«

[Japo]

Artillery is good for pounding entrenched targets but if you're attacking unentrenched units in the open you'd be wasting your shots, just roll your tanks over them.

The units up front should be unexpensive and have very good sight radius, at the start of the game your light tanks can fill that role but later you can get specialized recon vehicles.

Careful about placing tanks next to a city, if the enemy has AT it will blast your tank and later in the game the infantry also gets decent hard attack so they can damage your tanks as well. IMO tanks should be placed only where they attack, that should be open field, and needless to say they should be the first to attack wherever they are.

Infantry and tanks don't get the same bonuses defending rough terrain and specially cities, infantry is much more effective for that according to the manual.

[Mighty Midget]

Dunno, these Pz I and Pz II are just tracked cardboard boxes. One attacked a cavalery unit out in the open. Result: I lost 7 and it lost 1

Btw: Yes, about the terrain/unit type/defence "bonus" you're right.


EDIT: If initiative determnes who wil fire first, then how come my init=5 tanks fire after their init=1 infantry in 7 out of 8 fights (I saved, fired, took notes and loaded the game about 35-40 times for a test here).

That, and the captured Polish city spewing out Polish units is really annoying. I'm sorry but this games seems to be rather badly written. Unless someone can give me a mighty clever explaination of what the heck is going on, I'm gonna give this game a 1.

[Japo]

I don't recall now what modified initiative. Anyway you're right about early German tanks, they were quite bad I think.

[laiocfar]

First german tanks(Pz I and II) arent up to fight even polish. Pz III are an acceptable anti-tank unit but only Pz IV(Norway) are a decent multi-role tank.

Use your infantry but be sure to be able to retreat when attacking entreched units(move in and dont fire first turn or have artillery support). With that you can complete both polish battles. Anyway build some tanks to kill already damaged units for the experience. Polish are easy, just remember to lock on your objetives. In first scenario upgrade your tanks(2-4 units, no more, no less) and build infantry.
My attacking logic is to use tanks to clean antiair, artillery and a single square next to city to prevent reiforcement, infantry will attack town from there. If tanks fails to clear antiair, artillery and eventually infantry will aid. If tanks fail to clear artillery, air force will air. If the city is defended by and experienced and entreched unit, only attack if most of them get supressed or killed by air or artillery.

Veteran infantry and artillery will be the key into capturing towns or fortifications. Your army need to have always near 6 inf divisions and 3 of artillery, they are the specialist in rough terrains and house-to-house fighting. During the second scenario, complete your army and add some fighters, tactical bombers are more usefull but experienced fighters are needed in futher battles. I always love to build early para, they can result a pain for the best AI if you are clever when using them.

Norway is a really hard scenario, my suggestion is to not attemp a decisive victory if you are having problems in poland or dont even attemp a victory if you got problems with the game; better concentrate in building up your tanks divisions. You may divide your attack force in 3 and you got 5 big problems to solve... may best result in this battle was a decisive victory but with many losses.
Deploy point A and first problem: Oslo, your troops may land and assault the city from a river under artillery and air bombardement. Experienced pioners or enginers are the solution but more normally you will be forced to use normal infantry with artillery support and take several losses that will slow down you.
Deploy point B: Bergen, defenders are few and air support is given by norwain planes so a piece of cake.
Deploy point C and problems 2 and 3: Trondheim, you may land far away from the city, near none opposition while landing but strong air support and from british planes plus your planes arent able to get there. The city is defended by Nor troops but since the royal marine is there, it will be near impossible to attack. The british air bombarment cant be avoided but you can try something on their navy. Your own naval units are divided but you got submarines. So you can unite your navy and defeat the royal marine later in the scenario leaving you few time for attack Narvik and Trondheim, or launch them one by one without chance of winning but giving your land forces the chance to attack and capture Trondheim early in the game.
Problem 4: when your troops from Bergen and Olso join to attack Lillehamme(the inland objetive between Trondheim and Oslo), bad weather will leave you unable to cross rivers without a bridge and to use air force. The only bridge is well defended, you distract tanks from Trondheim and Narvik slowing you advance or have your forces divided longer resulting in less troops advancing towards Narvik and slowing your advance.
Problem 5: Narvik is defended by british troops, air units and fleet, plus there is a narrow pass that slowdown your troops.
You can chose to dont deploy in point C and lost the battle without risking your troops. Paratroopers can aid you in Lillehamme with the only risk of enemy interceptors or in Narvik where they are more likely to get killed.

Low countries, is the easiest battle. Here you can fully fit an air division with tactical bombers, train a new tank division, build some more land troops and/or train a big paratroopers division(no more than 3-4 coz you arent given more transport planes). Just remember to assault well entreched british or french units in towns with veteran infantry and use your veteran tanks with full of support to kill french and british superior armor ones.

France campaing will be the result of your previous actions. You will face strong resistance in the border and in each city, you will defeat it but the time is crucial. You may divide your forces again and move quickly. An strong paratrooper division can capture a deep objetive and decide the battle.

Always look after your units, they worth nothing without experience so dont take risk, later in the game you will be able to wipe out entreched AT with your ultraveteran King Tigers Pz VI.

Wow, it looks like i wrote a bible, sorry guys

[Mighty Midget]

Don't worry about the length LOL this is the most useful post I've seen so far. Thanks k:

Now, about the first scenario (1939): You say I should upgrade my tanks, but upgrades can only take place between battles, can't they? So, that would mean I can't upgrade anything until after the first scenario.

[laiocfar]

You can upgrade units inside secured cities*, it takes one turn and the prestige for the new equipment. Anyway in first scenario your tanks are only usefull to kill the polish tank unit(the Pz35tn can handle it) and to move fast and surround the polish town in the east for attack enemy artillery(none of your avaible tanks is up to the task without artillery and infantry support). Watch out for the AT in the objetive at north, it can wipe your green crews in that cheesemade tanks.

*The city is secured when it passed 2/3 turns since takeover and when there inst any unit next to it. Only secured city/airfields can upgrade or build new units.

[Japo]

I was impelled to replay this, I've a question, what was again the requirement for major victory instead of minor one? I can't find the info in the manual, is it supposed to be unknown for each scenario?

[Mighty Midget]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Japofran @ Jun 22 2007, 08:46 PM) [snapback]295827[/snapback]</div>

I was impelled to replay this, I've a question, what was again the requirement for major victory instead of minor one? I can't find the info in the manual, is it supposed to be unknown for each scenario?
[/b]

That's something I would like to know, too. The count-down doesn't hint of any major victory at all as far as I can tell. At least PG2 had separate count-downs for all types of victories.

[laiocfar]

Time... normally if you finish the scenario in the last 5 turns you get a marginal victory(it depends on the scenario). Inside the campaing mode, its crucial since it determines next battle. Example: for get the early UK scenario, you need to have decisive victories in Norway, Low countries and France(i am not sure on what happens if you fail to get Norway scenario. BTW Norway only is possible with decisive victories on Poland). Also in any of UK scenarios: a decisive victory lets you to invade usa; a marginal one ends west front(a combined counter-attack from all west allied forces during winter kicks germans out of the isle); a defeat actives the defensive west campaign. If you were fighting the early uk battle, you will have to fight the russians and later you are given a second chance.

[Japo]

This game is just great, it's the best and most serious military strategy wargame I've ever seen. I achieved a major victory in Norway, capturing 20 flags, without any troop losses! :brain: Well I lost plenty of ships but they were auxiliary so I don't care. Here's the casualties report for the battle:

<div align="center"></div>

This game actually encourages you to play a battle over again if you didn't get a major victory, that way you learn most, and it doesn't get repetitive. I also achieved major victories in both polish battles. In the first battle I purchased two artillery batteries, and one cheap Panzer I tank. The Panzer I are nearly worthless but good enough to take care of those annoying polish cavalrymen out in the open, and besides the sooner you purchase and start to use a unit, the sooner it'll start to gain experience which it will keep when upgraded. The first battle is really easy if you've read the game manual, and you can easily take all cities except Ozorkow and Brzeziny to maximize your prestige.

For the second battle I upgraded my two Panzer I and my one Panzer II to Panzer 3, and I also upgraded my best motorized infantry to engineers. Engineers are kickass assault troops, they don't even need artillery support, not only they've got better attack and defence, also rugged defence can't be put up against them, and they've got higer initiative --in this game shooting first is a matter of life or death. Pioneers are just like that but engineers can in addition build temporary bridges. Precisely in this battle for Warzaw the best option is crossing the Vistula west of Modlin with a small detachment to kill the artillery deployed just NW of Modlin and place an infantry unit in its place so that the Poles can't recruit from that city. If you attack Modlin from the SE after Warzaw, you'll lose much more time and they'll have crucial artillery support.

The key to capturing Siedice in time for a major victory was sending one tank and one motorized infantry as soon as possible. In this battle the Poles have a crappy fighter and you must purchase air units, I bought two fighters and two bombers. The bombers are the key to take with small detachments distant cities where the artillery can't make it in time, such as Siedice, or Namsos in the following scenario.

Finally for Norway I upgraded my four tanks to Panzer IV and my three artillery batteries. I also bought two more fighters and two more bombers. This battle is a pain in the behind for air superiority, and sea superiority is something the enemy will have, but after some very hard days around Trondheim I finally got air superiority once I sent the fighters north. My strategy was the following. My tanks started to operate independent of my main assault groups, there isn't much useful support they can lend in the beginning anyway. Two of them were deployed in the Norwegian Sea off the shores of Alesund and Molde, and the other two in the Skagerrak (straits between Norway and Denmark) off Kristiansand and Arendal. They can capture that undefended cities during the first turns, and then move on to take other cities like Bergen, Andalsnes and Kongsberg --some air or sea support should be lent since those cities are defended.

There were two main assault groups: one for Oslo and one for Trondheim. I deployed one fighter and one bomber in Stavanger, the same for Trondheim. The only land troops I used to take Stavanger was one artillery that afterwards raced to join the Oslo group, and the two auxiliary paratrooper units. The two main groups along with the tanks were to converge on Lillehammer once their objectives were accomplished, and all the cities west of the Lagen river can be taken easily.

Your naval units in the Norwegian Sea must defeat the enemy ships over there and then sacrifice themlselves --you don't lose anything since they're auxiliary-- putting up a fight against the ones coming from the east. You could retreat them westwards so they could join the rest of your ships to get better chances but that would take forever and if you don't let the enemy ships massacre them, they'll massacre your troops at Trondheim instead and you just can't let that happen. Actually once I took Trondheim and my northern flotilla was no more, the enemy fleet started to pound my units near the coast. I was forced to purchase the cheapest auxiliary troops available (anti-tank) and place them in Trondheim so they pounded it instead as my core units headed south towards Lillehammer. For some stupid reason most of your fleet is where you don't need it and it's too far from the critical area off Trondheim. Also air units are ineffective against ships, contrarily to what I thought they should be, so my plans of gaining sea superiority through air superiority didn't work.

Were it not for this problem you could consider performing an amphibious assault agaisnt the final objective in Namsos, but because of this your sea transports would be blasted by the enemy fleet. So the best option is to embark the paratroopers as soon as they've taken Stavanger and send them against Namsos with proper fighter escort. You need air support to take the city but there's an air defence unit precisely in Namsos. The best option is to disregard casualties now that you're near the end, even if your bombers are damaged it's very important that they lower the garrison infantry's entrenchment level and if possible deal some damage.

And with that, you'll have a major victory in Norway.