RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (Full Version)

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James Ward -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/19/2014 9:03:12 PM)

Kursk is definitely a slow but steady scenario. There is more time than you think. Don't spread your forces out to much or try to advance on to wide of a front. Only go for the main VP's, ignore all the others. In the south I found that massing on the east edge of the map and curling down to the west gave me the best chance. If you have slots a bridge engineer can help get across the river once you are also advancing from the NW. In the North stay concentrated until you breach the line then fan out and create two battle groups to go for the VP hexes. Stay concentrated and take out as many of the big tanks as you can as quickly as possible.

You should win the air war pretty easy if you have good fighters. Then use a Strat bomber to deplete ammo any artillery you can and suppress where you need to take. This is one scenario where you want a decent amount of artillery. Towed is best as it has more shots but SP works too. If you managed to get a range hero then try to place that unit to cover as many spots as possible even if it mean giving up a turn of fire to move it to the best location. Again, do not rush this scenario. You have time and you don't have to conquer the map, just go for the VP's.

Is Syracuse the invasion of Sicily? If so then this is one where you need air power. You need to at least gain an advantage if you can't win out right air ownership. A few Strats here can go a long way too. Just remember to try and escort them, move them first and then try to position fighter next to them after the fighter (hopefully) get an attack in on a weakend allied plane before they move. Strats will do a number on the allied ships and any LC venturing around the island. A slow retreat works best, understanding that every Italian will die so try to have them take something with them. Give up the west side but the longer any Italians live the more allied troops will go there so get somewhere and wait. The allies will find you. Defend until their fate is sealed them go out in a blaze of glory.

Hold your Germans ground units out of the fight as long as possible and try to create some bottlenecks where you can rotate a new unit in but really clog up the allied advance. You may even want to purchase a few AA units even though they will probably die in the scenario. They are pretty cheap and can give that little extra help in the air war. There isn't a lot of maneuver room or good terrain for armor so the Strats can help out with the Allied infantry if there are no naval units to hit. Wear them down. Hit the armor in terrain. Wear them down. The goal is to just outlast the allies not defeat them. It is not unusual to lose core units in this one. Sometimes it happens.



joe6778 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/19/2014 9:28:58 PM)

In the Kursk scenario, I'm able to take the NW objective pretty easily, but then I get attacked by a very large force from the NE of my position.
If I start with units east across the river, I'm attacked by a large force from the north. I have even setup and stayed west of the river and used a bridge engineer to cross parallel to the air field midmap, but my units crossing are overwhelmed by yet another large force before they can establish a bridgehead. When my main force reached the center of the map, I saw that the remaining objectives were defended by heavy entrenchments and many units. I still needed to take three or four objectives. So I quit out of frustration.

The West scenario I mean may not be called Syracuse. It's the one where I have to evacuate 18 units to the mainland from Sicily. I can't use too many air units because they count toward my force limit and I don't have many ground units over 18. I did come within three or four evacuated units of winning after three tries.



James Ward -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/19/2014 10:30:42 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: joe6778

In the Kursk scenario, I'm able to take the NW objective pretty easily, but then I get attacked by a very large force from the NE of my position.
If I start with units east across the river, I'm attacked by a large force from the north. I have even setup and stayed west of the river and used a bridge engineer to cross parallel to the air field midmap, but my units crossing are overwhelmed by yet another large force before they can establish a bridgehead. When my main force reached the center of the map, I saw that the remaining objectives were defended by heavy entrenchments and many units. I still needed to take three or four objectives. So I quit out of frustration.

The West scenario I mean may not be called Syracuse. It's the one where I have to evacuate 18 units to the mainland from Sicily. I can't use too many air units because they count toward my force limit and I don't have many ground units over 18. I did come within three or four evacuated units of winning after three tries.


IIRC in Kursk there are big concentrations of forces near the main VPs. You are going to hit the big groups no matter where to go but if you advance steadily you will be able to beat them each pretty fast. You should gain air control pretty quick. If you have decent Tac this is a good scenario to use them in. Strats can also be put to good use. This is also a good scenario to go Eng heavy if you have them.

In the North I try to breach a 5-6 hex opening with Art, Eng and Inf including the bridge then move armor through to form a perimeter. I don't usually attack with the armor up there on the first turn unless it is to kill a unit or I find a good target of opportunity. The idea is to position forces to gain maneuver room then next turn. The next few turns are spent breaking open the front and getting ready to split my forces and eliminating every armor I can in the center of the map. I try to stay concentrated in the center until it is pretty cleared out.

The Russians won't usually move Inf out of their trenches so you can ignore them, just don't give them a target of opportunity, like Art or they will come out. Just punch a hole in the line and move through, don't try to kill all the Inf in the trenches.

In the South I go through the trench line and woods then capture the bridge. It takes a few turns. Then take the city and air field and I split my forces, one N'ish and the other W'ish. If I am very successful with the group going N or the North front does well I will sometimes bring units back S through the start area and try to get some units across the river near the VP and not slog through the entrenchments. The VP in the SW near the river is almost always the last one I get and it's always near the last turn.

It helps if you have a few Panthers for this one. They move fast, have a good number of shots and can take out any of the Russian tanks. Elephants are tempting but slow and only have a few shots but if you have AT in your core you may want to upgrade a few. I have ever only had 1-2 of them in my core.



Zovs -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/20/2014 5:23:57 PM)

I played the original PG games way back in the old DOS days, don't know if that is an edge or not. But Over the last few years I purchased PC, all the DLC's, AK and the new AG and have it all running with the latest updates.

Since I only 'tinker' with it, I play on Col., but I dont' have the problems you describe. My strategies are basically to use my fighters to take out the AI's fighters first, and then go after his FB. I use my artillery to soften up and remove his fort levels and then I use engineers if I have them (or purchase at least one) and infantry backed by artillery to take out enemy strong points. You have to use tanks to take out artillery and sometimes his AAA, but Infantry does better on taking out his AAA. You have to have that support going (art, infy, tanks, air) sometimes in or near the same hexes to have support. Then you can take out positions and move on, all at the same time as moving as quickly as possible.



joe6778 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/20/2014 6:44:22 PM)

I, too, have been playing PzG and PzC for many years.

I don't know what you mean that you're not having the same "problems that I describe". What I'm saying is that tactics can only go so far in this game when you go up against forces two or three times as large as yours.

I play on Colonel mostly, and I'm overwhelmed by enemy units starting in '43. I have no way to upload the battlefield to describe what I mean, but after three tries on Kursk, I'm getting decimated again- I lost three core units including a SE unit, and haven't even taken an objective yet. I surrendered to see what enemy forces were left, and the number of units I'm up against is laughable.

I've been trying to follow the advice I've received here and other sites, but I'm slowly losing interest in continuing the DLC Grand Campaign. It's too frustrating and I obviously suck at it.

I like a challenging game otherwise I can quickly lose interest and become bored. But I also hate the feeling that it's a lost cause and a waste of my time.

I would rather the scenarios represented more evenly matched battles instead of well known German debacles like Kursk and Stalingrad, because even if you achieve a DV, the course of the war for Germany isn't affected.



James Ward -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/20/2014 7:42:21 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: joe6778

I, too, have been playing PzG and PzC for many years.

I don't know what you mean that you're not having the same "problems that I describe". What I'm saying is that tactics can only go so far in this game when you go up against forces two or three times as large as yours.

I play on Colonel mostly, and I'm overwhelmed by enemy units starting in '43. I have no way to upload the battlefield to describe what I mean, but after three tries on Kursk, I'm getting decimated again- I lost three core units including a SE unit, and haven't even taken an objective yet. I surrendered to see what enemy forces were left, and the number of units I'm up against is laughable.

I've been trying to follow the advice I've received here and other sites, but I'm slowly losing interest in continuing the DLC Grand Campaign. It's too frustrating and I obviously suck at it.

I like a challenging game otherwise I can quickly lose interest and become bored. But I also hate the feeling that it's a lost cause and a waste of my time.

I would rather the scenarios represented more evenly matched battles instead of well known German debacles like Kursk and Stalingrad, because even if you achieve a DV, the course of the war for Germany isn't affected.


The DLC's are much different than the standard campaign so some of the techniques that work in the standard campaign do work quite as well with the DLC campaigns. The basic principals hold but you usually have a larger core and the enemy has WAY more units than the standard campaign.

I have only played the East Front DLC's to completion on Colonel and General but could not make it through at any higher level. While I got through them it was much harder and there were some battles that I am not sure I would have won if I had immediately played them over, I had good fortune in them.

The DLC's either can be won on the higher levels or there are a LOT of BS'ers, which I find unlikely. I am not one of them but I do believe it is possible so don't give up.



James Ward -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/20/2014 7:43:28 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: joe6778

I, too, have been playing PzG and PzC for many years.

I don't know what you mean that you're not having the same "problems that I describe". What I'm saying is that tactics can only go so far in this game when you go up against forces two or three times as large as yours.

I play on Colonel mostly, and I'm overwhelmed by enemy units starting in '43. I have no way to upload the battlefield to describe what I mean, but after three tries on Kursk, I'm getting decimated again- I lost three core units including a SE unit, and haven't even taken an objective yet. I surrendered to see what enemy forces were left, and the number of units I'm up against is laughable.

I've been trying to follow the advice I've received here and other sites, but I'm slowly losing interest in continuing the DLC Grand Campaign. It's too frustrating and I obviously suck at it.

I like a challenging game otherwise I can quickly lose interest and become bored. But I also hate the feeling that it's a lost cause and a waste of my time.

I would rather the scenarios represented more evenly matched battles instead of well known German debacles like Kursk and Stalingrad, because even if you achieve a DV, the course of the war for Germany isn't affected.


Have you checked the forums over at Slitherine for tips? It is a lot more active than the Matrix forums for Panzer Corp with lots of advice and AAR's.



rodney727 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/20/2014 11:55:44 PM)

Now you know how the Germans felt. They never Ever held the advantage that the Russians had in Ww2. It was never an even match. This is why I love this game. It's using your forces better than the AI, it can be done. Even in the original PG it took me several tries to beat at the highest levels but I did it. Become the general and lead your units and don't let your units lead you.
quote:

ORIGINAL: joe6778

I, too, have been playing PzG and PzC for many years.

I don't know what you mean that you're not having the same "problems that I describe". What I'm saying is that tactics can only go so far in this game when you go up against forces two or three times as large as yours.

I play on Colonel mostly, and I'm overwhelmed by enemy units starting in '43. I have no way to upload the battlefield to describe what I mean, but after three tries on Kursk, I'm getting decimated again- I lost three core units including a SE unit, and haven't even taken an objective yet. I surrendered to see what enemy forces were left, and the number of units I'm up against is laughable.

I've been trying to follow the advice I've received here and other sites, but I'm slowly losing interest in continuing the DLC Grand Campaign. It's too frustrating and I obviously suck at it.

I like a challenging game otherwise I can quickly lose interest and become bored. But I also hate the feeling that it's a lost cause and a waste of my time.

I would rather the scenarios represented more evenly matched battles instead of well known German debacles like Kursk and Stalingrad, because even if you achieve a DV, the course of the war for Germany isn't affected.




joe6778 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/21/2014 12:41:47 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: James Ward


quote:

ORIGINAL: joe6778

I, too, have been playing PzG and PzC for many years.

I don't know what you mean that you're not having the same "problems that I describe". What I'm saying is that tactics can only go so far in this game when you go up against forces two or three times as large as yours.

I play on Colonel mostly, and I'm overwhelmed by enemy units starting in '43. I have no way to upload the battlefield to describe what I mean, but after three tries on Kursk, I'm getting decimated again- I lost three core units including a SE unit, and haven't even taken an objective yet. I surrendered to see what enemy forces were left, and the number of units I'm up against is laughable.

I've been trying to follow the advice I've received here and other sites, but I'm slowly losing interest in continuing the DLC Grand Campaign. It's too frustrating and I obviously suck at it.

I like a challenging game otherwise I can quickly lose interest and become bored. But I also hate the feeling that it's a lost cause and a waste of my time.

I would rather the scenarios represented more evenly matched battles instead of well known German debacles like Kursk and Stalingrad, because even if you achieve a DV, the course of the war for Germany isn't affected.


The DLC's are much different than the standard campaign so some of the techniques that work in the standard campaign do work quite as well with the DLC campaigns. The basic principals hold but you usually have a larger core and the enemy has WAY more units than the standard campaign.

I have only played the East Front DLC's to completion on Colonel and General but could not make it through at any higher level. While I got through them it was much harder and there were some battles that I am not sure I would have won if I had immediately played them over, I had good fortune in them.

The DLC's either can be won on the higher levels or there are a LOT of BS'ers, which I find unlikely. I am not one of them but I do believe it is possible so don't give up.



I've beaten vanilla PzC a couple of times on Colonel. I thought the original game was too short. My complaint is with DLC Grand Campaign after '42.

Obviously, the Grand Campaign follows history pretty well- the Germans lost the war. But I don't want to be thrown into situations that are frustrating or hopeless- what's the fun in that? If there's a legitimate way to win, I would like to pursue it.

It's just that it's eluding me so far, and I can't believe it's possible to win on higher levels; that's the jist of this thread. I'll have to check out the AARs to see how it's done.

Otherwise I may have to play on a lower difficulty, which feels like cheating.



joe6778 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/21/2014 5:17:35 AM)

I tried Kursk again. I mainly worked my way up the eastern river and took the two objectives: the NE city east of the river and the city west of there. Then I swung around to the west to take the airfield objective, but by then I only had a couple of turns left.

I wish I had a tally of the planes I shot down, but they still kept coming. There must have been a total of 30 enemy planes altogether.

Anyway, it ended up as a loss.

I hate this @#$%^& Campaign. [:@]



James Ward -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/21/2014 11:59:37 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: joe6778



I've beaten vanilla PzC a couple of times on Colonel. I thought the original game was too short. My complaint is with DLC Grand Campaign after '42.

Obviously, the Grand Campaign follows history pretty well- the Germans lost the war. But I don't want to be thrown into situations that are frustrating or hopeless- what's the fun in that? If there's a legitimate way to win, I would like to pursue it.

It's just that it's eluding me so far, and I can't believe it's possible to win on higher levels; that's the jist of this thread. I'll have to check out the AARs to see how it's done.

Otherwise I may have to play on a lower difficulty, which feels like cheating.



I know the first time I did the East Front DLC's I had a rude awakening in late 42-early 43. I didn't have nearly enough experienced infantry and lost a lot of units in the Stalingrad fighting. They do play different.

In the base game there are some unit types I generally ignore, AT and AA mostly. In the DLC's the mobile AA came in real handy because of what you pointed out, the large number of enemy planes that made it harder to own the air. I even found use for AT units which I almost never purchased in the base game. The good thing is you generally can have a larger core in the DLC's so it was more a matter of integrating the units I didn't use much into my force and figuring out how to best use them rather than totally re-thinking things.

If you haven't already checked out the Slitherine forums you should, there are plenty of people who can give you more specific hints and there are a lot of good AAR. They helped me a lot when I first got the game and I still pick up new things there.



James Ward -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/21/2014 12:02:13 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: joe6778
It's just that it's eluding me so far, and I can't believe it's possible to win on higher levels; that's the jist of this thread. I'll have to check out the AARs to see how it's done.

Otherwise I may have to play on a lower difficulty, which feels like cheating.



There is nothing wrong with playing the game on the default level, that is the one that you should play on. If a game is not challenging on the recommended level then I think it's poorly designed.



joe6778 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/21/2014 3:53:06 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: James Ward


quote:

ORIGINAL: joe6778



I've beaten vanilla PzC a couple of times on Colonel. I thought the original game was too short. My complaint is with DLC Grand Campaign after '42.

Obviously, the Grand Campaign follows history pretty well- the Germans lost the war. But I don't want to be thrown into situations that are frustrating or hopeless- what's the fun in that? If there's a legitimate way to win, I would like to pursue it.

It's just that it's eluding me so far, and I can't believe it's possible to win on higher levels; that's the jist of this thread. I'll have to check out the AARs to see how it's done.

Otherwise I may have to play on a lower difficulty, which feels like cheating.



I know the first time I did the East Front DLC's I had a rude awakening in late 42-early 43. I didn't have nearly enough experienced infantry and lost a lot of units in the Stalingrad fighting. They do play different.

In the base game there are some unit types I generally ignore, AT and AA mostly. In the DLC's the mobile AA came in real handy because of what you pointed out, the large number of enemy planes that made it harder to own the air. I even found use for AT units which I almost never purchased in the base game. The good thing is you generally can have a larger core in the DLC's so it was more a matter of integrating the units I didn't use much into my force and figuring out how to best use them rather than totally re-thinking things.

If you haven't already checked out the Slitherine forums you should, there are plenty of people who can give you more specific hints and there are a lot of good AAR. They helped me a lot when I first got the game and I still pick up new things there.



In the Kursk Grand Campaign scenario, you get around four auxiliary mobile AA units. They were still not enough to slow the Russian air onslaught.

What I like about the game is choosing what units to buy with your prestige. When I play on lower difficulties, when I reach the '42 and '43 campaigns, I'm able to purchase a bunch of Panthers and Tigers and I had enough success to be able to advance to East '44.

Playing Colonel limits my prestige so I'm still using some PzIIIMs/PzIIINs and PzIVHs against the onslaught of Russian tanks.

The larger core is still no match for all the enemy units you're up against from '42 onwards.



joe6778 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/21/2014 3:54:42 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: James Ward


quote:

ORIGINAL: joe6778
It's just that it's eluding me so far, and I can't believe it's possible to win on higher levels; that's the jist of this thread. I'll have to check out the AARs to see how it's done.

Otherwise I may have to play on a lower difficulty, which feels like cheating.



There is nothing wrong with playing the game on the default level, that is the one that you should play on. If a game is not challenging on the recommended level then I think it's poorly designed.


Default is Colonel. I'm getting my clock cleaned in '42/'43 West on Lieutenant and '43 East on Colonel.



joe6778 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/21/2014 6:24:27 PM)

I restarted East '43 at Lieutenant difficulty resulting in a loss.
I found two of the three units I needed to escort to the southern area and I was adjacent to two objective cities at the end. I would have never been able to capture the Kharkov hexes.
The Russians had 60 units on the map at the end compared to my 30, and that was after I had destroyed their air units and a bunch of ground units.
Like I said, it would be suicide to launch an attack at under 3:1 or 2:1 odds; this scenario was more like 1:4 odds for the Germans.[:@]



rodney727 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/21/2014 10:10:00 PM)

Joe tell me your core force I want to know every unit you have.



joe6778 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/22/2014 6:07:39 PM)

At the start of Grand Campaign East '43 this is my core before upgrades:
12306 prestige

3 Ju88
1 Bf110F
2 Ju87D
3 FW190A
3 Me109G
1 SU122
1 Nblwf 42
4 21 cm Mrs 18
2 STuG 111F/8
1 Sd Kfz 222
1 SE Pz IIIL
2 M4A2
2 T34/41
3 Pz IVG
2 Pz IIIN
2 Pz IIIL
1 SE Gebirgjager
1 Bruckenpioneer
1 SE Grenadier
3 Pioneers
1 Gebirgjager
1 Fallschirmjager
1 Grenadier



James Ward -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/22/2014 7:29:55 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: joe6778

At the start of Grand Campaign East '43 this is my core before upgrades:
12306 prestige

3 Ju88
1 Bf110F
2 Ju87D
3 FW190A
3 Me109G
1 SU122
1 Nblwf 42
4 21 cm Mrs 18
2 STuG 111F/8
1 Sd Kfz 222
1 SE Pz IIIL
2 M4A2
2 T34/41
3 Pz IVG
2 Pz IIIN
2 Pz IIIL
1 SE Gebirgjager
1 Bruckenpioneer
1 SE Grenadier
3 Pioneers
1 Gebirgjager
1 Fallschirmjager
1 Grenadier


That looks pretty balanced, maybe a little light on infantry but after Stalingrad you don't need a ton. You have 30 ground units so maybe another Gren and another tank would be all I'd add. If you want to enlarge your core then I'd go for a few more fighters or even 88's.

If you can get the PZ III's upgraded to Panthers (or Tigers if you like them) you should be in good shape until the KT becomes available. PZ IV's can last into 44.

You may want to upgrade your Strats to something better for taking the shots from the stronger tanks.

I also don't think you will have a lot of use for the Recon and the Bridge Eng after Kursk so you may want to eventually swap them out for something more useful in the late war.



joe6778 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/22/2014 8:13:14 PM)

I actually had 2 Ju88s, not 3.

I tried Kharkov 43 again on Lieutenant difficulty and lost again. I bought a couple of Tigers, another FW190, and upgraded my PzIIILs to PzIIIMs, my STuGs to STuG IIIGs, Ju87s to Ju87Rs, my INF to INF 43 units, and my ME110F to ME110G. I still couldn't capture enough objectives for a MV.



James Ward -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/22/2014 8:24:53 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: joe6778

I actually had 2 Ju88s, not 3.

I tried Kharkov 43 again on Lieutenant difficulty and lost again. I bought a couple of Tigers, another FW190, and upgraded my PzIIILs to PzIIIMs, my STuGs to STuG IIIGs, Ju87s to Ju87Rs, my INF to INF 43 units, and my ME110F to ME110G. I still couldn't capture enough objectives for a MV.


Dang. I will try to fire the 43 DLC up again and get to Kharkov as I don't recall it exactly. I'm pretty sure my force wasn't a whole lot different than yours but I could be mistaken.



James Ward -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/22/2014 9:07:10 PM)

Here is what I start with in 43:
1 INF
4 GREN, 2 are SE
4 ENG
1 PARA
7 IVG, 3 are SE
3 IIIM
3 KV1
2 SHERMAN
2 STUG IIIF/8
4 21cm ART
1 STURM
1 WULFRAM
1 STU 42
1 SU 122
2 88s
5 FW 190A
2 87D
2 110G
2 DO177A

Units are mostly 3-4 stars. All are overstrength except the captured units, the 88s and the STUGs, as I don't intend to use them this scenario. Only the GREN are 43 INF.

I am staring with only ~1300 Prestige so I may disband some units as I have 48 but can only deploy 38.

You need 7 objectives for an MV and start with 2. I intend to just go straight North with my main thrust and try to get the 5 additional objectives quick then decide if a DV is worth it Prestige wise. I'll let you know how it works out.



James Ward -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/23/2014 5:33:56 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: James Ward


quote:

ORIGINAL: joe6778

I actually had 2 Ju88s, not 3.

I tried Kharkov 43 again on Lieutenant difficulty and lost again. I bought a couple of Tigers, another FW190, and upgraded my PzIIILs to PzIIIMs, my STuGs to STuG IIIGs, Ju87s to Ju87Rs, my INF to INF 43 units, and my ME110F to ME110G. I still couldn't capture enough objectives for a MV.


Dang. I will try to fire the 43 DLC up again and get to Kharkov as I don't recall it exactly. I'm pretty sure my force wasn't a whole lot different than yours but I could be mistaken.


I ended up with a DV. Here is how I approached it.

I never crossed the river to the east. I just set up a defensive line behnd the river with my KV's and Stug's so that every river hex was next to one of my units except the southern ones near the woods. I deployed 2 towed guns and 2 infantry units with the force and got them into woods.

My main attack was straight north. I used my Stukas and 110's to weaken the russian tanks then destroyed them piecemeal. As I advanced north I peeled off units to guard the river. I captured the last objective on turn 19.

I took losses but did not lose any units. The Russia air isn't much in this scenario so I kiiled it as it came on and had a free run with my TAC and Strat. Be aware there is a LOT of AA for the Russians, especially east of the river so don't fly there if you don't have to. .

Don't go over the river, there is no need to. Kill the bridge engineers and then wait until the Russian gets on the river hexes to counter attack them. They will not last long.

There will also be a minor counter attack from the west but you can handle that with an infantry and artillery unit and air or send a tank back to help clean up.

Take your time, you have 20 turns, and just work your way north.




joe6778 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/23/2014 9:14:48 PM)

Thanks for helping me with this scenario. I have never gotten a DV, but in the past I was at least able to get a MV in order to advance in the campaign, but the last three tries I haven't been able to even get a MV.

I do pretty much what you did, except that after I take the airfield and city in the center of the map, I'm stopped at the northern city when time runs out. And I have never been able to capture the big city objectives or the city way to the northeast.

I restarted with my core, 12000 prestige, and Lieutenant difficulty.



rodney727 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/24/2014 10:49:41 PM)

Looking at your core no wonder why you struggle now.
By 1943 you should have no infantry unless you have three hero units of attack +3 each. You have three Eng to many. Sherman's are no match for soviet tanks.. Strum and wulf, there are better options. I never use any TB, always use FB as they are duel purpose. Also you need only one heavy bomber. also I tend to stay away from the Pnz Ivs seems you have too many. A 1943 grenadier with four stars with an attack and movement hero can be more effective than any Pnz IV tank. I never employ stugs unless they have a range hero.
quote:

ORIGINAL: James Ward

Here is what I start with in 43:
1 INF
4 GREN, 2 are SE
4 ENG
1 PARA
7 IVG, 3 are SE
3 IIIM
3 KV1
2 SHERMAN
2 STUG IIIF/8
4 21cm ART
1 STURM
1 WULFRAM
1 STU 42
1 SU 122
2 88s
5 FW 190A
2 87D
2 110G
2 DO177A

Units are mostly 3-4 stars. All are overstrength except the captured units, the 88s and the STUGs, as I don't intend to use them this scenario. Only the GREN are 43 INF.

I am staring with only ~1300 Prestige so I may disband some units as I have 48 but can only deploy 38.

You need 7 objectives for an MV and start with 2. I intend to just go straight North with my main thrust and try to get the 5 additional objectives quick then decide if a DV is worth it Prestige wise. I'll let you know how it works out.




joe6778 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/25/2014 4:06:04 AM)

Thanks for the advice. A few comments:

How do you capture entrenched INF in cities if you don't use ENG?
I see you have Shermans as well. I find that they're compatible with higher level German tanks except Tigers and Panthers.
I see you also have a couple of Stukas and 2 heavy bombers like I do.
PzIVGs are the best all around German tank at this point IMO, except for the Tigers and Panthers which are very expensive.
What are Sturm and Wulf?

BTW- I was able to get a DV at Kursk attacking from the north.



rodney727 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/25/2014 11:50:55 AM)

The key word is supress wit artillery. Grenadiers are just as effective. There was a reason each infantry and panzer division had one regiment of artillery to supress before attacking. This is how I save prestige because in 1944 this game gets extremely hard.
quote:

ORIGINAL: joe6778

Thanks for the advice. A few comments:

How do you capture entrenched INF in cities if you don't use ENG?
I see you have Shermans as well. I find that they're compatible with higher level German tanks except Tigers and Panthers.
I see you also have a couple of Stukas and 2 heavy bombers like I do.
PzIVGs are the best all around German tank at this point IMO, except for the Tigers and Panthers which are very expensive.
What are Sturm and Wulf?

BTW- I was able to get a DV at Kursk attacking from the north.




James Ward -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/25/2014 11:54:22 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: joe6778

Thanks for the advice. A few comments:

How do you capture entrenched INF in cities if you don't use ENG?
I see you have Shermans as well. I find that they're compatible with higher level German tanks except Tigers and Panthers.
I see you also have a couple of Stukas and 2 heavy bombers like I do.
PzIVGs are the best all around German tank at this point IMO, except for the Tigers and Panthers which are very expensive.
What are Sturm and Wulf?

BTW- I was able to get a DV at Kursk attacking from the north.


Good on the DV.

If you bombard the unit first with a strong enough artillery you can usually get good damage on it with any unit, even armor. I use my Eng for defense, attacking in rough terrain and finishing off damaged units in cities without using Artillery.

I don't use my Shermans, they are there for emergency Prestige. You get about 400 for each. Since you can't upgrade them to a better Sherman their useful life is limited, eventually you will need to make them a German tank so I usually don't use them.

I will eventually change the Stukas to FB but in 43 they still have good targets so I'll keep them around, I am usually low on prestige so they are not high on the upgrade list when then new units come out. It costs a lot to switch them to a FB.

I like the IVG and IVH through 43. The PZ III start to become a little vulnerable though they are generally the first one I upgrade to. I like to be able to wait until the Panther becomes available then upgrade the III's to them and make KT's out of my IV's.

I have 2 AT units that I bought because I needed some extra armor and they are cheap. They may not survive into 44, I may just disband them if I need prestige. The Jadgpanther isn't bad though so I may keep them around if I don't end up with a lot of Panthers as they move fast.

The Sturmpanzer and Wolfram are SP artillery. They have less shots than the towed guns and the Wolfram has a shorter range but they have their uses. Some people like to have all SP guns but in the later war you are on defense and I like the extra shots that the towed guns give you.



fuelli -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (2/26/2014 1:54:29 PM)

I think with wulfram you are referring to the Wurfrahmen?
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wurfrahmen_40



joe6778 -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (3/22/2014 11:38:57 PM)

I'm done with this POS "game". I'm going back to boardwargames. The Grand Campaign is no fun at all. Complete BS.

I played at Colonel difficulty and started the '43 East Grand Campaign with over 43,000(!) prestige points and by Kiev 43 I was down to 3,000.

I surrendered and saw that the Russians had almost 98 units! My Tigers and Panthers were doing 2 damage to paratroopers in open ground. My FW190s were barely making a dent in the enemy planes unless I ganged up on them with 5 or 6 attacks. The Russian tanks were immune to my tanks and anti-tank guns. I even had a couple of DVs up to this point, but I don't want to continue. Complete and total futility.

What a piece of garbage. [:@]



LouieDee -> RE: Anyone who says they beat this game on higher difficulty must be lying (4/13/2014 10:30:46 PM)

see my post from a year or two ago below. I beat the game on FM, then got three more harder FM, well it took over a year and I can beat the two easier FMs, the last on Manstein (sp) starts with all units at 15 strength. I though Poland was impossible on this level, then Norway, then all of France. Finally I can make it to SeaLion in good order and have even manage to capture all objectives but one! I highly doubt if many or maybe anyone has got to this. My conclusion is it is impossible to win. I see that version 1.23 of the Ipad "fixes" the difficulty on the three bonus level FMs. I don't need all three fixed I just need the last one kicked down to say 13, and just maybe I can do it.

To Matrix games, please fix the last bonus FM, normal humans with years of game play should with a lot of luck and saving, be able to beat it.



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