The Air War

I don't have a lot to say on the air war.

The Soviets have more planes, but theirs are not as good as the Luftwaffe. They should focus on ground support (though air superiority operations are not bad), since if they can defeat the German army fast enough the Germans won't have much time to use their qualitative edge. Remember, "the ultimate form of air superiority is a tank parked on your enemy's runway." Protect your airfields by adding levels and putting HQs on them for the extra flak DRMs, and the few German bombers will have a hard time even touching the Red Air Force on the ground.

The Germans need to use their planes in tight coordination with panzer strikes, and figure out how they're going to ride out the wave of Russian fighter attacks on their bases.

Both sides need to use at least some EQ replacements for rebuilding planes.

The Option Decisions

OCS options

Proportional-strength infantry divisions. Use this; it hurts the Russians worse than it hurts the Germans, and the Germans need all the help they can get.

Non-divisional units. I would recommend against using this rule in this game: the Soviet Guards tank battalions were intended to be used as the spearhead units. If you do use it, exempt the 4-5-5s.

Air unit reduction at long range. Use it... all the time.

Hube's Pocket options

I would strongly recommend using the balance option that allows the German organic trucks to start loaded. Without it, they have trouble attacking up north as they did historically.

The other options you can use or not as you see fit.

An additional option that my opponent Scott suggested: cut the starting Soviet supply stockpile from 60 to 30 SPs, but give them one additional SP each turn. This cuts down on the Soviet tendency to try and do everything at once in the opening turns.

A Historical Note

Here's a table, courtesy of Perry Andrus, showing the historical VPs for each turn of the game. Consider using it as a guide to pace yourself by, and perhaps a guide to where you should go next.

Turn	VP level	Changes
At start	12	Kiev, Belaya-Tserkov, Berdichev
Turn 2	14	Kirovograd
8	16	one Dnepr River hex
9	18	one Dnepr River hex
10	22	two Dnepr River hexes
10/16	28	reinforcing the flanks
17	31	Shepetova
19	35	Uman
21	38	Novo Ukrainka
22	47	Pervomaysk, Vinnitsa
24	50	Beltsy
25	60	Slobodzera, Chernovtsy
29	64	Ternopol

Historically, the Germans lost to sudden death on turns 10-13 and 25.

An interesting chart, by the way; I've usually found that NovaUkrainka falls well before Uman does, and that Vinnitsa is a more desirable and achievable target than Shepetova. Obviously the Soviet operational schedule didn't exactly correspond to the ones I've seen in play, or perhaps they were more daring than I am at driving deep to take poorly-defended cities.

More Setup and Strategy in Hube's Pocket Part 2

The Conduct of the Battle: Zhukov
The Tools
The Techniques
The Conduct of the Battle: Manstein
Air War, Options, and Historical Note

More Setup and Strategy in Hube's Pocket Part 1

Introduction
The German Setup
Soviet Opening: North, South, or Deep?
The Soviet Setup