Let's talk 1v1 theory- The Soviet Steamroller vs OKW

Alright this is a work in progress BO, but hear me out because this BO is designed to capitalize on the overall strengths of the Red Army vs the overall weaknesses of the OKW.

So first, some faction profile for context:

The Soviets are a well rounded army, a little lacking in imagination, but very versatile with an appreciable but moderate favorability towards the early and middle game. They aren't to be taken lightly in the late game, but that's not where they shine.

The OKW are the exact opposite. They are rigid and stoic. Imaginative but not versatile. Every move can be predicted, relative to other factions, but because their units are so specialized and powerful, that doesn't give you an advantage. Their late game will beat you for sure, all things equal, but we're gonna fight the tiger while it's still a cub. The OKW early game just sucks.

Sturms are good, but not a main unit. The OKW don't have a staple infantry unit, like rifles, grens, or conscripts. Volks scale poorly into the late game. Sturms are too expensive. Falschirms are doctrinal at 3 CP and too expensive and fragile. Panzerfusies are the closest thing they have, but they are still 2 CP and doctrinal. The kubelwagen is hard countered by the clown car and the raktenwerfer just isn't good. No one gets it because it's good AT. They get it because it's the only AT. So forcing them to get it, instead of a useful infantry unit, is a really good idea.

Here we go. We're bind up the OKW in the early game and leave him stunted, then roll out the Soviet late game and bury them. MG34s are almost required to stop us, because of the massive infantry usage we're pumping out. Without some sort of suppression unit, the OKW won't be able to hold the field without spamming volks, which will leave them weak in the late game and stunted on manpower from huge (even if mutual) loses.

2 con/engineer cap right away
Retreat engineer and build T1.
2 clown cars and 2 more cons.
1 penal
A sniper if facing heavy mg34 usage.

Mg34s are going to be the bane of our strategy, but remember it commits the OKW player to 2 of 6 doctrines. Mind you being forced into Luftwaffe isn't the worst thing ever (it is the strongest doctrine after all) but it does limit them.

Mg34s will be dealt with in 3 ways. The first and foremost is clown cars. 2 clown cars, 1 with a flamer in it, will force the mgs to stay near their infantry. In turn, their infantry is forced to stay near the mgs. This limits the OKW's options. A sole raktenwerfer won't be enough if the infantry gets too far away. It likely will force an OKW rakten though, which forces the OKW to dump MP on an almost useless unit.

Be careful though not to lose the clown cars too easily. We're fighting attritional warfare, where we have the advantage, but we can't fuck it up either.

The 2nd way to deal with an mg is a massive flank. 4 cons, a penal or 2, and some shocks or guards will overwhelm the mgs. The OKW player won't want to commit to too many mgs. If he does, he will beat your flanks, but that's fine because he's dumping resources into fighting the early game, which is our trap.

Snipers are the 3rd way. I'm not sure if they're required. They might be or they might be redundant.

Anyways, as the early game fighting progresses, it's time to change up tactics possible. If he decides to commit to the early game, he'll stop your momentum, at the cost of his. Punish him. Keep the pressure on, cap points away, and tech up to T4. SU85s to deal with any armor or light vehicles that inevitably appear while Katyushas provide very good indirect fire, especially against the OKW blob.

If he goes Battlegroup (T2 or T1, please tell me), get ready for an early game fight. His arty will take a toll on you. Try to stay away from the truck. Ideally, don't even let him get the damned thing in a good place in the first place. Keep him under pressure so he can't build it, or at least force him to build it in an awkward place.

If he goes Mechanized (T3 or T2?), he's made the right choice I believe. The flaktrack is going to be the bane of the Soviet infantry, while Pumas take out clown cars. In this scenario, best to rush T3 and pop out a T34. T34 > puma. Force a rakten. If he goes mech, he's gambling that your early game advantage won't last and he can counter attack with vehicles. It's the right move but punish it. Keep up the pressure because he both can't heal or reinforce in the field. Against a flaktrack, rush it with the clown cars if you have a chance. It has a minimum range. A pair of clown cars, one behind the flak, will make short work of it if they get close enough. But don't try it unless you have the chance, or they will get smoked. Use them against an overzealous HT. Generally, you want to delay against the HT and get a t70 out asap.

A puma is more and less nasty. It will hunt down your clown cars and take away your advantage until you get a T34. Mines, AT nades, and stalling is required here. Or doctrinal troops of course. A guards squad or a 45mm ATG will suffice well in this role.

Doctrine might be key here. I think "Not One Step Back" would be the best commander, because he supplements the key advantage and strategy here: Swarming with infantry. However, Guards Rifle Combined Arms compliments well with Guards Infantry, PPsH, and Hit the Dirt. Lend Lease is interesting, and probably good for T1-T4. The fuel allows fast teching. The M5 brings out a guards (albeit without AT, a big big weakness), the Sherman replaces the T34, and the DshK replaces the Maxim. So the T3 building is covered mostly by the Sherman and M5 (overpriced though) and the T2 is covered by the DshK. The lack of early game indirect fire is gonna hurt but we shouldn't need it.

The defensive doctrine is really interesting in this case, because the DshK, 45mm, and 120mm completely replace the T2 building. But do you need or want that, in sacrifice of a doctrine? It gives excellent early game fighting power, but perhaps too much. Can we take advantage of it without waiting too long? I'm skeptical but it's interesting.

That's my BO. What do you guys think?

Got a replay demonstrating this theory?

Got a replay demonstrating this theory?

Nope, hence the fact it's a theory. Working on it though.

What's with happyxx quoting for no reason?

Sounds interesting, but wont two clown cars be a bit much? I feel that 1 clown and then penal/sniper may be a better use of resources.

What do you do when OKW pumps out early flaktruck and parks it in your cut off? When I play OKW I am able to punish soviet at this point as much as he punished me early game -if I did not let him wipe squads at least. I think that your strategy is getting hard countered by this.

The idea with the flaktrack is threefold. 1, aggressive fuel play to prevent him from getting a flaktrack before you get t70. 2, guards or other call ins, such as 45mm. 3. Dual clown cars get within the minimum firing range will be able to take it out. This requires infantry present in other parts of the map to keep his units spread out.

I just played a game using a tweaked version of this strat vs. OKW, with only 1 scout car and a penal in it, I just drove into the minimum range, and boxed the flaktrack into a hedge and threw a demo at it.

I just played a game using a tweaked version of this strat vs. OKW, with only 1 scout car and a penal in it, I just drove into the minimum range, and boxed the flaktrack into a hedge and threw a demo at it.

is minimum range point blank or is it a small circle?

Minimum range is point blank (ie. high-fiving the gunners), but be careful, you need to watch for players with good micro using attack ground next to you!

I just played a game using a tweaked version of this strat vs. OKW, with only 1 scout car and a penal in it, I just drove into the minimum range, and boxed the flaktrack into a hedge and threw a demo at it.

What do you think of the theory as a whole?

What do you think of the theory as a whole?

I think its a great theory, the 2 cons start is actually quite good vs OKW Sturmpioneers early game if you keep them in cover. They can easily hold the line until your M3 comes out with good micro.I find that 4 cons is a bit excessive in terms of manpower sink, and I prefer to have 1-2 Penals fast so I can put the flamers on them, allowing the Penals to scale into late game better. You also don't have to lose the ability to plant mines with your engineers, who won't be busy in the clown cars. In terms of doctrine, I have found good synergy with the defensive tactics commander, which is great in a 2v2 because it gives you access to T2 with more powerful mgs and mortars, as well as a light at gun. In 1v1, I find that the advanced warfare tactics is quite useful due to the latgame T34/85 and radio intercept, as well as PPSHs. I really like this strategy as a whole, and while its definitely not for everyone, it is one that I am going to be using for while.

Why would you get a penal? Upgraded cons are way better.

I've been using something similar with great effects. 2 CEs with flamers, 3-4 cons and a M3a1. Then onto the rest of the tiers vs OKW and spam PPshs and arty. Vs Ostheer, call-ins are much safer.

Why would you get a penal? Upgraded cons are way better.

I've been using something similar with great effects. 2 CEs with flamers, 3-4 cons and a M3a1. Then onto the rest of the tiers vs OKW and spam PPshs and arty. Vs Ostheer, call-ins are much safer.

Several reasons, some of which may be wrong. 1. I don't always pick a doctrine with ppsh. 2. Flamers on penals plus SVT 40 makes them better in CQB. 3. You can stick them in a clown car with flamer. 4. It keeps your army balanced. As Soviets, we are trying to push the OKW off the field before he realizes what's happening, and I'm not sure spamming 1 unit will be effective because then it allows him to build a counter. By keeping the army balanced, we keep him on his toes.

I'm incorporating psychological warfare into this strategy and I don't think the psychological aspects can be ignored. OKW is a hard faction to play. Make it harder.

I think its a great theory, the 2 cons start is actually quite good vs OKW Sturmpioneers early game if you keep them in cover. They can easily hold the line until your M3 comes out with good micro.I find that 4 cons is a bit excessive in terms of manpower sink, and I prefer to have 1-2 Penals fast so I can put the flamers on them, allowing the Penals to scale into late game better. You also don't have to lose the ability to plant mines with your engineers, who won't be busy in the clown cars. In terms of doctrine, I have found good synergy with the defensive tactics commander, which is great in a 2v2 because it gives you access to T2 with more powerful mgs and mortars, as well as a light at gun. In 1v1, I find that the advanced warfare tactics is quite useful due to the latgame T34/85 and radio intercept, as well as PPSHs. I really like this strategy as a whole, and while its definitely not for everyone, it is one that I am going to be using for while.

Damn, thank you. I'll give the T34s a shot. My only issue with defensive doctrine is that it comes out all at once so it's hard to utilize, but if you can keep the game locked in the early game, it might be brutal because then you can utilize it.

Why would you get a penal? Upgraded cons are way better.

I've been using something similar with great effects. 2 CEs with flamers, 3-4 cons and a M3a1. Then onto the rest of the tiers vs OKW and spam PPshs and arty. Vs Ostheer, call-ins are much safer.

Also, one interesting aspect of the penal battalion that I have found is the durability of the flamethrower. I may be crazy and blessed by the RNG gods, but my Penals have not exploded from a random shot in a couple of months now. CEs are a bit too squishy for me vs OKW as assault units, due to the Sturmpios amazing mid range DPS, although I believe that 2 engies is good if your decide to go defensive doctrine. The underused 7 muni anti-inf mine is amazing vs OKW due to their reliance on infantry units.

Damn, thank you. I'll give the T34s a shot. My only issue with defensive doctrine is that it comes out all at once so it's hard to utilize, but if you can keep the game locked in the early game, it might be brutal because then you can utilize it.

I agree that the defensive doctrine is a bit micro-intensive, but I find it great if you can secure a fuel point in 2v2, but your ally is having trouble on his side. It allows you to dig in with minimal units and send your main units to the other fuel point, not to mention the early-mid game power of the light AT gun, which utterly curbstomps OKW light vehicles and scatter infantry due to its fast reload. I would not recommend this doctrine for a 1v1 though.

This strategy is mostly like the strategy I have concluded. I would, however, like to add a few points that may not be right, but hopefully worth a thought.

Against the Puma, I like teching to T4 immediately and getting a SU-76. This is for the following reasons: First, a well microed Suchka can defeat a Puma quite easily, especially if coupled with a vehicle nade from the Conscripts. Second, it is not as expensive as a SU-85 or a T34. It costs like half the fuel, which is especially important if the Puma is already around and preventing the Clown Car from spreading love. And last, the SU-76 offers more flexibility than the SU-85 (not the T34). It is faster and, with its artillery ability, able to combat infantry effectively. Especially the last thing is important, as the SU-85 can do nothing against a blob of Sturmpioniers/Fallschirmjägers/Obersoldatens. Now one could say, that with our infantry punishing strategy, this would not happen, but if our strategy does not work 100%, its quite possible.

On the flamer Penal squads vs upgraded Conscripts, I am a proponent of the flamer Penal squad. In addition to the points brought by theblitz6794, the flamethrower is already active at medium range and does ignore cover. If you have to clear a Sturmpionier squad standing in green cover, walking your PPsh Conscripts into them is much more dangerous than flaming them from medium distance. Pretty much the same is true against units in buildings, at least if we do not get Molotows.

As for doctrines, I play this strategy often with Shock Rifle Frontline Tactis(Shock troops, AT stealth, flame arty, KV-8, IS-2). Not so much for the first two abilities, but for the last 3. The flame artillery takes care of any MGs, Raketenwerfers or infantry blobs, while the tanks pack quite the lategame punch.