Allied: Cassino Breakthrough

[uran21]

Please post here your comments about this scenario.

[omegabet]

There is no white hex to place aircraft units, even though having 3 airfields from the start.

[Kamerer]

I encountered the same problem as Cassino, re: non-deployed units from Salerno were deleted.

[LostAgain]

Playing FM.

1. Although there are flags for them one cannot purchase Canadian, New Zealand, or Polish units as according to the game, there are no slots available, although I CAN purchase American or British units!

2. I cannot deploy ANY Aircraft, so I've got 8+3 unusable units although according to the game I've got units to deploy! This is another big glitch IMHO...My aircraft were some of the few original core units that I have left after Salerno but at least they didn't disappear after the first turn! What DID happen though was that the 2 Strategic bombers that came as auxillaries got blown out of the sky by that damn Fw 190 that flew about with impunity as I had nothing to attack it with. Another problen this brought to light was attacking Panthers, Elephants and other heavy armour. They are almost impervous to most of the armour in my inventory unless I can soften them up first with an air attack or two.

3. By turn 22 I thought I had captured everything and was just hitting the turn button to finish. The IA slowed right down and took a very long time although it had NO moves to make! Let me qulifty this comment by saying that typically the IA is almost imediate! Finally noticed on turn 25 that I'd left the Victory Hex at 11/14 untaken!

On an unrelated topic, whatever happened to Operation Barbarossa and ALL of the Russian fighting in this DLC???

[nikivdd]

Colonel level.

SE unit received: P-47D
Upgrades: 2xChurchill IV to VII, 2x Sherman I to Firefly, 2xM4A3 to M4A3-76, 1xMosquito S1toS2
Purchases: 1xB-17G

Patience is the key to success...and level bombers. The heaviest fighting is around Cassino, losing auxiliaries in the process. German tanks like allied tanks very much, so i used the auxiliary shermans as bait. The AI still doesn't resupply when ammo=1, that made the panther a very easy kill. My airforce got beaten up pretty bad by the numberous AA units. The elefant was dealt with by the Hur and two fireflies. This was definitely a very intense scenario. The numerous mountaineers were very valuable in bypassing the southern flank of the line and attack the defenders from the rear.

Losses: plenty of auxiliaries, DV 19/25, 4331PP

[Kamerer]

18b) Montecassino – beta 1

Level: Field Marshal
Prestige: Begin: 1,275 (after repair/purchases). End: 1,800. Net: +525.
Result: Triumph at 20/25
Strength policy: Deployed all at 13

Core Changes:

• Received: SE Tempest
  Disbanded: None
  Purchased: 1x Mosquito
  Upgraded: 1x Churchill to Firefly

Problems:

• • Not a real problem, but I noticed getting some really odd pp for victory hexes – like 57, etc. Seems an odd value to assign.

General impressions/comments:

• • This was a fun scenario. It felt balanced and good as it is.
  • The aux units were useful to have as cheap cannon fodder and worked well for that.

[ThvN]

Not a real problem, but I noticed getting some really odd pp for victory hexes – like 57, etc. Seems an odd value to assign.

Isn't that caused by the soft cap? It should reduce income, if you're too good that is...

[Kamerer]

Not a real problem, but I noticed getting some really odd pp for victory hexes – like 57, etc. Seems an odd value to assign.

Isn't that caused by the soft cap? It should reduce income, if you're too good that is...

Ah, yes. I thought the soft cap applied to scenario bonus awards and did not think at first it would be on hexes, too.

[grabbysnatch]

yes, having same problem. Airfields but unable to place aircraft! some units from previous scenario disappeared for Cassino

[Tarrak]

Scenario: Cassino Breakthrough (tested with the fix from Rudankort applied)
Difficulty: general
Outcome: Triumph on turn 25/25 ... should be 18 but explanation in text
Starting Prestige: 8472
End Prestige: 4871, 9532 after victory reward
Core: 2 x Engineer 43, 1 x HW infantry 43, 1 x SE Rangers, 6 x Churchil Mk.IV, 2 x M18 Hellcat, 1 x Chevy-WB recon, 1 x M8 Greyhound, 2 x 7.2 inch guns, 2 x M7 priest, 2 x M12 GMC, 1 x Hurricane Mk.IIC, 1 x Spitfire Mk. IX, 1 x SE Spitfire Mk. IX, 1 x P-47D Thunderbolt, 1 x Beaufighter Mk.IF, 2 x Wellington Mk.X

Bought a Churchill AVRE in the deployment phase.

Deployed a small detachment of my troops in the south to push west along the coast. Everything here went quite easy but due to my idiocy i called them off after capturing the airfield just in front of Formia without attacking Formia itself .. totally missed it's a victory objective. They started moving northwards through Ausonia and almost joined my main troops when i realized my mistake. Moved them fast down ... welll as fast as i could. The Churchill is a nice tank but it's not exactly fast. With the help of my air force i managed to take Formia just in time on the last turn.

In the north as expected a heavy fighting took place around Monte Cassino. The defense there is formidable but once my artillery was finally able to get into range i managed to get upper hand. Had to use few of the auxiliary units as cannon fodder here to absorb the enemy artillery fire. The victory hex on the mountain can only be taken by a unit with alpine movement but there is no such auxiliary unit in the vicinity. The French colonial Mountaineers seems to be the only units capable of taking it. If the player does not notice it and moves them south it may create a problem tho they are fast enough and the scenario is long enough to move them back after noticing the mistake.

The second line of defense at the "von Senger Line" was quite tough as well but the terrain here made it easier to take it. Lost my Engineers here to a panther attacking from fog of war. Except of that just the usual slow slog through a fortified line. Artillery suppressing targets and reducing entrenchment level slowly. The most dangerous armor get bombed. Broke through the line at around turn 16. Spotted the Elephant waiting the victory hex at Melfa River and decided to take the safe approach and bomb it. Around turn 18 all the victory hexes was in my hand .. so i thought but as i wrote earlier i totally forgot Formia which made the scenario unnecessary exciting.

Overall i found this scenario a easier then Anzio Landing but it seems i am generally better at this slow fortification breaking that Cassino was compared to the rather mobile rushes like Anzio is.

[Razz1]

General
start 9494
end

Triumph
18/25

On turn 6 Cassino was secure but not taken.

stugIIG is alittle too strong at 18,20
I owuld reduce it by one level of entrenchment.
Couldn't fight the FW-190. It was too strong. Only had one AA 40mmSPAA. Good thing it had to retreat for fuel.

The strong point at 13,23 reinforced !!!! May want to check that out. Forts are not supposed to reinforce. Maybe with the new OS we have a bug?

At Pontecorno 18,20, it is not a river hex. This is good as you need it to move your troops. So I hope that is intended.

For the briefing it says to capture the city behind Cassino. Why not list the name of the city. One can infer that the city behind it is a Triumph objective or some sort of reward.

Bought a bridge unit because I do not think the tank bridge is worth the cost. Perhaps increase the defense on the tank bridge.
Also, bought a AVRE. Not as good as expected. Maybe increase the SA by one?
Bought a M24 Chaffee
Upgrade sherman to Firefly
Upgrade M4A3 to M4A3 76w
bought Hellcat
bought P-47d

Units used:
1 Engineer
2 infantry
1 bridge
1 ARVE
1 Ranger
1 Matilda yes, it has 3 heroes and is good for killing. OS 15
Churchill MkIV
Firefly
M4A3 76w
Daimler
QF17 lbr
M18 Hellcat
2 x Priest
2 x BL 7.2"
155mm mobile art
40mm SPAA
Spitfire IX
Hurricane MkIIc
P-47D
2 x spitfire SE units
Mosquito S1
Stirling MkIII

[Kamerer]

9) Cassino – beta 2

Level: Rommel
Begin pp: 200. End pp: 500. Net +300.
Result: Triumph 20/25

Core Changes:

• Received: None.
  Disbanded: 1x 7.2” artillery.
  Purchased: 1x US 8” artillery.
  Upgraded:
  • 1x Churchill to Firefly
    1x Sherman to Firefly
    2x 155mm US artillery to 8”.
    1x SE Spitfire to SE Tempest
    2x Mosquitos to S2

Problems:

• • None noted.
  • When Firefly Sherman appears, it is shown on purchase screen coming before Sherman Mk.I (e.g., as a lower quality unit). It should be to the right. Small detail but noticeable.

General Impressions/Comments:

• • Good scenario, no problems.
  • Auxiliaries integrate really well here.

[produit]

Beta2, FM, Chess mode, Triumph 13/25 (possible Triumph at turn 11), ending prestige 473.
The start is though, having to destroy the killers paratroopers. But, the auxiliary units can be there to absorb damage. I have a remark about increasing a lot the ammo of given units, such as the Elephant. As this units are already über units compared to allied ones, I don't think it is that great to give them extra ammo to decrease there only downside. I would let them be as they are, letting the player use its Strat bombers and aux units to put them out of supply. It is not critical, but I don't understand what this bonus add, except the feeling that the units must be tweaked as they are not good enough.

I also used a Crocodile tank. This unit is a fortification and infantry killer. Impressive !

[Tarrak]

Replayed the scenario in Beta 2 and haven't noticed any differences at all to beta 1.

[monkspider]

Cassino Breakthrough
Beta 2
DV 17/25 (though I dragged things out for a few more turns to capture a couple side objectives)
Ending Prestige 1185

This a moderately tough scenario that started out slow, but the Von Senger line proved relatively easy to deal with. Monte Cassino itself took doing to dig out.It was a fun slog, and would recommend no major changes other than to possibly reduce the turn count slightly, perhaps to 22.

-Edit forgot to post my replay

[ThvN]

Cassino Breakthrough

CassinoBreakthroughA.pzbrf
"We’ve battered our heads against it for months; every attack has failed."
butted our heads
OR:
battered our armies

"This time we’ve been able to move far more force into position than the Germans suspect."
forces

"At a minimum you must seize not only Cassino town but the mountain behind it;"
At a minimum you must seize not only the town of Cassino but the mountain behind it as well;

IDS_SCEN_DESCRIPTION
"Allies are breaking the Gustav Line."
Allies are breaking through the Gustav Line.

IDS_STRING39 Pignatro = Pignataro

IDS_STRING47 S. Pietro Infine= San Pietro Infine

IDS_STRING56 Abba di Montecassino =Abbazia di Montecassino (OR:) Montecassino Abbey

IDS_STRING49 Rocca d Evandro =Rocca d’Evandro

IDS_STRING72 von Senger Line =Senger Line

[Razz1]

Beta 3
General
start 12071
end 6728
Triumph

This may be a good map where you can capture a unit.

I could extended this a few turns for the capture of all the flags for more prestige.
This map is easier after you play it once.

[Longasc]

Cassino Breakthrough (Beta 3)

Level: General
Start Prestige: 10448
End Prestige: 1897
Result: Triumph 14/25
Bought/Upgraded/Losses: Lost 2 more Rangers, a Tank and IIRC also a fighter.

Wow... tough defense. Nevertheless, Cassino and the Abbey were cleared after turn 4. But this scenario has the usual combo of strong German units that can 1-2 shot yours and it's well defended.

I found the French Mountain Infantry to be a superb help. I didn't have that many losses, but upgraded lots of units to Sherman Firefly, M4-76 and Crocodiles. DAMN, those Crocodiles really murder soft targets! 6 Close Defense -> the perfect companion for the CD 1 of the Firefly.


Very good scenario, liked it a lot. Probably the "hard path". Will return to the previous save and try Anzio next.

[uran21]

Thanks to all for the feedback so far. Couple of tactical remarks. Montecassino is a high mountain terrain and can be captured with any infantry unit type IF it does not have transport attached. Since most players infantry units do have transport there are lot of auxiliaries around Cassino to capture the flag, no need to call French mountain troops from the south.
When river is flowing trough the town, town itself acts like a bridge. First iterations of this scenario had normal count of ammo for Elefant but while this is good limitation when unit is in players hands when fighting against it it is to easy to leave it without ammo and first contact with the unit wasn't very interesting this way so it got couple of more rounds. Scenario is now shorter for 3 turns so its maximum duration can be 22 turns now.

[okiemcguire]

Cassino Breakthrough - Beta 4

Level: General
Prestige Begin: 10224 At Deployment: 4989 End: 3803 Victory: +6794
Result: Triumph 20/22

Upgraded 3 x Mosquito VI S1 to 3 x Mosquito VI S2, M4A3 to M4A3(76)W, Churchill IV to Crocodile
Puchased M4A3(76)W and 155mm M12 GMC

Issues: I did not notice any glaring issues. The map looks good and the opposing forces well placed and surprising.

Plan: South Core Force (American Force) consisted of 2 x M4A3(76)W, 1 Wolverine, 1 M18 Hellcat, Daimler Recon, SE Ranger, and 2 x 155mm M12 GMC. Supported by 2 x Lancaster III, Mosquito VI S2, SE Spitfire IX, Hurricane IIC, and several aux inf. Defeat the forces around Minturno and Castelforte. Then head West, taking the airfield, the fortified forces around Formia, and then finally the port city of Gaeta.

The Northern Core Force consisted of Commando, Engineer, 5 x Churchill IV, Crocodile, Daimler Recon, M7 Priest, Sexton, and 2 x BL 7.2 inch. Suppoerted by 2 x Mosquito VI S2, SE Spitfire IX, Hurricane IIC, and 2 Aux B-17F (and additional aux forces). They will assault Cassino by first Air and Artillery Bombardment while moving ground forces into position across the river. After taking Casino, the same process begins with Montecassino. Destroyed artillery and AA supporting Montecassino by flanking the AA with aux Mountain Inf and from infront of the von Senger line by Churchill tanks.

Part the Northern force will cross the Liri River at Pontecorvo and clear out the von Seger Line. Then head north to the airfield and San Giovanni.

Remaining force will fight through the Panthers, and AT units on the von Seger Line and take Aquino and the airfield. The last VH at the Melf River crossing was protected by 1 Heavy Duty AT and armor unit but were dispatched with air and ground bombardment and tanks.