Re: Case Blue 1942 (Hitler is Dead!)
Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 11:53 am
@Akram: you can download it from its Community Scenarios page: https://unityofcommand.net/cs/view.php?sid=98
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Re: Case Blue 1942 (Hitler is Dead!)
Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 8:16 am
I just wanted to say that I recently returned to this scenario and found it very enjoyable to play. I can't vouch for its historical accuracy, but as a game it sure hits the spot.
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Re: Case Blue 1942 (Hitler is Dead!)
Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2016 8:39 am
Okay, to return to this topic after a two year hiatus...
I have played this game over a dozen times in the last year, and have accumulated some observations about it. Obviously I like playing it, but I could like it more and I'll try to explain why. I suppose it is churlish to complain about questionable factual accuracy in a game that is counter-factual to begin with, but there are a few things that just stick in my craw.
One is the start date. The historic Case Blue kicked off six weeks later than this scenario does. One might think that after the upheaval of a major power struggle, the start date would more likely be pushed back than moved up, but I suppose that is debatable. But the real reason this bothers me is the rain. It rains a lot in this scenario. I don't have any information whether the rain represented here is typical for for this part of 1942 or not, but it provides ample reason to wait a bit for the ground to dry out.
Another thing is that there are also a lot of Soviet tanks and tank formations in this scenario. Now we know the Soviets built a lot of tanks, but were there really that many on this front at this time?
Finally, I am not comfortable with the distribution of victory points. Representing Stalingrad as a kind of pot o' gold seems to me to misrepresent history. Yes, Stalingrad was an important industrial and communication center, but at this time Rostov was strategically the more important of the two. The Germans were going after the Soviet oil in the Caucuses and the rail lines that they needed to supply their armies ran through Rostov. The original plan was to bypass Stalingrad and merely mask it with a small detachment of forces, a plan based on sound military principles. It was Hitler's meddling that instead sent Sixth Army into the meat grinder that waited for it in Stalingrad where it died. But now you say that Hitler is dead and that professionals are running the war. There is no good reason to suppose that they would have changed the plan and made Stalingrad the ultimate goal. Sooooo, instead of awarding 100 points to Rostov and 250 to Stalingrad, I would give Rostov 200 points and the Caucasian oilfields 1,000 points. Oh yeah, in this case, adding those oilfields to the map would be a necessary and a good thing.
Just my 2ยข.
Happy
I have played this game over a dozen times in the last year, and have accumulated some observations about it. Obviously I like playing it, but I could like it more and I'll try to explain why. I suppose it is churlish to complain about questionable factual accuracy in a game that is counter-factual to begin with, but there are a few things that just stick in my craw.
One is the start date. The historic Case Blue kicked off six weeks later than this scenario does. One might think that after the upheaval of a major power struggle, the start date would more likely be pushed back than moved up, but I suppose that is debatable. But the real reason this bothers me is the rain. It rains a lot in this scenario. I don't have any information whether the rain represented here is typical for for this part of 1942 or not, but it provides ample reason to wait a bit for the ground to dry out.
Another thing is that there are also a lot of Soviet tanks and tank formations in this scenario. Now we know the Soviets built a lot of tanks, but were there really that many on this front at this time?
Finally, I am not comfortable with the distribution of victory points. Representing Stalingrad as a kind of pot o' gold seems to me to misrepresent history. Yes, Stalingrad was an important industrial and communication center, but at this time Rostov was strategically the more important of the two. The Germans were going after the Soviet oil in the Caucuses and the rail lines that they needed to supply their armies ran through Rostov. The original plan was to bypass Stalingrad and merely mask it with a small detachment of forces, a plan based on sound military principles. It was Hitler's meddling that instead sent Sixth Army into the meat grinder that waited for it in Stalingrad where it died. But now you say that Hitler is dead and that professionals are running the war. There is no good reason to suppose that they would have changed the plan and made Stalingrad the ultimate goal. Sooooo, instead of awarding 100 points to Rostov and 250 to Stalingrad, I would give Rostov 200 points and the Caucasian oilfields 1,000 points. Oh yeah, in this case, adding those oilfields to the map would be a necessary and a good thing.
Just my 2ยข.
Happy
Re: Case Blue 1942 (Hitler is Dead!)
Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2016 8:52 am
Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention: the German supply lines are absurdly long and are allowed to grow at an absurd rate. They start out 35 hexes long and can receive an additional 4 hexes per turn. I once played all the way through without adding any length to what I began with and had no problems at all. Given the rather generous aerial resupply available in the scenario, I can't see why such long lines are a given.
Moving supplies away from a rail line was a whole lot harder than that during WW II and most especially in the USSR. That's why the rail lines were so important. They were almost the only way to move bulk goods any distance at all. The game should reflect that. Capture and possession of rail lines should always be a high priority. I won't even mention regauging.
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Moving supplies away from a rail line was a whole lot harder than that during WW II and most especially in the USSR. That's why the rail lines were so important. They were almost the only way to move bulk goods any distance at all. The game should reflect that. Capture and possession of rail lines should always be a high priority. I won't even mention regauging.
Happy