From: Clifford Bekar <cbekar@SFU.CA>
Subject:      EastFront Tactics

Someone asked me to post something on EastFront tactics, well here it
is. Its kind of long, and it reads a little strange in sections.
Ignore the latter problem if you would, its a old first draft
document for a now defunct magazine.

If anyone wants to talk EF, drop me a note.

Strategy and Tactics For EastFront
Strategy--German Player
        Lets start by looking at strategy from a German point of veiw
since they have the intiative and control the direction of the game
through to about 1943.  Probably the most important part of the game
for both players, and the German in particular, is the use of HQs.
There seems to be three basic mistakes made by players learning the
command and control system.  First, some players become very
conservative with respect to HQ activation: refusing to blitz except
at the most oppurtune time.  This simply allows the Soviets to act
freely, organizing his defences on the ground where he wishes to
fight.  Simply put, the German has to maintain a high level of
pressure on the Russian player. You must force the Russian to
construct two lines of defence at all times, in open terrain. the way
one does this is by pressuring the Soviet line every turn. If the
German doesn't blitz at least once a month, on average, he will
simply cannot win the game.  A second, problem is players that blitz
all the time. The power of a constantly blitzing Whermacht can be
almost too fun to play, making it tough for the player to stop.
However, sooner or later, and probably sooner, the German will find
himself paralyzed, out of fuel and ammunition, unable to move, never
mind sustain an assault. The key point above is the idea of
*maintaining* pressure on the Soviet.  Players which blitz almost
constantly do a staggering amount of damage and effect large
territorial gains for the German player, but as the Soviet Ill just
grin in the knowledge that by October the German will be paralyzed,
and its easy to defend against an opponent that cant move! The last
mistake made is failing to adequately group ones forces. The fact
that the German player only has four HQs means that he must
concentrate his forces to effect maximal pressure.  However, the
German can't afford to ignore completely an entire section of the
front.  If he does, the Soviet player will be able to strip that
portion and exploit his interior lines of communication to move the
extra units to more active areas.
        To deal with these problems I have come up with the following
rules of thumb for myself.  First, organize the HQs to drive along
two axis' of advance, each supported by two HQs.  A single HQ simply
can't support a serious drive for the distances which need to be
covered, and three HQs bunched together will mean that a portion of
the front will be ignored.  On the first turn of any given month the
goal is to get your units into an optimal jump off point, and your
HQs into key hexes which allow them to cover as much of the front as
possible, for a Blitz that in turn two of that same month.  Also, if
possible, you should try and strip away one of the Soviet lines of
defence such that the Soviet can't rebuild two lines of units.
Fulfilling these two conditions really sets up an efficient Blitz.
What do I mean by efficient? Well, Ill activate most (or all if Im
really good at planning ahead) of my units on the front with two HQ
activations, and therell be a hole I can exploit to either cut supply
or drive behind enemy lines. On this turn, one HQ is blitzed and OKH
is activated along with any other full strength HQs.  What this does
is to maximize the firepower of the German airforce in the Blitz
turn.  It goes without saying that the German player should always
spend 100% of their production on HQ steps.  Then, during the next
turn the same pattern is repeated with the HQ that blitzed last turn
resting.  What this does is to setup an alternating pattern where the
Russian is always subjected to pressure and the German player always
has two full strength HQs and one which is recovering.   If you
follow this pattern, one normal activation setting up a blitz, it
leaves you at all times with two full strength HQ's (as the blitzing
HQ always recovers, and a II never blitzes).  It also keeps a
tremendous amount of pressure on the Russian. Late in the game (ie in
September or October) the two full strength HQ's means that the
German player will have a great deal of flexibility if he needs to
blitz both of them. This is exactly at the point in the game when a
German can benefit the most from a dual Blitz. The Soviet will have
very few units on the ground and will be HQ poor. This will, in the
best of all possible worlds, mean that the game will come down to the
two weather rolls in October. If you get two drys, expect to either
capture Stalingrad or encircle Moscow. If you get only one dry turn,
you may want to think about setting yourself up in defensive
positions for the coming winter if you cant win it in one activation.
If you get two turns of mud? Pray! If the pressure is steady, your
luck reasonable (never hesitate to attack outside of the command
radius if you have a chance of killing a unit), and your moves
moderately well played, the Russian line can simply not hold up. The
German can win 30% of the games in the first summer.
        Geographically the German is limited to certain objectives.
In the South the terrain is open and the German armour will be
employed to there maximum effect.  Further, the vastness of the
Southern front is such that the Soviet will often be hard pressed to
reconstruct a double line every turn.  Thus, a good tactic can be for
the German to head for entry hex N.  This will cut off all Russian
production south of Stalingrad and really impact on the Russians
ability to carry through on a winter offensive.  However, the German
must realize that this puts him in a very dangerous position in terms
of a Russian counterattack.  In the north, the objectives of Moscow
and Leningrad are much closer but are hidden amongst a tangle of
swamps and forest.  However, its usually easy to isolate Leningrad,
and more often then not, a well played Whermacht can come to within a
few dice rolls of isolating Moscow.  However, even if the German
doesn't make it  they will be in good defensive terrain to face the
coming winter offensive.  Which ever direction is persued, however,
it must be remembered that the German army simply isn't strong enough
to do both.  One objective must be allocated primary status and
supplied the majority of HQ steps and armour support.
        One last thing. During the latter parts of the first summer,
the Soviet will start to throw HQs and low CV units into the front
line. This is a time when the German should be bold to the point of
recklesness. Always assume a unit is a HQ or 1 CV infantry, they
usually are! I love playing against a German player that is easily
bluffed off of a river crossing or extending a spearhead by a 0 CV
HQ. :-)

Strategy--Soviet Player
        The first few months are very hard going as the Soviet player
and will take proverbial nerves of steel. Just remember that winter
is coming, and you will soon be rolling 12 doubles and four singles!
[every EF player is familiar with the call of how many die one gets
to roll, during the first summer, the Soviet usually ends up with
calls of 1 single, or 2 doubles, while the German player gets to roll
such outrageuous handfuls as 13+ doubles :-)]
        The Soviet can win almost too easily if he plays what my main
EastFront partner, Fred, calls the 'slack' defense.  The slack
defense basically involves setting up the bare minimum of units on
the front line hexes and using the rest to hold a line running along
the river from Vitebsk to Bryansk.  When the German finally arrives
at the line, the Soviet will have had a chance to build his units up
to almost full strength.  Thus, by the time the Whermacht is in place
to effect an assault of the Russian lines the Soviet can actually
outnumber the German player, this problem is exacerbated by the
hexside crossing limits that the Soviet will be able to take
advantage of.  So easy is this kind of victory that it has become an
implicit house rule, for Fred and I, that we simply will not employ
the slack defense.  Note, however, a forward defense on the front
line can work for many of the same reasons that a slack defense does.
That is, in many hexes, the Russian player can outnumber the initial
force involved in the German assault.  In fact, Fred has held me as
far forward as a line running Kiev to Minsk long into the winter, by
piling all of his units onto the front line...of course bad dice
rolls didn't help.
        However, in the average game of EastFront, the Russian will
only be able to hold a forward line for one and a half to two months
before he will have to retreat.  There are a couple of things to keep
in mind as the Soviet.  All your defensive decisions should be made
with an eye to preserving your armour force for the upcoming winter.
Chances are you simnply won't have the economic base left when winter
rolls around to rebuild your armour divisions and buy back your lost
HQ steps (note, it goes without saying that you should to all that is
humanly possible to avoid losing an HQ unit).  Also, keep in mind the
fact that the forward rivers (the Dnepr, Dvina, Dnestr, and Bug)  can
be turned into formidable defesive bulwarks.  In fact, with good
replusion rolls, a solid river defense can delay the German advance
for a few precious turns.  However, that said, the German will gain a
bridgehead if he is so inclined.  For this reason it is best to know
when run rather then staying to try and hold an untenable situtation.
This brings up another key point, some Soviet players have a tendency
to underbuild HQ steps, preferring instead to maximize the size of
their ground forces.  While in the short run, this may seem like a
sound strategy, the mid game will see you unable to undertake a
proper retreat. This is disastorous for both your forces in the feild
and your ability to defend important geographic locations.  In many
ways, the defender has to be more mobile then the attacker. Its
necessary to move your units about in order to assemble either two
lines of defense or a solid first line which takes maximal use of the
terrain available.  Thus, try and balance the PPs you spend on HQs
off against those that you spend on ground units.  Of course theres
no magic formula which you can use, but I like to build at least two
HQ steps each and every turn.  And while it may be hard to spend
those 20 PPs on HQs when you could use them to put down five ground
units, in the long run you'll be glad you did.  During the October
and November build period of 1941, you should build only HQ steps and
armour, tuning up the Red Army for the upcoming offensive.  Note
also, you should always be aware of the possibility of a limited
counterattack, especially if you can engage a German HQ such that it
cannot be build over the construction phase (if you can prevent a
German HQ from revuilding just once, you have won the war, this is
how balanced this game is).  Lastly, try to set up as many deadly
traps as you can with double fire units, especially in forests or
behind rivers, all it takes is a couple of good rolls to seriously
deplete the German Panzer corps.
        Another thing is to be very aware of the location of minor
cities upon which you can build cadres.  What the Soviet is often
able to do is to form a line which contains gaps around those cities
which can accept newly build cadres.  As a matter of fact, the
strategy of the Russian player on the first turn should be to defend
key minor cities such as Zhitomir, Vinista, Kaunas, and Vilna.  When
you are able, always pull units out of these cities on the last phase
of a monthly turn in order to facilitate the arrival of units which
can plug the holes in your lines.  This will allow your stronger
units to fall back and defend in either better terrain or simply
further east, in both places its harder for theGerman to destroy your
units.  Further, of course, always defend on defensible terrain, and
never surrender major cities early.  Remember, in many instances, all
the German has to do is to get an unoccupied minor or major city in
his ZOC to deny them to you as a production source, or cadre
receiving point.  Also, be very aware of the rail net that is
supplying your forces.  Nothing can be more fustrating then having
the German surprise you with a large encircling move which cuts out
half of your army.
        Lastly, I have to mention that the Soviet will, in most
cases, be able to launch a vicious counterattack over the winter.  In
fact, easily 70% of the games I have played in end in the first
winter, though they are getting longer with better play on both
sides.  Firstly, the Soviet will have to conserve as many HQ steps as
is possible.  In addition, always hit the German army in clear hexes,
and go slow at first.  the Soviets simply can't recover from burning
away their HQs early in the winter.  A constant pressure on the
Germans, especially if it can be applied at two points on the front
line, will drain the German command structure very rapidly, and
attrit away his armour corps, this can leave the German crippled come
the next summer.  A favourite tactic of mine is to first launch a
diversionary strike in the first phase of a monthly turn, and for
this an amphibuous strike into Rummania is often perfect.  At any
rate, the goal should be to force the German to activate his high
command on the first turn.  Then, on the second turn, attack a
portion of the line as forcefully as possible, hopefully causing or
threatening a breakthrough (often it is good to build cavalry for
this in order to pose a threat in mud turns).  One of two things will
happen, either the German will have to activate his HQ twice to cover
the threats, or will be unable to respond to one of your moves.
Either way, you will hold the intiative for the coming winter, and
everybody who has played the German through the winter in EastFront
knows how fustrating it is trying to hold your line together.  One
last thing, never carry the offensive on too long.  Many times I have
caught myself trying to deliver that last knockout punch only to be
caught in the mud.  When this happens, the Soviet is rarely able to
reform in time to meet the oncoming German counterattack in the
summer of 42. The Soviet can lose a game he was winning to a backhand
slap delivered by some inspiring Manstein.  Thus, if you are not
completely convinced that the German army is beaten, you should use
your last gauranteed snowy turn in order to reform your lines, and
try to be prepared for a worst case German counterattack.  Trust me,
often the German can even lure the Soviet into an undefendable
situation by retreating or not reenforcing a key sector when it
appears he should, setting up your schwerpunkt for a nasty pincer
movement.  Remember, the German army is  very dangerous on the ground
well into 1943.

Tactics--Both Players
        Terrain is important in most wargames, but in EastFront its
doubly so.  A varety of mechanics have been used to deal with the
effects of terrain but its usually the case that a hex can be taken,
our at least cleared, by the attacker if its absolutely required and
the forces are available.  However, in EastFront battles take place
within the hex, and  the requiring of two hits to do a point of
damage means that it can be virtually impossible to dislodge
defenders from forest, mountains or, even worse, swamp
hexes--independent of the force applied by the attacker.  Thus, the
cliche, "go around, not through, tough terrain" takes on a new
importance in EastFront.  Another terrain concern unique to EastFront
is the hexside crossing limit.  The limit on the number of units
which can cross a hexside into a battle hex in one turn means that a
stiff defence in a forest or mountain hex can deter even an intial
assault.  This follows since the defender may very well outnumber the
attacker on the first combat round, and when the defender throws more
dice then the attacker he will usually do more damage.  Further, this
crossing limit is in effect at all times, which means that a unit
which retreats across a hexside denies that hexside to one less
reenforcing unit.  Thus, in some terrain it can become essential to
control the flanks of any objective you wish to take as the attacking
player.  It can be impossible to take a major city if the defending
player controls the surrounding hexes and has a clear line of
communications to the hex.  Probably the best example of this would
be either Stalingrad or Moscow.  If the Soviet is able to cycle fresh
units in every turn, simple math tells you that the defender will be
dealing out more damage then they will be taking, eventually
attriting away the attacker.  Rivers are another important geographic
consideration which an attacker has to deal with.  It takes no great
subtlety to deal with rivers, it is best to rush them as soon as is
possible. Even if one has to throw out of command units across.  If
the attacker lets the defender build up a solid defense, the hexside
crossing limits along with the replusion rules, can soon make a river
virtually immune to crossings.  Lastly, it can be a mistake for the
attacker to ignore the beneficial aspects of engaging defendable
terrain which is in the process of being surrounded.  Often it is a
good tactic to enagage defensible terrain and take the defensive fire
in order to anchor ones flank in good terrain rather then sit in the
clear terrain across from your opponent.  This is highlighted by the
fact that, if the German army can dig itself in in the swamps in
forests by Leningrad, the forests in front of Moscow, and a few key
cities in the south, it has a good chance of surviving the winter.
On the other hand, if the German army is left in clear terrain come
winter he will have a hard time holding against a Soviet offensive.
        Another important element in EastFront is the rail net.  In
fact, both players should be constantly aware of their own supply
lines and those of their opponents.  In fact, next to awareness of
your overall HQ situation and strategic position on the board, a keen
understanding of the supply situation is the most important thing a
player should look after.  Since there a fewer hexes on the EastFront
board due to their larger size, each one is relatively more
important.  Often all it takes to cut scores of enemy units out of
supply is to get a units ZOC to a critical rail junction or rail hex.
 This means that a key survival skill in EastFront becomes ones
ability to read the rail net and any danger points and problems.
good examples of where the rail net can bcome important is in the
north in and around Leningrad and South of odessa.  The rail lines
heading into leningrad are very susceptible to being cut, and
therefore it is usually easy to isolate the city (taking it can be
very difficult however).  Notice the direction of the majority of
rail lines in and around Odessa, they all run south into Odessa, and
then back north toward Kiev, from there they head East.  What this
means is that it can be difficult in some cases to supply a drive
into the south unless one takes Odessa due only to the form of the
rail net.  Also, one should be aware of which hexes are key in
facilitating the efficient transfer of troops from the rear to the
front.  Its important likewise to avoid stragglers.  If units are
left behind the lines and off the rail net, by either side, they can
spend the whole war there out of action.  This is especially true of
units the German player has to set up in Rummania.  Thus, any units
set up in quiet sectors of the front should be placed on the rail net
if at all possible, at some point in the game you'll be glad for the
extra mobility lent to that unit.
        One should also know when its appropriate to defend in depth,
or with a strong forward line.  In many cases, especially during the
Soviet setup, two lines of defense is necessary in order to prevent
the exploitation of any front line breakthroughs.  However, sometimes
the defender will either be in possesion of superior terrain, as the
Russians are in and around Moscow, or superior numbers, as is the
German in winter 1941.  In these cases the defender may be able to
load up hexes with four strong units.  What this does is create a
very intimidating problem for the attacker who will have to take the
first damage from defensive fire.  As the Russian in winter 1941, it
can be very difficult to rationalize an attack on a hex containing
four full strength German units, with what is essentially a brittle
army offensively.
        Another important tactic is deciding on how to seal off enemy
breakthroughs.  Begining players will often use methods learned from
playing more traditional wargames.  In effect, this means surrounding
the offending units with units of your own, and waiting for a
reaction.  In EastFront it is often better to engage units which have
broken through and rely on the fact that they cannot either retreat
into hexes you control, or disengage and reengage in the same round.
Note, this sort of engagement should be used carefully as any units
which engages an enemy panzer corps had better be able to survive the
defensive fire.  I have lost more then one position by reacting a
corps of my own into the lead elements of an enemy spearhead, only to
have that unit destroyed at the end of the combat round, and thus
unable to plug the resulting hole.  Still, by engaging enemy units
which have broken through, you can seal a large area with relatively
few units, something that often needs doing in EastFront.  One last
thing when talking about the defense, you should always be aware of
blitzing backwards in order to get out from under the command span of
enemey command.
        Lastly, you should always be aware of combined arms.  While
there are no modifiers for combined arms units which take damage in
combat must take damage from the highest CV unit first.  This has
implications for production decisions as well.  If the German is in a
position to build armour it can often be better to build twice the
infantry steps in units which are on or near the front line.  This
will often end up preventing more step losses to your armour units in
combat then you could have gained by building only the armour with
PPs, resulting in more hitting power in the long run.  Also, never
attack with your airpower into anything but clear terrain if it can
be avoided.  Throwing away hits on units is undefendable.  Often it
is best to leave a weak unit defending against in  a strong stack as
a delaying device. A lowly 1 CV Soviet infantry unit can hold up 4
panzer corps for a whole turn (units cannot disengage from one battle
and re-engage another in the same turn)-- unusable by the other
player for anything but clearing the hex they start in. Also, when on
the attack, don't hesitate to fight battles out of command, you never
know what can happen.


Cliff Bekar