Bonesoul wrote:Ok, lets play around a bit and see where it gets us, a bit of forum brainstorming you might say. Clearly where the cost in lost units out weighs any benefit its a non starter but lets look at some variants and see what people think.
1) Maybe don't use it across the entire defensive front. There may be one or two spots where you have to delay the Russian advance and even one turn would be enough, but because of its location and the proximity of other available deployment hexes they units placed there wont just get hurt but will be lost, maybe where their retreat s blocked by a river so they will never be able to escape. You can deploy a 4-5 star multi hero grenadier backed by a similar artillery and they will survive 2 turns rather than one, or you can deploy two green units which will die but delay the advance for one turn which was enough. Unless ever decreasing numbers of deployment slots in later scenarios mean you will never need those infantry and artillery again, is using two green units rather than two experienced units (in either case never to be seen again)?
This only works if you know exactly what you are up against. I've used sacrificial units, but only during multiplayer (see below).
2) Late deployment. As I understand it, if you don't deploy a full complement in the deployment phase you an always deploy them later around flag cities, up to the maximum deployable number, so give up the front. If terrain is in your favour at the rear just cede the first 1-3 turns to the AI, deploy all/most of your unit in the rear in turn 1-3 so they escape the initial attacks in vulnerable positions. Possibly deploy a strong air force with a few carefully selected ground unit bait, use the turns while you are deploying your core in the rear to wrest air superiority, or at least significantly blunt the Russian air threat while your beautiful experienced units are either safe at the back or not even on the map to attack.
Yes, for some scenarios, it can be a good idea to take a few turns to concentrate your frontlines and set up some defensive positions. This sort of scenario is also where towed heavy AA can finally be effective, I prefer FlaK traps to fighter traps but they can be much harder to set up properly.
To add, usually the deployment hexes can still be used after the deployment to place additional units, it's not just around city hexes. Sometimes I also use delayed deployment if I want to concentrate more forces in a certain area than allowed by the deployment hexes. For example, some AK scenarios require a big, deep drive into the desert while the rest of the line is practically stationary. As soon as the first wave moves off, I deploy the extra units in the same deployment hexes. This follow-up is only a turn behind and usually consists of some 'siege' units (infantry and towed guns to mop up bypassed strongpoints = classic Blitzkrieg) and some more good units that can take over the momentum of the attack when the first wave takes damage.
3) Live to fight another day. AKA the I'm buggered if I'm fighting you lot today defence.
I personally never do this, I'd rather cheat than 'skip' a scenario like this, but it could be a possible tactic to avoid huge core losses.
Something a bit unrelated perhaps, but purchasing/placing considerations can become very important during multiplayer, where you have to buy extra units with limited resources all the time; some battles developed into situations were I had reasonable prestige but buying the 'best' units wouldn't fill up all the slots or leave me with no reserve to reinforce. I frequently bought cheap, sometimes sacrificial units with specific goals, which I will try to separate into (overlapping) made-up categories to help explain my ideas.
1. Sentry: their main function is to spot if something is coming early enough to have time to get other units in place to delay or counter the attack. It can also help confuse an enemy that is scouting around about the size and location of your forces. Placement is along natural paths of movement, usually in front of defensible positions (so across rivers along roads for example). They are not blocking forces, and placing them in defensive spots is secondary to having a good vantage point to spot incoming units. The keyword is spotting, my favourite are cheap recons that move about a little to expand their coverage. depending on the situation they could run away or become a:
2. Speedbump: designed to slow enemies, not stop them. Their goal is to buy time, either by being stubborn or making the enemy cautious. Ideal placement is in favourable terrain where bypassing them is difficult or makes units too vulnerable.
3. Blocker: these are supposed to soak up attacks, often small clumps of mutually supporting units. The AI enemies in PzC are often placed in such positions. Making one quickly during multiplay can be quite difficult (at least for me...). If forces must be spread out a bit, sometimes a single tough unit can hold out long enough to get some help to it, I have foiled many sneak attacks by keeping some cheap infantry (without transport) in VH for example.
Sometimes simply filling up a hex with a unit can make a world of difference. The best example: during AK, some scenarios have minefields that can be moved through by the enemy. So if you leave a clear hex on the edge of a minefield you risk having a counter-attacking AI tank getting into that hex and complicate your life. I often move some cheap fodder in such hexes, just to deny the AI the opportunity. Similarly, such units can be used to keep AI units in river hexes or close terrain.
and which I suppose come from way back in Roman times and the origins of the term infantry, where the youngest and most inexperienced were sent in first and died a lot.
