Really sick ways for the Russian to fight in RB at night

[Oberst Balck]

Hi,

After playing RB countless times I thought I would tell some of my sick Russian tactics at night .....

I'm pretty sure non of this is illegal so please tell me if it is....

1) The " Ohh my God look at all that smoke !!! " trick...

This was my first forray into my maliday. If you are fortunate enough to have good weather and a mild breeze drop a smoke barrage on the unsuspecting sods. Wait until the barrage drifts and human wave or just normal CC it. The Germnan WILL NOT be able to respond until CC.

+4 hindrance for being in smoke hex ( +3+ 1) and +2 for the other drifting smoke = +6 No LOS.....

The other beautiful thing about this is even if he does get starshells , they will be of no help either.

Number 2 is even sicker and I think I should see a doctor. Burn him where he stands.

Again mild breeze and good EC's ( dry !!) help. Here you manouver troops to start fires upwind of the German out of NVR, or even better out of LOS completely. This way you also save your ? counters < it's soo great to be a Russian> .Such things as in other buildings or in blind spots are where to start them. Eventually the blaze will reach the No Move hexes of your German. He has no option but to break and rout 1 hex.

Due to the unfavourable effects of HAVING to rally to remove the DM ( trying to is not enough) you should be able to use sewer movement or human wave to finish the singed german off.

I am at present using both these methods and believe me -- they work.

Strashviskia !!

The bad bad Russian

 

[Bryan Holtby]

The most basic tactic of the Germans should be to never pass, and thus not allow the Russians a night assault. Once ELR's of both sides are low (Russian will likely drop faster than German) Pioneer's will vaporize Russian defenders, especially if Rus ELR = 0) while the 468 'Death Stars' take out any resistance at long range. Combine this with concentrated VBM 'sleeze' assaults and the Russian will have a hard time surviving.

The Germans need to save CPP whenever they can, so that by day 6 or 7, Pioneers can be purchased 2 days in a row. The German will need 2 full coy of them to continue the assault, with 468's supporting. Keep the 548's well behind the fighting if the German ELR is below 2, guarding critical sewer hexes is a good job for them at this point. I have always found SAN to be unworthy of German CPP, maybe it is just my bad luck with snipers.

The only chance the Russians have against this tactic is to purchase NOTHING but Infantry, every day.

 

[apbills]

I agree with Bryan concerning the German attack. I think he must always attack until the victory is in hand. Never give the Russian the upperhand.

As for the Russian buying JUST infantry, that is impossible. The Russian will always be able to purchase more, he can easily get his max allotment everyday with left over CPP for other goodies. As the Russian I always buy my max amount of infantry, regardless of what the German is doing. HUman waves with militia are a real pain for the German, regardless of day or night. The Russian infantry is so inexpensive you can easily waste a couple of companies without feeling it later in the game. Just make sure you actually purchase the militia before the end of October.

 

[Bryan Holtby]

Agreed, you can almost always buy the max available inf coy, but sometimes you will need to put them on the front line instead of reserve, so they suddenly become expensive. If always found that the 'scripts are best used to absorb flamethrower attacks and arent much good outside of a factory.

If the Germans maintain a 2-1 kill ratio or better, the Russian is in deep trouble. Human Wave tactics will only play into the German hand unless they are set up in an area where the German is not planning to attack from that day AND is thinly held.

As the Russian, I will max out my fortifications (with the priority on mines and HIP) after buying Inf, which leaves little for anything else.

 

[Brian W]

If the Germans maintain a 2-1 kill ratio or better, the Russian is in deep trouble.

I have only played RB once, and then it was a drubbing in RB-IV. However, from the numerous discussions that I have heard a 2-1 kill ratio is the minimum the germans need to stay in the game in RB-III. I know one player who only plays RB-III, mostly via vasl. Crazy. I like the idea of RB, but I get board way too easily to stick with something like that over and over again. Even once is more than I am willing to commit to.

 

[apbills]

I have never bought anything but reserves for all my Russian infantry. For what purpose would you need something in the frontline? Reserves are close enough.

If you have to purchase infantry for frontline use as the Russian, you are already doomed. If you really think you need them for some reason, fill in with militia, and save your real troops for battles they can win.

 

[Oberst Balck]

bother

Hi all,

Mmm The 838 idea is pretty unsatisfactory - whoever lets thier German ELR get to 2 ought to be shot !!!! THAT will loose you the game.

The main objection the that is despite thier strength you cannot use them to fight pitched battles since THEY are the squads that allow you to recharge your DC. Basically you can only gain as many DC back again as you have 838's.

However my main reason is to add E 1.94 which messes uyp one of my plans:

" Fires may not be lit at night except if specifically allowed by SSR".

I can understand why. I guess also it is too gamy - who in thier right mind would allow themselves to be BBQ'ed ?

There is going to be a HUGE website devoted to RB and ASL, it will also have some original WW2 pics etc. I know this since I'm making it )

All the best,

 

[Bryan Holtby]

Attacking with an ELR of 2 is preferable to being attacked at night. In fact, attacking with an elr of 0 and using just 838's with an elr of 5 is preferable to being attacked at night. In other words, ANYTHING is preferable to being attacked by the Russians at night! 838's supported with the odd 468 make a good attack with low German elr. It is also inevitable that the German elr will fall given the constant attack-chit modifiers that will pile up over 8 or more days.

The German must do everything possible to avoid the Russian night assault. Just one 7 turn night assault can destroy the German chances of winning. Terrain can be recaptured, but the troops are hard to replace when the German is likely going to loose a company or more, and not likely eliminate too many Russians in the process.

'Pitched' battles dont happen very often in the face of flamethrowers, demo's, assault firing 838's and -1 or -2 leadership. The only thing they have to fear is their Russian counterparts, and its not often the Russian player can afford to purchase them. If the Russian can afford them, its likely that the German has already lost, or, its a last ditch attempt to hold a factory and the entire front line has shrunk to a manageable length.

 

[Oberst Balck]

night losses

Well a night attack is bad news for the German yes, but catastrophic ?? Maybe not.

I rememeber one game I had many years ago where I used T-34's and 527's and possably some 628's to take back quite a bit of the Volga sectorI regard the BB 18 building as a last line of resistance sort of thing.

About 40- 50 hexes were recaptured and the german lost probably a company of sturm and quite a few SW's. Comapred to having an ELR of 2 I would take the formar any day of the week.

Yes you are right aboyt the FT toting 838's but you will see a better way to fight with these goodies in my fortcoming web page. If you want a copy of that particular section I can sent it to you...

" Every minute has 60 seconds every second holds a thousand dangers."
German Tank Commander 1941