I have been playing a lot of the Bastogne scenario with a view of getting this game when the woman allows!
I want to really master the system before buying but I think my tactical know how is letting me down at present. I am constanly wondering how to best manoeuvre troops in offence and how to cover them when crossing open ground that huge casualties are inflicted on the troops through a lack of decisiveness.
Can anyone please recommend where to learn the required military tactical knowledge, or perhaps agree to review some battle plans from screenshots and point out my deficiencies?
A good basic primer is the Armchair General 'Tactics 101' series - if you really need anything they didn't cover I'd be surprised...
Obviously mostisn'trequired, but the basics that will get you 'reading' your troops' capabilities, the terrain and quickly assessing whether a mission is feasible... well worth learning.
A good idea is also to, when you find yourself 'stuck', to make a save/take screenshots, and try out different techniques/ask for ideas. Obviously sometimes the problem is you are in trouble and have been too slow to spot it... but that's all part of the fun
Okay here we go. i'll show you my typical way of going about things for major critique!
This is my first initial plan, along with what i think could be an alternative. The objective is obviously Bastongne, but firstly i have gone with a sweeping arc from both sides in order to hopefully encircle enemy troops in the process - second option is to have the two sides much more closely supportive of each other.
i'm not all together sure whether it's better to go for 'attack' or just 'move' as i don't see a lot of difference in their operation - perhaps someone could give me a heads up. i decided to go for an attack order on the first objective as you can see.
with the northern side of the pincer you will see that i have two options (as i see it) - a smaller attack to come right behind the enemy attacking my recon btn, or to swing further wide, and come in to the northern end of Bastogne.
you will see here that my armoured troops are being decimated whilst forming for the attack. how do you avoid this? the artillery fire is threatening the entire mission.
and this is where i became too disheartened to continue [:@]
Thank you for looking at this anyway. I'm just hoping that someone can breathe life into my game and make it worthwhile for me to get BFTB.
My own analysis is that i tried too much. Perhaps an envelopment of this scale shouldn't be attempted, because there will always be troops behind to outflank me? perhaps these sorts of maneuvers were carried out over a far greater scale, i don't know.
Ok, first, what forces do you have available? Where are they and when do they arrive if reinforcements. What is the starting supply state, particularly fuel and artillery?
This gives an idea of what is possible.
Next, what is the prevailing visibility range? This gives an idea (only) of where it is safe to move/form-up... in the middle of an open field in broad day-light is not good... deep in woods, at night and in light rain... you can be almost 'on-top' of him, which is good for artillery avoidance and minimising fatigue.
How 'dug-in' are the defenders? If they are moving to take up hasty positions, then move, bypassing, overrunning as you meet each - artillery to neutralise each position you must break through. Keep lots back to hunt his rear area units (HQ/Supply/Artillery - these are early targets to spot and destroy if possible, neutralise if not) - avoid hitting these larger units with your point troops (they can be individually dropped off to defend in place while the rest of the column bypasses if needed) - these are targets for heavy commitment of artillery assets, particularly as they attempt to displace, and to be overrun while moving or once they are routing retreating.
OTOH, if they are entrenched, then you must be more methodical, bite off small bits each time, holding them against counter-attack and then pushing the next objective along. Always look for opportunities to hit rear services if you see them, but this will be more painful and harder to work.
When planning an attack, think how you would defend the ground, what each of the likely BP can see - ideally don't try to form up in sight of any of these units, at least while his heavy artillery is present and active. Route the assaults so they don't need to run the gauntlet of multiple converging fires on a single target group - if necessary displace his flank first before enveloping the main objective from covered routes.
Infantry and artillery are there to find and suppress his tanks and anti-tank weapons before committing your very limited armoured forces - the same is true for the US, but there is enough armour (usually) to also be able to recon by death and retain credible forces.
Can you also turn on the grid, it helps judging the movement/position better. I can get close by comparing to the BftB map, but it isn't quite the same (the new map is much nicer )
You might also want (if you haven't already) to grab the demo for BftB - this is a full (hypothetical) scenario using part of the St Vith map, and uses all of the same mapping/forces/supply as the community is currently using - this will make it easier to give directly usable advice/tips/comments on your planning processes etc.
I will certainly be Getting the game, I just want to perfect my technique so that I can have more fun playing the same.
From the comments so far it seems as though encirclements are not the priority so far as combat at this level dictates, and that more focus on progressing via frontal assaults is the key, is that correct? To that end would my plan be improved by massing greater numbers of troops in one thrust as opposed to trying to spread out and attack individual enemy positions from different angles of attack?
