Special Units in Longest Day

Matrix Games Forums

Forums Register Login Photo Gallery Member List Search Calendars FAQ

My Profile Inbox Address Book My Subscription My Forums Log Out

Special Units in Longest Day

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> Norm Koger's The Operational Art Of War III >> The War Room >> Special Units in Longest Day

Page: [1]

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

Special Units in Longest Day - 9/29/2009 10:06:06 PM

PhillipH

Posts: 6
Joined: 9/26/2009
Status: offline

Hi,

I like playing the Longest Day - Airborne Variant agains the German PO and I have a question about the proper employment of the British division level specialist units. Specifically the Anti Tank and Machine Gun batallions. I recognise from history books that they tended to be broken up and deployed intermingled with infantry batallions to form a loose kind of battlegroup (although I don't think the unit actually operated as battlegroups in the German or modern sense - they were just occupying the same ground). Is this how they should be employed in TOAW ? In which case is it OK to split down these units and divide them over the front line infantry batallions, accepting the lower unit capabilities that splitting penalises with ?

Is there another, better, way of using these specialised units ?

Secondly, once my airborne have landed and either held their ground or been ground to dust, what should I do with them ? They are very slow moving and don't have a great deal of offensive capability and once (if ?) the seaborne units catch up with the airborne bridgehead, I'm at a loss with what is the best task to employ them with. Can/should I ship them back to the UK for a second drop ?

Lastly an observation on this scenario, (I got from Rugged Defence) - it might be a quirk of the PO but I've found rather than dropping en-masse, I get better results from outflanking tactical drops of individual airborne brigades just behind the German battle line. En-masse they are vulnerable for many turns, but dropped tactically they can outflank and force some nasty behaviour from Elmer, cutting supply etc. Is this just "gamey" or is it a valid tactic ? In reality was the strategic dropping of airborne a good use of their capability or the last gasp of an invalid vertical envelopment concept (and possibly alert the defenders to the upcoming attacks into the bargin ?)

PhillipH

Post #: 1

RE: Special Units in Longest Day - 8/18/2010 12:12:27 AM

Catch21

Posts: 511
Joined: 4/13/2006
From: Dublin
Status: offline

I'm not sure whether you mean Normandy 1944 from the Classics folder, but mixed units in a hex are a good idea IME, and breaking down units into 3 far outweighs any disadvantage that the system supposedly penalizes- which I've found minimal if any at all.

A broken down German 88mm unit with 3 guns or an StGIII or even Semovente 90/53 x3 supported by infantry can work wonders for a defense in a town.

Airborne? I've found broken down they can create disproportionate havoc with a defense, placed carefully. More to reduce reaction time to an assault than anything else, by blocking roads and seizing bridges to gain supply for you and reduce supply for them. Really paratroopers I consider as 'Brandenburgers'- if they make it great, if not, well it was a long shot to begin with, which is why I usually break them up.

Afterwards holding backwater areas with little combat and no movement to regain supply/readiness while they recover at which point they become a useful reserve on the line (usually)- not many scenarios I know where you get or would want a chance at another jump.

To your last point- gamey. If you ever play in a tournament you are going to find folks- like myself now though not initially though later I had my back against the wall- who will use any means to survive. I think I played an interesting game against Elmer in 2 Weeks in Normandy 1944 as the Germans which shows some of this- see http://forums.gamesquad.com/showthread.php?43154-General-Staff-vs.-Elmer-%282WiN-1944%29/page2 for an example of using paras post T1- though here they are already landed. The efforts of tournament players eventually- I hope- will iron out these issues, since they certainly exploit them and show them to the designers.

There's a Rimini 1944 AAR post around there showing a reasonably successful German defense using mixed stack units despite my best efforts to get them all slaughtered as well. You could do better loading the files and trying out your own ideas.

< Message edited by General Staff -- 8/18/2010 12:15:02 AM >

_____________________________

Tactics are based on Weapons... Strategy on Movement... and Movement on Supply.
(J. F. C. Fuller 1878-1966)

(in reply to PhillipH)

Post #: 2

Page: [1]

All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> Norm Koger's The Operational Art Of War III >> The War Room >> Special Units in Longest Day

Page: [1]