[WarInEur] Russians and doing the Mogadishu Mile

[Hansen]

Previously posted:
In my WitE Games, the Russians are always subject to the Shock of War rule;
If Both Riga & Odessa fall by the 2nd week the Soviets LOSE.  If Kiev, Minsk
Riga and Odessa all fall by turn 5's end, the Soviets LOSE;  Game over end
of 
story.   The run-away strategy is allowable, only if in conjunction with a 
hedge-hogging of the Personnel centers for the opening weeks of the
campaign. 
 
John wrote:
I beg to differ. Riga and Odessa routinely fall to my German attack in
CWIEII by the second week (in fact, Riga often falls on the first turn to an
airborne attack which is the riskiest attack I make. In fact, the arms
centers/training centers in Odessa, Kiev and Minsk are also taken in the
usual course of events by turn 3 or 4. Every Soviet unit on the front and
90%+ within 10 hexes of the front from the Baltic to Odessa dies. In short
the soviet forces as they exist on turn one of the battle are pretty much
wiped out. Shock of war hits on turn one or at most two due to the losses on
the front. 

And with all of that, the majority of times the Soviets win. This includes
when I play the dual play option (where two simultaneous games are going
with each side playing the soviets in one game and the Germans in the
other). 

The reason the Soviets win? They run away. They get to a point just beyond
the German supply lines. Or more accurately, the resurgent soviet forces
establish a new line just past German supply since there really is no one
left to run away. Things can get pretty hairy for the Soviets, but General
Winter arrives in time and the soviets rebuild during the winter and thus
are able to fend off the German '42 attacks well enough to fight on to '43
and its all down hill from that point on.

Now maybe CWIE I is different enough from the WiTE, but it is far away from
reality for the absolutist victory conditions you present.

- John