OK, so I have reached the Ostwall. The Germans have a full strength INF corps in each hex. There is no point in attacking the one hex that is exposed on three sides as there are just more fortresses behind it. All the other hexes can only be attacked from two sides. Of these, one (and only one) has a land connection; the others are all river. So I can tac bomb 2x per turn, and then attack 2x. I am getting absolutely nowhere. At most one step per turn. What is the best type of unit to attack with?
I am also swinging up from the south. Is this the only way to get to Berlin? The Ostwall seems uncrackable.
I should add that because of stupid play by the AI, it is only 1942 so my techs are not that high.
How to crack fortresses?
Moderators: firepowerjohan, rkr1958, Happycat, Slitherine Core
Hi,
Take a breath, it is just a game. You are correct it will be very hard when the Germans have very good effectiveness and a couple of techs.
The Russians effectiveness is around 60 - 70 with tech later in the war it would probably take a couple of turns.
You have to keep pounding the forts with 2 TAC's to help reduce the effectiveness and the entrenchment to zero.
So there is a lot of prep in taking a fortress.
Take a breath, it is just a game. You are correct it will be very hard when the Germans have very good effectiveness and a couple of techs.
The Russians effectiveness is around 60 - 70 with tech later in the war it would probably take a couple of turns.
You have to keep pounding the forts with 2 TAC's to help reduce the effectiveness and the entrenchment to zero.
So there is a lot of prep in taking a fortress.
I'm going on at least six turns in a row, two tacs + two corps every turn. The most I've ever gotten it down is 7. And guess what, it's back at 10 next turn every time. Usually I inflict 0-1 steps rather than three. The bombers never inflict any. I suffer at least five steps every time, however.
This is really a joke. Why not just make the victory conditions reaching the Ostwall? That's the only thing that's possible anyway.
This is really a joke. Why not just make the victory conditions reaching the Ostwall? That's the only thing that's possible anyway.
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Peter Stauffenberg
- General - Carrier
- Posts: 4745
- Joined: Sun Jul 08, 2007 4:13 pm
- Location: Oslo, Norway
I really don't understand what you're doing.
First. There are only 2 Ostwall hexes besides the fortress cities of Stettin, Königsberg and Breslau.
Second. Russian tactical bombers can inflict quite a bit of losses on the fortresses (1-2 steps per bomber) and get the efficiency down so land units can attack even more. I usually use mech units against fortresses to maximize losses. It takes awhile to take a fortress city. It helps to get as many hexes adjacent to the fortress as possible to it's harder for the defender to replace the losses with other units instead of repairing a depleted unit.
I guess you're playing against the AI and the AI cheats quite a bit. I have a feeling that fortresses are much harder to take in AI games instead of games vs human opponents. I certainly don't have much problems taking the fortresses in eastern Germany.
Why do you still play against the AI instead of a human opponent? GS is not balanced and playtested a lot against the AI. Most skilled people won't play against the AI because it's not smart enough. It's simply too easy to win. I suggest you try to play against a human and then you can see how the game goes.
First. There are only 2 Ostwall hexes besides the fortress cities of Stettin, Königsberg and Breslau.
Second. Russian tactical bombers can inflict quite a bit of losses on the fortresses (1-2 steps per bomber) and get the efficiency down so land units can attack even more. I usually use mech units against fortresses to maximize losses. It takes awhile to take a fortress city. It helps to get as many hexes adjacent to the fortress as possible to it's harder for the defender to replace the losses with other units instead of repairing a depleted unit.
I guess you're playing against the AI and the AI cheats quite a bit. I have a feeling that fortresses are much harder to take in AI games instead of games vs human opponents. I certainly don't have much problems taking the fortresses in eastern Germany.
Why do you still play against the AI instead of a human opponent? GS is not balanced and playtested a lot against the AI. Most skilled people won't play against the AI because it's not smart enough. It's simply too easy to win. I suggest you try to play against a human and then you can see how the game goes.
I don't know how you are defining "Ostwall" but I see ten fortress hexes just to the east of Berlin. I have been bashing away at them (or at two per turn on average) for seven months. Two tactical bombings, two ground attacks per hex, per turn. The most I have ever gotten one of them down was to seven. The bombers do NOTHING. I guess they do reduce entrenchment but they inflict no steps at all. And entrenchment is meaningless as these corps have been at 1 or 0 forever and they still never lose effectiveness.
So at the beginning of every turn, they are all back at 10 steps and white effectiveness or occasionally yellow. I think I could make it so that the game has no ending, and I could blast away forever and never defeat a single one of these hexes.
Absurd.
So at the beginning of every turn, they are all back at 10 steps and white effectiveness or occasionally yellow. I think I could make it so that the game has no ending, and I could blast away forever and never defeat a single one of these hexes.
Absurd.
I have to say as well that the Allied losses are absolutely horrendous. Germany has better tech, to be sure, but still I overwhelmingly lose every battle, step-wise, and lose far more corps than they do. Even when the odds are supposed to be overwhelmingly in my favor.
I play the AI to learn the game, I have read many AARs and playing I human I would just get crushed in 2-3 turns, it would be no fun at all.
I play the AI to learn the game, I have read many AARs and playing I human I would just get crushed in 2-3 turns, it would be no fun at all.
OK, just as an experiment, I tried the one hex that has three exposures. It has a garrison in it, not even a corps. Enemy at ten steps. I attack with two tacs, 10 steps each, they do nothing. Then with three corps, also ten steps each. They inflict, as a TOTAL, two steps--and suffer three, five, and seven respectively.
Give me a %&Q^ing break. This is not playable as-is.
Give me a %&Q^ing break. This is not playable as-is.
OK, now the Western allies have reached the west side of the Ostwall. So now I can attack one hex with four ground corps. And you know what? NOTHING! Nada. Not one step. Six attacks, not one step. I am in my ninth month of this.
I know nothing about AI programming so I have no idea why this should happen against the AI and not against humans, but I can say that it makes the game totally unplayable.
I know nothing about AI programming so I have no idea why this should happen against the AI and not against humans, but I can say that it makes the game totally unplayable.
Well. Few advice.patton wrote:OK, just as an experiment, I tried the one hex that has three exposures. It has a garrison in it, not even a corps. Enemy at ten steps. I attack with two tacs, 10 steps each, they do nothing. Then with three corps, also ten steps each. They inflict, as a TOTAL, two steps--and suffer three, five, and seven respectively.
1. Try mechs, not corps.
2. Bomb for some turns in a row without attack, soon unit will become red effectivenes and physically can't take your steps.
3. Go another way. Use amphibious assault, go through balkans.
4. Probably AI cheats, or even bugged, since noone adapted it to GS.
5. You are using old version of GS, in 1.05 ostwall is just like Stauffenberg described it - 2 cyties and 2 or 3 heves.