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Kangra
May 7, 2012



The Game: Panzer General
Back in the mid-1990s, SSI came out with a turn-based strategy game that's considered a classic of the genre. It was called Panzer General, and it managed to be a 'casual' wargame with a fairly simple, but solid, tactical system. It was never going for realism or complexity but managed to have enough of the character of a World War 2 game to not feel overly abstract. It was also a lot easier to get into than many other wargames. It became massively popular. SSI went on to release several more versions of the game (all part of the '5-star' series) with the same basic concepts and gameplay in different settings.

Panzer General Forever
In 2009 (actually he started earlier than that) a guy known as Rudankort [real name : Alexander Shargin] decided that rather than try to hack the game to get it to his liking, he'd simply rewrite it. Then it would work on modern versions of Windows, at higher resolutions, etc. Along the way he also tweaked the UI to make the game nicer to play, and added a better AI player. He did this all without changing the underlying structure; he tried as hard as possible to replicate the game faithfully. He called it "Panzer General Forever" (or "PG Forever", and often referred to as 'PGF'). Then he released it for free. You can get it (Windows-only) and read more about it at http://www.pgforever.info.

The game includes a front-end menu to run Panzer General and Allied General. There are some other modules out there, too. I'd consider it the best way to play the game now, as aside from the different AI (and there's an option for an 'easier' one that's closer to the original) it really does re-create the original while making it easier to play. The only major thing missing is the original music (and voice/video from the CD versions which, to be fair, were pretty charming).

Shargin went on to work on a game based on Panzer General, namely Panzer Corps. That incorporates some rule changes (most of which showed up in SSI's later games in the series) and scenario/campaign redesigns, as well as the massive Grand Campaign set of scenarios. It's a remake, not a re-creation, but a worthy successor.

The Let's Play

Panzer General has a branching campaign path that allows for a fair number of variations in historical outcome. You're playing as a German general who can have a big impact on the outcome of the war. It's certainly possible to go down the historical route, but that ends with the loss of most of your units and eventually the war. If you're exceptionally good, though, you can beat every country you're fighting. Including the USA.

That's the route we're going to be going for this campaign. Indeed, the particular route we'll follow will be the 'longest route to victory' - the one that gives our units the most battle experience on their way to capturing Washington. Even so, it'll mean missing out on a large chunk of the historical route, as most of the fighting will be over by 1942.

I won't be playing an alternative campaign, but I will be showing off a few of the other scenarios as stand-alone versions. Since they're stand-alones, this will actually make the 'losing' scenarios more entertaining; we won't have to spend the scenario doing nothing other than trying to keep the core alive. There will likely be thread voting on which of these to do.

I'll be playing with no advantage to either side, all options (including weather) on, and with the 'Advanced' AI. However, since the scenario design is a bit simpler in Panzer General, and the AI is better tuned to it, and we also have a pretty tough road to hoe, I'm going to be taking a bit more advantage of the system in this campaign than when I LP'd Allied General. The last few battles will be tough and I expect we'll need every advantage.

In the alternate scenarios, I generally won't be trying for any particular outcome; so there's a fair chance that some losses will occur there.


The next post will contain the unit roster and links to the updates.

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Kangra
May 7, 2012

This is where I'll post links to the updates (chronologically), and also serve as the main unit roster.

Updates

pre:
                          Main Campaign                    One-off Battles
1939  September  1        Poland
                11        Warsaw
1940
      April      9        Norway
                19        Norway
      May       10        Low Countries
                20        Low Countries 
      June       5        France
                15        France
1941
      March     31                                         North Africa
      April      6        Balkans
                11        Balkans
                17        Balkans
                28                                         North Africa
      May       20        Crete
                26        Crete
      June      21        Barbarossa
      July       1        Barbarossa
                18        Barbarossa
      August    23        Kiev
                29        Kiev
      September  1        Kiev                              Middle East
      October    1        Moscow '41                        Middle East
                17        Moscow '41
      November   1        Moscow '41
                16        Moscow '41
1942  June       7        Sevastopol
                11        Sevastopol
                16        Sevastopol
                25        Stalingrad
                30                                         Cauacasus Caucasus
      July      15        Stalingrad
      August     2        Stalingrad 
      September  3                                         Caucasus
      October    7        Moscow '42
      November   2        Moscow '42
                 8                                         Torch
                18        Moscow '42
      December  14                                         Torch
1943  January   19                                         Torch 
      June      15        Sealion '43
      July       1        Sealion '43
                10                                         Husky
      August     3                                         Husky
                23                                         Husky
1944  June       6                                         D-Day
                12                                         D-Day 
                18                                         D-Day
                26                                         D-Day
      December  16                                         Ardennes
                19                                         Ardennes  
                21                                         Ardennes   
                24                                         Ardennes
                27                                         Ardennes 
1945      April  1                                         Berlin               
                13                                         Berlin
                28                                         Berlin         
          June  (prep)     Washington
                 1         Washington 
                19         Washington     
          July   4         Washington  
Units in the core are available for naming by goons (or you can just claim a unit as your own). PGF allows for any unit on your side to be renamed. Names are limited to 20 characters.

If you do choose a name, it will probably take a battle or two to show up as I am sometimes playing ahead.


The Core
pre:
Unit Name                 Unit Type [Transport]      Exp   Lost         Named/Claimed by

Land Units
2nd 39 Wehr Inf         39 Wehr Inf                        Warsaw                       
3rd 39 Wehr Inf         39 Wehr Inf                        Poland
3rd Wehr Inf            39 Wehr Inf[Opel]            548    
4th Bridge Eng          Bridge Eng[SPW]                    Balkans 
4th Bridge Eng          Bridge Eng[SPW]                    Barbarossa                   
5th Pioniere Inf        39 Pioniere[Opel]            599
6th 39 Wehr Inf         39 Wehr Inf                        Poland
7th 39 Wehr Inf         39 Wehr Inf                        Norway
8th 39 Wehr Inf         39 Wehr Inf                        Norway
15th Pioniere Inf       Pioniere Inf[Opel]           575
17th Bridge Eng         Bridge Eng [SPW 251]         599
19th 30 LuftW FJ        40 LuftW FJ [SPW 251]        599
26th 39 Wehr Inf        39 Wehr Inf [SPW 250]         12
28th 39 Wehr Inf        39 Wehr Inf                        Balkans
48th Bridge Eng         Bridge Eng [SPW 250]         542
75th Wehr HW            40 Wehr HW                   528
16th PSW 232/8r         PSW 232/8r                   599
1st Panzer IVd          Pz IVd                             Stalingrad
7th Pz IVf2             Pz IVf2                      359
9th Pz IVf2             Pz IVf2                      599
10th Pz IIIh            Pz IIIh                      599
11th Pz IIIj            Pz IIIj                      599
12th Tiger I            Tiger I                      139
13th Pz 38(t)A          Pz 38(t)A                    599
PotatoManJack           Tiger I                      599                   PotatoManJack
23rd Pz IVd             Pz IVd                       599
26th Pz IVd             Pz IVd                             Sevastopol
36th Pz IIIj            Pz IIIj                      472
40th Pz IVf2            Pz IVf2                      108
Stahl Jäger             StuGIIIf                     599                   Evil Imperial
8th PzJager Ib          PzJager Ib                         Barbarossa
35th StuGIIIf           StuGIIIf                     368
7th Stug IIIb           StuG IIIb                          Barbarossa
24th Stug IIIb          StuG IIIb                          Kiev
30th StuH42             StuH42                         0
31st StuH42             StuH42                        14
37th Stug IIIb          Stug IIIb                          Sevastopol
38th Stug IIIb          Stug IIIb                     53             
Die kleinen Stichel     10.5 leFH [Opel]            Washington            Jobbo Fett
2nd 15 sFH 18           15 sFH 18[SPW 250]            76
8th 15 sFH 18           15 sFH 18[SPW 250]            94 
12th 15 sFH 18          15 sfH 18[Opel]                    Balkans
18th 15 sFH 18          15 sfH 18[SPW]              
12th Nebelwerfer        Nebelwerfer                        Kiev
25th SfKfz 7/1          SdKfz 7/1                    599 
22nd 8.8 FlaK 18        8.8 FlaK 18                  189

Air Units

6th Bf109e              Bf109e                       599
14th Bf109e             Bf109e                       599
28th FW190a             FW 190a                      374
29th FW190a             FW 190a                       75
32nd FW190a             FW 190a                       27
74th FW190a             FW 190a                      365
20th Bf110c             Bf110c                       599
ADAC Vogel              Ju87d                        Sealion '43          OperaMouse 
27th Ju87b              Ju87b                               France
27th Ju87b              Ju87d                        599
28th Ju87b              Ju87b                               France
21st Ju88A              Ju88A                        599
2nd Do217e              Do217e                              Crete
3rd He 177a             He177a                       549             
Honorary Admiral: Klaus88

Force Review 1940
Force Review 1942
Force Review 1943


Kangra fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Aug 27, 2016

Kangra
May 7, 2012



The war begins with us.



It starts with taking Poland by force.


Poland
September 1, 1939


10 Turns.
Objectives: (Breslau), Kutno, Lodz
Major: 7 turns.



OOB
pre:
Unit Name                Unit Type [Transport]    Exp [OS] 
 
Land Units
1.2nd 39 Wehr Inf         39 Wehr Inf
2.3rd 39 Wehr Inf         39 Wehr Inf
3.4th 39 Wehr Inf         39 Wehr Inf [Opel 6700] 
4.5th 39 Wehr Inf         39 Wehr Inf [Opel 6700] 
5.6th 39 Wehr Inf         39 Wehr Inf
6.7th 39 Wehr Inf         39 Wehr Inf 
7.8th 39 Wehr Inf         39 Wehr Inf
8.19th Pz Ia              Pz Ia  
9.9th Pz IId              Pz IId
10.11th Pz 35(t)          Pz 35(t)  
11.1st 7.5 IefK 16nA      7.5 IefK 16nA [Opel 6700]
  
Core slots: 4
Starting Prestige: 228

We have the best standard infantry there is - German Wehrmacht infantry — as the bulk of our force. We have a few tanks which aren't terribly good for assaults, but are quite useful for spearheading assault and scouting enemy positions. Finally, we have one 7.5 cm artillery unit. They are not much to speak of, but it's all we're allowed for now.

Notably, we are lacking air power, which is intended as an introductory restriction for the campaign. We'll be allotted some soon enough.



The forces are setup ready to break out towards our two objectives. We lack sufficient time to take them sequentially, so are forced to split the core. Some units will swing through the south to get to Lodz, while others will head north and get to Kutno. The most important part of this plan is speed. We have to get our forces to all arrive in sufficient force to block any reinforcements.

Axis Turn 1 : September 1, 1939


We make the first expansion into Polish territory, and eliminate one cavalry unit along the way. Another unit of artillery and a Pz 38t tank is added to the core.

Allied Turn 1 : September 1, 1939


The first attacks on our troops are a combined attack from artillery and infantry outside of Kalisz.

Axis Turn 2 : September 2, 1939
Clear (dry)


The tanks in the south get across the bridge while our infantry make their own way.

Allied Turn 2: September 2, 1939


The only Polish response is some shelling of our troops.

Axis Turn 3 : September 3, 1939
Clear (dry)


We bring our tank into contact with Lodz. The other arm of our forces swings toward Kutno, while in the center our troops decline to assault.

The red indicates that a unit can attack. Most units can attack at the start or end of their turn.

Allied Turn 3: September 3, 1939
We hear news that several other countries have formally joined Poland in the war. This was expected; we shall handle them later.


The Poles push back one of our infantry units to the north.

Axis Turn 4 : September 4, 1939
Clear (dry)


We do not wish to attack in the face of defensive artillery at Kalisz.

I should point out that this is a speculative combat, without any dice rolled but an average result assumed. This shows how useful defensive artillery can be, and why it is a very bad idea for infantry to attack into such a position.


Instead we clear away the guns first. Our tanks capture the town. The main thrusts array themselves for attacking our objectives. It seems the defense is centered on Lodz.

Allied Turn 4: September 4, 1939


As we are preparing to attack Lodz, the Poles hit us first on our left, destroying one infantry unit with their cavalry.

Axis Turn 5: September 5, 1939
Clear(dry)


This has left them open to our tank attack from the other side, and we hit their guns hard, forcing them to fall back.


After our guns shelled the town, our infantry have an easy time fighting their way in.
We commence attacking Kutno with our other unit of guns.

This map shows the movement overlay with transport. Green hexes can be moved into while staying deployed, while yellow hexes can be reached by mounting into transport. Units in transport must fight with the values of their transport (usually weak), and do not have any special ability (such as artillery's defensive fire).


Allied Turn 5: September 5, 1939


The enemy attempts to dislodge us from Lodz, but fails to do so.

Axis Turn 6: September 6, 1939
Clear(dry)


Our infantry make a moderately successful attack on the Polish armor in Kutno.

Note the tank's defense is marked as 'close defense', which is much less than its normal value. This is governed by some terrain, like cities or forests, that is expected to favor foot soldiers fighting vehicles.


More attacks force the tanks out, and our own occupy the town to bring about victory.


We managed to take control of most enemy towns in the region.

The first week of the war has gone quite well for us, although losses among the infantry were a bit higher than expected. We should be allotted enough prestige to keep the core strong, though.

Result: Major Victory
Ending Prestige: 302

Moving fast at the right moment is pretty much what you need to have happen to have a chance for a major here. If Kutno gets alarmed, it will put up units all around it, and then it's difficult to capture even in 10 turns.

Kangra
May 7, 2012



The war is underway.



Following on the heels of our initial advance into Poland, we aim to finish the job and capture the capital city before the month is out.

Warsaw
September 11, 1939
20 Turns


Objectives: (Lodz), Warsaw, Modlin, Siedice
Major: 13 turns.



Not that it matters all that much, but this map is simply the continuation of the previous map towards the northeast. Lodz was the target last time, and we move out from there. The heavily-fortified target cities are right in the center, with one extra objective in the open terrain beyond it.

The Vistula River is a major feature here. It provides a good natural barrier for the defenders as it separates us from the farthest objective, and blocks easy access to Modlin. On the other hand, it also makes defense a bit tougher for them, as they cannot deploy right on top of the river itself without exposing themselves to air attacks.

Forests and marshland constrain tank movement as well, and hinder any means of getting to Siedice quickly even after the river is crossed.

This is also the first map where we must deploy our troops. We decide where they go at the start, as long as they are in the marked hexes. This gives us a tiny bit of information about enemy positions, as we are guaranteed that none of the deployment hexes contain enemy units.

OOB
pre:
Unit Name                Unit Type [Transport]    Exp [OS] 
 
Land Units
1.2nd 39 Wehr Inf     39 Wehr Inf                    49
2.4th 39 Wehr Inf     39 Wehr Inf [Opel]             33
3.5th 39 Wehr Inf     39 Wehr Inf [Opel]             28
4.7th 39 Wehr Inf     39 Wehr Inf                    71
5.8th 39 Wehr Inf     39 Wehr Inf                    56
6.19th Pz Ia          Pz Ia                          83
7.9th Pz IId          Pz IId                         72
8.11th Pz 35(t)       Pz 35(t)                       26
9.13th Pz 38(t)A      Pz 38(t)A                      24
10.1st 7.5 IefK 16nA  7.5 IefK 16nA [Opel]           10
11.12TH 7.5 IefK 16nA 7.5 IefK 16nA [Opel]           12

Core slots: 9
Starting Prestige: 1402

Due to losses in the previous battle we have a lot of room the core. Which we will add to, although we still don't have quite enough prestige to fill with top-quality units.

There are no compelling upgrades for our current units, either, so everyone will remain as they are. The main new thing that we have access to now is air units. We have few ground units that can effectively attack wll-entrenched positions or weaken defenders at range, so we must rely on the Luftwaffe to soften them up and disrupt their rear.



Most of our force has crossed the Bzura to the south, in order to make a push eastward. The primary thrust will be against Warsaw from the southwest. A few units on this side will cross the Vistula and circle toward Siedice for a surprise attack. On the north, several units will make the crossing to apply pressure on Modlin so that no forces from there can be redirected toward Warsaw.

Axis Turn 1: September 11, 1939
Clear(dry)


The first push clears out Tomaszow, and as our armor moves up the road, enemy tanks are spotted.


When the 13th Pz38 heads out, it is ambushed by Polish cavalry hiding along the road.

Ambushes are marked as 'RUGGED DEFENSE'. The way they are resolved is that the unit that is ambushed is forced to attack against an automatic Rugged Defense. This grants the indicated bonuses, which usually results in heavy losses for the attacker.


The core is expanded: In the air, we add two fighters (Bf109e's) and one Ju87b bomber (the infamous Stuka). On the ground, a unit of elite Pioniere infantry and a scout car.

Allied Turn 1: September 11, 1939


The Poles come down the road to meet us. The tank battle leaves both sides with even losses, and the cavalry hit the artillery trucks.

Axis Turn 2: September 12, 1939
Clear(dry)


The fighter that showed up to strafe our tanks is the PZL P11c, which is pretty ineffective relative to our own air force.


We clear out the attacking units with assistance from the bombers, and get a start on our flanking maneuver.

Allied Turn 2: September 12, 1939


Aside from troops in the woods near our norther force, most of the Polish action involves falling back.

Axis Turn 3: September 13, 1939
Clear(dry)


After securing air superiority, we commence with the bombing of Warsaw and Modlin.

Allied Turn 3: September 13, 1939


There are few attacks that come today; the Poles simply entrench themselves further.

Axis Turn 4: September 14, 1939
Clear(dry)


We reach the defenses of Warsaw. Meanwhile, several units get over the Vistula. (The Pz35 isn't actually crossing; it's just going along the river to get around Warsaw).

Allied Turn 4: September 14, 1939


In the north, an attack is made on our troops that crossed, but our artillery responds fast enough to frustrate the Polish infantry.

Axis Turn 5: September 15, 1939
Clear(dry)


After weakening the defensive guns of Warsaw, our infantry assault clears out the southern part of the city.


At the same time, the northern group makes its move to engage Modlin.

Allied Turn 5: September 15, 1939


The enemy finds themselves being hit from two sides, as well as from above. They are unable to take effective action.

Axis Turn 6: September 16, 1939
Clear(dry)


As the road through Warsaw is partially cleared, the advance force arrives at Siedice. They seize the airfield.


The armor at Modlin meets with determined resistance.

Allied Turn 6: September 16, 1939


There is another attack out of this sector, although this time the artillery hits our infantry first.


An Anti-tank gun responds to the presence of armor at Siedice, and pushes us away from the airfield, if not the town itself.
Units at Warsaw struggle to hold on to the capital.


Axis Turn 7: September 16, 1939
Clear(dry)


Warsaw is taken after the Pioniere arrive. Our tanks try to eliminate more of the enemy guns. Results are mixed. The infantry do make a breakthrough in a full-on attack of Modlin.

Allied Turn 7: September 17, 1939


The assault on Modlin maintains its position thanks to a diversionary force coming up the river, which ends up taking losses but hitting back rather well. Over at Siedice, the anti-tank guns knock out several of our Panzers.

Axis Turn 8: September 18, 1939
Clear(dry)


Another day of vicious streetfighting leads to the capture of Modlin. Infantry arrives at Siedice as air strikes weaken the guns there.

Allied Turn 8: September 18, 1939


Attempts to dislodge our infantry are unsuccessful.

Axis Turn 9: September 19, 1939
Overcast(dry)


The guns at Siedice are pushed back and after bombing raids, our infantry manage to force a retreat. Losses are heavy, and we choose not to attempt to secure the city.

Allied Turn 9: September 19, 1939


Although resistance in the city of Warsaw is down to a small force, the 2nd Wehrmacht infantry is lost when they find themselves in a poor position on the river.


Attacks elsewhere prove unsuccessful.

Axis Turn 10: September 20, 1939
Clear(dry)


After a little bit more fighting, Siedice surrenders as well. Poland is out of the war.



I ended up replaying this four times ... because I thought I needed to win in 10 turns for a Major. So I was struggling to make it work; and then actually missed that I could have ended it this time on Turn 9. That ended up costing us a unit.

my dad
Oct 17, 2012

this shall be humorous
You might want to make a quick post about this in the New LP thread for people who might have missed it.

Kangra
May 7, 2012



Every game year, I'll do a rundown of the core forces that we have. It will also be the time to show off any newly-available ones that we can requisition.

As this is the first such force review, there will also be an explanation of the unit types and the purchase/upgrade system.

First, we'll go over our core units.


The 15th Pioniere arrived in Poland and did an admirable job securing the city of Warsaw after other forces softened it up. In the future we can expect them to take the lead when attacking.


The 7th grabbed and held on to Lodz, and continued to prove themselves on the way into Modlin. They are well over one star units now. (Note that the 'Battle Honors' records 2 stars, this is because their experience dropped below and then went back over 100.)


The 8th made the key sweep in the assault on Warsaw, and moved on from there to Siedice, bringing themselves to a full star.


The 17th rapidly gained experince mopping up the Poles.



The 4th and 5th Infantry fill out the infantry portion of the core; they are a mix of new soldiers and those who've had their first taste of battle.


The 9th in their Panzer II's are able to move faster around the battlefield than our other tanks, even the most recently available ones.


The Panzer Ia is our earliest and weakest design, but the 10th managed to survive Poland by not trying to act beyond their abilities.



The 11th and the 13th Panzers are Czech designs, and until now have been our most usable in the typical armored vehicle role. That said, they haven't seen much that really tested them yet.


The 16th Reconnaissance vehicle can perform in combat about as well as one of our light tanks, although we do try to not get it embroiled in firefights.




Our guns lack the power to really make an impact in our assaults, but they have done a good job protecting the advancing troops.



Our two fighters were easily able to eliminate what the Poles could show us, and both of them managed to get one star in the course of a single battle by strafing ground units.


Our Stukas were also able to gain experience in the battle, and hope to stick around for as long as the fighters can protect them.

That's all our forces. But we have many open slots, and there are a lot of new types that we can purchase now.

Requisitioning Units
This is what the purchase screen looks like:

When you want to spend your prestige on new units, you select your forces using this screen. In the upper right, we can see how much prestige we currently have, as well as how many unit slots are available and of what type. Right now there are 5 core slots open. The selection pool is the same for both core and aux, aside from the fact that units of allied nationalities can only be aux.

To purchase a unit, you first choose one of the ten classes on the left, and then select the unit you wish to buy. If don't have the prestige to afford the unit, the little colored indicator to the right of the selected unit will be red instead of green. If a transport is available, you can optionally purchase it along with the unit. Once the purchase is made, you then place the new unit on the map. (It's possible to cancel the purchase during placement by clicking on an invalid spot.) You can't purchase new units between missions; instead you have to requisition and bring them in during play.

The unit you get can be anything you want to spend your prestige on. It's important to realize that units always represent an ongoing cost, since the price of replacements depends on the unit price. Class is important too, as there are special abilities and modifiers that depend on it. Class also comes into play when upgrading.

New units become available over the course of the war; sometimes even during a mission. Unit models naturally tend to improve, making some of the older equipment ineffective against the newer stuff. Units also drop off the list; I'm not sure exactly what controls it but at some point models are considered obsolete. That doesn't mean that you are forced to pull them out of action; it just means you can't requisition a new one of that type. We may also see units in the game as aux units before we have the ability to purchase them; this usually represents equipment that is just being introduced.

Closely related to requistioning/purchasing units is upgrading them.

Upgrading
Any unit can be upgraded. Upgrading gives you a minor discount (1/6 off the new unit's value) compared to purchasing new, so it's not something you'll want to do each time a new model appears. The primary advantage of upgrading is that units retain their experience. Upgrading allows you to replace a unit with any unit of the same class, even if their 'types' seem incompatible -- for example, a towed AT gun can upgrade to a Jagdpanther (AT vehicle), but could not become, say, a Tiger Tank or a FW190 Fighter. You could even in theory downgrade, but there's almost no reason to do so in the campaign.

Because replacement costs are based on the unit's cost, quite a bit of prestige can be saved by training a low-cost unit to high experience before upgrading it. I tend to do this with infantry, since the better types cost a lot more than the cheaper ones and their numbers aren't all that different.

Organic transport can be added as part of an upgrade simply by paying the cost for the transport. An 'upgrade' can consist solely of adding transport, but there is no discount applied to the cost of the transport.

Unlike requisitioning, upgrades can be (and usually are) done before a new battle starts. Months can pass between battles, so it is worth it to check out what's new. A unit can also be upgraded in the course of a battle if it occupies a fully-controlled objective, although that counts as its action for that turn.

Here are all the units available as we head into 1940, by class:

Infantry
Your basic foot soldiers. Infantry are probably the most similar between the belligerents, but even so they all have slight variations.




The German infantry are the best basic infantry there are, although their sole advantage over the better Allied troops is that they carry a bit more ammo, which really just makes them the most expensive basic infantry.

The top combat unit is the Bridging Engineer and this does not change throughout the war. The Pioniere, however, are nearly as good. The only difference between them is the special ability of the former to act as a bridge (if they occupy a river hex, other units can move through them as if the hex were clear, instead of stopping their movement). Both of them have the ability to ignore a defender's entrenchment. For this they cost 3x as much as the H[eavy] W[eapons] Infantry, which would otherwise match them numbers-wise.

Available transport is the Opel 6500 trucks, which actually allow the ability to fight, but give almost no defense, and the SPW 251, a halftrack that gives the basic infantry better protection than being on foot.

Tank
Your basic armored fighting vehicle. Probably the type that sees the most variation in models, and gets upgraded the most often over the course of the war.



Already we see the first iterations of the tanks that will be our mainstays for the war's first few years. The Panzer IIIg is the first tank capable of going up against enemy armor, although it is a bit underpowered offensively.

The Panzer IIIe isn't worth getting, as it's about the same as a Pz 38(t)A with worse spotting.


The Panzer IVD is an excellent all-around tank. It's best suited for attacking soft targets, and it can easily chew up enemy infantry that usually can do little to stop it.

The rest of the tank lineup is in truth outdated, and we'll be moving away from it fairly quickly. About the only notable units are the Panzer IId, the fastest tank we have available, and the Pz 38(t)A, which has a nice bit of extra spotting range.

German tanks at this point in the war tend to be relatively well-rounded. They are a bit faster but more lightly-armored than their Allied counterparts. This usually means they should not face off one-on-one; the best approach is to make use of air support, or have multiple tanks that can be cycled on and off the line.

Recon
Recon units aren't anything special. They tend to have a high spotting range, but are in terms of class definition almost the same as tanks.


The PSW 231 is almost identical to the 222, which we have in the core already, but it lacks the anti-aircraft gun. These recon units have the offensive power of a light tank, which is to say, not much.

Anti-Tank
This type includes both towed and vehicle-mounted AT guns. The thing that distinguishes AT guns from tanks is that they never get initiative when attacking armor. They do tend to have the most powerful Hard Attack guns at any given time. AT guns are best suited for anchoring a line instead of leading an assault, or for filling in gaps either offensively or defensively.


The Panzerjäger I is the first mobile AT gun we can get. It's built on the chassis of a Panzer I tank, making it pretty terrible. But it is really cheap, and can be put to use earning experience until the crew can be upgraded into something useful.

We'll see a number of towed AT guns, which I most likely will not add to the core, since we'll be on the offensive so often. They may see service as auxiliary units if an objective just needs something to hold it. They are cheap, solid defenders, especially when given a chance to dig in.

Artillery
Your basic ranged gun. Artillery can fire over other units, and also can fire defensively. But they do have to obey the rule that they can't move before firing. This makes sense in that it would unreasonably extend their range, but it's also one of the more puzzle-like aspects of the game, in that artillery cannot usually advance with an assault that it also participates in.


1940 brings us some good news on the artillery front. We finally can get real guns, with the 15cm field howitzers that can blast just about any enemy position to bits. Each larger gun has slightly fewer shots than the smaller ones, but the added power makes up for that.


Also new is the Stug IIIb artillery unit. Since they have a range of 1, they are generally only usable for defensive fire. However, this is an important role for them. Being heavily armored, they can advance into any position without fear of destruction from counter-battery fire or flanking vehicles.

Anti-Aircraft
These units can make direct attacks on enemy aircraft. They don't cost that much, but are typically not very powerful. There are almost always better ways of dealing with air units, so they aren't too useful. There are a few that do have decent offensive power against land units, and this is the case for several German models.


The SdKfz 10/4 is a halfway-decent mobile unit. It's lack of defense means it should only be used in mopping up weak units, but it does okay at that role, and is pretty dangerous to any enemy planes that get close.

Air Defense
Yes, there are two different ground unit types that fight planes. It makes some sense if you think of Air Defense as artillery that can only fire at air units. Like artillery, they have longer ranges, provide defensive fire and must shoot before moving. Air Defense is typically more powerful than Anti-Aircraft (Note: I may use 'AA' to refer to either). None of them have offensive ability against ground units, but their counterattack values can make them very tough to knock out.


The Germans have several AD guns available, but everything pales in comparison to the mighty 8.8 cm FlaK 18. The guns have a large range and can do a pretty good job shooting down enemy bombers. When reacting to ground attack, they can penetrate any tank's armor or ruin an infantry unit's day. While their base defense is pretty weak, their other stats make them a target that nobody wants to mess with, and if they get entrenched, can only be eliminated with heavy artillery barrages.

Fighter
Fighters are your attack aircraft. They can also participate defensively in combat as interceptors, where they protect any units adjacent to them, including ground units. Fighters can only serve as interceptors once per turn (and attacking aircraft can only be intercepted by one fighter unit).


The Messerschmidt Bf109e is the only fighter we can purchase, but we really don't need anything else for now. Its combat values outclass everything the Allies can put up, with only the best of the British planes coming close. The only drawback is a very limited amount of fuel, making it unable to maintain its escort position for very long.

Tac Bomber
Tactical bombers are generally speaking ground attack craft. Some of them work well in other roles, so the stats can make a big difference. Their only distinction as a class is that they cannot intercept on defense the way fighters can, and they're the only air unit that can attack submarines.


The Ju 87b, aka the Stuka, strikes terror into the hearts of the enemy with its wailing siren when it dives. It's one of the more powerful bombers in the game, but this version has very little defense and practically demands an escort.


The Bf 110c is a nicely rounded fighter-bomber. This version has an excellent spotting range, and decent ground attack values. With experienced pilots it can survive on its own to hunt around for easy targets.

Level Bomber
Level Bombers do little direct damage to units. Instead, they affect supply and can perform strategic raids which drain prestige. If they attack ground units, they also cause suppression that lasts a whole turn, and they also cause the unit to lose fuel and ammo. None of the models have any offensive air power, but some pack a strong counterattack punch.

Level bombers have a hidden stat that affects their bombing efficiency, so even though they all have the same ground attack values, they do vary in offensive ability.


The Dornier 17z is not a very good bomber, but does have one nice characteristic -- it's cheap for an air unit. This can often fill in as a replacement aux unit when all we need is some strategic bombing, once our fighters have cleared the skies of course.




The Heinkels 111 isn't that bad, it's just worse than the Junkers 88, and given the price difference there's really no reason not to get the better one. Both of them can handle ground fire and enemy fighters decently. They also sport high naval attack, which is something not all bombers have.

Kangra
May 7, 2012

Now that we're a few updates in, it's time to start on some of the alternate battles. Due to the structure of the alt-history campaigns, these will most often be farther ahead in time than the core.

Options for the first one:

A. Sealion 1940
This is the earliest that the invasion of Britain can occur, and matches up with the historical German plan (as unlikely as it would have been). This is a map we will definitely see in the campaign, but for the core it won't happen for several years. This is a chance to see what it looks like with early-war units: the German tanks can't easily tackle the best British defenders, but Axis air power is slightly better. This is a particularly difficult one to win, even in the campaign, and since it's a one-off it'll be extremely tough to get any sort of victory out of it. I won't get to alter the deployment positioning or get the units I'd really like, making it an interesting challenge.

B. North Africa
This is the first of one of only a few desert map battles. Unfortunately the core campaign won't see any desert combat, so one of these will be the only chance to see them. There will be other chances, although I believe this is one of the longest. It's also interesting as it's one of the only ones where naval units really support the ground battle.

Vote in the thread for which one you'd like to see!

my dad
Oct 17, 2012

this shall be humorous
North Africa

Lynneth
Sep 13, 2011
Voting for North Africa.

Thefluffy
Sep 7, 2014
SEA LION

zetamind2000
Nov 6, 2007

I'm an alien.

North Africa

Jobbo_Fett
Mar 7, 2014

Slava Ukrayini

Clapping Larry
North Africa

Also, claiming 1st 7.5 IefK 16nA and renaming them to be "Die kleinen Stichel"

Rappaport
Oct 2, 2013

Sealion, please :allears:

Klaus88
Jan 23, 2011

Violence has its own economy, therefore be thoughtful and precise in your investment
We get to experience the absolute clusterfuck of WWII German industrial strategy first hand. I can't wait. :shepicide:

Sealion

OperaMouse
Oct 30, 2010

North Africa: need that oil from the Middle East, and help the Italians.

Also, can I claim the Stuka?
Please rename to ADAC Vogel

Kangra
May 7, 2012

Klaus88 posted:

We get to experience the absolute clusterfuck of WWII German industrial strategy first hand. I can't wait. :shepicide:

I was just thinking that if I didn't need to optimize the core for the winning path so much, it'd be pretty fun to do a run with severe restrictions on what can actually be purchased. Practically everyone just gets a ton of Panthers as soon as they show up. [That said, we won't be doing that because most of our battles happen before 1943].


OperaMouse posted:

North Africa: need that oil from the Middle East, and help the Italians.

Also, can I claim the Stuka?
Please rename to ADAC Vogel

ADAC Vogel is yours!

Die kleinen Stichel are also added to the list. Funny thing of note: I upgraded them before noticing the name change, but they remain the smaller guns (it can be nice to have a unit with extra ammo for defense).

I may as well note that I reserve the right to upgrade the core units. I won't always change their type, though, as I actually do like to have a bit of variety in the core if it can be helped.

Update for the next core mission coming later today; voting on the one-off is still open until the update is posted.

Jobbo_Fett
Mar 7, 2014

Slava Ukrayini

Clapping Larry

Kangra posted:

I was just thinking that if I didn't need to optimize the core for the winning path so much, it'd be pretty fun to do a run with severe restrictions on what can actually be purchased. Practically everyone just gets a ton of Panthers as soon as they show up. [That said, we won't be doing that because most of our battles happen before 1943].

This would be a cool thing to do for a Panzer Corps Grand Campaign LP.


Kangra posted:

Die kleinen Stichel are also added to the list. Funny thing of note: I upgraded them before noticing the name change, but they remain the smaller guns (it can be nice to have a unit with extra ammo for defense).

I may as well note that I reserve the right to upgrade the core units. I won't always change their type, though, as I actually do like to have a bit of variety in the core if it can be helped.

I wasn't expecting otherwise, and those light infantry guns were important for the Wehrmacht, its fitting that we keep it for a while.

Klaus88
Jan 23, 2011

Violence has its own economy, therefore be thoughtful and precise in your investment

Kangra posted:

I was just thinking that if I didn't need to optimize the core for the winning path so much, it'd be pretty fun to do a run with severe restrictions on what can actually be purchased. Practically everyone just gets a ton of Panthers as soon as they show up. [That said, we won't be doing that because most of our battles happen before 1943].


ADAC Vogel is yours!

Die kleinen Stichel are also added to the list. Funny thing of note: I upgraded them before noticing the name change, but they remain the smaller guns (it can be nice to have a unit with extra ammo for defense).

I may as well note that I reserve the right to upgrade the core units. I won't always change their type, though, as I actually do like to have a bit of variety in the core if it can be helped.

Update for the next core mission coming later today; voting on the one-off is still open until the update is posted.

That depends on the scale honestly. What does one unit represent? :shrug:

I'll take the first waterborne unit we get.

Kangra
May 7, 2012



After the fierce battles of September, the war has remained fairly quiet for us over the winter. It's spring now, and time to get back into combat.



We start the fighting in 1940 with an invasion of Norway.

Norway
April 9, 1940
26 Turns


Objectives: (City) [Aalborg], Oslo, Lillehammer, Namsos, Airfield [Stavanger]
Major: 20 turns.


This is probably one of the largest-scale maps we'll see. We can see almost the whole of Norway, although the objectives are only in the southern half of the country, primarily along the Oslo-Trondheim axis. The Norwegians don't have that many troops, but the objectives are spread apart and in many places can be easily defended behind river borders. Roads do connect them, making it easy to bring our reinforcing troops in faster, except at Namsos. That's going to be the toughest city to capture. The west and north coast are where the British are supporting the Norwegians, and we know that there is likely to be a large naval presence on that side of the country.

OOB
pre:
Unit Name                Unit Type [Transport]    Exp [OS] 
 
Land Units                    
1.4th 39 Wehr Inf      39 Wehr Inf [Opel]              68
2.5th 39 Wehr Inf      39 Wehr Inf [Opel]              47
3.7th 39 Wehr Inf      39 Wehr Inf                    126
4.8th 39 Wehr Inf      39 Wehr Inf                    156 
5.17th 39 Wehr Inf     39 Wehr Inf                     73
6.15th Pioniere Inf    Pioniere Inf[Opel]              49
7.16th PSW 222/4r      PSW 222/4r                      40
8.9th Pz IId           Pz IId                          65
9.11th Pz 35(t)        Pz 35(t)                       126  
10.13th Pz 38(t)A      Pz 38(t)A                       33
11.10th Pz IIIg        Pz IIIg                       165
12.Die kleinen Stichel 10.5 IefH [Opel]               44    
13.12TH 15 sFH 18      15 sFH 18[Opel]                42
14.18th 7.5 IefK 16nA  7.5 IefK 16nA [Opel]             7

Aux Units (by qty)

2                      40 LuftW FJ                    200 

Air Units
 
1.6th Bf109e          Bf109e                          101
2.14th Bf109e         Bf109e                          127
3.ADAC Vogel          Ju87b                            62


Naval Units

3                     U-boat                          100
6                     Z-destroyer                       0
1                     Light Cruiser                     0
2                     Heavy Cruiser                     0
1                     Battleship DI                   100

Core slots: 5
Starting Prestige: (1844 before upgrades)

For the first time we're given a few auxiliary units. This time it's two units of paratroopers, already loaded and prepared to drop, along with the naval units, which can't be purchased and thus are always auxiliary.
We've seen the new units that we can get for this year. The biggest change is in the artillery, where we upgrade to bigger models that can provide real offensive support. The tanks don't really need to be upgraded for this map, since the terrain does not allow for much mobility and we do not expect to have to fight enemy armor. The Panzer Ia really needed to be left behind, and so it gets upgraded to a Panzer IIIg.

This is also the first naval invasion. For naval invasions, our troops deploy at sea, in naval transports. Naval transports can unload into any hex, but move slowly and so it's best to position them near the location where we want them. They are also very vulnerable to air or naval attack (most large ships have ranges of several hexes) and need to be protected or unloaded quickly.



We're dividing the force into three: the main attacking force, and two auxiliary groups. The main thrust is going to come straight through Oslo first, and finally onward to Trondheim and Namsos. The smaller groups will perform two vital tasks. One will secure the airfield at Stavanger so that we don't have to go all the way to Denmark to resupply the planes. The other is going to take control of the area around Andelsnes to hold on to a port just in case our ships need to resupply, and to prevent any Allied troops from reinforcing here.

The naval battle will be key if we want to have a chance to capture Trondheim and Namsos with any speed. If we do not clear the seas, we'll be unable to make those attacks without the British shelling our troops from offshore. We need to get as many ships as we can into the Norwegian Sea. If we get the chance, we make use of air power to go after their ships as well.



The main force will land near Arendal and immediately move on Oslo.



The small group landing in the west needs to get ashore quickly before they are discovered. They do not expect to be involved in much fighting, at least not until they can combine forces with the main assault on Trondheim.



The Stavanger Group will need to capture Stavanger and the nearby airfield as fast as possible. This will allow these troops to move on to support the main force.

Axis Turn 1: April 9, 1940
Clear(dry)


Our destroyers engage the T-boat defending Stavanger so that our troops can land. While classed as a Destroyer, these smaller vessels are noticeable for having very powerful but a small amount of ammo (torpedoes), and can often be handled by simply attacking with a weak ship.


The main assault group reaches the shore under the protection of the Kriegsmarine.


No enemy forces appear to be present near Andelsnes either.

Allied Turn 1: April 9, 1940


The Norwegian fighter planes find their way to our landing force and hits some of our transports.

Axis Turn 2: April 10, 1940
Clear(dry)


Our fighters are easily able to shoot down the relatively weak aircraft.


The rest of our troops are able to get on shore with no fighting.


The first real fighting occurs at Stavanger, with our bombers softening up the ground troops as the tanks get ashore and begin fighting right away.

Allied Turn 2: April 10, 1940


With the loss of the Norwegian planes, British Hurricane fighters appear, and are more successful against the new Bf110's.

Axis Turn 3: April 11, 1940
Clear(dry)


Our fleets have so far been unable to locate any Allied naval forces.


But we have taken control of the southwest coast with little trouble.


Stavanger's airfield is under enough of our control to allow planes to land, and we expect to capture the city by tomorrow. The new bomber is a Ju88, which can be used for strategic bombing and for later naval attacks if we find the enemy navy.

Allied Turn 3: April 11, 1940


The paratroops are not meeting with resistance on the ground, but do take losses from air attacks.

Axis Turn 4: April 12, 1940
Clear(dry)


The first fighting as we move on Oslo does not go well for us.


Our 109's have a tough time going against the Spitfire, the one fighter that can almost match them.

Allied Turn 4: April 12, 1940


The British planes break past our interceptors and attack the ground troops, but this has put them in range of the flak guns we just brought ashore to the south.

Axis Turn 5: April 13, 1940
Clear(dry)


We bring up more ships for when we eventually find the enemy navy.


The paratroops cleared the way for our troops to get closer to Lillehammer. We still need to cross the Lågen River, but the forces along it are being cleared away.

Allied Turn 5: April 13, 1940


Air raids strike our recon units where they have trouble firing back, and the guns at Oslo fire rather ineffectually on our own artillery.

Axis Turn 6: April 14, 1940
Clear(dry)


We work on clearing the skies with our fighters. Fighting along the river remains fierce.


Our destroyers help clear out a few weaker ships in the waters near Trondheim. The southwestern force moves to assist at Lillehammer and cut off the road to Trondheim.

Allied Turn 6: April 14, 1940


British warships reveal their presence near Namsos. They end up finishing off our destroyers.

Axis Turn 7: April 15, 1940
Clear(dry)


The attacks continue at Lillehammer, with the Norwegians refusing to give an inch.


The battle for Oslo is going rather well.

Allied Turn 7: April 15, 1940


The enemy cruisers shell our forces at Trondheim.

Axis Turn 8: April 16, 1940
Clear(dry)


Although we did end up losing one of our infantry units, we get back at the British by striking back with as much of the fleet that we can bring to bear.

Naval units are expensive enough that merely inflicting damage on them can be a source of prestige.

Allied Turn 8: April 16, 1940


Oslo finally falls, and we start to make headway at Lillehammer. The new Panzer IV's added to the core were instrumental in the attack.


The naval response from the Allies eliminates some of our destroyers, and forces on of our subs to dive.

Submarines have a special ability that allows them to evade any attack with a fairly high chance of success.

Axis Turn 9: April 17, 1940
Raining(dry)
Spring rains ground our aircraft.


We make another landing to ensure that all the ports along the south are under German control.

Units can enter naval transport and land again at another spot. Outside of the initial set-up, naval transport can only be entered at a port (city hex with a connection to water and visible piers, such as the three seen here).


We manage to knock out one of the enemy destroyers and weaken another. The new unit at Trondheim is a mobile anti-tank unit, the Panzerjaeger I. It's not so great against tanks, but it's armor does present a difficult target for infantry.

Allied Turn 9: April 17, 1940


Initially our ships withstand the attacks from the Allies.


But after this their capital ships fire and three of our units are sunk.

Axis Turn 10: April 18, 1940
Overcast(dry)


While we destroy a number of the forces at Lillehammer, we are also forced to pull back from the city.

Allied Turn 10: April 18, 1940


The enemy discovers one of our subs that was scouting in the north.


The infantry at Lillehammer make a bad choice to charge out of the city and try to take back the bridge. We lose our weak artillery at Trondheim to aerial bombardment.

While the initial stages of our plan have gone well, dogged resistance at Lillehammer has slowed us on land. Now the weather is threatening to take a turn for the worse, which will not make our job any easier.




This battle will continue, but it appears that for the first standalone battle, we'll be seeing what happens when the Afrika Corps comes to the aid of the Italians. North Africa is chosen.

Kangra
May 7, 2012

Klaus88 posted:

That depends on the scale honestly. What does one unit represent? :shrug:

I'll take the first waterborne unit we get.

Unfortunately we don't get any core naval units. I think you can rename aux units, though, so I might be able to do it when it shows up (missed it for Norway, though). There are at least two more naval scenarios, not counting the one-offs.

Kangra
May 7, 2012



The battle for Norway was going well, but is slowly beginning to show signs of difficulty. The British Navy has finally showed up, and rain is negating our growing advantage in the air.



Despite the setbacks, we need to proceed with our plans. The army will move west and then north, while the navy will handle the enemy to protect the ground troops.

Axis Turn 11: April 19, 1940
Raining(muddy)
Rain picks up again, and swamps the rivers and roads.


The break in the action at Lillehammer caused many more Norwegians to pick up arms, but they are poorly-trained and we have little trouble attacking them. They are making life annoying for us, however. Our offensive needs to advance.

Allied Turn 11: April 19, 1940


The enemy capital ships return to Trondheim, where they can bombard even our troops well back from the front lines.

Axis Turn 12: April 20, 1940
Raining(muddy)


We added a core paratroop unit, and drop them to seize control of the ports north of Namsos.

The blue-outlined hexes to the east are neutral territory [Sweden] and cannot be entered by either side.


Some of the Norwegian infantry at Lillehammer actually prove to be more than our own foot soldiers can handle.


We send the tanks to handle them instead. Back at Oslo, there is an uprising attempting to retake the capital, and our troops are forced to dig in.

Allied Turn 12: April 20, 1940


The Norwegian infantry cannot do anything against the tanks, but the cruisers offshore can shell them, which they do.

Axis Turn 13: April 21, 1940
Raining (Muddy)
The offensive has stalled a bit due to inclement weather.


We clear out a few more troops at Lillehammer. It is time to prepare for the attack on Trondheim and the push toward Namsos.

Allied Turn 13; April 21, 1940


The cruisers continue to fire, but with the rain and the distance, their bombardments have no effect.

Axis Turn 14: April 22, 1940
Raining (Muddy)
More rain. We're not certain we really want this country anymore.


Despite the poor visibility, we do discover the rest of the enemy fleet — which includes a poorly protected carrier. We get to work on sinking her escorts.


The new Panzers have a tough time of it when the air defense guns steal a trick from our playbook and start to fire back at ground level.


After two weeks of fighting, Lillehammer finally falls. We can finally move the main force onward to Trondheim.

Allied Turn 14: April 22, 1940


Oslo holds off another assault.

Axis Turn 15: April 23, 1940
Raining (Muddy)


Movement is slow going with the lack of roads and continuous cold rain. With the help of a battleship on our side, we knock out the infantry southwest of Trondheim and drive our tanks to the edge of the city.

Allied Turn 15: April 23, 1940


The Allies move to protect their carrier.

Axis Turn 16: April 24, 1940
Raining (Muddy)


Our subs get a good hit on the carrier. The enemy fleet has been significantly weakened.

Allied Turn 16: April 24, 1940


The enemy ships are not out of the fight yet, and they sink one of our destroyers. The defenders at Trondheim are holding off the tanks but will need to deal with the threat of infantry to their east soon.

Axis Turn 17: April 25, 1940
Clear (Muddy)
Finally the rain is finished.


Recon flights are able to spot a very large build-up of British infantry around Namsos.


We'll need to send those troops north in order to get Namsos. Trondheim will be captured with fresh troops from the south.

Allied Turn 17: April 25, 1940


The clear weather allows the British planes hiding to the north to get back in the air. Our landing craft of infantry is discovered and sunk.

Axis Turn 18: April 26, 1940
Clear (Dry)


The arrival of the Pioniere means that Trondheim should soon be in our hands.


Bombing raids agaisnt Steinkjer (near Namsos) inhibit the British ability to resupply.

Allied Turn 18: April 26, 1940


The British bravely use their aircraft to attack our troops, despite the fact that we have fighters and Air Defense guns prepared to fight back.

Axis Turn 19: April 27, 1940
Clear (Dry)


Our response is deadly to the British bombers.


The first engagement outside Steinkjer goes poorly for us.


We do finally break the defenses at Trondheim.

Allied Turn 19: April 27, 1940


We also hold off a British counterattack at Steinkjer.

Axis Turn 20: April 28, 1940
Clear (Dry)


Trondheim finally surrenders today.

Allied Turn 20: April 28, 1940


The British go for our tanks, but inflict almost no casualties.

Axis Turn 21: April 29, 1940
Clear (Dry)


We've defeated the British fleet in Norway, and can use our own ships to start bombarding the shore.


Air attacks allow us to clear a path towards Namsos.

Allied Turn 21; April 29, 1940


Disaster at Oslo: The Norwegians finally break down our defenses and take control of the city.

Axis Turn 22: April 30, 1940
Clear (Dry)


We're making our way to Namsos; resistance there is rapidly crumbling. This will free up our planes to assist in the retaking of Oslo.

Allied Turn 21; April 29, 1940


In a fierce battle, Norwegian soldiers eventually gain control of Steinkjer.

Axis Turn 23: May 1, 1940
Overcast (Dry)


New mobile artillery is available for us.

The sIG IB is as powerful as our best artillery, but I don't like it that much. It has very low ammo, and for a mobile gun isn't terribly well-armored either.


The fight for Oslo goes on.


Steinkjer continues to be worn down, as is Namsos.

Allied Turn 23; May 1, 1940


The Norwegians leave Steinkjer to us, and make no other attacks.

Axis Turn 24: May 2, 1940
Overcast (Dry)


Namsos finally falls.


After a tough fight, we take over Oslo. Artillery and heavy guns ought to protect it from any more attacks.

Allied Turn 23; May 2, 1940

No response from the Allies.

Axis Turn 24: May 3, 1940
Overcast (Dry)


Our planes suppress the remainder of the Norwegians at Oslo, although we do spot many more behind them.


But we finally manage to subdue the uprising and force Norway to surrender.

The tenacity of the Norwegian troops led to us being unable to achieve our goals as quickly as desired. We won't have much time to rest before we continue the fight, but at least we gained control of Norway, which will give us an edge in the naval battle against Britain.

Result: Minor Victory
Ending Prestige: 118

This was kind of a rough result for us, despite the win. If we were aiming for knocking out Britain first, this would probably count as a loss even though it's still a few battles out (getting to Sealion early is very difficult in PGF, and requires a head start). Luckily we ought to be able to weather this and keep building until we really need to win later.

gradenko_2000
Oct 5, 2010

HELL SERPENT
Lipstick Apathy
Norway really throws you into the deep end of the pool for a newbie player: you've only just been taught how air units work in Warsaw, and then suddenly you have to deal with naval combat, amphibious invasions, muddy weather, rough terrain and attacking across multiple directions.

Puukko naamassa
Mar 25, 2010

Oh No! Bruno!
Lipstick Apathy
I'm pretty sure that when I played the original PG campaign when I was a kid, I just aimed for a minor victory in Warsaw so that I wouldn't have to deal with this bullshit.

Kangra
May 7, 2012



This is the first of the stand-alone scenarios. We don't have a core to protect, and there's no briefing to set us up.

The battle marks the arrival of the Afrika Korps in North Africa in the spring of 1941. The British and Italians have been fighting for a while over Libyan territory; it's now our job to push the British back. If we are successful, we'll gain control of the Suez and cripple British efforts to maintain her empire.

North Africa
March 31, 1941
23 Turns


Objectives: (Italian Camp), Benghazi, Berta, Tobruk, Bir Hacheim, Mersa Matruh
Major: 20 turns.



The scale on this map goes all the way from Libya to Egypt, but fortunately the objectives don't require us to push the whole distance. If we make it quickly through Cyrenaica and break past the strong points of Tobruk and Bardia to the border of Egypt, we'll have broken the British enough to ensure that they will withdraw across the Nile.
This map allows for a lot of movement away from the primary coast roads, but most of the terrain down there is desert. Since the desert makes resupply impractical, any charge away from the main road must be fast and hope that it will not meet with resistance.

OOB
pre:
Unit Name                Unit Type [Transport]    Exp [OS] 
 
Land Units                    
3                     39 Wehr Inf (SPW 251)           100
2                     40 Wehr HW (SPW 251)            200
3                     IT Infantry                       0
1                     Pz 38t(F)                       100
1                     Pz IIIe                         200
2                     Pz IIIh                         200
1                     Pz IVd                          100
1                     IT M13/40                         0
1                     PSW 222/4r                      100
1                     IT AB-40                        100
1                     8.8 Fk ATG (SPW 251)            100
1                     PzJager Ib                      200
1                     PzJager Ib                      100
2                     sIG Ib                            0
3                     10.5 IefH 18 (opel)             100
1                     IT 105mm Gun (Fiat)               0
1                     SdKfz 10/4                        0
1                     8.8 FlaK 18 (Opel)              100

Air Units
 
1                     Bf109e                          200
1                     Bf109e                          100
1                     Bf109f                          200
1                     IT Re2000/F1                      0
1                     Bf110c                          200
1                     Ju87b                           200
1                     IT BA65                           0
1                     Ju88a                           100
1                     IT P108 Bi                        0


Naval Units

2                     U-boat                            0
2                     Z-destroyer                       0
1                     T-destroyer                       0
1                     S-boat                          100
1                     Light Cruiser                     0
1                     Battleship Bk                     0

Core/Aux slots: 3/2
Starting Prestige: 1006

(Althouth they are marked as different in-game, there's no real distinction between Core and Aux in these scenarios, since all units are only here for one battle.)

We have a fairly decent set of units here, with some moderately experienced infantry and tanks. The artillery isn't the greatest - the towed guns are only 10.5 cm, and the mobile units are sIG Ib's, whose low ammo problem will be exacerbated by desert logistics.

Air power will be necessary for breaking the chokepoints where we can't get around the obstacles of the terrain. It's good that we have a large air wing with enough fighters to gain control of the skies.

The most notable new part of this battle is that we're fighting alongside the Italians. I won't get into their details now, as we will be seeing a core battle with some Italian forces later on.

We also have the Italian Navy helping us out. If we use the subs and lighter vessels to scout, we ought to be able to locate and destroy whatever ships the Allies have. Once that's done, it should free up our battleship for offshore support. Of course if we fail in that effort, we may end having to deal with attacking the coastal targets while under bombardment.



Rather than try to push our large force along the one narrow highway, the Wehrmacht will make its way more directly to the east. One force will head straight across the desert toward Bir Hacheim, and from there onward; they'll be there to keep the British from reinforcing and distract them on their flank. This will focus the battle for the objectives into a fairly narrow front, but that sort of favors us: we have air support, and we have more troops we can cycle into the fight. The primary problem will be maneuvering them around and maintaining reinforcement levels once space even in the rear area gets tight.

Cyrenaica will be handled by the Italians. They may not be particularly strong, but with air support it should be possible for them to retake Benghazi and Berta in about the same amount of time it will take the Germans to get to Egypt.


Axis Turn 1: March 31, 1941
Clear(dry)


Our fighters take out the British interceptors while we bomb Benghazi. Allied flak is heavy.


The Allies have little in the way of armor, but we do have to worry about their anti-tank guns.


The offense is off to a slow start as we still need to separate the forces out into groups.

Allied Turn 1: March 31, 1941


As expected, Allied anti-air guns inflict heavy losses.

Axis Turn 2: April 4, 1941
Clear(dry)


The Italians have access to a new, fairly unimpressive, tank.


The destroyers reveal that Berta is prepared against air attacks much like Benghazi.


The German tanks are good for pushing the air defense guns off the airfield.

Allied Turn 2: April 4, 1941


The British Hurricanes down the Italian fighters that we were using as scouts.


We spot movement along the road. The British may be redistributing their forces.

Axis Turn 3: April 8, 1941
Clear(dry)


There is little combat today, other than the elimination of the British fighter planes. The forces are beginning to move on their separate paths (the Panzers at Benghazi are a holding force until the Italians arrive; this will allow us access to the northern route).

We've also augmented our forces with a Stug artillery unit, a more powerful 15.0 cm gun, and some Pioniere infantry for breaking down the fortifications at Tobruk.

Allied Turn 3: April 8, 1941


No ground fighting from the Allied side; their planes no longer seem eager to attack, which means we've probably shot down the best of what they had.


Axis Turn 4: April 12, 1941
Clear(dry)


No enemy naval units have been discovered yet, but our destroyers catch some British guns being transported on land near Berta.


The British planes seem to be scouting our advance; we quickly send the fighters to shoot them down before they can report our position.

Allied Turn 4: April 12, 1941


There is an attempt to hit our soldiers in their transports, but the sIG is able to do its job and stop the attack from hurting them.

Axis Turn 5: April 16, 1941
Clear(dry)


After two weeks crossing the desert, the German forces have nearly reached their targets. The Italians, unfortunately, have become bogged down trying to move up the road to Benghazi; the airfield nearby is also found to be heavily damaged by our bombs and unusable, which will force their planes to land to the south.


The first enemy warships are spotted near Tobruk. The smaller ships keep an eye out for Allied subs.

Allied Turn 5: April 16, 1941


The British attack our tanks at Bir Hakeim, reducing them to half strength. The attack from Gazala is much less successful, and the fact that they abandoned their defensive position will aid our advance to Tobruk significantly.


Axis Turn 6: April 20, 1941
Clear(dry)


The Italian navy does enough damage to one of the British cruisers to put it out of action.


Air raids hit the rest of the enemy fleet, and we secure attack positions outside of Tobruk and Bir Hakeim.


More attacks are made at Benghazi from the air while the Italians organize their own plan of attack.

Allied Turn 6: April 20, 1941


The British go after our own cruiser, but with their own ships already damaged, it has little effect.

Axis Turn 7: April 24, 1941
Clear(dry)


While we did manage to skirt our Panzerjagers around the back of Bir Hacheim, the units on their front line remain strong.


The seas are cleared around Tobruk. Then the big ships come in and bomb the defending guns to bits.


And with the artillery out of the way, our Pioniere are able to make an immediate attack. The fortification is reduced to half strength.


The Italians finally march on Benghazi, although the remnant of British infantry is able to stop them from gaining any ground. Scouts reveal a strong enemy presence at Berta.

Allied Turn 7: April 24, 1941


The British air force and navy seem to accept that they cannot contribute any more to the battle, and do not even attempt to regroup.

Our plan so far has worked; we seem to be pushing the British back across the desert very quickly.

Kangra
May 7, 2012



We're about to take control of Tobruk, and the navy has done a good job of clearing the seas for us. We can continue marching toward Egypt.
The Italians need to capture Benghazi soon if they want to keep pace with us; hopefully their air support will let them do so.


Axis Turn 8: April 28, 1941
Clear(dry)


As the Pioniere continue their assault on the fortifications of Tobruk, our armor captures many Matilda tanks on the northwest side of the city.


The strongpoints fall one by one as our AT guns blast at them. The city can be taken after a few more air strikes suppress the defenders.


Bir Hakeim is mostly cleared out too, and we move those forces on toward Bardia.

Allied Turn 8: April 28, 1941


Our s-boats are suprised when several British submarines appear and fire on them. It seems the British navy isn't finished yet.


Perhaps the advance on Bardia was done a bit too quickly; one infantry unit is nearly lost as they got ahead of their artillery.

Axis Turn 9: May 2, 1941
Clear(dry)


The Italians begin to press on Benghazi. They have support of one of their quality infantry units, the Bersaglieri. Up the road, they seize control of the airbase at Berta to make raids there easier.


We spend time simply clearing out Tobruk and getting our forces moving. Reconnaissance reveals the enemy positions at Bardia and beyond.

Allied Turn 9: May 2, 1941


The British mostly only have AT guns to fend off the Italians. While they are quite effective against the tanks at Berta, they are unsuited for the infantry at Benghazi.

Axis Turn 10: May 6, 1941
Clear(dry)


The Bersaglieri break the defense at Benghazi. They use their planes to suppress the forces at Berta.


The German army continues to push forward slowly, using the Luftwaffe to soften up the heavily-armored British tanks.

Allied Turn 10: May 6, 1941


One of the destroyers is come upon by another British cruiser that was held back.


The Italian scout cars are pushed off the airfield at Berta.

Axis Turn 11: May 10, 1941
Clear(dry)


The Italian navy pulls its ships away from unsuccessful sub hunting to prepare for engaging any additional British warships.


The forces out in the desert clear a path for an assault on Bardia, but the troops on the coast find themselves stuck in a traffic jam.

Allied Turn 11: May 10, 1941


The rest of the fleet defending the Suez sneaks along the coast to hit our destroyers that were left to keep the subs contained, sinking them both.

Axis Turn 12: May 14, 1941
Clear(dry)


The response of the Italian navy is to strike back at the British navy. Our subs come in afterward to finish the damaged cruiser off.


The enemy subs are restricting our movement along the road, but we're managing to at least hold the line at Bardia. The rest of the force swings south through the desert on a long trip towards Mersa Matruh.


The Italian armor reaches Berta first, but has no chance of attacking into the teeth of the British guns.

Allied Turn 12: May 14, 1941


The AT guns hit the Italian tanks. They withstand the attack better than the armored cars, but cannot hold this position for very long.

Axis Turn 13: May 18, 1941
Clear(dry)


All the German planes that are in range make raids around Bardia. Out in the Mediterranean, the British cruiser is nearly eliminated.


We're finally able to capture Bardia.

Allied Turn 13: May 18, 1941

The Italian armored cars are finally taken out at Berta.

Axis Turn 14: May 22, 1941
Clear(dry)


As soon as our tanks arrive at Mersa Matruh they attack. It does not go well, as the British are prepared to defend here.


The Italians are getting their troops closer to Berta, and are almost ready to attack.

Allied Turn 14: May 22, 1941


The British go after the lead elements of our advance both at Mersa Matruh and back along the coast road.


Their anti-aircraft guns shoot down some of our fighters being used as scouts.

Axis Turn 15: May 26, 1941
Clear(dry)


Our sweep into Egypt was a success; even El Alamein appears undefended.


There's a bit more room to maneuver at Sidi Barrani, and our forces take advantage of it to repeatedly attack the British Matildas.

Allied Turn 15: May 26, 1941


The AT guns defending Berta continue to fire on the Italian troops.

Axis Turn 16: May 30, 1941
Clear(dry)


The Germans are sent up to support the Italians at Berta, but their attack fails.


The Italians are able to break down the British front line on their own, although they risk losing their armor.


The Matilda I is effectively a wall that our infantry (and even some of our tanks) can't penetrate. It rarely is able to do much damage, but sometimes they get lucky, as against these Pioniere.


German artillery clears out Sidi Barrani, and the road is clear.

Allied Turn 16: May 30, 1941


The British artillery duel with the Italian guns, but we have more in reserve.

Axis Turn 17: June 3, 1941
Clear(dry)


The first wave at Mersa Matruh destroys the anti-air guns on the east side.


Our fighters suppress the line of tanks to the east, ensuring that the town will get no reinforcements.

Allied Turn 17: June 3, 1941


The Matildas do attempt to hit our transports, and at Mersa Matruh the German infantry is reduced.

Axis Turn 18: June 7, 1941
Clear(dry)


A determined Italian assault, combined with a wave of bombing at the start of the attack, leads to the capture of Berta.


Our troops continue to block the Matildas, and cut off Mersa Matruh from the west side.


The Pioniere make the final attack, leading to victory.

Final Prestige: 1096
This win would be an early break in the battle for North Africa, a pretty nice result for Germany.

PotatoManJack
Nov 9, 2009
I love Panzer General / Fantasy General back in the day so will definitely follow this. Out of curiosity, does PGF allow you to play Fantasy version?

Also Sign me up as PotatoManJack! - I'd love to be some kind of mechanized / armour unit, but am happy to take anything

Kangra
May 7, 2012

PotatoManJack posted:

I love Panzer General / Fantasy General back in the day so will definitely follow this. Out of curiosity, does PGF allow you to play Fantasy version?

Also Sign me up as PotatoManJack! - I'd love to be some kind of mechanized / armour unit, but am happy to take anything

I'm not aware of any Fantasy General modules for it. In theory you could likely get all the units and maps in but it probably can't deal with the different factions (Pacific General doesn't work, for instance - the AI doesn't know how to use the ships). Although Fantasy General is on GOG if you want something that will run on a modern machine.

And there's a Panzer III with your name on it ready to roll (well, when we get to France, anyway).

Kangra
May 7, 2012



We've barely had a chance to recover from the fight in Norway before we are shipped back to Germany to open the fight on the western front.



The first stage of the war in the west heads directly through Belgium. We are already at war with France and Britain, so we risk no reprisal from this invasion. Rapid action is required, however. We must put a stop to any British forces that may be arriving via Calais. Then we'll have to get ready to turn left and strike the heart of France as soon as we make our way to the sea.

Low Countries
May 10, 1940
26 Turns


Objectives: (Aachen), (Bittem), Luxembourg, Liege, Brussels, Namur, Sedan, Maubeuge, Lille, Calais, Abbeville

Major: 30 turns.



Progress on this map is constrained by the rivers. We have the Meuse/Sambre to the south, and the Escout/Leie to the north. Once we get across the border, we'll be driving into open ground between them. Attacks mostly won't need to deal with river crossings, but some of the cities will be able to entrench using a river as a barrier. Flanking around them may require bridging assistance.
The initial assault will need to get across the Meuse in the north and through the Ardennes in the south; this has the possiblity to slow us but there isn't much aside from the defensive line across the Meuse.

One additional note about this map: While the Allied infantry in the north is called "LC Infantry", all such infantry has nationality set to Belgian, and they use the Belgian flag.

OOB
pre:
Unit Name              Unit Type [Transport]            Exp  
 
Land Units
1.4th 39 Wehr Inf      39 Wehr Inf [Opel]                 -
2.5th Pioniere Inf     Pioniere Inf [Opel]                -
3.17th 39 Wehr Inf     39 Wehr Inf                        -
4.15th Pioniere Inf    Pioniere Inf[Opel]                **
5.19th 40 LuftW FJ     40 LuftW FJ                        -
6.16th PSW 222/4r      PSW 222/4r                         -
7.9th Pz IId           Pz IId                            **
8.11th Pz 35(t)        Pz 35(t)                          **
9.13th Pz 38(t)A       Pz 38(t)A                          *
10.10th Pz IIIg        Pz IIIg                           **
11.23rd Pz IVd         Pz IVd                             *
12.26th Pz IVd         Pz IVd                             -
13.8th PzJager Ib      PzJager Ib                         -
14.Die kleinen Stichel 10.5 IefH [Opel]                   -
15.12th 15 sFH 18      15 sFH 18[Opel]                    -
16.18th 10.5 IefK      10.5 IefH [Opel]                   -
17.22nd 8.8 FlaK 18    8.8 FlaK 18                        -

Aux Units (by qty)

5                      39 Wehr Inf                        -
1                      39 Wehr Inf[opel]                 **
1                      Pz Ib                              -
1                      Pz IIf                             -
1                      10.5 IefH [Opel]                   -
2                      8.8 FlaK 18                        -
                                                       
Air Units                                       
                                                       
1.6th Bf109e           Bf109e                            **
2.14th Bf109e          Bf109e                            **
3.20th Bf 110c         Bf 110c                            -
4.ADAC Vogel           Ju87b                              *
5.21st Ju88A           Ju88A                              *

Aux Units (by qty)
                                                        
2                      Bf109e                            **
2                      Do17z                              -
1                      He111 H2                           -
                      
Core slots: 5
Starting Prestige: (943 before upgrades)

We get an even larger auxilary force now, although most of these troops have never seen combat. A lot of support will be in the air, and even on the ground we'll have air defense guns that can easily hold the rear objectives as we push onward.

I've made a change in the display of experience: Only the number stars a unit has will be shown in the OOB (a - indicating less than one). Overstrength is not marked as it can be read off the deployment map. I think it's actually a bit easier to see where the best units are, and it's also less work for me. The main roster (second post in the thread) will still list the experience values.



Almost all of our force is set up to strike through the Ardennes, which we expect to be lightly defended. A smaller group including die kleinen Stichel will wear down the tougher fortifications on the Belgian border. Our paratroops will also drop behind the lines in the north, for when we do make the move across the river.



The Belgian border is heavily defended and attacking across the Meuse would be difficult. Our plan here is to swing through the Ardennes instead, to make the crossings behind the fortified line. If we move as fast as we can, we should have an easy time of capturing objectives with an armored advance once we break into the open land between the rivers.

Axis Turn 1: May 10, 1940
Clear(dry)


The offensive begins with airstrikes and the vanguard of scouts clearing the initial path.


Liege is taken by surprise, and their defense crumbles quickly.


Luxembourg has no military to speak of, and surrenders immediately. We add a Stug mobile artillery for these rapid advances (along with an anti-air up at Aachen).

Allied Turn 1: May 10, 1940


After pulling back from Liege, the Belgians attack some of our forces that are holding the line on the Meuse. Fighters and bombers hit us up here as well.

Axis Turn 2: May 11, 1940
Clear(dry)


Like most of the Allied countries, the French aircraft are merely decent, and they lack experienced pilots. Our Messerschmidts will have no trouble dealing with them.


An ill-considered attack on Maastricht leads to heavy losses on our side but maintains pressure. Meanwhile the breakthrough at Liege gives us a chance at an early attack on Namur.


The Ardennes are indeed lightly defended; our advance is only slow to ensure that we are not exposed to aerial attacks.

Allied Turn 2: May 11, 1940


At Maastricht, the battle turns for the Belgians[?] when they attempt a counterattack.


British fighters arrive and tear into one of our unescorted bombers.

Axis Turn 3: May 12, 1940
Clear(dry)


The RAF can put up a pretty good fight even against our experienced pilots.


The anti-air unit actually gets a chance to fire upward in its first taste of combat.


Our paratroops surprise the Belgian line from the rear; resistance along the Meuse has broken far faster than expected.

Allied Turn 3: May 12, 1940


Defensive guns near Sedan fire, but with little effect on our forces.

Axis Turn 4: May 13, 1940
Clear(dry)


At the start of an excellent day for our side, Sedan surrenders and we clear out the forts west of the river.


The second line of defense is pretty weak in Belgium, but the French seem to be ready to make a stand at Maubeuge.

Allied Turn 4: May 13, 1940


The Allies shift defenses around, but at Brussels there isn't really any place for them to move to.

Axis Turn 5: May 14, 1940
Clear(dry)


Sedan is secured and we're now across the Meuse.


To the north, most of the Belgian resistance is neutralized. We begin air raids at Brussels and ought to capture it soon.

Allied Turn 5: May 14, 1940


More British fighters show up to take down some of our bombers. We'll have to spend a few days holding our weaker planes back.

Axis Turn 6: May 15, 1940
Clear(dry)


The mobility of our anti-air unit allows them to cover the battlefield well, and reduces the Hurricanes enough that our fighters can easily finish them off.


The 4th get upgraded to Bridging Engineers in order to assist with any crossings. They get to work with their new equipment by breaking down the entrenched forts near Sedan.


We began the armored advance on Maubeuge. Brussels will be captured once the auxiliary forces begin moving up.

Allied Turn 6: May 15, 1940


French tanks are encountered for the first time. Their aircraft raid our ground forces.

Axis Turn 7: May 16, 1940
Clear(dry)


A tank battle leads to more losses on our side than the French.


French forces seem to be concentrated around Maubeuge, with only light resistance in the path of our assault out of the Ardennes.

Allied Turn 7: May 16, 1940


The enemy attacks concentrate on our Panzer IV that is at the head of the advance. It survives, barely.

Axis Turn 8: May 17, 1940
Clear(dry)


The battle for Maubeuge has begun in earnest. As our armor swings around on the right, the infantry tear through the French front line.


The enemy tanks are tough to crack even with aerial assaults.


The southern hook continues to push onward.

Allied Turn 8: May 17, 1940


The Char B1-bis stays in the fight and makes a charge into the infantry. It's not terribly effective.


The Allies have only one flak gun, but it makes the most of its power by hitting our weakest target.

Axis Turn 9: May 18, 1940
Raining(dry)
Spring rains give the Allies a break from our air raids.


As the rain makes escaping our trap difficult, we surround the French tanks and eliminate them.


With the Pioniere leading the charge, Maubeuge is captured.

Allied Turn 9: May 18, 1940


The French can do little more than try to retreat to the west.

Axis Turn 10: May 19, 1940
Overcast(dry)


Most of the force spends the day recovering from the battle at Maubeuge and preparing to move on the joint British-French force defending Lille.

Allied Turn 10: May 19, 1940


Our scouts come under attack, but it is otherwise quiet.

The push through Belgium went faster than expected, but we're certainly not going to complain about that.

Kangra
May 7, 2012



The battle in the west has begun. The use of armor and aircraft in combination with the infantry has allowed us to quickly take ground.



At this point, we want to press the attack between the rivers all the way to Calais. On either side, small forces will assist. In the north, we don't have any real objectives, but do want to keep the remaining Allied forces there occupied. Down at the Sambre, we'll send some forces to distract the enemy and make the attack from the front easier.

Axis Turn 11: May 20, 1940
Overcast(dry)


After blowing through Belgium and the Ardennes in a matter of days, we now see signs of determined resistance. Arras in the center is not an objective, but we'll need to clear it out nonetheless.


At least the French tanks are not as good as the ones they had at Maubeuge. The British Matilda, however, is a heavily-armored beast, and there's one of those waiting at Lille.


Some of our forces will be able to advance by going south of the Sambre.

Allied Turn 11: May 20, 1940


The difference in the tank quality of the opposing nations is made clear when they attack us.

Axis Turn 12: May 21, 1940
Raining(dry)


The arm of our advance south of the Sambre is able to sneak an attack on the rear guns at Abbeville.


The German armor is easily able to finish off the weaker French tanks near Arras.


We make a parachute drop near Ostend to put pressure on the remaining Belgians and the British forces.

Allied Turn 12: April 20, 1940


The Matildas go after our least-experienced Panzer III's.


The AT guns in Belgium abandon the airfield. They know they won't hold up agaisnt infantry attacks, and go after our Panzer I instead.


Axis Turn 13: May 22, 1940
Raining (Muddy)
A continual drizzle has finally turned the roads to mud.


Even with the bad weather, we're able to do a lot of damage to all the units at Lille, aside from the Matildas.


We seize the airfield in the north, but the auxiliary troops have a terrible day fighting closer to the city.

Allied Turn 13; May 22, 1940


The Matildas knock back our Panzer IV's, and then withdraw to the north to escape encirclement.

Axis Turn 14: May 23, 1940
Clear (Dry)


We clear out a number of the weaker units, although Lille is still well-defended.


Arras will probably be in our hands soon, but we can see that the guns are now pulling in to make a deep defense at Abbeville.

Allied Turn 14: May 23, 1940


Our forces come under attack near Ypres. Losses are high, but we are keeping them out of the fight for the objectives.


The Allied AT guns are especially effective against our more lightly-armored tanks.

Axis Turn 15: May 24, 1940
Clear (Dry)


The paratroops are also unable to crack Ostend. We probably will have trouble making real progress without more support up here.


Eventually, we do force the surrender of the city, but it came at a fairly high price.


The Pioniere secure Lille, and are able to get a lucky shot off on the Matildas.


We reconnoiter the remainder of our objectives. Calais, at least for now, looks more easy to take.

Allied Turn 15: May 24, 1940


The French begin to fight back on the south side of the Sambre.

Axis Turn 16: May 25, 1940
Clear(dry)


With Lille in our hands, we halt the advance in the north and set up a line of defense.


Abbeville continues to be hit from the rear as the rest of the core prepares to move on it from the front.

Allied Turn 16: May 25, 1940


The Belgian infantry are ineffective against any sort of armor, and the Panzer Ib is enough to block them.


French defensive maneuvering near Abbeville attempts to protect the city better.

Axis Turn 17: May 26, 1940
Clear (Dry)


Instead of taking on the static line of AT guns directly, we drive around with our tanks to hit Abbeville's guns from the north side.

Allied Turn 17: May 26, 1940


The Allies push at the only point where they are stronger than we are, but our infantry hold firm.


The guns on our side blast the enemy when their anti-tank guns try to begin a counterattack.

Axis Turn 18: May 27, 1940
Clear (Dry)


Abbeville's rear defense is nearly eliminated now.


ADAC Vogel is able to strike directly at the air defense guns to knock them out.


Our armored vehicles open the battle at Calais.

Allied Turn 18: May 27, 1940


The French exploit the hole in our line to send a tank to Lille.

This was potentially dangerous; the road to Brussels was wide open. One thing I like about this game is that the AI does not have any extra information.

Axis Turn 19: May 28, 1940
Clear (Dry)


If we can capture Calais quickly enough, we shouldn't have to worry about the problems we're having in Belgium.


As the infantry arrive at Abbeville, the AT gun defensive line collapses; the city is captured later in the day.

Allied Turn 19: May 28, 1940


The remaining French guns continue to go after our tanks, but our artillery continues to shut them down.


The counterattack in Belgium reaches the airfield; this isn't likely to slow our plans to capture Paris, but might allow many of the Allied troops to evacuate by sea.

Axis Turn 20: May 29, 1940
Overcast (Dry)


We do manage to put the brakes on the counterattack.


The 5th win the battle in Calais, but don't quite make it to the port.

Allied Turn 20: May 29, 1940


The remainder of the Allied units in the counterattack at Lille continue to kill as many of our soldiers as they can.

Axis Turn 21: May 30, 1940
Raining (Dry)
As May ends, more rain comes.


It does not take long for the Pioniere to finish clearing out Calais, and the battle is over.


The remaining Allied forces in the north have been pocketed with their backs to the sea.

Result: Major Victory
Ending Prestige: 650

A good result here; a fair amount of experience gained and finishing early gives us a bit of extra prestige.

Kangra
May 7, 2012

As we prepare to continue the invasion of France, it's time to pick the next stand-alone mission.

I still don't want to get too far ahead, and given the available choices, I'm going to throw Sealion back in the mix. Please vote for one.

A. Middle East
This continues the desert combat from North Africa, positing a German breakthrough and control of the Suez. The scenario is an attack through the Levant and all the way into Iraq. It's somewhat similar to the previous desert battle, except that the possible offensive routes are more constrained at the start and open up later; air power is also more significant since the navy can only provide support over a small area.

B. Early Moscow
We'll be seeing not just one but two attacks on Moscow in the course of the campaign. Although this particular one won't be covered (similarly to Sealion 1940), the difference here is only a matter of being a month earlier. This battle takes place after massive gains in Barbarossa allow for for an attack before the Russians are really prepared, but also without as much preparation on the German side.

C. Sealion 1940
The invasion of Britain. If I do this one, it will likely be the version with the Italian navy present (aka Sealion Plus). Previously I'd thought that this wasn't in as a stand-alone, but it is; it's just at the bottom of the list.

zetamind2000
Nov 6, 2007

I'm an alien.

A. Middle East, to tie off what the previous stand-alone mission started.

Jobbo_Fett
Mar 7, 2014

Slava Ukrayini

Clapping Larry
A

Nuramor
Dec 13, 2012

Most Amewsing Prinny Ever!
A

Puukko naamassa
Mar 25, 2010

Oh No! Bruno!
Lipstick Apathy
Yeah, le's go with A.

Triple A
Jul 14, 2010

Your sword, sahib.
A, time to show kebab that bratwurst is better.

gradenko_2000
Oct 5, 2010

HELL SERPENT
Lipstick Apathy
Another vote for A. It's one of the most interesting battles in PG, IMO.

David Corbett
Feb 6, 2008

Courage, my friends; 'tis not too late to build a better world.
Definitely voting for A here (Herr?). Good job in the Low Countries!

Koorisch
Mar 29, 2009
drat it, I've been trying to play this but as soon as I kill one unit three more pop up elsewhere, I can't finish Warsaw since they just keep spawning tanks and block everything with AT guns! :argh:

Anyone got any tips for a novice?

Jobbo_Fett
Mar 7, 2014

Slava Ukrayini

Clapping Larry

Koorisch posted:

drat it, I've been trying to play this but as soon as I kill one unit three more pop up elsewhere, I can't finish Warsaw since they just keep spawning tanks and block everything with AT guns! :argh:

Anyone got any tips for a novice?

How are you advancing with regards to your forces? Unit composition? I don't have any experience with Panzer General, but Panzer Corps and Order of Battle both require you to advance with infantry, tanks, and artillery/support to properly break through enemy defenses.

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Koorisch
Mar 29, 2009

Jobbo_Fett posted:

How are you advancing with regards to your forces? Unit composition? I don't have any experience with Panzer General, but Panzer Corps and Order of Battle both require you to advance with infantry, tanks, and artillery/support to properly break through enemy defenses.

The problem here is that I don't know how to put up a force that can actually kill them faster than they get new units, it's just a bunch of different units since I don't know which are better in the end.

I mean, I try to have a bunch of tanks, infantry and a few artillery but I don't know how to use them well enough to actually get anywhere.

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