Indestructible Gibraltar

[lotharr51]

The port is surrounded by Spanish and Italian ships...the Germans attack each turn with 2 mech corp and are supported by 2 tac bombers. Not only does the garrison shrug off most attacks, but actually gets to reinforce to full strength. Can you say broken?

[Cybvep]

It's fully possible to take Gibraltar. It takes time, but it can be done. Just keep pounding that GAR and sooner or later it will succumb. It's good to have more than 2 MECHs nearby - 3 should be good, so that you can keep up the pressure every turn instead of waiting for repairs.

[lotharr51]

Thanks for the advise. I'm also going to try to bomb the port since it doesn't seem to matter that it is completely blockaded.

I think this game is really great overall, but I'm disappointed to see it fall short in these special cases. Sometime you have to bite the bullet and make some rules for special cases and I believe this qualifies. Anyway, thanks again.

[Cybvep]

Gibraltar was a true fortress, so it shouldn't be easy to take it IMO. There is not much the Allies can do to prevent its capture if the Axis is determined, anyway. It all depends on your POV - when playing the Allies, you will be pissed off how "easily" Gibraltar falls .

Why bomb the port? Unless there are units there, it seems like a waste. Focus on Gibraltar itself.

[Crazygunner1]

2 mechs, bombers with assistance of à proper leader should be enough. Gibraltar normally falls in 3 turns. What happens is that depending on your bombers performance, supply in Gibraltar is brought down to 0 or 1. And usually you knock down 3-4 steps/turn.

It is the same with all fortresses....

Try beating a guard mech unit with Zukov attached to it in a fortress....that is a tough nut to crack

[Crazygunner1]

2 mechs, bombers with assistance of à proper leader should be enough. Gibraltar normally falls in 3 turns. What happens is that depending on your bombers performance, supply in Gibraltar is brought down to 0 or 1. And usually you knock down 3-4 steps/turn.

It is the same with all fortresses....

Try beating a guard mech unit with Zukov attached to it in a fortress....that is a tough nut to crack

[Crazygunner1]

Forget the harbour, it is of no interest in this situation....

[Cybvep]

Try beating a guard mech unit with Zukov attached to it in a fortress....that is a tough nut to crack

Sure, but while e.g. Leningrad can be attacked from 4 hexes, Gibraltar can be attacked from two hexes only .

[lotharr51]

Ok, thanks for even more advise. I'll ignore the port.

I get that it is a fortress, and a head long attack would be a disaster. It's more a question of logistics. I'm guessing the garrison would burn through it's ammo fairly rapidly against sustained and aggressive operations.

[Cybvep]

This is what happens if you keep up the pressure. At 0-lvl production repairs will be painfully slow for the defenders, which means that they won't last long.

[Peter Stauffenberg]

You can better the chances considerably by paradropping Fallschirmjägers to the Gibraltar airfield. Then you can attack from 3 sides plus 2 tactical bombers. Gibraltar should fall quickly if you use the right units to take the fortress.

The fortress won't be as powerful if you get the entrenchment level down to 0. This is what makes Leningrad such a tough nut to crack. It can an entrenchment level of 8. So you must make attacks, suffering heavy damage for some turns until it's down to 0 so you can expect positive combat results. All fortresses can be taken, but you will have to accept heavy losses to take them. E. g. the Siegfried line can be stormed, but it's less costly bypassing it through Holland.

I don't see a problem taking Gibraltar or Malta. It's doable if you invest enough units to the offensive. I would say GS v2.1 would have been broken if you could take fortresses with just 1-2 units and little air support. There was a reason the Germans didn't do Operation Herkules (invasion of Malta). They could have done so, but it would have required a prolonged battle with paratroopers, air strikes and naval invasion.

[Cybvep]

In case of fortresses time is an issue. Survival of Leningrad often depends on weather - taking it during autumn or winter is hard (you are lucky if you knock out 1-2 steps then). In case of Gibraltar at least your air units can be stationed in fair weather hexes all the time. However, it's rather hard to save Gibraltar for the Allies, so for them it's just a delaying operation, anyway. In case of the Siegfried Line the time factor is absolutely crucial, because you want to maximise your offensive potential for the last push into Germany.

[Samhain]

If you think Gibraltar's too hard try Mareth.