VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: [1] ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 10:08:26 05/08/02 Wed
Author: Alan Yngve
Subject: Re: SL1 Guards Counterattack (Russians and building m5)
In reply to: Marty Fix 's message, "Re: SL1 Guards Counterattack and variants (topic thread)" on 19:52:16 03/30/02 Sat

>>Right. Which only reinforces the issues of providing
>>mutual support for each building, especially those
>>that are in danger of an enemy entrance.
>>
>>Many "Guards Counterattack" games won by the Germans
>>are won because the Germans were able to counterattack
>>into building m5, making up for the loss of two
>>buildings to the Guards. Building m5 can rapidly
>>become a Russian liability because its 447s supported
>>by an 8-0 leader are weak, at best. If too many
>>squads become broken ... it can seem like an eon
>>trying to rally them, and there is no effective
>>support available from the center or the Guard squads,
>>unless the Russians have already taken building k5 in
>>strength.
>
>OK, let's split the focus a little bit. Being
>Russian, weak, and sitting in building m5, what is the
>best option for keeping the Germans at bay? I seem to
>have the best luck keeping two squads in n5 and m5 if
>I can. Or is there some better reasoning for keeping
>some squads in reserve in n4 with a leader?

Having all four squads in the forward hexes works only if they don't all break. Note that i7 can attack m5 at 16ift+1, n5 can be attacked by m9 (if those units stay there) and both can be attacked by German forces in m7/L6.

Also note the following: Having TWO 447s stacked in one hex significantly increases the chance that at least one will break due to enemy fire. This is because of the matehematical relationship that if one squad would break with probability P, two squads would make the probabilities as follows: two squads break: PxP, one squad break 2x(P-PxP).

For an easy example, lets say one squad has a 20% chance of breaking due to a specific fire. If just one squad is in the hex you have a 20% chance of losing the use of the squad and an 80% chance of remaining in good order. But if two squads are in the hex, the probabilities are as follows:

Both break (PxP): 4%
One breaks 2x(P-PxP) 32%
both still GO: 64%
[and with three squads it gets even "worse"]

So, if you are trying to minimize the number of broken squads that the poor 8-0 leader has to rally, you are well advised not to stack your squads on the front line!

Besides, reinforcements can be cycled into those forward hexes. Big tactical question is what do you expect to gain from those squads facing the street? And if you feel the need to have more than two squads on the street, consider having two in n5 and only one in m5 (due to that potential i7 attack).

>Along the same lines, I have seen the reinforcements
>from m2/n2 commited fully to the m5/n5 hexes. And I
>have seen them spit up and some sent to assault the k4
>building. Does this typically depend on the strengths
>of the Germans in l6 and k4? That is, use the
>reinforcements where they are needed most.

I have found that it can be very valuable to use those reinforcements to apply pressure on building k4, but maintaining good order squads in building m5 needs to be the top priority. Note that any of those starting Russian buildings can be captured by the Germans, which includes both m2 and n2, which can be easily reached by the Germans down the O road if there are no good order Russian squads in building m5!

-- Alan

OTOH, it should be noted that most experienced players feel that this scenario is really pro-Russian. And I "dare" anyone to try to argue the point with me! :-)

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

  • Re: SL1 Guards Counterattack (Germans and building k5) -- Alan Yngve, 10:30:59 05/08/02 Wed
    [ Contact Forum Admin ]

    Forum timezone: GMT-8
    VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
    Before posting please read our privacy policy.
    VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
    Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.