Pripyat Winter

The Pripyat River and the marshes that follow its meandering course were obstacles to the German advance into the Soviet Union in 1941, but when the rivers and marshes freeze, traditional choke points like bridges cease to matter when the ice is frozen thick enough to support the weight of even the heaviest vehicles.

Pockets of trees obscure enemy movement, and attacks can come from anywhere. Deny your enemy respite from the cold, and maybe General Winter will offer you his aid.

The Vehicle Repair Facilities are unique to this map, and make it well-suited to army compositions with many vehicles, especially fast vehicles that can reposition from the flanks to the center when needed. The high concentration of Victory Points in the center means that locking down the area will be a powerful, but heavily contested move. The winter version of this map opens it up a great deal to flanking, and this is particularly true of the center area. With Soviets, early Scout Cars and fast T-34s are good options. For the Germans, Tier 2 for Half-tracks and Scout Cars, and Tier 3 for Panzer IVs and Ostwinds are ideal. The Blitzkrieg veterancy ability is especially useful on this map, as you’ll often be repositioning your vehicles. The Soviets can capture territory with their tanks using their veterancy ability, and their inexpensive tanks will have a significant advantage in covering more of the map.

Many of the area-specific comments are the same as for Pripyat Summer, though the differences are noted. For the most part you just need to consider how cold weather and blizzards change any of the dynamics of this map, and think about how the different resource layout changes your capping order or where you want to focus your attention.

Western base.

Eastern base.

The Standard Territory Point just north of the eastern base will rarely see much action, but the building to the left is a good place for the West to garrison after harassing this point.

The Standard Territory Point to the south of the East base will not often see much action, except potential infantry skirmishes if the West attempts to harass it. Given that the water path to the south is so troublesome, this point isn’t one the East will need to worry much about.

The eastern Standard Territory Point is typically used as a staging area for the East in attacks against the center. A single HMG and AT Gun can defend this area effectively due to the restricted travel paths.

The south river crossing is the major travel route used by the East to reach the southern Victory Point. For the West, mines are effective but barbed wire can be a pain to position appropriately—as Germans use a bunker instead, and as Soviets use an HMG. The West generally benefits little from crossing the river, except in sending a single infantry squad to harass. That said, a cunning West could launch a major attack through here to flank the East’s forces in the center, precisely because it’s a suboptimal route and generally ignored.

The eastern Victory Point is a key area for the East, and a desirable target for an aggressive West. In the early game as the East, you may consider placing barbed wire on the southern bridge at the bottom so that the West cannot flank any units you send into the center. Mines along the southern bridge and the land bridge to the center work well to counter light vehicle attacks, like early M3A1s from the Soviets, or a Half-track with Flame Projectors from the Germans. A single HMG and AT Gun can defend this area effectively due to the restricted travel paths.

These points cover the most used travel route by the East in reaching the north. Because the area is so open, HMGs and AT Guns are less effective than you would expect, especially when blizzards limit visibility, though Snipers can be used as spotters to remedy this problem. The Vehicle Repair Facility is very useful for supporting a mobile force of light and medium vehicles—Scout Cars, Half-tracks, T-70s, T-34s, Panzer IVs, Ostwinds, etc. The West should often attempt to harass this area, while the East should seek to establish defenses around the northern Fuel Point and northern Victory Point rather than here.

The northern Munitions Point is useful for its resource income, but its out-of-the-way location means it will rarely be the site of key fights. However, for the side that holds the north it’s a relatively safe place to repair vehicles and a Mortar placed behind the tree line to the left can cover the northern Victory Point exceptionally. Also, if the West happens to place an HMG in the house near the northern Victory Point, there’s a flanking route in the top left corner of this image, around the tree line, that should prove useful.

The northern Fuel Point is located near a major travel path and it offers a commanding position over the surrounding region. The building in the top is the best one on the map, and an HMG there can lock down the entire area. The East tends to control this area in most games, but an aggressive West that takes this early can place intense pressure on the East, especially in terms of Fuel income.

This river crossing and the northern bridge are effective flanking routes against the center. You’ll likely want to use the bridge for your vehicles to avoid stray Mortar and artillery rounds sinking them.

The northern Victory Point lies on a heavily traveled path between the center and northern Victory Points. Snipers operate effectively in this area due to the presence of light cover and a few obstacles, even though it’s mostly open. Mines anywhere in this area are a good investment for either player. The hedges on the left do block sight, so a Mortar can easily take up a protected position behind them. German bunkers for reinforcing and healing are a good idea here if you’re seeking to hold the center and the north.

The northwestern Munitions Point is located in a highly defensible area, due to the map border and ridge restricting the possible avenues of attack. HMGs and AT guns can creep toward the northern Victory Point and northern Fuel Point, and Mortars positioned here can provide fire support when attacking either of those points from the West. This is also a good location for the East to fortify to prevent attacks originating from the frozen river.

The northern river crossing is the safest way for the West to reach the north without freezing while crossing the ice. Holding it shouldn’t be much of a problem for the West, but pushing into the north can be difficult if it’s fortified. Consider warming up at the campfire then running further south across the ice before mounting the bank to avoid typical mine and HMG locations. For the East, mines, barbed wire, and a bunker on the northern bank are desirable to control the area.

The center area will be highly contested throughout the game as it’s the most desirable location to fortify to exert power over all three Victory Points. The Watchtower cannot be garrisoned by HMGs, but a Sniper is able to fit inside—this does give away its position to enemy Snipers and Mortars, so there’s a bit of risk to balance out the increased protection against infantry and vehicles. This area will become quite dangerous in the late game when artillery and commander abilities proliferate, especially if any units decide that the ice is a good place to be. In the early game, if you’re able to take this uncontested, place barbed wire along your opponent’s land bridge to restrict infantry movement—they can still attack from across the ice, but why make things any easier for them? Mines anywhere around this area are desirable, and German bunkers are fantastic here. A single AT gun will be enough to defend this area against anything short of heavy tanks, but you’ll need to watch for Snipers and Mortars. Typically, both sides will station combined arms forces at or near this area to contest it. Whichever side holds the center will continually need to watch for indirect fire and be sure that infantry squads are reinforced and vehicles are repaired. Whichever side wishes to seize it will position its force across one of the land bridges at the Victory Point and wait for an opportunity to attack. The key here is multi-pronged attacks: if the West wishes to take the center, it should attack from the north, and across the southern bridge to the eastern Victory Point—the more you can separate your opponent’s units and force them to fight in multiple directions, the better your chances. As the area is so open, many units can fire across the river itself to and from the area by the sandbags. For example, you can position HMG Teams and AT Guns there to attack units crossing the ice or on the opposite banks of the river.

The western Victory Point will be contested by an aggressive East, but it’s easy to defend with team weapons positioned to the left. Vehicles with long-range guns can fire from here into the center, so consider placing them along the riverbank before advancing with your infantry.

The western Standard Territory Point near the southern bridge is a good place for the East to harass in creating opportunities to flank the West’s units near the center. The East can also use it to threaten the south, but it’s not a safe position to attempt to hold. For the West, holding it is important to prevent the things I just mentioned: you want the south to be secure and you don’t want the center to be flanked. This is a highly traveled route, so mines from both sides are a good investment here, and the West might consider wiring off the bridge if they’re not intending to attack across it in the early game.

The southeastern Munitions Point near the southern water path will likely change hands many times throughout a game, but it’s worth attempting to fortify by the West to restrict access to the southern Victory Point. HMGs and AT Guns are the preferred units to defend this area.

The southern Fuel Point lies along a reasonably well-traveled path, at least when the south is contested by both sides. Bunkers and mines will prove useful, and the tree stand at the bottom can be used to protect a Mortar Team. The area is wide enough to be difficult for a single HMG Team or AT Gun to cover effectively, meaning you’ll need to have at least one supporting unit nearby to act as a scout to allow preemptive positioning.

The southwestern Fuel Point has quite a lot of sight blocking terrain nearby, including destroyed buildings and tree stands, but it won’t be the site of major battles as it’s far from the center and standard travel paths. However, light and medium vehicles will excel here for just those reasons. Try using Half-tracks with a single infantry squad inside to capture this point, or the veterancy ability on the Soviet T-70, T-34, IS-2, and KV-8 that allows point capture.

The southern Vehicle Repair Facility lies along a road that gives vehicles easy access to and from the center and south. Engaging your opponent’s vehicles here is not the best idea unless you have a superior force because theirs will be constantly repaired. To counter this, use artillery and move up AT Guns to steadily push the vehicles back.

This Standard Territory Point is held by the West for the majority of most games, especially against a passive East. When the East first pushes into this area of the map, this should be the first point to take as it’s a cut-off for the southern Fuel. If you’ve taken the entire south as the East, set up defenses here by using an HMG and AT Gun supported by mines—the West is sure to attempt to reclaim it.

As this point is so close to the western base, it’s unlikely to see much action. If you’re the East, try harassing this with a Half-track carrying an infantry squad to avoid reprisal by driving off.

This Standard Territory Point outside of the West’s base will only ever be taken when the East is in a supremely dominant position. For the most part, it serves as a staging area for the West when attacking the center and north. Mortars, AT Guns, and Howitzers placed here are relatively safe from attack, especially if you have an HMG in the building at the top.