cmc attempts CC56 @ 0%

[cmc]

Winter Defence BV turn 10 proto 21cm K18

well that was interesting AI goes aggressive and wipes me out! i had to restart a number of times.
first time i abandoned in turn 4 a hopeless cause, Snow grounded my air force and i left the aux eastern forces in place
defending the outposts, the red hordes decimated them all before my core forces were in a position to help.
second reload i ignored the Fuhrer's directive of not a step back, i ordered all mobile eastern aux forces to fall back
westward in a fighting retreat, this worked well but again the weather was Snow and again my air force was not in a
position to help. When my armour engaged i realised my original deployment was wrong, i did not have enough armour
to the north of the impassable river so my northern forces were decimated.

Third time lucky, my forces were better balanced north and south, i retreated the auxiliaries westward
even more aggressively and crucially turn 3 gave me overcast weather so i could take out the soviet air force in
virtually 1 turn. The key battle took place centred on Mozhaisk, AI had advanced his heavy artillery to within range
and it was heavily protected by AD, so i just withdrew westward, surrounded Mozhaisk, stood my ground out of range of
his arty but protected by my arty. I just waited for the AI to advance his arty into my artys range. Once the big
guns were silenced it was an armored battle. My Armor is severely outclassed IVD's and IVF1's are no match
for KV1/2 and T34's, luckily i had 88's and air superiority to tip the balance. I need tank upgrades!.

The HQ upgrades at the start to the A19 and KV1 were vital the increased mobility of the 17K18 in Halftrack and T34
made it possible for them to engage the soviets in turn 3/4.

1780 prestige available, what to upgrade tanks and fighters are the priority, AAR indicates the soviets have
massive air force of 14/15 units!

AAR:-
OpenGen 0.93.4.0 * 25 Dec 2020 * AI version: Default (0.91)
Efile folder: C:\OpenGeneral\efile_cc56\ * Efile version: CC56-In the Line of Fire with Special Countries (Bigi) Efile
Campaign: THE WAFFEN SS IN THE LINE OF FIRE, * Player prestige modifier 0% * AI prestige modifier 100%

Played Scenarios:
1 Storming The Republicans , #0 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: 21cm M18
2 Fall Weiss , #1 , Brilliant Victory
3 To Warsaw , #2 , Brilliant Victory
4 Seizing Trondheim , #3 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Sturmtruppen 40
5 Crisis At Narvik , #4 , Brilliant Victory
6 The Ardennes Offensive , #5 , Brilliant Victory
7 Holland In Sight , #6 , Brilliant Victory
8 Breakout Of France , #7 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Ju-88A-4
9 "Will To Resist" , #8 , Brilliant Victory
10 Fortress Gibraltar , #9 , Brilliant Victory
11 Sealion Part I , #10 , Brilliant Victory
12 Sealion Part II , #11 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Sturmtruppen 40
13 Battle For London , #12 , Brilliant Victory
14 Seizing Balkans Part I , #13 , Brilliant Victory
15 Seizing Balkans Part II , #14 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Me-210A-1
16 Seizing Balkans Part III , #15 , Brilliant Victory
17 Byelorussia Part I , #16 , Brilliant Victory
18 Byelorussia Part II , #17 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Pz IIIJ2
19 Byelorussia Part III , #18 , Brilliant Victory
20 The Pocket Of Kiev , #19 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Me-210A-1
21 Towards Moscow Part I , #20 , Brilliant Victory
22 Towards Moscow Part II , #21 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Fw-189 Uhu
23 Battle For The Kremlin , #22 , Brilliant Victory
24 Winter Defense , #23 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: 21cm K18

..
Current scenario: Kharkov 1942, VH prestige is 0 , All map prestige is: 0
Army cost: 8976 , Current prestige is 1780
AI stance is Aggressive Using map: 83
if BV: +1000, The Don Basin , cap disabled, 14 turns prestige: 0
if V : +800, The Don Basin , cap disabled, 15 turns prestige: 0
if TV: +600, The Don Basin , cap disabled, 16 turns prestige: 0
Ls: Loss , turn prestige: 0

Infantry
Jagdkommando , JF3_SF* , 5 bars , 1321 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Street Fighter , 47 kill , 348 pp - U:002
* Sturmpioniere , SdkFz 251/1 , SHT7_* , 5 bars , 1422 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 66 kill , 0 pp - U:009
* Sturmpioniere , SdkFz 251/1 , SHT7_OA* , 5 bars , 1418 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Overwhelming Attack , 74 kill , 0 pp - U:010
* Grenadier , SdkFz 251/1 , GHT7_* , 5 bars , 1365 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 41 kill , 0 pp - U:012
Jaeger , MF4_* , 5 bars , 895 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 32 kill , 276 pp - U:021
Jagdkommando , JF3_AA* , 5 bars , 1206 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Aggressive Attack , 37 kill , 348 pp - U:022
Jaeger , MF4_* , 5 bars , 670 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 26 kill , 276 pp - U:034

Tank
* T-34/76A (r) , T34_* , 5 bars , 1667 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 76 kill , 0 pp - U:004
* BT-5A , BT5A_* , 5 bars , 1352 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 91 kill , 0 pp - U:005
BT-5A , BT5A_R* , 5 bars , 1563 exp , Russia , 10/10 , Resilience , 88 kill , 228 pp - U:017
+ Sturmtruppen 40 , S40_FD* , 5 bars , 1574 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Fire Discipline , 124 kill , 0 pp - U:020
Pz IVD , IVD_* , 5 bars , 1061 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 64 kill , 240 pp - U:027
Pz IVD , IVD_* , 5 bars , 979 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 42 kill , 240 pp - U:031
+ Sturmtruppen 40 , S40_* , 5 bars , 960 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 37 kill , 0 pp - U:033
Pz IVF1 , IVF1_* , 5 bars , 703 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 33 kill , 252 pp - U:039
Pz IVF1 , IVF1_* , 5 bars , 640 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 20 kill , 252 pp - U:040
+ Pz IIIJ2 , 3J2_* , 5 bars , 594 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 28 kill , 0 pp - U:042

Recon
* SdkFz 251/9 7.5cm , 263T12_* , 5 bars , 1786 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 27 kill , 0 pp - U:006
SdkFz 251/9 7.5cm , 231T10_* , 5 bars , 1428 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 24 kill , 312 pp - U:026

Anti-tank
* 88mm SdKfz 8 , 88SHT7_CS* , 5 bars , 1435 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Combat Support , 16 kill , 0 pp - U:014
8.8 FK18 ATG , SdkFz 251/1 , 88HT7_* , 5 bars , 1161 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 10 kill , 300 pp - U:032
8.8 FK18 ATG , SdkFz 251/1 , 88HT7_* , 5 bars , 1001 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 8 kill , 300 pp - U:036
8.8 FK18 ATG , SdkFz 251/1 , 88HT7_* , 5 bars , 801 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 7 kill , 300 pp - U:041

Artillery
* 15cm Regiment , Truck , 15T10_IT* , 5 bars , 1051 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Infiltration Tactics , 20 kill , 0 pp - U:011
* 17 K18 , SdkFz 251/1 , 17K18HT7_SF* , 5 bars , 1228 exp , Waffen SS , 15/10 , Street Fighter , 22 kill , 0 pp - U:013
17 K18 , SdkFz 251/1 , 17K18HT7_DF* , 5 bars , 1831 exp , Russia , 15/10 , Devastating Fire , 39 kill , 1080 pp - U:016
15 NbWf41 , SdkFz 251/1 , NbHT7_DF* , 5 bars , 1803 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Devastating Fire , 20 kill , 324 pp - U:019
15 NbWf41 , SdkFz 251/1 , NbHT7_* , 5 bars , 938 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 10 kill , 324 pp - U:023
17 K18 , SdkFz 251/1 , 17K18HT7_* , 5 bars , 756 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 5 kill , 720 pp - U:035
+ 21cm K18 , Steyr , , 0 bars , 0 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 0 kill , 0 pp - U:045

Air Defense
SdKfz 6/2 , Ad62HT7_DF* , 5 bars , 1477 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Devastating Fire , 18 kill , 216 pp - U:018
88mm FlaK 37 , SdkFz 251/1 , 88AdHT7_* , 5 bars , 956 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 8 kill , 396 pp - U:024
88mm FlaK 37 , SdkFz 251/1 , 88Ad7HT7_* , 5 bars , 788 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 13 kill , 396 pp - U:029

Fighter
* Me-110C-1 , 110CF_AA* , 5 bars , 2170 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Aggressive Attack , 32 kill , 0 pp - U:001
* Me-110C-1 , 110CF_BI* , 5 bars , 2115 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Battlefield Intelligence , 35 kill , 0 pp - U:008
Me-110C-1 , 110CF_* , 5 bars , 2006 exp , Italy , 10/10 , 41 kill , 432 pp - U:015
Me-110C-1 , 110CF_* , 5 bars , 1597 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 16 kill , 432 pp - U:025
Me-110C-1 , 110CF_* , 5 bars , 1317 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 17 kill , 432 pp - U:030
Me-109F-1 , 109F_* , 5 bars , 835 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 10 kill , 552 pp - U:037
+ Me-210A-1 , 210A_* , 5 bars , 1200 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 10 kill , 0 pp - U:038

Tactical Bomber
* Me-110C-1 , 110TB_CS* , 5 bars , 1559 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Combat Support , 17 kill , 0 pp - U:003
* Ju-88A-4 , 88A_DF* , 5 bars , 3278 exp , Waffen SS , 15/10 , Devastating Fire , 77 kill , 0 pp - U:007
+ Ju-88A-4 , 88A_* , 5 bars , 1228 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 22 kill , 0 pp - U:028
+ Me-210A-1 , 210ATB_374 , 4 bars , 478 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 1 kill , 0 pp - U:043
+ Fw-189 Uhu , Fw189_101 , 1 bars , 149 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 1 kill , 0 pp - U:044

Player 1 : Waffen SS, Germany
Killed: INF:565 TNK:162 RCN:37 AT:77 FORT:367 ATY:292 AD:233 FTR:137 TB:70 LB:4 SUB:2 DD:19 BS:6 CV:5 CRs:37 Total: 2013
Lost : INF:22 TNK:2 RCN:4 AT:4 FORT:3 ATY:4 AD:2 FTR:12 TB:4 SUB:1 DD:7 CRs:2 Total: 67

BV 24
V 0
TV 0
L 0

Averages:
Infantry * 7 Units * 3 Leaders Total : 8297 exp, 323 kill, 1248 pp Average: 1185 exp, 46 kill, 178 pp
Tank * 10 Units * 2 Leaders Total : 11093 exp, 603 kill, 1212 pp Average: 1109 exp, 60 kill, 121 pp
Recon * 2 Units * 0 Leaders Total : 3214 exp, 51 kill, 312 pp Average: 1607 exp, 26 kill, 156 pp
Anti-tank * 4 Units * 1 Leaders Total : 4398 exp, 41 kill, 900 pp Average: 1100 exp, 10 kill, 225 pp
Artillery * 7 Units * 4 Leaders Total : 7607 exp, 116 kill, 2448 pp Average: 1087 exp, 17 kill, 350 pp
Air Defense * 3 Units * 1 Leaders Total : 3221 exp, 39 kill, 1008 pp Average: 1074 exp, 13 kill, 336 pp
Fighter * 7 Units * 2 Leaders Total : 11240 exp, 161 kill, 1848 pp Average: 1606 exp, 23 kill, 264 pp
Tactical Bomber * 5 Units * 2 Leaders Total : 6692 exp, 118 kill, 0 pp Average: 1338 exp, 24 kill, 0 pp
* Summary: * 45 Units * 15 Leaders Total : 55762 exp, 1452 kill, 8976 pp Average: 1239 exp, 32 kill, 199 pp


Player 1 Waffen SS, Germany has 81 units total (core+aux):
Infantry : 14
Tank : 14
Recon : 4
Anti-tank : 9
Fortification : 11
Artillery : 9
Air Defense : 8
Fighter : 7
Tactical Bomber : 5


Player 2 Russia - estimated force: 103 units
Infantry / Anti-tank : 24%
Recon / Tank : 29%
Air Defense / FlaK : 6%
Air : 15%
Naval : 0%

[Parabellum]

It's good to see that you've picked up the fight again. I continue to follow the campaign with great interest.

[cmc]

well things are not going well and i'm about to restart the scenario.

i've gone through a considerable struggle to gain air superiority. To have a chance of this i upgraded 3 of my Me110C leaderless fighers to FW190A3's which used the bulk of my available prestige. I also manage to upgrade my two IVD's to T34's leaving me with just 16 prestige points remaining.
The ground force deployment area is behind a river and i have no bridging engineers or any spare prestige to buy them.
So im now in turn 4 and i have gained air superiority, AI has just 2 remaining TB which are hiding next to strong AD positions.
I initially started a westward retreat of all aux forces planning to make a stand when my core forces arrived, 3 turns of retreat and aux forces then waited 1 turn for my core forces to join them, unfortunately the soviet ground forces engaged the aux forces in turn 4 while the bulk of my core forces are still advancing eastwards. I will get decimated. I will be restarting but with 1 change at the HQ i will do a free upgrade of jaeger mountain troops to bridging engineers, this i'm hoping will allow my core forces to deploy eastwards 1 turn faster before i engage with the soviet steam roller !.

[Parabellum]

Kharkov is a bit of a turning point in the game. The German side has so far benefited from the technical superiority of its weapons and units, but with the steady increase in the basic strength of the Allied units, this advantage is obsolete.
In my run at 100%, I had 15 old fighters with 10/10 strength. With that, you can still win the scenario. But you lack this number, you have only 7. This is a real problem, because you also don't have time (no turns) for a lengthy dogfight, because you absolutely must achieve a BV, because it is necessary for the financial survival in this campaign for you. I am curious what solution you will find.

Two more comments:
I would have kept a "normal" infantry in any case. This can easily be changed into a bridge engineer without having to pay for it. Alternatively, you can simply switch to Germany when purchasing. There you get for the same money e.g. Stosstruppen. Almost the same units are available as in SS. The combat values are slightly smaller, but so is the purchase price. For a bridge engineer (costs 156pp), who is not really supposed to fight, this variant might be interesting.
I would definitely have done without overstrength in units and bought more units instead. Overstrength is fragile, especially with tactical bombers.

[cmc]

by far the toughest scenario so far considerable thought and effort to overcome the AI. Numerous restarts and refit options were tried before i managed to stop the soviet attack.

For me there were 3 key battles that all had to be won
1. The air battle to gain air superiority - AI had fighter majority 10 to 7, but i get to move first, if i didn't take out at least 3 of his Yak7B I6 fighters on the first round then The AI would actively attack my older fighters and the air battle would fail!. In order to do this i had to upgrade 3 Me110C leaderless fighters to Fw190A3's this accounted for the bulk of my available prestige. However No AIr Superiority No BV possible. By the 2nd restart I had effectively worked out how to break the soviet air force, complete superiority being gained in turn 4/5. As the threat from soviet fighters declined it allowed my TB's to assist in the ground battles.

2. The Southern battle. At the start this looks quite daunting with a huge soviet force about to be deployed against me, for some reason the AI diverts a lot of the Armour Northwards which causes its own problems but make the southern battle relatively simple. The Aux forces still have to be withdrawn westwards to make a stand at Privol'noye. The eastern fortifications and immobile AT units have to be scarified. Key for the defence of Privol'noye is core artillery support. One of the key changes in the proceeding HQ was to ensure I had at least 2 arty units in trucks as opposed to Halftracks(required for winter defence) This truck based arty gets deployment priority as close as possible on the road to Privol'noye.

3. The Central Armour clash around the key airfield at (28,9). This battle was by far the hardest to win, and responsible for the bulk of the restarts. The soviets have superior firepower and numbers. The first problem was getting my core forces into position before the soviets decimate the aux units, To do this i had to buy a German bridging unit outright, i had to put both my mountain infantry into trucks to give them mobility, I upgraded the transport on the last prototype artillery 21K18 to trucks from move 5 Halftrack. These changes allowed at least some of my infantry and artillery to get within supporting range of the aux forces. I still had to do something about my outclassed Armor. I did free upgraded of my 3 towed 88's to 88's in Sdkfz8's. 2 IVD's and 2 IVF1 were upgraded to T34's. The only way to finance these changes was to sell off the Fw-189 TB and liberate 600 additional prestige points. I went into battle with just 4 points remaining. Even with all the changes it was a very close battle, if the static 88 on the airfield fell the cause would be lost. The crucial turns were always 4 and 5, i abandoned many times in turn 4 having lost too many units. By turn 4 the air battle was virtually over so the mobile auxillary AD was no longer needed it was sacrificed as a blocking unit to slow down the soviet armour. The other factor that helped was by turn 4 the soviet armour had separated into two sets the slower heavier tanks were still on route to the battle and would not be able to engage while turn 5. I just had enough T34's and mobile 88's to tip the balance with the soviet T34's and other mobile units. One Soviet unit gave me considerable problems the heavy soviet stormtroopers were unstoppable, priority was given to my Tactical bombers to weaken these units before they could engage. By turn 5 I had all my artillery in supporting positions, and my air force was available for ground attack duties. I still had to be very careful regarding the position of core units at the end of turn 4 before the heavy soviet tanks engaged in turn 5. Many aux units were lost/sacrificed in turn 5, several core units were mortally weakened and had to be with drawn from the fighting.

By turn 6 the soviets were broken and it became a mopping up exercise.

I now have 1004 prestige point to reequip along with access to the Italian and Hungarian equipment.

OpenGen 0.93.4.0 * 25 Dec 2020 * AI version: Default (0.91)
Efile folder: C:\OpenGeneral\efile_cc56\ * Efile version: CC56-In the Line of Fire with Special Countries (Bigi) Efile
Campaign: THE WAFFEN SS IN THE LINE OF FIRE, * Player prestige modifier 0% * AI prestige modifier 100%

Played Scenarios:
1 Storming The Republicans , #0 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: 21cm M18
2 Fall Weiss , #1 , Brilliant Victory
3 To Warsaw , #2 , Brilliant Victory
4 Seizing Trondheim , #3 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Sturmtruppen 40
5 Crisis At Narvik , #4 , Brilliant Victory
6 The Ardennes Offensive , #5 , Brilliant Victory
7 Holland In Sight , #6 , Brilliant Victory
8 Breakout Of France , #7 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Ju-88A-4
9 "Will To Resist" , #8 , Brilliant Victory
10 Fortress Gibraltar , #9 , Brilliant Victory
11 Sealion Part I , #10 , Brilliant Victory
12 Sealion Part II , #11 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Sturmtruppen 40
13 Battle For London , #12 , Brilliant Victory
14 Seizing Balkans Part I , #13 , Brilliant Victory
15 Seizing Balkans Part II , #14 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Me-210A-1
16 Seizing Balkans Part III , #15 , Brilliant Victory
17 Byelorussia Part I , #16 , Brilliant Victory
18 Byelorussia Part II , #17 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Pz IIIJ2
19 Byelorussia Part III , #18 , Brilliant Victory
20 The Pocket Of Kiev , #19 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Me-210A-1
21 Towards Moscow Part I , #20 , Brilliant Victory
22 Towards Moscow Part II , #21 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Fw-189 Uhu
23 Battle For The Kremlin , #22 , Brilliant Victory
24 Winter Defense , #23 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: 21cm K18
25 Kharkov 1942 , #24 , Brilliant Victory

..
Current scenario: The Don Basin, VH prestige is 0 , All map prestige is: 0
Army cost: 9852 , Current prestige is 1004
AI stance is Defensive Using map: 238
if BV: +1000, The Majkop Oilfields , cap disabled, 15 turns prestige: 0
if V : +800, The Majkop Oilfields , cap disabled, 16 turns prestige: 0
if TV: +600, The Majkop Oilfields , cap disabled, 17 turns prestige: 0
Ls: Loss , turn prestige: 0

Infantry
Jagdkommando , JF3_SF* , 5 bars , 1345 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Street Fighter , 47 kill , 348 pp - U:002
* Sturmpioniere , SdkFz 251/1 , SHT7_* , 5 bars , 1438 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 68 kill , 0 pp - U:009
* Sturmpioniere , SdkFz 251/1 , SHT7_OA* , 5 bars , 1484 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Overwhelming Attack , 75 kill , 0 pp - U:010
* Grenadier , SdkFz 251/1 , GHT7_* , 5 bars , 1382 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 41 kill , 0 pp - U:012
Jaeger , Truck , MT10* , 5 bars , 962 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 32 kill , 312 pp - U:021
Jagdkommando , JF3_AA* , 5 bars , 1210 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Aggressive Attack , 38 kill , 348 pp - U:022
Jaeger , Truck , MT10* , 5 bars , 724 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 26 kill , 312 pp - U:034
Bruckenpioniere , BF3_0 , 0 bars , 0 exp , Germany , 10/10 , 0 kill , 156 pp - U:044

Tank
* T-34/76A (r) , T34_* , 5 bars , 1690 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 78 kill , 0 pp - U:004
* BT-5A , BT5A_* , 5 bars , 1402 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 95 kill , 0 pp - U:005
BT-5A , BT5A_R* , 5 bars , 1608 exp , Russia , 10/10 , Resilience , 91 kill , 228 pp - U:017
+ Sturmtruppen 40 , S40_FD* , 5 bars , 1634 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Fire Discipline , 124 kill , 0 pp - U:020
T-34/76A (r) , T34* , 5 bars , 1137 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 69 kill , 300 pp - U:027
T-34/76A (r) , T34* , 5 bars , 1048 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 47 kill , 300 pp - U:031
+ Sturmtruppen 40 , S40_* , 5 bars , 975 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 38 kill , 0 pp - U:033
T-34/76A (r) , T34* , 5 bars , 754 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 39 kill , 300 pp - U:039
T-34/76A (r) , T34* , 5 bars , 677 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 24 kill , 300 pp - U:040
+ Pz IIIJ2 , 3J2_* , 5 bars , 599 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 30 kill , 0 pp - U:042

Recon
* SdkFz 251/9 7.5cm , 263T12_* , 5 bars , 1862 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 27 kill , 0 pp - U:006
SdkFz 251/9 7.5cm , 231T10_* , 5 bars , 1543 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 24 kill , 312 pp - U:026

Anti-tank
* 88mm SdKfz 8 , 88SHT7_CS* , 5 bars , 1512 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Combat Support , 16 kill , 0 pp - U:014
88mm SdKfz 8 , 88SHT7_* , 5 bars , 1306 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 11 kill , 192 pp - U:032
88mm SdKfz 8 , 88SHT7_* , 5 bars , 1071 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 8 kill , 192 pp - U:036
88mm SdKfz 8 , 88SHT7_* , 5 bars , 882 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 7 kill , 192 pp - U:041

Artillery
* 15cm Regiment , Truck , 15T10_IT* , 5 bars , 1087 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Infiltration Tactics , 20 kill , 0 pp - U:011
* 17 K18 , SdkFz 251/1 , 17K18HT7_SF* , 5 bars , 1273 exp , Waffen SS , 15/10 , Street Fighter , 24 kill , 0 pp - U:013
17 K18 , SdkFz 251/1 , 17K18HT7_DF* , 5 bars , 1901 exp , Russia , 15/10 , Devastating Fire , 40 kill , 1080 pp - U:016
15 NbWf41 , SdkFz 251/1 , NbHT7_DF* , 5 bars , 1852 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Devastating Fire , 20 kill , 324 pp - U:019
15 NbWf41 , SdkFz 251/1 , NbHT7_* , 5 bars , 979 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 10 kill , 324 pp - U:023
17 K18 , SdkFz 251/1 , 17K18HT7_* , 5 bars , 790 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 6 kill , 720 pp - U:035
+ 21cm K18 , Truck , 21K18T10_0 , 0 bars , 26 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 0 kill , 0 pp - U:045

Air Defense
SdKfz 6/2 , Ad62HT7_DF* , 5 bars , 1614 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Devastating Fire , 19 kill , 216 pp - U:018
88mm FlaK 37 , SdkFz 251/1 , 88AdHT7_* , 5 bars , 956 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 8 kill , 396 pp - U:024
88mm FlaK 37 , SdkFz 251/1 , 88Ad7HT7_* , 5 bars , 788 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 13 kill , 396 pp - U:029

Fighter
* Me-110C-1 , 110CF_AA* , 5 bars , 2255 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Aggressive Attack , 36 kill , 0 pp - U:001
* Me-110C-1 , 110CF_BI* , 5 bars , 2213 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Battlefield Intelligence , 40 kill , 0 pp - U:008
Fw-190A-3 , Fw190A3* , 5 bars , 2173 exp , Italy , 10/10 , 42 kill , 684 pp - U:015
Fw-190A-3 , Fw190A3* , 5 bars , 1745 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 19 kill , 684 pp - U:025
Fw-190A-3 , Fw190A3* , 5 bars , 1442 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 19 kill , 684 pp - U:030
Me-109F-1 , 109F_* , 5 bars , 921 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 13 kill , 552 pp - U:037
+ Me-210A-1 , 210A_* , 5 bars , 1287 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 11 kill , 0 pp - U:038

Tactical Bomber
* Me-110C-1 , 110TB_CS* , 5 bars , 1593 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Combat Support , 17 kill , 0 pp - U:003
* Ju-88A-4 , 88A_DF* , 5 bars , 3553 exp , Waffen SS , 15/10 , Devastating Fire , 84 kill , 0 pp - U:007
+ Ju-88A-4 , 88A_* , 5 bars , 1304 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 24 kill , 0 pp - U:028
+ Me-210A-1 , 210ATB_478 , 5 bars , 637 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 1 kill , 0 pp - U:043

Player 1 : Waffen SS, Germany, Hungary, Italy
Killed: INF:590 TNK:191 RCN:39 AT:82 FORT:367 ATY:302 AD:238 FTR:148 TB:76 LB:4 SUB:2 DD:19 BS:6 CV:5 CRs:37 Total: 2106
Lost : INF:24 TNK:4 RCN:6 AT:5 FORT:9 ATY:4 AD:4 FTR:12 TB:4 SUB:1 DD:7 CRs:2 Total: 82

BV 25
V 0
TV 0
L 0

Averages:
Infantry * 8 Units * 3 Leaders Total : 8545 exp, 327 kill, 1476 pp Average: 1068 exp, 41 kill, 185 pp
Tank * 10 Units * 2 Leaders Total : 11524 exp, 635 kill, 1428 pp Average: 1152 exp, 64 kill, 143 pp
Recon * 2 Units * 0 Leaders Total : 3405 exp, 51 kill, 312 pp Average: 1703 exp, 26 kill, 156 pp
Anti-tank * 4 Units * 1 Leaders Total : 4771 exp, 42 kill, 576 pp Average: 1193 exp, 11 kill, 144 pp
Artillery * 7 Units * 4 Leaders Total : 7908 exp, 120 kill, 2448 pp Average: 1130 exp, 17 kill, 350 pp
Air Defense * 3 Units * 1 Leaders Total : 3358 exp, 40 kill, 1008 pp Average: 1119 exp, 13 kill, 336 pp
Fighter * 7 Units * 2 Leaders Total : 12036 exp, 180 kill, 2604 pp Average: 1719 exp, 26 kill, 372 pp
Tactical Bomber * 4 Units * 2 Leaders Total : 7087 exp, 126 kill, 0 pp Average: 1772 exp, 32 kill, 0 pp
* Summary: * 45 Units * 15 Leaders Total : 58634 exp, 1521 kill, 9852 pp Average: 1303 exp, 34 kill, 219 pp


Player 1 Waffen SS, Germany, Hungary, Italy has 81 units total (core+aux):
Infantry : 22
Tank : 16
Recon : 5
Anti-tank : 6
Artillery : 15
Air Defense : 4
Fighter : 8
Tactical Bomber : 5


Player 2 Russia - estimated force: 100 units
Infantry / Anti-tank : 25%
Recon / Tank : 21%
Air Defense / FlaK : 10%
Air : 15%
Naval : 0%

[cmc]

Compared to the last scenario pretty easy, but the AI was defensive and reluctant to move most of its entrenched units, including its air force.

In the Last HQ i did the following changes

upgraded my mobile SdKfz 6/2 AD to the Italian 90mm camion, i also purchased 1 new 90mm Camion. There are scenarios to come where i cannot rely on my air force, the forums indicate the 90mm unit is the best mobile AD available in the campaign, so i changed now while i have access to the Italian equipment.
I upgraded my 109F Fighter to a Fw190A3 that left me with 44 prestige point. After the BV i now have 1044 to play with.

First surprise i had was going immediately for AI's fighters and finding they were entrenched, had to either persuade them to move of attack each with two Fw190A3's with both 190's adjacent to my combat support TB. Did not gain air superiority until turn 10. First 4 turns i was afraid of AI's air force so my movement was limited and always under the umbrella of my limited AD network. As i realised the AI would not move his forces unless i made a complete tactical error, my boldness increased until turn 10 where i started to look at the turns left, AI punished me badly and i had to replay the turn.

air dropped my two JagdKommando units in the far north east and south east corners to take out the AI' supply hexes, The approached there objectives over 2 moves undetected.

[cmc]

a few complications to surmount but relatively easy.
focused first few turns in capturing the airfield so that my air force could be deployed, was worried that the soviet air force would cause havoc but it never moved from its entrenched positions. by turn 5 i has air superiority. First time through i ran out of time for the BV, the last VH's to be captured in the south east part of the map could not be taken in time, i wound back to turn 11 and redirected my JagdKommndoes to take it by air drop, which meant i didn't have to do the protracted march to it past blocking soviet forces.

AS there was no real air threat i did not do any changes to my air force.
I did upgrade my 15cm Arty to a longer range 21K18 at a cost of 696, and two trucks for my Jagdkommandoes which left me with 276 prestige points at the start of the scenario, both trucks were abandoned when they went airborne at a cost of 72 prestige points, but without that sacrifice the BV would have bee difficult.

Looking back over the turns i didnt make good use of the powerful strength 15 aux units deployed in the north west, my core units took a battering when they should have been tidying up after the aux units made the initial assult. The 21K18 IT Leader Range 7 Arty is a real ivan crusher, might overstength it

I now have 1276 prestige points to prepare for the capture of Stalingrad, and wondering what to spend them on, it appears i face ever more deeply entrenched defenders so i wil be looking at unit upgrades that bring Engineer capability.

The AAR indicates there is no air threat so i wont be doing any air force upgrades.

The Tiger I is now available but it has a very poor fuel endurance, Nebelwerfer upgrades and 88Sdk AT units to AT Hvy Strumtruppen 42 unit look like good buys both have engineer capability. Also a good buy is upgrading the trainee bridging units to SS bridging units for a mere 156 easily doubles their attack and defence values.

[cmc]

I had to restart, at turn 5 i realised that my deployment and initial core movements were wrong.
Tanks do not fair well in build up urban environment of stalingrad.
The only soviet armor is to the north of the map so after i restarted i sent tanks and anti tank units north, with only my light BT5 tanks scouting in the south.
Infantry and arty went south and pushed to the banks of the volga, they the crept northwards along the volga riverbank obliterating all in their path.
Having a range 7 21K18 with IT Leader and a range 6 17K18 with street fighter leader and 2 nebelwerfer units with Engineer capability allowed me to
take out the enemy arty and AD defence network. JagdKommandoes took out the VH's to the east of the volga. I did retain the upgraded AT heavy sturm struppen 42 unit for use in the city fighting as that too now has Engieer capability.

AT the last HQ i had 1276 to spend i went with the following changes, all selected to deal with the deeply entrenched urban fighting in Stalingrad

21K18 IT leader Ary +5 strength points cost 88*5 = 440. This unit has now reached the end of its development.

Nebewerfer Nbwf41 upgraded to Nbwf42 cost 240. Increasing the attack values of the already Engineer capabile unit, I did not upgrade DF leader Nbwf41 unit as the ammo count falls from 5 to 4 - making it less attractive to upgrade,

88mm SdkFz8 At upgraded to AT Hvy Strumtruppen 42 cost 396, This gives the unit Engineer capability and increases its attack values.

That left me with just 44 prestige points, After the BV i now have 1044 to spend to prepare for the next scenario

AAR

OpenGen 0.93.4.0 * 25 Dec 2020 * AI version: Default (0.91)
Efile folder: C:\OpenGeneral\efile_cc56\ * Efile version: CC56-In the Line of Fire with Special Countries (Bigi) Efile
Campaign: THE WAFFEN SS IN THE LINE OF FIRE, * Player prestige modifier 0% * AI prestige modifier 100%

Played Scenarios:
1 Storming The Republicans , #0 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: 21cm M18
2 Fall Weiss , #1 , Brilliant Victory
3 To Warsaw , #2 , Brilliant Victory
4 Seizing Trondheim , #3 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Sturmtruppen 40
5 Crisis At Narvik , #4 , Brilliant Victory
6 The Ardennes Offensive , #5 , Brilliant Victory
7 Holland In Sight , #6 , Brilliant Victory
8 Breakout Of France , #7 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Ju-88A-4
9 "Will To Resist" , #8 , Brilliant Victory
10 Fortress Gibraltar , #9 , Brilliant Victory
11 Sealion Part I , #10 , Brilliant Victory
12 Sealion Part II , #11 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Sturmtruppen 40
13 Battle For London , #12 , Brilliant Victory
14 Seizing Balkans Part I , #13 , Brilliant Victory
15 Seizing Balkans Part II , #14 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Me-210A-1
16 Seizing Balkans Part III , #15 , Brilliant Victory
17 Byelorussia Part I , #16 , Brilliant Victory
18 Byelorussia Part II , #17 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Pz IIIJ2
19 Byelorussia Part III , #18 , Brilliant Victory
20 The Pocket Of Kiev , #19 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Me-210A-1
21 Towards Moscow Part I , #20 , Brilliant Victory
22 Towards Moscow Part II , #21 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Fw-189 Uhu
23 Battle For The Kremlin , #22 , Brilliant Victory
24 Winter Defense , #23 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: 21cm K18
25 Kharkov 1942 , #24 , Brilliant Victory
26 The Don Basin , #25 , Brilliant Victory +++ Proto: Fw-190G
27 The Majkop Oilfields , #26 , Brilliant Victory
28 Battle For Stalingrad , #27 , Brilliant Victory

..
Current scenario: Escaping From Stalingrad, VH prestige is 0 , All map prestige is: 0
Army cost: 10932 , Current prestige is 1044
AI stance is Aggressive Using map: 41
if BV: +1000, Stopping Red Tide , cap disabled, 12 turns prestige: 0
if V : +700, Stopping Red Tide , cap disabled, 13 turns prestige: 0
if TV: +500, Stopping Red Tide , cap disabled, 14 turns prestige: 0
Ls: Loss , turn prestige: 0

Infantry
Jagdkommando , JF3_SF* , 5 bars , 1542 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Street Fighter , 51 kill , 348 pp - U:002
* Sturmpioniere , SdkFz 251/1 , SHT7_* , 5 bars , 1583 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 77 kill , 0 pp - U:009
* Sturmpioniere , SdkFz 251/1 , SHT7_OA* , 5 bars , 1740 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Overwhelming Attack , 84 kill , 0 pp - U:010
* Grenadier , SdkFz 251/1 , GHT7_* , 5 bars , 1618 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 49 kill , 0 pp - U:012
Jaeger , Truck , MT10* , 5 bars , 1185 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 37 kill , 312 pp - U:021
Jagdkommando , JF3_AA* , 5 bars , 1327 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Aggressive Attack , 45 kill , 348 pp - U:022
Jaeger , Truck , MT10* , 5 bars , 967 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 33 kill , 312 pp - U:034
Bruckenpioniere , Truck , BT10_93 , 1 bars , 127 exp , Germany , 10/10 , 4 kill , 264 pp - U:044

Tank
* T-34/76A (r) , T34T6_10* , 5 bars , 1825 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 84 kill , 0 pp - U:004
* BT-5A , BT5AT9_10* , 5 bars , 1523 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 101 kill , 0 pp - U:005
BT-5A , BT5AT10_R10* , 5 bars , 1789 exp , Russia , 10/10 , Resilience , 102 kill , 228 pp - U:017
+ Sturmtruppen 40 , S40T6_FD10* , 5 bars , 1778 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Fire Discipline , 131 kill , 0 pp - U:020
T-34/76A (r) , T34T6_10* , 5 bars , 1336 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 81 kill , 300 pp - U:027
T-34/76A (r) , T34T6_10* , 5 bars , 1212 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 60 kill , 300 pp - U:031
+ Sturmtruppen 40 , S40T5_10* , 5 bars , 1116 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 46 kill , 0 pp - U:033
T-34/76A (r) , T34T6_10* , 5 bars , 968 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 49 kill , 300 pp - U:039
T-34/76A (r) , T34T6_10* , 5 bars , 848 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 41 kill , 300 pp - U:040
+ Pz IIIJ2 , 3J2T5_10* , 5 bars , 672 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 32 kill , 0 pp - U:042

Recon
* SdkFz 251/9 7.5cm , 263T12_* , 5 bars , 2192 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 28 kill , 0 pp - U:006
SdkFz 251/9 7.5cm , 231T10_* , 5 bars , 1956 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 27 kill , 312 pp - U:026

Anti-tank
* 88mm SdKfz 8 , 88SHT7_CS10* , 5 bars , 1820 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Combat Support , 18 kill , 0 pp - U:014
AT Hvy Sturmtruppen 42 , 88SHT7_10* , 5 bars , 1676 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 16 kill , 492 pp - U:032
88mm SdKfz 8 , 88SHT7_10* , 5 bars , 1429 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 11 kill , 192 pp - U:036
88mm SdKfz 8 , 88SHT7_10* , 5 bars , 1323 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 7 kill , 192 pp - U:041

Artillery
* 21cm K18 , Truck , 21KR7W10_IT10* , 5 bars , 1342 exp , Waffen SS , 15/10 , Infiltration Tactics , 28 kill , 0 pp - U:011
* 17 K18 , SdkFz 251/1 , 17KR6H7_SF15* , 5 bars , 1615 exp , Waffen SS , 15/10 , Street Fighter , 34 kill , 0 pp - U:013
17 K18 , SdkFz 251/1 , 17KR6H7_DF15* , 5 bars , 2312 exp , Russia , 15/10 , Devastating Fire , 51 kill , 1080 pp - U:016
15 NbWf41 , SdkFz 251/1 , NbR4H7_DF10* , 5 bars , 2267 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Devastating Fire , 20 kill , 324 pp - U:019
30 NbWf42 , SdkFz 251/1 , NBR3H7_10* , 5 bars , 1158 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 10 kill , 456 pp - U:023
17 K18 , SdkFz 251/1 , 17KR5H7_10* , 5 bars , 1009 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 9 kill , 720 pp - U:035
+ 21cm K18 , Truck , 21KR6W10_10_165 , 2 bars , 243 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 2 kill , 0 pp - U:045

Air Defense
90mm 90/53 Camion , Ad90T8_DF* , 5 bars , 1635 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Devastating Fire , 20 kill , 312 pp - U:018
88mm FlaK 37 , SdkFz 251/1 , 88AdHT7_* , 5 bars , 1007 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 9 kill , 396 pp - U:024
88mm FlaK 37 , SdkFz 251/1 , 88Ad7HT7_* , 5 bars , 856 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 14 kill , 396 pp - U:029
90mm 90/53 Camion , Ad90T8_0 , 0 bars , 0 exp , Italy , 10/10 , 0 kill , 312 pp - U:046

Fighter
* Me-110C-1 , 110CF_AA* , 5 bars , 2644 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Aggressive Attack , 43 kill , 0 pp - U:001
* Me-110C-1 , 110CF_BI* , 5 bars , 2516 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Battlefield Intelligence , 43 kill , 0 pp - U:008
Fw-190A-3 , Fw190A3* , 5 bars , 2550 exp , Italy , 10/10 , 44 kill , 684 pp - U:015
Fw-190A-3 , Fw190A3* , 5 bars , 2026 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 23 kill , 684 pp - U:025
Fw-190A-3 , Fw190A3* , 5 bars , 1811 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 21 kill , 684 pp - U:030
Fw-190A-3 , Fw90A3* , 5 bars , 1278 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 18 kill , 684 pp - U:037
+ Me-210A-1 , 210A_* , 5 bars , 1629 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 13 kill , 0 pp - U:038

Tactical Bomber
* Me-110C-1 , 110TB_CS* , 5 bars , 1804 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , Combat Support , 19 kill , 0 pp - U:003
* Ju-88A-4 , 88A_DF* , 5 bars , 4397 exp , Waffen SS , 15/10 , Devastating Fire , 98 kill , 0 pp - U:007
+ Ju-88A-4 , 88A* , 5 bars , 1645 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 26 kill , 0 pp - U:028
+ Me-210A-1 , 210ATB* , 5 bars , 1021 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 1 kill , 0 pp - U:043
+ Fw-190G , Fw190G_128 , 2 bars , 241 exp , Waffen SS , 10/10 , 0 kill , 0 pp - U:047

Player 1 : Waffen SS, Germany, Romania, Hungary
Killed: INF:693 TNK:234 RCN:40 AT:92 FORT:422 ATY:340 AD:263 FTR:163 TB:85 LB:4 SUB:2 DD:19 BS:6 CV:5 CRs:37 Total: 2405
Lost : INF:32 TNK:7 RCN:9 AT:6 FORT:9 ATY:5 AD:6 FTR:12 TB:4 SUB:1 DD:7 CRs:2 Total: 100

BV 28
V 0
TV 0
L 0

Averages:
Infantry * 8 Units * 3 Leaders Total : 10089 exp, 380 kill, 1584 pp Average: 1261 exp, 48 kill, 198 pp
Tank * 10 Units * 2 Leaders Total : 13067 exp, 727 kill, 1428 pp Average: 1307 exp, 73 kill, 143 pp
Recon * 2 Units * 0 Leaders Total : 4148 exp, 55 kill, 312 pp Average: 2074 exp, 28 kill, 156 pp
Anti-tank * 4 Units * 1 Leaders Total : 6248 exp, 52 kill, 876 pp Average: 1562 exp, 13 kill, 219 pp
Artillery * 7 Units * 4 Leaders Total : 9946 exp, 154 kill, 2580 pp Average: 1421 exp, 22 kill, 369 pp
Air Defense * 4 Units * 1 Leaders Total : 3498 exp, 43 kill, 1416 pp Average: 875 exp, 11 kill, 354 pp
Fighter * 7 Units * 2 Leaders Total : 14454 exp, 205 kill, 2736 pp Average: 2065 exp, 29 kill, 391 pp
Tactical Bomber * 5 Units * 2 Leaders Total : 9108 exp, 144 kill, 0 pp Average: 1822 exp, 29 kill, 0 pp
* Summary: * 47 Units * 15 Leaders Total : 70558 exp, 1760 kill, 10932 pp Average: 1501 exp, 37 kill, 233 pp


Player 1 Waffen SS, Germany, Romania, Hungary has 76 units total (core+aux):
Infantry : 15
Tank : 12
Recon : 2
Anti-tank : 7
Fortification : 6
Artillery : 13
Air Defense : 9
Fighter : 7
Tactical Bomber : 5


Player 2 Russia - estimated force: 91 units
Infantry / Anti-tank : 31%
Recon / Tank : 20%
Air Defense / FlaK : 10%
Air : 3%
Naval : 0%

[cmc]

What to upgrade next 1044 to spend

AAR indicates there is no real air threat and its winter so air operation will be limited, so little benefit in updating AD or Airforce.

There are no real benefits to be had updating recon, i already have the best available. Last two scenarios i have done updates to artillery.

Some of my tanks are now falling behind and require upgrades, 2 S40s, 2 BT5's and IIIJ all need looking at.
There is also a new infantry unit available that needs considering.

The problem with limited prestige is how spend it to obtain maximum benefit.

I'll work through the analysis for the benefit of the reader.

So Tank upgrades there are 3 candidate replacement units :- Tiger 1, Pz IVG, Strumtruppen 42

and 3 existing units that have fallen behind:-

BT5, Strumtruppen 40, Pz IIIJ

For each potential update calculate the update metric and work out the cost of each unit of increase.
compare unit stats of the change and total up the beneficial change are +ve detrimental ones are -ve.
eg for BT5 to Tiger 1 ammo increases from 8 to 15 so thats +7, movement decreases from 9 to 5 so thats -4,
all stats are treated in this simple way except for range where i use the diffence of the squares so that would be +3 for the Tiger
fuel endurance warrants special attention as the tiger only has 25 compare to BT5 which has 75 a simple difference would give -50, however if we compare the number of game turns of full movement we get 75/9= 8.3 for the BT5 compared to 25/5=5 for Tiger 1 which gives a metric of - 3.3.
movement range within a single turn is also very important and this also gives -4 for the tiger so fuel endurance and movement give -7.3 for the Tiger compared to the BT5.When combined with the other metric stats BT5 to Tiger 1 comes out at +35 this costs 360 prestige so a metric increase of +1 costs 360/35 = 10.

In table form

From/To S42 Tiger IVG T34

S40 396,+15,(26) 264,+11,(24) 0,+6,(9) 0,+3.5, (17)

BT5 492,+35,(14) 360,+35,(10) 204,+24,(8.5) 192,+22,(8.7)

IIIJ 468,+29,(16) 336,+34,(9.8) 180, +14,(12.8) 168,+17,(9.8)

T34 456,?,? 324,+18,(18) 168, ?,?

Not surprisingly i'm best upgrading the BT5's first but Tiger 1 give +35 increase the same as S42 but much cheaper at only 10pp per +1 increase, best value upgrade would be to a IVG delivering +24 at only 8.5pp per point of increase, or to a T34 but only +17 at the same rate.

There are also two free upgrades for the S40 to either a IV5 or T34 both deliver modest increases +6 or +3.5 but there is an hidden cost that should not be ignored, they are free because the S40 costs 420 and the IVG only 312 and T34 300. We loose some prestige which will not be available to reduce the cost of the next upgrade so the cost is half the difference this is shown as (9) for IVG and (17) for T34. IVG would be the best free upgrade.

Generally i wont upgrade if the prestige cost per point of improvement is higher than 20 unless i'm forced into it.

i will go for 1 BT5 to Tiger1 (360) , 1 BT5 to IVG(204) and IIIJ to Tiger 1(336) total cost of 900 leaving me with 144 prestige points.

I will not do anything with the S40's

[cmc]

After a lot of contemplation at the last HQ i went with the following upgrades

BT5 Resistance Leader to Strumtruppen 42 cost 492
BT5 to Tiger 1 cost 360
IIIJ to IVG cost 180

which left me with just 12 prestige points.

Looking at the forces arrayed before me i spent a few trial starts attempting to preserve as many of the aux forces that were deployed in Stalingrad as possible, but this proved futile. Any kind of withdrawal westward leads to them loosing their entrenchment which means they are eliminated sooner than later.
They stayed in position and took as many of the soviets with them as possible.

First few turns were all about holding on to the two most westward VH while eliminating the soviets to the south and north west.
I established air superiority by turn 3/4 delayed by bad weather at the start.

urban slogging match through the Stalingrad suburbs, slow creep forward of massed arty. ju88 DF leader strength 15 paired with CS leader 110 was used to take out critical AD which opened up the soviet arty to air attack. Many core units took critical damage and had to be withdrawn to preserve them.

I now have 1012 to spend to prepare for stopping the red tide, with no air deployment available this is going to be interesting!

[cmc]

A some what hollow victory that i feel compelled to repeat.

My tactics were sound but the AI did not engage his entire southern army, so i feel ive cheated my way through the scenario.

AT the HQ spent the majority of my prestige on Air Defence, not being able to deploy any air units gave the AI air superiority.
2 flak 37's wete upgraded to 128mm range 4 flak 41's cost 2 * 276 = 552
bought a flk 36 with no transport cost 168
bought a sdkfz 6/2 216
bought 2 trucks for mt Jagdkommandos 2* 36 = 72

total cost of 1008 leaving me with just 4 prestige points

my plan was pretty simple, would divide my limited forces into 2 groups, the smaller less able group would stay put and defend the VH's that i owned,
the larger more capable group would head east fighting off attacks from the AI's southern army while capturing the AI's two eastern VH's.
All my forces would operate under an AD net.

First 2 turns were concerned with deployment and manoeuvring my forces across the impassable river. At turn 3 the AI had pushed his 2 recon units into view
one in the south west probing northwards and one from the east probing westwards.

Turn 4 the AI engaged his air force, all were concentrated on my main battle group which was heading eastwards, AD took a heavy toll on the AI's air units.

Turn5 both of the AI's recon units were destroyed, my western defensive group dug in just south of the impassable river, the intention was to do a fighting retreat back across the river when the AI's southern army started to engage. Main battle group had now engaged the AI's units that were blocking my eastward advance, They had a preponderance of Arty fire support which made their task relatively easy. AD net continued to decimate AI's air force - AI did not manoeuvre his air units out of range of the AD, they just stayed put and too a beating.

Turn 7 AI's southern army stayed put, it did not move from its deployment positions?. I waited for it. Main battlegroup continued eastwards. I had deployed a Range 6 artyon the northern banks of the impassable river along with mobile AD, this unit was now in bombardment positions on the AI's Arty that defended his first eastern VH's. AI's air force had now been reduced to 3 understrength fighters. The aux 263 recon unit was vital, its movement of 12 All Terrain
gave it the ability to recon and retreat in a single turn so that my main battle group could take out the AI's defensive Arty. Not having any recon leader's i usually do long range spotting with fighters.

Turn 8, Captured first victory Hex, i did think this would mobilise the AI's southern army into action but nothing it just stayed put in its deployment positions even though is was clear that the AI's VH's were now under attack. The AI did buy replacements for weakened units and it also bought 2stug IIIF's and deployed them at its supply point just north of its two VH's.

By turn 11 i had enough resources in place to stre the last VH'swhich fell easily. So the only unit that the AI actually moved in its southern army was its
single recon unit, which i made a priority of destroying. I did not actively engage this powerful force for fear i would be destroyed.

I will have a few goes of provoking the southern army into action, as i dont think the BV was deserved. At the start of the scenario i really did think this would be the end of my 0% experiment.