The Commissar said:
Ah Welsh, you have at last discovered one of the greatest Real Time Strategy game series of all time.
While I am heavily biased towards CC3, there are a few things about playing Germans that remain the same in all the games.
I have been tryiing to get CC3 off ebay but it keeps going up to $40+! It's crazy. But yes, I want to try out the entire series. I figure once I beat the game its time to move to new campaigns.
Don't lose men! Seriously, even when you outnumber the enemy, its tough trying to constantly replace lost units.
Yes I noticed that. I am trying to take Osterbeck, and find that when I try to seize the entire field, my guys get so depleted I am weak for the next board, so I am trying to take that field a piece at the time.
But Veghel! Damn, the americans had 10 minutes to seize the bridge. I managed to blow the bridge, but only at the loss of one squad of scouts. Still it bought me 14 hours.
Ambushs and hidden MGs are your friend early on, 88s are killers and your tanks will eat up theirs in street fights and in the open.
The first few missions can be tough, before you start to get more troops, so ambush and then fall back constantly. Bleed the Allies dry, and don't let their rifle units get close enough to assault you.
Yes, I have been learning that it pays to know when to retreat and trade space for men. My thoughts were simply to let them get close and ambush, but their Bar teams can slaughter my rifle units.
That said, I am finding the use of smoke by the Germans to be a bit a miss. It's hard to figure out how many panzerfusts your regular troops have.
Beware their tank hunters however, as they were made with the express purpose of blowing the shit out of your tanks.
In that I find the Germans to be vastly superior. The Panzershreks can do a nice number on the Brit tanks.
When playing the Allies, are the Churchill tanks better for crossing difficult terrain?
I've found that an aggressive strategy as Germany was actually much better then playing defensivly. Staying on defense usually means having to fight on the enemies terms, which often means outnumbered and supressed by artillery and morters.
I find hunkering out in stone buildings and waiting out the mortars to run out of ammo might be good, but even the mortar teams have pretty decent small arms fire. They took out my sniper last game! What worries me is that the Allies get very precise with their mortars later in the game.
Holding on at Son- problem is hoping their mortars don't take out your 88, hoping the American Bar teams don't flank the town and come around from behind, and hoping you don't run out of ammo.
Mobility is key, get some of your guys around, or in a position where they can flank the Allies as they advance (Since they are usually advancing).
But if you got few troops are you better off trying to hold them off, trading space for protecting your men, or sending scouts out and around the allies to seize victory spots.
I am not sure if seizing victory objectives is really that worthwhile a strategy.
Also, not sure when its best to ask for a ceasefire, though I guess it's better to call a ceasefire and get the field, then exterminate the enemy and lose men.
Suppression! Suppression! Suppression!
When their heads are down they can't shoot you very well at all. Hiding scout teams can waste an entire enemy squad that is sufficiently suppressed if they hit them from behind.
I'll remember that. Usually I send my scout teams out to to hunt down their mortars. I am a bit wary of trying to snag their MG positions.
Problem I find with my scouts is that they are no match for the american rifle or bar units. Perhaps I am setting ambushes wrong?
Catching the allies as they are in movement seems to be the best way to cut them down.
And don't forget to pop smoke! Its there for a reason, just don't think it offers you any soild cover. In fact, sometimes popping smoke and then running in the opposite direction has the same effect, as the enemy opens up on what they think is movement in the smoke.
What I hate is popping smoke and going for a close quarters battle against an enemy you think is suppressed and finding out that they are in better shape then you thought. Maybe I am suppressing badly? DO you keep the firing on their position (say a house) up until your guys go in?
Also what about friendly fire?
A Bridge too Far has some really gritty firefights, especially with Paratroopers who have recieved reenforcements. As the Germans, you will usually outnumber the enemy, so you just have to ware them down. Do it slowly if you have to.
As the Germans I have been able to stop the Brits dead in their tracks on the way to Arnhem and am trying to retake the LZs in Osterbeck. We own the airfield near Groesbeck. But the Allies almost pushed out of Son (though not the bridge). What we've lost in some gains we've been able to regain, but the damn yanks keep coming back more strongly.
Keep MGs and maybe snipers near Victory locations with long open lanes of fire. Even if they don't shoot a lot (They probably will) They control that area and enemies who don't want to die will have to go around.
Mixed feelings about the snipers. Last time, mine took out a bazooka team but couldn't do a mortar team. Then an american sniper took out one of my MG42 in the same damn building and then stood off an entire German Schutze team.
As for weapon units what are your thoughts.
Is the German heavy machinegun worth it or should I go with other supplemental forces or tougher infantry?
Have you noticed if there is a difference between SS troops and the regular or your paratroopers?
Flamethrowers? Like or hate em? I like using them against tanks, but often find you have to burn the tanks three times before it lights up.
(the Allies flamethrower tanks is a lot of fun).
Also, any advice on the use of tanks? When I play the allies, I usually go with the fireflies or the Sherman 76, but am not sure if they make a big difference. The little Stuart tanks are great though- run around the field and you can even flank a panther.
That said I think I am playing a bit to conservative with tanks. Running over allied units should be easier with German tanks.
Another thing I noticed is that its usually not worth it to keep more then one unit in a building at a time. When Allies assault the building in close combat, it seems like more often then not I lose both of them, or suffer seriously casualties with both.
Yes, I notice. Or if the allies get a hit on the building with a bazooka or a mortar (or god forbid a harder unit) your guys take massive casualties.
That said, mortar units- better to go with the armored mortar unit than the infantry? I figured the pros of the armored mortar is unlimited ammo. The con is that if it gets hit by an anti-tank unit, you can't even use the mortar team as infantry in a pinch.
Suppression again! Really this is key. Order your units to fire on areas you think enemies might be, or should be. "Leap frogging" with advancing infantry is a good tactic, with one or more units firing at a defensive location while other units advance towards it.
Only problem is that early in the game you run out of ammunition to fast even if you can see them. I like the MG42s more than the infantry because they are accurate as hell. They can really clean out a rifle team that's hiding in the streambed. This has been the trouble with defending the approach to the Son bridge. MG42s, and I only have two of them, are the best defensive weapon but they burn through ammo damn fast.
Don't feel like you are wasting ammo by firing before the enemy reveals its position. Put lots of fire on places that can hurt you if enemies are there, that way you suppress anyone who might be ready to blow away your precious infantry. Its worth the effort every time.
It's annoying as hell when you don't get enough reinforcments.
What I am wondering as the Germans is, once you win a field should you press on the americans or brits even if you've taken 25-50% casualties or should you wait for more (as reinforcments should benefit you and you want to delay the allies). If I play the allies, I push forward figuring that the victory points I won should allow me to replace troops I have lost, but with the Germans I am not so sure.
Keeping your infantry in cover is very important too, out in the open they turn into so much jagerschnitzel.
I try to avoid this a lot, but then I am playing pretty defensive right now. Go for the covered flank if you can, but only after you have worn down the allies. Let them hit first and catch them on the move, then retreat to a better location, hit them again. When you feel they have been hurt bad enough, then come back.
Veghel, though. 1 MG42, 1 squad of riflemen, and two scouts- very difficult to hold that bridge for ten minutes, and when the americans take it, only temporary, they screw up your charges. Pain in the ass!
In that sense, I am wondering if its better to let them have the bridge but cut down their numbers until you are out of ammo, then pull back. WIn the next board, and come back and retake the bridge. Your thoughts?
One of the nice things about Germany infantry, is the excess of anti tank equipment. Combined with the usual lack of Allied armor in a lot of the battles, it means your guys can do pretty well generally, just make sure to hit from the flanks or rear, where the armor is weakest.
Yes, I found that when I played the German campaign as a recruit. Love that anti-tank capacity. That said, when your heavy infantry runs out of anti-tank stuff, - that blows.
I know the heavy infantry uses satchel charges, I just wish that when they stormed a building they didn't blow themselves up with those charges.
Anyways, thats just some things that have worked for me, I'm sure there are people with exactly the opposite playing style that works for them
And thanks for your thoughts. Have you tried out the battle maker?
One thing I really like about CC2 is that the computer AI is not bad. Even playing as a recruit for the Allies campaign, winning a battle with just a few guys is quite a challenge.
That said the battles seem a bit uneven. If you are able to seize Arnham bridge as the paratroopers and are able to bring in a couple of 6 pounders, you can pretty much hold off against the Germans. Only real trick seems to be maintaining the relief board.
How did CC4 and CC5 play out?
Either way, have fun enjoying a great series.
