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maniacalmonkey -> (10/25/2002 6:01:10 AM)
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Ah! As a fellow newbie I will be glad to offer you a force that has worked very well for me. I'm just starting to get the hang of "Command-Control" now and I would advise you to get well acquainted with the game before you tackle this feature, or you will get very frustrated and say things to people you will later regret. Spent time in the tutorials yet figuring out artillery? I had a mighty hard time plotting artillery until I found this forum :D
Anyway, here goes, US WWII campaign in North Africa:
I usually go for one FO to go with the HQ unit, followed by about six heavy (81mm or 4.2") mortars. If you use limited ammo, buy an ammo truck section as well. Also, three or four sections of AT guns, each with the movers to carry them. I believe 57mm's will fit in jeeps (!) and 3" AT's can be moved with Dodge light trucks. Buy 57's or 37's now, upgrade to 3" later, save your points: Enemy tanks aren't very tough at this stage anyway.
Then, two regular infantry companies. You may want to strip them of their support platoons (Infantry AT and mortars), and add a fourth rifle platoon instead. This WILL NOT work if you have command-control switched on: The platoon will not connect to the company HQ for orders and morale purposes.
When you have these two companies, assemble two tank units: Purchase a platoon of battle tanks (M4 Shermans will do), a section of TD's, and a section of light tanks. You'll probably want to upgrade the light tanks to flame tanks later on - believe me, you'll love them :D The TD's should be upgraded to M10 Wolverines ASAP. As said, create two of these units.
Now, purchase two mechanized units: ie. mounted in half tracks. I commonly use ranger platoons for this, one ranger platoon and an infantry AT platoon will fit nicely into a platoon of five half tracks. Again, you'll want two of these units. If rangers aren't available yet (I seem to remember that), buy two Pioneer platoons instead. Either way you want units that are well-equipped to deal with tanks and fortifications.
The points you have left; Spend on jeep-mounted recon units, and fun stuff you want to experiment with. Cavalry can be cool, or maybe rather an MMG platoon to back up your infantry, or whatever else takes your fancy.
When you go to battle, use your support allowance to buy a bunch of on-board artillery sections. 75mm Howitzers are fine, six of them are sweet. Depending on the mission at hand (make sure you check the "map" and "mission" buttons in the lower left of the screen when buying support units), I will buy either another infantry company (in defensive scenarios) or trucks and helf-track to mount my core companies in. If points allow, a few more tanks can come in handy, and maybe specialized units like engineers and engineer tanks - these are useful when clearing the beach you land on of mines. Sometimes, if there is a good DZ at hand, I will buy a few platoons or a whole company of Airborne and the Dakota's to carry them, and drop them behind enemy lines to wreak havoc.
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In battle, this force is very easy to use. Your infantry companies are the core of your battalion: They do the thick fighting, they pin the enemy down, they take the punishment, and they hold the line. The mortars support their firefights. Use your recon elements to see where the enemy is at, and to spot for your large guns. Once you have the enemy pinned, you can use your armoured units to hit them hard and fast, send them running, and plug the gap with your own infantry. The mechanized units act as reserve, so keep them near roads slightly behind your companies; They can either fortify a part of the line that seems to buckle, or race in behind the armor when they strike. The force allows you to set up a relatively easy symmetrical plan, or to focus your strike on one flank for a very powerful blow. Some things to look out for:
- In a defensive scenario, spend plenty of time placing your MG's and AT guns with good fields of fire. Flank shots and narrow fields of fire (FOF works both ways, minimze the risk of getting them caught in cross-fire) are good for you. Pre-plot your artillery a few hexes out from your line in areas where you expect the enemy to be if things go bad; This is called final defensive fire, and needs to be available FAST when the excrements hit the fast-spinning air mover.
- On offense, use the armor and mechanized platoons as spearhead, run the infantry behind them in trucks. Trucks go "boom" easy. They shouldn't get within the enemy field of fire if at all possible: Let the guys walk the last bit (they are "leg units" for a reason!) Use plenty of artillery fire to soften the enemy up, then mop up the remains.
- In all cases, recon units are invaluable to see where the enemy is. THAT IS ALL. Don't get them into firefights, they will die.
- Always be aware of the victory hexes. It has happened so often that I get carried away mowing down Italian infantry and forget to take the objective...
That's it. I hope this force works as well for you as it did for me. It does work better in defense than in offense, and if you are new you may want to reload the end of a battle sometimes to spawn a defensive battle next iso. an attack, not just because of the force, but because it is generally easier to defend and it teaches you a lot about set up, fields of fire, etc. in a "friendly" environment ;) Just ask if you want to know more!
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