GC39-41, replays and analysis, field marshall

[hugh2711]

Fast player, yes I am far too lazy and impatient to be a good player
What program do you suggest I use to do a screenshot?. I am using windows 7. I tried to do video AAR's but I have yet to find a program that will work for me! (probably because I am quite abusive to my windows installation ha ha ha ) so gave up, hence all the typing.
I have a wierd style of play, once you have a good crop of heroes I think you can do some interesting things with them which are not historical at all, e.g oleh dir is a one man army.

[hugh2711]

5) Stonne [DV] Prestige = 19473 Enemy moves first. Awarded 25 per turn.
Strategy: The initial deployment is tricky to not get losses as you are quite close to enemy units. There is an active airforce that comes in more than one wave, 3 if I remember correctly. The initial terrain is constricted with alot of units, it does open out later. The enemy moves first adding to the tricky deployment however this does mean their airforce goes to pre-assigned attacks therefore it is possible to set air ambushes. It is easy to get an MV in this quite early on but for a DV in this it can be quite expensive as there is a counterattack with alot of tanks towards the last two VH's and bearing in mind I am just using the first three campaigns: 39,40 and 41 to build up prestige so I may decide just to go for an MV depending on how it goes. Air cover gets difficult towards the last VH due to the distance from the airfield. The computer gives you 25 prestige per turn so you need to prolong it at the end to collect all available.
Core activity: disbanded french tank, disbanded least used bf109, strengthening and repairing.
Deployment: 3xSE P3f (12&12&11), 4x10.5art (12&12&12&13), 4x sturmpanzer, 88mm (12), Sdkfz7/1, P3f S+2 A+2 D+2 (12), pionere (12), geb (12), M+3 (13), para A+3 (12), grenadier (11), recon (12), bf110 A+1 i+6 (13) stuka A+3 (13), 109 A+3(12), 109 A+2 i+2 D+1(10), 2x109 (12&12). 3 free aux: 88mm, towed AT, panzerjager.
Enemy Units destroyed:28,16,3,4,5,3,0,5,2,1. Total = 67
Comments: Even if you try to prolong it to collect the turn prestige; if you finish off the last unit it will declare you have a DV regardless of wether you have taken the lasy VH or not. Lost some points on the tanks due to tank battles. A number of times in this I used the three free aux units as target practice for the enemy a) as a trap, the weak aux unit exposed but a tough attacking unit next to it to hit the enemy with after it has attacked the weak unit and b) just as a diversion/sacrifice to attack when I have a core unit exposed. Another way to get more prestige is to force surrender of an enemy unit. I had two in this one. In the later campaigns in russia it is an important source of prestige IFF you can do it without losses. I was very fortunate to get another A+3 fighter. (No cheating, really!)

[hurly]

Fast player, yes I am far too lazy and impatient to be a good player
What program do you suggest I use to do a screenshot?. I am using windows 7. I tried to do video AAR's but I have yet to find a program that will work for me! (probably because I am quite abusive to my windows installation ha ha ha ) so gave up, hence all the typing.
I have a wierd style of play, once you have a good crop of heroes I think you can do some interesting things with them which are not historical at all, e.g oleh dir is a one man army.

It's pretty easy to make a screenshot with Panzer Corps under Windows 7.

Just hit the Print Button then you have the Screen copied to your clipboard (this does not work with all Games but with Panzer Corps it works like a charm)
Then either leave Panzer Corps completely or press Ctrl-Alt-Del to open the Task Manager
Jump to any Programm that can save pictures but the always available MS Paint that comes with any windows will do

Paste the Screenshot into a new File and save it (I would use the jpg format, it's quite compatible to almost anything and is low on disk space needed)

you can upload the screenshots either directly here (if they are small enough) or on a file hoster like imgur which is free and gives you plenty of space

that's all

Disclaimer you can make only 1 screenshot per try with that method, the cupboard can not manage multiple screenshots, or better maybe it can but I don't know how. So any new screenshot deletes the last one from the cupboard immediately

[hugh2711]

sorry hurly I cant seem to find my clipboard! I suspect I deleted it a long time ago because i never use it. If I get around to re-installing or find another program I will add some screenshots but dont hold your breath, sorry.

[hugh2711]

6) Wassigny [DV] Prestige = 21777
Strategy: Although you do have plenty of time to earn lots of prestige by taking secondary hexes this scenario is all about precise timing. First take out the immediate clump of enemy units in front of your south deployment group. There is an air attack straightaway (and a larger one later on) so deply plenty of fighters and AA along with your tactical bombers to take out heavy tanks. Spread left to take the secondary hexes and position yourself to take the northwest (furthest) VH but do not take it yet. With the north group take out the clump of units directly in front of you. You will need to do this after the left group as you will also need the tactical bombers to take out the heavy tanks. Split off two arty and the grenadier and take the eastern VH (anor 25,9). Some infantry units will counterattack. with the rest of the right group take the northern airfield you will need this airfield to give air support to the attack on the northwest (furthest) VH, this is the one you have to capture to get the unit to escort back. Do not go north of that airfield and do not go further northwest of that important VH. Preposition and pull back all your units to get ready. As soon as you get that mission VH there is a massive counteratttack both ground and air so have all your units covered for air attack. You will not be able to hold the ground atttack so when you are ready get that unit which is a scout car, you have to go as fast as you can to the origional marked area and finish the game asap. I would deploy more air and AA than usual for this scenario as the air attack is big. Pay particular attention to the counterattack at anor 25,9 as this has a number of heavy tanks and it is nearest to your origional lines. You can hold them using the fact heavy tanks are rubbish in forest but it needs plenty of arty to stop the breakout with minimal losses.
Core Activity: some overstrengthening. All SE P3f's are now overstrengthed to 12, S+2 to 13, M+3 at 13, 88mm at 12.
Deployment:South group; 2xSE P3f (12&12), 88mm (12), para (12), M+3 (13), pionere (12), 2xsturm, 10.5art (12). North group; S+2 P3f (13), SE P3f, 2x10.5art (12&13), sturm, recon (12), GEB (12), Para (air 11). bf110 (13), stuka (13), 5x109 (3x12 & 2x11).
Enemy units destroyed:15,18,3,7,2,3,1,2,2,3. Total = 56
comments: As expected. lost some points, particularly at anor (29,5) due to carelessness. When pulling back to defensive positions bear in mind that when the big counterattack begins an alpine infantry appears in the middle of your lines/territory and could be a nuisance. I possibly deployed too much air and AA and maybe could have gone for an extra couple of ground units instead of the mobile AA and one of the 109's but I just dont like having enemy air around and the 109's did a good job strafing the tanks earning themselves lots of kills in the process.

[hugh2711]

oops, I should have done this at the time/about 12 posts ago: attatched is a compressed last turn save of narvik/gc39 for anyone that wants to download the end core. I will do the same for the other campaign ends.

[hugh2711]

Before amiens you have to decide wether you go for a DV or an MV as IFF you get a DV you have the choice to do the 'dunkirk' scenario. If you get an MV or loss you go straight to reims. The problem is it is a difficult scenario in which an MV is complex and a DV is more difficult and also you are bound to take alot more losses. I think that a) because the dunkirk scenario is relatively easy b) you get a capturable matilda in dunkirk c) you can rack up alot of kills in dunkirk particularly for your heinkel - that it is worth doing a DV here.

[hugh2711]

7) Amiens [DV] Prestige = 23511
Strategy: This is a difficult one. An MV is straightforward but a DV is hard and requires some losses. The last wo VH's are close together at the west edge of the map. They are well defended with arty and other support units. To get there the terrain although at the beginning it starts of relatively open it gets rougher - forest and bocage. The cheapest way to get the last two VH's is by going around the back un-noticed and attacking at the same time as the frontal assault, but there is alot of units to take out before you can get to the actual VH's. Well before that when you take the VH in the centre but there is a massive counter attack both air and ground including numerous tanks. You can hold them in the bocage and forest around the centre. If the counter attack is stronger in the middle it is possible to set up a killing field in front of the centre VH and get some surrenders. Before that you need a seperate strike group in the north to go along the side of the map and take a well defended VH towards the west. This group then goes around the top perimeter and joins the attack on the west VH's. This group has to move fast, it can also take some secondary hexes on the way. So speed is important in this as you have to have some precise prepositioning to minimise losses for a DV.There is also an initial air attack at the beginning.
Core Activity: A Little repairing and overstrengthening.
Deployment:North group; 2xSE P3f (12&12), 2xsturm, mobileAA (11), recon (12), pionere (12), Grenadier (12), Geb (12), 10.5art (12), 2x109 (2x12). The rest; 2x10.5art, 2x sturm, 88mm (12), Para (12), M+3 (13), SE P3f (12), para (11), S+2 P3f (13), bf110 (13), stuka (13), 2x109 (12&12).
Enemy Destroyed: 24,14,2,10,7,8,0,3,2,2. Total = 72
Comments: Took alot of damage to recon by rushing forward too much. The counter attack in the middle seemed to be less strong than I remember. I was very fortunate to get another A+3 (on an SE tank) N.B. without cheating. I dont think I have ever had so many in a campaign before!

[hurly]

sorry hurly I cant seem to find my clipboard! I suspect I deleted it a long time ago because i never use it. If I get around to re-installing or find another program I will add some screenshots but dont hold your breath, sorry.

haha good one


the clipboard is always active in the background and e.g. anything you copy is in there

it is working similarly as your RAM

so if you want to save anything currently hovering in the clipboard you just need to open a another programm and paste it in there

e.G.

if you want to make a hardcopy of your current window screen (same thing with text or links you copy anything goes into the clipboard)

just hit the Print button (located right to the F keys on most keyboards)

the "imaginary" picture you just made goes into the clipboard automatically, you don't need to do anything else

so this hardcopy is hovering in the cupboard until deleted by another harcopy

what you need to do now is open a programm that can save pictures ---- the always onboard PAINT will do

when Paint opens you have an empty work screen with a taskbar on top

in the task bar on the left side there is an icon in the shape of a clipboard (that says insert or paste from clipboard)
you can also use the command ctrl + v

when you do that your hardcopy/screenshot appears in the Paint Program

now you just need to save it under a file name of your choice and in a format the forum can show

the .jpg is my choice here as it is usually low in file size used

voila now you have a screenshot successfully stored on your harddisk and can access it anytime you want with the filename you used

you can also modify it, resize it, add things with the Paint or any other picture programm you can work with
not very hard to do but sometimes really handy to illustrate things.

I'm by no means a tech buff (and maybe many will have a good laugh about my incompetent explanations) and there are way better programms out there, but it is quite easy to pick up and gives you nice results even without investing plenty of hours learning the commands

[hugh2711]

Thats what I thought but I am embarrassed to say I have been using and taking apart computers for 30 years (yes I used to love my atari 800xl ) and it did not work first time so i assumed it didnt work at all. It works fine now. Patience is not my strongpoint

[hugh2711]

7B) Dunkirk [DV] prestige = 26137. [Captured tank]
Strategy: This is quite easy, in fact you may find you have to leave some of the transport trains in order to prolong it as it is too esy to kill the required amount before you have had your fun. As I already said the main purpose of this scenario (for me) is to rack up kills on the heinkel.This might also be a good time to introduce another strat bomber if you run with more than one. While there are a couple of scenarios where more than one are usefull since I dont deploy it every time, just one is fine for me. If I need another then I will just get the best I can get and its normal stats will have to do. There are alot of tanks in this one so no blindly rushing ahead like I normally do. You get given some aux units, a sub and torpedo boats and a few strat bombers which can be used for reconnaisance, bait and diversions.There is a narrow left corridor between two canals on the left. There is one strongpointed VH there and a few other units. I have a para with an M+1 hero giving it a movement of 4!, very nice. M+1's are surprisingly useful, combining them with non towed arty can often enable you to very quickly take out initial defences before the enemy has had a chance to react. I will use this M+1 along with M+3 (oleh) and a few other units you can clear your left side very quickly. Having S+2 P3f there as well gives you a good view of naval transports for your heinkel so you can get sinking straight away. On the right hand side the other group will just go straight for the free matilda, then the far northeast VH. Then I will come back and take the other two VH's and take out some secondaries/wayfs and strays/easy targets.There is some airforce in this one but not as much as the previous few scenarios so if I am careful I can deploy weakend rudel for his spotting ability over the sea. However I am now in the wierd position of being unable to deploy my main 88mm. It is now up to about 290 kills without a hero which means that it will get a hero immediately since the benchmark for the SECOND! hero is 300.If I deploy it I would have to use it in anti tank mode but I actually want a range+1 hero for it but if deploy it as AT I will definately not get an R+1 hero, so I cant deploy it now. This was careless of me.
An obvious question to ask at this time is: why dont I have any towed anti-tank?. The reason is they are too naff. You can nurture one and carefully guard it as they are very succeptable to losses but anything an AT can do a tank can do better. Even the panzerjager which is quite good is still quite vulnerable so I would rather build that experience on my SE tanks at the moment. I believe in nikivdd's revamp you get given a free one and I might nurture one then but even so I dont really start to use AT untill the AT stug's come out. By that time since I keep my tanks at the latest model and overstrength them the softcap is starting to bite in which case AT stugs make economic sense. I suppose if I were on rommel I might have to train one or two.
Core Activity: Repair, overstrength.
Deployment: Left group; Para (M+1), Oleh M+3, P3f S+2, 10.5art, 2xsturm. Heinkel, stuka, bf110, 2x109. weakend rudel. Right group; 3xSE P3f, 2xsturm, 10.5art, recon, para, geb, pionere, 2x109.
Enemy destroyed: 27,16,2,2,2,4,2,3,0,1. Total = 59
Comments: As expected. The stats on my heinkel went from 325/106/0 to 325/184/1. It probably could have been better if I had taken more care about the sea battle, I actually forgot about the free units there for at least one turn. I lost the point on the bomber by forgetting the position of an AA that I had already 'seen'. Notice the heinkel at strength 13 can already completely destroy a naval transport with one shot, with an attack hero and the upgraded model they make short work of any ship and take chunks out of hard targets. I also got an R+1 on a sturmpanzer which is very useful and a pathetic A+1 on an SE P3f. Even with deliberately not destroying all the trains I had to try to prolong that one. The trains left alone can be used to block expected counterattacks but I have never actually seen any counterattacks in the later stages of that scenario. The captured matilda is worth 374 prestige. I will disband it for that prestige however notice its stats give a tank defence of a whopping 15 whereas even the SE P3f only has 8. I will try to avoid using it but i will keep it on the roster for a while in case there is any defensive scenario where I need a blocking unit with high tank defense and dont want to take large losses in my tanks. Eventually its stats will become comparable with what else I have as I upgrade indigenous models in fact even with slightly less better stats I would take a defence heroed tank in preference to it. Something that I should have done BEFORE this scenario was convert my weakend rudel stuka to a Bf110 since that would have given me a visual spotting range of 4. While you could say that is a bit extravigant/waste of 300 odd prestige, you will use it again and the extra fuel makes it alot more usable.

[hugh2711]

8 ) Reims [DV] Prestige = 28061

Strategy: This is a difficult scenario. There is alot of ground to cover so I might not be able to get the capturable char B1 or ALL the secondary hexes. Your main group starts at the northeast and takes the nearest secondary hex, this provokes an attack which you defeat. You then move on to the nearest VH more towards the centre. Taking this provokes another counterattack. Hopefully this counterattack continues and you can form a killing field as the AI continually tries to retake this. You can sometimes get some surrenders too. While this is going on with a few units you have taken all the secondary hexes north of the river and flanked around and sneaked over the river in the west. There is an occupied VH in the southwest which needs to be taken. Then there are alot of units and VH's in the centre that need to be taken. Time is short in this one - unless of course you dont mind taking lots of losses. If you think you can sneak a para over to the empty VH at the extreeme south centre or get the capturable; it does not work. They swarm around and kill it/retake the VH and it diverts the tanks to open ground around there which is counterproductive as you want them on the narrow chokepoints on the river, much easier to deal with. While all this is going on there is an initial air attack which is easier to defend against than pre-emptively attack with losses. There is also another air attack during the game.
Core activity: repairing and overstrengthening. Converted my older para one to non-airborne as its M+1 hero was too usefull to be disposably sent to far off places.
Deployment: Having whinged about not using captured units I will now use one (aaargh). NW group; 2xsturm, pionere (12), S+2 P3f (13), M+3 (13), para (12). Main group; 3xSE P3f (3x12), 2xsturm (11&10), 3x10.5art (3x12), 88m (12), grenadier (12), Gebirj (12), bf110 (13), stuka (13), 3x109 (3x12), 109 (11), free aux bridge engineer.
Enemy destroyed:21,11,4,9,6,6,1,4,2,1. Total = 65
Comments: Difficult, took some losses. I did not manage to get the free tank as although I took the hex it was on the last turn and you have to take it the penultimate turn to get it. I suspect that was due to having some terrible weather in the middle, specifically MUD made it very difficult to move for a couple of turns. Got a nice M+1 for my 88mm, second best hero after range. With an 88mm you cant use extra range in AT mode but you can use the M+1. I hate this scenario.

[hugh2711]

9) Dijon [DV] Prestige = 30524. Captured tank
Strategy: Straightforward scenario. Its a narrow map with a good distance to the end so it is worth using an airborne para to get the furthest VH which is occupied by a single infantry, however you might not use it untill the later part of the scenario, but if you dont use it that last hex may spawn just before the end. After using it for the one task at the end it can be repaired using free green replacements since it has negleable experience anyway. There is a capturable tank worth going for, a 'char', prestige value 349. There are a couple of air units but none after that. There is a well defended VH near the start that is a bit of a detour but apart from that you need to move fast to cover the mixed terrain.
Core activity: Got a new para without transport, repairing, overstrengthening. Ugraded the stuka to the R model. Although the soft attack is less, since I have plenty of attack in heroes the more than doubled fuel gives it the edge. Upgraded weakend rudel to Bf110.
Deployment:S+2 P3f (13), 3xSEP3f (3x12), 4xsturm (2x11 2x10), 4x10.5art (2x12 2x11), polish 10.5 art, 2xpara (2x12), gren (12), geb (12), pionere (12), M+3 (13), 2x109 (2x12),heinkel (13),bf110 (13), recon (12), weakend rudel bf110.
Destroyed:25,9,3,14,5,5,0,1,1,0. Total = 63
Comments:Easy. Alot of spawning towards the end. I am dissapointed the only arty hero I have yet is just one R+1 on a sturmpanzer, I think I normally have more by now. Weakend rudel was very usefull and even got some more kills!. I will probably disband that captured char immediately.

[hugh2711]

10) Maginot line. [DV] Prestige = 32060
Strategy: Can be tricky, patience is the key. There alot of strongpoints and forts (including strength 15 ones) all over the place. The central VH has a fort and is buried in difficult terrain and other units. There is no enemy air activity only an AA in the centre. You get some free aux units infantry and three rail artilliary. The best way is to attack the extreeme northwest with one group and the southeast with another. There is a counterattack from the southeast once you make some headway. Defeat that then roll up the line slowly and carefully from both ends. Your heinkel will be very important in this against the forts, to supress them and to drain them of ammo. Likewise any R+1 artilliary you have will be very usefull, particularly in the central area. This is where I expect to take some losses.
Core Activity: R+1 strumpanzer overstrengthed to 12. Disbanded char (worth 349). Repair and restore overstrength on various.
Deployed: Nortwest group; S+2 P3f (13), 2x10.5art (2x12), sturm R+1 (12), heinkel (13), ju88, stuka (13) para (air), para (12), gebirj (12). weak rudel. South group; 3xSE P3f (3x12), 3xsturm, recon (12), 88mm (12), polish 10.5art, pioner (12), para (12), 109 (12), 110 (13), M+3 (13). 3xfree aux K5 rail art, 3xaux pionere, 2x aux infantry.
Destroyed:22,8,2,9,5,2,20,0,0,0. Total = 68
Comments: The southeast counterattack came earlier than expected, I dont know what the script trigger is. I got an R+1 on a 10.5art which will be very usefull. Used a second strat bomber, got the one with the best stats at the time - Ju88. It will only be my secondary bomber as when the heinkel is upgraded its stats will be better than the ju88 and its upgrade ju188.

[hugh2711]

Prestige before next scenario = 35032

Comparisons:
GC39: Total prestige gained = 10918 .........Destroyed: 196,69,5,27,37,36,13,16,3,1. Total = 404
GC40: Total prestige gained = 24114 .......Destroyed: 288,112,13,73,50,43,40,26,20,11. Total = 676

So obviously france/GC40 is a massive earner, the biggest in the grand campaign however I still expect to be earning prestige overall in GC41 AND GC42. I expect GC43 to be neutral, GC44 and GC45 to be big drains on prestige. There is a decent crop of heroes to start off with and the nucleus of a strong airforce. I have a few experienced tanks. One could say that my core is a bit small but I dont think it will be a problem as I am not intending losing any of them.... except maybe the recon.

[hugh2711]

GC41 Field Marshall Dice chess
Starting prestige: 35032

In GC41 there are 3 scenarios before you go into russia. They are relatively easy and can be used for improving stats. I have also got a free SE P4d, I find I usually get a free unit at the start of a campaign. I would have preferred the P3 series (untill P4ivg,) as they have higher initiative and are tougher on tanks but I am not going to sit there reloading for hours. This is my start core before upgrading. Plenty more heroes on the way and there will be alot of upgrading units to keep them as the best available.
start core:
SE P3f A+3 D+1......308/401/9
SE P3f A+1......... 264/230/5
SE P3f A+3...........286/244/0
P3f S+2 A+2 D+2......325/611/3
sturmpanzer R+1......325/266/1
3xsturmpanzer .....325/233/1 & 325/239/0 & 316/139/0
10.5art R+1......325/266/1
3x10.5 art ......325/233/1 & 325/239/1 & 316/139/0
88mm M+1.........272/375/1
88mm............ 65/30/1
Sdkfz7/1........141/31/0
recon M+1.......317/235/34
polish 10.5art, matilda, P38 225/171/5.
pionere A+2......303/652/3
grenadier D+1....275/314/8
para M+1.........221/230/17
para A+3.........317/578/5
oleh M+3 i+3 A+2..325/917/5
Gebirj D+2........318/584/4
Heinkel..........325/199/1
ju88.............160/2/0
stuka A+6........325/1070/0 Over 1000 is into third hero territory
2xbf109 A+3......321/365/4 & 325/415/5
bf109 A+2 i+2 D+1..308/217/1
bf109 D+1 .......325/298/1
bf109............192/63/0
weaker rudel....153/32/2

[hugh2711]

1) Belgrade [DV] Prestige = 35032 [Free SE P4d]
Strategy: An easy scenario. There is plenty of time to take all secondary hexes, you may want to prolong it for strafing. Spread out deployment, but after destroying a few units on the right side it is possible to sneak down the right side over the danube to the end of the map where you can go west and take belgrade from behind with alot of units and minimal losses. There are a three weak air units to start at pre-arranged postions, 2 easily destroyed. You can set a trap for the third one using an AA and the aux tank as bait to get the next turn. A newer model unit attacks a few turns in but only three fighters (and i+6 110 used as a fighter) are neccessary. There are a few free aux units you can use as bait.
Core activity: The four P3f's upgraded to P3h and overstrength. Now upgraded they have good defence so can be used to seek confrontation, also the high overstrength should actually minimise losses with the extra shots of overstrengthening taking bigger chunks out of opponents. P4d up to P4e, without that extra defence it is just too weak to use economically. Upgrade 109's to f model . Although the attack is less the initiative is massively increased and in fighters you want high initiative so they can fire first. However with the high cost of the newer models overstrengthening becomes very expensive so At the moment unless there is a specific scenario situation that requires it (like a trap) I will keep them at 12, below their max strength, other than the high hero one which I will keep at max as I will use it as primary attack fighter. Buying a stug3b; there will be some situations where you need to give arty support to a static unit but they will be under fire and ordinary arty will take losses whereas this stug wont. The only problem with it is it gets a bit weak towards the later campaigns, I will deploy it straight away to give it some experience. R+1 arty overstrength to max, R+1 sturm already at max.
Deployed:3xSE P3H, P3H S+2, 4xsturmpanzer, 4x10.5art, polish arty, recon, mobile AA, pionere, Gebirj, M+3, grenadier, 2xpara, Heinkel, 3x109, stuka, weaker rudel, bf110 i+6.
Destroyed:31,2,0,8,6,4,0,4,0,0. Total = 55
Comments: Even with spinning it out I had to end it early. The weaker rudel will be repaired using free green units, it was the only unit that took any losses. I also just worked out that I went through the whole of this scenario without noticing that I had not upgraded my most important unit my S+2 P3f as said I would........I would like to say it was deliberate to demonstrate the power of having good heroes making your tanks invincible.....but...ermmmm

[hugh2711]

2) Metaxis line [DV] Prestige = 36425 [Captured tank]
Strategy: More difficut than the last one but still straightforward. The terrain can be a bit tricky, lots of mountains. There is a capturable tank which I will send over a para for (supported by my heinkel). There is some stiff air activity at the beginning so deploy AA. You are given plenty of free aux units for bait and diversions. The terrain and some fortifications make it not worth getting all the secondary hexes. It is quite a short scenario, 14 turns. Initial deployment is a bit squished as it is a small map. The first turn can be complicated as you have to defend against the air attack.
Core activity: Bought a new cavalry.
Deployed: 3xSE P3H, P3H S+2, SE P4E, recon, 3xsturmpanzer, 4x10.5art, polish 10.5 art, stug3b, 88mm, mobile AA, grenadier, pionere, M+3, sxpara, cavalry, Gebirj, para (air), 3x109,bf110, stuka, Heinkel.
Destroyed:24,8,1,2,4,3,1,1,2,1. Total = 47
Comments: The captured matilda is worth 374, I will be disbanding it immediately. Now that the SE panzers are experienced, heroed and they are a model with good defence you can see from the replay they are very good offensive weapons and if you are carefull with NO losses. I didnt deploy my R+1 sturmpanzer because I want the other ones to get their hero. I took some losses on soft units due to carelessness getting the free matilda, they will be replaced with green free replacements.

[hugh2711]

3) Crete [DV] Prestige = 38368
Strategy: I am choosing the airborne invasion option not for any particular reason other than I am not very good at naval invasions. It can be tricky to start off with but overall it is a straightforward short scenario. There is time to take all of the secondary hexes. In fact there is so much time it is difficult to prolong it. I am going to make this slightly more difficult for myself by not using any naval transports at all. It will take me three turns to deploy all my units. The initial deployment is tricky. I use this as an oportunity to rack up kills for my heinkel on their ships. That will take time so the replay will look wierd as I avoid hitting alot of units so as not to end the game too early. There are a couple of planes that can be disposed of quickly but after that free skies and I will use my fighters for strafing. It is quite difficlt to spin this out to get the max on my heinkel. As usual use the aux units for bait and diversions.
Core activity: Disband captured matilda. Some repairing on some inexperienced infantry. Convert polish captured 10.5 arty to a wurfrahmen - the polish arty has no upgrade path - I could disband it for the prestige but I would like to keep the experience. Wurfrahmen are great against soft targets, the fact that you can move long distances and then fire makes them invaluable. If you play some of the excellent mods you will find that some people lower their range or other stats to make them more 'historical'. I usually use alot of them. They are very expensive, way over the softcap just to buy so I dont usually overstrength them. About this time panzerflamm's have become available as well. While they do have their merits (ROF 140%) since their range is ony one they still take too much losses for my taste even thought they do serious damage to soft targets.
Deployed: left; pionere, geb, SE P3h, P3h S+2, 2x wurfrahmen, sturm. Centre airfield; grenadier, P4, Wurfrahmen, M+3. right airfield; Moblie AA, Reccon, 2x 10.5art, stug3b, para, 2xSE P3h. Air; 4x109, stuka, 110, weak rudel. 3xaux para (air), aux geb (air), 4x aux destroyers.
Destroyed:25,3,0,0,3,6,0,0,1,0. Total = 38
Comments: Easy scenario. Even after I deployed an extra fighter for strafing I still had slots unused. Its just a case of having units strong enough to withstand the initial deployment. I ignored the free aux destroyers and let my heinkel take out the ships. I think the only point I lost was on a 10.5art because I got it too near the coast and the visual range of the cruisers. I got the heinkel from 201 kills to 258 kills, its about time it had its first hero!. I really want an A+x for it.

[hugh2711]

4) Minsk 41 [DV] Prestige = 39742 [Captured tank & super hero rudel]
Strategy: The first thing is you MUST deploy the weak rudel in order to additionally get the free uber-rudel which becomes your best unit. It comes with amazing high heroes (which are actually reflected historically). This is a big map so there is a lot of ground to cover. You have to clear the initial near units that are spread out except for the brest fortress which you leave some units to besiege, there are quite a few enemy units there and hidden behind. You get given a giant mortar to help in that, it is the only thing that will make a dent in the actual fortress. There is also a capturable tank in the hex just south of the fortress. Some units that start in the north bypass the direct main road up which alot your units slog (eliminating many enemy units on the way). These should all join up at the end to similtaneaously attack minsk, an urban sprawl with lots of units including heavy tanks and static AA. you can easily go up the north and west side while prepositioning your units for attack. However you do have enough time, and time enough to take the secondry hexes. I will be deploying an airborne para to take 6 secondaries/airfields. You get given 3x aux mobile AA which make great bait.You are also given 3 aux 'recon' strat bombers Do217e's and an Aux 88mm.
Core activity: Upgrade P4 from e to f. Upgrade all 4 10.5 art to 17cm
Deployment:3x17cm art, 4x sturmpanzer, recon, 3x wurfrahmen, 3xSE P3h, P3h S+2, P4e, grenadier, pionere, M+3, 2xpara, para (air), Cavalry, stug3b, Heinkel, stuka, bf110d, 4x109f, weak rudel.
Destroyed: 27,15,2,3,4,8,1,4,1,3. Total = 68
Comments: Straightforward, I finished way too early. I nearly lost a unit because of carelessness/rushing; the last secondary hex spawned a few units and nearly destroyed a 17cm art whilst it was travelling. If I had used the aux recon units properly to keep an eye on those untaken cities I would have seen it coming and eliminated them without losses. It cost me 152 to repair with experienced replacements, the very high experience on it was worth keeping high. The captured T34 is worth 357. I will disband it immediately. I also lost some points by incorrectly assuming the enemy air would not go so far south i.e. lost some overstrength on my stuka, 98 prestige to restore to 13 strength. It is worth overstrengthening high attack tac bombers as the extra strength will get you extra 'shots' and hence extra destruction. Still a high earning scenario. I also timed my minsk attack badly by putting a unit within visual range triggering a response which led to staggered counter attack. Everything attacking at once from pre-positioned places is much better and less costly.