Matrix Games Forums

Any advice? I'm 5 scenarios into the basic grand campaign. I have marginal victories every scenario but always on the last turn. I feel like I'm advancing quickly through the maps too. I normally use artillery to soften up objective hexes and then take in pioneers to deal with the entrenched units (seriously they make up like 90% of my infantry). I use my 2 strategic bombers to take away ammo from strong artillery and AA guns.

A few questions:
1. Are pioneer's good to make up the majority of my infantry? They seem to be really strong. I have 2 paratroopers I use late to rush objectives from behind as well.
2. Tanks? How many is too many? I have like 3 of the 2nd best Panzer's I can get right now.
3. Antitank worthless? I cannot find how they are useful. Seems like infantry are faster and if played right stronger and more versatile.
4. If I bypass a city or leave enemy units on the map it seems like they just hand out in place for the rest of the game. Rarely do I see them move to capture objectives. Do I really need to leave a unit behind to defend objective hexes?
5. Are tac. bombers completely worthless? They can move a fair distance but even with 2-3 stars they only seem to do 1-2 damage. Good for mopping up enemies but it seems like 1 is all you need to mop up that loan unit before it can reinforce. Sometimes I even like that lone unit reinforcing. I will just park a non-corps unit next to it and let the AI move and reinforce allowing that cycle to be repeated. I assume this is causing the AI to lose prestige.
6. How important is unit experience? I have kept most of my units alive and my 200+ exp units ALWAYS get the elite replacements. Should I not worry about this and just replace them with the cheaper units?

Any other advice is appreciated.

Hi and it depends what level you are playing on. It's always good to have a combined force of mixed units. I rarely ever buy anti tank or anti air except for one or two 88s. In Wehrmacht I never use pioneers but opt for grenadiers. My core force depends on the mix of SE units I get. There is no one right way you just have to experiment. Good luck.

Why grenadiers? Are they better or equal to pioneer's when it comes to taking highly entrenched cities?

I think they are more useful as they gain more experience .

grenadiers have a higher initiative than pionieres

1. Good to have pionieres and grenadiers in the infantry mix. Usually have more Pio's by the time Russia comes up.
2. It is good to have a mix of infantry and tanks. Think in terms of battle groups. Combined arms is the key.
3. ATs are not much use in offensive actions which is what the campaign involves.
4. I don't leave a unit in every objective vs the AI. Usually just the most forward objectives and that is not for too long.
5. The Ju87 is a good tank buster. I use them to great effect. Sometimes its not the knockout blow but it reduces entrenchment level of the enemy each air attack / arty bombardment.
6. Experience is going to be key in the later scenarios. A 1-2 star unit wan't last long against some of the allied 3-4 star units you end up seeing.

Think of your objectives and form battle groups to achieve that end. I usually like to make 2 battle groups that start with inf/tanks/arty and end up adding a recon and AA before reaching Russian front. Air power wise I get 2 ftrs and 1 tac bmb early on and end up with 3 ftrs and 2 bmbs later on. Air units are expensive!

By the Stalingrad scenario I have 3 battle groups because of the large map.

One more thing, though you are past the Norway scenario, the JU88 is a great ship killer aircraft. Get one if needed.