AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Battle Reports & After Action Reports (AAR's)

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Stormchaser
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AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Stormchaser »

I've found myself enjoying Tassadar's challenge mode AAR's so much I decided to try one of my own, partly because the idea for this run has been growing on me for a while now and partly as a way to hopefully improve at the game. Anyway, in this run, I'll be playing around with Auxiliary Units.
Lots and lots of Auxiliary Units.

Difficulty: General

Traits:
  • Auxiliary Force+Inept Logistics: The core traits for this run; Inept Logistics reduces my Core Slots by 10%, which is then compensated for by Auxiliary Force giving me Auxiliary Slots equal to 50% of my Core Slots. Overall, I will still have more units than a standard run, but with roughly a third of my army being Auxiliary Units that won't stick around to gain experience, managing my Core will prove to be an interesting challenge. The SCW should prove especially interesting, considering it already provides some Auxiliary Slots for the Italians.
  • Trophies of War: I'm gonna be honest with you. I just love using captured equipment so this is almost always an auto-include for me. The dynamic of fielding stockpiles of less useful captures as Auxiliaries opens up some interesting possibilities at least.
  • Flexible Command: Mostly taken to help with Unit capturing.
  • Deadly Grasp: Once again, picked mostly for Unit capturing shenanigans, but also to help speed up sieges, or at least ones that don't take place on a supply hex.
  • Industry Connections: Taken for similar reasons as Trophies of War to further indulge in my misshapen army compositions. I do think I will try using Prototypes as Auxiliary units only though. After all, casualties to something with very limited numbers mean nothing if the unit won't be around next scenario anyway.
  • Anti-Air Veteran: I originally didn't like buying AA guns do to their nature of only really suppressing planes. Then I saw some people use this in AARs, tried it, and was convinced.
  • Battle Academy: With the Auxiliary part of my army unable to gain experience, I want my Core to be as strong as possible.
  • Perimeter Control: To help keep my own units from being encircled.
  • No Overstrength: While it is a tempting idea to go full quality over quantity and further reduce my Core Force numbers by making most, if not all, of my Core Units Overstrength, I've never really used the Overstrength mechanic before and don't really want to experiment with it in this particular run.
  • Slow Modernization: Between Axis Operations having new equipment arrive at a much slower pace than the base Campaign and my smaller Core size, this shouldn't be too much of a problem. In theory anyway.
  • Green Army: I have noticed a bad habit I have of always using Elite Replacements, which hurts my Prestige. So I've been running this lately to help break that habit.
I made it a point to avoid both Infantry and Panzer General. Both would be useful with the limited Core Slots, but I felt that they worked against the spirit of this particular run.

AO: SCW-Seville
Starting Prestige: 1400
Starting Army Composition:
Image
This is my army. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Core:
Tanks:
  • PzAbt.101 'Vorhut'-Panzer IA
  • PzAbt.102 'Dragoner'-Panzer IA
  • PzAbt.103 'Husar'-Panzer IA
Recon:
  • AufkAbt.101 'Wegbereiter'-SdKfz 221
  • AufkAbt.102 'Pfadfinder'-SdKfz 221
Anti-Tank:
  • PjAbt.101 'Wachter'-3.7cm Pak 36 (Horse Transport)
  • PjAbt.102 'Verteifiger'-3.7cm Pak 36 (Horse Transport)
Artillery:
  • ArtAbt.101 'Trebuchet'-10.5cm leFH 18 (Horse Transport)
  • ArtAbt.102 'Katapult'10.5cm leFH 18 (Horse Transport)
  • ArtAbt.103 'Ballista'10.5cm leFH 18 (Horse Transport)
Anti-Aircraft:
  • FlakAbt.101 'Schrapnell'-2cm FlaK 30 (Horse Transport)
Fighter:
  • I./JG1 'As'-He 51
  • II./JG1 'Windschatten'-He 51
  • III./JG1 'Schall'-He 51
Tactical Bomber:
  • I./AG1 'Alderauge'-He 70 Rayo
  • I./SG1 'Himmelsfeuer'-Hs 123a
  • II./SG1 'Feuersturm'-Hs 123a
  • III./SG1 'Hagelsturm'-Hs 123a
Auxiliary:
Infantry:
  • 8 Spanish Colonial Infantry
Image
My first capture of the Campaign is a BT-5. Also, not sure if it's a bug or not but apparently you can change enemy camouflage, which is why it's dark green here.
Image
By the end of Turn 4, my entire Core has made it across to Spain, and the only things standing between me and control of Cadiz are a 20mm M33 and a Supply Dump.
Image
Meanwhile, the Party Barge heads east for a sunny beach detour.
Image
A pair of enemy fighters that try to attack my units near the southern Seville airfield find themselves in a dangerous position when my planes return to base. The T-26 also manages to partially corner itself, which allows for a quick and easy encirclement.

Ending Prestige: 2866 (+1266)
Thoughts: Right off the bat I ran into an interesting quirk regarding my build. The game doesn't actually give you Auxiliary Slots for the Army of Africa Units in this scenario because you don't technically need any since they start already deployed, but they still count to your total Auxiliary count and fill up all 15 of my Auxiliary Slots and then some (24 Slots of Infantry total, if you are curious). On the plus side, my concern that I might end up with too many units to ferry over to Spain before the Navy shows up is a moot point. Technically, the starting force is also more than I technically should be able to field (31/35) but since they start deployed I can start with that overflow as long as I don't rearrange anything. Since I can't actually buy and use any Auxiliary units, I decide to just go ahead and use the entire Core. This does raise concerns regarding future scenarios that start with predeployed Auxiliaries and no Auxiliary Slots set aside for them, but that is a bridge I will cross in the future.
Moving on from that, the drive to Seville and following siege went very well, however, as I began to split my forces to deal with threats from both sides of the river I found myself with out of place units getting attacked by sudden reinforcements a few times, which cost a considerable amount of the prestige I had earned. I did complete both Bonus Objectives and take every flag outside of the reinforcement zones, so I'll call this a overall success.
Last edited by Stormchaser on Sun Nov 22, 2020 6:00 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Tassadar
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Tassadar »

Nice! Happy to see runs that explore some different ways to play the game and run into more individual challenges than the prestige pool. General difficulty seem like the perfect balance for this since it is less risky in terms of prestige than the higher ones and allows to explore the concept as much as possible. I'll for sure be reading every entry. :)

I was also thinking to maybe one day explore the combination of Auxiliary Force and Industry Connections, in a sort of "Wunderwaffe" run (where non auxiliary core slots could only consists of prototypes or units that were never mass produced like a Panzer I Breda for example and then just overstrengthened to match the limit), also followed up by Poor Maintenance to reflect that "test" status of the army, but that felt extreme and besides I've already got three separate runs with different sets of rules on my hands and I'll be more than busy exploring those with AO 1940. So that's yet another reason to be personally happy about the option to see this specific run in action - good luck! Auxiliary Force can be quite prestige costly in theory (especially after SCW once units stop costing 40-140 prestige), so I hope Trophies of war will allow to fund it easier.

What I immediately like about the first post as well is the color code of the main army - the blue markings will be essential to tell apart core against auxiliary and know who can take more risk and who shouldn't. Especially that you also took Green Army, so every small thing that will help avoid losses and build up that experienced core will be huge.

Party Barge is a gem on its own and of course bonus points for the names of units with some extra flavor.
Stormchaser wrote: Sun Nov 22, 2020 3:41 pm Moving on from that, the drive to Seville and following siege went very well, however, as I began to split my forces to deal with threats from both sides of the river I found myself with out of place units getting attacked by sudden reinforcements a few times, which cost a considerable amount of the prestige I had earned. I did complete both Bonus Objectives and take every flag outside of the reinforcement zones, so I'll call this a overall success.
After the first SCW run I also struggled with that situation, but then in the Panzermon run I essentially used the Army of Africa units as cannon fodder, splitting them into smaller stacks and having them take the hits as most tempting targets. They often did not even attack themselves, just closed the encirclement gaps and let the other units do the rest. This way I didn't have to bother with their replacements too much, as loss of a half strength infantry was nothing too important. On higher difficulties with accuracy bonus for the enemy (and especially on the +5 strength to units extra option) that would probably won't in this scenarios as the guys would just get overrun, but on General this proved quite effective.
Stormchaser
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Stormchaser »

Tassadar wrote: Sun Nov 22, 2020 4:25 pm Nice! Happy to see runs that explore some different ways to play the game and run into more individual challenges than the prestige pool. General difficulty seem like the perfect balance for this since it is less risky in terms of prestige than the higher ones and allows to explore the concept as much as possible. I'll for sure be reading every entry. :)

I was also thinking to maybe one day explore the combination of Auxiliary Force and Industry Connections, in a sort of "Wunderwaffe" run (where non auxiliary core slots could only consists of prototypes or units that were never mass produced like a Panzer I Breda for example and then just overstrengthened to match the limit), also followed up by Poor Maintenance to reflect that "test" status of the army, but that felt extreme and besides I've already got three separate runs with different sets of rules on my hands and I'll be more than busy exploring those with AO 1940. So that's yet another reason to be personally happy about the option to see this specific run in action - good luck! Auxiliary Force can be quite prestige costly in theory (especially after SCW once units stop costing 40-140 prestige), so I hope Trophies of war will allow to fund it easier.
Glad to hear you enjoying it! :D
The idea has been in my head since the Auxiliary Force for your Pazermon run discussion and I eventually just decided to do it.
The Wunderwaffe run sounds interesting...to watch at least. :wink:
What I immediately like about the first post as well is the color code of the main army - the blue markings will be essential to tell apart core against auxiliary and know who can take more risk and who shouldn't. Especially that you also took Green Army, so every small thing that will help avoid losses and build up that experienced core will be huge.

Party Barge is a gem on its own and of course bonus points for the names of units with some extra flavor.
Thanks, custom camo marking Core units separately from Auxiliary was the intention. I won't always be in SCW where I can just identify Auxiliary by being Infantry or Italian.
I've always had a habit of naming my units, and I can thank you and Horseman for helping me find out about more historical naming for unit groups. The callsigns are there partly because I like the individuality and partly because when reading AARs I often have to scroll up when, say, just PzAbt.1 or Artillerie Abt.102 gets mentioned in an AAR to remind myself what kind of unit it is, whereas with callsigns it should be easier to identify at a glance than with just a numerical designation.
And I'm glad you enjoyed the party barge. At this point I feel most players know about Gibraltar, so I didn't think I really needed to specifically call out sending a unit there for the big guns, but I decided a brief mention couldn't go wrong and thus the Party Barge was born. :lol:
As for Green Army...a part of me regrets taking it, as it does run somewhat counterintuitive to the elite core concept, but as I stated in the post I've been taking it lately to help break my habit of only using Elite Replacements. This might not be the best run to do so with, however. I'll see how things go for now, worse case scenario I do believe you can trade out Traits between Campaigns.
After the first SCW run I also struggled with that situation, but then in the Panzermon run I essentially used the Army of Africa units as cannon fodder, splitting them into smaller stacks and having them take the hits as most tempting targets. They often did not even attack themselves, just closed the encirclement gaps and let the other units do the rest. This way I didn't have to bother with their replacements too much, as loss of a half strength infantry was nothing too important. On higher difficulties with accuracy bonus for the enemy (and especially on the +5 strength to units extra option) that would probably won't in this scenarios as the guys would just get overrun, but on General this proved quite effective.
I'll have to keep that in mind. I'm fairly sure that part of my problem is that I'm reluctant to just sacrifice units, Auxiliary or not, because I'm used to most/all my units being Core and not wanting anything to die. It doesn't help that I really like having Infantry, Auxiliary or not, around to help clear Close Terrain and Anti-Tank Guns without needing to commit to encircling them every time, so just throwing them away like that is even less appealing.
Hopefully I can improve on both fronts with this playthrough.
Tassadar
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Tassadar »

Stormchaser wrote: Sun Nov 22, 2020 5:07 pm I've always had a habit of naming my units, and I can thank you and Horseman for helping me find out about more historical naming for unit groups. The callsigns are there partly because I like the individuality and partly because when reading AARs I often have to scroll up when, say, just PzAbt.1 or Artillerie Abt.102 gets mentioned in an AAR to remind myself what kind of unit it is, whereas with callsigns it should be easier to identify at a glance than with just a numerical designation.
I started with Horeseman's AAR for inspiration and the after looking for specific historical listings ended up here: http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. This is probably the most detailed list there is for the German army (unfortunately only in German as well) and baring trying to stick to more English punctuation I try to use it all the time. For SCW Italian allies I had to use more variable sources and hence added these names just to my "main" run where they were the auxiliary force and skipped their naming in Panzermon and Retrograde. I'll be curious to see the naming options for allied DLC, but that should probably be easier in fact.
Stormchaser
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Stormchaser »

AO: SCW-Antequera
Starting Prestige: 4056 (2198 after purchases and repairs)

Hero:
Image
A very interesting first Hero. I debated with myself about where to place him for a while, as a Tank or Recon unit that doesn't have to worry about Anti-Tank support fire (A problem that arose soemwhat frequently in Seville) would be useful, I ultimately decided to assign him to Himmelsfeuer Squadron, giving myself a Bomber that can strike targets within the enemy's Fighter and/or AA cover undeterred.

Core Purchases and Upgrades:
Wegbereiter outfitted with UNL-35.
Wachter outfitted with 45mm M1932.

Starting Army Composition:
Core:
Tanks:
  • PzAbt.101 'Vorhut'-Panzer IA
  • PzAbt.102 'Dragoner'-Panzer IA
  • PzAbt.103 'Husar'-Panzer IA
Recon:
  • AufkAbt.101 'Wegbereiter'-UNL-35
  • AufkAbt.102 'Pfadfinder'-SdKfz 221-*
Anti-Tank:
  • PjAbt.101 'Wachter'-45mm M1932 (Horse Transport)
Artillery:
  • ArtAbt.101 'Trebuchet'-10.5cm leFH 18 (Horse Transport)
  • ArtAbt.102 'Katapult'-10.5cm leFH 18 (Horse Transport)
  • ArtAbt.103 'Ballista'-10.5cm leFH 18 (Horse Transport)
Anti-Aircraft:
  • FlakAbt.101 'Schrapnell'-2cm FlaK 30 (Horse Transport)
Fighter:
  • I./JG1 'As'-He 51
  • II./JG1 'Windschatten'-He 51
Tactical Bomber:
  • I./SG1 'Himmelsfeuer'-Hs 123a-Lightning Attack
  • II./SG1 'Feuersturm'-Hs 123a
  • III./SG1 'Hagelsturm'-Hs 123a
Reserve:
Anti-Tank:
  • PjAbt.102 'Verteifiger'-3.7cm Pak 36 (Horse Transport)
Fighter:
  • III./JG1 'Schall'-He 51
Tactical Bomber:
  • I./AG1 'Alderauge'-He 70 Rayo
Auxiliary:
Infantry:
  • 4 CTV Infantry (Truck)
Tank:
  • 1 L3/33
  • 1 M11/39
Anti-Tank:
  • 1 47/32 M35 (Truck)
Artillery:
  • 1 105mm 105/28 (Horse Transport)
Fighter:
  • 2 CR.32
With Core Slots staying the same amount of 31, Verteifiger, Schall, and Alderauge are placed in reserve. On the plus side, this will be the first scenario we get to properly see the effects of Auxilliary Force, providing me a total of 25 Auxiliary Slots to play with.
The Prototype for this scenario was a set of 20 M11/39s, which I immediately added as a Auxiliary to give my force a tank that could be used to properly compete against the Republican T-26s and Bt-5s. I could have outfitted 2 of my Core Tanks to said Republican tanks, but I would have had to scrounge up 2 more Core Slots to do so.
The rest of my Auxiliary Force is comprised of 2 Cr.32s to fill the hole in my air force made by the loss of Schall, 3 more CTV Infantry to go with the 1 the mission starts you with, a 105mm 105/28 for extra fire support, and a 47/32 M35 to fill the last Slot.
It's during the repairs though that I notice a little tooltip for the first time. One that appears when hovering over the Replacement button, and tells you exactly how much it will cost and how much EXP you'll lose, which was a lot steeper of a cost than I had realized. I do believe I will be removing Green Army when I import to 1939, but for now I'll just have to deal with it.

Image
Turn 3 and the first line of Republican defense is all but crushed. Most of my army begins the process of circling around Antequerra to deal with the valuable Artillery and other units in the rear while the Spanish deal with the entrenched Infantry and Anti-Tank guns, while a small group heads north to secure more big guns.
Image
On Turn 9 the last defenders of Antequera are within the coils of my encirclement and falling. In the process the airfield is taken, and I./KG1 'Stratus', II./KG1 'Kumulus', and III./KG1 'Zirrus' are created.
Image
Despite the dogged efforts of an annoyingly hard to finish off fighter, the Jaime I is sunk.
Image
My last few turns are spent trying to capture some more valuable Artillery from the Republicans, unfortunately I only manage to lure one out of the protective minefield cover.

Ending Prestige: 4047 (+1849)
Thoughts: I would rate this an better success than Seville due to the fact that my strategy worked fine and I didn't get caught with units out of position. On the other hand, that's likely because this is a much more straightforward scenario, where you don't need to worry about splitting your forces. The M11/29 was the workhorse I expected it to be, being a good powerhouse for attacking enemies, as well as a durable unit for tanking damage for my Core.
Last edited by Stormchaser on Tue Nov 24, 2020 8:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Tassadar
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Tassadar »

How difficult it is to take down enemy fighters here compared to later stages of the war. After PzC 1 I was used to having air superiority or dominance all the time, but the He 51 is hardly a contender against Soviet built fighters.

As for Antequera itself, I feel that trying to lure units from the other side of the minefields after taking the city is more costly than it's worth. If they come a the player's forces that's great, but forcing the matter had more negative consequences for me than benefits. Auxiliary Force has the nice bonus of providing expendable troops to be that bait.
Stormchaser
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Stormchaser »

Tassadar wrote: Mon Nov 23, 2020 12:31 pm How difficult it is to take down enemy fighters here compared to later stages of the war. After PzC 1 I was used to having air superiority or dominance all the time, but the He 51 is hardly a contender against Soviet built fighters.

As for Antequera itself, I feel that trying to lure units from the other side of the minefields after taking the city is more costly than it's worth. If they come a the player's forces that's great, but forcing the matter had more negative consequences for me than benefits. Auxiliary Force has the nice bonus of providing expendable troops to be that bait.
Actually, besides that last Fighter I've been pretty effective at swatting Republican planes from the sky.
In Seville my Fighters took out the first plane over the airfield, then the next two got showcased in one of the pictures, and the last one only got away to repair once.
Antequerra was similar. I took out all of the initial airforce by Turn 2 I believe(maybe 3 at the latest), and the first reinforcement Fighter didn't last nearly as long as the second one.
My AA gun is a big part of that thanks to AA Veteran, being able to take out 4-5 strength in one attack regularly, and I've so far been pretty successful about placing it where it can catch an enemy plane when they show up.
I doubt my success will stay that way, but it's been nice so far.

Yeah, it probably wasn't worth it, especially since I only got 1 of the 150 Artillery and I'm not even sure when I'll be actually using it do to Slot Limitations.
But it is nice to have the option at least.
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by WalterTFD »

I'm gonna be impressed if you keep this up, Green Army is the damn devil, and AO will presumably be giving missions presuming 5* after 1941 or so.
Stormchaser
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Stormchaser »

So, one thing I've noticed and been glad about playing this AAR is that it has me playing much closer attention to details I've always kinda skimmed over before.
One of those details is just how badly basic replacements screws up your exp gain.

I've played with Green Army a couple of times now, but never actually paid enough attention to my army's experiance to realize how detrimental it is. Initially when I noticed it I thought I could tough it out and just respec Commander Points in 1939.
What I didn't realize is just how much that realization would bother me going forward.

So, since I'm only 2 and a part of a scenario in, I was wondering if anyone would mind too much if I restarted the run, dropping Green Army and whatever Perks I need to balance it out with? Or would you rather I tough it out till 1939?
Tassadar
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Tassadar »

Makes sense to restart from my point of view. Green Army can indeed seem to counter the idea of Inept Logistics and Auxiliary Force, both from a gameplay and flavor perspective. Ultimately the point is to have fun with a specific concept, not to make the challenge tedious to play. That's for example why I play my games on General only - while this causes me to essentially not consider prestige an issue most of the time I greatly prefer this to having to deal with flat accuracy bonuses for the AI and that's I think fine. It's as you yourself said in the Panzermon run preparations of mine about gift unit upgrades as long as the machine uses the same chassis - it's up to personal preference.

So IMO go for it if this will make the game more enjoyable for you. :)
Stormchaser
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Stormchaser »

Round 2 Electric Boogaloo
For those that skipped past the posts between this one and the last update, I decided that Green Army was too big of a negative for this run, and since I was only a couple turns in I would restart without it.

Traits:
  • Auxiliary Force+Inept Logistics
  • Trophies of War
  • Flexible Command
  • Deadly Grasp
  • Anti-Air Veteran
  • Perimeter Control
  • No Overstrength
  • Slow Modernization
To compensate for the removal of Green Army, I ended up dropping Industry Connections and Battle Academy. The Prototypes are fun but not necessary, and while I would like to have Battle Academy, most of the Perks I could remove instead I consider too important to remove, and I didn't really find a Flaw I was willing to take instead of Green Army. In the end, I'll settle for my troops gaining experience at a standard speed and the ability to retain it as opposed to fast gains with harsh penalties when reinforcing.

AO: SCW-Seville
Starting Prestige: 1400
Starting Army Composition:
Core:
Tanks:
  • PzAbt.101 'Vorhut'-Panzer IA
  • PzAbt.102 'Dragoner'-Panzer IA
  • PzAbt.103 'Husar'-Panzer IA
Recon:
  • AufkAbt.101 'Wegbereiter'-SdKfz 221
  • AufkAbt.102 'Pfadfinder'-SdKfz 221
Anti-Tank:
  • PjAbt.101 'Wachter'-3.7cm Pak 36 (Horse Transport)
  • PjAbt.102 'Verteifiger'-3.7cm Pak 36 (Horse Transport)
Artillery:
  • ArtAbt.101 'Trebuchet'-10.5cm leFH 18 (Horse Transport)
  • ArtAbt.102 'Katapult'10.5cm leFH 18 (Horse Transport)
  • ArtAbt.103 'Ballista'10.5cm leFH 18 (Horse Transport)
Anti-Aircraft:
  • FlakAbt.101 'Schrapnell'-2cm FlaK 30 (Horse Transport)
Fighter:
  • I./JG1 'As'-He 51
  • II./JG1 'Windschatten'-He 51
  • III./JG1 'Schall'-He 51
Tactical Bomber:
  • I./AG1 'Alderauge'-He 70 Rayo
  • I./SG1 'Himmelsfeuer'-Hs 123a
  • II./SG1 'Feuersturm'-Hs 123a
  • III./SG1 'Hagelsturm'-Hs 123a
Auxiliary:
Infantry:
  • 8 Spanish Colonial Infantry
Image
Deja vu, I've just been in this place before...

Ending Prestige: 3901 (+2501)
Thoughts: Not really much to say about Seville this time, other than the fact that with the details fresh on my mind I managed to perform much better.

AO: SCW-Antequera
Starting Prestige: 5091 (3570 after purchases and repairs)

Hero:
Image
While I do miss my Lightning Attack Hero from the initial run, Hit and Run isn't a bad replacement. With AA and AT guns having the highest Initiatives by far of any of my units, Wachter becomes the lucky Unit to receive my first Hero of this run.

Core Purchases and Upgrades:
Wegbereiter outfitted with UNL-35.
Wachter outfitted with 45mm M1932. (During scenario)

Starting Army Composition:
Core:
Tanks:
  • PzAbt.101 'Vorhut'-Panzer IA
  • PzAbt.102 'Dragoner'-Panzer IA
  • PzAbt.103 'Husar'-Panzer IA
Recon:
  • AufkAbt.101 'Wegbereiter'-UNL-35
  • AufkAbt.102 'Pfadfinder'-SdKfz 221
Anti-Tank:
  • PjAbt.101 'Wachter'-3.7cm Pak 36>45mm M1932 (Horse Transport)-Hit and Run
Artillery:
  • ArtAbt.101 'Trebuchet'-10.5cm leFH 18 (Horse Transport)
  • ArtAbt.102 'Katapult'-10.5cm leFH 18 (Horse Transport)
  • ArtAbt.103 'Ballista'-10.5cm leFH 18 (Horse Transport)
Anti-Aircraft:
  • FlakAbt.101 'Schrapnell'-2cm FlaK 30 (Horse Transport)
Fighter:
  • I./JG1 'As'-He 51
  • II./JG1 'Windschatten'-He 51
Tactical Bomber:
  • I./SG1 'Himmelsfeuer'-Hs 123a
  • II./SG1 'Feuersturm'-Hs 123a
  • III./SG1 'Hagelsturm'-Hs 123a
Reserve:
Anti-Tank:
  • PjAbt.102 'Verteifiger'-3.7cm Pak 36 (Horse Transport)
Fighter:
  • III./JG1 'Schall'-He 51
Tactical Bomber:
  • I./AG1 'Alderauge'-He 70 Rayo
Auxiliary:
Infantry:
  • 3 CTV Infantry (Truck)
Tank:
  • 1 L3/33
Artillery:
  • 1 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7
Fighter:
  • 2 CR.32
Tactical Bomber:
  • He 70 Rayo
No M11/39 Prototypes for me this time, which coupled with the fact that I realized since you get refunded captured and prototype equipment used by Auxiliaries when they disband between scenarios, I had a way to use the 203mm M1931 without having enough Core slots resulted in some rebalancing of my Auxilliary Force. With an Auxiliary Rayo to keep Bombers off it, it should stay pretty safe.

Image
Antequerra is secured, and with a Recon having captured the flags on the outskirts of the minefields to the east, I begin forming a defensive line in preparation for the incoming reinforcements.

Ending Prestige: 7278 (+3708)
Thoughts: The Rayo actually wasn't able to be deployed for a few turns as with only 1 Airfield at the start I didn't have enough room for it and my Fighters and Bombers. I kept Shrapnell close to it which seemed to do an excellent job of warding enemy planes away for those first few turns so it all worked out in the end.
As with Seville, having the scenario details fresh on my mind from the first attempted run results in a better performance overall. Unfortunately this will be the last instance of that particular benefit. Also helpful to my performance was Tassador's suggestion to not go after the eastern minefields and instead let them come to me helped prevent casulties and was more successful at luring out the 152mm Artillery from the safety for the minefield so I could catch some.
While I didn't quite have enough captured 45mm M1932s at the start of the mission to feel comfortable upgrading Wachter, a bit of luck and planning allowed me to capture some during the start of this mission. So when I remembered my limits on 3 unit upgrades per Scenario, I had Wachter return to a Supply Hex for an upgrade, allowing still have all 3 upgrades available during the next Scenario.

AO: SCW-Merida
Starting Prestige: 8328 (6399 after purchases and repairs)

Event:
Image
More UNLs and some Trubias? Yes, please!

Hero:
Image
Hofmann ultimately gets assigned to Shrapnell, as not only can it now possibly catch enemy bombers unawares, but when I have air superiority I can also use it to surprise enemy tanks.

Core Purchases and Upgrades:
Vorhut outfitted with Bt-5.
Dragoner outfitted with Trubia.
Trebuchet outfitted with 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7).

Starting Army Composition:
Core:
Tanks:
  • PzAbt.101 'Vorhut'-BT-5
  • PzAbt.102 'Dragoner'-Trubia
  • PzAbt.103 'Husar'-Panzer IA
Recon:
  • AufkAbt.101 'Wegbereiter'-UNL-35
  • AufkAbt.102 'Pfadfinder'-SdKfz 221-*
Anti-Tank:
  • PjAbt.101 'Wachter'-45mm M1932 (Horse Transport)-Hit and Run
Artillery:
  • ArtAbt.101 'Trebuchet'-10.5cm leFH 18 (Horse Transport)
  • ArtAbt.102 'Katapult'-152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7)
  • ArtAbt.103 'Ballista'-10.5cm leFH 18 (Horse Transport)
Anti-Aircraft:
  • FlakAbt.101 'Schrapnell'-2cm FlaK 30 (Horse Transport)-Camouflage
Fighter:
  • I./JG1 'As'-He 51
  • II./JG1 'Windschatten'-He 51
  • III./JG1 'Schall'-He 51
Tactical Bomber:
  • I./SG1 'Himmelsfeuer'-Hs 123a
  • II./SG1 'Feuersturm'-Hs 123a
  • III./SG1 'Hagelsturm'-Hs 123a
Reserve:
Anti-Tank:
  • PjAbt.102 'Verteifiger'-3.7cm Pak 36 (Horse Transport)
Tactical Bomber:
  • I./AG1 'Alderauge'-He 70 Rayo
Strategic Bomber:
  • I./KG1 'Stratus'-Ju 52 Bomber
  • II./KG1 'Kumulus'-Ju 52 Bomber
  • III./KG1 'Zirrus'-Ju 52 Bomber
Auxiliary:
Infantry:
  • 5 CTV Infantry (Truck)
Tank:
  • 1 L3/33 Lf
Recon:
  • 1 Lancia IZM
Artillery:
  • 1 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7)
Fighter:
  • 2 CR.32
Tactical Bomber:
  • He 70 Rayo
With some room in my Core Slots finally available, I can finally upgrade some of my Tanks to something more competitive than the Panzer IA. I would have given Husar some Trubias as well, but with the bigger stock of 152mm guns this time around I couldn't resist having an Artillery that could support against any ground unit.
Meanwhile, the Ju 52s get sent to Reserve both to help make room for the upgrades and to allow Schall out.
Also, fun fact I noticed, Trubias have 1 point of Close Defense, which is 1 more point than every other unit I have available. I'm not saying that they are a terror of Close Terrain Infantry or anything, but between a Trubia or any of my other tank I know which one's going to attack the city first.

Image
A wild Nemesis appears! ...And then proceeds to use Run Away for several turns...
Image
With the eastern half of the river secure for the moment, I take a couple turns with the Republicans ordered to defend while I focus on Badajoz and reposition my eastern forces.
Image
"They're just standing there, menacingly..."
Image
The siege of Badajoz finally ends.

Ending Prestige: 10018 (+3690)
Thoughts: Feels good to be caught back up, and seeing my Units actually gaining experience that doesn't get flushed down the toilet definitely makes this feel like the right decision.
Comandante Vega is spared this time. Now that I know he returns with an OT-133 later on, my greed is getting the better of me, which results in him being a thorn in my side for longer than he usually is this scenario, if only do to tying up 2 units to keep him surrounded and suppressed.
I feel that this is the first scenario where the benefits of Auxiliary Force really started to shine. Seville has the issue where the Army of Africa units take up all your Auxiliary Slots, while in Antequera the extra units don't have too much impact due to the compact nature of the battlefield. Here, however, spreading your forces out to take the various key points along the river, which are getting reinforced by the enemy several times during the scenario, is tough, so having an extra unit or two along with each group to act as meatshields for more valuable units, help finish off wounded enemies, and/or provide the manpower to complete an encirclement comes in handy frequently. Which has me cautiously curious as to how this will impact Ebro...
Last edited by Stormchaser on Thu Dec 03, 2020 5:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Tassadar
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Tassadar »

Looking forward to the re-run - reading about these is almost as fun as playing and I'm curious to see how things progress. :)
Stormchaser wrote: Mon Nov 30, 2020 2:02 am No M11/39 Prototypes for me this time, which coupled with the fact that I realized since you get refunded captured and prototype equipment used by Auxiliaries when they disband between scenarios, I had a way to use the 203mm M1931 without having enough Core slots resulted in some rebalancing of my Auxilliary Force.
Wow, I was not aware of this little mechanic and was under the impression these would be lost once the scenario ends. This adds extra spice to the whole run, as now you can afford to be much more carefree about using auxiliary forces and keep most of the captured equipment for them, aside from maybe a few most common units that appear in SCW. There are tons of good, but rare ones and having access to a decent pool for Ebro for example would make things much easier. Also, this provides a workaround for Slow Modernization. As for the refund - is it just the unit pool, or prestige as well?
Stormchaser wrote: Mon Nov 30, 2020 2:02 am Hofmann ultimately gets assigned to Shrapnell, as not only can it now possibly catch enemy bombers unawares, but when I have air superiority I can also use it to surprise enemy tanks.
I wonder if the AI got smarter after some patches, as I've heard stories about planes swarming themselves towards tempting targets with a Camouflaged AA hero and getting shod down one by one. Similarly for AT units. Funny enough, I never rolled Camouflage yet, so I'm not sure how things look now, but this can be quite promising.
Stormchaser wrote: Mon Nov 30, 2020 2:02 am I feel that this is the first scenario where the benefits of Auxiliary Force really started to shine. Seville has the issue where the Army of Africa units take up all your Auxiliary Slots, while in Antequera the extra units don't have too much impact due to the compact nature of the battlefield. Here, however, spreading your forces out to take the various key points along the river, which are getting reinforced by the enemy several times during the scenario, is tough, so having an extra unit or two along with each group to act as meatshields for more valuable units, help finish off wounded enemies, and/or provide the manpower to complete an encirclement comes in handy frequently. Which has me cautiously curious as to how this will impact Ebro...
What for me showed best how Auxiliary Force impacts things is the final screen near Badajoz. In my previous runs I always ended up capturing it and just holding onto that position, as there were never enough units to try and go for an encirclement while at the same time focusing on the main objective. But with 5 infantry units to spare that can be freely controlled and the situation can be changed drastically. The army now can be directed where it is needed the most and from what I can see - to great success.
Stormchaser
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Posts: 262
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Stormchaser »

Tassadar wrote: Mon Nov 30, 2020 9:50 pm Wow, I was not aware of this little mechanic and was under the impression these would be lost once the scenario ends. This adds extra spice to the whole run, as now you can afford to be much more carefree about using auxiliary forces and keep most of the captured equipment for them, aside from maybe a few most common units that appear in SCW. There are tons of good, but rare ones and having access to a decent pool for Ebro for example would make things much easier. Also, this provides a workaround for Slow Modernization. As for the refund - is it just the unit pool, or prestige as well?
Pain.
So, that statement was made because I could have sworn I had reinforced the M11 during Antequera, so when I was in Merida that run and saw I only had 10 M11s left (I think it was down to 3-5 at the end?), I assumed that's what happened. As it turns out, well...you'll see in the next update...
I wonder if the AI got smarter after some patches, as I've heard stories about planes swarming themselves towards tempting targets with a Camouflaged AA hero and getting shod down one by one. Similarly for AT units. Funny enough, I never rolled Camouflage yet, so I'm not sure how things look now, but this can be quite promising.
Schrapnell is quickly becoming one of my favorite units this run, and there has been a few occasions where a bomber or fighter went to attack some of my units within easy reach of it, although it's often hard to tell if that's because of AI making poor decisions or the camo, lol.
What for me showed best how Auxiliary Force impacts things is the final screen near Badajoz. In my previous runs I always ended up capturing it and just holding onto that position, as there were never enough units to try and go for an encirclement while at the same time focusing on the main objective. But with 5 infantry units to spare that can be freely controlled and the situation can be changed drastically. The army now can be directed where it is needed the most and from what I can see - to great success.
Mmhmm, a few extra units can make a big difference in what tactical options you have available. And of course, the more Core Slots I have available, the more Auxiliary Slots I will have as well. The size of my army will grow larger and larger as I progress.
Actually, while Ebro should be interesting, I'm starting to really look forward to certain 1939 scenarios like Orenthal, Bzura, and Warsaw.
Stormchaser
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Posts: 262
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Stormchaser »

AO: SCW-Toledo
Starting Prestige: 11068 (8373 after purchases and repairs)

Hero:
Image
River Assault is something I would have liked to put on an Infantry of some kind, but Schneider can work with Dragoner just fine.

Core Purchases and Upgrades:
Husar outfitted with Trubia.
Pfadfinder outfitted with AAC-1937
Trebuchet outfitted with 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7).

Starting Army Composition:
Core:
Tanks:
  • PzAbt.101 'Vorhut'-BT-5
  • PzAbt.102 'Dragoner'-Trubia-River Assault
  • PzAbt.103 'Husar'-Trubia
Recon:
  • AufkAbt.101 'Wegbereiter'-UNL-35-*
  • AufkAbt.102 'Pfadfinder'-AAC-1937-*
Anti-Tank:
  • PjAbt.101 'Wachter'-45mm M1932 (Horse Transport)-Hit and Run
Artillery:
  • ArtAbt.101 'Trebuchet'-152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7)
  • ArtAbt.102 'Katapult'-152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7)
  • ArtAbt.103 'Ballista'-10.5cm leFH 18 (Horse Transport)
Anti-Aircraft:
  • FlakAbt.101 'Schrapnell'-2cm FlaK 30 (Horse Transport)-Camouflage
Fighter:
  • I./JG1 'As'-He 51
  • II./JG1 'Windschatten'-He 51
Tactical Bomber:
  • I./SG1 'Himmelsfeuer'-Hs 123a
  • II./SG1 'Feuersturm'-Hs 123a
  • III./SG1 'Hagelsturm'-Hs 123a
Reserve:
Anti-Tank:
  • PjAbt.102 'Verteifiger'-3.7cm Pak 36 (Horse Transport)
Fighter:
  • III./JG1 'Schall'-He 51
Tactical Bomber:
  • I./AG1 'Alderauge'-He 70 Rayo
Strategic Bomber:
  • I./KG1 'Stratus'-Ju 52 Bomber
  • II./KG1 'Kumulus'-Ju 52 Bomber
  • III./KG1 'Zirrus'-Ju 52 Bomber
Auxiliary:
Infantry:
  • 6 CTV Infantry (Truck)
  • 1 IT Bridge Eng (Truck)
Tank:
  • 1 FT-17
Artillery:
  • 2 105mm 105/28 (Horse Transport)
Anti-Aircraft:
  • 1 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7)
Fighter:
  • 2 CR.32
So apparently I might have been wrong about Auxiliaries made with captured/prototype equipment refunding you when they disband between scenarios, because I now have only 9 203mm and it never got damaged once. An annoying setback, but I guess I don't have to worry about fitting in a 6 Slot Artillery till 1939 at least?
On the positive side, this is the first mission that doesn't start with any Auxiliaries already deployed, so I get full control over my Auxiliary Force composition.

Image
A group of Italians support the push to Polan...
Image
While the majority of my army pushes towards Toledo from the northwest.
Image
Shrapnell has been the quiet MVP of the run so far. Blasting this unwitting bomber actually brings it to just under 1000exp, my 3rd most experienced unit so far.
Image
As space gets a bit crowded and the fighting dies down north of Toledo, my Bridging Engineer allow for a small tactical crossing north of Polan, before beginning the trip around to the east side of the city to perform a similar maneuver, allowing for an assault on the gun batteries in the hills there.

Ending Prestige: 11700 (+3327)
Thoughts: My theory that the more you have to spread your forces in a scenario, the more your Auxiliary Force comes in handy continues to prove true. I was able to fill both of the smaller Deployment Zones and still had plenty to make a solid force in the big Deployment area. As such, both of the smaller groups made faster progress than usual runs where I only have enough for 2-3 units in those spots, without any weakening of the main force.
Bridging Units are one of those Units I tend to forget about until halfway through a scenario when I realize I could really use them and didn't deploy or even buy any. Since they are only useful in certain types of maps and I don't care about them having experience, they make prime Auxiliary picks on maps with rivers to cross. Having an option other than the congested bridges at Toledo for getting my forces across the river was invaluable.
Shrapnell has been a dark horse contender for MVP status this run do to a mixture of luck, skill, and the Camouflage Trait often resulting in it being in range of at least 1 enemy aircraft in the early rounds of a scenario (which my fighters can then easily finish off after Schrapnell mauls it), but it continues to prove it's worth when the skies are clear as an Anti-Tank gun with a potent Soft Attack, and has done an amazing job of finishing off weakened Infantry as well as standing up to Republican armored units.
Last edited by Stormchaser on Thu Dec 03, 2020 5:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Tassadar
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Tassadar »

Stormchaser wrote: Tue Dec 01, 2020 12:13 amSo apparently I might have been wrong about Auxiliaries made with captured/prototype equipment refunding you when they disband between scenarios, because I now have only 9 203mm and it never got damaged once. An annoying setback, but I guess I don't have to worry about fitting in a 6 Slot Artillery till 1939 at least?
On the positive side, this is the first mission that doesn't start with any Auxiliaries already deployed, so I get full control over my Auxiliary Force composition.
So that was apparently too good to be true. A dream short lived, but was fun while it lasted. Makes auxiliaries expendable then and just using the more advanced units in the actual core if there's enough supply.
Stormchaser wrote: Tue Dec 01, 2020 12:13 amBridging Units are one of those Units I tend to forget about until halfway through a scenario when I realize I could really use them and didn't deploy or even buy any. Since they are only useful in certain types of maps and I don't care about them having experience, they make prime Auxiliary picks on maps with rivers to cross. Having an option other than the congested bridges at Toledo for getting my forces across the river was invaluable.
My main problem with these is that I was always so starved for core slots, that even that extra 1-2 bridge engineer was a hard decision. I can imagine how auxiliaries such as recon planes and bridge engineers can make small tactical differences. It's going to be an adventure seeing many alternative ways to handle usual scenarios - I already see hordes of bridge engineers setting up Bzura for a counter-counter-attack. :)
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Stormchaser »

Tassadar wrote: Tue Dec 01, 2020 3:31 pm So that was apparently too good to be true. A dream short lived, but was fun while it lasted. Makes auxiliaries expendable then and just using the more advanced units in the actual core if there's enough supply.
Mmhmm.
I'm guessing that I misremembered giving replacements to the M11 back when I used it, which is what made me think that since I had 10 left in the next scenario it was refunded.
If only I had noticed at Merida and still had more than 19 available instead of that taunting 9...
Again though, it might be for the best as a 6 Slots Unit with no Zero/Reduced Slots Hero at this point is a hefty investment, albeit one that's negated somewhat by the Auxiliaries...
Shame the only place I can restock it I know of (Raate Road 1939) will come after I get the better German equivalent.

I have been making some use of captured equipment I have decent stocks of but aren't quite good enough for my Core for Auxiliaries, at least when I don't have Italian equipment that does that job just as well. Which is nice considering it usually just piles up unused.
Which is what lead to my first, and likely last, use of the FT-17, which despite it's mobility issues was still a better tank than the Italian Tankettes. :lol:
My main problem with these is that I was always so starved for core slots, that even that extra 1-2 bridge engineer was a hard decision. I can imagine how auxiliaries such as recon planes and bridge engineers can make small tactical differences. It's going to be an adventure seeing many alternative ways to handle usual scenarios - I already see hordes of bridge engineers setting up Bzura for a counter-counter-attack. :)
Mmhmm. Usually the only times I'd have a Recon Plane or Bridge Engineer deployed was if I had a single Core Slot left with my current deployment and didn't have a good idea to shuffle things around for a more precise fit.

Bridge Engineers at least have the excuse that they are only really relevant on certain types of maps, but Recon Cars are just so much more useful than Recon Planes because their Recon Trait just passively rewards you for using them, whereas you have to actively plan how to use the Recon Planes, and usually if I have a target I would want a Recon Plane over, it's already got a Bomber overhead! :o I feel like giving the Recon Plane Double or Phased Movement would immensely improve it's performance, but that runs into the issue that there are so many units that would make better use out of those Heroes.

Poor Alderauge will remain the unfortunate permanent Reserve 1 Slotter, plus my option if we do end up needing a Recon Plane for a certain pilot mentioned in 1939...
Stormchaser
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Stormchaser »

AO: SCW-Early Madrid
Starting Prestige: 12750 (9384 after purchases and repairs)

Event:
Image
I'm sorry, but what did that message say again? I seem to have selected yes so quickly I missed it.

Hero:
Image
Vorhut receives it's first Hero. Now I just need to remember it has this when positioning units...

Core Purchases and Upgrades:
PjAbt.201 'Sturmer'-Panzer I Breda recruited.
PzAbt.S01 'Armadura'-Verdeja 2 recruited mid-scenario.
Dragoner outfitted with BT-5
Ballista outfitted with 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7)

Starting Army Composition:
Core:
Tanks:
  • PzAbt.101 'Vorhut'-BT-5-*, Artillery Support
  • PzAbt.102 'Dragoner'-BT-5-River Assault
  • PzAbt.103 'Husar'-Trubia-*
  • PzAbt.S01 'Armadura'
Recon:
  • AufkAbt.101 'Wegbereiter'-UNL-35-*
  • AufkAbt.102 'Pfadfinder'-AAC-1937-*
Anti-Tank:
  • PjAbt.101 'Wachter'-45mm M1932 (Horse Transport)-Hit and Run
  • PjAbt.201 'Sturmer'-Panzer I Breda
Artillery:
  • ArtAbt.101 'Trebuchet'-152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7)
  • ArtAbt.102 'Katapult'-152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7)
  • ArtAbt.103 'Ballista'-152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7)
Anti-Aircraft:
  • FlakAbt.101 'Schrapnell'-2cm FlaK 30 (Horse Transport)-*, Camouflage
Fighter:
  • I./JG1 'As'-He 51
  • II./JG1 'Windschatten'-He 51
Tactical Bomber:
  • I./SG1 'Himmelsfeuer'-Hs 123a
  • II./SG1 'Feuersturm'-Hs 123a
  • III./SG1 'Hagelsturm'-Hs 123a
Reserve:
Anti-Tank:
  • PjAbt.102 'Verteifiger'-3.7cm Pak 36 (Horse Transport)
Fighter:
  • III./JG1 'Schall'-He 51
Tactical Bomber:
  • I./AG1 'Alderauge'-He 70 Rayo
Strategic Bomber:
  • I./KG1 'Stratus'-Ju 52 Bomber
  • II./KG1 'Kumulus'-Ju 52 Bomber
  • III./KG1 'Zirrus'-Ju 52 Bomber
Auxiliary:
Infantry:
  • 6 CTV Infantry (Truck)
Anti-Tank:
  • 2 47/32 M35 (Truck)
Artillery:
  • 2 105mm 105/28 (Horse Transport)
Anti-Aircraft:
  • 2 2cm FlaK 30 (Horse Transport)
Fighter:
  • 3 Cr.32
We finally get a new unit available in the shop (The Ju 52s don't count :lol: ). I've had poor to mixed success with the Breda in previous runs, owing to the fact that while is nice to have a Tank Destroyer and not just Anti-Tank guns, it's stats aren't the greatest for it's role. It is the only option for Tank Destroyers until sometime during 1940 when the Panzerjager I appears, so might as well start trying to earn experience now.

Image
Fun isn't something one considers when waging a bloody war. But this does put a smile on my face.
Image
The hills are alive, with the sound of-wait a minute...
Image
"Hello there." "Comandante Vega!"
Image
The first wave of enemy reinforcements arrive accompanied by rain, as the battle for control over the Arroyo de la Zorra truly begins.
Image
"Let me out! Let me out!"

Ending Prestige: 14002 (+4618)
Thoughts: Early Madrid is always an exciting scenario, and not only do to the arrival of the Verjeda 2. The scenario itself is a bit of a race against the clock to fight through the defenders at Hills 24 and 28 and beyond to seize the river crossings before the enemy reinforcements show up so you can bottleneck them. Once again, having a few extra units from my Auxiliary to help reinforce the line as my army is stretched thin to cover the key positions pays off. The extra Fighters were invaluable for dealing with the new I-16s, while the extra Anti-Tanks and Artillery helped make the enemy think twice on assaulting the crossings once I had them secure.
Vega ended up being much less of a problem this scenario, mostly do to charging straight into the center mass of my force instead of running away and hiding behind his allies and rivers, allowing for a quick and easy encirclement and suppressing bombardment. Fortunately, next time he shows up I should be ready to deal with him once and for all...
Last edited by Stormchaser on Thu Dec 03, 2020 5:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Stormchaser
Staff Sergeant - StuG IIIF
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Posts: 262
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Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Stormchaser »

AO: SCW-Corunna Road
Starting Prestige: 15402 (12392 after purchases and repairs)

Hero:
Image
While Sturmer isn't exactly an offensive powerhouse at the moment, future Tank Destroyers will be, so let's call this assignment an investment for the future.

Core Purchases and Upgrades:
Husar outfitted with BT-5.
Pfadfinder outfitted with BA-6.

Starting Army Composition:
Core:
Tanks:
  • PzAbt.101 'Vorhut'-BT-5-*, Artillery Support
  • PzAbt.102 'Dragoner'-BT-5-*, River Assault
  • PzAbt.103 'Husar'-BT-5-*
  • PzAbt.S01 'Armadura'
Recon:
  • AufkAbt.101 'Wegbereiter'-UNL-35-*
  • AufkAbt.102 'Pfadfinder'-BA-6-*
Anti-Tank:
  • PjAbt.201 'Sturmer'-Panzer I Breda-Overrun
Artillery:
  • ArtAbt.101 'Trebuchet'-152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7)
  • ArtAbt.102 'Katapult'-152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7)
  • ArtAbt.103 'Ballista'-152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7)
Fighter:
  • I./JG1 'As'-He 51
  • II./JG1 'Windschatten'-He 51
Tactical Bomber:
  • I./SG1 'Himmelsfeuer'-Hs 123a-*
  • II./SG1 'Feuersturm'-Hs 123a
  • III./SG1 'Hagelsturm'-Hs 123a
Reserve:
Anti-Tank:
  • PjAbt.101 'Wachter'-45mm M1932 (Horse Transport)-Hit and Run
  • PjAbt.102 'Verteifiger'-3.7cm Pak 36 (Horse Transport)
Anti-Aircraft:
  • FlakAbt.101 'Schrapnell'-2cm FlaK 30 (Horse Transport)-*, Camouflage
Fighter:
  • III./JG1 'Schall'-He 51
Tactical Bomber:
  • I./AG1 'Alderauge'-He 70 Rayo
Strategic Bomber:
  • I./KG1 'Stratus'-Ju 52 Bomber
  • II./KG1 'Kumulus'-Ju 52 Bomber
  • III./KG1 'Zirrus'-Ju 52 Bomber
Auxiliary:
Infantry:
  • 6 CTV Infantry (Truck)
Anti-Tank:
  • 1 47/32 M35 (Truck)
Artillery:
  • 1 105mm 105/28 (Horse Transport)
Anti-Aircraft:
  • 2 75mm Vickers M31 (SdKfz 7)
Fighter:
  • 4 CR.32
It hurts to put Shrapnell in Reserve after exemplary, but Wachter is one of my more lackluster units so far even with Hit and Run and I need 2 Core Slots to keep Armadura in the field. I would have Reserved Sturmer, but I'd like to try to get it caught up more experience wise.
I've pretty much upgraded everything to what I want at this point, just in time too considering if memory serves a big update to my available German equipment will be hitting next scenario.

Image
Doing it's name proud, Vorhut is both the first Tank to earn Steamroller AND the first unit to earn an Award period.
Image
Between the very defensable position and the concentration of enemies around it, it's no surprise that Hermit's Villa is the last of the initial enemy defensive line to fall.
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The only thing preventing this apparent Ace from being completely terrifying is the fact that it only has 5 Strength. Which means all I needed was a pair of CR.32s to knock it out of the sky.
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One prison liberation, courtesy of Condor Jailbreakers.

Ending Prestige: 12977 (+585)
Thoughts: Today's lesson of the day is that Giving a Unit an Overrun Hero also gives it the ability to earn the Steamroller Award, at least for Anti-Tanks. Further tsting required to determine if it works for every type of unit (Now that I'm thinking about it, would giving Overrun to a Fighter or Bomber even work? Further testing required!*). Which means Kruger might be one of those rare Heroes that you actually want to transfer between Units of your Army, after the current one earns Steamroller of course. Which makes having Kruger this early a boon that will only become better over time, and makes me somewhat regret not putting him on one of my Recons since they have better stats for trying to farm Overruns at this time.
Every wave of reinforcements came from the northeast zone this time, which worked out since the prison break team ended up being comprised mostly from the group covering the southwest zone. The fact that most of the Spanish Infantry gravitated to the northeasternmost Victory Point was both beneficial to the defense while also problematic, as they tended to get pretty damaged and then dip into my Prestige a lot more than I'd have liked.

*After some testing using the game's scenario designer I have learned that:
  • All Ground Units can gain access to and thus earn Steamroller with an Overrun Hero. Cue the maniacal laughter and plotting.
  • Artillery can trigger Overrun from long range, but being on flat Terrain is still required. Unfortunately as much as multi-attack Artillery is useful, I feel that the flat Terrain requirement to earn Steamroller when Artillery usually are assaulting more fortified positions, often on hills and in cities, as well as Artillery's overall focus on being the first to Attack a target and Suppressing instead of killing makes Overrunning a poor fit for this type of unit. Maybe if you combo it with Lethal Attack on the bigger guns it might be worth it?
  • Anti-Aircraft can trigger Overruns in Anti-Tank mode, but shooting down Aircraft does not trigger Overrun. On one hand, a single 8.8cm shooting down multiple squadrons is just a dream, on the other hand enemy Aircraft don't usually cluster enough around your AA guns for it to really matter.
  • Steamroller shows up for Aircraft, however as far as I can tell (Fighter attacking Aircraft, Bomber attacking Ground Unit) they cannot trigger Overrun and thus are unable to actually earn it. My guess for this, as well as AA being unable to trigger Overrun on Aircraft, is because the sky doesn't count as flat Terrain. Which is more of a shame for Aircraft, after all, can you just imagine a Bomber with Overrun?
Last edited by Stormchaser on Thu Dec 03, 2020 5:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Tassadar
Major - Jagdpanther
Major - Jagdpanther
Posts: 1015
Joined: Mon Mar 11, 2019 1:03 pm

Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Tassadar »

Stormchaser wrote: Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:50 am Today's lesson of the day is that Giving a Unit an Overrun Hero also gives it the ability to earn the Steamroller Award, at least for Anti-Tanks. Further tsting required to determine if it works for every type of unit (Now that I'm thinking about it, would giving Overrun to a Fighter or Bomber even work? Further testing required!*). Which means Kruger might be one of those rare Heroes that you actually want to transfer between Units of your Army, after the current one earns Steamroller of course. Which makes having Kruger this early a boon that will only become better over time, and makes me somewhat regret not putting him on one of my Recons since they have better stats for trying to farm Overruns at this time.
That's got much potential, but in these situation I always worry things might end up getting out of hand and create an unstoppable army. That's for sure not as insane as Envelopment/Overwhelming Attack, but Overrun on everything could become silly overpowered really quickly. :)
Stormchaser
Staff Sergeant - StuG IIIF
Staff Sergeant - StuG IIIF
Posts: 262
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2020 1:38 am

Re: AO-General Flasch's Auxiliary Adventures

Post by Stormchaser »

Tassadar wrote: Thu Dec 03, 2020 12:38 pm
Stormchaser wrote: Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:50 am Today's lesson of the day is that Giving a Unit an Overrun Hero also gives it the ability to earn the Steamroller Award, at least for Anti-Tanks. Further tsting required to determine if it works for every type of unit (Now that I'm thinking about it, would giving Overrun to a Fighter or Bomber even work? Further testing required!*). Which means Kruger might be one of those rare Heroes that you actually want to transfer between Units of your Army, after the current one earns Steamroller of course. Which makes having Kruger this early a boon that will only become better over time, and makes me somewhat regret not putting him on one of my Recons since they have better stats for trying to farm Overruns at this time.
That's got much potential, but in these situation I always worry things might end up getting out of hand and create an unstoppable army. That's for sure not as insane as Envelopment/Overwhelming Attack, but Overrun on everything could become silly overpowered really quickly. :)
Honestly, I'm not sure about that.
It kinda boils down to 'If everything has Overstrength, nothing will' because it doesn't materr if you have 50 Units with Overrun if there are, say, only 10 units in range of your forces. Some units waste their Overrun for the turn weakening the Units, sometimes a certain kill instead becomes a 1 Strength retreat, Units use up all their Move Points just getting to the target, and just the general which Units do you decide to actually trigger Overrun when it comes up. I've had situations like that happen with my Tanks plenty of times before.
Basically, Overrun is handy, but there will likely be plenty of times where having Overrun just doesn't do anything to help a Unit.

Well, one way or another I guess we'll find out as this adventure continues. And I still need to actually get all those Overruns to get Steamroller on Sturmer in the first place before I can even begin any sort of mass Steamroller plans.

There is also the fact that I personally feel that having to actively work to set up the right situations to earn Steamroller as opposed to just getting ridiculously lucky with the Hero handouts also works in thee Overruns plan's favor because then it's a reward for hard work as opposed to sheer luck. :lol:
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