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springer -> RE: German 6th Army Campaign (1/4/2010 6:01:44 AM)
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I just finished the '42 campaign.
Tom had mentioned that he designed the game to feel like Panzer General, which I enjoyed immensely. I think this goal was achieved: I think these scenarios match the best Panzer General has to offer and takes advantage of the more nuanced AT engine to add more dimension and complexities.
The '42 campaign is quite different from the previous '40 and '41 scenarios.
By the end of the '42 refit I had amassed enough production point to create a well-organized, well-balanced and somewhat modernized 6th Army that had excellent experience. All this changes once the campaign gets underway. The second Kharkov scenario does a great job of balancing offense and defense. I think, however that even a quick, clean victory in the second Kharkov scenario will leave the army chewed up.
The next scenario, case Blue is a kind of consolation. It feels kind of like a the blitzkrieg scenarios from '41, but the schwerpunkt was never quite as decisive. As I was playing it, I felt myself wishing I could pull off a blitz like in '41. Because of the need to press forward, I could never organize my force quite the way I wanted it and the drive was broad. Also, pocketed units needed effort to mop up (concentric attacks with strong units were often needed to keep down infantry casualties). I managed to achieve the victory conditions on the first try, but my forces could have used a refit. My support weapons were in great shape, but the infantry was chewed up. To create enough troops to cover my guns, I had to strip infantry from the "support units". (In addition I also covered the manpower shortage by implementing one non-historical strategy: I quickly integrated highly experienced German support elements into axis minor units). By the way, I think the axis minors were well-done too.
And both Stalingrad scenarios feel truly desperate (one is desperate offensively as my forces feel exhausted as they fall across the "finish line"; the other is desperate defensively as my shattered troops with great support weapons and almost no infantry try to hang on to an airfield so that one soldier from each division can fly out to reconstitute a new sixth army).
The penultimate scenario, the drive to Stalingrad was challenging as well. At first glance at the opposition, I didn't think I'd make it. For me, the design of the scenario removed any thoughts of creating a schwerpunkt. Rather, I just approached Stalingrad from three directions and captured the city's west bank.
The last scenario was fun. For me, I could see that it was totally hopeless. I'm looking forward to finding out who can actually pull off extricating the Sixth Army from it's grave yard.
To summarize my experience: The '40 and '41 campaigns have a somewhat similar feel. The '40 campaign feels like a series of scenarios that trained me in Blitzkrieg tactics. '41 feels like the application of that training with the Blitzkrieg strategies being used against a massive, well-armed if not well-prepared enemy. The '42 scenario illustrates the limits of these lessons. Lots of fun and highly recommended!
Next, I need to take a look at Lunaticus's space mod for random maps!
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