Is it Possible for Germans to Win "Race to the Meuse"

[Tom West]

In the Race to the Meuse, you have 3 days to get adjacent to the Meuse.

As I understand it, the Panzers can move 2 areas a turn (in enemy terrain)

The fastest way to the Meuse is

116 Pz at Bleialf -> St. Vith -> Vielsalm -> Houffalize -> ManHay -> La Roche -> Marche -> Rochefort -> Givet/Dinant (which is 8 areas, taking 4 days)

or

2nd Pz at Dasburg -> Clervaux -> Lullange -> Bastogne -> NeufChateaux -> Recogne -> Bertrix -> Gedinee (which is 7 areas, taking 4 days)

Obviously, I am missing something.

What have I overlooked?

Thanks. (By the way, I am thoroughly enjoying the game - much fun!)

[Amaranthus]

It is only 5 moves to Herve or Duffet - north is the short route

[boone737]

Or you can spearhead across the middle. Play as allied and see how the computer does it.

[s_MesaDon]

Don't forget the Armor Breakout Bonus. Only victory I have in that scenario is when a breakthrough give me the last area needed to reach the river.

[jeffd]

We got complaints during playtest that RttM was unbalanced in favor of both sides. I figured that's how I knew it was right.

Seriously, it's quite possible for the Germans to win. Use breakthrough as Don suggests, keep an eye on the roads, and go around rather than through. Trust me.

[thedudeabidez]

I've won as the Germans about six times in a row now, against both Monty and Patton. It took me about 8 losses to figure out what I was doing wrong though. You have to be absolutely ruthless in getting the Panzers forward; worry about everything else later. You also have to figure out how to throw the Allies off-balance, between defending the Meuse and defending Bastogne. Your pre-dawn attacks, and their results are absolutely key. At any rate, it can certainly be done.

MontyDefeated_2.jpg

[currymutton]

I win against Monty on the second try.

As others have pointed out on on panzer spearhead, the order of making your attacks is important so you i) concentrate your panzer(!!!); ii) open up a path with your infantry and lesser panzer units; iii) remember there are units and places do not need to be attacked unless necessary (e.g. Bastogne). My $.02

[Tom West]

Aha! My problem was mistaking Hingeon (an area name) for the river name on the East/West portion of the Meuse.

Of course, I failed to notice the font was wrong for the river name, the East/West portion of the river also had the Meuse name in it, and the briefing map clearly indicates the Meuse river.

But outside of that, how was I to know .

*sigh*

[s_Wondgamb]

I agree, the way to do it is trowing the panzers forward as ruthlessly as possible.
Unfortunately the AI (Patton) priority is to save all out-of-supply units rather than defend the southern bank of the river.
I haven't been able to reach the Meuse AND capture Bastogne though.

[s_pixelgeek]

I actually beat Monty in my first game. Haven't beaten Patton yet though Aggressive armour movement is the key. Push it forward to attack and use the infantry to secure your supply lines.

[Mermuse]

Armor breakout plus using disposable units to lock down defenders is key. Pick which unit will reach the Muese (you only need one), which units will defend the supply lines and take Bastogne, pick which point along the Meuse you are aiming for (I've had the best luck with Ouffet*), then remember that all other units can be sacrificed.

There are a lot of allied units in the far north and south that will slow your advance if allowed to reposition. Move infantry into their areas to lock them down immediately. The infantry may die but they will buy to the time needed to reposition. In the beginning the middle is very weakly defended... Lock down the enemy to keep it that way.

Whenever possible attack with 3 units against 1 to be sure of getting the breakthrough and never attack the large allied tank units with your assault force.

If you can't figure out a good strategy switch sides and observe how the AI moves and attacks...



*Note- Of all the Meuse locations that are the shortest distance from your forward position, Ouffet is the farthest from the allied reinforcement locations.

[daviddunham]

The other thing is: “Race to the Meuse” is a game. A game played with military units, but a game rather than a wargame. It is acceptable to throw away units, or ignore attacks on your reinforcement points.

This form of thinking will serve you very poorly when you switch to playing the full “Battle of the Bulge” scenario, but it can help with the short game.

[BoardgamesToGo]

How was I able to win as the Axis in this game of Race to the Meuse? The final moment is captured in screenshot below. I got one unit all the way ACROSS the Meuse into Namur, but my opponent cut off that armor unit's line of supply, so I don't understand how I was credited with a win.

Meuse.jpg

[cfarell]

How was I able to win as the Axis in this game of Race to the Meuse?

I was the US in this game. This was actually the full Battle of the Bulge scenario, not the Race to the Meuse. The rulebook VCs say you have to control a space over the Meuse that can trace supply. But ... Germans units don't have to check supply until the 20th, I think? This is certainly confusing (to me anyway). I obviously did not expect this result - I figured the Germans could just be sealed off and eliminated at my leisure.

[cfarell]

As for winning the Race to the Meuse scenario as the Germans, it's not that hard - just load up all the panzers into one spearhead, presumably somewhere between Bastogne and Verviers, and blast through. I actually think RttM is basically unwinnable for the US. They can fight to a draw, but if the Germans are willing to be very aggressive while keeping their options open around Bastogne, there is no reason they should lose other than bad luck.

I think the only real reason to play RttM is to learn the mechanics of the game. It's not particularly interesting as a situation, the strategies don't transfer to the main game, and the US player is just going to be hitting the "pass" button a lot. Once you've got the mechanics of playing down, switch to the main scenario right away.

[Yojimbo252]

How was I able to win as the Axis in this game of Race to the Meuse? The final moment is captured in screenshot below. I got one unit all the way ACROSS the Meuse into Namur, but my opponent cut off that armor unit's line of supply, so I don't understand how I was credited with a win.

I believe it's a known bug that will be fixed in the next update.

[PGEddington]

BotB screen shot.jpg

I've been playing mostly against "Monty" and agree that the key is always 1) keeping the panzers moving to the northwest and 2) fighting only when the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor on that line of march. Attached is a screen shot of one match (of several) where I made the river and secured Bastogne.

[daviddunham]

How was I able to win as the Axis in this game of Race to the Meuse?

I was the US in this game. This was actually the full Battle of the Bulge scenario, not the Race to the Meuse. The rulebook VCs say you have to control a space over the Meuse that can trace supply. But ... Germans units don't have to check supply until the 20th, I think? This is certainly confusing (to me anyway). I obviously did not expect this result - I figured the Germans could just be sealed off and eliminated at my leisure.

There's a difference between being able to trace supply, and having to trace supply (to be in supply). (For example, you can be cut off at noon, and figure out a way to get back into supply before the beginning of the next day when supply is checked. I guess breakfast really is the most important meal of the day.)

And the bug that didn't make the trace when it should have, has indeed been fixed.

[chrietitulaer]

I have the same question. I've been playing 'Race to the Meuse' 5 or 6 times as 'ze germanz', but never did I even come close to a victory. I either get pinned down in unwinnable combat situations, or I get somewhat close to the meuse, but then I get cut off.

It seems that fighting the enemy hardly has any effect at all, which I find very puzzling. It seems almost impossible to defeat even the tiniest little enemy force.
This makes me feel that I am completely missing some of the finer points of this game's strategy.

In other words, the tutorial does not really serve its purpose very well. Instead of clarifying the game, it puts you in an almost unplayable situtation. This is of course very uninviting for new players.
I would suggest the authors to improve the tutorial so that beginners can better understand how to play the game. The 'race to the meuse' can be added as a fun extra mission, but it's not a good tutorial.

[s_nkarp]

There is a section on strategy tips in the Help section, which many new players find helpful: the tutorial explains the game's mechanics, but figuring out how it all fits together to build strategies is what many players find fun.

It is indeed possible to win as the Axis in Race to the Meuse - the scenario is balanced beyond any precision we could have hoped for (an example of recent statistics is attached). Those statistics are drawn from Game Center play, typically more competitive than vs the AI opponents.