Italian Campaign Question

[Dereck]

I'm playing against the AI with no FOW and Easy difficulty (so I can learn the mechanics and details of this game).

I invaded Salerno with the US 5th Army and had the British 8th cross at the Straits of Messina. The Germans put up a defensive line against both thrusts AND they had been building their fortified zones across the peninsula between Naples and Rome.

I used an armored division and started thrusting from the Salerno area to attempt to cut the southern German forces fighting the 8th British Army off. I expected them to retreat and occupy their fortified zones.

Well, the retreated BUT they retreated to a line NORTH of Rome and completely abandoned their fortified zone line which was all the way across the peninsula and would have been a tough nut to crack.

Is that a fluke or common strategy for the AI? I admit I am playing on EASY difficulty but I would have thought after building such a good fortified line they would still have fallen back to occupy it and make me fight to get to Rome.

Thanks

[Nico165b165]

I don't know if it's common but german AI do use Gustav line :



And I forgot that amphib HQ have to withdraw end of january, so I think this won't turn out any good... Big beginner mistake !

[Dereck]

THAT is the line they had fortified zones for and then abandoned. I was looking forward to fighting my way to Rome too.

[ratprince]

The AI frequently completely abandons and falls back in mass. I have been doing the grand campaign and came ashore in France with 22 divisions in one turn. I blasted my way to paris by June 3. I kept flanking the south of their line with massed armor, all the US and BR divisions, all the way to switzerland. Everytime I would start to turn the flank they would retrograde their entire line from the channel to switzerland back 40-70 miles to the next line/river. It works well in that I am outrunning my supply lines but they are giving ground like crazy.

Point being, I think it is the AI doing its best to not get entire corp and armies trapped in pockets from an outflanking maneuver. Prolly working as planned

[Dereck]

No I still think something was wrong. I was still south of Naples and they had a COMPLETE FORTIFIED LINE built right along where the photo is above.

I would have expected them to have moved the units between the 5th and 8th Armies and occupy their defensive line which I had no possibility of flanking at all.

I can see them not wanting to get trapped - that is what I was planning on but they moved to a line north of Rome and abandoned a built line with fortified zones I wouldn't have been able to get through for quite a while.

[RedLancer]

The lower the difficulty setting the worse the AI performs. Your Easy is it's Challenging so little wonder it's running.

[Nico165b165]

ORIGINAL: Red Lancer

The lower the difficulty setting the worse the AI performs. Your Easy is it's Challenging so little wonder it's running.

Do you mean that the AI makes some sort of estimates of strengths before making a decision, and as AI has less strength in easy they break more often ?

My screenshot here was with normal difficulty.