Panzer General 2 чит-файл №1

Version 0.1

About this FAQ

Some minor parts of this FAQ is written by me. My work was only to assemble
various material by various people and correct or make minor modifications to
materials submitted to me or found in web. I have included credits of authors
of different materials that have submitted to me or found in web to not offend
them in any way.

Priit Kшшr (pkaar@online.ee)


Credits

Notes: Some of material is from Raymond Schroder's PG2 FAQ 1.3.

Most of the Information on Leaders was developed by William Van Fleet.

"Your Core" section mostly by William Van Fleet.

Scenario strategies and other misc sections by John Heidle

Other scenario strategies by: Yuan Liu, Jeff Vitous, Bas Van Zetten

Some bugs info and "What is different in Panzer General II?" section by
Christopher Lipski


What is different in Panzer General II?

Aircraft: With the smaller scale you do not need to worry about running out of
gas.

Their spotting has been changed to the beginning and end of their turn only

(presumably, they dive to attack).

Artillery: Artillery has a greater range and that range is included in
defensive fire.

You no longer have to be touching the artillery to gain its defense. Multiple

artillery may be used defensively.

Bridges: You can use pioniere units to blow bridges. With a right click and a
left

click for confirmation, the bridge is blown up and the graphic is replaced on
the map

with that of a wrecked bridge. The terrain is now considered a river hex.

Core Units: You are limited only by prestige, not by scenario, on the number
of core

units you may have (to a max. of 89).

Entrenchment: The entrenchment of a unit is not brought down to 0. They now
gain the

base defense of the terrain, even if attacked multiple times.

Graphics: The maps are rendered paintings and the units are scanned pictures
of

miniatures.

Leaders: On any turn in which a unit gains a level, there is a small chance of
you

gaining a leader for that unit. Leaders allow the unit to have special
abilities, such

as increased spotting or movement. These are explained in the Readme.txt .

Level bombers: In Panzer General a level bomber was very handy. It caused a
suppression

of the unit for the entire turn and reduced its supply. Level bombers are out,
but the

extended suppression has been given to tac bombers.

Line of sight: A unit firing into woods or other restricting terrain has its
direct

fire range reduced to one.

Movement: You may move and fire all units in any order. You can move a unit
forward,

then select another unit and move and fire that one before going back to fire
the

original unit.

Multiplayer: Up to four players via LAN, TCP, or ClubSSI; two players via
hotseat or

e-mail.

Prototypes: In campaign play, if you get a brilliant victory you have a chance
of being

awarded a prototype unit. This unit is available up to six months before it
would be

regularly introduced.

Recon: Recon units are much more useful and absolutely necessary now. In PG, I
never had

a core recon, preferring to buy a more powerful core unit. Recon was relegated
to aircraft

or auxiliaries. Aircraft are much less handy at recon and recon units now have
phased

movement. They may move forward a bit to spot and then move back. They may
move, stop, and

move again with a penalty of -1 movement point per stop.

Scale: The scale is smaller with the units defined as battalions and with a
hex equal to

about 1 mile. You are a corps commander.

Tanks: Tanks are a very powerful unit. Since the scale is smaller, some tanks
and anti-tank

units have a range of 2. If a tank is much more powerful then another ground
unit adjacent

to it, there is a chance of an overrun attack. A strength 12 panzer IV, for
example, may

overrun an adjacent strength 4 infantry, destroying it outright. This unit may
then attack

again this turn, even possibly gaining other overrun attacks on other weakened
units.

Terrain: Some rivers are too fast and deep to ford, so there are impassable
river terrain

hexes.

Transport: Units that are mounted in transport will automatically dismount at
the end of

your opponents turn. So if you forget about a unit (gasp) they at least won't
be sitting

around in trucks. In addition: Units with organic transport will automatically
mount up in

that transport when the distance is greater then they can move without
transport. The

cursor will change to show a truck and warn you of this fact. Towed artillery
units must be

mounted to move. No more "walking" up of flak and artillery.

Victories: There are four possible outcomes to a scenario: Brilliant victory,
Victory,

Tactical Victory and Loss. They are dependent upon the number of turns you
take your

objectives.


What is the scale of the game?

The geographical scale appears to vary from 1.0km to 2.0km per hex, depending
on the scenario being played. The majority of scenarios average about 1.5km
per hex.

Although the game's designers claim that the units represent battalions, this
does not always appear to be accurate. Rather, the scenarios appear more in
scale with the historical battles if the units are considered to be
regiments/brigades, with the exception of reconnaissance units (and perhaps
some anti-aircraft units), which would remain battalions.

According to the unit designations, units appear in battalion as well as
regiment sizes (or as battalions and brigades for Great Britain and the
Commonwealth, a British brigade being roughly equivalent to a regiment in
other armies). In most cases, regiments are used, with the addition of
battalions that were directly subordinate to division HQ, such as divisional
engineer battalions.


Are there patches for Panzer General II?

Yes there is, downloadable at SSI's webpage (www.ssionline.com). Latest patch
is 1.02.

Are there any editors for Panzer General II?

Yes there is. Following editors are available for downloading from Raymond
Schroder's Panzer General Zerstorer website at:
http://www.Geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arena/5096/.

Panzer General II Editor. A unit attribute and savegame editor. By Erik Tan.

SHP File Editor. SHP file editor and converting program. Archive also contains
utilities for extracting and repacking SHP files from panzer.dat file. By Fred
Chlanda.

Turn Requirements Editor. Editor for changing scenario requirements on how
many turns are required to get brilliant victory, regular victory or tactical
victory. By Alex Kinner.

Where can I find scenarios for Panzer General II?

Are there any bugs in the game?

Yes, here are known bugs: (first of many, mostly small bugs)

1. The Vanishing Transport Bug: Anytime a unit that does not possess
organic transport (i.e. infantry and towed artillery, anti-tank or air
defense) receives a leader with the Recon Movement ability, the game will
immediately treat the unit as having no transport at all for the rest of
the scenario/campaign. If the unit is infantry, it will only be able to
use its leg movement ability. If the unit is towed artillery, anti-tank or
air defense, you will not be able to thereafter move the unit at all.
Upgrading the unit to provide it with new or different transport will not
solve the problem. The only known workaround to this bug at present is to
upgrade the unit to a type with organic transport between scenarios (i.e.
upgrade towed artillery, anti-tank or air defense units to self-propelled
units of the same class-sorry, but you're stuck if this happens to an
infantry unit since there are no infantry units with organic transport in
the game to you can upgrade to). SSI is currently working on a fix for
this bug in an upcoming patch.


1. The Paratrooper Bug: Do not use paratroopers to capture victory hexes!
Anytime one of your paratroopers moves onto a victory hex the game
thereafter treats the hex as an ordinary one that cannot be captured by
either side, and you do not get credit for capturing it initially with the
paratrooper unit. You will thus lose any scenario in which this happens.
SSI is also working on a fix for this bug.


1. The "Cowardly Lion" Bug: Occasionally, irrespective of weather
conditions or supply level a unit will not be allowed to attack in a turn
(for no apparent rhyme or reason). This bug applies to all types of units,
but apparently auto-corrects because the unit will be able to move and
attack normally in the next turn. The bug has been reported to SSI. I
haven't been able to confirm this particular bug. Ray


1. The Amphibious Invasion-Unlimited Movement Bug: Although units are not
supposed to be able to move on the turn that they land on a beach,
nevertheless if an armored unit overruns an adjacent enemy unit the
armored unit will suddenly receive unlimited movement points (subject, of
course, to enemy zones of control) that turn. This bug has also been
reported to SSI.


1. Campaign Prestige error - the prestige dialer on the campaign screen
effects the players prestige & not the computer's as indicated by the
icon. I believe ver 1.01 corrected this by displaying "player's prestige"
note at the top of the screen. Ray


1. Purchase/Upgrade error - if the maximum number of units has already
been purchased before a new battle begins, no further upgrades are
possible until at least 1 unit is deleted from the players list of core
units. (That's 75 units)


1. Rugged Defense - appears to function incorrectly (or not at all) when
Armor units attack a city hex, but works correctly (or too well) against
Infantry attacks.


1. AI Aircraft Purchases - the AI purchases aircraft even after it no
longer controls any airfield.


1. AI Ground Unit Purchases - new computer units are produced in cities
even when entirely surrounded by the players units and/or zones of
control. To make matters worse, the human player is not allowed to react
to these new threats until after the AI attacks & inflicts loses.


1. Leader assignments - two players have reported that when an air and
ground unit (both with leaders) are stacked, that the leaders "swapped"
units. One player reported that the wrong attribute was displayed (a tank
leader with marksman). I believe ver 1.01 also cleared up this problem.
Ray


1. Spotted Hexes Unmarked - there is no indication of whether or not any
specific hex has been spotted. This forces players to memorize/recall or
"count hexes" every turn to avoid AI ambushes.


1. Onward to Berlin Campaign - the T34/41 is "free", has zero prestige
cost Version 1.01 fixed this. Ray


1. Save Game - occasionally after selecting Save Game, the game will not
return to the game, but exit the program entirely. It has also been
reported to return to the HQ/Review screen or the Load Game screen.


1. The AI will continue to repair its aircraft at airfields the human
player captured.


1. Naval Attack Factors for Infantry units are inconsistent: All German
and US are "1's", however all British Infantry (except Commandos) and USSR
Guard units (and a few others) have "0" Naval Attack capability.


1. 15 Nbwf 41 has a Ground Defense of "7" while all other towed artillery
are "2's".


1. Me-109F is not available for purchase by the Germans (but is for the
Finns).


1. Devastating Fire - a unit with DF can fire twice even though it has
only 1 ammo left.


1. City Prestige/Take Back - after a unit has liberated a city, if the
"take-back" move button is selected, the player will be docked 40 prestige
points (normally correct). However, if the player has modified the
prestige level (to 50 or 300 for example), the game still deducts 40
prestige points (instead of 20 or 120 as per the example). Finally, if the
player reduces his prestige into negative numbers, the prestige will
"roll-over" to 65,535 points.

Interface Limitation Items:

1. Limited Aircraft Deployment Hexes - scenario deployment for aircraft
becomes tedious when players are limited to deploying only to an airfield.
Once the initial aircraft are deployed, the player must then stop, fly
them off and then repeatedly redeploy additional aircraft.


1. Preselected Units - at the start of each turn it is too easy to
unintentionally move/fly the defaulted (preselected) unit into an ambush
or have its turn prematurely ended if the player accidentally clicks on
the map. Request that units not be preselected by default.


1. Field HQ screen: does not return to the unit (or general area of the
list) which was being reviewed after Inspecting Units etc. (i.e.; the
player must scroll to the last viewed location each time the screen is
redisplayed).

Upgrade screen: the unit designation is not displayed (only unit type) which
can prevent the player from selecting and upgrading the correct unit if 2 or
more units are similar. The player must exit to Field HQ screen and
locate/inspect each unit separately (to check leaders and unit experience),
then return to the Upgrade screen, scroll to the "memorized" unit and finally
perform the upgrade.



Sometimes I won't be able to attack with an aircraft unit. When I fly over an
enemy unit the projected combat results crosshair won't even appear.

Check the weather. Except air units with All Weather Combat Leaders, air units
may not attack enemy units when the weather conditions are snow or rain.

Why can't I attack with ground units sometimes? Are they affected by weather
conditions, too?

Ground units may still attack during inclement weather, though at reduced
effectiveness. Check the unit's ammunition supply-if it's down to zero the
unit cannot attack, and will defend at half strength.


Should I use recon units?

Yes!. In PG1 recon units were useless. Now in PG2 recon units are great in
taking unguarded cities, mopping up crippled units and in reconnaisance. You
can move several times recon units in one turn and great distances.


I'm trying to take objective and all my troops are getting chewed up pretty
badly, what now?

Use artillery to soften up enemy artillery and air defense units and
suppressing them. Now move in some tactical bombers. After suppressing and
crippling enemy units, and lowering entrenchment. Attack with infantry
(engineers, sturmpioneres) and tanks, move fresh unit in.


Deploying units

How do I deploy my units at the beginning of a scenario?

In the deployment screen, left click on the unit you wish to deploy and then
left click again on the deployment hex you want the unit to start in.
Deployment hexes are a shade darker than normal hexes (and sometimes it's hard
to tell them apart).


Can I view the deployment hexes from the strategic map?

Yes, but it's very difficult at times to see.


I've run out of deployment hexes, but I still have units left to deploy. Now
what?

Once you've moved one or more units out of an initial deployment hex, you can
then click on the "Deploy Units" button (downward arcing arrow). This will
bring up the deployment screen again and you can now place your remaining
units in the vacated deployment hexes. Note: you can only deploy further units
around supply point hexes (green and gold bordered hexes), not jump-off hexes.
This also holds true for deployment of any new units you may purchase during
the scenario. Thus, it's a pretty wise idea to save your game from the upgrade
screen just prior to deploying your forces in case you make a mistake.


Can I initially deploy my air units forward with my front line troops?

No. Air units may only be deployed at airfields.


What if while still deploying my units I later decide that I shouldn't have
deployed a particular unit in a particular hex? Do I have to redeploy all my
units again?

No. Simply left click on the unit you want to remove from the hex. The hex
will vacate, and the unit will appear at the bottom of the list of your units
for redeployment elsewhere.


I get frustrated when my air units can't attack due to weather. How do I turn
it off?

Hit the Alt+ W keys. Hit the Alt's keys if you want to turn off the supply
rules.


Why can't I replay a turn or scenario like it says in the manual?

Although a "VCR" button was left in the interface, for reasons unknown SSI
decided not to implement this feature in the final shipping version of the
game.


How do I get a prototype unit?

After winning a brilliant victory in a scenario there is about a 10% chance
that you will be awarded a prototype unit just prior to the commencement of
the next scenario as a reward for your victory.


Upgrading units

How do I upgrade units between scenarios?

The manual is a bit confusing on this. On the unit screen click on the icon
for the unit you wish to upgrade, and then click on the upgrade button (2
stars). This takes you to the upgrade screen. First click on the icon for the
unit you wish to upgrade, then click on the icon of the unit you wish to
upgrade to on the left, and then click on the little book button beneath the
new equipment icons.


During upgrading can I change a unit from one type to another?

No. Units may only be upgraded with equipment of the same type.

I've noticed a few anomalies when upgrading equipment-like upgrading from a
Bf109 to an Me109 still costs prestige points even though the aircraft have
exactly the same stats. What gives?

SSI's design team did indeed make a few errors with equipment statistics. You
can download an excellent revised (historically correct) equipment roster
authored by Ray Schroder from his website (The Panzer General Zerstorer) at:
http://www.Geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arena/5096/ . look for the ULTIMATE PzGen
II equipment file.

Also note that Steve Strayer has produced the best Pacific General Equipment
files available and the Ray Schroder has an Ultimate Panzer General equipment
file for the original DOS Panzer General available for downloading at their
sites.


Does it matter which I do first, upgrade or overstrenghten a unit ?

Yes, this is especially important since you have less overall prestige in
PzGen II. Always UPGRADE FIRST, then overstrenghten the unit. If you reverse
this order you'll waste valuable prestige points. The following example was
submitted by Chris Hennessy:

To over strength a unit costs 8.3% of the unit base cost for each strength
point.

I tested out the sequence of upgrading and overstrengthening and found the
following result (number in bracket is strength)

Upgrade Pz IVD(13) to Pz IVF1(13) = 139
Overstrength Pz IVF1(13) to Pz IVF1(15) = 48
Total = 187

Overstrength Pz IVD(13) to Pz IVD(15) = 44
Upgrade Pz IVD(15) to Pz IVF1(15) = 195
Total = 239

Defference is 239 - 187 = 52

Therefore it is 28% cheaper in this case to upgrade before overstrengthening.
Quite a lot cheaper to upgrade first.


Leaders

How do I get leaders for my units?

Each time a unit gains a level of experience, there is a small chance that the
unit will be awarded with a leader. This percentage chance appears to decrease
as your core army accumulates more leaders-ranging from a high of about 10% to
a low of about 2%.


Is there a cap to the number of leaders my core army can have?

Yes. It appears that you can have a maximum of 15 leaders in your core force.


What are the different kinds of leaders?

Each leader will be assigned one automatic ability, depending on the unit
type, and one random ability. The automatically assigned abilities are:

Air Defense (Mechanized Veteran): The air defense unit will be allowed to both
move and fire in the same turn.

Anti-Tank (Tank Killer): The anti-tank unit will no longer suffer an
initiative penalty when initiating combat.

Artillery (Marksman): The unit's attack range is increased by one hex.

Fighter (Skilled Interceptor): The unit can intercept multiple enemy aircraft
in the defensive phase.

Infantry (Tenacious Defense): The unit's ground defense factor is increased by
4.

Reconnaissance (Elite Recon Veteran): The unit's spotting range is increased
by two hexes.

Tactical Bomber (Skilled Assault): The unit cannot be surprised ("out of the
sun") in combat.

Tank (Aggressive Maneuver): The unit's movement factor is increased by 1.

The random abilities are:

Aggressive Attack: Each of the unit's attack factors is increased by 2.

Aggressive Maneuver: The unit's movement factor is increased by 1.

All Weather Combat (awarded only to air units): The unit may attack normally
during inclement weather conditions.

Alpine Training: When moving the unit treats forest and mountain hexes as
clear terrain.

Battlefield Intelligence: The unit cannot be surprised in combat.

Bridging: When moving the unit treats passable river hexes as rough terrain.

Combat Support: The unit provides both Resilience and Skilled Ground Attack
abilities to all adjoining units during combat phases. Will aid inflicting
losses and save from loses by 2 to 3 points each battle.

Determined Defense: Each of the unit's defense factors is increased by 2.

Devastating Fire: The unit may attack twice in a turn.

Ferocious Defense: The unit's entrenchment cannot be ignored by enemy pioneers
or engineers.

Fire Discipline: The unit will expend only one-half of an ammunition point
each time it attacks.

First Strike: The unit will fire first against an enemy unit if it wins the
initiative in a combat round.

Forest Camouflage: If in a forest hex the unit cannot be spotted by enemy
units unless they move adjacent to it.

Infiltration Tactics: The unit ignores enemy unit entrenchment when
calculating combat results.

Influence: Allows the unit to upgrade to better equipment at reduced prestige
point cost.

Liberator: You receive double the normal number of prestige points for all
objective and victory hexes captured by the unit.

Overwatch: The unit will fire at any enemy unit that moves within its range.
The enemy unit is automatically surprised, allowing your unit to fire first
and at the enemy's close assault, rather than its ground defense, factor.
Note: a unit with an Overwatch leader will only fire at the first enemy unit
that comes within range, not any subsequent enemy units.

Overwhelming Attack: When attacking the unit will have an indeterminate number
of the suppression points it would otherwise inflict converted to kills.

Reconnaissance Movement: The unit is permitted phased movement, just like
reconnaissance units.

Resilience: The unit will suffer 1 to 3 fewer step casualties than normal
units when attacked.

Shock Tactics: Any suppression which the unit inflicts on an enemy unit will
last the entire player's turn, not just the specific combat round.

Skilled Ground Attack: The unit will inflict 1 to 3 more step casualties than
normal units when attacking.

Skilled Reconnaissance: The unit's spotting range is increased by one hex.

Street Fighter: The unit ignores an enemy unit's city entrenchment when
calculating combat results.

Superior Maneuver: The unit may ignore enemy units' zones of control.

Can multiple leaders of the same type be awarded to different core units? For
example, could I have both an aircraft and a tank unit with Devastating Fire
leaders, or two tank units with Overwatch leaders, etc.?

Yes.


Are all types of units eligible to receive any of the random abilities?

No. All Weather Combat leaders are awarded only to aircraft units. In
addition, air defense, artillery and air units are ineligible to receive
Liberator leaders since those units cannot capture cities or objectives.
Similarly, air units cannot receive Alpine Training, Bridging or Forest
Camouflage leaders as none of these leaders would add any benefit to air
units. It also appears that artillery and air units may not receive Overwatch
leaders.

Leaders and Units Notes and Comments

Following is a ranking of the various automatic and random leaders based upon
extensive experimentation with different leader-unit combinations. The
rankings range from Outstanding (****), to Good (***), to Fair (**) to Why
Bother (*).


Outstanding

Devastating Fire: Probably the best all around leader capability as it allows
the unit to attack twice in the same turn, and every unit in the game is
eligible to get this leader. Tanks, artillery and all types of air units
especially benefit from this leader.

Overwatch: This leader is a near must for stopping enemy counterattacks.
Antitank units (particularly later model Elefants, JagdPanthers and JagdTigers
with their two-hex range) with this leader are particularly awesome to
confront.

Liberator: Because unlike its predecessor, Panzer General II is stingy with
prestige points, having a Liberator unit or two is invaluable for building
up/overstrengthening your core force.

Combat Support: Having one of these units adjacent to (or over, if an air unit
has this leader) either units in your front line or your artillery almost
guarantees success in a given attack, as well as coming in handy in surviving
enemy counterattacks.

First Strike: This ability quickly evens the odds against superior enemy
armored or air units.


Good

Mechanized Veteran: If you're an adherent of the "All Air Defense" philosophy
(see "Your Core Force" below), you'll want at least one or two of your air
defense units to have this leader. Thankfully, it's an automatic, not random,
ability for air defense units.

Tank Killer: This leader allows your antitank units to take an offensive role,
as opposed to acting primarily as defensive backstops.

Marksman: Probably the best automically assigned leader, this ability gives
the German 17 K18's an amazing six-hex range.

Elite Recon Veteran: A recon unit with this automatically assigned leader
coupled with the Skilled Reconaissance leader can spot for miles and miles and
miles and miles . . . .

All Weather Combat: This ability is especially valuable for tactical bombers
as they can be utilized as flying artillery regardless of weather conditions.

Infiltration Tactics: This leader turns the unit into the equivalent of a
sturmpionere.

Overwhelming Attack: This ability can spell the difference between reducing
and completely eliminating an enemy unit.

Reconaissance Movement: Any unit with this leader can move, attack and move
again, just like a recon unit.

Skilled Ground Attack: Like Overwhelming Attack leaders, this leader can mean
the difference between simply hurting an enemy unit and blowing it away
completely.

Superior Maneuver: This is a terrific ability for tanks and recon units to use
in penetrating enemy lines to get at those pesky enemy artillery units.


Fair

Skilled Interceptor: This might rate as Good or even Outstanding if it weren't
for the AI's tendency to only send one fighter at a time to attack your
tactical bombers.

Tenacious Defense: This leader would be rated Outstanding if the game included
defensive scenarios. But as the scenarios all place you on the offensive, this
ability doesn't have great value.

Aggressive Attack: Occasionally this ability will mean the difference between
a fair and a great combat result.

Bridging: This ability might rate as Good if more than one or two scenarios in
the campaigns had a number of river barriers with few bridges.

Determined Defense: Like Tenacious Defense, this leader would be wonderful but
for the lack of defensive scenarios in the campaigns.

Ferocious Defense: See comments for Tenacious and Determined Defense leaders.

Fire Discipline: This ability is useful only for those artillery and tactical
bomber units with severely limited ammunition supplies.

Influence: This is helpful only for those units that require beaucoup de
prestige points to upgrade, such as fighter aircraft units.

Resilience: See comments for Tenacious and Determined Defense leaders.

Shock Tactics: This ability can be helpful on occasion, but provides nothing
more than what your artillery and tactical bombers do already.

Street Fighter: This leader is similar to the Infiltration Tactics leader, but
is limited in use to attacks on enemy units in city hexes.


Why Bother

Skilled Assault: Only the second coming of Ambrose Burnside would send his
tactical bombers out into unexplored territory, so any competent commander
would find this ability useless.

Aggressive Maneuver: Rarely will that one extra movement factor make any
difference in a scenario.

Alpine Training: Has anyone ever played a scenario where a unit's ability to
quickly move through forests and mountains made a lick of difference?

Battlefield Intelligence: Like Skilled Assault leaders, only a grossly
incompetent commander would ever allow his units to be surprised, so this
leader is rarely, if ever, useful.

Forest Camouflage: Since you are always on the offensive, why would you care
if enemy units can't spot you in a forest?

Skilled Reconaissance: Except for recon units, this ability is practically
useless.

Following is a list of the most effective unit/leader combinations in the
author's humble opinion:

Air Defense: Aggressive Attack. An overstrength AD unit can take out
just about any aircraft with one shot with those two extra attack points.

Anti-Tank: Overwatch. An overstrength AT unit (particularly one with a
two-hex range) out in front will kill anything that moves near it, and stops
nasty enemy counterattacks like a middle linebacker stuffing a run.

Artillery: Devastating Fire. A German 17 K18 with this ability can
destroy any unit in one turn from six hexes away (remember, it automatically
gets Marksman, too).

Fighter: Devastating Fire. A close second goes to First Strike since it
sure helps Me109's deal with Spitfires, or any Russian fighter with any
German fighters, without getting completely chewed up.

Infantry: Close Support. No question about it.

Recon: Liberator. With its innate recon movement, an armored car unit
can capture more than one city in a turn, and with Liberator your prestige
(and thus the size and quality of your core units) will grow and grow and
grow. A close second goes to Skilled Reconnaissance since when combined
with the automatic Elite Recon Veteran ability your recon unit can spot an
amazing 7 hexes.

Dive Bomber (TB): Devastating Fire.

Tank: Devastating Fire.

Core Forces

Your Core Force

Your decision as to the type of core force you will have during a campaign
will dramatically affect your approach to each campaign scenario. There are
four major philosophies as to the appropriate composition of core forces which
the author has dubbed "Big Air Force" versus "Big Air Defense," and "Quality"
versus "Quantity." Each of these core force strategies has its benefits and
disadvantages, and there is no single "right" strategy to choose. Rather, you
should build your core force to suit your particular style of play. Following
are descriptions of the differing philosophies and their primary advantages
and disadvantages.

Big Air Force

Proponents of this strategy (including the author) advocate purchasing one or
more air units in every scenario and building a rather sizeable airforce.
Typically, by the conclusion of the Blitzkrieg campaign (Oak Ridge) the player
will have upwards of twenty aircraft units with tactical bombers outnumbering
fighters by a ratio of about 1.5:1.

Advantages: From a practical/gameplay point of view, a large force of tactical
bombers will give the player the equivalent of numerous artillery with a
sixteen hex range. And the damage a 15-strength Stuka or A-20 can inflict
(particularly one with the Devastating Fire leader) is truly awesome to
behold. Furthermore, aircraft can build up experience points far more quickly
than artillery units given their ability to strike anything within a
sixteen-hex radius. Finally, aircraft make wonderful scouts.

From the historical standpoint, Guderian envisioned tactical bombers as an
integral part of blitzkrieg tactics as they would constitute the panzer
forces' "flying artillery" given the inability of artillery units to keep up
with the fast moving panzer regiments. And he was right, for in fact, the vast
majority of German artillery thoughout WWII was horse-drawn. So a large
tactical bomber force (accompanied, of course, by escorting fighters) is
consistent with history.

Disadvantages: Most significantly, aircraft units cannot attack at all in
inclement weather (rain or snow), and attack at only one-half their combat
factors in overcast conditions (unless the air unit has a leader with the All
Weather Combat ability). In addition, aircraft are subject to being chewed up
by enemy air defense units (which the British, in particular, have in
abundance) and enemy fighters (which can be obviated simply by accompanying
your tactical bombers with fighter escorts until the player has achieved air
superiority by wiping out all enemy fighters). Finally, air units cannot
provide close support during the enemy's turn as artillery units can.

Big Air Defense

The adherents of this philosophy purchase only a few fighters or tactical
bombers, and a large number (at least six to eight) air defense units.
Artillery units are substituted for the more expensive tactical bomber units.

Advantages: Air defense units are much cheaper to purchase prestige point-wise
than aircraft units. And unlike aircraft, artillery units are never hampered
by weather conditions. Plus, artillery units which have not moved in the
previous player turn can provide close support for friendly units which are
attacked during the enemy's turn.

Disadvantages: Unless an air defense unit has the automatic Mechanized Veteran
leader, it must wait/hope for an enemy air unit to fly within its two or
three-hex range to inflict damage. Furthermore, artillery units may not move,
then fire in the same turn unlike tactical bombers. Finally, at best artillery
units have a six-hex range (and then only if it's a German 17 K18 with the
automatic Marksman leader) as opposed to aircraft units' sixteen-hex radius.

Quality

Proponents of the Quality core force strategy will spend the majority of their
prestige points between scenarios in a campaign to overstrengthen their core
units to their maximum overstrength potential, and purchase only two or three
new core units. Generally, by the conclusion of the Blitzkrieg campaign a
Quality enthusiast will have a core force consisting of about 40 to 45 units,
all of which are overstrengthened as much as possible.

Advantages: Overstrengthened units inflict far more damage, and take less
punishment, than regular units. And smaller, high quality (i.e., overstength)
core forces comport with Guderian's historical concept of a compact, quality
armored force as the decisive factor in blitzkrieg campaigns.

Disadvantages: Overstrengthening tank and aircraft units is very expensive. In
some campaign scenarios, even a high-quality small force can be overwhelmed by
the enemy's sheer force of numbers.

Quantity

Members of the Quantity core force camp will typically spend the majority of
their prestige points toward the purchase of new core units, rather than
overstrengthening existing core forces. By the Oak Ridge scenario of
theBlitzkrieg campaign, a Quantity adherent will have a core force of about 60
to 70 units.

Advantages: More units give you more options, and more firepower with which to
tackle the opposing force. Moreover, it costs nothing to rebuild units to
their 10 regular strength since the game automatically rebuilds surviving
units to their regular strength in between scenarios.

Disadvantages: Regular strength and inexperienced units will not inflict
casualties on enemy units nearly to the same degree as overstrength units, and
they will take greater casualties when attacked.

Whatever core force strategy you adopt, it is imperative that you make that
decision prior to the commencement of the first scenario in a campaign and
stick with it, as (at least in the author's experience) mixed core force
strategies inevitably lead to a more difficult task in winning the progressive
scenarios.

The Whens and Whys of Upgrading Units

Upgrading units at the appropriate time during a campaign is essential to
overall victory, as you can't expect to defeat Pershings with Pz Is. But just
when to upgrade your units is an important, albeit subtle, facet of Panzer
General II.

Of course, you are going to be tempted to upgrade your units every time a new
variant of the particular unit is introduced. DO NOT give in to that
temptation, for many variants merely add a point or two to attack, defense or
initiative values, and are not worth the prestige point cost of upgrading.
Instead, when deciding whether to upgrade consider the following:

(1) How technologically superior is the force I'm up against?

(2) Is an upgrade worth the prestige points that I would have otherwise spent
on overstrengthening the unit or purchasing another core unit?

As an illustration of the first question, if you're going up against British
Spitfires then it's obviously worth the prestige points to upgrade your BF109s
to the latest Messerschmidt model fighter. But if you're facing Russian Yaks,
then your BF109s will do just fine. And as to the second consideration, if an
upgrade costing a couple hundred prestige points only gains your unit an extra
point in attack or defense factors, wouldn't the prestige points be better
spent in overstrengthening the unit or buying another one?

In the author's view, prestige points should not be spent on upgrading units
unless and until the upgrade will increase the unit's attack and/or defense
and/or initiative factors by at least two points. As a concrete illustration,
in the Blitzkrieg campaign you shouldn't upgrade your Me109s until the FW190s
become available, nor should you upgrade the FW190as until the Me262s come
along. Stick with the PzIVds until Tigers are available (and upgrade them to
Panther Gs at your first opportunity since they have higher attack factors and
cost nothing to upgrade).

Another point to consider is just how you intend to utilize the particular
unit. This is especially important in upgrading air units. For example, the
early JU87D has a greater attack factor against soft targets (e.g. infantry
and artillery), but a lesser attack factor against armored targets than either
the later model JU87G or HS-129. It's usually a good idea to have a mix of
both JU87Ds and either JU87Gs or HS-129s so that you won't be caught short in
trying to soften up enemy infantry and artillery.


Historic core in Blitzkrieg campaign (John Heidle)

One of the fun things in Panzer General 2 and the original series
isexperimenting with different core mixes. Though PG2 is not that historical,
I sometimes like to try playing as close to history as possible. A problem
with trying historical setups is what size the units are in PG2. I prefer to
understand PG2 panzer, infantry, and artillery units as regiments, with recon,
AT, & AD as battalions. I used Guderian's _Panzer Leader_ OB charts to model a
1940 Pz div:

Regiments Battalions

Panzer 2 4

Infantry 1 4

[engineer, motorcycle, & two motorized infantry battalions]

Arty 1 3 ( one heavy )

Recon 1

Anti-tank 1

AD / AA 1

I defined a 1940 Panzer division as two tank, one infantry, one arty, one
recon, and one AD units. I defined a motorized division as three inf, one
arty, one AD, and one PzJgd Anti-tank units. The German panzer and motorized
divisions were more complex than this, but for game purposes and due to
prestige limitations, this was the best historical approximation that I could
devise. The variant I decided to experiment with was Hitler's decision to
double the number of Panzer divisions with the 1941 invasion of Russia. Hitler
simply ordered that one of the two panzer regiments in a panzer division be
stripped, forming another "panzer division" around the stripped panzer
regiment. I also wanted to use what I consider to be historical elements such
as using 105 arty in trucks, rather than upgrading all arty to tracked 150s. I
started with these six Panzers: 2A 2D 35T 38T 3E 4C.

PG2 core units Inf Pz Arty Recon AT AD

three Panzer Divisions 3 6 3 3 3

three Motorized Divisions 9 3 3 3

Korps/Army 2

TOTAL 12 6 8 3 3 6 (total = 38)

This core then became six 1941 style Panzer divisions, each with one tank, two
infantry, one 105 arty in a truck, one 6/2 AD, and either a recon or an
anti-tank PzJgd. Only one of the infantry (bridge) is in a halftrack. Besides
the original pioniere, the other infantry were eight regular Wehr and two
stormtroopers. There were 3 halftracks and 17 trucks for the 20 units needing
transports units (arty and infantry). also added two Korps Arty (tracked 150).
My air was "normal": four bombers and four fighters at end of Malta, with a
fifth of each added for Russia, upgrading to all Ju87D and FW190 by the start
of Klin. I was able to get almost all Brillant Victories except for the
deliberate victory in Dunkerque and in the two Tobruks with this core
(score=267).

If I played this again, I would change from 6 AD to 3, adding one 88 AD
instead (the historic AD battalions had a mix of smaller ADs and 88s).

BATTALION variation: I next played another Blitzkrieg campaign by defining all
PG2 units as battalions, keeping the mix described in Guderian's OB charts
(div=14 bn). For this variation, I built up a "two division core", adding one
corps sIG arty and one 88 AD (30 ground units). I had 7 arty (sIG, two tracked
150s and four 105s in trucks), eight infantry (bridge in a halftrack,
paratrooper, other 6 in trucks {pioniere, stormtrooper, four regular}). I had
these Panzers initially: 1A 1B 2A 2D 35T 38T 4C 3E, later upgrading to four 3h
and four IVd for Russia. Core air = 5 fighters & 5 bombers. Results: all BV
except for Dunkerque and first Tobruk, score = 287

So it is possible to win a Panzer General II Blitzkrieg campaign with an
"historic core", rather than relying on a few pioneers and lots of tanks.
Depending upon how one defines regiments or battalions, either way a fairly
historically accurate core can win the Blitzkrieg campaign.

Suggestions of core composition

In early stage of Blitzkrieg campaign PzIII tanks are great for anti-tank and
PzIV for anti-infantry. So half of your tanks should be PzIII's and PzIV's.

Infantry and tanks ratio should be 2 tanks to 1 infantry, and so with fighters
/ tactical bombers.


Naming units

Should I name my units and how?

Some players don't and some do. Each player can develop own system for naming.
One system is to organize forces in korps, divisions, regiments and
battalions/abteilungs.


Korps, divisions, regiments and battalions/abteilungs naming (Priit Kшшr)

Naming convention is 12/23/34 [5]. Where 12 is 12th battalion/abteilung, 23 is
23rd regiment, 34 is 34th division and 5 is 5th korps. Example an 1st engineer
battalion that is attached to 34th division and not under regiment command,
should be named as 1/-/34. Tank, Infantry and Self. Prop. AT regiments are
named as, 1/34, where 1 is 1st regiment and 34 is 34th division. Some times
tank and infantry regiments can be splitted in their battalions/abteilungs as
strength 5 units. Example an 1st tank regiment consisting of two
batlalions/abteilungs, 21st and 7th. Named as 21/1/34 and 7/1/34. Korps
consisting of two divisions, 1st tank regiment of 34th division under 5th
armored korps should named as 1/34 [5].


Naming units and campaign spreadsheets (John Heidle)

Some people use divisional and korps numbers to keep track of their units. I
instead use a Campaign Spreadsheet and I name my units in the order in which I
buy them, so I know that the lower numbers have been around more and usually
have more experience. I also add the model/type info. If a unit gets a

leader, I add a brief abbreviated description to the name too. Examples:

1 Pz 2 A 2 Pz 2 D 3 Pz 35 t 4 Pz 3 e 5 Pz 38 t(A) 6 Pz IV C

When I upgrade the unit, I rename it, but keep the original sequential number:


3 Pz 3 h ( having upgraded the 35 t to a 3 h )

For infantry and artillery, I add the transport type too:

1 ARTY 105 truck 4 ARTY 150 ht ( half-track)

2 Inf truck 4 Inf Bridge HT

Leaders would be named with their ability squeezed:

1 Recon Liberator 3 Pz 3H Overwatch

2 Fighter 109e shots2X ( shoots twice squeezed in somehow )

1 Arty 105 moreammo (for fire discipline)

When I lose units like recon, I keep the same number if I rebuy them,

but I add something to the number:

1r Recon ( replacement )

1.3 Recon ( lost the recon and it's replacement in a current campaign ).

Summary:

I do NOT use divisional names. I print out a spreadsheet like grid for each
campaign so that I keep track of how many units I have. I aim for certain
targets like 4 Panzer divisions ( 8 tanks and 4 infantry ). So I keep my force
balanced that way rather than having a lot of confusing numbers for the unit
names which do not help me to play the game.

Renaming units is one thing you can customize in the General series. I did the
same thing for the original Panzer, Allied, and Pacific. Do what YOU want to
do with the names. If it makes sense to you, do it.

My spreadsheet like grid for each PG2 campaign has these columns:

Scenario Leader Total Inf Tank Arty Recon AT AD Fighter Bomber G/A

Each scenario gets two lines. On the first I note what I added (or lost)
during the scenario. I then add it on the second line to a running total that
I keep so that I know how many units of what type that I have. I use smaller
fonts to fit everything on one line (G/A = Ground/Air mix). Ex.:

Scenario Leader Total Inf Tank Arty Recon AT AD Fighter Bomber G/A

Sedan 1 10 3 1 4 1 1 10

1 33 6 6 7 3 1 4 3 3 23/10

I print this in smaller type so it fits on one line. On the back side of the
sheet I add more detailed information about the scenarios in that campaign,
including model info like whether I bought a Pz 3E or a Pz 4D. I also keep
track of how much prestige I have. I prefer to keep track of my units this way
rather than trying to use division numbers to keep things together. Too often
the jump-off deployment hexes do not allow you to sensibly keep divisions
together, so I use this naming convention and a Campaign Spreadsheet to keep
me organized.


Using reassign command in campaigns (John Heidle)

The REASSIGN command can only be used in campaigns. You can purchase an unit
in one scenario and reassign it before you deploy for the next scenario.When
you reassign a unit, you get the complete cost of the unit back. So long as
the temporary unit is not killed in the scenario, you get back the entire
purchase cost in the next scenario as long as you remember to reassign that
unit BEFORE you deploy for the next scenario.

You can also immediately reassign any prototype that you get when you are on
the all units screen that allows you to upgrade or overstrengthen units. For
example, you might get a prototype 5cm AT with a halftrack. Before you deploy
any units, you can decide that you don't want it and sell it for the prestige
by using the Reassign command.

One use of the Reassign function in a campaign is to garrison cities. Either I
am buying new core which I leave behind to guard objectives (ex.=Lillehamer),
or you can later on buy units such as a cheap Pz1. Then Reassign the Pz1 when
on the "all units" screen before you upgrade or buy new units . I use this frequently when I am not buying any more new core units. I
also rename these units TEMP so that they jump out at me and I know what units
I will reassign. You get back your entire purchase costs for the unit, so it's
an easy way to garrison cities without costing you ANY prestige.

Think of Reassign as rent a unit, with the option to buy it if you like it.
This also allows you to experiment with different kinds of units to see if you
want to keep them in your core. Try them for a scenario, then reassign them if
you don't want to keep them.

You can reassign the original core units. In the Russian campaign, you have a
lot of infantry and just one arty, so you might reassign some infantry to buy
an arty. In the 1939 Blitzkrieg campaign, you start out with two infantry, one
105 arty, one recon car, and one Panzer 2A. These units will gain a little
experience in Spain, but it is cheaper to reassign them (and lose that
experience) than to upgrade them. For example, if you upgrade the recon (moves
6) car to a recon tank (moves 8), that costs 108 points. But if you reassign
the recon car you get 120 points (full cost), and it only costs 168 to buy the
better recon, so for a net cost of 48 points rather than 108, you have a
better recon unit. Other core units from Spain have these reassign values: 105
arty = 288 Pioniere = 276 Pz 2A = 108.



Campaign trees

bv - brilliant victory

v - regular victory

tv - tactical victory

l - lost

Blitzkrieg campaign

Battle Results Next Battle
Madrid Offensive All Results Ciechanow
Ciechanow bv,v Suomussalmi
tv,l Sedan
Suomussalmi bv,v,tv Lillehammer
l Sedan
Lillehammer bv,v Sedan
tv Thermopylae

A lose means the End of Game ( on this & all following losses)

Battle Results Next Battle
Sedan bv,v Race to Dunkirk
tv Thermopylae
Race to Dunkirk bv Windsor
v Pursuit to Tobruk
tv Thermopylae
Pursuit to Tobruk bv,v Tobruk
tv Kishinev
Tobruk bv,v Malta
tv Kishinev
Malta bv,v Kishinev
tv Novgorod
Kishinev All victories Novgorod
Novgorod bv,v Volokolamsk
tv LOSES CAMPAIGN! (*)
Volokolamsk bv,v Klin
Tv Winter Storm
(Stalingrad...new campaign)
Klin bv,v Windsor (or USA if no
British)
Tv Winter Storm (Stalingrad.new
campaign)

(*) - loses campaign only in the original version of the game, patch 1.01
corrects this game error. Special thanks to Christopher Lipski for verifying
this problem. Ray

Hope this helps... I was one of those who thought SSI had completely separated
the two German scenarios, but that isn't true. You can continue with your
original core units into the Defend the Reich Campaign. Ray


Scenario specific strategies and suggestions in campaign mode

Blitzkrieg campaign

Madrid

Strategy 1: Jeff Vitous (jvitous@spamthis.wwa.com)

Buy a Stuka. Bomb the Spanish tank. Take all of the unoccupied cities and

buy an extra artillery. Use artillery, Stuka, and infantry to take lower

objective (use care, you will not be buying any more infantry).

Ciechanow

Strategy 1: Jeff Vitous (jvitous@spamthis.wwa.com)

Buy a fighter (the Polish airplane will be a pest if you don't kill it).

3-prong attack, from the west, north, and northeast. Apply pressure equally

to northern most objectives first, then when they both fall, move rapidly to

the southern objective.

Suomussalmi

Strategy 1: Jeff Vitous (jvitous@spamthis.wwa.com)

Use aircraft to abet recon. Again, try and apply pressure to all three
objectives at once (it keeps the CP from creating a defense in depth around
any of the objectives). Artillery is very important in this scenario.

Strategy 2: Bas Van Zetten

This can be a pretty tough one, certainly when you're dependent on your
Luftwaffe for

serious damage. As it will be snowing for the majority of the turns, the
Luftwaffe will

be useless. Of course you could turn the weather off...

In order to capture Piispajarvi, the northern city, you will need 2 infantry
units, a

tank and maybe an artillery piece. Do not rush it, the defenders are dug in,
but you have

plenty of time.

In this scenario it is essential to capture Suomussalmi as quickly as
possible, because

this city is a well defended obstacle on your route to Raate, East of
Suomussalmi. Set up

your artillery as close to Suomussalmi as possible, together with a recon
unit. The recon

unit will make some enemy artillery visible, these will be your primary
targets. Use the

Finnish additional troops to attack the city from the North. Some of the
Finnish troops

will have to cross the bridge in order to do so. Some tanks, infantry and
artillery should

go south-east, cross the river and attack from the south. You will encounter
strong

resistance there, so be careful and sent in some strong units, preferably
defended by some

artillery. While you do this you keep bombing the enemy with the artillery
placed West of

the city. This way you encircle the city and it will soon be yours.

After Suomussalmi is yours, rush the majority of your troops to Raate. Leave
one infantry

unit in Suomussalmi to guard it. At Raate some strong units are waiting for
you. You may

even see a KV-1 ('39) there, and these tanks are tough, probably better than
anything you

have got. At Raate a city siege will follow, so you will need a combined
battlegroup

consisting of tanks, infantry and artillery. You may try to lure some units
out of the

city, by placing a unit near them. Sometimes this will work, and you'll see
units leaving

the city and their dug-in positions (this is a flaw in the AI). With artillery
softening

up the enemy, finish the job with Pioniere and tanks and victory is yours!


Lillehammer

Strategy 1: Priit Kшшr (pkaar@online.ee)

Speed is essential to get an Brilliant Victory in this scenario. Forces should
be organized in two groups. Western and Eastern groups. Western group will
take Gajevik then nearby airfield and on route to Lillehammer, takes Biri and
Vigrom. Eastern group takes Hamar and then quickly advances towards
Lillehammer, and takes airfield followed by Lillehammer itself. Western group
forces of 1 tank, 1-2 infantry, 1 artillery and 1 recon. Eastern group forces
of 2-3 tanks, 1-2 infantry, 1-2 artillery and 1 recon. Bridging unit will
greatly speed up crossing river at Hamar. Luftwaffe should consist 1-2
fighters and 1 Ju-87 Stuka. Generally there will be bad weather mostly, so
Ju-87 Stuka is optional, or without any planes.

Strategy 2: Jeff Vitous (jvitous@spamthis.wwa.com)

Artillery and Stukas are important once again. Divide force in 2, one up

each side. Use recon unit to take Lillehammer itself, you don't need to

clear all of the enemy units surrounding the city.

Strategy 3: Yuan Liu (yuanliu@att.com)

Split my force into 2 equal groups to go along the two shores. Mostly just use
the standard sequence of "scout->bombard->close attack->overrun". This is the
first time the allies has a non-negliable air force, a spitfire, and my tac
bomber are not experienced enough, so I actually needed my fighter to guard my
bombers.

Strategy 4: Bas Van Zetten

This scenario isn't particularly difficult, but you've got to know the 'trick'
in order to

get a brilliant victory. The initial deployment of the army is essential in
this scenario.

The following approach was used by me and worked every time:

On the left side of the valley you'll need 2 infantry, 1 tank (preferable an
anti infantry

tank, so a PzKpfw IVC/D for example), 1/2 artillery and a recon unit. If you
follow my

general tactic, deploy a AD unit here also. With this battle group you have to
take the

airfield located north up the road. You will encounter some dug-in infantry,
covered by

artillery. Use the recon unit to make these units visible, bomb them with your
arty and

finish the job with strong infantry, preferably Pioniere. This will probably
take a few

turns, but there's no hurry: the only goal for your battlegroup is the
airfield.

The rest of your army is set up on the right side of the valley. If you follow
my general

tactic, you'll have some arty left. Set them up in the most northern
deployment hexes,

next to a recon unit. The recon unit will make the forces around Hamar
visible, and you

can use your arty on them from turn 1 or 2. It's essential to take Hamar in
the first 2 to

3 turns, this can be done with the combined effort of the arty, some
anti-infantry tanks

(PzKpfw IV C/D) and strong infantry (Pioniere). If you have taken Hamar, leave
a unit

there to protect this city. The rest of the units go north, following the
path. The

northern airfield isn't heavily guarded, so this will not be a problem. Set up
some arty

along the rim of the area near the airfield, so you can bomb units around
Lillehammer with

them. When softened up enough attack with your infantry and tanks. Although
you will not

encounter a lot of enemy air activity, you can protect your units with mobile
AD,

if you have no Luftwaffe.

Thermopylae

Sedan

Strategy 1: Priit Kшшr (pkaar@online.ee)

Two groups. Smaller group will take Sedan. Larger group, crosses river meuse
at Me'ziers, advances to Signy-'l-Abbaye and splits in two, first half takes
Liart, second half advances towards Rethel quickly and takes it. Smaller group
of 2-3 infantry, 1 artillery and 1 recon. Larger group of, 4-6 tanks, 2
artillery, 1-2 recon and 1-2 infantry.

Strategy 2: John Heidle (Heidle@nstaff.sunyerie.edu)

Whether in a typical Blitzkrieg campaign or as a scenario, your strategy in
Sedan remains roughly the same. Play the scenario first if you are having
trouble get a BV in Sedan in a campaign.

There are four main things to do to BV in Sedan:

(1) Bust thru in Sedan in two turns. It can be done in one in a campaign with
good deployment and some luck. Move up a recon to pinpoint targets. Batter the
forts with multiple attacks and they will fall.

(2) Send some units towards the two objectives in the North (Liart and Signy
L'Abbaye). My strategy is to use a bridge unit to cross near Boulzicourt
(northwest of Sedan). Avoid trying to send units thru the woods south of
Flize. Instead use a recon to move among those empty towns like Vendresse for
the prestige. Also send a recon to the North to take the empty towns and to
provide reconnaissance near the two objectives. Buy some recon even if you
normally don't use them a lot because they pay for themselves by taking all
the empty towns.

(3) Clear out the southern towns (except for Vouziers on the southern map
edge). There will be lots of counterattacking French units in this area. Set
up a blocking force at LeChesne near the Aisne canal (one infantry and one
arty can hold it). By taking all the empty towns, you have enough prestige to
buy units to garrison the objectives in the east. In a campaign, any new core
units can be used in this area to counter the French counter-attack.
1. Advance on Rethel, the objective in the South. There will be some tanks
and Panhard recon around there, so advancing units in trucks could be
difficult. Weather also often turns bad in the later turns, so airpower
might not be available.

HISTORICAL NOTES: this is where Guderian's 19 Panzer korps broke thru. His 1,
2, & 10 Panzer divisions along with Gross Deutschland infantry regiment (GD)
took Sedan on May 13. They pushed west and cleared out everything south of
Sedan, then moved along the Aisne canal and river to take Rethel before moving
to the sea to trap the Allied armies in Belgium. Follow up motorized infantry
divisions from a different korps were used as the blocking force in the south,
releasing Guderian's korps to move towards the sea. In the North, however,
Reinhardt's 41th Panzer korps (not Guderian's) crossed the Meuse near
Montherme and took Signy L'Abbaye.

Strategy 3: Bas Van Zetten

The approach i used and which worked several times is as follows : Take Sedan
in the first

turn. This can be done by a your airforce, artillery and Pioniere (to blow up
the

strongpoints). Then go down the road along the villages Bulson, Chemery,
Malmy, Tannay,

Le Chesne to the airfield, which is not guarded. Sent your troops up the road
to a point

where there is a 3 or 4 road junction. From here sent a small army to
Signy-l'Abbaye and

Liart. Most of your troops should go to the south to Rethel. If you can take
the airport

near Rethel with some Fallschirm jaeger (this airfield is also not guarded).
The tanks you

will encounter (B1-bis) can be difficult for your tanks but they can be blown
away by

airstrikes. The french will sent lots of reinforcements from the south to
defend Rethel,

but with the combined use of artillery, bombers and strong infantry you should
be able to

get a brilliant victory...

Race to Dunkirk

Strategy 1: Jeff Vitous (jvitous@spamthis.wwa.com)

Unless you want to do Windsor/40, tank this one. Otherwise, lots of air and

artillery (sensing a theme?) are helpful. You will eventually break out

north, central or south. Use the breakout to surround enemy defenses, while

still penetrating toward remote objectives. Stukas, artillery, and pionere

units are helpful in taking out the pill boxes enroute to Dunkirk itself.

Strategy 2: Yuan Liu (yuanliu@att.com)

I use the auxiliaries at the bottom-right to take the

upper-right objective, leave the aux. in the top-left in defensive

positions, and split my core into 3 groups. The first 2, consisting of

all the towed artis, infantries (all pionieres) and some tanks, spread

across the front line. The third, consisting only of tanks and one

self-propelled arti (sIG?), starts from the left deployment area. The

first 2, goes along the two sides of the central mountain to take the 2

middle objectives, clearing away all the ally troops along the way.

Meanwhile the 3rd group races towards the middle, by-passing all the

towns and fortifications. When the 3rd meets up with the other groups,

they combined to push north towards Dunkirk. Since the ally usually has

some anti-air at Dunkirk, I prefer to use my bomber to help the

upper-right objective, and use most of my arti on Dunkirk. I bought 2

ADs to guard the artis in the first 2 groups, but in hindsight, my

fighters are probably enough.

Windsor '40

Strategy 1: Yuan Liu (yuanliu@att.com)

This and the 2 American scenarios are the only ones that

absolutely needs ADs, and lots of them. This is also the only one that

I had to do over more than once to get a BV. Two groups: one takes the

2 frontline towns on the right, and then push for the 2 London

objectives. The other group goes to the left. After taking the two

towns along the left bank of the river, leave a small force to guard the

flank, and the rest of the group goes farther left to take the leftmost

two objectives. These and the two London objectives must be taken

quickly, otherwise they will be re-inforced. The rest of the objectives

are straight forward.

The British air force can be a hairy problem. So you may have to spend

the first couple of turns setting traps for them with your arti's as

bait. I bought 4 ADs just for this scenario.

Also, the British has very good ADs, so be sure to scout ahead before

you send in the bombers.

Strategy 2: Bas Van Zetten

When you have a Luftwaffe, this will be a serious test. You'll

encounter Spitfire planes which will have no trouble dealing with your
Messerschmidt

fighters. Add to this the damage the British bombers will inflict, seriously
tough tanks

(Matilda II), a lot of AD units and enormous amounts of British prestige and
you've all

the ingredients for a pretty tough scenario.

Best thing to do is to buy some mobile AD, if you haven't already got these. I
think you'll

find the British airforce too powerfull for your Luftwaffe alone, you'll need
the AD units.

If you're playing without Luftwaffe, you'll probably go to Windsor in 1943.

After buying AD, start your concentrated attack on one of the bridges in order
to get to

the middle section of the map. A few units could go to the victory hexes in
the West.

Protect these units, preferably including an artillery piece, with mobile AD.
Do not go

for the all-out attack yet, because the British got a supply hex here
(Sandhurst) and

you'll probably need more troops to capture it. Once the other troops are on
the middle of

the map, sent some units to the London hexes, including infantry, artillery
and tanks.

Early in the scenario, London isn't that difficult to capture, using
concentrated attacks

with artillery, tanks and infantry.

The most important objective next to London is Slough, which is a supply hex.
Surround and

capture it asap. Some of your troops can work their way West to Maidenhead, if
possible

followed by troops from the London area, once that city is captured.

Next on your list: Windsor. Aided by artillery attacks this city isn't too
difficult. Cross

the bridge and directly go to the supply hex in the middle- West of the map.
Again:

surround the supply hex and capture it asap. Then sent units North
(Maidenhead) and South

(Sandhurst/Camberley). At Sandhurst you already have some troops fighting, now
go for the

kill and finish the job. You'll need most troops here, so sent only a few
North. In the

South first go after Sandhurst, as it is a supply hex. You need to surround it
asap,

otherwise the British keep sending out Matilda II tanks, *severely*
frustrating your

efforts.

At Maidenhead (in the North), your troops are already attacking from the East,
and now they

are supported by the units coming from the South. This will be easy compared
to

Sandhurst/Camberley.

Pursuit to Tobruk

Tobruk

Strategy 1: Jeff Vitous (jvitous@spamthis.wwa.com)

Pursuit to Tobruk and Tobruk scenarios are excessively easy. Take control of
the skies, your biggest

problem is mobility in the desert (start heading toward the farthest
objectives from turn 1. Your aircraft will catch up).

Malta

Strategy 1: Jeff Vitous (jvitous@spamthis.wwa.com)

Use Stukas and shore bombardment to disable enemy artillery, then run amok

with your armor. Send fleet to the NW to engage British fleet. When you

run out of things for your Stukas to bomb, send them north to sink ships.

You may need several turns to get to the final objective...there is a narrow

bottleneck that must be cleared.

Kishinev

Strategy 1: Yuan Liu (yuanliu@att.com)

My core concentrate on taking Kishiniv, while the Romanians

takes the other objective, and guard the flanks. A small contingency of

the core goes over the mountain to come behind Kishiniv, while the main

group just push south, taking the airfield along the way.


Novgorod

Strategy 1: John Heidle (Heidle@nstaff.sunyerie.edu)

My advice for Panzer General 2: Battle of Novgorod ( in a campaign ).This
advice does not apply to the standalone scenario which in my opinion is very
difficult to win as the Germans due primarily to the odd deployments such as
two 88 ATs in the south with no supporting arty.

Everyone has a very hard time their first time in Novgorod.

I got only a tactical victory the first time while losing seven core units.
The 2nd and subsequent times, however, I am winning easy brillant victories.
Play the scenario first for a few turns to see how the Russians are deployed.
They have an incredible amount of artillery up very close, while their AD are
in the back near their objectives in the north and at airfields. There is also
a strength 13 leader T34 which will cause a lot of problems if your Stukas can
not pick it off.

My strategy depends heavily upon a good deployment. There are 4 "jump off"
deployment hexes:

North 4

Center (Starya Russia) 3

near the Center 6

in South 9

In the three center hexes, put your two best arty in the north and center
hexes. In the south hex of the three, put a PzIIIh tank or a recon that has
leader ability. That hex is within range of two arty, so be careful what goes
there. If you have a recon with a leader, put it there because it spots six
hexes instead of four.

Near the center, put a few more arty, an AD, and more tanks. You don't need
infantry up near Starya Russia the first few turns. They can arrive later from
the normal deployment hexes. Move the arty up and "bait them with an AD just
out of spotting range. A Russian fighter will be in that area on the first
turn. so suck it into attacking your AD protected arty.

In the North, put four weak units. Their role is to move north thru the
swamps, then south along the eastern map edge. They do not fight until they
arrive near the Russian airport that's not far from the two east/center
Russian objectives. I used a 6/2 AD, a PzJgr, and two inf in trucks for this.

In the nine deployment hexes in the South, put a bridge infantry (buy one if
you don't have it). Add to that one other infantry, one recon, two tanks, 3
arty. That's eight units out of nine. My ninth is a 6/2 AD to protect the
bridge and arty. Their role is to cross the river and take the two objectives
in the South. Kill the arty first, create a place to move across the river
with a bridge, provide bomber support, and the two objectives can be taken
fairly easily if you take your time.

Turns 1 - 4 ::

Turn one: move your recons around in the center and south to see where the
enemy arty are. You have to kill them in the first few turns before you start
attacking. Send most of your Stukas to the South to attack arty.

Then start eliminating any other arty that your recon or air can spot. Start
to bring up your arty and other units in the center. Start moving forward your
arty in one or two hex steps. Do not move any units further than three hexes
away from an arty so that supporting fire is always available (four hexes if
it's a marksman with a leader, range - 1 is the formula for arty support).
Hopefully at some point in the first four turns, you can find and start
attacking the @13 T34. If it moves around, guess where it will go (it moves
seven hexes) with your fighters, spot it, then move in the bombers. When you
start denting it, keep three air around it so that it can not rebuild back to
@13.

Starting around turn five, start to move over the road/causeway towards the
two center objectives. You can position your arty so that one can hit either
of the two closest objectives (center and southeast). Always leave a retreat
hex for your best tank(s) when they advance along the causeway. By carefully
moving up your arty, with recon spotting, you can do this quite easily. I
moved up my two tracked 150 and two 105 arty in trucks ( no self propelled
arty ) today when I played Novgorod in my latest campaign.

AIR: there are only a few airfields, so upgrade your bombers before you
upgrade your fighters. Me109e are still fine as you usually face only two
Russian fighters. If it rains, move your air around two hexes apart for recon.
Reconaissance, bombers, and arty are the key to winning. Coordinate them while
moving up slowly and you can win easily.

I'm sure you won't need this specific advice the next time you play Novgorod.
Having some idea about this scenario by playing it once will improve your play
the next time. Good luck. Bye.

Strategy 2: Bas Van Zetten

I tried this approach which worked a few times. It will depend on the units
you have

though. I massed heavy artillery (3 pieces with range 4) on the forest line
near Belebzika

(Southern city), and added some tanks , infantry and (important!) a recon
unit. The recon

unit will make some Russian arty and infantry visible and you can bomb them
from the start.

Also they protect your units there, so attacks on your tanks will be punished
by massive

artillery fire, dealing about 7-8 damage to the average Russian infantry unit.
Slowly make

your way to Belebzika and Poddor'ye (supported if neccessary by Stuka's). The
rest of the

units i placed as follows : main tanks, some arty (if any left) strong
infantry (pioniere,

stosstruppen) and some AD near Staraya Russa. Along the forest line i put some
lesser tanks

and infantry.

The Stuka's will be neccessary in the assault on the Russian troops on the
bridges near

Staraya Russa first though. The Russians got some nasty tanks there (KV1 and
T34) which

will probably be better than your tanks. And they are overstrengted too! You
can get by

this problem by overstrengting all your tanks (i had about 3-4 PzKfw IVD with
strength 15)

and with some help of your Stuka's. Support the tanks with some arty, if you
have some

left. If you have the Russian tanks down to 4-5 and they are ready to be
killed you'll see

them retreating, then *always* make sure you follow them and best kill them
with whatever

unit you got, or they will be back *full strenght* (so 13-14). After killing
the main

Soviet tanks your Stuka's will be needed in eliminating the enormous amount of
artillery

the Soviets placed along the forestline (deadly for infantry). After some time
you'll be

able to advance your troops placed there to the East to mop up left over arty
and infantry
                               
and then go South to help the troops there take Belebzika and Poddor'ye.

After dealing with the main Russian tanks i sent the most units East to
Parfino and Pola.

A small section goes south for Ramishero and Zaluch'je. Also take the airfield
near Pola,

which will be handy when you need your bombers further south for the assault
on Ramishero

and Zaluch'je.

Key units in this scenario (imho) : recon, for detecting the deadly arty,
overstrengted

heavy tanks (to deal with the T34 and KV1 which are better than the IIIG/H or
IVD) and

Stuka's (support for attacks on Russian tanks and for destroying arty). It's
crucial to

complete an attack, so always have some backup you can use for the final
assault, in order

to kill the enemy. Also try to surround the Russian supply cities asap, or
they will be

sending in reinforcements faster than you can kill'em....


Volokolamsk

Strategy 1: Yuan Liu (yuanliu@att.com)

Volokolamsk is the toughest objective in this scenario.

So I attack it from both north and south, while two small groups along

the top and the bottom to get the two farthest objectives. Should be no

problem.


Klin

Strategy 1: Yuan Liu (yuanliu@att.com)

The only real difficulty presented by this scenario is the

weather. If you're unlucky, you'll get 2 non-snowing turns in the first

9 (B.V.). So I bought 3 arti's just for doing this scenario. All that

snow also means that fuel comsumption is a concern. So I divided my

core into 3 approximately equal groups: The main group goes down the

center to take the middle objective and towards the bottom two, one

group goes to the right, guarding the left flank of the main group and

to take the 3 objectives on the right, and one smaller group goes down

from the lefthand side, guarding the right flank, taking the bottom left

objective and finally help the main group on the 2 last objectives. Bad

weather can actually make this a close one.

Another interesting thing about this scenario is that if you get BV or

just a victory, you go to Savanah, and if you tank it deliberately by

taking a tactical, you will go through the Defending the Reich campaign

instead.

Windsor '43

Strategy 1: Bas Van Zetten

Follow the same tactic as in my Windsor '40 strategy. This time it will be
easier, because you'll

have experienced AD units, strong tanks (probably Tigers) and lots of
artillery units (when

playing without Luftwaffe). The Tigers can destroy anything on the
battlefield, and when

supported by artillery and strong infantry, you'll have no trouble here.


Savannah

Strategy 1: John Heidle (Heidle@nstaff.sunyerie.edu)

UPGRADES: I upgrade my least experienced tanks to Tigers in Windsor 43. For
Savannah I upgrade my most experienced tanks to Panther G or maybe a few slow
moving King Tigers (Tiger 2).

OverStrengthen (OS) fighters first so that they survive. Then overstrenghten
minimally the best two tanks, best recon, and best arty.

DEPLOYMENT: Land OS units (two tanks, recon, and arty) in the four adjacent
hexes in the north. North to south that's tank-tank-recon-arty. The recon
spots for the arty, the arty protects everyone. The two tanks may be able to
kill the infantry and artillery there on turn one. Protect these units with
fighters on the

adjacent sea hexes on turn one. Land next best two tanks in other two single
slots in the North.

Do NOT land in the south as you have a 50-50 chance of losing those units.
There is American artillery and recon to the North of those deployment hexes
while planes will fly into this area right away. The rest of your deploying
units deploy at sea to slowly build up in the North.

You can also deliberately NOT deploy all units. You can leave a mix of units
undeployed and, when you take Savannah, they can be landed in the port and
start attacking that turn. Instant reinforcements! Do NOT deploy at least one
arty and one AD plus some of your weaker units for this purpose.

Your biggest challenge here is first the very good fighters, then the M26
tanks. Best bet is to put your bombers in front of your fighters whenever
possible. Hope that the Mustangs get damaged, then trap them. With some AD
support, your FW190s will kill them though you will sustain a lot of damage.
On turn one you have to decide what you want your bombers to do. They can
either go after the AD near the group of four landing hexes, substaining
considerable damage, or they can go after the ships until the ground forces

kill the AD there.

Strategy 2: Yuan Liu (yuanliu@att.com)

Savanah is actually the tougher of the 2 American scenarios. First of

all, going directly from Klin to Savanah means that I need to upgrade my

'41 vintage equipments to '44 ('45?) ones, all in one step. This

requires a LOT of prestiges. As a result, I had to dismiss all my less

experienced units. Even so, I can only afford to upgrade to 2 tigers

and 5 Panzer G's, plus 4 long range arti's and 2 fw190d. The second

thing that makes this one tough is that the Americans have air

superiority. This on top of the fact that there's no initial

beachheads, AND the German navy doesn't show up until the second turn.

All of this add up to one thing: more initial losses than all the

previous scenarios. I lost half of my artis and half of my air force in

the first 2 turns. However, spending all those prestige in upgrading

the tanks paid off. My tanks were able to gang up on the Americans and

destroyed their first line of defense. After that my fighters managed

to destroy the American bombers before they themselves were almost

destroyed, and after taking the first couple of objectives, I had enough

prestiges to buy some ADs. After that, it was smooth sailing.

Oak Ridge

Strategy 1: Yuan Liu (yuanliu@att.com)

Pretty straight forward. The prestige from Savanah allowed

me to upgrade my only remaining fighter to me-262, bought another one,

and a couple of ADs. This takes care of the only American advantage.

One of my tigers made a personal record in this scenario: in one turn,

it overran 4 american units and almost destroyed a fifth one.

Defending the reich campaign

Operation winterstorm

Strategy 1: Bas Van Zetten

Defending the Reich is supposed to be the most difficult of the campaigns, but
if you do

OK in the first scenario "Winterstorm" you also might find this campaign not
that hard.

Your general goal (besides the victory hexes...) is keeping the core
casualties to a

minimum. When you do not achieve this goal, the whole campaign might prove too
difficult.

First you need to expand your core forces. It's best to buy the following
units :

3 tanks, for example 2 PzKpfw IVG and a PzKpfw IVF2.

a bridging unit.

The bridging unit will help your troops cross the river running East of the
German owned

victory hex on the left-middle of the map. Position your bridging unit there
together with

the tanks. From here, your main attack on the Russian victory hexes will
start.

You should use the Rumanian troops in the North-West and South-West of the map
for delaying

tactics. Aided by the artillery, keep the enemy busy and pinned. Do not send
the Rumanian

troops to the front lines, they do not have the needed fighting power. For
defensive

actions though they'll do just fine.

The Rumanian troops just below Bolshaya Donschinka (BD) should start mopping
up some enemy

units North of them. Send the German units present in BD to their aid. As a
result the

Russians will take BD now, but you'll have plenty of time to recapture it. As
the Russians

take BD you'll immediately have an idea of what you're up against in stead of
finding out

the hard way (you do not have recon here).

Your main attack should consist of the German forces under your command, and
should start

(as already mentioned) from the German owned victory hex. From here go
straight East in the

direction of Blinovskiy (no victory hex).

From here sent some troops South, in order to help out capturing BD, one tank
will be

sufficient. Attack Kletskaya from the North and West, using the advantage of
your range-2

tanks. After capturing BD you might sent some troops North East to Kletskaya,
in order to

help out/speed up the process.

At the same time of starting the attack on Kletskaya, you should order some
troops

North-East to Serafimov, the last victory hex. Two tanks, 2 infantry and some
artillery

will prove sufficient.

If you managed to minimize core losses (preferably 0), you'll own a good basic
core force

needed for the next scenario's.

Essentials:

* Do not buy any Luftwaffe, it's too expensive and you will not need it.

* Use the Rumanian troops for delaying tactics only. You may be forced to
sacrifice some

of these (additional) troops.

* Be patient in BD. Use the Germans present there first to help mopping up
South, leaving

BD unprotected. Later attack BD with the assembled German and Rumanian troops,
if

neccessary reinforced from the North by some troops from your main attack
force.

* Absolutely minimize core losses. You'll need all your troops in the
following scenario's.

* Sell the plane you own, by the start of the next scenario. You'll need the
prestige for

upgrading purposes. In the Defending the Reich you will not be able to build
up a strong

Luftwaffe, so your one and only plane is practically useless and must be sold.

Operation nordwind

Strategy 1: Bas Van Zetten

Well here's (finally!) a tough one again, certainly if you're going for a
brilliant victory

(who isn't...). Operation Nordwind can be difficult because :

* The number of victory hexes you are supposed to take is high (9).

* The terrain is totally unsuited for your Panzers (snowy, forests, lots of
rivers).

* The tight timelimit for a BV.

This will require some coordination and the right forces. To start with the
latter: I think

you will need 3 recon units, as there are going to be 3 'kampfgruppen'. Two or
three mobile

AD units, and some fast tanks. Although the King Tiger is naturally the most
powerfull tank

on the battlefield, it's wise to include some Panther Ausf. G tanks. Maybe
'upgrade' some

Tigers to Panthers, or buy some during the battle (if you do the last, the new
Panthers

have to start from the supply point, kind of negating the movement bonus of
the Panther...).

For a BV speed is absolutely essential, so i do recommend a tank mix
consistung of Tigers,

King Tigers and Panthers.

Besides the tank-mix, make sure your infantry is strong (minimum Stosstruppen)
and has

transportation in the form of halftracks. This way they can keep up with the
Panzers,

mobile AD and artillery. Stosstruppen at the right place at the right time
will prove to

be the difference between failure and glory... If you have prestige left,
overstrength all

your units.

The next step: deployment. I think you should go for a main attack just North
of Lembach.

Place most artillery here, next to strong tanks. This will be group A. All the
infantry

should be deployed in the forests North of Lembach. As the battle progresses
they travel

South joining Kampfgruppen or guarding cities you conquered. It's not wise to
leave cities

unguarded, you may be unpleasantly surprised, as some left over American
infantry unit

recaptures the city and you have no troops nearby...On the other hand : the
infantry is

needed in the Blitz, so you have some choices to make.

In the deployment hexes near Niederbrom-les-Bain (North West of map) place
some artillery,

AD and 2 or 3 tanks (group B). Remaining tanks should be placed in the hexes
near

Wissembourg (group C, North East of the map).

You have some auxilary forces: weak infantry, but well protected by arty. Use
them to delay,

or weaken the enemy by artillery bombardments. The auxilary forces near
Niederbrom-Les-Bain

can be used to create a choke point near Bitche (yes that's the name of the
place...). In

order to do so, provide support by your core forces present there in the first
turn, let

the auxilary forces retreat towards Bitche and build up a defense here. They
will hold long

enough to keep the Americans there busy.

Group A, the main attack force goes straight South, to capture Lembach, then
to Haguenau.

When you reach this city split up the forces. Some should go West to help
group B if

neccesary at Ingwiller and go for Saverne. Saverne can be tough, i think you
will need an

artillery piece (maybe present in group B), a tank and infantry from group A.
How many

troops of group A should go West is dependend on the performance of group B.
The rest of

group A will go further South to Strassbourgh.

Group B, coming from Bitche should go for Niederbrom-les Bain, Ingwiller and
Saverne. They

will encounter enemy tanks coming from small roads leading West. If you have
spare tanks,

and suspect enemies nearby, block these roads, so that your remaining forces
can travel

South faster and undisturbed.

Group C must go for Wissembourg, Soultz-sous-Forets and Niederroedern. Make
good use of the

auxilary artillery provided here (you will need no core arty). This group has
the easiest

task.

Essentials:

* A good tank mix, fast (Panther G) and mega powerfull (King Tiger).

* Make sure your infantry is mobile (halftracks). Strong and mobile infantry
can really

tip the balance in your favour.

* Have recon in each battlegroup, to avoid those nasty surprises.

* Coordinate the attacks, and have at least 3 complete battlegroups with clear
goals for

each group.

* Watch your fuel. Those Panzers use enormous amounts of fuel, real
gas-guzzlers. It's

frustrating to see your troops grinding to a halt, just before Strassbourgh
while a BV was

within your grasp.

* This is an obvious one, but still : Use the roads! Travel is faster, and in
the end, fuel

consumption is less.

Invasion salerno

Strategy 1: Bas Van Zetten

First it's upgrade time. I upgraded most my infantry to Stosstruppen, the
remaining

prestige was used to overstrength the Tiger tanks. I got a mobile AD unit as a
prototype,

so the total number of AD units is 2. I think you should have at least 2 AD
units by now,

so maybe it's time to buy them.

The scenario isn't that difficult, the key to succes is in the deployment
phase. The number

of turns you have in order to get a BV is a little low, but that's the only
difficult part

for this battle.

Deploy most of your tanks and artillery North of Persano, in the South end of
the map. Also

place a recon unit here. The remaining infantry and artillery should be
deployed near the 3

victory hexes Nocera, Maiori and Salerno. Both groups should receive a AD
unit.

The trick is to divide the battlefield by a strong ("Schwerpunkt"! :-) attack
West-bound by

the main forces North of Persano. With the aid of powerful artillery pieces
and Tigers both

beachheads and Tobacco Factory hexes can be yours in only a few turns. Once
you reached the

coast line (and divided the battlefield) sent some troops North to Salerno and
some South

to capture Persano, Altavilla and Paestrum.

Meanwhile your troops deployed North of Salerno should perform sustained
attacks on the 3

victory hexes there (Nocera, Maiori and Salerno). Aided with the artillery
present here,

you may be able to capture some of the victory cities. But do not rush it,
your goal should

be to weaken them, so that when the map is divided and reinforcement come from
the South,

the reinforcements can finish the job in a few turns.

Because you already have some troops fighting North of Salerno, after reaching
the coast,

most troops should go for the Southern cities. For the Northern cities 2 heavy
tanks, some

infantry and maybe an artillery piece will be sufficient. You will get quite
some prestige

if you move quickly, so you can expand your core at the same time.

Essentials:

* Deploy your forces wisely.

* Devide and conquer. This will severely limit the Allied possibilties on this
map.

* If deployed as described above, do not rush things at Nocera/Maiori/Salerno.
Sustained

attacks, weakening the enemy should be sufficient.

* Watch out for Allied artillery fire. Your infantry is particularly
vulnerable. Use the

recon unit(s) aggressively.

* Protect infantry and artillery from air attacks by placing mobile AD nearby.
Move the AD

and artillery along with the front lines.

Drive to the sea

Strategy 1: Bas Van Zetten

Although you will only have 6 turns for a briljant victory, it can be done,
because the

scenario is surprisingly easy, when the right tactic is used. First it's time
to upgrade

again, the King Tiger is available ! You should get a few of these, use the
rest of your

prestige to overstrength all your units. Two mobile AD units will suffice for
this

scenario.

Again succes will depend on the initial deployment of the units. As speed is
essential,

deploy all your tanks as close to the beach heads (Sword, Juno and Gold) as
possible. East

of Sword deploy some strong infantry units. The artillery and AD units should
be deployed

just South of Caen, while the remaining units (probably infantry) will be
placed on your

supply hex in the South.

Move the Tigers and King Tigers to the 3 beaches, divided evenly. Act
aggressively, and

use the auxilary artillery and infantry to take one or two victory hexes in
the first turn.

Pegasus Bridge should be taken by your forces deployed East of it, after which
they can

help out at Sword beach.

The artillery and AD should be moved to the beaches as soon as possible. Keep
the artillery

protected at all times, although the AI airforce will probably not attack this
far inland.

If you have "17 K18" artillery pieces, make maximum use of the range (5).

The Tigers and King Tigers can destroy anything you encounter on the
battlefield with

amazing ease, so make good use of that megapower!

The infantry deployed at the Southern supply hex can stay there, they will not
be able to

reach the beaches in time, so keep them there.

Essentials:

* Again, correct deployment is essential.

* Have some overstrength Tigers and King Tigers ready, near the beaches.

* Act aggressively, you can afford it!

* If you act quickly, you'll earn a lot of prestige, use it for a King Tiger
and some AD.

Keep the rest for upgrade/overstrength purposes in the following scenarios.

Zitadelle

Strategy 1: Bas Van Zetten

At the start of this scenario you should sell your one and only fighter plane,
and do some

upgrading. I upgraded my tanks (5) to Tigers, the arty (3) to "17 K18" and
bought a mobile

AD unit, a 7/1. One mobile AD will prove sufficient for this scenario, besides
that you will

have an non-core additional fighter at your disposal. The Russian airforce in
this scenario

has 1 nasty bomber, which you should go after once it's spotted and
unprotected by fighters.

Key in this scenario will be the first strike. Strike hard and you will have
the basis for

success. Place the Tigers at the front lines, backed by your arty. Place a
recon unit close

by, it will make several strong Russian infantry and artillery pieces visible.

You will have lots of regular infantry (strength 5), these are perfect for
defending

Belograd, the city that is in German hands at the start of the scenario. Use
the artillery

(non-core) for this purpose also.

Belograd will be attacked repeatedly by strong infantry and tanks, but if you
have the

artillery for support your infantry will hold. Keep the non-core PzKpfw IV (2)
ready at

Belograd for emergencies. You will probably use these tanks in a defending
role. Take

maximum advantage of the range (2) of these tanks.

The main attack should be towards Yakoulevo (no victory hex) in the North
West. In turn 1

you should deliver a crushing first strike in order to get a good start. Use
the powerful

"17 K18" arty and your Tigers to eliminate the infantry and artillery in the
fields ahead

of you. Take good advantage of the range (5) of your arty. Work your way to
Yakoulevo, do

not go for the road/rail bridges East of Yakoulevo/North of Belograd. At
Yakoulevo you will

have easy access to the North/East part of the map, while the bridges will
prove to be

choke points.

Once you are at Yakoulevo, split up your troops. Sent most of them to Yasnaya
Polyana and

Prokhorovka. Here heavy tanks, artillery and strong infantry are needed. I
also included

the mobile AD unit in this battle group. First on your path is Yasnaya
Polyana. Bomb it

with the arty, and use the Tigers to eliminate the nearby Russian tanks. It's
best to

concentrate the arty fire on the Russian infantry, and weaken it so much that
it can be

overrun by your tanks. Do not get pinned here, instead while you are still
fighting at

Yasnaya, swing around this city and go for Prokhorovka right away with some
strong tanks.

These two fronts will keep the Russians divided, which suits your goals
perfect.

Prokhorovka is a supply hex, so if possible surround it, in order to stop
Russian

reinforcements from entering the battlefield.

For the remaining Western city (Novoselovka) 2-3 tanks, some infantry and a
artillery piece

will be sufficient.

Essentials:

* The first strike is crucial.

* Destroy the Russian bomber a.s.a.p.

* Do not go for the bridges.

* Defend Belograd with the auxilary infantry, artillery and tanks.

* While still fighting at Yasnaya go immediatly to Prokhorovka, which is a
supply hex. This

way you create two fronts, divide the Russian efforts and stop reinforcements.


* When you have the choice do not waste arty on tanks, instead drop those
shells on

infantry, turning them into 'overrun-fodder' for your tanks.

Operation konrad

Strategy 1: Bas Van Zetten

The last scenario of "Defending the Reich" ! It should not be too difficult
though, as by

now you should have a large and powerfull core force. To give you an idea,
here is my army

at the start of this battle :

5 Tigers

3 Panthers G

3 King Tigers

1 JagdPanther

3 17K18 artillery

1 PSW 231 recon

1 250/1 recon

1 234/1 recon

1 38(t) FlakPanzer

2 SdKfz 7/1 mobile AD

8 Stosstruppen

In order to overstrength all units you might want to reassign a unit or two.
This is

important, because a King Tiger at strength 15 will annihilate anything you
may encounter

(maybe they are a little bit too powerfull ?). It's possible to destroy a
Russian T34/85 in

a single attack.

Split up the forces in to groups, one group will go after Sarbogard (deploy
them South,

about 4 tanks, some infantry, recon and a mobile AD unit), the other group
(deploy them

near Szekesfehervar), the main task force, will go for Szekesfehervar,
Baracska and Budafok

(huh, now that's a strange name...). All the artillery is placed in the main
group. At the

start of the scenario scan the area in front of both groups with your recon,
this will

prove to be essential in this scenario. Some Russian infantry and artillery
will become

visible.

The main group can bomb them right from the start, taking good advantage of
the range of

the 17K18 arty (5). You might be able to take Szekesfehervar in turn 1. Leave
an infantry

unit here to guard it. Your tanks and artillery should travel East, destroying
whatever

stands in their way. This will be mainly T34-85, no match for a King Tiger in
good

condition. It may be neccesary sometimes to detour a little to get those T34's
out of the

way. Make sure they do not go West for Szekesfehervar or Berhida. Your
Panthers are more

vulnerable to the T34-85, so watch out.

The area just North East of Szekesfehervar will have more Russian artillery
and infantry,

just bomb them with your superior ranged "17 K18". Do not let them slow you
down, just keep

heading East. Once near Baracska, you'll have to cross a bridge in order to
get to Budafok.

This may develop into a choke point, that's why your main attack force has all
the

powerfull arty. Protect it well when travelling, surrounding it by tanks and
infantry and

covered by AD. The damage done by 3 of these BIG guns, added to the damage
done by the

tanks, will blow all opposition here away, so you'll be able to cross quickly.


This is essential for a brilliant victory, do not let the Russians block you
here. Once

over the bridge, use your recon to scout the area, which will reveal some
(3-4) artillery

pieces.

Again use the superior range of the "17 K18" to deal with these, and when
weakened just

sent in the heavy metal. After the Red arty is buried, drop those shells on
the infantry

present and soon the city is yours.

Meanwhile the smaller group South must start with an attack the Southern most
Russian

infantry unit. Once this unit is destroyed, your tanks will have access to the
artillery

placed there. Needless to say that the Russian arty is easily destroyed when
attacked by

one of your Panzers. This Southern group must now go straight for Sarbogard,
where you will

encounter some T-34/85's, but when you have 2 King Tigers in this group it
will be no

problem.

The auxilary forces in the North West should travel South, they can be used to
defend

Szekesfehervar, once conquered. The auxilary troops in the North East of the
map...well

they are doomed actually. No matter what you do (wait for the attack or attack
yourself)

the opposings forces (lots of arillery, powerfull infantry) will be too much
for them.

Maybe if you have a strong Luftwaffe (seems unlikely in "Defending The Reich")
you can

help them out.

At the start of the scenario you own Berhida, leave an infantry unit and maybe
a tank here

to guard it.

Essentials:

* Two Kampfgruppen with specific goals. All artillery in the main group
(North).

* Overstrength King Tigers for dealing with the T34-85.

* Guard Berhida and Szekesfehervar with infantry.

* Destroy tanks you'll spot on your way East, but do not let them slow you
down too much.

* Cross the bridge near Baracska quickly, do not give the Russians an
opportunity to create

a choke point.

Crusade in the west campaign

To be added.

Onward to berlin campaign

To be added.