Re: [DS2] Defender/Attacker ratios and fixed defenses

Quoting Ground Zero Games <jon@gzg.keme.co.uk>:

> >From what I've read, the 3:1 ratio is the suggested ideal if the
> attacker
> wants to ENSURE victory (as far as you ever can, and all other factors
> notwithstanding) by sufficiently overwhelming force. I'd think 2:1
> would
> give a better game balance with a chance for either side to win.
> 
> Jon (GZG)

There is a formula for figuring out if you'll win a battle or not -
devised by 
a retired colonel - Dupey?

Ah - found a reference:
Dupuy, T.N. Colonel, US Army, Ret.  Numbers, Predictions and War:
   Using History to Evaluate Combat Factors and Predict the Outcome of
   Battles. Fairfax: HERO Books, 1985.

Did a load of analysis and then went and checked the results to see if
they 
came out right for historical battles. Includes technology levels and 
destructive capabilities and terrain modifiers and all sorts of things.

ISTR he had to bodge in a fix for Israelis, because they've successfully

defended against 6:1 odds.

The book about it has some interesting observations: I recall one about
German 
soldiers being about twice as effective as Allied soldiers throughout
most of 
WWII, attributed to the fact they were outnumbered for most of the last
year, 
so it was much easier for them to find targets...

Interesting read. And at the time it counted as work :-)

________________________________________________________________________
_______
      Katie Lauren Lucas, Consultant Software Engineer, Parasol
Solutions