Some questions since I tried playing SU with the purge (won´t play anymore until Germany is fixed however, but I´d like some input for future SU games with next patches).
SU has hundreds of units, and after the purge it has so few quality generals that creating a good chain of command is nearly impossible and compromises have to be made. So:
1- Where is best to put generals with high skill? As theather commander? Army group? I´d suppose army group due to ORG bonus.
2- What about generals with traits? Specially Defensive trait? I´d suppose corps level, above that the bonus might be to diluted.
3- What about superb and precious leaders like Zhukov? Keep them in a division level, or above?
4- Is it worth to go for the Superior Firepower and 5 brigade divisions? I´d suppose yes, less divisions = easier to concentrate good generals.
5- How to organize said 5 brigade divisions? Considering combat width, making 3 divisions is 4 INF and 1 ART is pointless since only 2 will participate. What if I make 1 division with 4 INF and 1 ART and 2 with 3 INF and 2 ART? Or is there another optimal setup for 5-brigade divisions?
1. I'd say put your best leaders on army group level because of the supply reduction. Less used supplies means more IC to spend. Organisation bonus is on the army level.
2. Actually, trait's aren't diluted. For a single division, sure. But look at the big picture. A defensive trait on a single division gives a 10% bonus. If the leader is put in charge of the corps instead, the bonus is only 5%. But that bonus is given to as many five divisions* for a grand total of 25% bonus. Although, this is ignoring any rounding errors that might exist. All in all I'd say traits are relatively unimportant. It's nice to stack Panzer leaders for a hard hitting armoured formation, but otherwise I don't care much.
3. At least for me, it's not an easy question. I like a bit of roleplay and it feels silly to have Zhukov in charge of a mere division. But if you do, he'll be quick to reach skill 6 or even higher. However, a lower skilled leader catches up pretty quickly because of the retained XP when levelling. So the optimal solution might be to have Zhukov as an army group commander until his subordinates surpass him in skill after a few years of war - then he can be degraded to army command or something.
4, 5 and *. General concentration isn't everything. Smaller divisions, and looser HQ structures, (not 5 units per level) are more flexible. It's up to your play style.
As for division composition, I'd avoid having divisions with different width. It's seldom that your planed optimal battle line actually is available. For example, how often are is an attack coming from only one province? You, as well as your enemy (the AI), will seek to attack from 2 or more provinces meaning the combat width will be 15 or more.
Also note that with width 4, and even 5, you can squeeze 3 divisions on the front. You can exceed the 10 width limit, but not add anything after you've exceeded it. 3 divisions of 5 width do fit since you don't exceed, only tangent, the limit with 2x5.
I'd go with something like 3Inf+2Art. Don't know if it's optimal but it's at least a competent division style.
