Copying over from
my other thread.
Game setup
Initial setup
I debated whether to guard the left flank or just let the AI have it. Ended up being one of the best fights of the scenario
Central front
Guarding the road
Right flank. Again, the AI really pushed on this side. Come to think of it, the AI sent tanks down the flanks and only infantry down the middle
It's all about range. Being able to reach out further than the enemy is the key. After that is firepower. Overwhelming firepower. Here, a group of enemy infantry got within range of my MG unit
Initially, I did not know that the anti-tank could hide in the bushes/hedgerows. I've noticed my unit's AI would hide themselves if there was a bush nearby. Here, my AT was supposed to be on the road, but it relocated to the hedgerow, which was very lucky as an enemy tank is just about to come out from the opposite hedgerow
And it didn't take long for the AT to show them who's boss
Another example of winning the range fight. My scouts further down the track spots an enemy unit and this tracked unit opens fire. It didn't have to worry about return fire at all
The left flank is nicely protected against infantry by this MG unit
However, I wanted that clump of trees just north of our position, so I moved the MG unit closer to get the location in range and "coax" the enemy unit out of it. Turns out to be a great location later on
After successfully occupying the new position, the enemy sends two tanks and several infantry units. Uh oh!! My Peat units were nowhere in range! I quickly move them up to the clump of trees as well
And they make short work of the tanks
Moving some of my tracked units closer, I effectively set up a killzone for infantry. I guess the enemy AI could not see my troops effectively due to tree cover and he didn't have any scouts and that's why he had to send his tanks close. Well, with my own scouts in the trees and being protected by MGs and tracked vehicles, he couldn't re-take this area.... luckily, he didn't have much arty set up and what he had was too busy in the center trying to get my units out of cover
The AI tries to compensate by sending airborne scouts over my position... I don't know how effective that is. Sure, he may spot my units but I wonder how long the "intel" will last before my units disappear from his view again? Anyway, I soon took some AAA assets to cover the airspace
One thing that surprised me was that the AAA gun would shoot at ground units as well. Sure, I read about this, but I was pleasantly surprised to see this in the game. Here, my AAA unit was firing on the enemy units holed up in the building to the north. Didn't take long for them to start falling back. I need to keep this in mind in the future.... if I had moved my AAA unit just a few more meters down the track, he'd get better LOS to a lot more contested areas and could've been A LOT more useful
Starting to push back along the middle. Also got bigger arty. Before this, I really couldn't see the point of arty. Sure, it was scary but I thought unless you get a direct hit, all you are really doing is keeping the enemy's head down. Well, in this situation, I learned that arty is a great way to coax enemy infantry out of buildings... by simply destroying said building
And here's the star of the scenario... the humble Humber Mk.3... this guy was the one that initially transported my left flank scout and he just stayed around and got the most number of kills for the scenario. You can plainly see here that he's out of ammo... I sent an ammo truck soon after but it was too late in the scenario for him to get back into the action.
Just before the win
Victory screens
Here's the kill list of the humbe Humber
A very fun scenario and very interesting. I learned a lot about unit placement and some unit abilities surprised me, such as AAA and arty. I wonder if I can get the same results using more tanks... I want to use more tanks, but I can see some issues. For one, I don't think they can hide or see through the hedgerows unlike AT units. Another issue is that penetration and armor values seem to be quite... interesting. In one fight, I had three tanks taken out by an enemy StuG. They couldn't penetrate the StuG's front armor and the StuG would just take each tank out after 1 or 2 shots. Really cool if I were the German player, but I'll have to re-think my strategy if I stick to the Allies.
Another potential issue is that if I used tanks on my left flank, I'm guessing the enemy will just sit at range and we'll have a shootout between tanks at extreme range. As I have to sit the tank out in the open, there's no ambush possible and since they'll be firing at each other from range, the enemy tanks will probably be out of range for my anti-tank infantry to help. I don't want to sit my tank behind cover then just roll out since all the enemy has to do is stop and aim... my tank would still be moving, then have to stop, then rotate itself... by this time, the other guy would've taken his shot. So unless it's a total mismatch, I don't really like this idea.
Hope you guys enjoyed my small AAR!