Smolensk Tactics & Strategy Options

[ScrapyardBob]

Now that Smolensk (a.k.a. Barbarossa II) is out, we can start taking a more in-depth look at it. This is a larger map the original Barbarossa and effective gameplay is going to require communication and flexibility.

First off, a review of the terrain. Slyk has assigned "official" names to most locations using the in-game map graphic. I've provided some other alternative names that I've heard folks refer to these spots as.

A. German spawn (a.k.a. Collective Farm #36)

This is the very west end of the map. Similar to Barbarossa where the germans are in the west and the russians are in the east. There is a pak gun in the spawn with limited visibility.

B. Hill #54 (W of G1)

Holds a pak gun that overlooks G1 along the south flank. Might get referred to as the "G1 pak" or "H54".

C. German #1 base - South flank (between Hill #54 and Hill #49)

Nestled inbetween a few hills along the south flank. It's an easy trip from the german spawn along the south flank to reinforce this base. Also known as "G1" when typing chat in-game in order to keep things short and sweat.

D. Hill #49 (E of G1 / W of swamp)

Hill #49 is where the tank scrape has been built that overlooks the stone bridge / G2 / G1 areas. There is also a tunnel that leads between the two sides of the ridgeline. Could end up referred to as "south hill", but probably "H49" when typing for brevity.

E. Wheat field (E of german spawn)

The wheatfield is a picturesque section of terrain between the german spawn and G2. A destroyed tank and a small copse of trees provide cover for infantry attempting to move through the field.

F. German #2 base - Middle flank (near stone bridge)

Controls the middle of the german defensive line. (a.k.a "G2")

G. Stone bridge (E of G2)

Um, it's the low stone bridge over the middle river near German #2! A key defensive position to take and hold.

H. Pillbox trenches (a.k.a. the "AT bunker")

This is a white concrete pillbox that houses a 45mm gun (only in CNQ play) surrounded by an extensive network of trenches and barbed wire fencing. There is also a tunnel that leads back through the hillside allowing infantry to infiltrate the town.

I. North HIll #62 (a.k.a. G3 hilltop)

German #3 base is located here. There are multiple trenches, defensive positions and a pak gun that looks east towards R3. Will probably end up referred to as the "G3 hill". It might get referred to as "NH62" or "H62".

J. Stary Petrovka Village (a.k.a. "The Town" or "The Village")

Contains multiple houses, a church, the Russian #2 base (a.k.a. "R2") and a russian 45mm stationary gun. Combat here tends to be fierce and heavy as fighting goes house-to-house. Communication will probably refer to sectors ("N village", "S town", "E Stary", "Church", etc.).

K. Swamp (south flank)

A patch of water / bullrushes and a few trees along the south flank. There is a russian 45mm gun (a.k.a. "R1 45mm" or "swamp gun") that overlooks this area.

L. Swamp 45mm (a.k.a. "South AT Trench")

The gun that overlooks the swamp along the south flank. This weapon will probably be called the "widowmaker" because of all of the newbies who will slaughter themselves while attempting to use it. (It's extremely easy to kill yourself by shooting the post in front of you.)

This area may also be referred to as the "south trench" or "swamp trench" or "S trench" or "S gun".

M. Russian #3 (a.k.a. "R3")

This base lies in a sheltered vale along the north flank. Reinforcement of this base will be tricky for the russians due to the need to come through a narrow bottleneck.

N. East Trench (a.k.a. "the trench line")

The main defensive works to the east of the village. There is a moat-like river that runs in front of it and it guards the approaches to the russian spawn area.

O. Russian spawn (a.k.a. "Forest")

The "old house" objective for CNQ is in this area. Russians spawn on this heavily forested hilltop during BAS.

P. Gorshanov House (a.k.a. "R1")

A set of houses by the Russian #1 base along the south flank.

Q. Depot

A train depot that lies in the far eastern part of the map. This area does not get much play during a BAS game but is a major facet of CTF/CNQ play.

R. Collective Farm #42

The farm houses and fields to the east of the depot.




This post has been edited by ScrapyardBob: 02/13/06 1:37am

[ScrapyardBob]

I think a lot of people are still learning the map. There are sections of the map that are very easy to get lost in (pity that the in-game map doesn't function as a working compass). I'm still of the opinion that we need to increase the default compass range from 1024 units up to 4096 units (maybe even 5000 or 6000 units) for Base Assault mode. A larger compass range would help people to get their bearings better and understand where the bases are.

Still getting a lot of blank looks when I say things like:
- tanks in swamp
- tanks on Hill 49
- G3 hill under attack
- German hiding in N end of East Trench

The fastest round that I saw last night was 8 minutes. Germans formed a large armor column and went north to R3. While they were beating R3 down, I was on the G3 pak gun shelling R2. Timeline:

02:00 - R3 under attack
02:45 - G1 under attack
03:00 - R3 bomb is planted, R2 is opened
03:15 - G2 under attack
03:30 - R2 bomb plant
04:00 - Initial shelling of R1
04:45 - G2 russian attack halted
05:30 - G1 russian attack halted
06:00 - R1 opened, germans begin assault at R1, G1 pak provides cover fire on R1
06:45 - R1 bomb planted
08:00 - end of round

Since I was playing defense, I'm not sure what the germans encountered as they pushed from R3 to R2 to R1. From the compass view, the germans seem to have managed to get 3+ tanks to R1 along with a few infantry to do the plant. It was almost a textbook blitzkrieg assault.

I also spectated a 30-min long round (10v10). Timeline for this one:

01:15 - R2 under attack (germs assault through village)
02:00 - G3 under attack, R2 about halfway open
02:45 - R2 opened, G2 under attack, G3 halfway open
03:00 - R1 under attack
04:00 - R2 planted, R1 about 1/3 opened, G2/G3 2/3 opened
04:15 - R3 under attack
04:30 - G2 opened
04:45 - R2 plant fails due to no upstairs coverage, G2 planted but stopped
05:15 - G3 opened and planted
05:30 - russians sweep around N flank to assault wheatfield
06:45 - G3 defused
07:15 - R1 opened and planted
08:00 - R2 planted, immediately defused, R3 under attack
08:30 - R1 destroyed, R3 opened and planted
09:45 - R3 destroyed
Status: G2, G3, R2 open, G1 still intact (full health)
10:00 - Germans assault R2 from north flank, defeated after 1 minute
10:15 - G3 planted, but defused after 30 sec
11:45 - G3 plant attempted (failed)
13:00 - Germans assault R2 through town, stopped after 90 seconds
14:30 - Russians push germans out of village and counter-attack towards G2
15:15 - German sneaks in N flank attempts plant at R2 (failed)
16:00 - Russians miss a chance to steal the PzIV left behind at R2
16:45 - G3 planted
17:50 - G3 destroyed
21:00 - Massive german force leaves Stone Bridge and both N and S flanks
22:45 - R2 planted during german assault
23:30 - Russians begin to push german assault away from R2, first defuse fails
(the german played dead at the foot of the stairs, 2 russians went in to defuse and were killed by the german with grenades)
23:45 - R2 defused
24:00 - wave 2 of german assault at R2
25:00 - G2 planted
26:00 - G2 defused, german assault at R2 stopped
28:40 - R2 planted at start of wave 3 german assault
29:00 - G2 planted
29:50 - R2 destroyed
- G2 bomb had 15 seconds left
- G1 was still untouched (base had full health)

There were some great epic battles in the village. They would last for anywhere from 1-3 minutes, depending on how many players were involved and how spread out the action was. Unfortunately for the russians, they couldn't stop the german assaults before they reached the area around the church. Probably the key to their loss of R2 were the Stug and PzIV who slipped in the N side of the village unopposed.

The pass on the NW side of the village seems to be a blind spot for the russian team. Germans assaulting through that pass have a three-way choice. They can turn left and head to the main street of the village. They can go straight and slip along the side of the village. Or they can turn left and come around to attack from due north by passing near R3.

More tips:

1. Look both ways before you cross open ground - I've lost track of the number of times that I've watched infantry running across an open area without looking either way. If the player had looked around more, they probably would've seen the enemy tank. The map is large enough that you cannot always hear a tank that may have a clear view of the area you're about to cross.

2. Assume all tanks are hostile - Due to the placement of tanks on the map, the distance from spawns, and the overall size of the map; infantry should assume that any tank they see is an enemy. Pay close attention to your compass and keep track of allied tanks. (This will be easier if the compass fix is added to the server.)

3. Russians should shell the church tower frequently - Forget assaulting the tower to clear it or trying to snipe at it, just notify your tank gunners of the problem. A single, well-placed, tank shell will eliminate the problem quickly. You can also drop artillery barrages on the church which will often kill the player in the church tower. It's important for russians to keep that tower clear if they want to hold on to R2 or R1.

...

I also tried my hand at russian sniper duty last night. The early verdict is that ScrapyardBob is a horrible sniper. Plus, we had way too many snipers on the Russian team. I'd get to a sniping point and find two or three other snipers already in place.

[HammaTime]

The fastest round that I saw last night was 8 minutes. Germans formed a large armor column and went north to R3. While they were beating R3 down, I was on the G3 pak gun shelling R2. Timeline:

02:00 - R3 under attack
02:45 - G1 under attack
03:00 - R3 bomb is planted, R2 is opened
03:15 - G2 under attack
03:30 - R2 bomb plant
04:00 - Initial shelling of R1
04:45 - G2 russian attack halted
05:30 - G1 russian attack halted
06:00 - R1 opened, germans begin assault at R1, G1 pak provides cover fire on R1
06:45 - R1 bomb planted
08:00 - end of round

Since I was playing defense, I'm not sure what the germans encountered as they pushed from R3 to R2 to R1. From the compass view, the germans seem to have managed to get 3+ tanks to R1 along with a few infantry to do the plant. It was almost a textbook blitzkrieg assault.

..snip ..

Bob,

That was an amazing round. As 2 came down I noticed the Russians spawning in their 1 and running headlong towards 2. Their defensive attack was light as they were cut off from their armor. I turned east to cross the bridge to their spawn, stole their heavy and proceeded to the railyard pursued by a thin force that was easily dispatched. I cruised through the railyard before turning west to head to their 1 via the back road. By the time I arrived, the base was down and the Germans controlled the high ground. Now, with multiple defensive angles, the Russians didn't stand a chance. As soon as we entered 1, their spawn point returned to their normal spot in the woods and they were cut down the moment they emerged from those woods. It was wonderful chaos! Textbook indeed.

At one point, when you were honing your Russian sniping skills, you had three snipers on Hill 49. I attempted to man the G1 75mm Pak and quickly learned that would be an unhealthy option. Somehow, I managed to run down to the tank spawn at G1 without being sniped - perhaps you three were having coffee. I grabbed the PzIII tank and charged the hill where I encountered just the scenario you had imagined in an earlier post. I had multiple threats, with three distinct angles of attack and all of them were scurrying to ground. I saw the signature streak of smoke as a panzerschreck round sliced through the air over my turret. It had been fired by one sniper as he retreated into the tunnels. I fired on him, but the trenchworks protected him as he scampered into the safety of the tunnel. I crested the hill and continued for 20 yards before turning back to focus on the two of you near the pumping station. You were climbing the small exposed hill heading to our G1 as I hit you in the back with 1 round from the PzIII. Your compatriot sought refuge near the shrubs, rocks and pump housing. I had to fire multiple rounds to take him out. It would have been an impossible angle if I had remained at the crest of Hill 49 and I would have been exposed to another attack from the trench sniper.

Based upon that experience, I would say the concept of having multiple snipers in one location can work, but you have to remember to bring a bazooka or two. You told me later you had neglected to do so. The outcome would have been completely different if more than one of you had been adequately armed.

So far, I have one big complaint. No satchel charge in the German spawn. This must have been a rather glaring oversight.

-HammaTime