Towards the very end of the video I make a mistake when I say when you have a chance to exclude units from a battle, choose the units with the lowest AP value. It should be exclude the lowest valued units and use your higher valued units so as to extend the overall average strength of your army before you have to rest them.
Thanks Ray for investing so much time and effort into evaluating this game and explaining all the ins and outs of the supply system as well as sharing with the world your tips and tricks in how to avoid falling into too many holes in the ground while playing Decisive Campaigns Barbarossa. I was actually inspired to buy the game for myself on Steam by watching Tortuga playing it, and getting so uptight when he loses so much as a single Panzer II in combat. Now I know why he's losing so many tanks and I have actually recommended he checks out your series of videos, because I feel he would find them most enlightening. Anyway, your videos have enlightened me and encouraged me to bite the bullet and give the game a whirl for myself, so thank you once again for you hard graft! All the best to you, from Scotland!
Thanks for doing this Ray - the video was interesting and informative. I don't have the game, but am now seriously considering it. I appreciate the time/effort you put into this. PS - thanks for your service!
The rules say that the HQ benefits for "combat mod" and "morale mod" decrease with distance. Perhaps having your HQ move up to be close to the battle is a worthwhile tradeoff for increased trucking distance
Thanks for that input. I mentioned that there was a reason to keep you HQ close to your troops but wasn't sure what it was. This also would correlate with the different colors of the command range, I would imagine. The tradeoff is, of course, situational. So for example, in my video where AGC has 57K in fuel, there is no reason not to take advantage of the benefits of having your Panzer Commander close to the combat. Thanks for the information!
@@rayriverssgaming8882Your HQ being a little further away does not usually lead to less fuel being delivered, at least not immediately. It will however make your truck columns wear out faster. A Panzer HQ will usually have enough AP to move close to the battle (the colour codes are indeed about this), then move back to optimal supply route length afterwards.
@@rayriverssgaming8882 It sure is. Especially useful when your PzHQ is already 10 hexes from FSB. Beyond that range truck column losses will increase expeonentially.
Given that you are keeping your Panzer Corps Commanders on the rail and road infrastructure, and not destroying trucks by having them in countryside... the decision depends on the state of your relationships, especially with Wagner. Remember how I said you should first concentrate on getting good relationships with Wagner (trucks) and Gercke (trains) first. With this decision, someone is going to take a hit, no matter what decision you make. If you give trucks to Wagner, the theater commander will not like it and you will lower his relationship with you. If you don't give Wagner trucks, your relationship with him will take a hit but it will increase with the theater commander. So it depends on what is your relationship with Wagner. If you have a really good relationship with him, don't give him any trucks. This will increase your relationship with the theater commander (which is also very important). As I stated in the video, first concentrate on getting good relationships with Wagner and Gercke, then you have a cushion where you can deny them requests for things such as more trucks and improve your theater commanders relationships. Kinda long winded response. Hope it helps.
Yep. The difference is that with Military Independence, you must capture all 3 major objectives within a month of each other. In my first game, I only captured one and thus it was a minor victory. In the second game I recorded and am using for this video; I was on a much harder difficulty and I took all 3 objectives giving my a decisive victory.
I bought it today. I'm trying to test the Soviet campaign... and I feel like this game was made for the German player. This belief is also confirmed by what I saw on YT. In Soviet campaigns played by other players... none of which have been completed. Of course, there is an option that serves to strengthen the Soviet army, and it is probably the most correct one. Especially since the composition and quality of many divisions is more an author's vision than a fact. For example, the huge Soviet panzer divisions, having 2-3 times as many tanks as the German panzer division, are very tiny in the game (105 Soviet tanks vs 155 German tanks, which is better...). Also, on June 22, there are no KVs anywhere (there were over 500). The first rounds with the Soviets are not so much about the German blitzrkig... but about the superturbo rush. I'm trying to understand the intention of the authors of the game. Have you tried playing soviets?
A bit. Like the Axis, there is a steep learning curve there. My feeling is that, unlike the Axis, the Soviets have few tools (cards) to work with, but they have a much more profound influence on the outcome. I started to work out how to win as the Soviets, but to be quite honest, after over 500 hours of play, I am a bit burnt out on the game. So I am giving it a bit of a rest for now. One thing I will say is that I believe you must stop AGS at all costs because if they get loose, they will conquer all of southern Russia... and that is a lot of victory points.
@@rayriverssgaming8882 Well... For now, I'm trying to guess what the authors wanted to achieve when they created the Soviet campaign. ;) I've been dealing with the Eastern Front, from the Soviet perspective, for several years... and my historical knowledge is of little use here. Here I have to learn the game itself... It's a pity because with the help of Decisive Campaigns I wanted to better understand the nature of the eastern front on a large operational and strategic scale. Here, even the Red Army's OdB was done in the wrong way. The German army is a bit simplified, but each division (infantry, armored, etc.) has a properly selected combat value, consistent (more or less) with historical data. In the Red Army, each infantry/motorized/armored division is the same. It doesn't matter if historically the Soviet Mechanized Corps had 1,000 tanks (in 3 divisions) or 200 tanks... Besides, some of the equipment is not included, i.e. the Soviet infantry division does not have 152mm heavy artillery, and the armored / mechanized division does not have 76mm / 122mm artillery . There is also no such thing as an independent anti-tank brigade, although the RKKA had several at the very beginning of the war. Similarly, there is no such thing as "fortified areas". Fortification lines are very few even though the Soviet Union still had the Stalin Line (a bit neglected) and the Molotov Line. That's why in this game, for example, Przemyśl falls in the first round of the German attack... because there are simply no fortifications. It is the same with the famous Brest Fortress I understand that the RKKA divisions suffered from a lot of weaknesses, and the biggest one was the extremely poor training of the soldiers ... But I think someone exaggerated here. This is just the tip of the iceberg because I analyze the game only for a few hours in order to come up with any tactics compatible with the game so that I would have a chance to fight at all, even with historical speed (because I don't see any chance to improve what was spoiled by poor Soviet commanders and soldiers, i.e. repulse the enemy as far as possible on the line of the Dvina River - Dnieper, and then launching a counterattack with the Mechanized Corps, which I would have led out of the border strip earlier). P.S. What happens to army divisions after an army HQ is destroyed? I know I can't transfer tank divisions from one army to another. P.S. II. From a German perspective, the game is better and still simple. Cool mechanics that show how frontline logistics works and (especially) how the staff works and how many different people you have to work with to achieve something. .
@@MarekKrassus53 Interesting observations. As I say, for the moment I can't really comment because I have played so little of the Russian side of the game. What I have done is observed the Axis AI and was developing an initial strategy for playing the Russians. All conjecture at this point, as I just don't know.
@@rayriverssgaming8882 As Ray said, the game designers have done a great job of giving both players a feeling of sheer hopelessness and terror in the face of their mission. Nobody feels like a winner! My observation is that somehow this is (slightly) less brutal if you play as the Axis side, and perhaps just too much to take as the Russians!
@@avrumgoldman7392 With both sides you are the commander of the army, serving insane dictators. The problem for the Axis, is one of supply, which we as wargamers are pretty used to, so it is not really unknown territory. Hitler can pretty much be ignored. As the Russians you are dealing with a paranoid maniac who, if allowed to, will paralyze your army groups. So as the Russians you must somehow blunt the Axis assault while placating Stalin and winning him over to let the army do its job. Not seen this kind of set up before, but it does have its appeal, funny enough. Guess I will need to get back to my Russian campaign and see how we can do that.
Way too long... in the tradition of my rambling totally unprofessional videos. Cheers to any who dare pass this way!
Towards the very end of the video I make a mistake when I say when you have a chance to exclude units from a battle, choose the units with the lowest AP value. It should be exclude the lowest valued units and use your higher valued units so as to extend the overall average strength of your army before you have to rest them.
I dared!
1.25 speed, was helpful. Thank you.
@@BudikahYT Good luck! It's a fun game and a challenge. But you can do it!
Thanks Ray for investing so much time and effort into evaluating this game and explaining all the ins and outs of the supply system as well as sharing with the world your tips and tricks in how to avoid falling into too many holes in the ground while playing Decisive Campaigns Barbarossa. I was actually inspired to buy the game for myself on Steam by watching Tortuga playing it, and getting so uptight when he loses so much as a single Panzer II in combat. Now I know why he's losing so many tanks and I have actually recommended he checks out your series of videos, because I feel he would find them most enlightening. Anyway, your videos have enlightened me and encouraged me to bite the bullet and give the game a whirl for myself, so thank you once again for you hard graft!
All the best to you, from Scotland!
Thanks, mate! Hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for doing this Ray - the video was interesting and informative. I don't have the game, but am now seriously considering it. I appreciate the time/effort you put into this. PS - thanks for your service!
A pleasure!
this has been so helpful. thank you for taking the time to make it.
My pleasure, mate. It is really good game, but there just wasn't enough info provided to play it properly.
totally agree@@rayriverssgaming8882
Great review! Thanks so much! One question: Is there some way to switch allocation of fuel between army-groups?
Yes there is. There is a decision you can make which will give move fuel to AGS and take it away from AGC. But you only get it once.
@@rayriverssgaming8882 Thanks!
The rules say that the HQ benefits for "combat mod" and "morale mod" decrease with distance. Perhaps having your HQ move up to be close to the battle is a worthwhile tradeoff for increased trucking distance
Thanks for that input. I mentioned that there was a reason to keep you HQ close to your troops but wasn't sure what it was. This also would correlate with the different colors of the command range, I would imagine. The tradeoff is, of course, situational. So for example, in my video where AGC has 57K in fuel, there is no reason not to take advantage of the benefits of having your Panzer Commander close to the combat. Thanks for the information!
@@rayriverssgaming8882 We all live and learn together!
@@rayriverssgaming8882Your HQ being a little further away does not usually lead to less fuel being delivered, at least not immediately. It will however make your truck columns wear out faster. A Panzer HQ will usually have enough AP to move close to the battle (the colour codes are indeed about this), then move back to optimal supply route length afterwards.
@@nelus7276 Interesting! Sounds like it is worth trying.
@@rayriverssgaming8882 It sure is. Especially useful when your PzHQ is already 10 hexes from FSB. Beyond that range truck column losses will increase expeonentially.
Terrific in-deepht explanation of this game, that let me understand how it works! And funny how you are talking on and on and on...😂👍
Thanks, Francis. My tutorials are full of brain dead rambling. It's amazing anyone takes the time to watch them! 😉
One more question: When you have to take a decision on captured trucks, do you send them all to Wagner, half, or none?
Given that you are keeping your Panzer Corps Commanders on the rail and road infrastructure, and not destroying trucks by having them in countryside... the decision depends on the state of your relationships, especially with Wagner. Remember how I said you should first concentrate on getting good relationships with Wagner (trucks) and Gercke (trains) first. With this decision, someone is going to take a hit, no matter what decision you make. If you give trucks to Wagner, the theater commander will not like it and you will lower his relationship with you. If you don't give Wagner trucks, your relationship with him will take a hit but it will increase with the theater commander. So it depends on what is your relationship with Wagner. If you have a really good relationship with him, don't give him any trucks. This will increase your relationship with the theater commander (which is also very important). As I stated in the video, first concentrate on getting good relationships with Wagner and Gercke, then you have a cushion where you can deny them requests for things such as more trucks and improve your theater commanders relationships. Kinda long winded response. Hope it helps.
@@rayriverssgaming8882 Thanks! This fits in with the game dynamics: You have a decision to make, and whatever you do, somebody won't like it!
Always keep your theatre commanders happy or they will rescind your Panzer focus. Letting them keep half does the trick.
Good job!
Thanks mate!
Same principles with first game?
.
Yep. The difference is that with Military Independence, you must capture all 3 major objectives within a month of each other. In my first game, I only captured one and thus it was a minor victory. In the second game I recorded and am using for this video; I was on a much harder difficulty and I took all 3 objectives giving my a decisive victory.
I bought it today. I'm trying to test the Soviet campaign... and I feel like this game was made for the German player.
This belief is also confirmed by what I saw on YT. In Soviet campaigns played by other players... none of which have been completed.
Of course, there is an option that serves to strengthen the Soviet army, and it is probably the most correct one. Especially since the composition and quality of many divisions is more an author's vision than a fact. For example, the huge Soviet panzer divisions, having 2-3 times as many tanks as the German panzer division, are very tiny in the game (105 Soviet tanks vs 155 German tanks, which is better...). Also, on June 22, there are no KVs anywhere (there were over 500).
The first rounds with the Soviets are not so much about the German blitzrkig... but about the superturbo rush. I'm trying to understand the intention of the authors of the game.
Have you tried playing soviets?
A bit. Like the Axis, there is a steep learning curve there. My feeling is that, unlike the Axis, the Soviets have few tools (cards) to work with, but they have a much more profound influence on the outcome. I started to work out how to win as the Soviets, but to be quite honest, after over 500 hours of play, I am a bit burnt out on the game. So I am giving it a bit of a rest for now. One thing I will say is that I believe you must stop AGS at all costs because if they get loose, they will conquer all of southern Russia... and that is a lot of victory points.
@@rayriverssgaming8882 Well... For now, I'm trying to guess what the authors wanted to achieve when they created the Soviet campaign. ;) I've been dealing with the Eastern Front, from the Soviet perspective, for several years... and my historical knowledge is of little use here. Here I have to learn the game itself... It's a pity because with the help of Decisive Campaigns I wanted to better understand the nature of the eastern front on a large operational and strategic scale.
Here, even the Red Army's OdB was done in the wrong way. The German army is a bit simplified, but each division (infantry, armored, etc.) has a properly selected combat value, consistent (more or less) with historical data.
In the Red Army, each infantry/motorized/armored division is the same. It doesn't matter if historically the Soviet Mechanized Corps had 1,000 tanks (in 3 divisions) or 200 tanks... Besides, some of the equipment is not included, i.e. the Soviet infantry division does not have 152mm heavy artillery, and the armored / mechanized division does not have 76mm / 122mm artillery . There is also no such thing as an independent anti-tank brigade, although the RKKA had several at the very beginning of the war.
Similarly, there is no such thing as "fortified areas". Fortification lines are very few even though the Soviet Union still had the Stalin Line (a bit neglected) and the Molotov Line. That's why in this game, for example, Przemyśl falls in the first round of the German attack... because there are simply no fortifications. It is the same with the famous Brest Fortress
I understand that the RKKA divisions suffered from a lot of weaknesses, and the biggest one was the extremely poor training of the soldiers ... But I think someone exaggerated here.
This is just the tip of the iceberg because I analyze the game only for a few hours in order to come up with any tactics compatible with the game so that I would have a chance to fight at all, even with historical speed (because I don't see any chance to improve what was spoiled by poor Soviet commanders and soldiers, i.e. repulse the enemy as far as possible on the line of the Dvina River - Dnieper, and then launching a counterattack with the Mechanized Corps, which I would have led out of the border strip earlier).
P.S. What happens to army divisions after an army HQ is destroyed? I know I can't transfer tank divisions from one army to another.
P.S. II. From a German perspective, the game is better and still simple. Cool mechanics that show how frontline logistics works and (especially) how the staff works and how many different people you have to work with to achieve something. .
@@MarekKrassus53 Interesting observations. As I say, for the moment I can't really comment because I have played so little of the Russian side of the game. What I have done is observed the Axis AI and was developing an initial strategy for playing the Russians. All conjecture at this point, as I just don't know.
@@rayriverssgaming8882 As Ray said, the game designers have done a great job of giving both players a feeling of sheer hopelessness and terror in the face of their mission. Nobody feels like a winner! My observation is that somehow this is (slightly) less brutal if you play as the Axis side, and perhaps just too much to take as the Russians!
@@avrumgoldman7392 With both sides you are the commander of the army, serving insane dictators. The problem for the Axis, is one of supply, which we as wargamers are pretty used to, so it is not really unknown territory. Hitler can pretty much be ignored. As the Russians you are dealing with a paranoid maniac who, if allowed to, will paralyze your army groups. So as the Russians you must somehow blunt the Axis assault while placating Stalin and winning him over to let the army do its job. Not seen this kind of set up before, but it does have its appeal, funny enough. Guess I will need to get back to my Russian campaign and see how we can do that.
thank you
Thank you, for watching!
Can you edit this game at all?
Do you mean the video? If so, no as the program I use doesn't have separate layers for video and audio.