Finland

[quantas]

Hi guys,
whats the best way to defend finland in the winter war and what are the so called choke points? :rolleyes:

Thanks

[Veers]

Hi guys,
whats the best way to defend finland in the winter war and what are the so called choke points? :rolleyes:

Thanks
Very carefully :laugh:
*will post a real answer later. :D

[Mark Stevens]

While Wyatt's collecting his thoughts: you may be thinking of earlier versions of the scenario, when - to simulate the difficulties the Red Army had with supply and terrain - we had an exclusion zone running along the Finnish frontier, with a few holes in it (mainly along the roads, etc.) These were real choke points, as it was physically impossible to move units around them.

This was always a very artificial solution, so we abandoned the exclusion zone in recent versions and Pelle redrew the terrain to include a lot of lakes, marsh, jungle (dense forest) and badlands. It's now possible to move units all along the frontier (obviously not through the numerous lakes until they freeze in winter) but the terrain severly restricts supply, and off road movement for motorised units. Even infantry move very slowly. Only guerillas are OK anywhere, as they don't suffer from being out of supply. The Finns have one guerilla unit, which they can divide into three, the Russians none at the start (although Partisan bands form about six months after 'Barbarossa').

This means that there are only a small number of axis along which the Red Army can advance into Finland if they want to move reasonably quickly and remain in supply. They can take a chance and head off into the forests, but if they're stopped in out of supply hexes, or encircled by the Finnish guerillas, they'll be out of supply and very rapidly degrade. As the Allied player, it's best to have Supply Paths on when invading Finland - you'll very soon see the choke points. Vice versa for the Finns: identify the areas where supply doesn't extend and plan your defence accordingly, although be aware that a bold Allied player may take a chance and try - albeit very slowly - to outflank your blocking positions.

It's a similar situation to the El Alamein position, or the entrance to the Crimea, although in Finland you can take a chance and move off of the roads.

[quantas]

Thank you very much for your suggestions.

Does it make sense to hold petsamo and the mannerheim-line at the beginning, when attacked very hard or is it better to fall back into better positions with fewer hexes to defend?

:rolleyes:

[Veers]

Thank you very much for your suggestions.

Does it make sense to hold petsamo and the mannerheim-line at the beginning, when attacked very hard or is it better to fall back into better positions with fewer hexes to defend?

:rolleyes:
Depends on how hard the Soviets come.
I'd say the Mannerheim Line is a good place to hold, but you will probably have to give up Petsamo.

[Mantis]

Agreed. Generally, I flee Petsamo with (iirc) the one division of normal infantry that is there, but the rest stays fortified, as it will still likely take the Reds several turns to oust you.

You can usually hold the Mannerheim Line until you've lost all of the north, and they start approaching Helsinki. Under normal circumstances, you'll end up abandoning the Line, rather than getting pushed out of it.