Hard Alliance [random map, 6 AI+, live]

[Westheim]

After quite a few months of invisibility I'm trying my hands at the game once more.

Come and watch me crash and burn.

This is a 65x65 map, 70 VPs, 97% land, city size 1, no roads, and with 6 AI+ as opponents to dance with ...

My piss poor starting spot after 8 turns. I made contact with the Fascist Barony in the north. Research so far was only SMGs and machine guns. (no full first tech level)

[Westheim]

Round 10; the first few skirmishes were fairly successful. Fall has come, so it didn't help the enemy when he rolled in armoured cars. I ripped the units apart that were pushing against my positions, so in the case I got them rolling I could advance during the coming winter as well.

[Westheim]

Round 12; my planned minor offensive in the north didn't get rolling. Although weakened, the enemy armoured cars resisted the attacks of my infantry divisions. I also met opponent #2 in the east: the Golden Brothers;

Right now I only have six VPs, my capitol, a town, and four villages. I researched light tanks for 17 PPs now and I want to have at least one tank division once summer rolls around on round 17. I would have wanted two, but I can barely squeeze one tank per round out of my production. [X(]

[Westheim]

Round 14; two more rounds of pushing north ripped the thin line of the Fascist Barony apart. Once the armoured cars were disabled, they were chased across the open fields and eventually shot.

I spotted two more borders, now in the west. One of them are the Golden Brothers, who are also on my eastern border. The other, in the northwest, is the Syndicated League. While 4 of my 6 VPs are in that area, it is only guarded by one infantry division (the 9th) and two engineer divisions. Hum, that's bad.

[Westheim]

Round 15; while spring came and my I Corps is rolling over minor Fascist Barony resistance in the north, new intelligence on the strength of the Golden Brothers units in the east were quite shocking, since they are outnumbering my weak II Corps there about 4:1 ... initially I wanted to use the tanks in the north with the I Corps, but now I might have to use them here. Still dim in the west, no ressources to build up a force there, sadly.

[Westheim]

Round 16; on the up side, my I Corps is only three hexes from Moonpouch Soul, which is the capitol of the Fascist Barony. On the down side, the Golden Brothers are rolling up huge amounts of infantry in both the west and the east. I scrambled a really makeshift defense for both fronts together, but both the II and III Corps are dwarfed by their respective opponents...

[Joshuatree]

Oh oh, crash and burn baby, crash and burn [:D]
If you can make it even tougher for you, it should be possible to post a complete AAR in *one* screenshot. [;)]

[Westheim]

Sounds like a challenge I could master. Like ... this reminds me of Civilization II, where it would be quite common to start like eight tiles away from an opponent, who would be given an extra settler, who would walk into a village, spawn an archer unit to that opponent, who would then happily walk that archer unit right into your undefended capitol and - game over.

Ah, memories!

Round 17; bad news. Summer came, and the I Corps reached the outskirts of Moonpouch Soul, but found it heavily defended. Heavy battles raged in the southeast with the II Corps, where I had to take a big stick and my tank division to restore order against the Golden Brothers.

[Westheim]

Round 18; the bloody battles with the II Corps continue. Without my tanks I would have been blown to pieces there already.

But the I Corps in the north was defeated at the gates of Moonpouch Soul and I had to retreat, after two of my front divisions were roughed up by Fascist Barony armoured cars.

The III Corps tries to hold the outmost villages of Quicksilver (against Golden Brothers) and Lightskyhill (against Syndicated League).

Strange, there always seems to be a Quicksilver on my random maps.

[Westheim]

Round 19; much like the begin of summer on all fronts, which means, I'm outnumbered everywhere. The exception could be the II Corps' front, where I have lost one of my four light tanks this round, but the Golden Brothers lost about eight or nine armoured cars during the last two rounds, which has considerably weakened their line, enabling me to push a little.

I researched mortars and AT guns at the end of last turn, but my tiny production power (14,000) is denying me to produce too many of those costly nice things. Tanks included. As well as ... PPs.

[Westheim]

Round 21; I've run low on supplies, but that's not the worst part of the situation. The III Corps is really in a dire situation right now, pinned between the Golden Brothers in the west and the Syndicated League in the north. Marked here is what I consider the vital hex I have to hold in order to defend Quicksilver and the rest of the western front.

The Fascist Barony recovered from my earlier push on Moonpouch Soul (I can't type that name ...!!) and has driven up about half a dozen armoured cars again against my all-infantry I Corps.

[Westheim]

During Round 22; advanced a little in the east with the II Corps, but this situation has me puzzled. Both enemies already have rifle III and the like, while I have ... well ... rifle I units. Plus they are so overwhelming in numbers. I don't know, whether I should sacrifice Quicksilver and retreat, or continue to hold it. Or at least attempt to hold it.

I don't know, I'm stupid ... [:(]

[Joshuatree]

You don't know the answer because there is no answer. Wether you retreat or hold your line, the end is inevitable [:(] If the AI already has Rifle III (!) and you are not able to produce something to counter the AI's armoured cars (like tanks, bazookas, AT guns, dive bombers)... well that's it, you can only delay. There is no victory in retreat here, because the AI will get stronger and stronger. Youre battleground for the near future is light wooded, so submachine gun units have an advantage there, combined with bazookas and AT guns you should be able to inflict some casualties there. The AI has a tendency to battle against other AI's too though, meaning it will seize an opportunity whenever it sees one, that is attacking a "weaker unit". It does not wait for the outcome of your battles against the other AI, and then go on the offensive again.
Oh, and *do* position the HQ in the city, that way, even if the city is cut off, supply and fresh troops still flow to your HQ. To hold it I'd produce machine guns, AT guns and bazookas... and lots of prayer. After that artillery to weaken your targets up... if you'll hold that long.
Good luck.

[V22 Osprey]

I think you've gotten rusty.

[Jeffrey H.]

LOL, he's never won a game like this yet. I don't think any of us could either.
 
Westheim, you really need to give Zaratoughda's AHRS mod a try, it's more fun than the standard game.
 
 

[Westheim]

It's true. I suck. Really hard. I mean ... I lost this one as well.

I held on to Quicksilver on round 22 and Golden Brothers assaults on round 23 were beaten back. But the next round the Syndicated League rolled up Medium Tanks II and from then I was doomed. On round 24 I lost Quicksilver and on the interturn my II Corps was largely obliterated by a powerful Golden Brothers counteroffensive into their left flank.

I'm done, once more. Now if you excuse me, I have to go the way every honourable dictator goes once he realizes he's lost. (retires into closet with 9mm gun) ... [POW!!]



Well, I don't see how AHRS could help me ... [&:]

[Jeffrey H.]

ORIGINAL: Westheim

Well, I don't see how AHRS could help me ... [&:]

Well you don't know until you try. If you want to start winning, I suggest you play against AI not AI+ and you have a random map with some water and then make sure your city/production count is rougly equal to the AI. Then you'll start to win. Then you can ratchet it up after you get good at beating the AI down.

AHRS is fun, it might help you because you can establish countries and delay the onset of war, thus having more time to positions or build up forces. As long as you don't give the AI a big production advantage, you will likely make better use of the delay.