I love playing the Germans. After all, they created what was perhaps the greatest military machine the world had seen up to that time. Having said that, I had high hopes for the Battlefield Academy 'Blitzkrieg France' campaign and for the most part was not disappointed. Indeed, this was the most fun I've had playing the Germans since 'Case Blue' from John Tiller's WW2 Campaigns series. It's interesting how in the 'Blitzkrieg France' campaign this is not the sophisticated Wehrmacht of 1943 that fought at Kursk, but a rather more primitive version with a lot of light tanks. Heck, the best tank you have is a handful of early PzMkIV's created for infantry support rather than as an antitank weapon.
My take on the missions:
1) Blitzkrieg – Of the four BA campaigns I've played thus far this was the best intro mission. It starts with a German attack supported by paratroops on two villages and ends with a tank free-for-all. Great fun! As always in this game the key to the tank fight is to setup your forces in good defensive ambush points to beat off the armored counterattack. Also, maybe I was just lucky, but in this battle it seemed like the French tanks couldn't hit the broad side of a barn! lol Anyway, I think most players can probably win it without losing the bonus victory objective that occurs if you decide to call in the Stukas.
2) Armored Charge - This mission starts with a defensive fight followed by a counterattack to take victory point squares. Although there are any number of battles like this in the game, this one was still fun. It took me two tries to win, and the key is to avoid suffering heavy losses in the initial French attack.
3) Racing Ahead – This mission was slightly different and kind of fun. Rather than take the back door (with AT traps along the way), I chose to confront the French tanks in the woods clearing for the extra credit victory condition. The key here was to deploy your tanks so that the French can't gang up on them one at a time. Concerning your infantry they are ensconced in a very defensible town, and the player should be able to fulfill the 'don't loose any SS units' extra credit victory condition as long as they are careful. In the end I fulfilled all victory conditions by sending off an armored car to occupy the one lightly defended village VP square, and also by assaulting the hill containing the other VP square from the rear. Taking this hill required the usual combined arms approach to take out the AT gun with your infantry and then move in the tanks to mop up. I would also add that as frequently happens in this game, if you can entice the enemy to leave their positions guarding VP squares and come out and fight you it will make capturing these squares much easier.
4) Crossing the River – One of my favorites from this campaign, though the title is slightly misleading. The player for the most part starts already across the river, and your job is to inch your way forward while at the same time repulsing the French probes. The thing cool about this one is that for the player it is predominately an infantry battle, with a few odd light tanks in support. It took me a couple of tries to get it right, and again as is often seen in this game the key was to draw the enemy forces away from the VP squares to fight you on ground of your choosing.
5) Strike First – This one is a lot like the 'Killing Spree' scenario in the 'Bulge' campaign, in that the object is to destroy a certain number of enemy units by game end. There is a large convoy to be had to the northeast not far from your starting position, but the player needs to be cautious that he doesn't activate the French tank force north of the convoy before you are ready to deal with them. Also, it is possible to commander some French vehicles, although I chose to destroy them for kill points instead. I found the one French village VP square at the eastern end of the map a bit to far away and too heavily defended. I did, however, find some French trucks south of this that I was able to destroy to obtain the requisite number of kills.
6) French Giants – Another great scenario from this campaign. Most of it takes place in a major town, and the player needs to inch their way forward to capture VP's in this town without succumbing to French ambushes. Of course the player gets hit by two pairs of French 'monster' tanks that appear from the north and south, and you need all your ambush skills to take them out. A couple of important principles of the game made themselves evident in this battle. First of all, even if you don't have the firepower to penetrate the enemy armor, if you hit them enough and get them cornered eventually their morale will sink so low that they will surrender. As I recall I was able to force one of those French monsters to surrender to a measly MarkII tank. Also, and I can't stress this point enough, use of trucks and halftracks is vital in this game to quickly deploy your infantry and guns. In fact I would say that transport is more important in this game than any I have ever played. In this scenario especially, one of the keys was to quickly transport your AT guns around to meet the threat of the monster tanks.
7) British Attack – At last, the famous British counterattack at Arras. I had fully expected to see the battle in this campaign, and was not disappointed. The old RTS Codename: Panzers had a great rendition of this battle, but it is bested hands down by this great scenario. My favorite in the entire game thus far. The key is to delay the British attack as long as possible, and once your 88's show up the large enemy tank force is dog meat. The player is warned at the outset that the battle begins rather desperately for the Germans, but to be honest I didn't think it was that bad. About a third of my frontline force survived to the end, and my entrenched infantry, especially, inflicted frightful casualties on the Brit infantry. It was almost a repeat of the Somme! Anyway, if you manage a good defense, then by the time the enemy tanks start approaching your second line you should already have your 88's in place in the village to do their ghastly work. Then to end it the player should be able to mop up the feeble remnants for the big win.
8 To the Sea – As river/town crossing scenarios go this one was not too, too difficult. The German mobile artillery in support packs a powerful punch, though they are sometimes unreliable. The French have a similar artillery unit as well that you are warned about early on, but to be honest it was no more than a nuisance to me. Anyway, although my northern force was badly mauled mostly due to sloppy play on my part, the southern force punched through to the center town for the win. The only other thing I can think to say about this one is the player should (as always) soften up the crossing points and town with artillery and bombers before moving on them.
9) Mopping Up - This one is very similar to the 'Strike First' mission, in that you have to destroy a requisite number of enemy units and are not given a lot of time to do it. Although (not surprisingly) the hardest mission in the campaign, it was not as difficult as the harder ones in the 'Normandy' and 'Bulge' campaigns. The trouble of course is that if you move too aggressively you can find yourself over-extended and run in to superior enemy forces and ambushes. I think the key to this mission was proper scouting and avoiding getting delayed by minimal enemy forces. Having said that, I avoided the two small villages in the center of the map that would have bogged me down without netting much to my kill score. I instead hit the enemy convoy to the northeast with my entire force, then proceeded due east to the northern river crossing victory hex. The three French Somua tanks there were a tough nut to crack though, and took me a couple of reversions to save games to get past them. Once this was done it was not too terribly difficult swinging south for the win. The only other thing I would mention is that it was a very close win for me. I think I had 31-32 kills (with 30 required) by the end. To that end you need to seek out and destroy enemy units wherever you find them, including the French partisans that show up later in your rear area. I know this contradicts slightly what I was saying about avoiding unprofitable strongpoints, but hey, there are no absolutes in war. Also, I found the mobile artillery very useful in this mission. Fortunately their great range compensates a little for their frequent breakdowns. One more thing. If you're lucky you will find one of those French monster tanks that you can commandeer. I got one in my first game that I lost, but didn't in my second game. Not sure if its appearance is maybe a random event, or maybe I just missed it the second time around.
'Blitzkrieg France' Summary -
Highs: Some of the best scenarios in the series. The 1940 Germans are a blast to play. The harder missions are not over-the-top difficult like some in the original game.
Lows: The 'Mopping Up' mission was a bit too much like the 'Strike First' mission, and I was mildly disappointed that there was no Eben Emael paradrop scenario. The French unit voice overs when taking damage can be a bit silly at times. But these are minor complaints really.
Bottom Line: Despite some minor things here and there that maybe could have been done better, it is a joy playing the early Wehrmacht. The campaign is a solid 'A' in my book and narrowly misses an A+. I look forward to playing it again at some point.
Next up, the trials and tribulations of the British and American paratroops in 'Market Garden', though I may wait a few days while I get caught up on the 'Deus Ex' trilogy.
I bought the New Arnhem campaign. It all works fine ..EXCEPT now I cant play any of the France 40 blitzkreig scenarios???? I had them in the original game....Why are they gone...Im not going to pay again to play them....whats up???
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