DLC '45 #13 Berlin

[VPaulus]

Please post here your comments about this scenario.

[LostAgain]

To get the basics out of the way, I play at FM level with an imported core...well I DID play with an imported core before playing the DLC '45 East campaign in beta. I am of two minds about Berlin, and indeed the whole '45 east campaign. On the one hand it is very challenging and I like that, but on the other, to see units that I accrued waaaay back in '39 being destroyed one after the other with no recourse is rather disheartening.

Unless I'm way out to lunch the ONLY way to win even a marginal victory in Berlin is to cheat. By the time I got here my core had already been decimated in several of the other scenarios in '45 and I was forced to use new units with no experience, (a sure fire guarantee that they won't be around for very long), and was being overrun from the start. The ONLY experienced units I still had by the time I started Berlin were my aircraft, and I had to use inexperienced replacements to bring them up to a semblance of respectability as my prestige was so low.

Unless the intent is to start any new fantasy/what if or western campaigns from '39 again with altogether new units I think that not only Berlin, but several of the other scenarios will need to be reassessed. I love a challenge, but when every scenario is killing off two or three veteran units at a MINIMUM there is no core left to speak of by the time one starts the mind boggling onslaught that immediately commences in Berlin.

I replayed the scenario twice more after my original venture. the only time I came close to winning, (well actually I DID win a DV, if one can call it winning when using cheat codes), was with a massive amount of cheating, and I do mean massive.

Upon completing Berlin it was interesting to see that instead of informing me I'd completed '45 East it instead stated that the next scenario was not available in beta! Does this imply yet another scenario in this campaign?

[CarstenHell]

Yes, it does.

Re: DLC '45 #14 Berlin Redux

by Kerensky » 29 Apr 2012 18:20

The special, non historic scenarios at the end of DLC 45 were intentionally left out, as a surprise feature.
They may or may not ever be available for BETA testing and might only appear in retail 45.

[Kerensky]

As this is the end of the DLC Grand Campaign (No immediate plans for fictional DLC 1946 content), and historically the loss of Berlin ended the war, yes it is brutally hard. This is the first scenario that assumes the player has a CORE they have saved up over the course of 7 entire campaigns and it is also the last battle of the war. It might get toned down just a notch though, because Berlin Redux afterwards is... even harder. And also now available for testing.

Hi guys,

beta 2 for 1945 has been released. Check the top thread for links.

Change log
* Slightly increased prestige awards for some scenarios
* Increased CORE deployment size in all scenarios by at least 1
* Berlin Redux and Epilogue are now available for testing
* Goldap - Slightly improved the pre-built CORE
* Pelleninkin - Fixed an issue with the Pelleninkin airfield
* Pillau - Removed two Soviet submarines
* Osterode - Removed a few Soviet units from the first defensive positions
* Poznan45 - Removed several Soviet units from their first defensive positions
* Konigsberg - Removed a couple units from the second Soviet attack wave
* Budapest45 - Added several Hungarian units to reinforce Hungarian positions & Added an airfield near Budapest
* Various text corrections

[monkspider]

Berlin
Starting Prestige 5900
Ending prestige 784
*MARGINAL VICTORY* turn 32/32 (see below for details)
Units lost: Only three core panzers and a few green grenadiers remained


Do you believe in miracles? I started off the battle of Berlin with only EIGHT units left in my core, three of which were aircraft, making this final battle a cross between Der Untergang and 300. I was ready for Valhalla and a quick death. But despite this, and against literally all odds, my troops somehow, someway, achieved a marginal victory.

As I mentioned, Seelowe Heights proved to be a core destoyer like none ever seen. At the start of this battle I had enough prestige available to buy some grenadiers, artillery, anti-aircraft, and a jagdtiger. Clearly with such tiny force, my only option was to defend one, maybe two objectives, so all of my available units were deployed in the area of the Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate, save for a few infantry I deployed near an airfield in hopes of delaying it's capture as long as possible.

The Soviet advance came on even faster than I expected. The Volksturm units were quickly brushed aside, and my last airfield, whose capture I intended to delay as long as possible, was soon overrun, but not before giving my luftwaffe one last refill on their fuel. The first advance units reached my troops defending the Reichstag on turn 4.

Although vastly outnumbered, I was really quite surprised at how well I was holding out. I had my last infantry, and final Poznan '39 veteran defending the Reichstag and although he was holding strong at the moment, he surrounded by enough units that ammo/health replenishment was impossible, meaning his death was inevitable. The Luftwaffe's last flight was on turn 10 or 11, as my last fighter ran out of fuel and my Stuka died the same turn without fighter escort. It is around this time that my defense started to show it's first cracks.

One of my last veteran units, a Jagdpanther, died around turn 16. My veteran infantry managed to hold out until turn 21 but artillery and constant air attacks finally did him in. As I mentioned, he was the very last of the Poznan '39 veterans, so his death was especially sad. The Reichstag was briefly lost but I retook it the same turn with one of my panzer units.

Things really started to go sideways around turn 25. My air defense unit was knocked out and soon after my remaining artillery was as well. All that was left was a few green infantry units I had purchased earlier, and my last three panzers, elite veterans all of them. The constant air attacks were whittling down my health and reinforcement/ammo restocking was no longer an option so I had to pick my shots carefully. Although things seemed hopeless at this point, my panzers fought on, like the Spartans at Thermopylae. My troops in this battle reminded me of an quote from a Red Army soldier at the battle of Stalingrad. After battling the Germans for hours, his regiment was down to five men, he sent out one last message saying "Farewell comrades, we did not retreat" and then called an artillery strike down on his own position. There may not be many players who would have attempted the battle of Berlin with only eight units, but this core has served me well for countless hours and I have grown rather attached to it, surrender would not do it justice. My only option was see things through until the end.

As the last few turns counted down, things still hung by a thread, my King Tiger was down to three strength and my two Tiger I's were still in a vulnerable position and getting constantly attacked with artillery/bombers but at the very end of the battle, I still, still somehow controlled the Reichstag. At the end of the last turn I was prepared to accept my defeat, afterall, the scenario briefing says I needed to control six objectives for at least a marginal victory. I was happy with my "moral victory" and that was going to be enough for me, but imagine my shock when I get a "marginal victory" message after the very last turn! I am not sure if this was a bug or if holding the Reichstag grants a marginal victory no matter what as some kind of easter egg. But it was the ultimate fairy tale ending, saved at the last moment by a fluke bug, and one of the most unforgettable endings I have ever experienced in my many years of gaming. If it was a bug, consider it noted...but you might consider keeping it as an easter egg to surprise players such as myself.

Here is a screenshot I decided to take of the battlefield at the very end.
http://oi46.tinypic.com/2hd8ljs.jpg

In the end, this was an unbelievably epic end to an long and epic campaign. The entire grand campaign series has displayed a level of creativity and enjoyment several orders of magnitude greater than the stock campaign. i am hoping that this is not the end of your work Kerensky, and that you grace us with further content in the future. It has been an extreme honor to have beta-tested since the beginning, and I could not have asked for a more memorable ending to it all, so thank you for everything.

Now I just need to get this other core I am working on right now through 1943, I have a good feeling that it will be able to wipe the floor with the Russians and proceed to this secret Berlin Redux battle this time. I look forward to trying at least.

[monkspider]

One last thing, I am glad that you included some flavor objectives in this battle like the Reichstag and Führerbunker (or "high command bunker" as some might call it) . My only other wish was the inclusion of the Berlin Zoo Flak tower, as it was one of the major objectives of the battle and played an important role.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoo_flak_tower

[taffjones]

Played on cononel with a imported core
Loss at turn 26

Going into Berlin the majority of my core was intact except for the infantry, although they had lossed experiance I was able to keep them up at 10 strength.

The first wave of the russian assault cut through the Volksturm like a hot knife through butter . Soon they were engaging my core units which I had deployed in 3 groups. 1 to defend the airfields, 2 to defend the Riechstag/Podstam station and the high command's bunker, with the 3 group to the west defending the railway station VH.

It was brutal fighting and sad to see the core units you had brought through the DLC's being ground down bit by bit. I managed to ride out the storm and saw some light at the end of the tunnel. Then the second assault wave hit taking the airfields after seiging them for about 3 turns, the situation was now critical as all 3 groups were cut off from each other and hemmed in meaning I could not resupply or re-enforce them. all air units were lost soon after.

The rest of the senario was a battle to try and create some space to try and re-enforce my units. But the vice just kept getting tighter untill I lost the ability to resupply them completly.

One thing I noticed (after taking heavy casulties to counter attacking units) which I thought was unusual was the russian units entrenched faster than my units.

They would move next to my units and not attack untill the next move when they had entrenced usually to 2 or 3 entrenchment the same as my units which had been digging in for 3-4 turns, this was especially noticable for tank units where the majority of the time they had a higher entrencement value of my panzers making counter attacking suicidal especialy against SMG infantry who didnt even need to be surported by artillary

Is this intentional or a bug?

I tried to do print screens and paste them in this feedback, but unfortuantly my computer skills are not that good and it hasn't worked. Maybe some one can pick up on it and be able to do it.

Overall a gripping end and a fitting final senario (It would have been nice to make the bonus senario though) to a fantastic set of DLC's. Congratulations to all involved in making this game and many thanks for letting me be part of the Beta testing team.

[Kerensky]

Turn 5, surrounded on all sides.

[Kerensky]

Well.. I got annihilated. I managed to defeat the first wave, and starting recapturing parts of Berlin to get some prestige, but the second wave hit me like a tsunami of soviet tanks. Maybe it's possible to win with a better play, but I think I'll just tone the scenario down a little bit. Besides, there's still Berlin Redux to follow, and that scenario is equally brutal.

Turn 7, breaking out!


Turn 13, room to breath!


Turn 17, second wave has arrived


Turn 22, had to give up Reichstag, Potsdam Station, and Brandenburg gate


Might have been able to eke out a victory, but my prestige finally gave out and too many units are shattered.

[Kerensky]

Kill tracker, DLC 1945 only.

[monkspider]

Honestly, I think it should be left as it is. I think only players that manage to still have an absolutely exceptional core should be able to make it to the "secret" Berlin redux scenario. I think it should be something for players to aspire to, rather than realistically expect to reach. I think the 1945 scenario needs to fulfill it's role in being the "Simcity Godzilla Monster" core destroyer first and foremost.

[Kerensky]

Not to worry, while Berlin is full of 12 and 13 strength 3 star units, Berlin Redux is full of 14 and 15 strength 4 star units. Anyone with an exceptional CORE still has that to look forward to.

[monkspider]

Not to worry, while Berlin is full of 12 and 13 strength 3 star units, Berlin Redux is full of 14 and 15 strength 4 star units. Anyone with an exceptional CORE still has that to look forward to.

Fair enough, fair enough. I look forward to trying it.

[billmv44]

Playing on General, imported core. Prestige 8558.

This was the hardest scenario by far. Surrounded on all sides with huge numbers of Russians flooding in everywhere. My core force took losses for the first time in 1945 (JadgPanther and SE Grenadier). I survived the first wave in pretty good shape. No losses and no key objectives lost. Ivan got close to the Reichstag, but I was able to hold him off. My strategy was to break out and clear out one side of the map so I could start flanking attacks. That started well, but then the second wave hit. I had to retreat to prevent a breakthrough. It was in this part of the battle that I lost my JagdPanther. I foolishly left him unsupported by artillery in a city hex. The SMG infantry killed him. After slowing the second wave, I was finally able to start breaking out. I cleared the west side of the map and then was able to really start clearing the city. I was constantly re-strengthening my units, as they were taking heavy punishment. Prestige held out, but only because I was saving it for this battle (just like the run up to Stalingrad). Urban combat really eats up units. I was able to get the DV on 25/32. I think the keys to winning were, playing on General, my use of Artillery to support the tanks in the city, having lots of Tiger IIs and my Luftwaffe was dominant. The Me-262s own the skies. My kills to losses for fighters in the entire DLC is 394 to 0. The mental aspect of this scenario is different too. Being surrounded brings a certain amount of despair.

I doubt if I could get a DV playing on Manstein. Maybe the if the Germans had double ammunition rations to start, it might be possible. I really had to manage my resupply to keep units from being destroyed. Though I won, this was the closest I've come to losing. I was hanging by a thread for several turns.

[RobertCL]

Hi,

Even playing at Sergeant level is not easy (usually noone tests the game in this mode and I am a casual player so I think it was also a good idea to test the campaign in this mode, FYI I tested the 1943 grand campaign at leutnant level but I had to cheat just to get max prestige at the beginning of the campaign).

I was close to DV at turn nr 14 then the second wave came and I had to turn 10 more turns to get the DV.
To my despair I had to use a lot of units just to occupy the VHs and to leave such units alone, so a third wave would have been a nightmare since the player is limited in the nr of units he can use...
I was surprised by the fact Soviets had nearly no AD units, I have not even seen any single one!
I lost very good 5 star units like a Hummel, a Wuhrframen Nebelwerfer, two Pz IV J and a Stuka Ju 87G.

Just a remark: scenarios in cities like Breslau or Berlin are quire exhausting for the eyes, I prefer scenarios like Seelowe Heights.

Hopefully Me 262s are dominating the sky and I managed to capture all airfields of the map, keeping mines in the beginning was not easy.

Yes, being surrounded brings a kind of despair feeling...

Lessons learnt in defensive scenarios:
* It is always a good idea to have an arty railgun, much more effective than standard arty (except those with rockets)
* Let's replace all Ju 87 by Me 410 or Fw 190G
* It's better to have Panther G than Tiger II, because speed is the key to reach VHs
* In cities infantry is the King and Arty the Queen of the battlefield. Grenadiers and Engineers (with flamethrower) are great units in the offensive but also in a defensive mode. If you master the skys then paratroopers might help to conquer far VHs.

I am about to start Berlin Redux, I read the intro, it is a special scenario (I don't care about VHs but I have to destroy three recon units in the East and South East), is there a way in game to read again the introduction/instructions (even a key combination) ?

It is a great campaign (my prefered scenario was the coast in Courland with the ships), I shall replay it but playtest the 1944 campaign first and then import my core units. But this time I shall replay the 1945 campaign at Leutnant level as usual.