[WarInEur] RE: first edition rules for the Russian campaign

[Wardall Clark]

1st edition War in the East was too tough to play in the campaign version because the weekly Russian Production was so 
cumbersome to implement. However, I have found that using a spreadsheet instead of 15 to 20 production tracks eliminated that 
deficiency quite nicely. 
 
The reinforcement schedules for the scenarios were so far from what the players can achieve via production that I wondered how the 
Soviets ever won. I note with approval that the 2nd edition scenario schedules are quite different. Presumably the new schedule is more
historically accurate. it certainly gives the Soviet player more of a fighting chance.   I admit that with exception of some missing railroad 
segments I like the new more heavily forested Map board better. 
 
On the other hand, counting supply by hexes was easier to implement and the fact that there were multiple checks for victory forced the pace of the German advance and also encouraged the Soviets to fight in order to knock the Germans off schedule. As mentioned in my earlier post the relocation and destruction of the Arms centers tends to follow a more historic path than in the 2nd edition, in which a careful soviet player can extract every arms center and deliberately sacrifice his training centers as a simple means of avoiding the Collapse of Government.  The Soviets in 2nd edition have 2 more training centers than in 1st edition and given the way the 2nd edition production is handled 20 TC is actually more training centers than they can conveniently employ. Perhaps the most important difference is the way that RR repair/conversion is handled. The Axis RR units may convert in Mud but not in snow. This makes for 
an extra 10 hexes of repair for the start of the 1942 campaign and makes possible an attack such as the Axis launched in 1942. Another advantage was that
the Map board was laid out so that east to west hex counting was more efficient than north to south. The current grid is the other way around, which makes it 
harder to extend supply forward and easier to shift troops along the front line to the point of the enemies attack than it was in 1st edition WitE.  I would not 
advocate an entirely new map, but I would advocate that the supply rules for operation on the new map should be somewhat MORE liberal in order to make up 
for this change. (e.g. introducing MSU which outpace the RR units' progress.) 

Another important change is that the 2nd edition Axis is required to garrison the cities, but not required to maintain a continuous line. In 1st edition 
WitE the Soviets picked up extra Personnel Points whenever a line of communication could be traced into captured territory at the end of an axis turn.  Furthermore, if they could bring a partisan unit into supply it became a 1-4.  
 
Partisan cadre were handled in a manner much more like that of Yugoslav partisans, but there was a special Air Drop rule that let the Soviets 
place Partisans in a manner much like they do in 2nd edition.  If I recall correctly, partisans could create cuts and block supplies, making them 
much more dangerous than the partisans in CWIE-1. 
 
What 1st Edition WitE lack was the counter set and off map areas for certain "what if's".  What if Axis used paratroop drops rather than converting the only two airborne unit into 'leg' units for the campaign. How did the Balkan campaign impact on the Launch of Barbarossa?  Would weakening Barbarossa
have freed enough resources for Rommel to prevail?  How many Soviet troops would have been necessary to hold the border against a hostile Turkey? 
Did the Axis invade with the right type of army--would more motorized infantry have been decisive?  Could the Axis have held off the Soviet Juggernaut
if they had built defensive fortifications and retreated in good order instead of trying the Kursk counteroffensive to preempt the coming Soviet  one?
 
CWIE-2 with an extended  1st edition rule book would be really, really cool. 
 
BOB
 



_________________________________________________________________
Peek-a-boo FREE Tricks & Treats for You!
http://www.reallivemoms.com?ocid=TXT_TAGHM&loc=us
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.halisp.net/pipermail/warineur/attachments/20071023/79e961ca/attachment.html