AO beg steal and steal again

[scott_mathieson]

Spanish summary : I like this dlc a lot nice mixture of challenges with ebro being the standout nightmare and few early mission that the ai makes for an annoying time. as for this run through it was all about setting foundation and I reckon I did that ok. Collector was a good challenge to keep you from stacking your core with the best units and shoe string kept prestige from getting too much, it got close to being an issue but not really due to me selling some heroes <br/>
if i had to change anything i would not have taken trophies to see if this pushed the prestige issue and make me play safer. if i wanted to make it impossible, for me at least i would have taken no overstrength. panzer general could be removed as denied aircraft frees up slots for you.

so with al units repaired and at strength 10 i ended up with 8,983 prestige and
finished up with following core:

Tanks
T26 ** +1 soft attack, +1 hard attack 425 reserve
BT5 ** 64reserve
verdja ** +1 soft attack
PZIIa *
PzIb ** +1 soft attack
OT133 16 reserve

recon

aac 1937 * +1 soft attack, steamroller 46 reserve
Ba 6 ** +1 soft attack, steamroller 47 reserve
sdkfz 221 **
sdkfz 231 * +1 soft attack, steamroller
unl 35 ** 204 reserve

Artillary

10.5 cm * 46 reserve
12.2 cm ** 88 reserve
15.2 cm * 92 reserve
20.3 cm * 11 reserve

AA

sdkfz 10/4 *
88mm *
20mm m33 92 reserves
76.2mm m31 36 reserves
3.7 mm
2cm flak

aircraft

I-16 ** 23 reserves
he51 *
he51 *

Hs 123a ** +1 hard attack
Hs 123a
Hs 123a

ju52
ju52
ju52


challenges: keeping both though collector could be nightmare for my infantry set up<br/>

traits
no artillery, keep as main point of set up
no aircraft, (as above)
retrograde, (this is a serious limitation in 1939 as it will mean wont get much in the way of new gear until after warsaw)
inefficient supply (played with this for so long ill just keep it)<br/>
slow modernization (wont need a lot of unnecessary upgrading due to retrograde so keep)<br/>
trench slog (was annoying but not overly so, keep)<br/>
fear of unknown (was annoying but not overly so, keep)<br/>

positive

panzer general
master of blitzkrieg (just as it makes sense)
deadly grasp (help with captures)
perimeter control (help with captures)
industry connection(to helpwith unit sand is kinda fun though in SCW i was bit unlucky at times)
ant-air vet ( to help with no aircraft)
killer team ( will need some strong units to compensate for fielding weaker back ups)
operational initiative (boost to help deal with generalisimus)
terrain expert (as above)

dropped
auxiliary force (didn't help with lack of units)
trophies ( will negate trying to keep prestige lower especially with heroes that generate it)

extra this time

force concentration (mainly to supercharge the small amount of infantry ill have)<br/>
aggressive deployment(picked this to help make AA more mobile and think ill be stuck with trucks for a while too<br/>

i threw the dice and got killer team of
hit and run (handy)
lightning attack(ok)
ignore ZOC (ok)
rapid fire 1.5x 9 (excellant)

looking forward to trying this hoping lack of engineers doesnt bite too hard, also need to manage my russian gear to last as without trophies capturing enough french gear will be difficult

[scott_mathieson]

complete Czechoslovakia , fairly straight forward puzzle that isnt impacted by any of the restrictions.

[WalterTFD]

AO 39, here....we....go!

[scott_mathieson]

th emine mission was ok now for a bit of a nemesis mission and now i have less infantry oh yeah

hero a second envelopment hero which is handy, prototype more pz IIIF

starting line

azul OS 19 (lightning attack, aiming assistance, fearsome rep)
wher
pioneer OS 20 (entrencment killer)
cavalry OS 20
grenaders os 20 (envelopment, famous, fearsome reputation)

OT133 OS 15 (field repairs kersher, hit and run., rapid fire)
panzer ** IIc OS 15
verdja ** (ignores zoc, envelopment, cheap replacements


10.5cm gun *
122 mm gun **
152 mm gun *
203 mm gun *os 15 (zero slots, expert support)

2cm fleverking * OS 15(camoflage)
3.7 mm flak OS 15
sdkfz *

I-16 ** galland aggresive counter

[WalterTFD]

Second envelopment hero! Excellent fortune, shouldn't ever have any prestige concerns.

[scott_mathieson]

Second envelopment hero! Excellent fortune, shouldn't ever have any prestige concerns.

indeed, even without trophies

[scott_mathieson]

so wardnt forest was usual nightmare didnt get all bonus but at least hit the town and also forced surrender on the char unit, having only one pioneer unit with trench slog is not nice. using 20cm and flame tank was risk and lost supply of both in an untidy ending. AA does fine without the 88mm gun one plane with galland enough to take care of bombers the fleverking got 2 instant kills might try aiming assistance on it to try and get exp on it a bit higher

on to orenthal and some normal play again. hero is butcher which is very useful on infantry either pioneer or azul, prototype Pz IVd which is ok but i like the IIC time to sort out my core a bit and assign some roles. also set some targets to maximise exp and get steam roller going, i have it on 3 recons so a fourth and ill be finished with cross training and get it for the tanks.

upgrade t26 to char b1
IIA to IVD bit of a risk but what the hell i have enough armour avaible to loose IIa
hornbach group to start softening up that town

azul * OS 20 (fearsome, butcher, rapid fire, half slots)
pioneer OS 20 (fearsome, entrenchment killer, zero slots) bltz through city defense
10cm ** gun
12 cm ** gun
flackvierling * OS 20 (camo, aiming assistance, expert support) jhopefully atract som planes and get exp boost from assistance.

main group

clear out towns/infantry/AT

cavalry (lightning attack)
grenadiers
OT 133 * OS 15 (field repairs, kerscher , hit and run)
15cm * gun

take out enemy armour
cahr b1 *
pz IVD *
Pz IIc **
Pz IIIF ** (envelopment )
verdja * (envelopment no zoc famous)
sdkfz 221 **
sdkfz 231 *
aac 1937 *
ba 6 **
unl 35 **

3.7 flak OS 15 *
sdkfz 10/4 *
88mm * (cheap replacements)
2cm flak *

i_16 OS 15 ** (galland)
hs 123a **

[scott_mathieson]

Orenthal was fine completed all objectives, only issue was the town itself usually you can get the surround on and steal a lot of prestige but trench slog really limits that idea. aiming assistance on the flakvierling worked a treat gained about 500 prestige which is good for AA. the march to 3 stars and steam rollers on the tanks going well. have option of a 4th recon steam roller now. lost valuble stuff, flakvierling and pzIVd to low on numbers to deploy.

saarbrucken now and big choices, do i deploy 1 fighter unit and see it destroyed not sure if AA defends fighters at all, do i buy some AT, where does my limited infantry sit. i had 11 cp so miss out on extra tank unit which is fairly annoying. will leave flame tank in reserve and use filed repair on the 20cm.

hero is aiming assistance so use it to farm exp, prototype pz IIIG very handy but 20 not really enough to deploy front line as IVd showed on last map

upgrade pzIVd to t26
upgrade to 2cm flak
bought 45 mm at
bought 37mm at

OS as much units as possible

defend gersweiler

azul * OS 20 (fearsome, butcher, rapid fire, half slots)
cavalry (lightning attack)
45 mm AAOS 15
15cm * gun (aiming assistance
3.7 mm AA *
76,2mm AA
unl 35


defend sarbrucken

wher
grenedier
2cm flak OS 15
10cm ** gun
20cm gun OS 15 (zero slot, expert field repairs)
sdkfz 221 **
88mm * (cheap replacements)

i_16 OS 15 ** (galland)
hs 123a **

defend halberg

pioneer OS 20 (fearsome, entrenchment killer, oleh)
3.7mm AT OS 15
20 mm * OS 20 (camo, aiming assistance)
12 cm ** gun





main group

clear out towns airfields and right flank attack
char b1 * (kersher hit and run)
t26 * OS 15
Pz IIc OS 15 **
Pz IIIF OS 15 ** (envelopment )
verdja *OS 15 (envelopment no zoc famous)
sdkfz 231
aac 1937 *
ba 6 **
sdkfz 10/4
bridge engineers

[WalterTFD]

Check to make sure you need your rapid fire hero on the Azul inf. I think they come naturally with 1.5x rapid fire.

You seem to have found your groove, taking them down one after another. Kersher in a Char B1 is a mainstay of my strats as well.

[scott_mathieson]

Check to make sure you need your rapid fire hero on the Azul inf. I think they come naturally with 1.5x rapid fire.

You seem to have found your groove, taking them down one after another. Kersher in a Char B1 is a mainstay of my strats as well.

excellant point thanks for this

will be doing bit of a stock take now im in poland

[scott_mathieson]

so saarbrucken went very well the defenders dug in and the recons dealt with any flanking units quite well, destroy their right flank then jumped the river and wiped out the centre then got back in time to sort out second wave on the right. now have 4 tanks with steam roller and 3 recons with it, i actually have 5 recons so need to transfer the 2 without it to tanks and 1 tank to recon, this laves 4 recons with steam roller which will be enough going forward. just a matter of maxing out their exp, same with tanks who alos need a few more steam rollers. have small issue of limited artillery would prefer 4 in addition to 20cm but have nt seen anything decent for stealing so far. in addition i can only really safely deploy 20cm or flame tank not both.

if finding myself possibly too many slots so getting through maps easily combination of panzer general and not having airforce.


so now in poland hero artillary support which can go on forward tank, proto flkveirling

upgrade unl 35 to pz IIIg
upgrade sdkfz 221 to souma
upgrade t26 to sdkfz 221

this gives 4 recons with steamroller , need to move envelopment to units with steam roller and concentrate on getting it on remaining tanks

bought 10mm vickers gun

split force into 2 flanks

PITEK crossing

pioneer * OS 20 (fearsome, entrenchment killer, oleh)
azul * OS 20 (fearsome, butcher, half slots)
Pz IIc OS 15 **
Pz IIIF ** (envelopment )
verdja *OS 15 (envelopment no zoc famous)
char b1 ** (kersher hit and run)
sdkfz 221
sdkfz 231 **
3.7mm AT OS 15
2cm flak OS 15
3.7 mm AA * (export support)
sdkfz 10/4 *
12 cm ** gun
15cm ** gun OS 15 (aiming assistance, zero slots)
i_16 OS 15 ** (galland, aggresive counter, rapid fire)

lowicz crossing

wher
grenedier
cavalry * (lightning attack)
souma
OT 133 * (field repairs)
pz IIIG (artillary support)
aac 1937 *
ba 6 **
45 mm AAOS 15
10mm vickers gun
10cm ** gun
76.2mm AA
88mm * (cheap replacements)
20 mm * OS 20 (camo, aiming assistance)

[scott_mathieson]

another solid play through the extra slots with not needing airforce really paying off. 1939 is actually much easier than SCW.

next roll and i get 1.5 x rapid fire and prototype more flakveirling

reduced core for this map so can look to concentrate on units i want exp for

no upgrades or new units

PITEK crossing

pioneer * OS 20 (fearsome, entrenchment killer, oleh)
azul * OS 20 (fearsome, butcher, half slots)
cavalry * (lightning attack)
char b1 ** (kersher hit and run evelopment)
OT 133 * (field repairs)
Pz IIIF ** (envelopment )
pz IIIG **(artillary support, rapid fire)
verdja ** OS 15 (envelopment no zoc famous)
sdkfz 221
sdkfz 231 **
aac 1937 *
ba 6 **
12 cm ** gun
15cm ** gun OS 15 (aiming assistance, zero slots)
10cm ** gun
88mm * (cheap replacements)
20 mm ** OS 20 (camo, aiming assistance)
sdkfz 10/4 *
i_16 OS 15 ** (galland, aggresive counter, rapid fire)

[Tassadar]

That Artillery Support/Rapid Fire tank is going to be amazing later with a Pazner IV. Basically a super StuG that also has access to Overrun.

[scott_mathieson]

very straight forward mission really just showing the polish collapse

onto the next and i get lethal attack hero, prototype is PZIVd

no upgrades and i added lethal attack 15cm gun

same core as last mission

and same result simple enough mission.

[mdh_slith]

1939 is much easier than SCW until the first Polish scenario. That is when my computer crashed, needed a Window reinstall and I had to start over.

[scott_mathieson]

so now on to warsaw, the no air force means the junk you get is not junk to me lol. i get another lethal force hero and more AA prototype this time sdkfz 7/1.
upgrades
he51 to pzl p1.c
ju52 to pzl p37.b
pz IIf tp pzIVd due to lack of spares

plan is to go in with all infantry and arty some planes and any vehicle that need exp/steam roller, had in from north east, core is good enough to do well but worried how much trench slog will influence this all

line up

azul OS 20 ** (butcher reduced slots)
wher OS 20
pioneers OS 20 * (entrenchment killer 3, oleh dar)
grenadeir OS 20
cavalry OS 20 * (lightning attack)
bridge engineer

10.5 vickers
10cm gun **
122 mm **
152mm ** OS 15 (lethal attack aiming assistance)
203 mm ** OS 15 (lethal attack zero slots)

3.7 flak *
88mm * (cheap replacements)
20 mm m33 ** (aiming assistance camoflage)
sdkz 10/4 *

sdkfz 231 **
sdkfz 221 * (fearsome rep envelopment)
acc 1937 ** (fearsome rep envelopment)

OT 133 * (kerscher hit and run field repair ignore zoc)
pz IVd **
pz IIIg ** (artillary support famous rapid fire)
souma **

1-16 ** (galand)
pzl p1.c * (aggressive counter) protection for 20cm
pzl p37.b

[scott_mathieson]

Warsaw is taken , all went to plan took all 50 turns down to a mixture of trench slog and delaying kills for steam rollers, another 2 steam rollers achieved and 2 to get are quite close so will will done by end of this chapter. new plane very welcome addition and core is really shaping up

[scott_mathieson]

on to raate road, hero vigilant which i like and prottype pzIIIh, also starting to get new units soo now allowed czech tanks lol.

going with strong core of units and main target is to get some back up flame tanks and anything else nice, after this can do stock take or where im at and use last 2 missions to farm exp etc

ugrade
IIIg to IIIH

set up

uzul **
pioneers **
char b ***
pz IIc ***
pzIIIh **
souma **
verdja ***
ba6 ***
12cm **
15cm***
88mm *
sdkfx 10/4 *
20mm flak

1-16
sturmnikov

[scott_mathieson]

so managed to steal some flame tanks and 20cm/15cm/12cm guns, the 20cm are back up the rest are different types so need to steal more. now have steam roller on all tanks so its just about farming exp.

hero is distraction which is not much use bu t i havent had too many duff ones, prototype pz IIIH

set upo for this is 2 battle groups on eon either flank , get across to south and just massacre the reds

upgrades

pz ivd to panzer 38 (out of back up)
20mm m33 to flakverking

[WalterTFD]

It's all coming together, looks like. Those flame tanks, in particular, will be clutch, and Vigilant is always a game changer.