GC upgrade project replays

[nikivdd]

Bloody hell, what a battle. I haven't seen so many Soviet tanks in a single mission before. This mission might be the most intense so far. Erich Hartmann (SE Bf 109g) and Kurt Knispel (SE Tiger I) have been very welcome additions.
The battlegroup to capture Kartashyovska is kept small; four infantry, two tanks, two artillery and this battlegroup goes on the defensive once the objective is secured. Only when the siege for Prohkorovka is well under way, than they can leave their defensive positions and lend a hand to the main battlegroup.
The second battlegroup has orders to defend Rzhavets; it is even smaller than the previous battlegroup; two infantry, one tank, one anti-tank and an artillery unit.
The main battlegroup is to attack Belenikino, followed by Prohkorovka and Maloyablonovo (they should give me a medal for writing those Russian town names).
Despite being a bit careful - there was actually a moment i thought i would not make it in time - a lot of casualties were taken. It will take quite some prestige to get the boys up and about again. Unfortunately, i lost one core unit (forgot which one) but a DV was achieved at turn 21 with 32302 PP. By now it is also proven (out of curiousity) that the Pz II is definitely obsolete.

52 - Prohkorovka (21 turns).rar

(71.3 KiB) Downloaded 168 times

[nikivdd]

After the climax of the previous scenario came the anti-climax in the shape of this scenario. It is a very easy mission wherein the army is ordered to search and destroy the Soviets on the westbank of the Dnieper river and at the same time to secure the bridge crossings.
Very little losses came with this one, but almost lost the bonus Ju 87G (1 str left). A DV in 8 turns, no core losses, 31375 PP.

53 - Dnipropetrovsk (8 turns).rar

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[nikivdd]

Kremenchug, the mother of all artillery maps. Almost lost two Tigers by a monster IS tank here.
The Soviet amphibious assault can be kept contained with several infantry and a panzer, supported by a level bomber (or two) and a fighter for support. This enemy operation is merely a distraction.
The main focus is to cross the Dnieper and blast the enemy artillery to oblivion. There are several Soviet attack waves, so beware while advancing (and clearing the map). I had the impression to my surprise, that there is more artillery in this one, even more than the Kursk scenarios.
Sometimes favor fortunes the bold, hence the miraculous survival of two Tiger tanks, and i got a well-deserved DV at turn 17, no core losses and 33802 PP.

54 - Kremenchug (17 turns).rar

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[nikivdd]

Kiev '43, the final scenario of DLC 43E. The defense of the city is pretty easy with entrenched infantry, artillery and AA support. Only when the propelled Soviet artillery pops up, they need to be dealt with as quickly as possible.
Clearing the southern region of the map which is full of Soviet paratroopers is not difficult either; i created two mixed battlegroups to deal with those. When this is done both battle groups cross the Dnieper and start working their way up.
Especially the eastbank of the river is full of pesky Soviet AA who are responsible for downing one of my Fw 190A.; the fighter had no chance against three 12 strength AA. The Pz IVH is still formidable against soft targets and the weaker Soviet tanks, but as i have discovered the hard way, it does not stand a chance against the IS-1; it luckily survived with 3 str points left. I cannot complain about losses, except for the Luftwaffe that received quite another beating. I still have several Bf 109G and i have been considering to upgrade them as they have quite a rough time against the Yak-9s. It has been a hell of a map, but for now i am really fed up with Kiev maps (DLC 41, DLC 43, the original Panzer General Kiev map).
To my big surprise, the map was cleared by turn 19, a DV was rewarded and 35000 PP.

55 - Kiev43 (19 turns).rar

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[nikivdd]

DLC 44 East begins with the Korsun pocket. I upgraded both StuG IIIG to Elephants to stand a better chance against the Soviet heavy armor. All fighters are now Fw 190A and i bought a new one as well.
It might be tempting to go after all the objectives but it would be a waste of strength points, i only took back three objectives which were very lightly defended.
The UI fails in this scenario as we need to place the Junkers on an airfield marked with an A. First of all, at the deployment phase, the A's are obscured by the white deployment arrows and secondly, once units are placed you don't see them either. I hope in such instances the UI will prove better equipped in Panzer Corps 2.
This scenario felt as a repetition of the final DLC 41 mission without the fortifications. If all units stay fairly close to Korsun, there is nothing much to worry about. I break defensive rank only if one of the units can kill a propelled AA or artillery unit; it seems not to be a good idea to wonder off very far. Since the objectives and its prestige reward might be tempting, i decided against it and it feels better (but nearly boring) to solely concentrate on the DV objective at hand. Each Junker was accompanied by a fighter and all managed to reach the airfields without interference.
So at turn 16 the mission was won, no core losses and 29511 PP.

I play DLC 44E with the soft cap off, which personally feels like a terrible restriction, AI level 2, combat random, reform units off.

56 - Korsun Pocket (16 turns).rar

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[hurly]

8 Scenarios in 6 days.

Thats what I call Blitzkrieg.

[goose_2]

Soft Cap off surely makes the game much easier.

[nikivdd]

Soft Cap off surely makes the game much easier.

Yes, but we betatested the GC without the existance of a softcap and i am perfectly fine with that. I can always play a higher level of difficulty in the future which yields less prestige and provides a bigger challenge but still i will play without the softcap.

[nikivdd]

We got out of the Korsun pocket. It is not one of my favorite scenarios, but i am glad the boys pulled it off rather unscathed.
DV in 14 turns, no core losses, 27016 PP.

57 - Korsun Breakout (14 turns).rar

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[shawkhan2]

I have been playing through the DLCs with the softcap but prestige bumped up a little to compensate.
Here is my latest, Kremenchug, total Annihilation. I cannot match Nikivdd's prestige levels doing this but am close.

[nikivdd]

US Corps '42 Formation in 720p



I picked three tanks, three infantry, one AT/art, one artillery

[wargovichr]

US Corps unit choice spoiler:
These (3) tanks, which will be upgraded, should be the very last that you acquire (other than captured, gifted).
Tank destroyers and tank destroyers only can stand up to German heavies (AGGRESSIVE spotting required), backed up with artillery as often as possible.

[nikivdd]

US Corps unit choice spoiler:
These (3) tanks, which will be upgraded, should be the very last that you acquire (other than captured, gifted).
Tank destroyers and tank destroyers only can stand up to German heavies (AGGRESSIVE spotting required), backed up with artillery as often as possible.

I know, i created the US campaign. We'll see how it goes.

[nikivdd]

My first MV in the campaign. Possibly i could have got a DV if i played more agressive and also deployed a couple of bridge engineers. I didn't actually count how many Soviet units surrendered on the river crossings, but it was plenty. This is one of the AI shortcomings, a human player would come up with alternative approaches to get the job done. So, this scenario could have so much more potential, but now it is just a surrender fest and the enemy poses hardly any threat to the core army.
MV, 18 turns, 32817 PP, no core losses.

58 - Narva (18 turns).rar

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[nikivdd]

US Corps Achnacarry 720p

[milliethedog]

Hi Nico, happy Christmas,
I just noticed in your earlier post another tease on Panzer Corps 2. Is this actually being worked on? or am I wasting my Xmas wish?

Martin.

[nikivdd]

Hi Nico, happy Christmas,
I just noticed in your earlier post another tease on Panzer Corps 2. Is this actually being worked on? or am I wasting my Xmas wish?

Martin.

It was not really a tease.
I think we can expect a PzC 2.

[milliethedog]

Hi Nico, Happy Happy Christmas !!!!!!

Let me Know if I can help with testing when ready.....


Martin.

[Cerberus51]

Your US Corps videos are very interesting. You are much more aggressive than I am - and take correspondingly higher casualties. What difficulty are you playing them at?

[goose_2]

Hi Nico, Happy Happy Christmas !!!!!!

Let me Know if I can help with testing when ready.....


Martin.

I second this sentiment on all fronts