From: "Gary J. Robinson" Subject: Proud Monster: Anothor German Win :-( Comrades, it is my sad duty to report to you that the Germans have won again in Proud Monster. What was scheduled as a full day of PM gaming came to an abrupt end during the second couplet of August II (and of the day's session). During the first couplet, the Germans butted their heads against seeming Soviet brick walls, losing steps left and right, several times suffering 4/0 results as the GAS line shifted their MA attacks to the 1:3 column. In the far north, a serious panzer concentration failed to make progress against the Luga Line. In the south, the Soviet mech forces held the Germans to a standstill around Dnepropetrovsk. In the south-center, the Germans lost panzer step after panzer step trying to break past the Desna River near Bryansk. Overall the Soviet defenses were holding admirably - the Germans had only 15 points and needed 22 to win this turn. In front of Moscow, however, the Soviet doom was looming. The lines of both sides were thinner in the north-center in front of Moscow - lone infantry divisions for the Germans, two or three infantry divisions with some tank divisions (safely behind the GAS line) for the Soviets. The lone German panzer division in MA range suddenly hurtled itself forward and tried to MA two Soviet rifle divisions which were sitting behind the GAS line. Fate was against the Soviets: the divisions were flipped over and revealed to be weak, the GAS table roll was "no effect," and the resulting combat roll was good enough to clear both divisions from the hex. The Germans poured through the sudden hole in the lines, moving panzers from the failed Desna river offensive area. Suddenly German infantry units were within four hexes of Moscow. The Soviets emptied STAVKA and desperately set up a counteroffensive. The intruding German infantry were surrounded on all sides, save for the narrow corridor leading back to friendly territory; the panzers, too, were hemmed in. One German infantry division held the door open to the west. If it were killed or forced to retreat, the entire German spearhead would be cut off - the infantry would be out of supply and mauled with concentric attacks at 6:1 or better odds, and the panzers would be unable to MA, buying the Soviets precious time. No German panzers outside the pocket would be close enough to cut their brethren free with MA's. Against the lone German infantry division holding the supply door open, the Soviets hurled 4 tank divisions, a 4-1-7 tank brigade, and two infantry divisions, in a concentric attack. Fate intervened again: most of the tank divisions were revealed to be merely 4-4-7's, no stronger than the brigade, one of the infantry divisions was a 1-1-5, and the combat roll was a "1" - enough to cause only one step of damage to the German division. (Had the Soviets rolled a 3,4,5, or 6, the Germans would all have been cut off.) The Soviets had failed to cut off the spearhead at the base. Still, there was a chance to maul the intruding German infantry, and even put some of them out of supply. Fate intervened again, the Soviets rolling 5 more "1's" in a row and doing little damage to the Germans. On the second German couplet, the Germans, in full supply thanks to the Soviet failure, were able to get next to Moscow and attack the motorized rifle divisions in both hexes. The first MRD was revealed to be a 3-3-7 - it went down easily. The second was revealed to have a "10" defense - a real tough guy. Suddenly the Germans faced disaster. They were attacking at 2:1 with divisions not at full strength, and the GAS roll had not yet been made. Fate intervened again, and the GAS roll for this critical attack was "no effect." The Germans easily took this hex too. Moscow had fallen. The Germans rolled to see if the Soviet state collapsed - and it didn't! The Soviets, however, would lose on points anyway (the Germans now had 24, 2 more than they needed) if they failed to retake a Moscow hex. Several mech stacks had been hastily brought up from the Desna area the previous couplet. The Soviets mounted a desperate counterattack, but even with 11 tank and motorized divisions and 6 rifle divisions concentrically attacking the one damaged German infantry division and one German motorized infantry division, the Soviets could not get good enough odds to take back one hex of Moscow regardless of the roll. The Soviets lost. There seemed little point in using "forgiveness points" when the Germans were three points ahead and, thanks to the diversion of Soviet forces north, now breaking through in the south as well. This game demonstrated that even a well-run Soviet defense can be brought tumbling down by a single lucky German breakthrough - and that once the Germans make a hole somewhere, anywhere, there is little the Soviets can do to throw them back out. The German advance ends up being far too rapid. In my game, I managed to send Soviet rifle divisions running into the German rear on many occasions - a lot of German infantry strength had to run backwards to deal with the problem. I also put major panzer concentrations out of supply on three separate occasions, such that they could not MA or move. Yet the Germans still advanced faster than the historical schedule. This game needs fixing. I am thinking of several ideas: a) Allow Soviet units an extra movement point if, during their entire movement phase, they never move next to a German. This includes not starting next to one, nor ending next to one. This would make it a little easier for the Soviets to react to German breakthroughs. b) Disallow the German ability to absorb a loss point as a retreat. This ability makes it almost never worthwhile for the Soviets to attack Germans, even with tanks, and even when heavily outnumbering the German. The Germans simply don't get worn down enough. Getting rid of this retreat ability would encourage more Soviet counterattacks throughout the campaign, which would make the game more fun for the Soviet, and wear down the German more, and make their breakthroughs more fragile. German spearheads - or the shafts of them, rather - in this game are too tough. c) The "loss points are doubled" rule for cities actually works to the disadvantage of the Soviets. It makes cities much easier to take, because a few Soviet defenders can be easily cleared with even a mediocre combat result thanks to the doubling. A lone defender can be cleared with even a "0" combat result thanks to the doubling. The perverse result is that towns are harder to take than cities, given the same defenders. I think this rule should either be eliminated, or made optional and under the control of the Soviets. Cities should take longer, not shorter, to capture than towns. XTR used a similar rule in When Tigers Fight with equally perverse consequences - Chinese cities were easier to clear of defenders than open terrain was, if the attacker was willing to spend the steps. And in PM, the Germans can certainly spare the steps. d) Panzer units should operate at a disadvantage when attacking cities. These panzer stacks roaming in the Soviet rear seem somewhat silly, especially the idea of them taking defended cities with the same ease with which they operate in the open. City fighting is best left to infantry. Panzer units should be halved when attacking into cities. Comments? Gary