Problem with prokhorovka level

[kitty88]

I have been trying to finish this level for ages and haven't been able to! I have tried 4 different directions of advance and keep getting stuck. What is the best way to ensure all required victory locations are captured in the 29 turns??

[Tassadar]

1. Consider sending most units down the southern and center routes directly to the city. The most northern victory hex is almost undefended, so as long as you cross the river and deal with the mass of tanks there you will be fine up north (and the forces moving through the center route can help with that).
2. Ignore non essential hexes. They can be captured for absolutely minimal extra prestige if you are doing well, but otherwise they are here to fool you into spreading your force thin and stealing time.
3. Ignore red infantry and anti-tank guns if they do not block your advance. They are static and will not move, so the only reason to fight any of them is if they are in your way. Leaving them alone can easily shave off a few turns.
4. Don't be shy to bring a lot of artillery. The enemy will quickly entrench like crazy, so you need it to deal good damage.
5. Maximize overruns. With so many units on the map you really need to prioritize kills over captures. In my recent AAR where I play only capture equipment the scenario took me ages and the last hex was cleared in the last turn. Capturing here is a luxury that there's no time for.
6. Flame tanks are your friends. While it might be tempting to bring mostly heavier tanks, a few flame tanks an help with that overrun spree and with artillery support a single flame tank unit can easily clear 3 infantry or AT units each turn.
7. Keep the front line not facing entrenched infantry (so any facing open tiles to your east) behind AT support at all times. This will discourage enemy tanks and make you stop for repairs less often.

[euramer]

To complement, the good advices above, I would recommend to leave a small group containing one infantry + artillery + tank to hold the northern city once captured (PRELESTNOE), because the AI will try to recapture it, and concentrate the rest on your center objectives. You will have some hard fights with Soviet tanks counterattacks, and I have been using 3 groups of Tigers as my spearhead with a backup of 150 mm + fast tactical bombers to beat them off, so that my infanteries could continue the assault on the main objectives with the help of 2 heavy artilleries (201 mm).

[kitty88]

Thank you both. I will try it. How have you dealt with the soviet air power? I can't believe how many can be shot down but still more appear!

[Tassadar]

Thank you both. I will try it. How have you dealt with the soviet air power? I can't believe how many can be shot down but still more appear!

Just keep a decent amount of light AA even if you have good fighter planes (best 2 cm Flakvierling or some captured equivalent). This does not deal with strategic bombers, but really helps with the rest and a unit like that is just 1 core slot, so for 3-4 you can get solid cover over most of the vulnerable units. These can then easily soften up enemy planes if they happen to be in reach, so that your own fighters will keep up with deleting enemy air presence (and if you run AA Veteran trait these can even delete whole units and reduce the amount of fighters you need). But overall yes, the planes do keep coming and coming in this mission, so it's important to finish wounded ones off. If they get to repair you might be overwhelmed in some turns.