Bonus Objective in Bagration?

[gokkel]

I am currently at the Bagration mission and I notice that there is a bonus objective (hold Minsk, Baranovichi, Vilnius at turn 10). I have no clue what the possible reward could be though and if it is worth pursuing (just looking at the deployment screen it looks challenging). A lack of transparency in general I would say for the campaign.

So for Moscow and Stalingrad I know that the bonus objectives determine whether you will be able to go on the ahistorical winning path of the campaign or not. But since I am already on the historical path, what could the bonus objective give me?

[nexusno2000]

I am currently at the Bagration mission and I notice that there is a bonus objective (hold Minsk, Baranovichi, Vilnius at turn 10). I have no clue what the possible reward could be though and if it is worth pursuing (just looking at the deployment screen it looks challenging). A lack of transparency in general I would say for the campaign.

So for Moscow and Stalingrad I know that the bonus objectives determine whether you will be able to go on the ahistorical winning path of the campaign or not. But since I am already on the historical path, what could the bonus objective give me?

You get 12 bonus core slots for the rest of the campaign.

[gokkel]

Thanks, that seems useful, will see if I can pull it off.

[SineMora]

You get 12 bonus core slots for the rest of the campaign.

As the meta gamer I am, how do these slots work in practice? Do you get the extra 12 slots immediately in Bagration, and if so can you deploy an extra 12 points from your reserve?

[Tassadar]

No, it's at the start of later scenarios - you get a popup at the start about how you get the extra slots due to great performance in Bagration.

[RandomAttack]

I'm playing it right now, and it gives you the slots for immediate use. Thank goodness, because I'm getting swamped...

[Tassadar]

Wow, I must have missed it then during the scenario. Those extra slots sure would have been useful still in that mission given the hordes that lurk in the southeast!

[SineMora]

Good to know. That should come in handy while planning my strategy

[Demetrios_of_Messene]

I was also wondering about the bonus here. It would be great if there was in-game information about what the bonus objectives will offer.

[Chepicoro]

Hi...not directly related to the question but in Bragation why I cannot reinforce the auxiliary forces??? it will really help me....also after several tries I abandon the bonus objectives...I will be lucky to hold my corner of the map.

[nexusno2000]

Hi...not directly related to the question but in Bragation why I cannot reinforce the auxiliary forces??? it will really help me....also after several tries I abandon the bonus objectives...I will be lucky to hold my corner of the map.

Because the scenario is designed that way.

[Chepicoro]

Thank you..,, right now I really struggle in this mission... any tips??

[Retributarr]

Thank you..,, right now I really struggle in this mission... any tips??

nexusno2000 In another posting that he has here... under the title... "How do you lose?" he says to make sure to have backup artillery support, antiaircraft support, and anti-tank support for any units for which you deem it applicable. Also do not overextend yourself... if you stick your neck out such as like at the Guillotine... it will get chopped off!.

[SineMora]

Thank you..,, right now I really struggle in this mission... any tips??

The auxiliaries are all set to a max strength of one so cannot be reinforced (with the exception of a unit of Grenadiers in Minsk IIRC), but the stronger ones like Pioniere are worth preserving for later. I recently beat this scenario -- and in the process ending up not updating my AAR as I should have instead -- but I'm not sure how much of my tips would help you as I very much play to win, not to treat the AI like an opponent. That includes exploiting the obvious shortcomings in the orders used to govern its behaviour.

The first thing to realise about Bagration is that while the Soviets have huge numbers they are all tied to different timers to create waves -- you will never have the entire Red Army come steaming at you. Having realised this, look at the number of supply hexes you control with airfields next to them; these are key to the easiest way to cheese this scenario. NB: Don't read on if you're a scrub or for other reasons believe that battles should be "fair."

As the AI won't mobilise most of its forces until much later, you basically have at least 7-8 turns when very little will happen other than partisan activity and some minor pushes towards Minsk. This is why you should buy up enough aircraft to have a dozen or so fighters and fighter-bombers. Deploy these to the south and have them systematically destroy all Soviet aircraft there (this should take you 2 turns or so; don't worry, these aren't part of the initial wave and so won't even try to attack). After that rebase towards Minsk and proceed to destroy all aircraft there; even better if the Soviets capture the air field at Minsk and rebase some of their planes there. By tun 6 or so the Soviets should have only around 5 planes left, all of which are inaccessible to you and won't be making any noise until much later, so this point you rebase the extra fighters and fighter-bombers to the rear and disband them, freeing up the prestige and core slots for units you'll actually need instead.

Now that the Red Army has no air force the rest of the scenario should be pretty straightforward, although time consuming due to all the auxiliaries; I reocmmend holding Minsk because the extra slots are valuable, but if you can't do it fortify the line further back. There is honestly no reason to fail to hold here because a few units of mechanized Pioniere and Tigers backed up by artillery and SPATs can lock the north and central approaches down easily. The auxiliaries will need some help in the south or they'll get overrun, but there's some quality among them, so with the right help you can even drive the Red Army back behind their own lines instead.

My biggest mistake was actually overestimating the SOviet threat, so I initially built a layered defence. A complete waste of time as you can just focus on holding them where you want them, and the area in the centre between the river and the woods and marshes is a great place to cause a rush hour traffic jam; just make sure you have at least one mechanized Pioniere to hold the southern flank of it.

From my upcoming Bagration battle in my AAR:



Fighter blitz is a cheesy but fabulously useful strategy for Bagration.



Stall, suppress and farm the Soviet units (especially the IS-2s if you're on Retrgrade like me).



The auxiliaries can clean up in the south with some Panzers and assault guns to help them deal with Soviet armour and entrenchment levels.



The Red Army runs out of steam quickly. A few more turns and you could take Smolensk and Kiev.

[Chepicoro]

SineMora

Thank you very much.....i definitely will read your AAR..... it's my first game of this kind so I don't have a lot of experience, but I think your solution to Bagration it's very creative

[gokkel]

The way I approached the mission, I kept a small force at the southern objectives at Warsaw and Siedlce while the rest of my forces was moving to Minsk. Also kept a unit at Baranovichi and the airport there as I deployed my own air units there to assist the defense of Minsk. Protecting Minsk with that force was easy till turn 10, and I also dealt with any units trying to go by the northern map border to approach Vilnius. I also dealt with the random infantry units hiding camouflaged in the forests, as well as the Partisans appearing at some point. Gustav was mostly assisting with those infantry so I didn't have to dedicate too many forces to hunt them down.

Once the bonus objective was done, I immediately retreated my forces towards the main objectives. That retreat was not very well executed by me, so one part of my forces got a bit stuck between Bialystok and Baranovichi, but it was not a big deal. One of my AA guns was nearly wiped out during that process though. The forces between Vilnius and Suwalki were suffering from the enemy 15 strength Guard Tanks, nearly wiping out one of my Panther tanks. Probably you can improve that by sending part of your forces to retreat a turn earlier, or instead keep a better formation for a more orderly retreat.

The southern flank should be mostly safe until you have established your defensive lines at the positions the briefing mentioned. Even if you do not assist the auxiliary forces much with your own troops, the enemy needs so much time to clear them out that they will reach your own defensive lines only after several turns.

Otherwise it is just the usual defense. Tanks protected by AT, infantry in the city maybe supported with artillery, then some large artillery behind to counter battery fire. Use your bombers (and Gustav, if you have one) to deal with problematic units like big tanks or artillery.

[bunny142]

Hi, I have gained the bonus objectives and hold the primary objectives.
All Russian attacks have ceased but the game jut carries on without anything happening. I am now at turn 52. When do you win?

[adiekmann]

Hi, I have gained the bonus objectives and hold the primary objectives.
All Russian attacks have ceased but the game jut carries on without anything happening. I am now at turn 52. When do you win?

Sorry, but I had to laugh when I read you post. Turn 52?

I strongly suspect that you may have an option clicked where you have unlimited turns and there must be an objective that you are missing somewhere...Perhaps post a screenshot with the objectives screen on/open and that will provide more info. I haven't played the vanilla campaign in many months now so I cannot say what it could be specifically without more info...

Perhaps someone else in the forum will be able to help you better than me.

[bunny142]

Actually finished in turn 30 but kept pressing button to see when I would win.
Am locked in and cannot go further.
Where is the objectives screen please.

[adiekmann]

Actually finished in turn 30 but kept pressing button to see when I would win.
Am locked in and cannot go further.
Where is the objectives screen please.

Press "3" on your keyboard to toggle it open/closed. It opens the little window in the top left corner of your screen.

As a last resort, you can always force end (with victory!) the scenario by typing in the cheat code, "runany Victory 0"