Ruhr Assault Army Unit Balancing
Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2020 3:55 am
I noticed when I was playing the Ruhr Assault scenario that the unit assignment for US 9th Army and US 1st Army is really skewed, with 17 units assigned to 1st Army and 5 units assigned to 9th Army. I did a little research and noticed that this is based off the historical unit assignments on January 1st, 1945 for each army - but this is a little anachronistic for the ahistorical storyline. It also means that 1st Army's abilities don't stretch as far, and 9th Army's abilities are a little constrained geographically, all in all making the setup somewhat inefficient.
Historically, US 9th Army was housing units that needed to rest after bearing the brunt of the German assault in the Battle of the Bulge. In the meantime 1st Army was augmented by units normally assigned to XIII and XIX Corps in 9th Army to reduce the Bulge. 2nd Armored, 29th Infantry and 30th Infantry in XIX Corps and 84th Infantry, 102nd Infantry and an Armored Division (7th and 5th permanently switched) in XIII Corps all eventually returned once the lines were restored in February 1945 and the Spring's offensives began to take shape.
In the ahistorical scenarios, the setup now is essentially the same, even though the prior Herbstnebel scenario has US 9th Army receiving reinforcements from 1st Army and SHAEF Reserves to fight off the German assault. One would think that 9th Army would have its normal units assigned by January 1st and the 1st Army units returned, along with some of the augmenting units from the Reserves (presumably III Corps or, more likely, VIII Corps being assigned to 9th Army to house those troops).
I think it would make sense to shake up the starting unit roster a bit for the American armies, assigning 29 ID, 30 ID, 84 ID, 102 ID, 2 Arm, and 7 Arm to 9th Army, and probably another 4 units from 1st Army (maybe 99 ID, 106 ID, 8 ID, and 83 ID). This would balance out potential tactical options a bit better.
Historically, US 9th Army was housing units that needed to rest after bearing the brunt of the German assault in the Battle of the Bulge. In the meantime 1st Army was augmented by units normally assigned to XIII and XIX Corps in 9th Army to reduce the Bulge. 2nd Armored, 29th Infantry and 30th Infantry in XIX Corps and 84th Infantry, 102nd Infantry and an Armored Division (7th and 5th permanently switched) in XIII Corps all eventually returned once the lines were restored in February 1945 and the Spring's offensives began to take shape.
In the ahistorical scenarios, the setup now is essentially the same, even though the prior Herbstnebel scenario has US 9th Army receiving reinforcements from 1st Army and SHAEF Reserves to fight off the German assault. One would think that 9th Army would have its normal units assigned by January 1st and the 1st Army units returned, along with some of the augmenting units from the Reserves (presumably III Corps or, more likely, VIII Corps being assigned to 9th Army to house those troops).
I think it would make sense to shake up the starting unit roster a bit for the American armies, assigning 29 ID, 30 ID, 84 ID, 102 ID, 2 Arm, and 7 Arm to 9th Army, and probably another 4 units from 1st Army (maybe 99 ID, 106 ID, 8 ID, and 83 ID). This would balance out potential tactical options a bit better.