[WarInEur] Attrition and tactics in Russia

[sgminfo]

 The result I suspect is a trade off or slightly to the
> > advantage to the soviets.
> >
> I wonder if this trade off doesn't so much favor the defender
> that the OOS extra casualty rule can now be omitted.
> A) Does not OOS inhibit recouping of lost combat capabilities?
> B) Does not OOS increase the loss per hex moved?
> C) Does not OOS change the combat odds to increase casualtied per hex 
> taken?
> E) Is there not a penalty for being in an enemy ZOC when out of supply?   
> Given all that, the OOS attacker is already subject to attrition at an 
> increased rate and so the stack losses from the original
> rules seem to be accounted for already.  AT the INIMUM, with the 
> attrition option is in place, the combat losses due to OOS
> could be reduced from a required AEX to extra attrition losses equal 
> to the previously reguired losses (i.e the 1-4 doesn't flip the 6-5, 
> it attritions the stack of OOS attackers.)


This is a point I was going to come to:-
I see this now occuring to others...

With attrition, does the AEX rule when oos need to be implemented?

Bearing in mind the granularity of the weekly turn system.

i.e. That the defender can be so effectively unhorsed in the enemy's 
turn that he is unable to  reply in his own?

My gut reaction is to say this looks good...but when you examine the 
otherside of the coin, nothing looks to simple as it first appears...


The obvious parallel is in the desert, where a good littl'un catches the 
big guy with thesucker punch..., or vice versa...

The relative strength of the 10-8 and 8-8  rendered basket cases by the 
manoeuvre which puts them oos.

On the face of it, the Cauldron battles don't look like they can be 
replicated....

But then again in Russia, the Germans ITRW broke out of many an 
encirclement threatened or achieved.  In the game, the moment the 
pincers close at Kalach, 6th Army is doomed, as is any encircled force. 
They all become immediately effete and immobile (relatively) and are 
forced to relyupon outside help from afar to rescue them. Can we 
replicate the Korsun pocket?

But then, DAK might be invincible in such circumstances, manoeuvre 
counting for little in those cases where you try to wrong foot the opponent.

I do not see clearly down this road....


I might suggest that we have the option of the automatic exchange when 
oos as an option, an option that we can turn on and off to seewhether 
the operational battles, are enhanced or distorted by this...

It might turn out to be a fruitful avenue of experimentation for those 
playing the finished product.....and quite instructive...


-|steve|-