because my opponent managed to cut off my supply and during several turns, kick around the drained divisions.
The Germans really feel an urgency to advance, and the Poles can be a headache when they defend roads that are shielded on either side by forests. A lot of the terrain prevents the easy skirting of defending units, and it is along these choke points the Poles have the advantage.
This isn't a game of many combat rounds. Even the careful German player will love to get two rounds. Toward the end, as the battles decrease, it is easier to get more than one round.
I think the more skilled player ought to play the Poles. The game may be slightly skewed in the German favor, but as the game unfolds, I didn't feel this. It's only looking back that one can make such a statement. The only other scenario I've played that felt like this one is Mons1914. However, toe to toe, the Poles can hold ground against the German infantry.
German victory lies in heading straight for the towns and in never letting the Poles breathe. It's better to take equal casualties, despite the x5 loss ratio than to sit around and let them keep you from getting to the cities or allowing them to escape deeper into Poland.
The Polish victory seems to lie in keeping as much of their units as fluid as possible, picking choke points and good terrain. I can see from the German side that the Polish player has to think differently about defense. Sometimes even causing the German player to flank you is a success. Two places to watch are the plains in the southwest and the plains in the north. At the outset, the German player is not committed to sending his units down a particular axis. I sent some strong armor to the plains in the sw and it paid off. Those were the units that ended up taking Lodz and Warsaw.
All in all, a challenging, fun scenario. Hats off to the designer.
While it is an Opart300 and the map is of good size, there aren't that many units to tend to. There are open spaces on all sides, leaving plenty of room for both forces to maneuver. Airforce is there, but somewhat insignificant. I would classify it as medium on the small side.
:drink: :drink: :drink: :drink:
It gets four drunken grognards out of five.