? on Attack Force Selection

[michaelspotts]

I am enjoying game immensely. I am new to Vic's games although all three sit on my hard drive. This one really got a hold of me.
What is best approach to use when selecting forces to attack -

* should you always fill to the 200 limit or eyeball what enemy has and use less than 200 in some kind of a rough sliding scale based on what you face?
* should you pick counters from different hexes or stick to all counters from same hex?
* tanks to hit infantry, infantry to hit tanks, or combination to attack whatever the defense?

And so on. Any best practices ideas and etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Michael

[ChuckBerger]

ORIGINAL: michaelspotts

I am enjoying game immensely. I am new to Vic's games although all three sit on my hard drive. This one really got a hold of me.
What is best approach to use when selecting forces to attack -

* should you always fill to the 200 limit or eyeball what enemy has and use less than 200 in some kind of a rough sliding scale based on what you face?
* should you pick counters from different hexes or stick to all counters from same hex?
* tanks to hit infantry, infantry to hit tanks, or combination to attack whatever the defense?

And so on. Any best practices ideas and etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Michael

The answer is... it depends!

In general it's a good idea to get right up to the force limit number, simply because that will maximize your combat odds. But there are soooo many exceptions to that principle.

In general, it's also a good idea to attack from multiple hexsides, especially opposing ones, to get the concentric attack multipliers.

The biggest exception to the above principles is to always consider what else you want to do with those troops. If you have a 140AP panzer division and a couple of infantry divisions attacking the enemy front line, often it will be best to use the infantry divisions to make the attack, and save all of the panzer division's APs for the breakthrough move and follow-on attacks. This is an essential element of blitzkrieg tactics, but it also preserves your panzer numbers. Even though panzer divisions are very effective in attack, using them inevitably results in high fuel use, and often results in panzer casualties. And you really don't get many panzer replacements!

So use your panzers very judiciously, in follow-on attacks after a breakthrough, or where you absolutely need the firepower. And needless to say, don't use panzers to attack cities or fortifications. Except when you need to make an exception... which might be often if you're blitzing ahead of your infantry.

If I have four infantry divisions in position to attack an enemy unit, I might use all four if my aim is to minimise my own casualties, and especially if I don't have anything else I want those four to do. But I might just use two, resulting in higher losses for my guys, but saving the other two for exploitation or other attacks I want to launch.

Another rule of thumb: if you're facing a tough position, use troops that have full AP, rather than those that have already used some of their AP. If you use a 40AP infantry division in an attack, it only gets four "shots" and will soon be out of the fight; you may have wasted a slot in the attack quota.

Another nuance: the attack "limit" is not an absolute limit, you are free to go over it, and the extra guys will still contribute, albeit with less and less effectiveness the more you add. Against a really tough position, consider overstacking with attackers. You'll take extra losses, but it might be worth it.

Also remember that the attack limit goes up the more hexsides you're attacking from.

An advanced tactic: if the line you're facing is relatively weak, use guys that are a hex or two behind the front line to move forward and attack. Then all of your front line guys will still have their APs, which means they can move further through the breach and/or mount a more effective follow-on attack on the retreating enemy.

Hope this helps

[michaelspotts]

Helps a lot, Chuck, thanks for taking the time. I hunted around in manual and DC1 and DC2 forums but nowhere was it laid out like this. Thanks again.

[pensfanvw]

Excellent advice Chuck. This is my first game in the DC series, and your tips are very helpful.

Alan