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German 6th Army Campaign - 12/24/2009 10:39:02 PM   
tweber

 

Posts: 1411
Joined: 6/27/2007
Status: offline 		I just posted a 10 scenario, Panzer General style, campaign. It follows the 6th Army from the invasion of Belgium and France in 1940 through Barbarosa and Kiev in 1940 and finally to Stalingrad in 1942.

Scenarios are:

- Against the Belgians (Capture of Brussels)
- To the Sea (Dunkirk)
- Against Paris
- 1941 R&R
- Barbarosa
- Kiev
- Kharkov
- 1942 R&R
- 2nd Kharkov
- Case Blue
- Stalingrad
- Final Stand

This campaign was designed to play solitaire against the AI. After a scenario is done, all the units (and only the units) from the scenario are transferred to the next scenario. So, it is important to build up experience and conserve unit strength. You will need it in 1942 where you will be heavily out numbered and qualitatively inferior.

The 2 R&R scenarios are special scenarios. They allow you to re-organize you forces, buy replacement troops and upgrade with research (research is normally turned off)

I also included 2 save files that will allow you to start in 1941 and 1942 respectively. The 2nd Kharkov scenario (load the 1942 save game) is quite tough as you have to capture Izyum in the SE corner while protecting you supply line in the extreme NW corner vs 4 Soviet Armies.

For those interested in making campaigns, you should look at the 'end of scenario' event that has loads, unit transfers and R&D transfers.

I suspect there will be bugs so make sure you save each scenario before you go to the next one. Also, feel free to modify or improve the scenario. I balanced it for play against the AI and I think it should be reasonably challenging. It will require significant re-balancing for human vs human play.

I have been working on this campaign for over a year. Hope you enjoy.
Post #: 1
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 12/25/2009 12:06:39 AM   
rickier65

 

Posts: 14231
Joined: 4/20/2000
Status: offline 		This is awesome Tweber, thanks and Merry Christmas!

Rick

(in reply to tweber)
Post #: 2
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 12/25/2009 1:19:49 PM   
Vic


Posts: 8262
Joined: 5/17/2004
Status: offline 		Congrats Tom! for finally getting that one finished.

I am awaiting some test reports before giving it some extra attention on the community site.

merry xmas!
vic

(in reply to rickier65)
Post #: 3
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 12/25/2009 1:55:58 PM   
Jay Doubleyou

 

Posts: 245
Joined: 8/12/2004
Status: offline 		Thanks for all the good work.
Started the first scenario.

(in reply to rickier65)
Post #: 4
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 12/26/2009 11:08:29 AM   
Josh

 

Posts: 2576
Joined: 5/9/2000
From: Leeuwarden, Netherlands
Status: offline 		That's awesome Tom, thanks!
That's been on my wishing list for a long time: take your core units with you to the next scenario/campaign


(in reply to Jay Doubleyou)
Post #: 5
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 12/28/2009 10:28:05 PM   
rjh1971


Posts: 4919
Joined: 12/13/2005
From: Madrid, Spain
Status: offline 		Gonna download it straight away, a friend of mine mailed me this post, sounds awesome
Thanks tweber

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Post #: 6
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 12/29/2009 6:31:34 PM   
springer

 

Posts: 414
Joined: 5/14/2009
Status: offline 		Nice work once again, Tom!

I've played the first four scenarios, and replayed the first one a couple of times.

You did catch the flavor of Panzer General.  I particularly appreciate the way you've designed the scenarios to emphasize forward movement.  I also like the way you've designed artillery into the game.  It has to be deployed really thoughtfully in order to successfully achieve some of the objectives.  Though the game remains standard AT, the tactical considerations give it a different feel than most scenarios.

If you're not totally tired of tinkering with the events programming, I've come across a bug.  Where should I report it?

(in reply to rjh1971)
Post #: 7
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 12/29/2009 9:11:29 PM   
tweber

 

Posts: 1411
Joined: 6/27/2007
Status: offline 		Hi Springer,

Glad you like it.  You can send me a PM or post it here.

Best regards, Tom

(in reply to springer)
Post #: 8
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 12/31/2009 8:36:05 PM   
springer

 

Posts: 414
Joined: 5/14/2009
Status: offline
So far the scenarios are great.  My experience with the game has been that it is important to declare victory using the victory conditions hand card before the game ends.  For example, if I conquer Brussels, but don't play the card. The scenario will end, but I don't get the bonus points for capturing Brussels.

Here's some general comments.  I'll stay vague as I think part of the fun of these great scenarios is each player's encounter of the "surprises".

The scenarios really have a nice graded feel. They share a similar gestalt, but each one adds a new dimension of operational complexity that needs to be taken into account. For me, this gives the player within the campaign a sense of the kind of "on the fly" learning that makes for the creation of a seasoned force and command structure. 

I like the surprises in each of the scenarios.  "To the sea" gives a great sense of frustration.
"Kiev" was great because the  previous scenarios had trained the sixth army on how to keep the offense on the roll.  Without that training, the campaign would have been a lot uglier.

It's also great how you give the flavor of how some forces need to be deployed

Because I had messed up on using the victory hand cards, I played "Second Kharkov" using the '42 R & R set. The complex balancing of objectives, and the decision on how to deploy the forces for this decision are great.

I like the difference in feel between the Western campaign, the 41 campaign, and the 42 campaign.  I found that I had to constantly change my combined arms strategy to adapt to each of these very different situations.  One thing that didn't change, however: Artillery is absolutely critical.

The excellent design of the "Second Kharkov" scenario inspired me to also play it as a stand-alone scenario.
In this game, I intentionally avoided the campaign's offensive goal and just aimed to hold out with the more conservative goal of maintaining a frontline running north/south on the axis defined by Belgorod for the duration of the scenario. 
It worked as a great scenario for experimenting with concept of operational "elastic defense".  This was fun, since standard AT usually doesn't usually give the opportunity to implement this kind of a defense. (In standard AT, The combination of HQ, production and strategic movement usually allow material strategically shifted to block a breakthrough).

It's great to see how much flexibility can still be tapped from a WW II-based AT set.




< Message edited by springer -- 12/31/2009 8:47:38 PM >

(in reply to tweber)
Post #: 9
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/2/2010 1:25:22 PM   
Vic


Posts: 8262
Joined: 5/17/2004
Status: offline 		Could somebody make a nice screenshot or 2 i can use as an illustration to put up a highlight of this campaign on the community website?

you can post here or email to vic@xs4all.nl

thanks,
Vic


(in reply to springer)
Post #: 10
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/2/2010 5:41:35 PM   
tweber

 

Posts: 1411
Joined: 6/27/2007
Status: offline 		The picture belows shows the maps across the 10 scenarios. Note that there is a 'campaign room' scenario between each season to allow for replacement, research and re-orginization.




Attachment (1)

(in reply to Vic)
Post #: 11
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/2/2010 6:26:35 PM   
Vic


Posts: 8262
Joined: 5/17/2004
Status: offline 		I posted links to the scenario and this thread on the community site. Once again tom! enormous thanks for putting all the effort in. A lot of AT players will be really happy with this enormous ammount of extra content. 

(in reply to tweber)
Post #: 12
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/3/2010 12:26:45 AM   
springer

 

Posts: 414
Joined: 5/14/2009
Status: offline 		I think this campaign will definitely be a standard for future ones.
I haven't pushed into the '42 campaign.  I'm not looking forward to all the work of crafting the sixth army being reduced to a heap of oblivion on the Volga.

Some more observations as I continue to play (and I look forward to hearing others).
Though I'm now playing around with it a bit, I've been playing my reinforcements conservatively.  My replacements are focused on keeping the basic structure of the original OOB (with modifications due to attrition of course).  In playing the game this way, I think Tom did a great job of giving the feeling that first and foremost, the Sixth is an infantry army.

I like how the game continues to function as an implicit training tool. For example, it has helped me reconceptualize combined arms strategy more effectively, particularly the use of armor.

One thing for sure, the typical "Kursk" style tank vs. tank clobbering I use in most production oriented scenarios won't fly here. (Fortunately, I didn't have to learn this lesson from trial and error. A glance at the original OOB and the first site of French tanks made this lesson obvious without "on the ground" experience) 

In fact, it seems to me that attempting to use the 6th Army's armor as a mailed fist is a total misuse of them since there's not enough armor to go around. (Also, Tom has done a good job of capturing the sense that  Pz.Kpfw. IVFs and Pz.Kpfw IIIs have no business going near T-34s and KV-Is).    Ironically, I find myself avoiding combat with my armor unless the attack was essentially an overrun or the need to grab a vital position before the KV-I's showed up to fortify it. Yet the scenarios make it clear that the proper care and deployment of both armor and HQs are the key to each successful campaign.



(in reply to Vic)
Post #: 13
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/4/2010 6:01:44 AM   
springer

 

Posts: 414
Joined: 5/14/2009
Status: offline 		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!



< Message edited by springer -- 1/4/2010 7:20:53 PM >

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Post #: 14
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/4/2010 8:41:24 AM   
tweber

 

Posts: 1411
Joined: 6/27/2007
Status: offline 		Thanks for all the comments Springer.

I thought it was interesting to look at the casualty rates the different sftypes.  My rifles typically and armor typically took about 20% casualties per scenario.  But armor is extremely limited so you feel the loss of every tank.  Also, one poorly played turn can result in 20% armor casualties per round so you have to be careful.  I found that my casualty rates for Scouts was above 50% per scenario.  The scouts were riding with the armor and fighting every round.

The back bench units do not take many casualties.  Mortars were under 10% each scenario. 

One type that is very easy to track is the paras.  You get 20 in the first scenario and that is it until the end of the campaign.  The first type I played, I merged the paras into a regular infantry unit and had 2 by the end of the game.  When I played a second time, I felt sorry for the paras when they got down to 7 troopers and put them with an artillery unit.

I was able to break out of the Stalingrad ring but it is very difficult. I think it would be very difficult for someone playing it fresh for the first time to do (I have the designers advantage).  You have to play very carefully throughout.  Every tank lost or divebomber lost in Belgium means you have one fewer, highly experienced unit in 1942.

< Message edited by tweber -- 1/4/2010 8:42:35 AM >

(in reply to springer)
Post #: 15
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/4/2010 10:49:43 AM   
RufusTFirefly

 

Posts: 1048
Joined: 8/29/2008
From: Germany
Status: offline 		As someone who has played the old Panzer general series and is still playing it in pbems, I can only say: Great, that there is a campaign for AT. I have not yet played more than the first scenario (power unit of comp broke down yesterday, pity), but it is really great work that you did, tweber. Thanks for this campaign!

In a first attempt I used the tank units as spearheads to encircle the Belgian units in a wide range. Although this worked well, I was not careful enough. When my tank units reached Brussels, the counterattack wiped out a complete unit. Now I started again and send armoured cars from HQs to tank units. As therefore carry capacity is increased, I send five rifles to each tank unit too. They should protect the scouts in the tank units and avoid the heavy losses of that subunit. I do not yet have done enough turns to tell whether the losses of scouts can be lower this way.


(in reply to tweber)
Post #: 16
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/4/2010 11:43:22 AM   
Tufkal2

 

Posts: 834
Joined: 12/31/2008
From: Germany
Status: offline 		This campaign sounds like a must play so looking forward to give this a try sometime soon.
If anybody who played through this (or played through this mostly) could give an estimate of how much playing time this is and on how many times they needed to try each scenario this would be very interesting to hear.
Looking forward to playing this.


_____________________________


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Post #: 17
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/4/2010 12:39:42 PM   
tweber

 

Posts: 1411
Joined: 6/27/2007
Status: offline 		Play length will vary based on your speed.  Scenarios are 10-20 rounds long and you have about 50-60 units.  I would guess it should take between 2-3 hours per scenario.  You will probably re-start a couple of scenarios but probably not too many.  So, I would guess the entire thing would be about 30 hours or so. 

(in reply to Tufkal2)
Post #: 18
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/4/2010 8:11:21 PM   
RufusTFirefly

 

Posts: 1048
Joined: 8/29/2008
From: Germany
Status: offline 		As mentioned above I transferred armoured cars and rifles to the tank units to avoid high losses of scouts.

The screen shows a tank unit after an attack. I spotted two artillery units in enemys second line. A small gap in the defence line was taken as a corridor to push through and attack the artillery. It was completely eliminated and is no longer seen on the screenshot. Two rifles and two scouts got lost (got ten of each before the attack). So loss of scouts are kept in an exeptable range and recon ability of the armoured unit is not decreased too much.

In case you do this, it is absolutely necessary to have an infantry unit available that can move to the same hex as the tank unit. Otherwise a counterattack during AI phase might cost you dearly by loosing tanks.




Attachment (1)

(in reply to tweber)
Post #: 19
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/4/2010 8:18:26 PM   
RufusTFirefly

 

Posts: 1048
Joined: 8/29/2008
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Here is the summary of kills and losses after the first scenario.

Few scouts and no tanks got lost. But two fighters were lost at the beginning of the scenario. Paratroopers were reduced to half of their strength in the first turn, when they had to stand a counterattck on fort Eben Emael. But they managed to hold position.

Some units are lowered to less than half of their strength. They may be used to secure caputered cities or chase down small remains of enemy units behind the front.




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< Message edited by RufusTFirefly -- 1/4/2010 8:21:59 PM >

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Post #: 20
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/4/2010 11:55:11 PM   
tweber

 

Posts: 1411
Joined: 6/27/2007
Status: offline 		Hi Rufus,

Looks like a pretty good kill / loss ratio.  The ratio should improve over time as your army gains experience.  One use of corp units that are low in strength is to add replacements to them at the start of the next scenario.  You do not gain any free experience so this is one way to bring in fresh troops.

I also found that sending the tanks too far ahead was risky.  They can get annihilated and you will not be able to take the strong points (like Brussels) until you bring up the artillery.

(in reply to RufusTFirefly)
Post #: 21
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/5/2010 12:10:26 AM   
Barthheart


Posts: 3194
Joined: 7/20/2004
From: Nepean, Ontario
Status: offline 		Tom,

Is it possible to play this a human vs human? Seems so from the scenario startup...

Anyone want to try this? I'll even take the good guys!



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Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty & well preserved body,
but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming "WOW, what a ride!"

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Post #: 22
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/5/2010 12:29:53 AM   
tweber

 

Posts: 1411
Joined: 6/27/2007
Status: offline 		Hi Barthheart,

It would be possible to play human v human but it is not currently balanced for that.  If two equal players tried the Second Kharkov scenario as written, the Germans would be stopped cold.

I initially tried to balance for both human and for AI so the first scenario or two should be fine.  However, I am not sure how many players wanted to play a pbem campaign that lasts for about 150 turns.  I decided that I wanted to get this out since I was delayed for about 8 months for a move so I focussed on just the AI version.

Actually, you could even play Allied Player vs German AI.  But, that would need a different balancing.  I did not bother with this since I wanted a campaign where the units were carried all the way through.   

Making a campaign is alot of work.  I am hoping a few scenario designers try a few campaigns (Maybe following Guderian, Rommel, Zhukov or either the 'Band of Brothers' or the US 1st Division at a different scale).

(in reply to Barthheart)
Post #: 23
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/5/2010 1:21:49 AM   
springer

 

Posts: 414
Joined: 5/14/2009
Status: offline 		Just a note to anyone playing these scenarios.
A: When you take your objective, play the victory hand card! If you don't, you won't get your PP.
B: Make sure to read the briefing in the statistics room. It will give you your objectives and let you know if you should be focusing on wiping out enemy units or not.

@Bartheart
The current version of the game is designed against the AI. In the Russia scenarios I'm totally grateful that the AI plays like a Russian commander who survived the purges by careful use of his primary survival talent, tongue polishing the boots of superior commanders. I think that any competent Russian player given the firepower, superior armor, and sheer mass of troops would slaughter the Germans. That said, I think the scenarios could be modified. (I wrote this before I saw Tom's post above).

Though the AI commander loves the "bludgeon maneuver", his higher up in the command structure (the scenario designer who controls deployment and reinforcement) still has some nasty little surprises in store for the unwary player.

@Rufus,
I like your idea of keeping the scouts intact. It seems a creative way to push the offense forward and to keep your armor intact. Mixing in some infantry sounds like a good idea. However, I'm not into stripping the HQs of their mobility and scout cars. Your screenshot has inspired me to do a mini AAR of the first scenario to show the blitzkrieg tactics I learned from the WMWTC (Weber Mobile Warfare Training Center aka. "6th Army campaign school of hard knocks"). Note: that incompetence you will see are totally my responsibility not the training center's. (I probably fell asleep during classroom lectures when a critical point was made.)



< Message edited by springer -- 1/5/2010 7:14:23 PM >

(in reply to RufusTFirefly)
Post #: 24
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/5/2010 2:04:33 AM   
springer

 

Posts: 414
Joined: 5/14/2009
Status: offline 		All right, here's my shot at an AAR.

Turn 1:
This turn doesn't need much of an illustration as it just a move forward.
The key measure is sending the both the VI corp (red) armor units into Eben Emael. They don't attack or do anything else, they just ensure that Eben Emael will not have any chance of falling and are set in a forward position to spring forward. The rest of the VI corps also heads to Eben Emael. Throughout the entire campaign, I found myself using the VI corp (red) as the tip of the schwerpunkt.

The other corps play secondary roles. The IX Corp (Lavender) to clean up the northern flank, and the the XXVII corps (dark blue) and Reserves (Olive Drab) are given the support role of taking Leige. Finally, the IX corps (light green) gets to wipe out any forces south of the Meuse that could flank Liege.

Turn 2:
This is the key turn. VI corp advances three hexes down the road to Brussels. The units in the way are brushed aside by infantry with a combination of air and artillery. (My favorite use for armor is cleaning up wrecked Belgian artillery units). I have one infantry unit take the fort north of Eben Emael (after some artillery softening) and then I have a VI corp armor unit drive into Maasricht and north and then come back toward Brussels. This ensures that the Belgian I corp, which boldly came out to meet the IX corp is trapped in a pocket. Similarly, every detected unit of the Belgian III corps south of the Meuse is pocketed, softened with artillery, and destroyed by concentric attacks by the IX corps. In like fashion, the forces in front of Liege are pocketed and destroyed as well. Here is a screen shot of the end result.





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< Message edited by springer -- 1/5/2010 9:21:03 PM >

(in reply to springer)
Post #: 25
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/5/2010 2:24:36 AM   
springer

 

Posts: 414
Joined: 5/14/2009
Status: offline 		Turn 3:

From the previous post, the schwerpunkt is set. Fortunately, the Belgians still think they are fighting WWI, so they don't even see the danger. Even though the Schwerpunkt looks exposed, it's totally safe, the Belgians would have to tackle the whole German VI corps to reduce it. Instead, the Belgians opt to spread out their troops to build a continuous front line that slows down the enemy advance.

Then, the lessons from the WMWTC kick in. The units in front of the schwerpunkt are weak and easily pushed to the side. Most of the VI corp ignores the Belgians and drives fast and furiously towards towards Brussels: The IX and XXVII corps can clean up the rest.

Here is a picture of the exploitation phase of turn 3. Note that only the VI corps and a handful of other units have moved so far. I'll post one more screen of the finished round after this.

As in the first turn, I use the HQ units aggressively. Their mobility and reconaissance capability allow us to create disruption in the enemy rear areas and detect potential problems. For example, the VI corps HQ is pushed up the road to Brussels. If it encounters a small force, planes are used to push them aside. Armor or Infantry can mop up the damage. If the force is big, the unit can retreat until the artillery and infantry can arrive, but at least there's intelligence of the enemies dispositions.

Though it is off the view, the IX corp is pushing toward Huy, and will be taking the rest of the Belgian airforce out. The IX and XXVII will continue to earn iron crosses performing their invaluable mop up duties. It's pretty clear that the pocketed units are done with and primarily serve the important role of giving the German troops the target practice that need to gain invaluable experience for the future campaigns.




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< Message edited by springer -- 1/5/2010 7:17:35 PM >

(in reply to springer)
Post #: 26
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/5/2010 3:37:00 AM   
springer

 

Posts: 414
Joined: 5/14/2009
Status: offline 		Turn 3- Final state

For intents and purposes, the battle for Belgium is over: Eben Emael, Maastrict, Liege, and Huy have been taken. Because of Europe's changing economy, the Belgian aircrews are being retrained to fly JU-52s. (We've determined it's best for Belgian aircrews to avoid flying aircraft with bullets)

Sure, there's still some Belgian Don Quixotes out there: Some reserves are still lurking and the elements of the French forces are coming up to offer themselves as more target practice for the Luftwaffe, but these can be handled as side shows. The most important goal is to get the artillery to Brussels as fast as possible and use the HQ carefully to avoid ambushes that could cause unnecessary casualties.

As as side note: I feel that I mishandled the pocket reductions. Because I was too much in a hurry, the mop-up troops (especially the paratroopers) took more casualties than needed. (As someone's grandparent once said: never have an infantryman do something that can be done much better by a artillery, aircraft, or logistic deprivation)






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< Message edited by springer -- 1/5/2010 3:54:57 AM >

(in reply to springer)
Post #: 27
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/5/2010 3:43:08 AM   
springer

 

Posts: 414
Joined: 5/14/2009
Status: offline 		Here's the Casualties up to turn 3, which should make up big part of the battle losses. My final tally of losses will probably be similar to Rufus T. Firefly's if I had finished the battle.

A weakness that I notice in my playing is care during the pocket reduction stage. Mop-up stage seems boring and trivial, but demands care and consideration. When done right, the forces involved can be properly husbanded, gaining valuable experience at the cost of very few casualties.

Looking back, I could've spared myself 20-30 of the infantry casualties in this turn with more careful combinations of concentric attacks and artillery, or by just waiting a turn. The XXVII corps has nowhere that it has to go. The rest of the campaign is primarily in the hands of the VI corps with the IX corp grabbing up some left over PP.

The value of each unit and subtype is one of the great things about this scenario. 20-30 is often nothing in a random game. Twenty infantry is the size of a typical infantry unit when I start '42, so this is effectively the loss of one and half units that will not be available for 9 more scenarios. And the loss of any unit is the loss of future tactical options.






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< Message edited by springer -- 1/5/2010 5:38:02 AM >

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Post #: 28
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/5/2010 12:26:04 PM   
RufusTFirefly

 

Posts: 1048
Joined: 8/29/2008
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Hi Springer: Thats a quick advance right through the middle. Impressive attack.

I preferred a different way of advance as you have seen at the screen. Of course sending reinforcements to Eben Emael is essential. But I ignored most of the enemy units at Maatsricht and its fortifications. While one corps was moving along the Albert Canal in the north, another one moves southwest along the Meuse. Both cross the water far behind the center of the enemy defence between Maastricht and Liege and form a large circle with edges heading towards Brussels.

Taking Liege and crossing the Meuse north of it , while northwest of Maastricht another corps crosses the Albert canal creates a second circle, smaller than the first one. The second circle trappes the enemy forces in the area of Maasticht and elimniates them in a series of concentric attacks.

Enemy reinforments moving towards Maastricht in small groups are attacked by the spearheads. In case the enemy units are quite strong, air bombardments perpare the attacks. Btw, I transferred all tactical bombers to two units and left them with small fighter support, while transferring more fighters to the other air units. So I got two air units with fighters, attacking vulnerable targets like artillery, while the bomber units attacked strong infantry units, especially hexes with two infantry units in it. Moving the air units to Liege and Maastricht, enables the German Luftwaffe to attack twice, as often only half of the action points were used due to short distances.

So, different tactics of Springer and me shows, that this scenario can be played in more than one way, making it even more intersting and fun to play! Again: Great work, tweber!

Just a remark for all, who have not yet played the scenario:

You might get the impression, that major work is done after turn 3. Guess Springer´s propaganda minister is shouting too loud. You have to keep in mind that a careless pushing foreward might cost you units that you will need in next scenarios. There is more than a small garisson at Brussels and the enemy is doing counterattacks on the way to your main target.

And although my kill-to-loss-ratio might be good, it took 9 of the 10 turns in second play to get Brussels (in first attempt I managed to take Brussels at turn 10 and had even been afraid of loosing the scenario).


(in reply to springer)
Post #: 29
RE: German 6th Army Campaign - 1/5/2010 5:15:48 PM   
RufusTFirefly

 

Posts: 1048
Joined: 8/29/2008
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Hi tweber,

have played second scenario very quickly and not thought much about tactics. Therefore lost it. End message says that Allies get 100 PP bonus for holding Brussels. Must be Dunkerque.

< Message edited by RufusTFirefly -- 1/5/2010 6:00:32 PM >

(in reply to RufusTFirefly)
Post #: 30
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