Matrix Games Forums

OK, a little embarrassed here.

I'm a very experienced player and for the life of me cannot defeat the USSR AI at Veteran setting. The sheer volume of free units they get is overwhelming by mid 1943 even if I have taken Leningrad and Stalingrad and the Middle East. What am I doing wrong? I do have issues with their artificially high NM always sitting around 85-90% but what do other players do when they have success at this setting?

I do have some house rules I stick to keep things historical.

I always say yes to attacking Greece, I never tech up minors past advanced weapons 1 and the Finns are not allowed to roam across the USSR.

The 1943 D-Day is very a-historical in the scope that they can do in the game. Minor landings yes but a full D-Day? No.

Anyway, what are some pointers?

If you limit yourself to historical accuracy, why do you expect other than historical outcomes? This game never was a historical simulation, but fair balanced PbEMs.

Improving minor nations is of course a viable way to strengthen the Ostfront, and why shouldn`t Germany deliver more weapons to their Allies? Historically their production didn`t last for that, but here you can improve ind. and prod. p.e..

Totally understand that I may be constraining myself too much but I'm a stickler for not making it too a-historical.

What about strategy, do others have better success focusing on northern, central or southern thrust? I find a balanced attack doesn't work.

Do you motorize all HQs and panzers?

Do you diplo Spain and/or Turkey as much as possible?

Against the AI you can pretty much do what you want to diplomatically, inviting Franco will usually succeed long before the US joins; Turkey isn`t worth diploing, but conquering. You can get the Swedes usually unopposed by the Allies, they bring an army group together with an HQ and a fighter and some ships, but no additional income.

Together with Spain, Middle East and Turkey your income should exceed 1500 MPPs, I usually let the Italians have NA, Greece and Vichy.

Spain has experienced units, a tank and a Stuka are also available; fully equipped Romanians and Hungarians (both can have a tank and a fighter) are reasonable army groups even with their own HQs (if you keep in mind that half a point of XP equals 1 CR-Rating; a 3-Star romanian CR 5 HQ is better than a CR 9 Schukow without XP. I usually add an arty to provide some deentrenchment ability.

I don`t do coastal defending in France; amphib. attacks are too devastating; in case of a landing I use the entire Luftwaffe, few tanks and Inf. to counter.

Vs. the AI it is usually pretty easy to get huge encirclements, since they tend to pile up units 2-3 deep in certain sectors, leaving yawning gaps on the flanks. You can also let them take a given city, but with your panzer pincers poised to penetrate perfidiously pending the proper point, pocketing a plethora of prisoners in the process. [:'(]

ORIGINAL: Sugar

I don`t do coastal defending in France; amphib. attacks are too devastating; in case of a landing I use the entire Luftwaffe, few tanks and Inf. to counter.

Sugar,
Do you mean ports should be defended so they are not taken free and undamaged, but don't bother with defending open coastal hexes?

He means, he lets the Allies land for free and no contention.
Then he operates a massive force and counter attacks the following turn(s).

Yeah, losing units is mostly a consequence of continuous attacks on the same target, but amphibs can only attack coastal placed units. Then the enemy Air Force will be defeated, and then the invasion forces.

Apart from the Netherlands there`s not much of value in France.

What's it cost you in MPP to pull that trick?

10% of the unit`s cost at lvl.5 Logistics.

There are some variations depending on the starting point of the scenario; in 39 the Kriegsmarine will play a part, the AI sadly will pull off a landing even without maritime and air superiority.

In most games that I have played as the Axis, the Allied strategic bombers will take out all the rail heads so that operating anywhere near the invasion force is impossible. Do you create a kind of Seigfried line somewhere around Belgium, or just move west at normal speed from wherever the closest rail head is?

Does that stop planes from operating?

And if I know Sugar, his planes are probably running Long Range 4 or 5 by then, where I doubt strat bombing rail lines can keep them at bay anyway.

We`re talking against the AI on the higher difficulty lvls, folks!

At first: take Vichy before the invasion, this will provide enough Hinterland to operate.
Then: If you`re able to keep the Russian Air Force at bay (they should lose every bomber immediately after deploying), parts of the Luftwaffe can be used elsewhere. When the invasion starts the Eastern Front will only be guarded by minor fighters. I`m using Flak for the defense of mines and ressources; my fighters just start subsequently. Strat. Bombers are too strong to intercept with 2 xp.

I also didn`t speak about no garrisons at all like I did in PbEM; I try to keep 4 fighters and 3 bombers in the ardennes to counter strat. bombing and perhaps a few Corps to protect them from Paras just in case.

The secret to win the war against so many units is to always continue conquering towns and cities; the enemy units can easily be destroyed afterwards.