Which is Better in a DCG, AXIS or ALLIES?

[marcbarker]

Early war I tend to go Axis just because of fire power...Later war 44-45 Allies just because of numerical Sopiorority. If you have a Company of Tigers and going against a Regiment of Shermans....you will get tanked....scuse the pun..


thanks
Marc

[simovitch]

I usually go with whoever was the attacker.

The random selection feature will attempt to balance out the DCG forces on a point by point basis. So if you choose to command a battalion of Tigers you will likely come up short on Infantry, artillery, etc. You will need those infantry to clear out woods and towns, especially with 1.04. Food for thought.

[marcbarker]

You are correct, those hidden AT's are going to be hell......

[simovitch]

ORIGINAL: barker

You are correct, those hidden AT's are going to be hell......

That, and the greatly decreased assault effectiveness of armour in closed terrain. It's been my experience that you can all but forget about a successful assault by tanks into urban areas.

[Borst50]

I usually go for German in any time period....Early war is tough, (this is in DCG's only), as early Model Pz III units do not have the defense nor the hitting power as the French Tanks (40), or the Brits (41-late 42). Forget even getting close to a T-34 or KV-1 in 41....However....once the IVF2's hit the front lines, things start to even out a little....and by the time IVH's are in the mix, parity has been reached. Then I really get comfortable during 43...by the time of Kursk...my Panthers are just starting to make an appearance...and I am happy until I run into IS II's.

When I play Tigers, nothing seems to stop me unilt the IS II2's hit the party, and the SU 122's...The western Allies dont seem to have a lot that can stand up to a VIE, with the possible exception of the Brit "firefly", I have taken a few losses there. But that goes away as soon as the VIB's upgrade...then look out.....The channel here I come...on the EF, VIE's and IS II's are evenly matched...or it appears to be....this changes once the SU 152 comes in....but at the same time my VIB's are coming to the front line...but I still maintain the edge......once the IS III's come in....then I start to take a little more losses, but still manage to hold them off.

hmmm...a company of tigers vs a REGIMENT???? of Shermans? Does the term "Custer's Last Stand" have any meaning?

[marcbarker]

i love being the underdog, outnumbered and outgunned....but tigers vs shermans....i will knock out 4 to 1 before they get me.....lol

[1925frank]

I guess this is addressed to Simovitch. Are there any plans for DCG for the Chinese-Japanese conflict?

[simovitch]

ORIGINAL: 1925frank

I guess this is addressed to Simovitch. Are there any plans for DCG for the Chinese-Japanese conflict?

Unless I get a Vista Machine I should probably not develop any more additions for JTCS. Besides I do not have the historical background for that theater. I need to get back to work on the Panther Games series anyway.

Seems easy enough to do though eh?

PS Frank your movies are hilarious.[8D]

[Miamieagle]

1925Frank,Yes! that would be nice!

It should would make this series a lot more balance and enjoyable in my humble opinion.

It sure a bit boring when you only fight and play in only one Theater.

[Achsah]

             i like defensive games best by far. I learned how to play east front commanding a german inf only battalion. i have also had good games with 41 russian inf only..that is actaully a pretty cool thing to watch.

[junk2drive]

Tried my first DCG, WF. Took France 1940, Armoured, set to easy mode, easy options. Within 8 turns I have been overrun by German PZs. My R35s and ATGs don't hurt much, my troops run at the first sound of rifles. Where are my Char Bs, D2s, Soumas?
 
Disappointed.

[1925frank]

Years ago, I played as a French armored unit in the 1940 Dynamic Campaign as well.  The Germans come fully loaded with tanks.  My French tanks are vastly outnumbered, and, as the Campaign progressed, I didn't get reinforcements.  If I remember correctly, the Germans were usually given some air support.  I had lots of French infantry that could do virtually nothing against the German armor.  I guess you could assault if you got close enough, but my infantry was usually depleted by the time the German tanks got within one hex.  The French engineers were no better than the French infantry.  The French AT guns were sparse.  I think they had primarily 25 and 37 mm, which provided no real advantage.  I don't recall any French heavy tanks either.  I think I had R35s and maybe some of the light Hotchkiss tanks  (H35 & H38?).  Maybe you have to win a few scenarios before getting the heavier tanks.  I think I won only one scenario and got slaughtered in the others.  From what I read, this reflects what really occurred.

[junk2drive]

Thanks, that confirms my suspicion. When I started losing Batt HQs I knew I was in trouble. Glad I didn't continue.
 
I understand that France lost the 1940 campaign but the idea of wargames sometimes is to do better than history.

[1925frank]

I think the first three weeks were pretty much a route, because the Germans struck France's least-trained troops and most poorly-equiped troops.  France had written off any possibility of an attack through the Ardennes, so France placed it's weakest elements there.  Germany's strongest units and strongest thrust came right through the Ardennes.  I think this Dynamic Campaign reflects the German thrust through the Ardennes and not the feint and secondary thrust in the Netherlands and Belgium.  I wouldn't characterize the fighting in the Netherlands and Belgium as a route by any means.  All of France's best troops and armor were in Belgium and were out of position to do anyone any good for the elements caught in the Ardennes.

I'd like to think I could do better than history too.  I'm sure there are some players who could do miracles with the French. 

I'd also like to think if you did relative well initially, you'd see more French tanks and heavier French tanks.  I think the last three weeks of the campaign were actually harder fought than the first three.  The German advance was steady, but there wasn't the collapse of a house of cards like the first three weeks. 

[Achsah]

               sometimes in campaigns the situation requires leaving the map if resisting means getting decimated

[Achsah]

ORIGINAL: junk2drive

Tried my first DCG, WF. Took France 1940, Armoured, set to easy mode, easy options. Within 8 turns I have been overrun by German PZs. My R35s and ATGs don't hurt much, my troops run at the first sound of rifles. Where are my Char Bs, D2s, Soumas?

Disappointed.

After reading this discussion about the french campaign as french, i decided to try out at least one mission in one to see if i could pull out a win using normal setting. I remember when i played quite a few games with a german inf battalion in the same campaign and found the french to be much superior to 1941 russian infantry. These french infantry are well equipped and if played deftly can be used to protect your tanks either directly or indirectly(ie exploit the ai). I finished the delaying action mission without giving up a single objective and only losing one tank on the last turn *grumbles something about german luck) and destroyed almost the entire german armored force. I think they had some 7 tanks in two platoons. The main problem with french armor is not their gun but mobility. One thing to remember tho. if you choose the extreme assault option this task becomes far more difficult. Although in this particular game, assaults only gave local successes and the game result would have been much the same. i recommend the option not be used for the standard game since it was created and tested under non extreme conditions. This hold true for all the old scenarios also. The campaign can be a great tool tho for training using extreme assault so that one gets a feel for it in H2H play.

[junk2drive]

Sounds like you are a much better player than I am.
 
I did play with armour facing off to be fair to the AI. I may need it on to take advantage of rear and side shots.

[warhead2]

you have to as germans facing france in 1940 or russia in 1941
though I always play on the hard setting too
which means half my shots are attenuated and half of the enemie's shots are amplified
I believe the figure is 15%
and this mod apllies to arty fire too

I have a france'40 dcg going at the moment as germans using armor facing at the hard setting
my armor is decimated
many,many single vehicle platoons
my infantry is chopped up too
I think I'm on the 6th game but still manage to score good or outstanding results with a lone draw

but I've been playing this game since nov 1997
and know how to get the most out of each unit

[1925frank]

I think the French infantry has an attack value of 8 at one hex.  Russian infantry for the same period has an attack value of only 6.

I haven't figured out how to use the French infantry deftly.  The German tanks, infantry, and artillery cut my French infantry to ribbons from a distance.  The French tanks are on a par or even a little superior to the German tanks with the possible exception of firing cost. 

It's encouraging to hear someone knows how to use the units to get a good result for the French. 

[andym]

The French do have a habit of surrendering en mass to German Gulaschkanone units though![:D][:D][:D]