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What is this about?
This is a US campaign starting in late summer 1944 after Allied forces had defeated the Wehrmacht in Normandy and liberated Paris.
Following weeks of fast Allied advances US forces approach the German border protected by the fortified Siegfried Line, aka the Westwall.
The campaign roughly covers the time from September 1944 to the beginning of December 1944, and includes key battles along the Siegfried Line as well as closely related developments in France and the Low Countries.
How many battles are included?
The campaign does include 14 scenarios, and the longest path is 14 as well.
How difficult is this campaign?
Once again the intro scenario is meant to be easier. Afterwards the increase in difficulty is more moderate compared to Bulge.
You don’t have to face a large-scale German offensive early on here. The enemy is in really bad shape initially, but will recover over time.
US forces are mostly on the attack, except in two scenarios. Local counter attacks can occur in various battles of course. Compared to Bulge, air support plays a bigger role now.
What is a “Clear” Objective?
For this type of objective you have to take out static defenses like mines, bunkers and nearby support units like anti-tank, anti-air or artillery in a selected area.
Mobile enemy units which may move in or out of that area during the course of the battle usually do not count towards the objective.
Why do some locations give prestige, while others don’t?
Objectives always grant a larger prestige bonus. But several battles are still happening on German-occupied territory, or in border regions. So non-objective locations outside Germany provide a small one-time liberation bonus.
You can always check the GUI to find out which hexes grant prestige, and how much.
How do I capture an enemy supply dump?
In a few maps, German supply dumps are located next to flagged locations. Except in rare cases, taking the nearby flag hex switches the supply dump to your side, and grants some form of reward.
This is mostly prestige, and some enemy hardware. However, we do not aim to provide many captured units as they play less of a role for the Allied side.
A single supply dump does not provide tons of German hardware, but over time, if you take several of those depots, the amount of captured equipment can increase to a full unit of certain types.
If you destroy a supply dump before its capture you do not receive a reward of course.
What are those AI-controlled Allied units for I see on a few maps?
These units usually hold parts of the map that were controlled by the Allies, but did not participate directly in certain battles.
They are mostly added for flavor. Sometimes they get more active to do certain tasks. This is usually happening in areas away from or behind the player’s core army.
AI Allies do not go for the actual mission objectives, but there is also one case where you can request Allied help, which will put a number of initially AI-controlled units directly under your command.
What's the deal with those green mines?
Pre-placed land mines belonging to the player's alliance show green counters to tell them apart better, especially in a zoomed-out map view.
In general units which display green counters are either friendly, or at least no threat. In rare cases, they are not allied to the player, but then you get informed about their actual status.
What do all those terms and abbreviations mean?
Briefings and in-game messages include a bit of WW2 slang and other military terms. Some may be widely known, some maybe not so much. Let’s just have a little glossary here:
ALG
Advanced Landing Ground, a forward, usually temporary airfield
Big Red One
US 1st Infantry Division
Buzz Bomb
informal term for the German V-1 weapon
Chair-Borne Infantry
soldiers doing mostly office duties
Dog Tags
metal tags worn by military personnel for identification purposes
Flyboy, Throttle Jockey
pilot
G-2
US Army military intelligence, division level
G-4
US Army logistics section, division level
Gasoline Cowboy
tank driver
G.I.
Government or General Issue, informal for US soldier
Hell Buggies, Iron Horses
tanks
Milk Run
easy task or mission
Old Man
man in authority, experienced military commander
Red Ball Express
truck convoy system to supply Allied forces in Europe post D-Day
Stripe-Happy
being eager for promotions
SHAEF
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
T-Bolt
short for P-47 Thunderbolt