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I keep getting my backside kicked in 'A Time To Dance' and realised my tactics may not be up to scratch [:)] Can anyone recommend a good book (or books) on the subject ?

Bipman

ORIGINAL: stephen_gray98

I keep getting my backside kicked in 'A Time To Dance' and realised my tactics may not be up to scratch [:)] Can anyone recommend a good book (or books) on the subject ?

Bipman

Which side?

With the Soviets the key is to forget WW2 and lead with the tanks not the infantry. Make sure the Rifle Regiment is held back and operate the two tank regiments in support of each other.

With NATO, you are not going to be able to blow the central bridges so what you need is to screen the ones you can blow and expect the major offensive in the middle (but be careful, this AI likes to shift its plans depending on your actions). Beyond that, you want to fight at range, so I'd avoid hold/assault orders as those deny the AI the capacity to react in turn (left to itself it will try to keep your tanks out of the effective range for the T-80s).

Equally with NATO you can plan more around the emerging situation - try to keep a reserve, keep some of your artillery on CB and remember you can often retake what you lose earlier on. You have a cavalry/scout formation so its all about delay and extracting a toll (in time and losses) from the Soviets.

Its also a seriously addictive scenario.

As NATO. Thanks for the tips ! I started the scenario thinking it would be easy but no way ! As you say, a very addictive scenario.

Bipman

As NATO, be afraid. Be very afraid.

Because if you are afraid you are cautious.

If you're not cautious the Soviets will eat you for lunch. Oh, right, you already found out about that.

I put units on screen until I get to the point that I don't want them to have something. Then I put the ACR on hold.

The big equalizer is missing here, there is no US artillery to pull your fat from the fire. That means you have to win by maneuver. Hit and run. Keep costing them units. Set up kill zones near Victory Locations(VL) and catch the Russians as they move toward it.

Good Hunting.

MR

When fighting the Soviets as NATO (especially as the Ami) distance is your friend. You guns are more accurate at a distance than the Soviets. If you allow the Soviets to get close you are in trouble.

Thanks everyone ! I'll give it a go and see if I can win for a change !

Bipman

To give you some idea

Yellow star: Blow bridge successfully
Black Star: Blow bridge failed, and abandoned

Red arrow line: Soviet
Green arrow line: NATO

Contested battle, but NATO made them to pay heavily.

You can do it, and try to duplicate my battle plan or modify it to suit your need or goal : ) Good luck, commander.


* Your force has claimed 7 Recce, 44 Tank, 36 APC, 27 Inf, 6 SP AT, 10 HQ and 9 AD enemy subunits.

* Remaining force tally -
Active: 38 Recce, 15 Tank, 1 APC, 8 HQ, 3 AD and 3 SP Arty.
Fallen out: 1 Recce, 5 Tank and 1 APC.
Destroyed: 1 Recce and 3 Tank.

I had the Soviet forces go the same way but I sent my recce units out to see where they were and lost a lot more tanks. There doesn't seem any way of engaging the enemy tanks at a decent distance or am I missing something ? When I re-tried today I got a better result when I stopped running in like the cavalry [:D] so am slowly getting there.

Bipman

Rushing forward where angels fear to tread teaches you in rapid fashion why angels feared to thread there! [:D]

Good Hunting.

MR

It's hard to get any range in this one without giving up too may points. I managed a Contested Battle, with about 43% of my force remaining, and 47% victory points. Two companies of Soviet tanks appeared in the last 15 minutes and assaulted Worbach destroying 2 sections of Bradleys defending it, or I probably would have done better. It's a tough defense. And with no artillery besides the 4.2" mortars, it makes it hard to break up the Soviet onslaught.

Notice the large number of little grave markers in the center and also around the river crossing with the HMMVs sitting on it.

Smoke can be your friend. [;)]

When you post a reply that you want to add a screen shot in go to the POST REPLY tab and open that. It's in orange and just to the upper left of the main fast reply window you probably typed your post in.

To add a screen shot after you have already posted, select edit. When the edit screen opens go to the bottom where it says, "No change in picture embedding" and select the pull down screen from the arrow on the right. Then select "Embed Picture in Post". Once you've done that put your cursor over the Upload More Files to the left of that menu box. Click on it and then go to your hard drive to select the jpg "ONLY" on your hard drive and attach it.

Once you do it one time it's second nature.

Good Hunting.

MR

It worked! Thanks much. Now my words make a little more sense.

ultradave, you need to blow some of the bridges to halt the advance or you will get swarmed as you did. You can usually get 3 of them and then work to deny crossing of the open one in the middle until they push across or bridge it themselves.

Don't I know it. I need to try again. When I did try to blow bridges it gave me times for after the scenario ended. (like 1615)


++++++++++++
Update - I'm an idiot. It was telling me the hex number, but when I read something like "blow bridge between 1615..." I read that as time of day.

You'd think I'd do better since back in the day I trained every day for this to happen ( ex-CPT US Army )

I'm playing it again and the only bridge I blew was the southern most one at the curve of the river. (The one you can start next to.)

At long last I didn't completely lose. Thanks for all the ideas guys and the Warsaw Pact lost 70% of their
forces. Just need to get the hang of getting VP's back now.

Bipman

Much better result the next time. Only the 2 middle bridges standing and all the Russians bottled up on that bridgehead, down to 30%, so game over. Still just a contested battle, although with one more turn I would have retaken another bridge crossing VP hex (could have walked in).

My forces this time took many less casualties, down to 67%.

On to the next challenge.

Apparently, A Time To Dance has turned out to be a really good training scenario.

As you say, on to the next challenge. Each scenario adds another layer to the game.

Good Hunting.

MR

Yes, it's a great challenge for the US side. As the 11ACR, you don't have the firepower to stop the advance, but you can give it quite a bloody nose. If you play it carefully.

I think it points out the uncertainty of what would happen in the opening hours. As much as we trained and trained and simulated and gamed it out back then, you would only get one real chance. Get it wrong and it would look like the first time I played this one.