Slitherine

Greetings all,

Not only has it been forever since I have been at this battle, I would like to change things up a bit from my same routine. It is the vanilla campaign(no dlc or gold). Would like to show you my current force structure and prestige to change it. See what the community has to say.

I save at "pre-buy", "mid-buy"(all reinforcement done/no extra overs yet/all in-line upgrades done) and "post-buy". Currently at mid-buy. Everyone is at 10, some are 11, a few are 12. The tanks have been upgraded along their paths to G Panthers. All troops have 251/1 H/T, except bridge which has a 250/1. I took the "long green path", so I am coming off Moscow '43.

OOB -

2x Wehr 43
2x Gren 43
3x Pioneer 43
1x Bridge

5x Panzer G
1x Tiger

2x 232/8Rad recon

2x StuG IIIG

4x 17cm
2x Wurf

1x 7/1 AA

1x Bf 109G
4x FW 190A

2x JU-87D
1x Me 410A

1x JU 188A
1x He 177A

Prestige available - 11,947

Core sots available - 3 - I know many people go over on cores early, and rotate forces, but I have never got the hang of it. Immersion and identification issue on my part. Those are "my boys", and the ones on the field need everything I can give them. No one stays in the rear with the gear. These are the three slots that I get at USA East. I should really change that behavior before I get Gold DLC shouldn't I?


Obviously the StuGs need upgrading, as well as the Me 109. But after that, I could use a breath of fresh air. That 12 grand could go quick if I pick the wrong new toys. The darn railgun almost always makes it in, even though I know it is a "Bright Shiny Object" purchase. I never got a range hero on any artillery, so it may be easier to resist this time. Range and attack heroes on a 13 strength railgun makes it a rail-based SCUD launcher.

The only 12s are 1x art, 1x wurf, a stuka and a fighter... and few 11s; so not too much to lose if things need a shake-up.

Any advice that anyone may choose to give, from general to detailed, would be appreciated. I am going for the two marginal victories before USA West, so no need for "shock and awe" forces.

I've done it before, but don't want the same old slog, and/or make the same old ignorance-based errors.

Thanks for your attention.

I don't know, it seems you know what you are doing. If you want to experiment, just do it. Build a larger air force or build a larger tank/arty combo, or no air force and a bunch of AA units etc.

Either that prestige went farther than I remember, or I am setting myself up to get munched in some area. Can't remember what I am facing, just know it is bad. Like Sealion on steroids. My custom settings also means the enemy are all at 11, with nice prestige cushion. Almost spent my three cores on paras, but held back. They would have evaporated with no experience. No core paras at all this time out. Strange feeling.

New OOB -

3x Gren 43
4x Pioneer 43
1x Bridge

5x Panther G (2x SE)
1x Tiger (SE)

2x 234/2 8Rad Puma pit vipers. Even in Combat Mission I love this unit. cross-game appeal. didn't lose a recon all campaign.

2x JagdPanther

4x 17cm(1 new)
2x Wurf(both +3 attack/one +1 move) both at 13
1x 280mm K5(+2 attack/13) couldn't resist when I saw how much prestige I still had. Last buy. oooo pretty.

1x Wirbelwind (armored 7/1)

4x F190A
1x Me 262
1x Go 229A(new) Mop-up plane/escort this battle.

1x Me 410A
1x FW 190G
1x Ar 234B

1x He 177
1x Ju 188
1x E 555I(new) It should rack up experience quickly in naval combat.

The only 10s are the new ones. The only 11 is the newest A/T from Moscow. All others are 12, with a sprinkling of 13 in support like bombers and artillery. My non-rotating core strategy leads to high experience levels for everyone on the field. There are quite a few 4-star units out there.

Still have 618 prestige left, even after giving up and replacing overs on some units. Deciding on whether to keep it in the bank, or up my fighters even more.

Or go back to "pre-buy" after 5-7 turns of getting my head handed to me. hehehe

Anyone bored or interested enough to give opinions or input are welcome.

Thanks for your attention, and may your rounds never fall short.

EDIT - After watching a 12-strength ME 262 evaporate under two attacks, I went back and spent my last prestige. Taking all 5 of my experienced fighters to 13 left me with 12 prestige. It was meant to be...

Puuuhhhh


Some Kind of Nostalgic feeling, it seems like an Eternity since I tackled this One.

Ok so my 2 Cents may be Off and Not mich help, but I'll try.

To give you an impression of my Potential Cluelessness.
I'm not even sure if I played this under 1.20 Patch and spontaneously would say, the Gotha and the Arado Bomber as well as the new Strat Bomber were Not there in the times.

Anyway
The First Key to this One is getting anyone onshore and alive.
Therefore you Gotta Stop the UsAF and the UsNavy Early.

So I like your new Level Bomber to engage Ships way offshore.

Fighters are Key Early on to Stop the Onrushing US Level Bomber Units and give the US Fighters something they can get a bloody nose with.

So I'm with you upgrading the 109 to a 262.
I probably would do this with all the 190's as well.
The 262 is like a Tiger 2 for me the Unit I See as a End of the Line, that Works well til the end of all Things.
Maybe the Gotha is even better, but it Never gave me same Good Feeling as 262 the few times I tried it in GC West.
But as a new green Unit it is probably the Right Decision in your 3 Scenario Path.

So much for that.

I don't like the new Arty or better to Buy it Asap. Why not wait til you are established onshore and have a few Cities in the Bag? Less hustle to get anybody onshore and when you acquire it later on, it will start in one of your city hexes. So probably a bit more flexibility for the decision if needed and one less vulnerable target early on.

I like Rail Gun as a Unit here and Recall using One or Two of them myself, but I acquired them later when being established onshore (See Arty chapter above) I'm not even sure I ever tried Landing a Rail Gun. Can you even Land it on hexes without Rails?

Hmm I'm also Not too convinced with your Panther Tanks, but it is not one of my fav Units despite their mobility, so I Seldomly wasted a lot of Time with them and either went the Tiger 2 way or sticked with the Tiger 1.
Same goes for the Jagdpanther the few AT Units I had continued their careers either as an Elefant or my fav AT Unit the StugIV (in a different role of course)

But ok it is what it is Now and you can Not Improve anything with 11k Prestige, so the Panthers have to do the Job.

You may consider Landing your Recons Deep in the South if the destruction of the UsNavy is Swift and quick.
They are Not much help in the North Capturing well Defended Cities or engaging US Tanks, but in the South they can create havoc at least with a little help From the Air. And Save a lot of Time Collecting Southern Victory Hexes as well as picking up Prestige from weakly defended cities and airfields.

Anyway Good luck, I don't recall this Scenario as Really hard once you are out of the Water, but it is definitely a Challenge to Not Run out of Time getting all Victory Hexes

Thanks for chiming in. I figured many if not most have moved on to Gold and all those extras.

Yeah, one can land a rail gun but it has to go on to a city hex with rail leading out. Cheaper to land a 13 than buy one in the battle though. I like your idea of buying the new 17cm after I am on-shore. That is forehead-slapping simplicity itself.

I was three turns in before I noticed that my mind has left me. Radar sees FIVE not FOUR. The entire leading edge of my invasion force was seen. Changed everything about how the AI reacted. Thought I was being cute sitting offshore. Facepalm. Nice fighter traps though.

If I were to make all my fighters 262s that would break the bank. It would kill my upgrades for everything else. The 190s did well enough in the abortive attempt. They have heroes and are at 13 after all. I didn't like the D-9s stats. They get to be upgraded to 262s as I cross the USA. The fighter traps that I accidently laid by letting my transports be seen ate three enemy planes up in two turns with minimal losses to me.

The Panthers and JagdPanthers are a necessity due to my play style. I need the movement to keep things tight, and not leave anyone behind. I have a Tiger, and it will probably be waddling along behind at the end. Even going for the marginal, sitting offshore for three turns costs me. I have to kill at least one fort and a lot of air before trying to land. I have this thing about losing cores. Point of honor.

I have also been known to be stupid, and let enemy slip away and take things in my rear. Recons are my crutch to keep that from happening.

Thanks again for the input. One less transport to worry about.