DAW - Der andere Weg - The other way

[LarsGert]

Sorry to bother you. In the Anjou scenario, the message "One of the largest armoured museums in the world is located in a city on this map.There you will also find the only (known) still operational Tiger II. Move a ground unit exactly to the position 3 hexes south of this city hex" appears. I found this location, moved a reconnaissance armored car there and received prestige points. However, I did not find "Tiger". Perhaps he will appear in future scenarios? Maybe I'm missing something and doing it wrong. I had never encountered this before, since I always chose “Italian” scenarios (Turin, Florence, and so on).

[Sonja89_1]

Sorry to bother you. In the Anjou scenario, the message "One of the largest armoured museums in the world is located in a city on this map.There you will also find the only (known) still operational Tiger II. Move a ground unit exactly to the position 3 hexes south of this city hex" appears. I found this location, moved a reconnaissance armored car there and received prestige points. However, I did not find "Tiger". Perhaps he will appear in future scenarios? Maybe I'm missing something and doing it wrong. I had never encountered this before, since I always chose “Italian” scenarios (Turin, Florence, and so on).

You have actually done everything right and therefore also received the additional prestige. But there is no additional Tiger tank. You obviously interpreted it that way because there is a Tiger II in the tank museum today, which is what the text refers to. Bear in mind that this scenario takes place in June 1940. DAW is an alternative history, but Tiger tanks in the summer of 1940 would be rather early. You can enjoy Tigers from the 3rd campaign onwards.

[LarsGert]

Sorry to bother you. In the Anjou scenario, the message "One of the largest armoured museums in the world is located in a city on this map.There you will also find the only (known) still operational Tiger II. Move a ground unit exactly to the position 3 hexes south of this city hex" appears. I found this location, moved a reconnaissance armored car there and received prestige points. However, I did not find "Tiger". Perhaps he will appear in future scenarios? Maybe I'm missing something and doing it wrong. I had never encountered this before, since I always chose “Italian” scenarios (Turin, Florence, and so on).

You have actually done everything right and therefore also received the additional prestige. But there is no additional Tiger tank. You obviously interpreted it that way because there is a Tiger II in the tank museum today, which is what the text refers to. Bear in mind that this scenario takes place in June 1940. DAW is an alternative history, but Tiger tanks in the summer of 1940 would be rather early. You can enjoy Tigers from the 3rd campaign onwards.

Thanks for the clarification. Good luck as you continue working on your mod!

[Sonja89_1]

The third scenario, "Dresden", is finally a "normal" mission. First, the player must fend off a fierce attack by Czech-Slovakian forces and then try to recapture the city of Görlitz. This is also where the actual building of a regular force begins. There should be enough prestige after the 2nd scenario. Even if there are not many units to choose from in the autum of 1936, you can already form a considerable core force. Tanks remain a weak point, as initially only the two types Panzer 1a and b are available. Fortunately, it is possible to capture Czech tanks.

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After 2 turns, Czechoslovakian troops have begun to attack along the entire length of the front (1). The own front is in parts extended, partly covered by rivers (2). However, there are also some weak points. At the beginning, the longer range of the CSR artillery caused some problems. This leads to losses and collapses. It is very helpful to move your own headquarters by rail from Meissen to Dresden (3). Here it can achieve an optimal effect. In the initial phase, the enemy dominance of the air forces also causes particular problems. Here you can see how the enemy carries out a major attack on Dresden and the surrounding area (4). However, I have massed a lot of flak there (5). It is advisable to weaken the enemy fighters with anti-aircraft guns and then shoot them down with your own fighters, which are not yet particularly strong and can only just keep up with the Czech units.

The final picture can be seen on the strategic map. The Czech-Slovak attacks (6) were completely repulsed. In the counterattack, the enemy flank west of the Elbe could be rolled up to Teplitz and Görlitz could be liberated east of the Elbe (7). In the current version of DAW I have increased all scenarios with endpoints (loss=end) in the first campaign by 2 turns and in the following campaigns by 4 turns. As a result, the Dresden scenario now has a maximum length of 22 turns. At the end of the mission, my 2nd artillery regiment 'Lübeck' had reached 103 experience points. The first star has been earned.

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[rubyjuno]

Thanks for keeping us entertained with your progress!

[Sonja89_1]

Thanks for keeping us entertained with your progress!

At the moment I will play one scenario per week and briefly outline it here. This way I can illustrate the DAW campaigns more clearly and show how I slowly become desperate at higher difficulty levels later on. (I'll lose the laughter - but hopefully not the good mood).

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The 4th mission " Breslau" begins as a defensive scenario, which then becomes offensive in the second part in order to achieve a DV. Your own position around Breslau is relatively strong. This gives you a good chance of withstanding the fierce Polish onslaught (1). The Polish forces are on the offensive in the first half of the scenario. In the second part, the well-entrenched Czechs come into play (2), who are occupying the Silesian town of Glatz near the border. This town must be liberated (3). In doing so, you should keep away from the strong Czech border fortifications, which shoot unpleasant disruptive fire.

On the strategic map with the final image, you can see that I succeeded in conquering Glatz (4). But it was no walk in the park, despite my own strong artillery, which gained a lot of experience in this mission. There was also enough time to occupy the 3 special hexes on the southeastern edge, which allowed a DV (5).
At the end of the mission I have 2 artillery units (105 mm) with already 2 stars, 1 artillery unit + 1 infantry with one star and all 6 aviation units (3 fighters, 2 tactical bombers, 1 level bomber) also with one star each.

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[rubyjuno]

Thanks for sharing, Sonja, always interesting to see your battles.

[Sonja89_1]

Thanks for sharing, Sonja, always interesting to see your battles.

Given your continuous feedback, you truly deserve these reports, Rubyjuno. By the way, how did you come up with that name (Rubyjuno)?

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The 5th scenario " Oberschlesien" (Upper Silesia) is the first pure offensive. This is also the first time that the influence of nature appears. The influence of nature includes various events such as hunger, thirst, illness, cold and heat. These things usually kill more soldiers in wars than direct combat. However, they are not usually taken into account anywhere. In the DAW campaigns, however, players can enjoy them in some missions.

From Oppeln, the own attack starts in the direction of Beuthen and encounters a strong Polish defense line (1). Through concentrated use of artillery, a breakthrough has already been achieved in the center (2). At the lower edge of the picture, however, Polish artillery with a long range can also be seen, which repeatedly causes heavy losses in my ranks (3). In addition, the Polish side has armored units that are just waiting for the right time to counterattack (4). In this case, however, the Polish attack had already been decimated in advance by my own aircraft and was countered by artillery fire. This resulted in only minor damage on their own side. Further north, the own attack, conducted under time pressure, was successful (5). The aim is to reach the prison camp as quickly as possible in order to free your prisoners, who are being decimated by hunger and illness (6).

The strategic map shows the train evacuating the prisoners (7). At the same time, an advance is made on Beuthen and Katowice via the open northern flank (8). The recurring rainy weather in the fall was almost more of a hindrance than the enemy resistance.

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[rubyjuno]

Given your continuous feedback, you truly deserve these reports, Rubyjuno. By the way, how did you come up with that name (Rubyjuno)?

Well, I love that your scenarios always offer something different, for example the prison camp decimated by hunger and illness in Upper Silesia, and like to read about them.

As for the name, many years ago, when the first slow modems began to appear, I bought one and went on the internet with my DOS PC. There wasn't much to look at, mainly newsgroups and bulletin boards, but I was always interested in technology. I had to pay a monthly fee for internet access (more than I'm paying now!) and for every minute I was online. My wife at the time (long since deceased) and I took in a stray cat, and she gave birth to 3 kittens. Our neighbours took one so we had 2 left. My wife named the male cat "Ruby" and I named the female cat "Juno". In those early days of the internet, I was scared to use my real name so made one up from the 2 kittens - Rubyjuno. I hope you understand my explanation.

[Sonja89_1]

... I hope you understand my explanation.

I also had a cat in my teenage years that was very close to my heart. Your beautiful description shows that the name also means something to you emotionally - it's a good choice. Thank you for your explanation.

Scenario No. 6 “Danzig” (Gdansk) contains the only extensive maritime component within the first campaign. The second special feature is that, apart from the ships, you initially have relatively few units at your disposal. The first task is to bring supplies to cut-off East Prussia, after which a larger number of your own Aux units will be unlocked. Until the current DAW version, the player could succeed even without solving this additional task. Now I have slightly reduced the starting number of Aux ground units and made the DV dependent on whether the supplies arrive at Königsberg by the 12th turn. This makes it necessary to play this scenario a little differently than before.

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In turn 7, the Polish fleet has already advanced as far north as the Bay of Gdansk (1). A friendly destroyer that was scouting a little too far south was sunk by Polish submarines and destroyers (2) - such a darn gang, the guys are fighting back. The Polish navy may not have any heavy ships, but the destroyers and submarines are quite capable of carrying out dangerous attacks (3). After my “U 7” was attacked, I was at least able to sink a Polish destroyer (4). I also have full air superiority over the bay, but the strong enemy anti-aircraft forces me to keep my distance from Hela and Gdansk. The supply ships have already been brought relatively close to Königsberg (5). They are well shielded by their own strong ships, but they cannot do much against submarine attacks. It is therefore advisable to keep a wide berth around the enemy ships. The destroyer Z1 has run aground on an enemy sea mine (6). The own minesweeper is still at the end of the line. It was still busy clearing the main barrier.
The strategic map shows the final picture on the 20th turn. The Polish minefields (7) are a major obstacle in this mission. Once you have brought the supplies to Königsberg (8), the rest is relatively easy, as you then have stronger forces than your opponent. A simultaneous attack on Marienburg and across the Vistula from the south (9), as well as from Pomerania (10), which is supported by the cruisers and battleships, leads to a fairly quick collapse of the Polish defense.
I have now reached level 105 in terms of difficulty, which corresponds to the “General” setting.

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[Sonja89_1]

After the 6th scenario, there is a choice between 2 paths. This time I opted for the 'Russia path'. In the following two missions, the player only has his flying core units at his disposal. All the other Aux units are inexperienced Russian troops. The advantage is that you only encounter weaker Polish troops, with only small air forces. However, the enemy also has hidden partisans and you also have to fight against unfavorable weather conditions.

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It is precisely these weather conditions that prove to be the main obstacle during the mission. On 10 of the 17 rounds there is rain, snow or rain with mud, as can be seen in the first picture of the 9th round. There are other special features in this scenario. These include the early deployment of paratroopers, which were first used in closed units in the Red Army worldwide. Here they are deployed to seal off Przemysl and Lemberg to the west (1). They also formed a small task force for the attack on Sambor (2). However, the main attack on Lemberg was carried out from the east using massive artillery, which also forced the breakthrough (3). In view of the bad weather, the own aircraft are often only silent observers (4).

The entire area is shown on the strategic map. You can see the two paratrooper drop zones west of Przemysl and west of Sambor (5). Meanwhile, the 2 Soviet assault groups (6) have to make their way west through the Polish defenses and the mud that appears from time to time. Hidden partisan groups from the north from the Pripjet region and from the south from the Carpathian region added to the difficulties (7). The route to Rzeszow is long and arduous.

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[Sonja89_1]

As in the previous scenario (Lemberg), in the 7th scenario you find yourself in a mission with Soviet forces advancing westwards through what was then eastern Poland. The period is late 1936 - early 1937, which means that you are confronted with very poor weather conditions. Aircraft operations on both sides were correspondingly limited. As if that were not enough, periods of mud also slowed down the advance. War is clearly not for the dark season.

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After taking Pinsk (1) as quickly as possible, it is important to keep up the pace as long as the ground conditions are still good. When the ground is frozen, overcoming the extensive swamps and many rivers is of course particularly easy. Random chance also plays a major role here. The route from Pinsk via Kobryn to Brest (2) is also important. This is where you make the best progress. To keep up the pace, I have deployed 4 paratrooper units north of Kobryn (3). These troops have no experience yet, and lack the penetrating power to throw a well-entrenched opponent out of his positions. However, they are already preparing to conquer Kobryn. During the advance, Polish partisans also came into action, threatening your own long flanks (4). They manage to take control of the airfield at Pinsk, which can lead to dangerous bottlenecks, as your own aircraft do not yet have a long range. As support, the player receives a core armored force with T-28s during the scenario (5). The German tanks available for purchase at this time do not yet come close to the strength of this type, which is why it is a welcome bonus.
The strategic map shows the two starting positions of the Soviet assault groups (6). During the offensive, they are attacked by 5 Polish partisan groups (7) of 3 units each. These 15 partisan units must be eliminated in order to achieve a DV. The main advantage of the partisans is their camouflage. They can hide relatively easily in the terrain. Their weak point is their low ammunition. If you can engage them in prolonged combat, they will quickly collapse. After capturing Kobryn, the aim is to attack Brest with the highest possible concentration of your own forces (8). This is where the special Brest fortress is located, which is extremely tough. However, this obstacle can also be overcome with strong artillery and continuous attacks.

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[Sonja89_1]

The 9th scenario, "Bialystok", takes place entirely in winter. A few rounds of snowfall and the frozen ground are a bit of a hindrance, but it's not as bad as in the two previous missions, where rain and mud were added to the mix. What is special here is that the Polish opponent is surrounded from two sides and can be attacked. Your own core troops come from East Prussia with an attack direction to the east, the Soviet Aux units come from Belarus with an attack direction to the west. At the end, the additional task is to bring 3 German units to Minsk and 3 Soviet units to Insterburg.

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On the first two turns it snowed and the air units were unable to have any effect. In snow or rain, however, I always try to bring a few planes over areas with enemy flak in attack scenarios so that I can safely reconnoitre the area in the following turn (1). Here my fighter-bombers (Henschel 123) are already standing by in the background (2). At Bialystok there is apparently only the stationary air defense, which I want to hit hard with a concentrated tank attack (3). Although I also see the strong Polish forces near Grodno, I estimate my attack to be stronger than a possible counterattack. Despite my own simple artillery support, my attack on the air defenses causes only marginal damage when the Polish artillery fires back. As a result, Polish air cover remains active. In return, the Polish artillery near Bialystok (4) attacks my tank unit 35 (t) in a concentrated attack, followed by an attack of the enemy field fortifications. The tank unit is thrown back into the wooded area. This is followed by the attack of the overstrength Polish cavalry (5), which destroys the now battered armored unit. My first core unit has been taken out of the game, and one that I can't replace for the time being. I had taken a bit too much out of these guys. Tanks can take a beating from artillery, but they are not indestructible, especially these early tank models.
The strategic map again shows the final picture in the 21st turn. The own attack went from Lyck in a south-easterly direction towards Bialystok and then Grodno (6). While the Soviet attack from Minsk (7) simultaneously targets Baranovichi, which is encircled (8). Afterwards, the Soviet Aux units advance primarily towards Grodno (9). In addition, there are Polish counterattacks from Ostrow in the southwest and Vilnius (Wilna) in the north (10). Vilnius should better remain untouched, otherwise there is a risk of losing too much time.

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[Sonja89_1]

With the 10th scenario we have finally made it to the Polish capital. This is the last mission played together with Soviet units. After this, both Poland and the Soviet Union are eliminated from the battle within the first campaign. The remaining 3 scenarios take place between the German Reich and Czechoslovakia. You will then see troops from the Soviet Union again in the 3rd campaign. But then as an opponent.

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In this scenario, however, they are still present as allied Aux units. The first picture shows the situation at the beginning of turn 9, with an outer (1) and an inner (2) Polish defense ring. The first line consists only of militia, light artillery and field fortifications. They cannot stop our attacks permanently. But it is enough to slow down our advance. In the southeast, Soviet units have penetrated the outer defenses (3). There is now a chance to attack the Polish troops from the flank. On the western side, I try to break up the Polish line at the Vistula and then roll up the front (4). North of the Vistula, the fortified area of Modlin was cleared out of the way (5). One of two powerful 88mm anti-aircraft units proved its worth in ground combat. These two multifunctional elite units are so strong that they can remain in service in this form until the end of the last campaign (1945/46). They are expensive, but worth the prestige points.
It had rained in turn 8, which is why I flew into the city area of Warsaw with several air units (6). This gives me a safe, complete overview of the city area in turn 9. In addition, the AI has parked a fighter unit next to its airfield. I can now at least shoot at this unit with 2 of my own units. There are 3 Polish AA units in the city area of Warsaw, which I primarily take under fire in the following turns (7). Once you have knocked the flak out of a strong defense, the rest usually collapses like a house of cards. Many players, even experienced ones, don't take this into account enough and suffer unnecessary losses of units and prestige points as a result. In DAW scenarios in particular, paying too little attention to anti-aircraft guns takes its revenge.
The strategic map again shows the starting points of the Soviets at Bialystok, Brest and Lublin (8) and those of the German troops in the west (9). The German units take Plock and Kutno first. At Plock I again lose a fresh core unit (Pz IIa) due to a counterattack by 3 Polish tank units (7TP). He bravely withstood two attacks but the third attack was too much. From Kutno I first make a pincer attack on Lodz (10) and meet the southern Soviet attack group near Tomaszow. Breaking up the Polish defense is like peeling an onion, you have to be careful not to end up in tears.

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[Sonja89_1]

The name of the 11th scenario “Wachau” is quite similar to the previous Warsaw. However, it is a completely different region. The Wachau is located in Lower Austria in the Danube valley east of Linz and west of Vienna. It is beautifully situated and certainly worth a visit. This mission is about pushing the enemy back from Austria across the Czech border to the north. It is one of the most costly missions of the first campaign. This is initially due to the fact that the AI moves first and can attack Aux units that have already been hit, which in my case meant a loss of 10 units. But the scenario is also very challenging beyond that, as it consists of a constant alternation of defense and attack. You always have to be prepared to run into counterattacks.

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The first picture shows the situation at the beginning of turn 16 from the Czech point of view. My attack through his main defensive line and also on the town of Gmünd is almost through (1). But then a stronger counterattack follows (2), which slows down my advance again. With my 1st Pz Div., which has already gained almost 200 experience points, I hold my ground (3). In the following turn, however, this experienced core unit is attacked and destroyed by enemy artillery and subsequently by 4 different opponents - what a shit! This armored force was not even particularly exposed. But at moments like this, the AI attacks again and again with such vehement concentration that it always leads to losses for the player, even if the AI units themselves are usually lost afterwards. After all, I can take away my opponent's anti-aircraft guns and the main parts of his force in this area. This is also necessary, as there are only a maximum of 7 turns from this initial picture to the end of the mission. Not much time left to destroy the many enemy units, overcome the well dug-in defenses at Budweis (4), take the town and eliminate the enemy supply depots (5). At this point I start to doubt whether this will work.
The strategic map again provides an overview of the mission's progress, starting with the Czech attacks on the Danube crossings at Linz, Krems and Vienna (6). After repelling these, I launch an attack on Budweis in the west, which fails with light losses (7). I then attack his main front line at Gmünd from the respective flanks, which leads to successes (8). The enemy front is wavering. However, a stronger Czech counterattack follows with the hardest fighting between Gmünd and Krems (9). When these are finally over, I manage to break open the defense at Budweis on the flank in time (10), conquer Budweis and destroy the enemy depots (11). In the end, I even finish a turn early, which didn't look like happening for a long time.

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[Sonja89_1]

The 12th scenario “Pilsen” takes place in western Bohemia. It is a relatively small area to conquer. But the 22 rounds available should not tempt you to stroll around. The central focus is on the town of Pilsen and the Skoda factories there, which were of crucial importance for Czech armaments production. In the real course of history, Skoda was also important for the German Wehrmacht in World War II for tank and artillery production.

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The first picture shows the situation at the beginning of turn 10. Before that it had rained and I was able to “park” some planes over Pilsen and thus get a complete view of the defenses there. Previously, I had advanced on the city's defensive ring from the west (1) and south (2). At the southern tip I was able to form a breach (3), but this already brought me some losses. After all, total losses were relatively rare in this scenario as I acted cautiously. However, individual units repeatedly lost a lot of strength points. The enemy artillery in particular, which in turn was well covered by the anti-aircraft guns, caused losses (4). In addition, I was hardly able to position myself properly on the city hexes to prevent the purchase of additional units. No sooner had I shot out an Flak or Pak than it was replaced. The strong enemy infantry in Pilsen in combination with the artillery made it almost impossible to approach the city. The destruction of the two “Skoda figures” (5) would greatly reduce the influx of new Czech units. But even they are difficult to approach from the south. So I desperately tried from the west. When I made this scenario at the beginning of 2016, I must have been really, really evil. This defense is absolutely nasty. You can also see here how difficult it can be when the opponent has strong hero units. I have to say that I didn't take a very clever approach this time either. Deploying my own partisans (6) north of the Beraun River would not have been very effective here.
The strategic map shows Pilsen in the center with its defensive ring south of Beraun (7). The conquest of Pilsen took 15 turns, while Eger and Karlsbad (8) took only a quarter of the total time, although both places were also well defended. When I finally overcame Pilsen, I would not have bet on success in this scenario. In this new DAW version from May 2024, I extended the “Pilsen” mission by 2 turns from 20 to 22. After this game 2 days ago, this seems to me to have been necessary.

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[Sonja89_1]

I have reached the end of the 1st campaign. The 13th scenario takes place in the Bohemian-Moravian border region between Prague and Olomouc. The difficulty level is now 122, which corresponds to the level “General” + 120% AI experience + 70% player prestige. The hurdles are not yet too high, but they increase with each additional DV. Let's see when the resistance will become too strong. In any case, this will happen in the course of the 2nd campaign.

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The starting phase of this mission, which is about breaking the last Czech resistance, was associated with some heavy losses for me. In the counterattack during the first turn, 2 of my still inexperienced tank units were destroyed. Does the AI have to put up such a fight? A third tank unit fell victim a little later west of Kolin to a very experienced Czech tank unit with a hero figure and superior strength. The early tank types combined with limited experience do not yet have sufficient combat power on the battlefield to withstand more concentrated counterattacks. You have to be very careful with them, otherwise what happened to me here will happen.
The first picture shows the situation at the beginning of turn 4. My attack comes from the west and southwest of Pilsen towards Prague (1), at the same time east of the Vltava (Moldau) towards the north (2). An attempt to cross the Vltava fails due to a tank counterattack (3). More serious, however, was an attempt to approach Kolin. Near Kolin is the Czech headquarters, which is to be destroyed by the end of turn 7. I had supposedly positioned my Kradschützen detachment safely in a wooded area there (4). However, this already experienced unit with two good hero figures (+3 attack, +3 defense) came under fire from the HQ, followed by an infantry attack from the enemy, which threw my unit up a hex. There an enemy cavalry followed up and destroyed the Kradschützen detachment - weep! The picture on the far left already shows a new Kradschützen detachment as a replacement, without experience and heroes. Such is the evil world.
The strategic map shows the enemy's defense zones and the individual directions of attack during the entire mission, beginning with the starting positions (5+6). Kolin could be taken particularly well by bypassing it from the north (7). After the breakthrough at Iglau (8), the last two primary objectives could be attacked. The defense at Brno is very strong, but has an Achilles heel at the eastern end. With a wide bypass (9), I was able to take out first the artillery and then the flak, causing the defense to completely collapse. The last objective could also be captured by a flanking attack from the north (10).

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At the end of the 1st campaign, here is a list of the core troops still available at the end with their respective values. The armored force in particular is still rather inexperienced, but this will certainly change. In contrast, my small air fleet is already quite powerful. The aircraft types are in need of modernization, but they will get it soon. To be continued...

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[eskuche]

Very interesting concept. I'll follow along! A few observations and comments as I am finishing up my second playthrough on Rommel/FM (50% prestige and experience), currently just finished Yemen. Again, I find myself drawn to optimal gameplay with extremely strong, expensive units and focus on maintaining being hidden from the enemy. Thus, my core is 8 Brandenburgers, 4 Gustavs, and, a recent addition, 2 auxiliary Gustavs. In retrospect for a future playthrough, as prestige allows, I would focus on getting experience on auxiliary artillery as soon as the first campaign in order to upgrade them to Gustavs, since heroes don't matter for them.

1. Planning for the future for your campaign, air force. I really, really enjoy the Henschel 123's. Coupled with a few mobile airstrips on the front line, I am using them even into 1946. You can use a long range artillery to suppress soft air defense, then swoop in and destroy them AND retreat with a complement of 3-4 Henschels. I only have one tactical bomber, Melitta, on a Ju 87G I believe, even into the endgame. As seen here, fighter experience is extremely important. I would consider getting more of them to the experience cap earlier (5-7 of them, even, in the first campaign). If I were planning on getting to where the enemy had +5 strength on the difficulty table (are there even enough scenarios to get to that difficulty level?), I would consider maybe having an extremely minimal air force, perhaps 4-5 fighters and 1-2 strategic bombers. This is because the super hero enemy fighters late game, even now, will choose to attack your best fighters. Similar for enemy flak with heroes. One cannot risk those types of losses in 1946. The alternative would be having an almost completely ground-based force, with camouflaged 20 mm guns providing most of the killing power. There is also some opportunity here for you to roll the dice again on heroes and, for example, retire your D +2 and S + 1 fighters.

2. Anti-air. The 88's are good for their 2 move early on. I find it very useful to level up anti-air (since they get +2 attack per star) using artillery mode, especally the 10/4's, which can move in, shoot, and move out. The end-game scenario is generally 88/128s protecting your invaluable targets (deterrance), and hidden 20 mm quads covering everything else. You can generally set up anti-air traps to kill the entire enemy air force in one turn. The heroes with movement can be upgraded to mobile airfields that can move every turn (in conjunction with my He123 air force). 1 or 2 kugelblitz/wirbelwind will be needed for forward anti-air duty, when you don't want to risk fighters to enemy heroes or flak units.

3. Artillery: I first level them up with the two high ROF cheapest guns, then upgrade to 10.5's. After they get their first hero, I retire them, or slate them for Gustav upgrade. Note that the FsJg gun starting in 1943 can switch mode and upgrade to anti-tank. It may be a good use for artillery that accidentally get initiative heroes in direct fire mode. It's also a good way to build experience on hard-to-train AT units.

4. Tanks and anti-tanks: I actually only have 3 tank units (Westprussen, one SE unit, and one extra one). I find brandenburgers enough to kill everything. When necessary, artillery fire plus a recon shot can surrender almost any other infantry. At said above, my strategy is to use camouflage units to advance. The default non-elite versuchsjager seems to have better stats compared to both EL and SE versions (32 attack; perhaps this is an oversight?). I use these and a few Elefant/Jagtigers when needed to stabilize my front line. SE AT are trained up as StuGs with artillery fire, which is an arduous process in FM mode. I find AT much more cost-efficient, and, more importantly, invisible, for maximum efficiency.

5. Infantry. I mentioned already, but my entire infantry corps comprises Brandenburger. I would like to have a limit on these, but unfortunately I find these simply the most effective infantry. The difficulty lies in managing their 3 ammo and resupplying in desert tiles. As long as you are on clear terrain, however, they should not lose more than 1-2 strength points to even the strongest enemy heroes. My bridging engineers are auxiliary units that are saved from level to level. I don't even use engineers. I destroy mines with StuG and auxiliary infantry.

6. Recon. Recon is probably overlooked by a lot of players. EL fighters have almost as much spotting, and Brandenburgs offer similar spotting while being invisible. However, in positional gaming, it is VERY important to be able to sneak in for a surrender or sneak in to push back an artillery units. Thus, my recon have been mostly Kugel 82's until as late as 1944-1945, since the EL versions have 10 movement, at which points I switch some to 237 Pumas for the firepower.

As a final note, I would say a majority of my income comes from selling auxiliary units that I save. Perhaps consider this factor in your difficulty settings. It might even be possible to do a 0% prestige run given this information Cheers.

[Sonja89_1]

Very interesting concept...

Those were very interesting comments. The concept of mass deployment of Brandenburgers, you had mentioned that earlier. The “Brandenburgers” do have a few disadvantages such as the very high price (1900 or 2300), the low ammunition (3) and something that is easily overlooked - no control hexes. This means that enemy units can simply move past them, which can be problematic. Despite this, they are very strong fighting figures that can always make breaches. At the start of this 2nd campaign, I also bought a unit like this. However, I don't want to play a variant with lots of Brandenburgers. It's too bizarre.

However, I can imagine that a very strong AI would choose such a composition or another unusual variant and thus outdo any human player. Your suggestions have the potential to make for a particularly efficient game. If you ever play DAW again, you can try the level mode I've outlined here. Let's see how far you get until you reach your breaking point and at what level you can keep the game permanently. Ultimately, however, the important thing is that every player is happy with their playing style and then it is of secondary importance whether they achieve this on “ Colonel” or “Ultimate”.

As for the possibility of selling Aux units in the third and fourth campaign, I added this to increase the appreciation of many players for Aux troops. This type of unit is often only used for sacrifice. With the help of the escape fields, there are different ways for the player to deal with aux troops. You can sell them or use them selectively. The advantages you gain from this are taken into account in the general balance.

[Sonja89_1]

The 1st scenario of the 2nd campaign begins like the first campaign in Saarland. However, the omens are completely different. This time, the player is not on the defensive and hopelessly outnumbered. This time, they are up against French forces that show relatively little initiative and are defensively oriented. This is where the prolonged and intense battle against France begins, which will only end in Casablanca.

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The central objective of this mission is the recapture of Saarbrücken. The advance on the town is carried out in two directions, from the northwest (1) with Aux units and from the northeast (2) with the core troops. After the wooded region of Neunkirchen had been secured, the attack (3) on Homburg to the east (not shown here) was launched. Meanwhile, our own artillery pushes towards the French defense under mutual cover. The first targets are the field fortifications and machine gun nests, which are somewhat easier to overcome than the deeply dug-in enemy infantry. The relatively distant airfields are a real handicap. Even with 2 field airfields, air support is limited. The capture of the airfield near Saarbrücken therefore takes priority.
The strategic map shows the two starting positions of the Aux units (5) in the west near Saarburg and the core troops (6) near Birkenfeld. At the beginning, the mission is also to conquer Luxembourg, in front of which substantial French units are entrenched on the Moselle (7). However, this is abandoned in the course of the mission, allowing you to concentrate fully on Saarbrücken. After the core troops had overcome the enemy's defenses at St. Wendel with a pincer attack, a rapid advance was made to Neunkirchen, from where Homburg and Saarbrücken were attacked at the same time (8). The advance ended at the French border, as the Maginot Line ran a short distance behind it and it was better not to enter into a duel with it.

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