Profile of theblitz6794

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.

This one got to me. A different angle of the German officer with the ppsh.

I would say Roman legionairres had PTSD too, but maybe not as bad. Combat was actually pretty low in casualty back then; usually as soon as one side's position collapsed, everyone would flee or surrender before the slaughter could begin. Usually.

It was less random back then. Most died to artillery fire in WW1 and WW2. It's the randomness that is the mental killer. In Vietnam, the fact that the ground was full of booby traps really screwed with riflemen's heads because, traditionally, the ground was their friend. They could dig a hole for safety. Not so in Nam. Or rather, they didn't feel like it was their friend anymore.

Here's another, this one from world war one. Look at the facial expression. Connect with the soldier and see him as a human. I think it's fucked up when you do. This picture was in the closing months of WW1 and of a Brit, so good chance he survived the war.

But why was he ever in that situation? Because trust issue politicians couldn't resolve their issues and decided to fight? Because of a perverted form of game theory that essentially demanded every Entente and CP nation eventually go to war? For God's sake (or Darwin's, atheist here) this man has/had a family, friends, and a life he left behind. What was he to gain from fighting that war? A little plunder at the best?

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?