Baku BV No prestige

Let's keep only one thread active per scenario. What do you think about a particular scenario. Was it too easy, too hard? Did you win or lose at first? Post descriptions of your brilliant victories and unfortunate defeats here.
iopgod
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Joined: Fri Jul 11, 2014 4:53 pm

Baku BV No prestige

Unread postby iopgod » Sun Jul 20, 2014 10:31 pm

This was very difficult to get... many multiples of replays. If the weather is wrong, or you are unlucky with overruns or you lose a step on a tank in the early turns or the reinforcements turn up in the wrong place or allow your supply to be broken in the wrong place, or just move in to the wrong, crucial hex, one may as well give up.

My strategy was to use the motorised infantry and panzer in the west to capture the rail junction south of Tbilsi by turn 2, and then to advance along the rail line to the south of the river and approach baku from the west, while the other (infantry) units in the west mopped up and maintained supply.
In the east, the panzers advanced slowly, maintaining supply along the railway, until the defenders had run out of supply around turn 5, when they were able to break through and race weather and the second lot of Soviet reinforcements to Baku.
If you can beat the reinforcements on turn 8, for the final three turns it is mostly just a matter of battering at the objective hexes with the panzers, motorised infantry and whatever else you have managed to get that far.

I was extremely lucky in the play through where I succeeded:
Turn 1, in the west, the motorised infantry was able to destroy and overrun the two nearby un-dug-in infantry, the panzer was able to destroy and overrun the dug in artillery infantry and then attack Tbilsi over the river, and the engineer infantry was able to finish them off. In the East, the various attacks didn't go disastrously wrong and I was able to maintain a good front having damaged the enemy.
Turn 2 I was able to break the encirclement of my motorised infantry (which captured the rail junction), destroy the soviet tank in the west and advance very slightly in the east. Thinking about it, I might have been able to advance my western panzer slightly more quickly by changing the order of the units attacking soviet tank...
Fortunately, the first wave of soviet reinforcements went south to Erevan rather than to the west, north of the Kura (is this random?).
Turn 3, I was able to capture the rail junction north of tibilsi, which allows supply south of the river all the way to Baku, advanced my motorised infantry to the south east and my western panzer occupied the southern rail junction to prevent its loss to the nkvd infantry coming north from Erevan. In the East, my forces advanced a massive 1 hex against determined opposition, but still didn't suffer any catastrophic loses. I had a couple of spare infantry units out between the river and the mountain range, hunting down out-of-supply soviets who might have been able to threaten my supply lines.
Turn 4, my western panzer was stuck defending the rail junction against the nkvd infantry, my motorised infantry had been blocked by a cavalry and infantry combo which had advanced from the southern bridge, and the reinforcements from Everan were threatening to cut the rail line wouth of the river. In the east, the soviets werwe finally falling out of suppy, and I was able to advance a stunning three hexes.
Turn 5 in the west, I was able to destroy the nkvd infantry and finally advance my panzer. I had brought one of my infantry units which had been hunting soviets north of the river across it in order to block the reinforcements, but they had started milling about in the mountains, I assume to try and keep in supply, rather than break my supply. My motorised infantry was fighting the cavalry, which had retreated back to the bridge. In the east the soviets were finally 3 turn outs of supply, and I was able to destroy 6 defenders and attack 2 more with out any damage to the panzers. (they only advanced another 2 hexes, though!)
Turn 6. I still wasn't able to cross the southern bridge with my forces in the west: the cavalry was still holding out. On the other hand, I had almost finished mopping up the forces north of the Kura, and the Everan reinforcements were still milling around ineffectively. I the east I was finally able to make some significant progress, destroying another 3 out of supply defenders and advancing 6 hexes with my panzers.
Turn 7: I was able to destroy the cavalry defending the southern bridge and advance my motorised infantry across it. I was also able to start attackign the forces dug in around Baku with my panzers from the eastern force.
Turn 8 I forced my way another hex closer to baku and bring up my eastern panzer to join the attack, but, in what I assume was a fit of stupidity, I failed to cut baku off completely from the southern soviet reinforcement zone, and they were able to get another two infantry units in to the city to replace the ones I had destroyed this turn. I f I had cut them off, the victory wouldn't have been so close and might even have come in turn 10.
Turn 9 I did manage to cut of Baku completely, and as able to get a panzer next to the first objective hex and even get one attack in.
Turn 10 I was able to capture the first objective, and attacked but failed to damage the nkvd infantry in the last hex.
Turn 11 I was able to attack the defender of the final hex with three panzers, and I was very lucky I was able to breach the entrenchment in the first attack, disband the second attacker so the third could move up, and that my final attacker which destroyed the defender had a movement point left with which to capture the hex.

Hurrah!

sourdust
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Re: Baku BV No prestige

Unread postby sourdust » Tue Dec 23, 2014 4:22 am

I've come up with a daring, bold, and totally gamey way to win a BV almost every time on this scenario, with no prestige use.

The strategy involves concentrating entirely on the eastern road down the Caspian Sea, with no advance at all in the west.

Turn 1: strip the engineers off of 23rd panzer and 46 Infantry. Then disband the 23rd panzer entirely. You'll be using the engineers and panzer steps to reinforce your two panzer units in the east. Wiking should head north to Orzhonikidze and Grozy. No attacks in the west at all, simply pull back to the mountains and defend for the rest of the game with your Romanians and German infantry. This may involve some shuffling around in the mountains, but generally the Russians will content themselves with a few half-hearted attacks, while most sit around in Tblisi. In the east, preparatory attacks commence, but be sure there is no way for your panzers to be out of supply on turn 2.
Turn 2: Add an engineer to each of your panzer divisions, and continue attacking in the east, and bringing Wiking around through Grozny.
Turn 3: Add 2 armor steps to each of your panzer divisions. Congratulations! You now have two 7-step, engineer-reinforced, overrun machines at your disposal. They should start making mincemeat of the eastern Soviet defenders. Start pushing them aggressively forward, allowing them to be out of supply for a turn if needed. Infantry and Wiking can be used for mopping up behind them.

Using this strategy, I've captured Baku on turn 9 (requires lots of luck with weather), turn 10 often enough, and turn 11 almost always.