Blind Playthrough Afrika Korps Rommel Italian Challenge

[Cerberus51]

A few thoughts on upgrades/purchases (I will try not to give spoilers away too much).

Infantry - You need to consider the availability of 43 upgrades. I'd say 6 infantry is enough but would suggest upgrading/replacing the Italian infantry and starting to build some experience with it. There is an optional scenario coming up called Caucasus.

Tanks - What you have won't cut it for much longer. The British tanks will need an upgrade soon, the PzIIIH's might be worth upgrading to L's just to extend their useable life a little bit longer.

Artillery - IIRC the German 17cm requires a transport upgrade as well. I find the 15cm good enough and avoids the cost of a transport upgrade.

Fighters - The Spitfire is good enough (it is an IX, right?) but the RAF will be plentiful in the battles to come. Get a fourth fighter - whatever is toughest. The MC series fighters are a family upgrade so keep them upgraded to the best available (200/202/205).

The rest have either reached their upgrade limit for now or for the rest of the campaign.

I am enjoying your adventure.

[hurly]

Army In Afrika Korps before Suez Canal

Hurly has asked for a breakdown of all my equipment and their stats at this point in the game.
Well after divvying out just replacements and not all elite I have 1591 in prestige left to spend before I start Suez Canal so I am unsure what to buy or if to upgrade anything, but first my army going into the Suez:

6 infantry
Normally I would see this as extremely light, but a light infantry does you well in Afrika Corps, at least so far.
2 Grenadier's w half tracks: 1 with 3 stars and a +1 Initiative +1 Spotting hero and 1 with 2 Stars and 2 heroes for +2 Att total
2 Bersaglieri 1 with 2 stars and +1 Movement +1 Spotting, the other with 1 star and 0 heroes
1 Regular inf with 0 stars (I may sell him, but have him still from like the 2nd scenario)
1 Alpini 2 Stars and a +3 Att hero and +1 Movement
4 of my infantry I have grown to love and am pleased with where they are; at this point in the game.

7 tanks
Pz3H 3 Stars +2 Att +1 Def
Crusader with 1 Star
Grant 2 Stars and +3 Def
Flamm 3 Stars +3 Att +1 Def and + Initiative
Matilda 2 2 stars and +1 Def
M14/41 3 Stars 2 heroes add up to +2 Att total
SE Pz3H +1 Def +1 Spot
(I keep thinking I will upgrade the Pz3H's to something with a little more attack and defensive capability like a 3L or 3N but I just keep waiting to be able to upgrade to Tiger's and eventually Tiger 2's but unsure if it will get that far.)

2 Recons
2 Sahariana's 1 with 0 stars 1 with 1 star no heroes. (These are really helpful and versatile units, I am glad I have them)

2 Anti-tanks
2 StuG3F/8's both with 3 stars and both with 2 heroes totaling +4 Def.
(These guys are beasts, and exactly what they are meant to be tank killers.)

6 artillery
1 German 10.5cm arty with 3 stars and +3 Def
2 Italian 10.5cm artys 1 with 3 stars and 2 Heroes totaling +3 Def and the other with 2 stars and a +2 Att hero.
1 149mm arty with 3 stars and +2 Att
2 M40 da 75/18 with 3 stars and 1 with +5 Att and the other with +1 Movement
(I am considering upgrading my 10.5 German gun to the 17cm arty with truck transport as I hear it is the best, the other's I think I will keep as is for now.)

3 Fighters
1 Spitfire with almost 3 stars
1 Veltro with 2 Stars
Stormo with almost 4 stars exp and 3 Heroes totaling +3 Att. (I have really been hosed with +1 heroes, but I am ok with this as my Stormo has not let me down, I was scared when I almost lost him last battle, and this is partly why I want to buy another Fighter.)

2 Tac Bombers
2 SM.79's 1 with 1 star and a +1 Def hero the other with 3 stars and a +3 Att hero.

1 Strat Bomber
Piaggio 3 stars and a +1 Att hero


I am thinking I will buy another Fighter and Italian AA and leave behind 4 units (Ital Inf, 1 star Bersaglieri, Crusader, and 0 star Sahariana)

Please share your thoughts on my thinking for purchases, and whether or not to upgrade those units I spelled out above.

Thanks, you guys are the best.

Going through your Army by Weapon Class

6 infantry
Normally I would see this as extremely light, but a light infantry does you well in Afrika Corps, at least so far.
2 Grenadier's w half tracks: 1 with 3 stars and a +1 Initiative +1 Spotting hero and 1 with 2 Stars and 2 heroes for +2 Att total
2 Bersaglieri 1 with 2 stars and +1 Movement +1 Spotting, the other with 1 star and 0 heroes
1 Regular inf with 0 stars (I may sell him, but have him still from like the 2nd scenario)
1 Alpini 2 Stars and a +3 Att hero and +1 Movement
4 of my infantry I have grown to love and am pleased with where they are; at this point in the game.

You have 6 Units, I never had more than the Original 5 given out from the Start. So I think you are ok.
Keep the Regular Italian Inf around, it would be good to get it some experience, but if that's too risky an alternative Idea is to wait with the Bersaglieri '43 upgrade (especially for the ones without a truck) til this ominous Caucasus Scenario. It might not need a Rocket Scientist to guess why. If you feel the need to upgrade all Infantry to the Bersaglier'43 asap, then a downgrade to a pre '43 Version costs NADA anyway.
(Side Note ---- On my little current Experiment with Italian and Captured Stuff exclusively, I sold of the 2 Grenadiers after Scenario 1 and currently going into Basra (Scenario 14) all my 3 Italian Infantry Units are still there, which basically means 3 Infantry (maybe even less as they sit out a lot) is good enough.

So not a lot of Prestige to burn here right now

2 Recons
2 Sahariana's 1 with 0 stars 1 with 1 star no heroes. (These are really helpful and versatile units, I am glad I have them)

I think you are good here as well, even though I bought a 3rd Sahariana in Scenario 19, but the only reason for that was the Fact I had 2 OPEN Core Slots then and the Sahariana was the only Unit cheap enough to buy. Or better the only cheap One I would dare to throw into Action as a completely Green Unit

2 Anti-tanks
2 StuG3F/8's both with 3 stars and both with 2 heroes totaling +4 Def.
(These guys are beasts, and exactly what they are meant to be tank killers.)

well pretty much Set with these 2. The only question is whether you "upgrade" them to StuG IV when it becomes available. I love StuG IV as it is an extra Artillery Unit and in Fact it costs nothing as it is cheaper than the III F/8. But this a question to discuss when we are that point.
I would stay away from ALL Italian AT Stuff, but like I said if someone proves me wrong on this, I will look and learn how to use it.

7 tanks
Pz3H 3 Stars +2 Att +1 Def
Crusader with 1 Star
Grant 2 Stars and +3 Def
Flamm 3 Stars +3 Att +1 Def and + Initiative
Matilda 2 2 stars and +1 Def
M14/41 3 Stars 2 heroes add up to +2 Att total
SE Pz3H +1 Def +1 Spot
(I keep thinking I will upgrade the Pz3H's to something with a little more attack and defensive capability like a 3L or 3N but I just keep waiting to be able to upgrade to Tiger's and eventually Tiger 2's but unsure if it will get that far.)

I think your Tank Squad is quite ok. Heroes are ok except for that Italian Tank, but still Att +2 is better than Nothing. ( the lost one is a Downer though).
But the Tiger becomes available in late 42 or early 43 (so you are not that far away) and the Crusader, Grant and the Matilda in that Order should be converted as Prestige allows. The Italian Tank may be a liabilty for a few more Scenarios and not a World Beater til the End of the "Upgrade" Road but more and more reliable. 3 resp 4 Tigers is what I could bring in the Final Scenario in both of my Runs. And there will be enough Prestige on the Oriental Path to Glory to make it happen. If you are good with surrenders and extra Prestige, maybe even a Tiger 2 is possible

6 artillery
1 German 10.5cm arty with 3 stars and +3 Def
2 Italian 10.5cm artys 1 with 3 stars and 2 Heroes totaling +3 Def and the other with 2 stars and a +2 Att hero.
1 149mm arty with 3 stars and +2 Att
2 M40 da 75/18 with 3 stars and 1 with +5 Att and the other with +1 Movement
(I am considering upgrading my 10.5 German gun to the 17cm arty with truck transport as I hear it is the best, the other's I think I will keep as is for now.)

6 Arty is ok but not outlandish. I finished with 7 resp 8 + the 2 StuG IV which became an almost Full Time Arty Unit once its available. So maybe 1 or 2 more would not hurt.

+3 Def on an Towed Artillery Unit is kind of a waste (Bummer) If this is not on Rommel with Limited Resources I would consider to switch these units to a StuG, but maybe a Wurfrahmen which is prime Air Attack Target is a possibility for the German Arty. But I would keep them as they are for now , maybe switch the Italian Att + 2 to 149 mm.

2 Tac Bombers
2 SM.79's 1 with 1 star and a +1 Def hero the other with 3 stars and a +3 Att hero.

It seems the Bought one is Cursed, so maybe the Idea to get 1 More is probably not very appealing to you

1 Strat Bomber
Piaggio 3 stars and a +1 Att hero

well having 1 is good, having 1 more is probably better

I will elaborate on that in Combination with your Fighter Squad in an ALL AIRFORCE Discussion

3 Fighters
1 Spitfire with almost 3 stars
1 Veltro with 2 Stars
Stormo with almost 4 stars exp and 3 Heroes totaling +3 Att. (I have really been hosed with +1 heroes, but I am ok with this as my Stormo has not let me down, I was scared when I almost lost him last battle, and this is partly why I want to buy another Fighter.)

This is an interesting Topic

Missing out on the Dash to the Wire SE Fighter and not very lucky in getting another Random SE Fighter yet, you are stuck with 3 Fighters for now and 2 of them Italian Ones

This is not a cause for pressing the Panic Button though

My Run 1 Campaign went through with 3 Fighters (but had 2 Towed AA and the Mobile AA as support) til the very End, but you have to say Goodbye to the Concept of "Total" Air Superiority.

So what to do ?

The Spitfire is at 2 Stars almost 3, which is probably a big difference
The Veltro with 2 Stars is a bit on the weak side
The Veltro with 4 Stars (and the Hero count) is key

I don't know if a NEW GREEN Italian Fighter will last long or may become a Prestige Burning Unit
The Enemy will target and probably gang up on it. They may even do that to the 2 Star Veltro even if it's at Full Overstrength

Not sure about the Spitfire. A 2 Star Spitfire even with Overstrength was an Enemy Target as recently as the Iraq Scenario on my Experimental Campaign which features 2 Veltros and said Spitfire. Can't tell what happens later, but I assume this pattern will not Change

Pattern I discovered (without a Guarantee)

2 Star Enemy Fighter Units shy away from FW190 Fighters or Bombers Covered by FW190 Fighters (at least when they are at Full Strength, definitely if they are Overstrength)
3 Star Enemy Fighters (and there are just a few Scenarios with 3 Star Enemies) may attack a FW190 or it's covered Bombers, but go for other easier Targets first (when you see a 3 Star Thunderbolt, Meteor or Tempest Fighter then all odds are off, but there will be just a few. Very Few in Fact and later in the Campaign)

this is true til the End of the Campaign

2 Star Enemy Fighters do not Attack 4 Star Veltros with Full Overstrength (maybe not 3 Star Veltros as well, not sure, there was no such situation I can recall)
3 Star Enemy Fighters may Attack 4 Star Veltros, I have yet to face them going into Basra

I'm pretty sure 3 Star Thunderbolts, Tempests or a Meteor will attack any Italian Overstrength Fighter at Sight. (Have not had a 5 Star Italian Fighter yet, so maybe that's the Answer)

So your 4 Star Veltro rigth now can cover all 3 of your bombers (and a few more if they are in adjacent hexes) in an ideal Setup. Maybe a 3 Star Overstrength Spitfire is in the same Class of Respect ( I would still upgrade the Spitfire to FW190 when it becomes available)

Getting the other Veltro up a Notch is important, ideally to 4 Stars and Overstrength

And since you are so blatantly snubbed by the Game with SE Units awarded I would speculate on getting 1 (probably 2 SE Fighters but a Tac Bomber is more likely) pretty soon

So your Fighter Force might go up to 4 anyway, so buying a 4th one might become redundant.

The AI will be very aggressive with its Air Units especially the Fighters (as it was the whole Campaign) and even if they shy away from Attacking your Aces, they might come close or Attack Ground Units or even better run into Fighter Traps. And they will carelessly get in Range of AA Units. It's quite late to build and level up a towed AA Gun by now, but not too late. And a good and experienced One will get you through the Latter Scenarios or at least weaken Enemy Air Units for the Final Kill Shot by your Fighters.

Does not really fit into the Aggressive Goose Style of Play, but maybe a needed compromise as I Just don't see you getting good Results in Head to Head Dogfights. Maybe with the converted Spitfire, probably even with a "potentially awarded" SE Fighter, but not with the Italian Models, maybe in the Last Scenarios when the Bf109K comes into the Italian Arsenal


So what would I do ?

hmhmhm 1591 Bucks available

I would acquire 1 probably 2 AA Guns (if the Budget gets too tight the 2nd can be the 75mm Type which saves about 50 bucks) It's all about luring Enemy Air Units into their Range and get them as much Experience as possible ---> about 600 PP

I would overstrength all Fighters and let them Cover Bombers, set up Fighter Traps and keep my nose clean of Dogfights with probable Losses ---> should be about 500 PP if all are upgraded from 10 Strength

I would get a Second Piaggio for 426 PP as the Scenario is Suez Canal and the Briefing talks about Naval Presence. Also I don't like your overall Fighter to Bomber Ratio of 3 to 3. I would go with a ratio 2 Bombers for 1 Fighter better 3 for 1, but that's not workable in one Go

So this probably empties the Wallet the already, depends on Cost for Overstrength

Arty should be at Max Overstrength all the Time so hopefully there is no Money Involved at this point

I would buy another SP Arty (next Level is basically a Siege) if there are still funds left. I doubt that there is enough left, but still this would be my FIRST Extra Option

My Shopping List after Overstrength

1) AA 90 mm with Truck (maybe if money is extremely tight leave the Truck in the Store, but then Deployment Position may become extremely important)
2) Piaggio
3) AA 90 mm or 75 mm with Truck (one AA should have a Truck right away as you can't place 2 Green Units with the Speed of a Snail in Front Line Positions
Extra Luxury Option
4) SP 75/40 Arty

If it's possible to get all 4 new Units I would go with Minimum Amount of Infantry, but would Consider the Extra Sahariana over other Infantry Units. The Crusader will not make or break your chances, but can be useful with its speed

Comes down to your gut Feeling about your Units. Sometimes weak Units on the Papersheet are pretty tough Customers in Action. And vice Versa sometimes Units are Chronic Underperformers e.g. your bought SM 79 Tac bomber

Well that would be my Idea to handle the situation

The next few Scenarios Suez Canal, Palestine and Syria are Semi Hard to Solve. It's really important once again to carefully read the Briefings, keep the Discipline and not get too aggressive and stick to the Decisive Victory Hexes

Not to hand out a Spoiler, but since it's a very rare Occurrence in all Campaigns of Panzer Corps, I think it's only fair to tell it like this
There is a Goodie (and only One ! in one of these 3 Scenarios) to be Found in a City Hex that is not marked as Decisive nor Normal Hex with a Flag.
So don't just pass them when you get by such a hex.

[goose_2]

Man,

I thought I was ready for this next battle, but I have to say, I am not.

After reading what Hurly and Cerberus have written I am more confused than I can say.

4 units? Purchased?
2 AA's?
Another Strat Bomber?
No way am I going to buy another arty! And I am the biggest advocate for artillery.

But I would have to keep back 6 units, and I like my units.

I was thinking I could hold back 4 maybe 5 extra units, but 6 is a bridge too far, and with overstrengthening and minor upgrades, I might not even have enough money for 4 units.

This has got me flummoxed, and something I will definitely have to sleep on.

You guys are the best, but have me scratching my head an awful lot on this one.

[hurly]

Well goose

The Problem here is that everyone has its own playing Style and so gives you ideas that fit this Style. It would great if more Users with some Afrika Korps experience would join the discussion (I look at you braccada Master of Controll on the Battlefield ) But it can get also even more Confusing.
In the End you must Filter out the Aspects you can work with.

In general I could agree with everything Cerberus said. But these hints are based on a "NORMAL" Campaign with workable Amounts of Prestige and the Chance to buy the BEST Units available. And probably all Goodies found plus some very usable SE Units anting Up your Number of Core Units

This is not true for your goose Run any more. You missed 1 SE Panzer III and 1 SE Fighter already which slots will probably never be filled anymore. I still have hope your SE Unit shortage will end soon, but is just that ...... hope

So I'm improvising as we speak. I think you did a marvelous job in Gazala, Malta and Alam Halfa lately, but you are sorely lacking in some Unit Classes and while you are ok in terms of Prestige (for Rommel) you have limited Access to the Weapon Store.

The sad truth is, you have just the Spitfire in the Fighter Column that will become a state of the Art Unit soon during this campaign. The 2 Veltro Fighters will be what they are. There is already a valid discussion if an Upgrade to the next and not in Family Upgrade is worth the Prestige and the End of the Line Unit the Bf 109 k comes very late and does not benefit from the German Arsenal in Family path being the Cheap option upgrading a Bf 109. It will cost the Full Prize and it may lose valuable and costly Overstrength when you switch to it.

So I base my advice on the Situation you are in right now. Your Fighter Squad will Most likely get no significant Quality Improvement for some Time. The RAF on the other side.... will come aggressively, in bigger quantity and with better quality. You can either go the Route of " more (as in more Italian Fighters) helps more" or try something different.

Which brings us to the Lack of AA in your Bunch. The Mobile AA while useful is gone and unless you get a SE Mobile AA (which I have never seen before and I'm pretty sure is not in the Lottery at all) you will not get another one. So the towed 90mm Italian one is the only real option to grow some AA defence that will not suffer heavy losses when it deals with the RAF.

I started this Experimental "SELL OFF all German Stuff" Campaign for a reason. I was at a loss what advice I can offer for your special situation. I never faced one like that before, so I simulated what is working with a no German Fighter Squad lacking in Quantity, Quality and a small wallet.

Right now I can tell you, with all awarded SE Units immediately sold and just like you 2 Veltro Fighters (with Overstrength)and the Spitfire at 2 Overstrength and 2 resp later a fresh 3rd 90mm AA Gun you can shred the RAF to Pieces going with the Bomber Cover Route with your Ace Fighters and subsequently dominate all Enemy Ground Units (and I think you are in very good Shape vs Ground Units right now) coming at ya going into the Persia Scenario as we speak.
There is no Guarantee it will work out in the End and I have to admit I was pretty lucky with AA Heroes, but it works like a Charme so far. And I' m even so optimistic and happy with my progress, that I will neglect the Upgrade Captured Units to German Stuff Option (maybe consider later as a workaround when the Italian Panther becomes available to convert the weaker British Tanks to a Panther, but will pull this Card only if everything goes downhill)

So bottom line
I wanna give you advice how to handle your Situation with some off the Book decisions. My Army on Paper is even missing some good Stuff you still have and it works (at least for quite a bit longer). The Intangibles Involved are of Course your Blind Playthrough Lack of Experience on whats coming vs my "Have seen it all before a few times" and we don't know what exactly the SE Situation will bring to you (iirc in Afrika Korps SE Units are either Tanks, Fighters, or Tac Bombers and I don't remember being blessed with a SE Tank after the Tiger appeared in the Shopping List, which means if true, no Shiny State of the Art German SE Tanks for free, but a good chance your Airforce situation may improve)
Like I said there is nothing wrong with anything Cerberus said, I just doubt he adds in the Shortage of Prestige on Rommel, the Lack of Options for the Italian Challenge and special Situation that SE Units seem to avoid you until now into the equation.

In the End its your decision and you must go with your gut Feeling. But like I said before you are still in good shape with Prestige for Rommel, but at crucial point to have a long term working Plan and maybe at the Crossroads for Training and Grooming Green Units with some Punch for the Endgame in the Orient.

[Cerberus51]

You guys are the best, but have me scratching my head an awful lot on this one.

I took a look at the remaining scenarios (there are 11 to go starting with Suez) and at what equipment becomes available when. That simplifies the choices considerably.

Fighters/AA - losing your German mobile AA was a big hit. There is no new Italian fighter for almost half the remaining scenarios so I'd say you either risk adding a new Veltro now or upgrade the Spitfire to a FW190A and forget about a fourth fighter. Either way you are going to need AA to take bites out of any British fighters for your fighters to safely tackle them so invest in a towed 90mm, possibly two.

Artillery - I'd upgrade the German 10.5 now. Your choices are 15 or 17 cm towed - which are relatively cheap (the 17 has to change to a half track transport at 70 prestige) - or more radically a Sig 33 (possible with the +3 def) to back up your tanks.

Tanks - you have to get through several more scenarios before the Tiger 1 becomes available. I would upgrade the 3H's to L's (59 prestige each) as they will have to do your anti-armour work alongside the StugIII's until then. Panthers are a couple of scenarios further on and Tiger II's only come at the end (I would not use them for just that last scenario).

Whether you can amass enough prestige for a major upgrade on all 7 tanks at Rommel I'm not sure. You might need to consider the cheaper PzIV route and adding a couple of StugIV's instead (you will encounter the Sherman Firefly towards the end though).

Infantry - 43 upgrades become available at the same time as the Tiger 1, just be aware there is only one Italian 43 infantry unit.

So really pretty much all you have to consider for upgrades in the next few scenarios are fighters/AA, artillery and upgrading the PzIII's.

Edit: I would agree with hurly, particularly as he has more experience of this campaign than I do. Also I checked the equipment file and can confirm there are no SE AA units - all you can get are German infantry, tanks, fighters and tac bombers.

[hurly]

Alam Halfa Replay added just below the AAR post

http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtop ... 62#p648162

[Cerberus51]

I went back through the scenarios again, this time looking at what your options will cost and also what the opposition have. The big unknown is how much prestige you will actually have at any point. There is also the question of whether or not you get any SE units awarded or find any capturables. I am going to focus on what seem to be the two key areas, tanks and the air war.

Tanks

The elephant (or rather the Tiger) in the room is the sheer cost of upgrading to Tiger I's - 703pp. Panthers aren't much cheaper. It all depends on how many you can afford. I would suggest upgrading the 3H's to L's as that is cheap and look at trying to build up enough prestige over the next few scenarios to afford to convert your three German tanks to Tigers. The three British tanks are probably only fit for secondary roles, 466pp will turn them into PzIVG's that will match most of the British tanks you will encounter (but the Tiger upgrade should be the priority). The M14/41 will get some full cost upgrade options, either to a PzIV level or something better, however that is even further down the line.

Recommendation: 3H to L and try to get enough prestige for 3 Tigers.

The air war

I understand your wish for another fighter but your only option for some time is a green Veltro at 440pp which may get swarmed and destroyed very quickly. I did suggest upgrading the Spitfire to a FW190, mainly because the low fuel capacity of the Spitfire limits its useability but a FW190A is 583pp that could be better spent elsewhere. To keep the RAF off your back I think your only option is a couple of towed 90mm AA - they are switchable like the German 88 which may be useful - and only cost 314pp.

With only three experienced fighters you can't realistically provide escorts for more than the two tac and one strat bomber you already have. Another Piaggio P108 would be 426pp that, again, is probably better spent elsewhere.

Recommendation: Buy 2 towed 90mm AA.

You will also need to upgrade to 43 infantry in due course and have artillery upgrade options.

Conclusion: I have made 2 specific recommendations which I think should be your priorities. If you find you have the prestige to do more the first thing to spend it on is improving your existing units.

I'd wish you good luck but a great general leaves nothing to chance!

[braccada]

Oh well, I think you ended up in a though spot.

Your airforce does not cut it. At that point in time I had 5 fighters and an experienced 88AA and still had to fight hard for air superiority. The spitfire and and the Italian fighters soon will become targets that get shot down on sight. Trying to correct that has a high chance to end up as prestige dump. You might pull it off to train another Italian fighter, but even than your airforce still will be subpar. Your new AA guns won't be effective in the beginning as well.

So I have to aggree with hurly. Save the prestige and invest in AA guns. You still need fighters to protect the bombers. Better to invest your prestige upgrading tanks. Churchills are hard to destroy and the quality of your tank force is poor as well. Without the StuGs you would be in real trouble.

[Rork]

First of all, thank you, goose, for inviting me to share my thoughts on the matter.

All of the above is excellent advice, but as noticed it depends on playstyle and whatever hurdles the chosen difficulty throws at you. For the Italian achiev I used Field Marshal, but never punished myself with blind playthroughs, so...
Bit late for saying that, but Italian challenge or not, your main force should rely on German units, so try to get as many as possible, even upgrading (when you can afford) captured units to German equipment (and do it as soon as possible in order to avoid losing overstrength). I know I'll get a lot of flak for saying this, but for the sake of achievs I indulged myself in save-reload for SE units . Best use for the Italians was artillery and air power. Their tanks become a far too late upgrade bonus, but deploy them whenever possible and use them for finishing weakened units. In your present case, you'll also need AA units, two of them at the very least, four to be on the safe side - the Italian ones also switch to AT, which you can use to build up XP quickly, especially against bunkers. But since basically you lost the air war, yea, you should turn your efforts towards ground units. I'd still go for a second strat bomber though: it builds experience fast, you'll need it for the naval challenges and, most of all, it will be super handy for surrenders (overstrength Churchills are worth a fortune ) which are vital for your prestige management. And sell whatever you can sell, the Italian infantry and maybe the weaker Bersaglieri too.
As it is now, try to set-up ambushes for the British planes: park a lure (unit embarked in transport or a bomber) in spotting range of the enemy and your fighters/AA adjacent to it, just otuside the spotter's range. And for the many minefields you'll face, I think it's best to simply buy for each scenario a couple of Pioneer units and use them until they drop to 1 strength, then during deploy bring them back to full strength with normal replacements, then sell them to recoup your prestige, rinse and repeat when the need arises. I'm sure you knew this, but maybe it was worth repeating.

I've attached an archive which includes my El Alamein deploy save, the same army I used for Suez, and the India deploy save. Hopefully they'll provide some help, inspiration or whatever.

[hurly]

I really like how this campaign more and more is basically being coached by the collective experience of the community.

Let goose become the executing Tool for the Swarm Intelligence

If it works out in the End, and I definitely believe it will, this might become a regular Feature in this Forum.

Set an Ultra Hard Challenge for a Player and then join the Knowledge to decide what Infrastructure should be Used.

[goose_2]

That is why this great community has kept me enjoying this great game for longer than 2 years, now.


Suez Canal
Well I took 2 weeks to prepare and finally after much contemplation and consternation, I finally listened to all the advice and bought replacements, new purchases, and a little overstrengthening leaving me with 73 prestige.
Bought 2 AA's, Self Propelled Arty, and Piaggio, as these were the original suggestions from Hurly, that pretty much everyone else seconded. (Thank you all)
Upgraded 2 Pz3H's to Pz3L's.
After looking at the map in greater detail I thought I would need a Bruckenpioniere so I actually sold my green Italian Inf, and then upgraded one of my Grenadier's to a Bruckenpioniere. Prestige 30 (This ended up being unnecessary, but again, blindthrough. )
Used Stormo and SE Pz3L as my probe units to scout out the land. The rest of my units are poised around El Alamein.
Brought everything except 1 Sahariana, 2 Bersagleries, Alpini, and Crusader.


Day 1 Sunny
I did some damage and searching but nothing destroyed.
Day 1 ai CA:
AA and Hurricane hit aux Fighter leaving them with 2 str left.


Day 2 Sunny
Destroyed Hurricane Mk2C, Churchill Mk 2, 2 Pounder, Bishop, and Matilda 2.
+1 Movement M40 awarded Bronze Medal for Military Valour.
12th SE Pz3L awarded Knight's Cross.
Day 2 ai CA:
Arty nicked my arty; AA nicked Stormo; Spitfire ran into Fighter Trap -5 them -2 me; Crusader nicked Sahariana guarded by SP arty -1 me -2 them.
Message: Royal Navy Coming! Uh Oh!


Day 3 Sunny
Destroyed Valentine 4, Crusader Mk3, Spitfire, Valentine 3, 2 Pounder.
Bought 8 reg reps for aux Fighter.
Day 3 ai CA:
Enemy nicked Bruckenpioniere and I received message about seizing Alexandria.


Day 4 Sunny
Seized Alexandria and it's airfield.
Destroyed Grant, Engineer, 2 6 inch arty's, 3 inch AA, Spitfire, and Bridge Engineer.
Bought 2 reg reps for StuG3F/8.
Day 4 ai CA:
Spitfire hit +3 Att SM.79 -2 them -3 me and AA hit Veltro -1 me.


Day 5 Sunny (Told to destroy The Royal Navy.) Isn't that already part of the goal?
Destroyed M5 Stuart, Bishop.
Awarded an aux Sub to help find the Navy, and for capturing Alexandria.
Bought 1 reg rep for Bruckenpioniere and Flammpanzer, also 2 reg reps for StuG3F/8.
Day 5 and 6 ai CA:
Nothing.


Day 6 Sunny
Destroyed Destroyer, Crusader Mk3, M3 Stuart, and 20MM Oerlikan.
Pz3L was awarded +1 Spotting Hero.
Bought 5 reg reps for +3 Att SM.79 and 1 reg rep for SE Pz3L.



Day 7 Sunny
Destroyed Aircraft Carrier and Battleship.
Day 7 ai CA:
Spitfire nicked Flammpanzer; arty and Grant hit Grenadier on the Nile guarded by 2 artys -3 me -2 them.


Day 8 Sunny
Destroyed Battleship, Hurricane Mk1, and Grant.
Bought 2 reg reps for Pz3L.
3 Star Piaggio awarded Silver Medal for Military Valour.
Day 8 ai CA:
Hurricane Mk2C and 6 Pounder hit Pz3L -2 me -6 them.


Day 9 Cloudy
Pressuring Al Asafrah and Cairo.
Destroyed Churchill Mk2, 6 Pounder, Spitfire, and HW Inf.
Pz3L awarded Oak Leaves to their Knights Cross.
Bought 2 reg reps for Piaggio.
Day 9 ai CA:
All attacks were stopped dead with nothing damaged on my units.


Day 10 Sunny
Seized Poart of Cairo and Al Asafrah.
Destroyed Mk2C Hurricane, British HW inf, and Cruiser Mk4.
1st 149mm arty awarded Silver Medal for Military Victory.
Sahariana awarded a +1 Def Hero.
Day 10 ai CA:
Enemy knocked my Flamm out of Cairo and left me with 1 Str.
Bomber hit +5 att M40 =4 me and arty and Fort nicked a couple of my units.


Day 11 Cloudy
Here is where I realize that I can simply cross the Strait, and I did not ever need to buy that Bruckenpionere. Nuts!
Destroyed Blenheim and 7.2 inch arty.
Day 11 ai CA:
Spitfire 1 shotted aux Fighter; Matilda 2 hit by Fort, Light Cruiser, Bomber, and M3 Stuart which brought my Matilda 2 down to 3 Str; and Engineers hit arty guarded by another arty -4 me.


Day 12 Sunny
Seized all of Cairo, with a brilliant manuever with as many units as I could to force surrenders from the rest of the defenders.
Destroyed Spitfire, Mosquito, M3 Stuart, Engineers, Reg Inf, and 40mm Bofors.
Day 12 ai CA:
MG Battaillon 2 brought down to 1 Str in the Cairo airport. A couple other attacks, but I am holding my ground.


Day 13 Sunny
Destroyed Dingo, Rolls Royce, and the Fort.
132nd Ariete awarded Gold Medal for Military Victory.
Bought 2 reg reps for 10.5cm arty.
Day 13 ai CA:
A nick on my Ital AA and my Bruckenpioniere


Day 14 Sandstorm
Seized Ockenburg.
Destroyed 3 Crusader Mk 3's.
Day 14 ai CA:
Ariete nicked.


Day 15 Sunny
Reseized Woerden.
Destroyed British HW Inf.
Day 15 ai CA:
Grant hit by Paratrooper and Stuart and I was awarded with an Iron Cross 1st Class.
Arty hit aux inf -2 me; AA hit SM.79 -3 me; 6 Pounder reduced Sahariana 1 str.


Day 16 Sunny
Destroyed Light Cruiser, 6 Pounder, M5 Stuart, and Paratrooper's.
Day 16 ai CA:
AA hit SM.79 -3 me.


Day 17 Sandstorm
Destroyed Grant.
Panzerjager StuG3 F/8 awarded Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
Day 17 ai CA:
Nothing


Day 18 Sunny
Destroyed 40MM Bofors, Engineer's, 20MM AA.
Day 18 ai CA:
Nothing.


Day 19 Sunny
Seized Port Tewfik and Port Said.
Destroyed 5.5 inch arty.

Decisive Victory finishing with 460 in prestige.

Yay! I did not lose any units, but came extremely close 3 seperate times. By the skin of my teeth people, by the skin of my teeth.


Next will be Palestine with 1710.
Decisive seems difficult as I need to protect the pipeline and 6 Arab units and capture all objectives.
18 turns to do it in, but hey at least I was awarded with a Pz 3J/1 to help me out.

Last minute, but every little bit counts at this point.

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this possible.

[hurly]

Replay for Suezcanal

This is really fun to watch cause it features approximately a bazillion of surrenders and a Nice but (watch the Term) USELESS trip to the Northern Israel Countryside, featuring a visit in Haifa (I did not even know it was there before ) and a Desert Trip to the Death Sea. They say People can not drown there, what about tanks ? Can a Tank swim in the Death Sea ? Well that was a funny feature, I actually tried to outflank Port Said with Sea Transport as well and got badly beaten up by the RAF. Although quite good your SE Tank never encountered the Garrison around Jerusalem or your SE staff might have been even shorter by now.

Anyway
that was a real good fight, plenty of Prestige picked up via Surrender and the New Age Air Strategy worked out very good even with fresh Green AA Units. They got a chunk of Kills already in the Air and on the Ground so probably the may have earned their First Star already. Get and keep them at Full Overstrength like Arty from now on. Can you imagine what a 3 Star AA with ATT + 5 can do ? Or a 3 Star AA with Mov +1 ? Anyway you got a taste for your new Air Superiority Strategy now, get these AA Guns more Experience and you can forget about that 4th Fighter soon (If you get a SE one awarded this is a welcome Bonus)

Now into Palestine

Don't worry about the Arab Units too much, they are pretty good, just make sure you lose none of the Derricks (this will subtract Prestige from the clock for each one lost). The Arab units with the help of the Auxiliary Landing Squad of German Units can defend them quite easily, just don't get too aggressive and beware of early Attacks from spare Ground Units. And Guard the Derricks til you are sure there are no more ambushing Troops from the Brits around, then the Arabs can even take part in seizing one or more of the Northern Victory Hexes, but don't run around too much with these guys and keep 6 of them alive. Not too hard to do

Your main task is again, eliminate the Navy, march slowly up North along the Coast to Gaza and Tel Aviv and to the West of the Death Sea in the direction of Jerusalem. Also consider a swing around the South of the Death Sea to surprise Amman from the South (Good things may happen if you do) and let the RAF run into your AA protection, Fighters main Task is Air Cover but the occasional Kill Shot of weakened RAF Fighters will happen for sure.

With your AA Guns you should fire at Fighters first if there is a choice. Fighters are preety vulnerable to AA Attacks and if they are weakened or eliminated the RAF Bombers are easy prey for your Fighters.
If things go well, you will gather experience for AA Guns without taking losses shooting at Fighters and your Fighters rack up Kills without losses giving Air Cover to Bombers and finishing RAF Bombers when there is a chance. Win Win Situation and fiscally very effective.

British Ground Forces are not very strong, but still quite a chunk of them, don't get too aggressive, use your Tac Bombers vs Tanks without Air Defence and after the Piaggios have finished the Navy they attack Shermans and City Hexes

Ok now to the unavoidable NEW UNIT quuestion.

Upgrade the Spitfire to FW 190 NOW and never look back
Also upgrade all Arty and AA to Full Overstrength all the Time if there is Prestige Left Fighters as well the more Stars and the More Overstrength they have the more younwill see the RAF might avoid them for now. They will avoid the FW190 for sure maybe even without overstrength. Try to find a way to keep Costs low for Fighter Overstrength in just avoiding Losses from Risky Attacks
If there is Prestige left after all this, its probably a good idea to save it or just try to bring in more SP Arty, another Tac Bomber and if you are really happy with the Performance of the additional Piaggio or the AA Guns why not one more, but this pure Luxurty here and keep in Mind 1943 is not too far away and Good Units will cost serious Money.

You got your second SE Unit now which is fine, I would have preferred an SE Plane though. But I still hope the Game does not close SE Units award by now as you might have had 4 by now with the 2 missed ones from Dash to the Wire (5 SE Units is max for Afrika Korps or better I never had more than 5 but then again I always had 5 going into the Final Scenarios, So 1 more will becoming at some point for sure, I hope with 2 Open SE Slots the Game will be generous and the the earlier loss may be come a gain as quality will be better)

So what to say
You did great, you are in quite good shape overall and you seem to get along with what you have and at least the next 2 Scenarios will be at the same level of difficulty than Suezcanal, despite featuring unique sideshows which is the Trademark of Afrika Korps

So for now my basic advice is Learn how to be even more effective with your New Air Tactics and gather Experience doing that. On the Ground you are ok for now, but saving some Prestige for 43 is a good idea
and upgrade every German Fighter you may get to FW 190 in the next Deployment Phase as well as wait for the Crusader- Grant-and possibly Mathilda become a Tiger when you have the Funds available later on.

And if you keep on forcing surrenders by the dozen, your current semi shortage of Prestige is no problem

Great Job in Suez, if you can continue with this performance .... India is waiting on the horizon, but it's just halftime there will be plenty of fights and surprises ahead

PS it would be great to keep the Army List featuring Stars and Heroes updated or copied and pasted + upgrade and hero news at the current state. Giving Advice is much easier with that backbone info

[Cerberus51]

An interesting replay. I have not considered being so aggressive on surrounding units and forcing surrenders before I saw this.

As I posted previously Tigers cost 703 prestige so, although there are a few scenarios before they become available, you really need to start putting some prestige in the bank now.

[goose_2]

An interesting replay. I have not considered being so aggressive on surrounding units and forcing surrenders before I saw this.

As I posted previously Tigers cost 703 prestige so, although there are a few scenarios before they become available, you really need to start putting some prestige in the bank now.

This scenario helped a lot with prestige increases.

Palestine
This battle was a lot easier than I initially thought it was going to be. Thankfully.

I started and finished last night which does not always happen, but once I started I did not want to stop wailing on the enemy. I was able to force surrender many of the enemy units much to the delight of my pocketbook.

I was awarded an SE Pz3J/1
Starting prestige 1710 after upgrades and replacements 275 so I did a little Overstrengthening 99, I also upgraded SE Pz3J/1 to Pz3L now at 74.
Upgraded Spitfire to FW-190A mainly for fuel consideration.
Brang everything except both Bersagleiri and Crusader.


Battle Report:
Day 1: Sunny
Seized Auja and airfield near Gaza.
Destroyed 2 Destroyers, 2 Sherman’s, and British Inf.
Day 1 ai CA:
Enemy destroyed Light Cruiser; AT attacked aux Rolls Royce -3 me -4 them; and Spitfire caught in Fighter Trap -6 them.


Day 2: Sunny
Seized Beersheba.
Destroyed 2 Pounder, 2 Paratrooper’s, Grant, Spitfire, and Sherman..
Day 2 ai CA:
A lot of attacks.
Valentine 3 and Crusader hit Sahariana guarded by M40 -7 me -2 them; Valentine 3 and Vickers 4 hit +3 Def arty in truck -6 me; M3 Stuart ambushed by 2nd SE Pz3L -6 them; HW Inf hit Oil Rig -2 me; all other attacks missed me.


Day 3: Sunny
Pressuring Gaza.
Destroyed Dingo, Para’s, 2 Light Cruiser’s, M3 Stuart, Vickers Mk 6, Valentine 3, Crusader Mk3.
Spitfire awarded +1 Def hero.
Day 3 ai CA:
British Inf hit Oil Rig -2 me and Engineer hit aux inf -3 each.


Day 4: Sunny
Seized Gaza.
Destroyed Battleship, 2 HW Inf’s, Valentine 3, HW Inf, British Inf, Crusader Mk 3.
Bought 5 reg reps for +3 Def arty and 7 reg reps for +1 Def Sahariana.
Day 4 ai CA:
Crusader Mk3 hit +1 Def Sahariana -6 me; Bomber hit Destroyer -7 me; Spitfire hit Piaggio -5 me; Destroyer hit Submarine -4 them -1 me; British Inf hit Oil Rig -2 me; Engineer hit Oil Rig -3 me; Engineer hit Oil Rig -1 me.


Day 5: Sunny
Destroyed Engineer’s, 2 Crusader Mk3’s, and HW Inf.
Bought 2 and 6 Reg Replacements for aux inf.
Flammpanzer awarded Knights Cross with Oak Leaves.
Day 5 ai CA:
Enemy almost destroyed another Destroyer.


Day6: Sunny
Seized part of Haifa and pressuring Hebron.
Destroyed HW Inf, Lancaster, 5.5inch arty, and British Inf..
Bought 6 reg reps Sahariana.
Day 6 ai CA:
British Inf hit aux Recon -3 me -2 them; Inf hit Oil Rig -4 me; HW Inf hit aux Inf -3 me -4 them; Bomber hit by Spitfire but it was a Fighter Trap -1 me -7 them; a couple of other attacks but nothing worth reporting.


Day 7: Sunny
Seized Tel Aviv airfield and pressuring Tel Aviv.
Destroyed Engineer, Bishop, Spitfire, and HW Inf.
Bought 4 Reg Reps for aux Recon, 5 reg reps for Piaggio, 2 reg reps for aux Inf.
Day 7 ai CA:
Bomber hit Light Cruiser -7 me; Churchill Mk4 hit Pz3L -2 me -1 them; and a few other attacks but with minimal results.


Day 8: Sunny
Seized Hebron.
Destroyed Lancaster, Destroyer, Submarine, and 3 British Inf’s.
Bought 2 Reg Replacement for aux Inf, 1 Reg Rep for Pz3L, and 2 Eliter replacements for Matilda 2.
Day 8 ai CA:
Churchill hit Pz3L -3 me -1 them; a few other attacks that did only minimal damage.


Day 9: Sunny
Seized all of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, as well as pressuring Jericho.
DestroyedChurchill, 2 HW inf’s, Engineer’s, and Paratrooper’s.
Bought 4 reg reps for aux inf.
Day 9 ai CA:
Spitfire hit Stormo -4 them -3 me.


Day 10: Sunny
Seized Northernmost Airfield.
Destroyed Spitfire, M3 Stuart, and 6 Pounder.
Day 10 ai CA:
Spitfire destroyed aux Recon and Destroyer along with a few other nicks, but just nicks.


Day 11: Sunny
Seized Haifa, Jericho, and Nablus, as well as pressuring Domia.
Destroyed HW Inf, 2 Regular Inf’s, Stirling, and another Reg Inf.
Awarded +1 Def Hero for 2nd Veltro.
Day 11 ai CA:
A couple of nicks from Spitfire’s, and from a couple of Tanks, but I am too strong.


Day 12: Sunny
Seized Domia and airfield next to Haifa, and pressuring Megiddo.
Destroyed Reg Inf, M3 Stuart, and Sherman.
Panzerjager Abt. 39 awarded a Knight’s Cross.
Day 12 ai CA:
3 nicks from various attacks but nicks was it.


Day 13: Sunny
Seized Amman and airfield as well as Meggido.
Destroyed Engineer, M3 Stuart, M5 Stuart, Reg Inf, Valentine 4, Grant, and Bridge Engineer.
+3 Att SM.79 awarded with a +3 Def 2nd hero. Yay!!!
Day 13-15 ai CA:
Nothing really


Day 14: Sunny
Pressuring Deraa.
Destroyed M5 Stuart, and Spitfire.
Day 15: Sunny
Seized Deraa.
Destroyed British Inf.

Decisive Victory with 765 ending Prestige


This again was a pretty easy battle, but I see stuff in the South around the not objective Sofi. I hope I did not miss something else, but I probably did.
Blindthrough
Next is Syria with 2665 prestige.
That feels good.

[hurly]

Replay for Palestine here

(28.03.2017) Palestine, Turn 15.zip

(81.54 KiB) Downloaded 205 times

*Sigh

Congrats on the good Fight and Decisive Victory

Now to the sad Part

You mentioned Sofi and what you probably missed there

Well a most welcome Churchill Tank will be missed for the Rest of the Campaign. Bummer

and you had the Time to easily do this with finishing 3 Turns before Time is up

But your Prestige Count is in quite good Shape again.

Spitfire already upgraded to FW 190 also fine

So with only the in Family Upgrade for One Italian tank for 50 Prestige necessary it seems Prestige is fine

How much experience have the AA Guns already gathered by now ?

hm have to think hard about what to do next

The Churchill will be missed sorely for sure, but I have to remind you read the briefing (not relevant here) and listen to the advice of the Coach (well that's probably me here )

Also consider a swing around the South of the Death Sea to surprise Amman from the South (Good things may happen if you do)

So next time follow the Gameplan as good as you can, Kid


I have good News for the SE Situation though

In my All Italian (All German Stuff sold off Campaign) I'm right at the Start of the Final Scenario

Got SE Panther awarded which is still sold off immediately but it made me look into all my Start of the Scenario Savegames cause I wanted to see how many SE Units were awarded by the Game

I had never more than 5 at a Time in any Playthrough of AK so my thinking was you get 5 max and that's it. Better not lose anyone.

--- which would be bad news for you with 2 SE Units onboard and 2 SE Units missed/lost way back in Dash to the Wire that would mean you max out with 3. So only hope for 1 more for the Rest of the Way.

This seems to be not true

Over the Course of my Garage Sale Campaign there are 8 SE Units awarded total. No one of them saw combat action (except the 2 in Dash to the wire to close out the Scenario), but still the Game seems to be generous and makes up for missed SE Stuff.
Which basically means there is a very good chance you will get at least 3 more SE Units over the Course of the Final 9 Scenarios respectively next 8 Deployment Phases. Quality of the Units increasing according to the Time Window.

Seems to me India is still looming large on the Horizon

[goose_2]

Thanks for the advice Hurly, I have unfortunately missed quite a bit in this Blindthrough, but I am ok with that as it is what makes Blindthrough's so challenging and exciting, and boy this was an exciting matchup, especially getting around that enormous minefield, but you will see that in the playthrough. (You are going to be mad as I was already too far to listen to you about not going Beach side for my maneuver.)

Syria
This ended up being a difficult battle once I reached the middle and almost lost some key figures again, but managed to hang onto every unit except one of my vulnerable Sahariana, but I am getting ahead of myself.

Starting prestige 2115 after replacements 1795 so a little Overstrengthening 1324 oh yeah and I needed to upgrade Ariete to a M15/42 1153.

Brought everything out except Bersagleiri in a truck and Crusader.

Battle Report:
Day 1: Cloudy
Destroyed Rolls Royce, 2 British Inf’s, HW Inf, and 2 Pounder.
Day 1 ai CA:
AA’s nicked a few of our Paratroopers


Day 2: Sunny
Seized part of Damascus, and pressuring Beirut.
Destroyed Rolls Royce, British HW Inf, 2 Pounder, M11/39.
One of my recent AA purchases has already earned a Bronze Medal for Military Valour.
Day 2 ai CA:
AA reduced aux Fallschimjager to just 4 Str.


Day 3: Sunny
Seized Beirut and the rest of Damascus, and pressuring Seba Biyar.
Destroyed HW Inf, Paratroopers, Engineer, AA, 5.5 inch arty, and 25 Pounder.
Day 3 ai CA:
Enemy destroyed Sahariana and aux Sahariana.
Spitfire hit Stormo -7 me -6 them. Yikes!
AA hit aux Fighter -2 me; arty and British Inf hit Brescia -4 me; all aux Fallschimjager’s were hit by units.
Very Rough Round!


Day 4: Sunny
Seized Rutba, Tripoli, Seba Biyar, and airfield next to Beirut.
Destroyed Spitfire, Humber, British Inf, 6 inch arty, and 40mm Bofors.
Brought out Crusader to replace lost Sahariana.
Mini Rudel Ital Bomber awarded Silver Medal for Military Valour.
Grant awarded +1 Def 2nd Hero.
Bought some reg reps for rest of the aux Fallschimjager’s.
Day 4 ai CA:
Enemy destroyed another aux Paratrooper, if I lose one more I can only hope for a Marginal Victory.


Day 5: Cloudy
Destroyed Sherman.
Bought 2 reg rep for aux Fallschimjager and 6 elite reps for Bersagleiri.
Day 5 ai CA:
Enemy pressuring Deraa, Grant hit Matilda 2 -2 them; arty hit Ariete -2 me; AA hit aux Fighter -2 me; Aussie inf hit aux Fallschimjager -4 them -2 me.


Day6: Cloudy
Bought 4 reg reps for aux Fallschimjager.
Day 6 ai CA:
Aux Fighter brought down to just 2 str; aux Fallschimjager hit again by Aussie inf -2 me -4 them; arty hit for a couple of nicks from ; M5 Stuart hit +5 att M40 -4 me; Sahariana hit for -3 me; Mini Rudel brought to 6 Str by enemy attack.


Day 7: Cloudy
Destroyed P-40 Kittyhawk; M5-Stuart; 7.2 inch arty; and 6 Pounder.
Bought Reg Reps for aux Fallschimjager’s and 2 reps for +5 Att M40.
Day 7 ai CA:
Sherman hit AA-3 them -1 me; Aussie inf hit aux Fallschimjager again -2 me -5 them; Vickers hit aux Fallschimjager -1 them -3 me.


Day 8: Sunny
Pressuring Homs.
Destroyed Sherman and Grant.
Bought 4 Reg Replacement for Mini Rudel.
Day 8 ai CA:
Enemy shot down aux Fighter; enemy brought aux Fallschimjager to 2 str; enemy brought down Flammpanzer down to 1 str; and brought down aux Sherman down to 5 Str.
Another Rough Round and really has me shaking my head.


Day 9: Sunny
Seized Homs.
Destroyed Aussie Inf and M5 Stuart, Crusader Mk 3, and Para’s.
Bought reg reps for aux Fallschimjager’s and 3 reg for Sahariana.
+5 Att M40 awarded Silver Medal for Military Valour.
Day 9 ai CA:
Enemy reduced our Grant down to 5 Str, and Bridge Engineer was nicked, aux Fallschimjager reduced to 4 Str; Pz3L reduced to 5 Str.
This is a killer scenario, loving it but hating it at the same time.
.


Day 10: Cloudy
Pressuring Palmyra.
Destroyed Sherman, 3.7 inch AA, Sherman, M14MGMC, Valentine 4, Kittyhawk, Crusader Mk3.
Bought 5 reg reps for Pz3L, aux Sherman and 2 reg reps for aux Fallschimjager.
Day 10 ai CA:
Enemy knocked back aux Fallschimjager on to River. (this will be retreated to save)
Sahariana hit for -7 me and Grenadier was nicked.


Day 11: Sunny
Destroyed M5 Stuart, Aussie Inf, Spitfire, M13/40, Typhoon Mk1B.
StuG 3F/8 with +4 Def awarded 3rd +2 Att hero.
Day 11 ai CA:
Grant ambushed by weakened Grant -2 each and Churchill Mk 2 hit Grenadier -1 them -2 me.


Day 12: Cloudy
Seized Aleppo Airfield and Plamyra. (It is now that I start to think I might actually win this one.)
Destroyed Cruiser Mk3, British Inf, Vickers Mk6, Bishop, and Valentine 4.
Bought 6 Reg reps for aux Fallschimjager.
Day 12 ai CA:
Nothing


Day 13: Sunny
Awarded Bf110 with Liaison Officer.
Destroyed British Inf, 3 inch AA, Spitfire, and Churchill Mk2.
Day 13 ai CA:
A couple of minor aux attacks.


Day 14: Sunny
Seized Aleppo.
Destroyed British Para’s.
Day 14 ai CA:
1 aux attack.


Day 15: Sunny
Seized Latakia and Raqqa.
Destroyed Para’s, HW Inf, and Grant.
Day 15 ai CA:
British Inf nicked 1st SE Pz3L.

Day 16: Sunny
Destroyed British Inf.
Day 16 ai CA:
British Inf nicked 2nd SE Pz3L.

Day 17: Sunny
Destroyed British Inf.
Day 17 ai CA:
Nothing

Day 18: Sunny
Seized Deir-ez-Zar.

Decisive Victory with 1558 ending Prestige

I missed destroying Haditha Garrison and taking Tel Aalo, but Advisor Hurly has informed me that there is nothing there. Hurly seems to be struggling at not telling me everything to expect as he really wants to see me succeed, but I am ok with losing just so I can keep this playthrough realistic as possible.

Next is Iraq and I was awarded an SE unit at the start of that mission.
SE Ju-87R Tactical Bomber.
I would much rather have a fighter, so should I disband to try and get awarded an SE Fighter in hopes that the game will finally take some pity on me?
Next will be neutralizing Baghdad airfield. OK!
Starting Prestige 2908.
I see money hex right above Aror, I will at least pursue that, but please no spoilers.

[hurly]

Replay for Syria

(01.04.2017) Syria, Turn 18.zip

(79.22 KiB) Downloaded 205 times

Struggling Advisor here

without Spoilers

there is not only a Money in the Southwest near Aror, but also one in the Northeast which you may have noticed by now for sure, btw that Map is not a Spoiler just the Things you can see right from the Start with coloured Circles (Blue for Airfields, Red for Victory Hexes) or Purple Squares (for the Money Hexes)


Also since the Briefing tells you it is important to neutralize Bagdad Airfield, I wanna add it is really really important to do it asap which means before the Turn Clock strikes 8 for the AI (which is no easy walkover task anyway). So without spoiling anything, you know the KEY Hex from the Briefing

December 17th, 1942
The invasion of Iraq is your next great task, Generalfeldmarschall. To hold on to it and what is left of their empire in the Middle East, the British plan a large reinforcement of their air presence. The key to its success is the airfield at Baghdad. An advanced communications center is being built there that will coordinate these larger air forces as well as an array of air-defense radars. If this center is not promptly destroyed our invasion of Iraq will be hampered by a much more substantial and effective Allied air presence. The Regia Aeronautica is assisting us with special bomber aircraft that have already been partially deployed. Another such unit is to follow. If Baghdad airfield is neutralized we can expect our invasion to proceed with the same success you have brought in other theaters, Generalfeldmarschall. You have seven days. Good luck!

What it does not tell you is the Fact that neutralizing Bagdad Airfield is enough which makes sense as if the Airfield is Neutral, they don't have personnel to operate the Communication Center around.
So I don't want to let you run into the Trap of a subpar Briefing again.

The SE Stuka is your 3rd SE Unit ? well a SE Fighter would of course be better by now, but why disband the Stuka ? I think the Game will give you 5 SE Units until the Final Battle, so think about disbanding one when you got 5 and not really happy with the Configuration of SE Units by then.
And by no means 3 SE Units awarded is bad at this point
On my Run 1 Italian Challenge I got awarded 2 SE Units (Tank and Fighter) on Team Red just 1 SE Unit (Fighter) besides the 2 Rewards taken from Dash to the Wire. The Garage Sale Run had 3 awareded after Palestine (all sold off) and another one in Basra which comes next in the Timeline.
So I would assume the Game tries to make up your earlier misses (or in my case disbands) with a more generous SE allocation and you are most likely in 4 SE territory by now. So probably think about disbanding one if you get #4 soon, but I would not recommend it.

On Units
I upgraded Panzer III to M Type and upgraded all non Italian Fighters to FW190 (which you have done already) and gave Max Overstrength to all Arty, AA and if you feel more secure do it for the Fighters too
Team Red was short on Tactical Bombers and added a SM79 which is basically covered with the SE Stuka for you. Only other upgrade I did was upgrading the "Dash to the Wire" StuG Arty to a Sturmhaubitze which is not relevant to your Army as you don't have the StuG.

So another tricky Scenario where you save Prestige for the Upcoming Tiger and Infantry Upgrade which is clearly imminent with a Scenario Starting Date of December 17th, 1942.

So it may be possible for you to get 3 Tigers (for the British Tanks) when they become available and also upgrade the German Grenadiers to 43 strength. We'll talk about Italian Infantry upgrade seperately then, as you can field fewer Units for Basra than for Iraq

[goose_2]

Hurly…Buddy…I have to say that your advice has stepped into the spoiler territory so I stayed with original plan and was fully prepared to incur a loss, as I am determined to garner a Blindthrough on this playthrough. Let’s see how I did.

Iraq
This had a serious time pressure on the success of this battle, and I worked hard to achieve everything I could on this one.

Starting prestige 2908 after replacements 1942 and a little Overstrengthening and purchase of new Sahariana 1374

So based on what I wrote previously and despite what Hurly stated in his “helpful” advice I sent a Sahariana down South near Arar to seize that $ Icon. (I do not recommend doing this at first.)
I am sending the 2 aux Fallschimjager’s over towards Zanjan $ icon.
Bringing everything except Bersagleiri in a truck.

In North around Al Qamishli bringing: Sahariana, Grenadier, Bridge Engineer, Matilda 2, StuG 3 F/8, Ariete, Pz3L, AA. 2 10.5 cm arty’s, and +1 Movement M40. (I plan on using my Bridge Engineer, to help cross the Tigris and help to flank their forces.)

In South around Daz-ez-Zeir bringing: Bersagleiri, Alpini, 10.5cm arty, 15cm arty, 2 SP M40’s, AA, StuG 3 F/8, Flammpanzer, Grant, Crusader, Sahariana, and 2 SE Pz3L’s. (Planning on rushing all towards Baghdad.)

Battle Report:
Day 1: Sunny
Destroyed Valentine 4, Sherman, and Crusader Mk3.
Day 1 ai CA:
Arty hit Grenadier -1 me; Humber hit Crusader -4 each, Spitfire nicked M40; and Spitfire hit by Fighter Trap -8 them.


Day 2: Cloudy
Awarded another aux Strat Bomber.
Destroyed 2 Spitfire’s, Humber, Sherman, British Inf.
2nd SE Pz3L awarded Iron Cross 2nd Class.
Day 2 ai CA:
Mobile AA hit Veltro -2 me.


Day 3: Cloudy
Placed unit next to Arar right next to British inf, and within sight M5 Stuart. Un Oh!
Destroyed Destroyed M14 MGMC and HW Inf.
Bought 1 Regular Replacement for Pioniere.
Day 3 ai CA:
Arty and Grant hit Grenadier guarded by arty -3 me; Bomber and inf hit +5 Att M40 -2 each; Grant and British Inf hit Sahariana -8 me. Mobile AA hit Veltro -1 me. (That was a close one)


Day 4: Sunny
Seized airfield near Mosul and pressuring Mosul and seized airfield near Hit.
Destroyed Bridge Engineer, 5.5 inch arty, Mosquito, British Inf, and 2 6 Pounder’s.
13th SM.79 awarded +2 Def 2nd Hero.
Day 4 ai CA:
AA hit Strat Bomber -1 me; Grant hit Sahariana -5 me -3 them and I was awarded a +1 Att hero. :nice: Arty nicked Bruckenpioniere.


Day 5: Cloudy
Destroyed HW Inf, M14MGMC, Spitfire, and 6 Pounder.
+1 Movement M40 awarded Silver Medal for Military Valour.
Day 5 ai CA:
Bomber, Churchill Mk1V, and HW inf hit Flammpanzer guarded by arty -6 me -4 them.


Day6: Sunny
Seized Zanjan with aux Fallschimjager after destroying Regular inf in Zanjan and holding the $ icon I was instantly awarded 250 prestige, note said 500 but I am playing Rommel. Yes!!!
Definitely will be trying for Arar at some point.
Destroyed Typhoon Mk.1B, HW Inf, Grant, 7.2inch arty, and that reg inf. .
Bought 8 reg reps for Sahariana and 5 elite reps for Grenadier.
Spitfire awarded Knight’s Cross.
Day 6 ai CA:
Sherman hit Bersagleiri -8 me; Valentine IV, and Bishop hit Alpini -5 me; Churchill hit Pz3L -1 me -2 them.

Do not try crossing the Tigris near Baghdad as that is suicide, based on the Radar that can see everything.



Day 7: Cloudy
Neutralized Baghdad airfield. YES!!! And pressuring Kirkuk.
Destroyed Churchill Mk 4 and 7.2 inch arty.
Bought 8 Reg Reps for +1 Att Sahariana, 5 reg reps for Crusader, and 6 Elite Reps for Flammpanzer.
Day 7 ai CA:
Sherman nicked M40.


Day 8: Sunny
Seized Kirkuk and Baghdad Airfield.
Destroyed British Inf, Sherman, Valentine 4, HW Inf, and Radar.
Bought 5 Elite replacements for Alpini.
Piaggio awarded Bronze Medal for Military Valour and Veltro awarded Silver Medal for Military Valour.
Day 8 ai CA:
Crusader Mk 3 hit Bridge Engineers in truck guarded by artillery-3 each and Sherman hit Ariete -4 them -2 me.


Day 9: Sunny
Seized all of Baghdad and it’s 2ndary airfield. Also seized airfield next to Hamadan so pressuring Hamadan.
Destroyed Crusader Mk3, Sherman, Strongpoint, Valentine 4, Engineer, and Bishop.
+2 At 132nd Ariete awarded Cross for Military Valour and awarded 3rd +1 Hero.
Bought 5 reg reps for aux Fallschimjager.
Day 9 ai CA:
HW inf hit Fallschimjager -2 each.



Day 10: Cloudy
Seized airfield North of Nasiriyah.
Day 10 ai CA:
Enemy reseized airfield next to Hamadan and hit aux Fallschimjager -3 each.


Day 11: Sandstorm
Destroyed Churchill Mk4 and Bridge Engineer.
Day 11 ai CA:
HW Inf hit aux Fallschimjager -5 me -3 them.


Day 12: Sunny
Destroyed Fort and HW Inf.
So seized all of Hamaden and it’s airfield.
Bought 4 Reg reps for aux Fallschimjager.
Day 12 and 13 ai CA:
Nothing


Day 13: Sunny
Destroyed 6 Pounder.


Day 14: Sunny
Seized Nasiriyah.
Destroyed Sherman, Para’s, Bishop, and 3.7inch AA.
Day 14 ai CA:
AA hit Mini Rudel -4 me. They had just 4 strength, that was a serious lucky roll, for them.


Day 15: Sunny
Seized all of Central airfield, pressuring Ahvaz.
Destroyed British HW Inf.
13th SM.79 awarded Gold Medal for Military Valour
Day 15 ai CA:
AA nicked Mini Rudel.

Day 16: Sunny
Seized airfield near Ahvaz.
Destroyed 3.7inch AA, Churchill Mk4, 7.2inch arty, and 2 Pounder.
Day 16 -18 ai CA:
Nothing

Day 17: Sunny
Destroyed Engineer’s.

Day 18: Sunny
Destroyed British Inf, M5 Stuart, Daimler, and 7.2 inch arty.
Awarded another $250 for Seizing Arar. And also seized Ahvaz.

Decisive Victory with 2100 ending Prestige and 4 Rounds early

Next will be Basra and it will be time for upgrading and 3550 to do it with.
I actually was able to start this battle as well. I saw it was city fighting so I dug deep using all infantry and artillery.

I will be trying to finish before Sunday, but unsure if I will find time as I also want to play at least one more round in my multiplayer rounds before Sunday.

I will be taking a little mini fast from the forum and from the game in honor of Holy Week.
I know it is not necessary, but since I had to stay home to take care of my wife and 8 sick kids the past couple of days, I realize how much of this great game is consuming me, and it has pricked my conscience.

So…I will be trying to take time to concentrate more on other things, and hopefully get time before Sunday to type up my other playthrough of Guderian and Manstein.

[hurly]

YES

(04.04.2017) Iraq, Turn 18.zip

(77.27 KiB) Downloaded 203 times

Well done my friend !

question I stepped into Spoiler Territory ?
Maybe I missed it when I did, but I tried very hard not to.

Anyway that the Scenario is winnable for you was not the question in the first Place.

Avoiding the RAF and probable costly Losses on your already depleted Fighter Squad was the Key.

Without seeing the Replay, I notice there was no AIr Action of the Brits after Baghdad Airport is done.

Well while it's all in the Briefing I don't see the info as a Spoiler, more like a friendly rubbing your Nose on the Important Part of the Intel

It's just no Fun when you have to deal with the RAF the whole scenario and your already worn out Units then have have to face 2 newly spawned 2 Star Spitfires in the bottom of Turn 8 and 2 more in the bottom of Turn 9.

Whatever you did it and came out of it in great shape especially on the Prestige Clock

So as you said you started Basra already, there is not too much advice I can offer you anyway, as City Fights are definitely not my metier and so I can help a lot anyway.

You had the necessary Prestige to do the obvious upgrades on Infantry and Tanks (even though Tanks in a City Fight are not that great after all)

So I'm sure you will have a great Outcome of Basra as well, as swarming the enemy and forcing surrenders seems to be your Thing.

Well a holy week break before or after this Basra scenario is a good idea as I have to think hard not to spoil anything on the upcoming Persia Scenario is special in many regards but mostly because you have to win this one with a Decisive or you will miss the optional Trip to the Caucasus.

On the bright News.

You don't need any more Decisive Victories except in the Final Scenario.

On the lesser bright News
A Loss (except in the Caucasus where outcome does not really matter other than personal Pride)
will End the Campaign from now on.

So take your time to bring all the little Goslings back on track and the beautiful wife which is named probably goose_1 as the family pecking order applies.

I'm still really excited how this Iraq Trip turned out. Still we all know that Iraqi Military Action is often swift and successful on Top, but a real Nightmare in the aftermath. But I'm pretty sure you avoided anything with a boomerang effect here.

See what do we learn out of this

Good Things happen when US Bible Thumpers listen to what German Liberals tell them

same Procedure as in the Guderian AAR
early posting of the Replay because of the Easter Eggs

(06.04.2017) Basra, Turn 18 Rommel.zip

(72.55 KiB) Downloaded 185 times

both the Iraq as well as the Basra Replay are scary good and I recommend it to Players looking for an aggressive way to do it

maybe I continue to post Replays early, if they are in my mailbox before the actual writeup
so you may have seen it and just pull out the numbers later

[goose_2]

Thanks again Hurly! I am back from my Easter break.
Glad to be back.

Here is my latest playthrough which Hurly already posted.


Basra
Ah the old familiar City Battle scenario, 1st one in Africa Korps though and this means I am bringing all my infantry and upgrading them to their 43 counter parts. I am keeping the Bruckenpioniere a Bruckenpioniere, as it looks like I can use him in this scenario to try a flank in the South.

Starting prestige 3550 after replacements 3140 but after upgrades and Overstrengthening 493.

Other than all the infantry that I upgraded to its 43 counterparts, I also upgraded the Crusader and Matilda 2 to Tiger tanks, my SE Ju-87R to a D, both StuG 3F/8’s to G’s.

Again since this is a city battle bringing all artillery and infantry. My initial thoughts were to concentrating bringing my forces South across the river by using both BruckinPioniere’s the aux and my core I accidentally changed back at Suez.
My hope is to cause havoc in their rear that allows my other forces to push in the center.

In order to accomplish this I brought everything except 1 Strat Bomber, 1 AA, Ariete, Grant, and my Pz3L.


Battle Report:
Day 1: Sunny
Seized Basra (20,8)
Destroyed Sherman, M5 Stuart, 2 Strongpoint’s, and HW Inf.
Brescia awarded Gold Medal for Military Valour.
Panzerjager Abt.605 awarded Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
Matilda 2 now a Tiger awarded with a +1 Att 2nd hero.
Day 1 ai CA:
Fighter’s hit Flammpanzer and Bomber hit aux Bruckenpioniere in truck -8 me.


Day 2: Sunny
Seized Basra (15,6) and (11,2)
Destroyed Spitfire, Strongpoint, HW Inf, Typhoon Mk1B, 6 Pounder, and British Inf.
2nd Veltro awarded +1 Att hero added to 1st +1 Def Hero.
Bought 8 reg reps for aux Bruckinpioniere.
Day 2 ai CA:
Enemy hit aux Alpini -8 me.


Day 3: Sunny
Seized Basra (10,2)
Destroyed British and Engineer inf.
+2 Att 15cm arty awarded 2nd +2 Def hero.
Bought 8 reg reps for aux Alpini; 4 reg reps for aux Sahariana; and 2 reg reps for aux Flammpanzer.
Day 3 ai CA:
Enemy hit Stormo -2 me; Fort hit 15cm arty -3 me and a couple of other nicks.


Day 4: Sunny
Seized Desert (20,11)
Destroyed Bridge Engineer and Fort.
Bought 1 reg rep for Flammpanzer.
Day 4 ai CA:
Arty and inf hit Bersagleiri -2 me -4 them and Fort hit aux Fallschimjager leaving me with 4 Str.


Day 5: Sunny (I am still trying to push South but am trying to also push in the Center, just too many units, to just leave waiting.)
Destroyed 2 British Inf’s and 3 inch AA.
Bought 6 reg reps for aux Fallschimjager.
Day 5 ai CA:
Sahariana brought down to 1 str and other aux Sahariana brought down to 4 Str. Fort nicked movement M40 and arty and inf hit Brescia -2 each.


Day 6: Sunny
Seized Basra (10,4), (11,3), (8,4), and (12,6)
Destroyed Spitfire, 6 inch arty, 3 British Inf’s, and HW Inf.
Flammpanzer awarded Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
12th SE Pz3L awarded Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves.
Day 6 ai CA:
Forts nicked Brescia and aux Bruckenpioniere -3 me; and Sahariana reduced to 3 Str.


Day 7: Sunny
Destroyed 2 Fort’s and 3 British Inf’s.
Bought 7 and 9 Reg Reps for Sahariana’s, 3 reg reps for Bruckenpioniere, and 4 Elite Reps for Flammpanzer, and 3 Elite Reps for Brescia.
Day 7 and 8 ai CA:
Nothing


Day 8: Sunny
Destroyed Fort, 25 Pounder, and Strongpoint.
Bought 3 Elite replacements for Alpini Brescia and 4 reg reps for aux Flammpanzer.


Day 9: Sunny
Seized Basra (10,8), (11,8) and (6,6)
Destroyed British Inf and 20mm AA.
Bought 2 reg reps for aux Alpini.
Day 9 ai CA:
A buttload of Para’s are coming, kind of shocked me to see them all fly into place.
(Good thing I didn’t wait, or this would have been much harder.)
Oh yeah and 2 units hit Bersagleiri with truck and left me with 5 str left.



Day 10: Sunny
Destroyed M7 Priest, Engineers, and British Inf.
Alpini Brescia awarded Gold Medal for Military Valour.
Crusader now a Tiger awarded with an Iron Cross 2nd Class.
Bought 5 reg reps for Bersagleiri.
Day 10 ai CA:
Enemy destroyed +1 Att Sahariana.
Enemy hit Bruckenpioniere guarded by arty -2 each.
Enemy Para’s are everywhere.


Day 11: Sunny
Destroyed 5 Paratrooper’s and 17 Pounder.
27th Brescia +1 Movement, +1 Spot awarded with +1 Att 3rd hero.
Day 11 ai CA:
Enemy Self emulated on aux Sahariana. OK?
17pdr hit StuG3G -4 me -1 them; Para’s hit Bridge Engineer guarded by arty -5 them -1 me; Humber hit 1st SE Pz -6 them -1 me.


Day 12: Sunny
Seized Basra (5,7)
Destroyed 6 Paratrooper’s, Engineer’s, Sherman, and Humber.
Italian 88 awarded +3 Def Hero.
+3 Def German artillery awarded +3 Att 2nd Hero.
Day 12 ai CA:
Aux Flamm left with 1 str left.


Day 13: Sunny
Seized Basra (12,10) and (18,13)
Destroyed 17 Pounder.
+1 Att Piaggio awarded with a +3 Att 2nd hero.
Day 13 ai CA:
HW Inf hit 2nd SE Pz3L -4 them -1 me.


Day 14: Sunny
Seized Basra (16,12), (13,11), and (16,11)
Destroyed HW Inf, British Inf, Paratrooper, and 20mm AA.
Day 14 ai CA:
Arty and Sherman hit aux Fallschimjager -4 me.


Day 15: Sunny
Seized Sharba Airfield (1,16).
Destroyed 2 Paratroopers and Sherman.
Day 15 ai CA:
Arty’s suppressed units, but no losses.


Day 16: Sunny
Seized Basra (13,15).
Destroyed 2 Paratrooper’s, HW Inf, 5.5 inch arty, and M7 Priest.
Day 16 ai CA:
Churchill hit Alpine -2 me and HW Inf hit aux Fallschimjager down to 1 str.


Day 17: Sunny
Seized Basra (16,16) and Sharba Airfield (2,14) and (2,15)
Destroyed HW Inf and Paratrooper.
Day 17 ai CA:
Sherman hit Grenadier -6 me.

Day 18: Sunny
Seized all of the rest.
Destroyed 20mm AA, Bishop, Paratrooper, Churchill Mk4, and Sherman.
+3 Def SM.79 awarded +1 Spotting 3rd hero

Decisive Victory 5 Rounds early with 1017 ending Prestige

Next will be Persia with no more than 3 enemy Convoy Transports should pass. According to the briefing we have lost contact with some air patrols deep in enemy airspace. Uh-Oh!
I was awarded a 4th SE unit, I just cannot get that wanted fighter as I was awarded an SE Pz4G.

I will have 2517 prestige to play with and more upgrades available, and I need to make at least 1 new purchase, hmmmn. Should it be another arty, another Sahariana, or a M41M SP AT?
Now that my fast is over I am back and plan on playing the Persian scenario very, very soon.