c3k

Glorious March to Victory Post #12 - "We Try Harder" (25-31)
So based on observation, I am seeing quite a few "likes" (thank you btw) but few comments, which tells me that I am probably telling you all something that Bil has already posted.  So for fear of getting left behind in the narrative I am just going to pull you all the way to where we are as of today.
I want to say up front that no matter how this ends, this is a really good game.  This is one for the books.  You can tell when everything feels so finely balanced and you and your opponent are fencing on a tightrope.  every PBEM turn gets the heartrate up!  
When I left you things were not looking so good for the brave soldiers of the Soviet Union.  But like the superior communist system, Soviets know how and when to pick themselves up and get back to it.

So not much but re-positioning in Turn 25 as I scramble to re-establish a parameter up on the ridge, Bil pulled back so that all proceeds.  The only interesting thing happens here near the end of the turn.  Looky here comrade the corrupt capitalist system thinks that they are so clever...looks like Bil is taking the deep left option after all.

The next turn I immediately start repositioning my remaining T64 on the left in order to form a blocking position on my left (that poor BMP got nailed by a second Cobra before I scared it off).  Bil could try and hide in the that wood line but we are past that now, he is going to try and roll me up (more on my logic later).  Meanwhile back on what is now called Red Knoll:

My intent here is to establish a hard point and pull Bils forces in, this time however, I am pushing infantry up front.  Note that an ATGM duel is forming up with that M150 and a BMP on the right here.

Which we win.  That should be about 4 out of 6 M150s killed.  Another sign of a really good game is the emergence of all the micro-dramas.  Here there are literally a hundred small stories all unfolding simultaneously, here is one:

So that brave little infantry squad breaks out of that tree line and sees a M60 monster...do they run and hide...nope they open up like it is the last thing they will ever do (and literally is).  Those are both the RPG 18 and RPG 7 firing simultaneously right at the turns end.  Finally on back on the Hwy:

So yep, pretty much as I expected this is an attempted roll up...oh Bil, you tired foolish old man, did you think I would leave the door open?  So here I am re-positioning another T64 and BMP to bottle up that Hwy ploy.  Onto Turn 28 and things start to turn:

My brave little squad misses, and then die in a hail of glory but they spook the crap out of those M60s, who promptly back off buying time for my T62s.  You can see here another T62 I snuck up from the village in the woods, so I have got a pretty good bead on this.

Meanwhile back on the Hwy, Bil's M60 here get spooked by a lone Recon Pl HQ and I start hunting that T64 forward.  I am starting to feel a bit like we are getting back up and then this happens:

Back in the center, Bil still has some armor with eyes on the objective (note: he is still pounding that nearly-empty suburb like it slept with his wife).  My poor immobilized T64 nails this M60 in a single blistering 125mm of bad-love.
Onto Turn 29.

 So on this turn is a positioning turn on the Red Knoll and Hwy, Bill has brought up at least one M60 to reinforce up here, so a lot of micro-drama potential.  And on the other side:

The bottleneck force is shaping up nicely..so the stage is set for another showdown.  
Turn 30 and things start to click:

It starts with this showdown at near-point-blank range.  The M60 fires first but (I like to think my little infantry squad (now all heroes of the Soviet Union) killed the crew commander and rattled that tank so badly that..) it misses.  My T62 does not, because cold steel runs in Soviet veins

Ok, now this is a Balls Game!  Back in the center:
 
DPICM, the last refuge of the desperate (seriously I think we may have overloaded on arty, and of course EW makes most of mine near useless).  But again Bil doubles down on that lone squad and MG team (who have taken a single casualty after all this)  A hint for anyone who plays Bil...he has problems with artillery.
But all is not good news:

This one hurt but it is a straight up "war happens moment so deal with it".  I start to push that T64 up a bit to try and snipe that M60 and he gets killed...gotta admit that one hurt.
Turn 31 and we are nearly caught up.

So up on the Red Knoll, Bil is stubbornly pushing with his 3 M60s (counting the dead one, that is a full third of his armor)  A second squad wins the Hero of the Soviet Union here by fearlessly opening up on two M60s and here they get an RPG 7 off before also being chopped up.

Which hits but I have no sight on the tank so I can only hope it at least rattled them up a bit.  The back on the Hwy:

My other T64, cooly drops that M60 like first period French (swear to god if I had all T64s this game would be over by now).  Back on Red Knoll the turn ends with this: 
Both barrels are lined up and loaded.  This screenshot pretty much captures this entire freakin game!
Ok, my assessment with 9 mins left on the clock.  So, Bil is seriously considering ceasefire right now cause even int guys can do math.  My force on the objective is still very solid with the better part of an infantry Coy and 2 x T62s (I sent the other one back), so the odds of him taking it (which were never great given his force) are low.  He could try a gamey sneak in the last minute of the game but I doubt it.  
So his problem here is one of points.  The US get points for cutting me down past 50% but they need to keep their own force above 50% and based on losses so far he has to be concerned about that buffer.  I am definitely closer (I may be below 50% right now) but even-losses at this point would be fatal to the US side.  And in the last 4 minutes I have lost a single T64 and BMP to at least 3 x M60s and an M150.   By my math Bils armor is precariously down to 50% (and I suspect at least one tank is gun-killed)...and I still have a lot of those nasty BMPs on the board who can all kill Bil's...well, anything.  
Regardless, even if we ended it now, I think this game is a Draw (at least right now).  In reality both forces are at a standstill (even if the US side has not realized it yet) in what has been a see-saw battle that has left me with scars and some therapy requirements.  The Blood-Red Dice still will roll, so we will see.
Capt's AAR Battle Theme Song
 

My time at Reforger 1988-1989 was a blast, the one time they let us plow those farm fields and go anywhere!!!
I remember we found some sleeping Op4, and took all their radio antennas, they didn't leave anyone up for guard duty; I even went into a full sleeping GP medium and no one said a word. lol. left with their antennas. Got into a fist fight with 10th mountain over it! lol.
While out patrolling a road we came upon a disabled HQ 113, and Bradley, captured it and all there maps.
 
2AD MP Co, 502nd 1st Tiger Platoon!!
 
 
 

Glorious March to Victory Post # 9 - "7th Outing Stretching" (19-20)
Ok, when I last left you, we had taken out one M60 and had a bead on the second...and of course it missed:

Well it wouldn't be a CM game if the gods of war were not against me.
Anyway  Not much really happens more this turn as we continue to position:

A shot on my left flank where I thought Bil was going to keep pushing (more on this later):

My heavy mortars are finally landing along that ridge, just as my teeth are starting push up the ridge, I hope they are causing someone pain.

So by end turn it all looks good, I am solidifying the position in the town.  Forces are advancing up the ridge unmolested  and I am pretty confident of my cover on Bil's axis of advance....and then I noticed this:

So that is a TOW missile streaking towards one of my few remaining T64s....
Turn 20.
  Well it would not be a CM game if the gods of war were not with me:

The basic TOW (the M901s are firing ITOW) did not penetrate my T64 but did immobilize it.  The good news is that in its current position it can still cover the ridgeline...so lemonade!  (Oh, check out the interface, it is really starting to shape up)
Ok, so turn 20 and mid-game...and Bil is getting weird:

It looks like he is hooking that tank platoon towards the town...which kinda left me scratching my head a bit.  For the rest of the turn we traded a lot of steel across the valley (you can see that little BMP-that-could's last AT 3 streaking at those M60s...and of course it missed).  Besides me bagging a hapless M113 on the ridge, most of the rest of the turn is positioning:

You can see here that my teeth are up out of that tree line and are ready to start fanning out, I am about as good a position as I can get in the town as that second dismounted infl platoon has managed to get into the objective zone pretty much unmolested.  So time for a mid-game assessment:

So basically, I was worried that Bil was going to push a tank platoon, or more into A0.  This would have been very bad for me, as from that position they can  1) pound the town unmolested and 2) make life for my Teeth miserable as I would have to watch their back and front.  Instead Bil looks like he is taking A1 route, which is really kind of strange but I am sure there is a clever ploy here somewhere.  A1 is semi-covered.  My screen S1 cannot see it until it is right in the town, but S2 will get some clean shots.  I also repositioned both infantry and 2 x T62s to cover this approach.  So basically, I am not sure what Bil is hoping to do with 3 x M60s in closing terrain here.  My next biggest concern is him making a hard push on A2 with that second tank platoon.  I also have infantry and a single T62 in the town on this route but S1 can cover it very well.  A2 has more cover if he uses the wood line but again we are talking almost entirely tanks trying to take a built up area.  
If you look on the bottom left there is that worried looking blue guy, that is scouts and APCs that appear to be lining up for some sort of woods push but between my Teeth and that little det of recon, I am pretty sure I can keep them busy.  Again keeping in mind there is probably another troop of armor up on that ridge somewhere. 
So here at mid-game, I expect Bil to use whatever is left of his arty (which still has DPICM) to pound the town in a hope all my infantry die so he can drive in with tanks and few scouts.  I have laid down two arty lines perpendicular to A2 approach but they are around 15mins out.  I have spread my infantry out on ground floors, mostly hiding to weather the arty and will keep my screens S1 and S2 up to make life difficult in the approach.  
My Teeth are going to push towards those scouts and APCs, but I always have the option to swing them towards A2 if Bil makes a push.  Bils dilemma right now is that he cannot seem to get enough combat power into the town and cover my Teeth at the same time...let's see how long we can keep it up.

March to Glorious Victory Post #8 - Riddles in the Dark (Turn 18)
Well only a single turn to report, again apologies but we are kinda busy.  I am new to the whole game development thing but I believe it is call "the crunch", so named I believe for the sound our bones make when Steve swings his bat if we fail to meet deadlines.  Regardless, the war continues:

So my push up the center continues, I am just getting my infantry forward to sweep those woods, particularly on the right because I am starting to see movement.  I  couple M113s and at least one M150 are shuffling around up there, I expect Bil has caught on to the fact that the bulk of my combat power is at his midriff.    I am also going to push those recon assets on my far right forward to start seeing if I can't bag a few of his scout teams.  I am worried about armor on that ridge, as I still see a couple ? icons but if I know Bil he will hold them back.  My bet is that Bil is going to try and bottle my forces up coming out of that treeline.  In other news, my fire mission is finally starting to fall on that treeline which may provide some cover.  I have to admit that I have not used arty well in this game.  Part of the problem is I agreed to EW for the Blue side...never do this, as it means really long spotter-wait times. 
On the upside I still have good Eyes, so I know Bil can't get too aggressive up there.  Things were moving apace when suddenly:

Well looky here!  That frisky old mule looks like he has decided to try to change the shape of the battle.  So that is the lead tank of an M60 platoon that Bil [aside:  I have known the guy for almost 20 years and I still have no idea why he uses only one "l" in his first name...the human heart is truly a mystery] is pushing on my far left.  Bold move.  If he can get armor up into that far treeline on my left he could theoretically make life difficult for the center push...but he has to get there first:

Here the Eyes on my right are kicking in.  Both T64s and that lone BMP (the one who has killed at least one M150) have got clear eyes on Bil's route:

Ouch, that was the BMP btw:

So here you can see the situation better.  At the end of the turn there is a 125mm sabot round coming at that second M60, the other T64 and BMP are reloading.  In the town I am moving 2 x T62s around the village to get them covering that approach, the third is covering the village on the other side.  I am going to keep pushing the center but now have a BMP and a T-62 taking positions to reinforce the cover on that far right flank.  I am also continuing to push dismounted infantry into the objective, going to spread them out and cover any approaches from the wood line.  Next 120 seconds are going to be very interesting, stay tuned.

The Fifteenth through Seventeenth Minutes
“I would rather you made your appraisal after seeing what the enemy does, since it is certain that, angered and outraged, he will soon launch a determined counterattack."
Isoroku Yamamoto
 
The fifteenth minute saw the loss of another M-150.. I swear the track of that ATGM fired from the BMP-1P... it's like magic the way it hugs the ground comes over the top of the hill and hits him in the lower hull.. must be a crack gunner!  Pretty sure I was hull-down to that BMP and T-64B too.  C'est la guerre. 

Pushing on... 
So over the next few turns Warren, who has finally figured out that the central approach is masked from my view, has been pushing his T-62 Company and some BMPs far forward...

...is he planning on defending the town?  Pushing into my rear area?  If the latter.. then I have no defense.  Just don't have the combat power available to fight off a determined push. 
What to do.. what to do... well first of all, I need to confirm one or the other.  If I need to react and push some support units over towards my M-60s for protection then so be it, but I plan to continue my movement with the tanks.  That, hopefully, will force him to redeploy the assets in the center, maybe weaken any attack into my rear area.
In the above image.. note the contact icon (BMP) which Warren has pushed forward... very close to one of my Dragon teams.  Bad news.. the visibility here is very dodgy and it'll be tough to get eyes on that BMP unless it moves forward.  I am pretty sure this is one of his remaining BMP-1P's that I lost sight of a few turns ago.  Probably followed up by the BRM-1.

The M60A1 & M60A2 had a stereoscopic rangefinder which uses two eyepieces and relies on the tank commander to spin a range wheel until the two images merge into a single picture.  When you had a sharp single image, it gave you the range to the target in meters and mechanically adjusted the gunner's sights to that range.  The TC then gave the fire command (in this case 1,500 meters) as, "Range one five hundred meters.  Fire!".
To save time and insure first round fired, veteran tank commanders and their gunners would pre-set the rangefinder to a "battlesight" range; either 1200 or 1600 meters depending on SOP.  As soon as the gunner "Identified" the target in his sights, the TC fire command would be an immediate, "Battlesight, fire!".  The gunner would check for "Burst on Target", re-aim to the point of impact and fire again until TC declared, "Target destroyed."

My buddy tells stories of being in the 82nd motor pool in the early 90s, hearing a loud metallic crack, and seeing a Sheridan track just break. Not from driving, just a Sheridan, no occupants, engine off, sitting on the line, and the track goes.

I had one experience picking up a replacement vehicle from the POMCUS site at Pirmasans in West Germany. My unit was authorized a new M880 (Dodge 1/2 ton Pickup.) Because it was a new addition to our TO&E we got to go get a brand new one from the POMCUS stocks. This vehicle still had the factory stickers and brand new tools, manuals, and all kinds of other additional gear most of us had never even seen on our older vehicles. So as far as my experience goes, the stuff at the POMCUS sites was brand new, fully equipped and ready to go.

Bil,
Outstanding approach/analysis and ability to share it with us. I am biased towards the Deep Strike Option: I think it gives a better location for any follow-on maneuver or support. Just my .02.

Wow. Stunning.
"Games" have come a long way.

I'm sure many have seen it, but it's interesting.
44-45 may surprise a few people.
 

March to Glorious Victory - Post #6  "The Devil's Red Right Hand" (12-15)
First off I apologize for the long return on this one, beyond Bil's glacial return pace, the main reason is that nothing really happened on the Soviet side of this thing.  I am sure Bil is doing a frame-by-frame Warren Commission-esque analysis (because that is what int nerds do) but frankly he has already missed his early victory boat.
When I left you we were discussing options and landed on the least suicidal of the bunch given the somewhat less-than-optimal starting position.
The only question left is "what will Bil do?".  I have thoughts on this but let's leave them til the end (someone remind me if I forget).
So the only interesting thing to happen before the big push was the loss of another T64

This little fella bought in on my left, which was unfortunate but I also observed something interesting before the kill.  

These two T64s soaked up over a dozen hits between them from those M60s on the ridge.  Clearly not bullet proof but from the front these beast are very hard to kill.  This also speaks well for the Plan, as I would rather Bils tanks pinging off my T64s rather than killing my BMPs and T-62s. 
So here was ol Bil's shot to end this thing about 13-14 mins in:

You can see here we are all bunched up moving into position for the slot.  If Bil had DPICM'd this traffic jam, that pretty much would  have been it.  The bridge may have saved a couple but it would have been a bloody massacre.
But he missed that boat.

Turn 14 and I can start to breathe, the troops moving up the slot saw no direct fire.  Bil is lobbing shells into the area but frankly the steel soldiers of mother Russia give exactly zero F's about artillery.

All that arty has about 2-3 casualties on me so far but I am sure it makes the old man - sitting in a faded bathrobe, the one from the 70s, his old-lady slippers, old man underwear with the torn waistband - feel better.   By end of Turn 15, we are about 1/3 through.

So on the far side of the slot we have pretty much a tank pl and 3 x BMP.  In turn 16 I should be at 50%.  The dismounted pl on my left is looking good and pretty much unmolested.  They are going to link up with that scout pl and be my hands.  You can see on my left I have a screen in place of 2 x T64s and about 4 BMPs, that is a very good position in case Bil gets frisky on my left, which based on that smoke I am guessing is a possibility.  The biggest threat now is a DPICM strike but I am less worried about it now as my Tank Coy and BMPS are spread out and moving fast, so at worst I may take a few casualties.  Main concern now is getting that inf platoon on my right into those buildings.  The HQ and squad did get pinned so I need them to get going.
And let's not forget the Eyes on my Right.

 So I have 2 x T64s on the right with good LOS (I just noticed one got immobilized, which is a pain but it is in a solid position).  That little BMP in the little clump of woods nails another M150.  These guys on my right can actually cover the ridgeline and the left, so pretty happy with that for now.  I am very happy at nailing the M150s.  It may seem odd to a bunch of tank nerds but these thing are actually more dangerous right now.  They have TI, so can see through smoke and those TOW are not going to take 6 hits to kill me.
So now what?  Well finish moving through the Slot and then we spread out and start the knife fight in the woods.  So what is Bil going to do?  Well my bet is he is looking longingly at my left flank, two or three columns of smoke are singing sweetly to him do doubt...I welcome him to try.
Next he could focus on the village and do a center push but in about 120 seconds I am going to have 2 x Inf platoons at near 100% with options for tank and BMP support.  Bil has ACR scout teams, M113 which are basically halftracks and a bunch of M60s who will not do well in an urban fight. 
So that leaves the woods on my right.  Here he has better approaches but if thing go even half decently I will have a another Soviet infantry pl back up by a lot of armor for this little dance against Scout teams, who are not really designed for this sort of thing.  So all in all, I am liking my odds...but...and there is always a but....the next 120-180 second have to go well.  That and I know that Bil has Cobras...so this thing is not over yet.
 

This is an excellent essay on how these tanks seem to balance in the game. The T-64 should be treated with a LOT of respect, and not just a little fear, by the US player.
When you do get frontal hits on a T-64, it seems to take several strikes to destroy it. 

A glorious charge for the Motherland! Strike the capitalist warmongers! Or something. 
Perhaps your follow-on echelons can send up a few tank regiments?  The Americans will run out of shells before you run out of tanks!
You DO have follow-on echelons, don't you?
 

This is not an appropriate question...the type that makes the commissar unbuckle his pistol holster.  Of course there will be endless follow-on echelons of brave sons of mother-Russia!!  They may just have to slow down slightly as they drive over our corpses.
Seriously, I am waiting for a turn from Bil and then should be able to get another update.  For BletchleyGeek, yep column right down that slot, then we spread out.  Yep, dangerous, it is all danger at this point.  Not a question of good and bad, but bad and worse.

This is an excellent essay on how these tanks seem to balance in the game. The T-64 should be treated with a LOT of respect, and not just a little fear, by the US player.
When you do get frontal hits on a T-64, it seems to take several strikes to destroy it. 

Does Capt. have any smoke fire missions available? If he is planning a rush, wouldnt a smoke screen help?

I've played M60A2 alot because the one scenario I got into the title fields  M60A2. There's lots to criticize about M60A2. The slow rate of fire, the inaccuracy of the low velocity conventional rounds, the long flight time and limited range of the missile. And that thing I talked about above - this happened to me just 5 minutes ago. 

Eleventh & Twelfth Minutes – “…damn your eyes.”
 
“There are not enough Indians in the world to defeat the Seventh Cavalry.”
George Armstrong Custer
 
Minute 11:
This might have been a pivotal turn and Warren must be reeling... his email simply said, “…damn your eyes”.  Warren is a pretty confident guy, but it could be that I am getting under his skin now.
Planned moves for this turn…
Tank Section 1 was moving to the rear slightly to improve their Hull Down status to the T-64Bs near NAI3 Tank Section 2 was moving forward to aggressively interdict the enemy vehicles near NAI2.. note that at the end of the last turn I had one BMP-1P spotted on this flank and this was the only enemy vehicle identified on this flank. Note the identified enemy units important for this turn’s resolution. Also note that the T-64B tagged in the following image, is NOT the same one I beat up on last turn.  I ordered my M-60s to ignore that one and concentrate on this second tank further back in the tree line.
For each of the following overall images, the firing unit is circled in white, the target is circled in yellow.

Tank Section 1 – 1/9: 
At the end of last turn this tank left a round in the air, and this turn it connected with a BMP-1…


Kill #1
 
Tank Section 1 – 1/8: 
Manually targeted the T-64B in the tree line… first round was a penetration but several HEAT rounds later this T-64B was knocked out.  Tough bastards.
Note that in this image, a T-64A has been spotted on Warren’s left flank (my right).


Kill #2
 
Tank Section 2 – 1/5: 
The T-64A was moving laterally in front of the treeline… it was an easy two rounds into its flank.



Kill #3
Note the BMP-1P in the background of the above image…
 
Tank Section 2 – 1/6: 
At the end of the turn, this tank finally killed the last of the Recon Platoon BMPs that was on this flank (this was the BMP that killed my M-150 last turn).  It took two rounds to kill it... a third set it alight.


Kill #4
Note the knocked out T-64A in the background.

 
Finally at the end of the eleventh minute, my 1st platoon’s recon scouts spotted a platoon of T-62s… this will be his final reinforcement.  These are located just beyond the overpass and behind the line of BMP-1s overwatching the infantry swarming toward the town.

 
 
Minute 12:
No images this turn… but in the twelfth minute Tank Section 2 (1/5 and 1/6) spot two more T-64As in the trees near the one destroyed last turn next to the BMP-1P… they hit them both several times (one received a gun hit), no penetrations and both were alive at the end of the turn, but they had both moved back and away from the line.. one or both of these tanks might be severely damaged and will be engaged again next turn.
 I've been building to this.for a while, but now... 
...Warren’s left flank is open.

Ninth Minute
 “Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
The Art of War, Sun Tzu
 
M-150(1/5) and the BMP-1PK on NAI2 spotted each other about the same time, though the M-150 fired its TOW a second or so earlier than the BMP fired its AT-4…

Scratch one more BMP.
 
Early this turn in Tank Section 1, M-60A1(RISE+) (1/8) spots another Recon BMP-1P…

…it does take a quick shot…

…which falls well short.. and then he loses the spot.

Right towards the end of the turn the same tank spots a T-64B moving toward the clump of trees ahead of NAI3.  Again it fires, but this time, the turn expires before the round can travel the entire distance.  Damn!  
We'll find out how that goes next turn, don't go too far from your computer.

T-64B, beauty shot:

Two of my M-106 mortar carriers began sending their spotting rounds this turn… this fire is intended to block the approach into Dolbach.


 

For those of you playing, the “What is Bil planning?” Sweepstakes... another clue: I have moved my FO up to the ridge and dismounted.  What can that mean?   

Finally, I wanted to give you a good overview of the map and an update on my enemy Order of battle reconstruction:
After some research the Soviet Recon Company is composed of the following:
Company CO on a BRM-1
x2 Recon Platoons – each composed of: Recon Platoon Leader on a BMP-1K x2 Scout Teams, each on a BMP-1 So far I have identified the following Recon Company units:
Two BMP-1PKs, the Platoon Leaders’ rides (as of this turn, both have been knocked out) Three of the four BMP-1Ps the Scout Teams ride on (one has been knocked out) This turn I also identify the Company CO’s BRM-1 So the intelligence picture of what I am up against is becoming clearer every turn.  Following is the current SITMAP.  Note the enemy Support by Fire (SBF) positions and the central position taken up this turn by one Mech Infantry platoon, three BMP-1s moved forward of the overpass and disgorged their infantry.  I suspect the infantry will be moving on foot to Dolbach while the BMPs remain in an overwatch position.
Warren's weight is on his right (my left) as his SBF near NAI2 has lost two of it's three BMPs.  The SBF position near NAI3 has lost one BMP-1PK, but has been reinforced by the Company CO's BRM.  
I expect Warren to push hard toward Dolbach shortly.. and that is a fight I cannot participate in as I don't have the infantry he does.  So I have something else in mind...    CLUES GALORE!!! Have fun.

For reference:

Gotta add this: the period depicted is awesome. Meaning, literally, filling one with awe. The amount of arty and air and the damage they can inflict, as well as the numbers involved, and the Soviet T-64 vs the M48/early M60, new ATGMs, makes every encounter a very touch-and-go event. If you get cocky...you die. And once the dying starts, it just keeps going.
Look at how any vehicle spotted in this AAR has died. Sure, they're just BMPs and M113s, but the accuracy and deadly effect of munitions...and the number of shooters...is what makes this a well-balanced period. Soviet numbers are offset by the assumption that they'd be attacking. The equipment is balanced: it's up to the user to make the difference.
DPICM must be seen to be believed.
On this AAR: it seems like Bil is falling for The_Capt's razzle-dazzle. Of course, of anyone, Bil will suss it out soon enough and be in a very balanced position to parry it. (At least, that's my assumption.  )
 

Bil's plan: Obviously, you are bypassing the resistance! Hit him where he's soft. It looks to me like you're making a flank rush and will attempt to attack MOSCOW! Once there, your forces will topple the war-mongering Soviet ruling cabal, AND gain control of their distribution network. 
This move will simultaneously knock out two of the three legs needed for them to prosecute the war.
After you occupy the Kremlin, Dolbach...all the Dolbachs...will fall into your hands.
Color me impressed.

My concern for Bil is that he will still be OOing when The_Capt DAs all over him.

It's true: