Slitherine

Here it is My Rommel Italian Challenge Blind playthrough of Afrika Korps.

I have avoided watching or reading anything about this campaign so i could try a blind playthrough for over 2 years, well now that I am almost done with Grand Campaign East I wanted to start something a little less intensive.
My commitment is to play it through without any reloads and to accept losses and bad rolls and heros as if I was being recorded to make this as realistic as possible.
At this point I am ok with losing as this will be my first playthrough, but I will give it my best.
I tried to capture my thoughts as I wrote down my notes so I can capture more of my thinking rather than just the kills and captures day by day.

I hope you enjoy.
With that said...

Reconnaissance in Force:
Oh my prestige starts out really tight. Yikes!

Day 1 Sunny:
Seized Agedabia.
Destroyed 25 pounder, and force surrendered 5 of the British inf for more prestige.

Geez there isn't enough money to buy anything except the most effective unit which will be a 75mm arty with truck. That ROF has me debating whether or not to upgrade in the next mission.

Day 1 ai CA:
Rolls went sort of good and sort of bad.
Good Rolls:
Their Hurricane was surprised by my Stormo because the PanzerJager AT was in view of their Cruiser so they tried hitting it...ergo there was my fighter -5 them. Woo-hoo! The other good roll was their captured M13/40 hit my German Recon -3 me -4 them.
Bad Rolls:
2 Cruisers hit my Pz2C -8 me -5 them.
I am debating whether or not to add replacements to them as prestige is tight and at this point just plan on keeping them in the rear.

Day 2 Sunny:
Destroyed Hurricane, 2 Cruiser Mk1's, and their M13/40.
Uh-Oh I left my recon in a vulnerable place.
Day 2 ai CA:
They used their infantry to attack my forward recon instead of the AT that was right there. :phew: -1 me

Day 3 Sunny:
Mission Objectives changed? Oh No! I have to capture Tobruk? No way no day can I do that, I am thinking, but I will try.
Seized Msus and it gave me an unexpected 100 prestige. Yay!
Destroyed French Inf.
Day 3 ai CA: nothing

Day 4 Sunny
Pressuring Benghazi.
Destroyed AT, AA, and Dingo.
Day 4 ai CA:
Hurricane and weakened inf hit my Core Recon -2 me -2 them. Aux recon hit by 25 pounder -2 me.

Day 5 Sunny
Benghazi airfield and pressuring Mechili.
Destroyed HW inf in Benghazi by forcing a surrender.
My assault near Mechili turned to poop.
Since I need to take so much over I bought 8 reg reps for Pz2C and 2 reg reps for Panzerjager as well as 1 reg rep for aux recon.
Day 5 ai CA:
Bad attack.
Ital Inf hit for -5 me; arty and inf hit Grenadier leaving me with 5 Str. My aux Fighter Bomber was hit by a Hurricane -5 me.

Day 6 Sunny:
Seized Benghazi for 275 or 225 prestige!!??!! What!!??!! Pressuring Barce.
Destroyed Hurricane with an excellent shot from my Stormo leaving with 1 star experience already.
I was also able to force surrender the 5 str Indian Inf.
Also destroyed AT, 25 pounder.
Bought 3 reg reps for damaged Bersagleiri and 5 for Grenadier.
I was able to get a sneak peak of Tobruk and they have a 15str Bunker. There is no way I am seizing Tobruk, so i will have to settle for a Marginal Victory.
Day 6 ai CA: Nothing.

Day 7 Sunny:
Seized Barce but only received 25 prestige even though it was a primary Objective.
Destroyed Engineer with a nice shot from my arty in Barce.
Bought 1 reg rep for Bersagleiri.
When I attacked the Mark 6 I received another message.
Thank God the objectives changed again and now I do not have to take tobruk, but I do still need to take Bardia and Sollum.
I think I will need to avoid Bir Hacheim and not sure what I am going to do about Tmimi as it is not necessary to seize it, yet it is along the coast. I wish I had some naval back up.
Day 7 ai CA:
Shoot my M13/40 was destroyed by 3 weakened inf units. I got screwed in the rolls, but I should not have been so aggressive.

Day 8 Sunny
Pressuring Tmimi and Bir Hacheim.
Destroyed Dingo, Vickers Mk6, and King Edwards Cavalry.
Bought a 105mm arty with truck to replace lost tank.
Day 8 ai CA:
British HW in Bir Hacheim attacked Pz2c -2 me -1 them.

Day 9 Sunny
Seized Tmimi and Dnerna both just 25 prestige despite 1 of them being a primary Objective.
Destroyed 2 pounder.
Day 9 ai CA:
Dingo hit Pz2C -2 me -3 them; 1st Frontier Force hit my 88 in a truck -2 me; Australian Division HQ hit aux Recon -1 me -2 them.

Day 10 Sunny
(Mechill is really tough)
Destroyed Australian Division HQ and 1st Frontier Force.
Day 10 ai CA:
Arty and dingo hit my mobil AA -3 me -1 them; HW inf in Bir Hacheim hit recon -4 them -2 me.

Day 11 Sunny
Seized mechili.
Finally destroyed the Royal Lancers.
Day 11 ai CA:
HW inf in Bir Hacheim hit my 3.7cm pak -2 me -1 them and 25 pounder switched to AT and hit my Pz2C -2 me -1 them.

Day 12 Sunny:
Seized Gambut airfield and Bir Hacheim also have started pressuring Bardia and Sollum.
Destroyed 2 25pdr's, their 3 str 2pdr hit my Grenadier that destroyed them for -2 me.
Also destroyed Dingo and HW Inf in Bir Hacheim.
Day 12 ai CA:
Australian inf hit my M13/40 -1 me -2 them, Brit Inf in Sollum hit Pz2C -2 me -1 them.

Day 13 Sunny:
just working with artys to attack various units before I finally take the 2 remaining cities.
Day 13 ai CA: Both units did a floundering attack but they only damaged themselves not me.

Day 14 Sunny:
Seized Sollum and saving Bardia until last round to build up experience and maybe kills for my artillery.
Day 15 16 Finally seized Bardia after destroying Ausie inf.

Decisive Victory with 358 left in prestige.

Next will be Ras 'el Mdauuar starting with 608 in prestige.
Whoa this is a lot different than the Grand Campaign and I am loving it.
I love that objectives changed and missions changed as the scenario played out as it causes much consternation and frustration which makes the first time playthrough exciting at a level I was not expecting but am enjoying to the utmost.

I will do my best on keeping on top of these so i will not be so far behind on my postings like happened in my Grand campaign.
I will see if I can get some time today to maybe start my AAR for Guderian and Manstein Grand Campaign playthroughs as I have started those as well.

I look forward to advice on suggestions for units or tactics, but please no spoilers.
Thanks.

Nice Start for Benito goose-olini in the Sandlot


This Campaign especially as Italian Challenge will be very different to GC EAST mass battles.
Learning to deal with some complete new Italian Units and the typical Changes in Orders adds to the already formidable Task.

Of course I will follow any Footstep of you in the Sand closely. Maybe sometimes you will see older Footprints in the Desert. These might be the Ones Braccada left who is already sitting pretty In India and organzing a huge Party there for those who will join him in Taj Mahal.

For me your desire to conquer the orient ups the motivation to post my AAR more regularly and a bit faster.
Would be a strange feeling to see you im my rear window very soon and ready to overtake me at the Finish Line.

I have played AK, although not the Italian challenge, and am looking forward to reading your exploits.

I would suggest focus on key unit upgrades before adding new Italian units. Your two German infantry units need to become Pioniere with transport as they will be your only way of quickly breaking through minefields. That PzII is a liability - the British will target it. You could go to a Flamm but that will be targeted too and be expensive on replacements. You are familiar with German tank upgrade paths from the GC so do what you think best but upgrade that PzII to something useful ASAP. I would also suggest the 149mm rather than the 105mm for Italian towed artillery and consider a 9cm AA to help compensate for the deficiencies of the Italian fighters.

Good luck.

I managed to unlock the Italian Victory but most likely due to the fact that i laid my hands on any German capturable i could find. German capturables do not count towards the Italian victory luckily and they can be upgraded to real German armor.
Italian tanks should gain experience as quick as possible during the first six scenarios, afterwards it is more difficult and they are reduced to the role of finishing damaged enemy units.
Italian artillery is not bad at all, unfortunately the truck is the only means of transport. Fighters do well, and the level bomber is formidable.

I appreciate all the suggestions and discussion it really gave me a lot to think about and made me try and maximize my decisions based on everyone's suggestions and thoughts.

Ok this is how I did this weekend in:
Ras el Mdauuar:
Started with 608
I bought 1 green Italian unit and tried to retain experience and stars of experience where I could, I upgraded Pz3G to Pz3H, Pz2C to Flammpanzer, M13/40 to M14/41, and 3.7cm pak to 5 cm.
This left me with 14 prestige.
In looking at this map and what has been written on this forum as well as shot to me in private messages I see this map needing to utilize strong in 2 maybe 3 areas with mainly artillery and infantry. The Flammpanzer upgrade was a no brainer for me based on it's Bunker Buster ability and insane amount of ROF, in fact the ROF is why I kept all of my artillery at the same lower caliber for greater suppression.
Concentrating in essentially 2 Battle Groups.
In South around Bir el Miedeuar placed MG Bataillon 8, Bersaglieri, 2 10.5cm arty's, Flammpanzer, and M14/41.
In North brought 75mm arty, 105mm arty, 3 Ital Inf, MG Bataillon 2, Pz3H, and Panzerjager.
Left behind my recon and Mobil AA as well as my 2 Star Saetta.

Let's see how I do:

Day 1 Sunny:
Destroyed S7, S5, and R7 Strongpoints and tried to minimize damage to any units as cannot replace any nicks to my units, yet.
Day 1 and 2 ai CA: nothing

Day 2 Cloudy:
I now have 220 prestige???
Destroyed 2 25 pounder's, S9, S3, R9, Strongpoints.

Day 3 Sunny
Received another 220 in prestige, not sure what is going on but I greatly appreciate this boast to my prestige level.
Destroyed S6, S4, and R10 Strongpoints.
Slow and Steady is going to win the race on this scenario.
Day 3 ai CA:
Nuts!!!
Matilda 2 and Strongpoint hit my Flammpanzer leaving me with 5 str, butttt at least I have 2 stars Experience.

Day 4 Sunny:
Seized Main Objective at Desert (11,4) and pressuring Ras el Mdauuar.
Destroyed S8 and R8 Strongpoints.
Bought 4 reg reps for aux Flammpanzer and 3 reg reps for aux Pioniere, as well as 2 Reg Reps for core M14/40.
Day 4 ai CA:
Pretty Good Defense for me.
Matilda 2 tried hitting my M14/41 but I was guarded by 2 arty's -3 him -1 me and Cruiser Mk 1 hit Ital Inf for -1 each.

Day 5 Sunny:
Destroyed Cruiser Mk. 1, S2 Strongpoint, and even force Surrendered 6 str Matilda 2!! YES!!
Day 5 ai CA:
R6 hit aux Bersagleiri guarded by arty -4 them -1 me; S1 hit aux Flammpanzer -4 each; 2pdr hit aux Recon -3 each; 2 pdr hit Panzerjager -3 me -1 them.

Day 6 Sunny
Seized Fortification (21,18)
Destroyed R11 Strongpoint.
Day 6 ai CA:
Matilda 2 destroyed aux recon; and Cruiser hit aux Recon -4 me -2 them; and Ital inf hit by 2 pdr -1 each; and aux Pioniere hit by arty and R2 -4 me -2 to R2.
Big Round for the enemy.

Day 7 Sunny:
Seized part of Ras el Mdauuar.
Destroyed 2 pdr.
Bought 8 reg reps for aux recon.
Day 7 ai CA:
Cruiser seized (Desert Objective) Nuts!!
Matilda 2 hit MG Bataillon 8 -2 me; HW Inf hit aux arty guarded by another arty -1 them -3 me.

Day 8 Sunny:
Retook Desert (11,4) Main Objective.
Destroyed Australian Inf. and Crusier Mk 1.
Day 8 ai CA:
Matilda 2 hit M14/41 -2 me -0 them.

Day 9 Sunny:
Seized another Part of Ras el Mdauuar.
Destroyed Matilda 2 by Force Surrendering 4 of them as well as doing the same to HW Inf in Ras el Mdauuar.
Day 9 ai CA:
2pdr hit Ital inf -1 each; 25 pdr hit aux engineer -1 me.

Day 10 Sunny:
Nothing but preparation and minimal assaults, but nothing destroyed.
Day 10 ai CA:
Aux Pioniere was destroyed and enemy arty and 2pdr hit my Ital Inf leaving it with 2 str left. .

Day 11 Cloudy
Seized last part of Ras el Mdauuar and pressuring Giaida.
Destroyed 25 pounder and 2pdr.
Day 11 ai CA:
Austrailian Infantry destroyed aux Recon and R2 Destroyed aux Flammpanzer. Arty and HW Inf hit Pz3H -2 me.

Day 12 Cloudy:
Destroyed nothing again.
Day 12 ai CA:
HW Inf hit Pz3H -1 me -3 them.

Day 13 Sunny
Destroyed R2 Strongpoint, British HW Inf, and 6 inch arty.
Day 13 ai CA:
YES!! Dingo tried hitting Ital Inf -5 them -0 me. Yes!!
Aus inf hit aux recon leaving it with 4 str left.

Day 14 Cloudy
Destroyed both Dingo and aus inf by force surrendering their remaining strength.
Day 14 ai CA:
Nothing.

Day 15 Sunny
Seized Giaida and force surrendered a 4 str 2 pdr AT.

Decisive Victory 931 prestige.

Slow and steady was the key to this scenario and I do not think I could have played it much better then I did as this one proved to be a great Experience Builder for my arty.

I hope to get around to the 3rd mission Brevity this weekend where I was awarded an SE Pz3F and I have 1281 in prestige to play around with.

Keep the suggestions and feedback coming.

Great News!
I will get more time tomorrow at work to try and catch up more AAR's in Guderian and Manstein, until then...
Stay Lutheran My Friends!

buone prestazioni Generale Oca_Due

now your troops got their feet wet err dry in the sand and the Initiation Rites for the Deserts are done and they certainly have the looks (and cameo) to go all in into the real action



As a Brit I would be very afraid to get into combat with these guys

The 220 prestige may be an award per turn, you can check if you are getting prestige per turn if you mouseover the icon to the right of your prestige total. It tends to be awarded in the early stages of campaigns.

It is a bit cheesy but if you are getting prestige per turn towards the end of a scenario you might want to hold off taking a victory until the last turn to maximise this. I don't always bother if it is 25pppt but at Rommel I guess every little helps.

Cerberus51 wrote:The 220 prestige may be an award per turn, you can check if you are getting prestige per turn if you mouseover the icon to the right of your prestige total. It tends to be awarded in the early stages of campaigns.

It is a bit cheesy but if you are getting prestige per turn towards the end of a scenario you might want to hold off taking a victory until the last turn to maximise this. I don't always bother if it is 25pppt but at Rommel I guess every little helps.

I usually don't watch the Prestige Counter in between Turns. So I looked it up on sources I have at hand right now

The 220 Prestige turnout at the End of Turn 1 resp Turn 2 is consistent with braccadas Video and my Replay File as well so if it is a glitch it is one that seems to benefit all players.

So let's not waste any more time on it.

Any extra Prestige on Rommel is a welcome bonus so let's just be happy with it

I am never going to complain about getting a boost in prestige, especially on Rommel.

Ok I looked at the next scenario and it just screams ai goes first and I am trying to plan accordingly.

I need some advice on what to buy for green units as I want air superiority, but I will get to that in a little bit.
I am deciding to give mostly free regular replacements except when to do so will reduce an earned star of experience.
To me retaining at least 1 star of Experience is essential to breeding a strong force. With that said I am reveling in having 2 stars experience on my Saetta and my Flammpanzer, which I am keeping that way.
I have upgraded my awarded SE Pz3F to Pz3H, and I was thinking a couple of others, but I cannot think of them just now.
I have not upgraded my 3 Italian inf as I want to wait until I either get a 2nd star of experience or a decent hero, but I would hate to lose any of them at this point.
I am not overstrengthening anything yet, but I am considering doing my arty.

This is what brings to this post.
I am leaving behind greenest Ital inf and my Bersagleiri unit in a truck.
Because I want to field 3 air units.

Here is my questions:
What do you recommend I buy for my 2 new air units?
2 new fighters to make sure I dominate the air?
1 Fighter and 1 Tac Bomber to help me rule the skies and damage the enemy tanks?
1 Fighter and 1 Strat Bomber to possibly take on any Naval units they may be fielding along the coast?

2nd question: I am not upgrading any artillery yet as I love the lower caliber rate of fire, but I do tend to overstrengthen them, but I see this next map as requiring a lot of movement and this makes my towed artillery extremely vulnerable, especially in a blind playthrough.
Would you recommend overstrengthening my artillery or do you agree that with the vulnerability they will be in while they are in movement to just leave them the 10 strength beasts they are? (All of them have 2 stars of strength)

Thanks for your thoughts and interest in my playthrough.

Trying not to give spoilers but you can get quite a lot of capturable and awarded units during this campaign. The RAF turns up in numbers from time to time throughout the campaign so I would plan on getting two more fighters, one tac bomber and one strat bomber over the next few scenarios.

Question 1

Here is my questions:
What do you recommend I buy for my 2 new air units?
2 new fighters to make sure I dominate the air?
1 Fighter and 1 Tac Bomber to help me rule the skies and damage the enemy tanks?
1 Fighter and 1 Strat Bomber to possibly take on any Naval units they may be fielding along the coast?

Any player must find his way and style to play and so did I

So I just tell you what I did on my 2 recent Runs

Run 1
New Units
12. AA bought Italian 90cm + Truck 314 PP



10. Tac Bomber bought SM79 279 PP



11. Strat Bomber bought Piaggio 426 PP



The other Campaign called Team RED tried to be a bit different (also has to do with the Fact that Run 1 got its First SE Tank awarded already, while Team Red is still blank in this category and has to be a bit more passive)

New Units
12. Artill bought Italian 14,9cm + Truck 321 PP



10. Tac Bomber bought SM79 279 PP



11. Strat Bomber bought Piaggio 426 PP




so basically my answer is

don't go for the Extra Fighter right now

now the other question

2nd question: I am not upgrading any artillery yet as I love the lower caliber rate of fire, but I do tend to overstrengthen them, but I see this next map as requiring a lot of movement and this makes my towed artillery extremely vulnerable, especially in a blind playthrough.
Would you recommend overstrengthening my artillery or do you agree that with the vulnerability they will be in while they are in movement to just leave them the 10 strength beasts they are? (All of them have 2 stars of strength)

Movement will be no problem in Brevity. You will be fine with towed Arty set up at the right Place
I am a notorious Arty Overstrength Player and so I would say yes do it if you have the Cash to afford it

Both answers are of course just my style and I would love to see other ideas working out fine.
This game is a continous learning Process and I'm always ready to pick up other great ideas and tactics to include in my Playbook

Ok after much thought and private discussions I chose to purchase 1 new Fighter and a Tac Bomber.

Brevity started with 1281 after replacements where I tried to retain stars of experience including 2 stars for Flamm and 2 Stars from the first mission with my Saetta, upgrades and new purchases left me with 227.

I was awarded an SE Pz3F which I mimmediately upgraded to Pz3H and bought a new Saetts and SM.79 Tac Bomber.
Brought in everything except the greenest Italian Inf and Bersaglieri.
Everything else was laid out in the North ready for them to make the first move as it seems pretty obvious.

Yep
Day 1 ai CA:
Enemy destroyed aux AT and they seized Point 206 and Halfaya Pass.
They are coming on strong on all my aux areas and I am expecting to lose them all.
Day 1 Sunny:
Backed away Recce Battalion aux Recon and inf out of Sidi Azeize in hopes that 2 str Cruiser tries to seize it and I can destroy it.
I rushed my core units South in hopes that I will be able to take back the initiative.

Day 2 ai CA:
Aux inf and aux AT were destroyed and they seized Fort Capuzzo and Point 208 and Sidi Azeize.
NUTS!
Their Hurricanes rushed forward and found my arty's in trucks and hit one of them for -2. I am glad I did not overstrengthen any of them.
Day 2 Sunny
Retook Sidi Azeize.
Destroyed 7 Str Hurricane after one shotting it with my Stormo for no damage to me. (He is a beast, an absolute beast. )
However, my 2nd Saetta and mobil AA were able to reduce the other Hurricane down to 1 strength but in the meantime the 2nd Saetta was reduced to 5 Str.
Destroyed 3rd Jock Column Engineer, 2pdr, A Squadron 2RTR Cruiser Mk.1, B Squadron 2RTR Cruiser Mk. 1.
Bought 4 reg reps for aux Ital inf in Sollum.

Day 3 ai CA:
Aux Ital Inf in Sollum destroyed and Sollum seized. 2nd Jock Column in Bren Carrier was ambushed by our Grenadiers in our halftracks -4 them -2 me.
Day 3 Sunny:
Destroyed force surrendered 8 str of Jock Column 25 Pounder and HW Inf; 1st Jock Column 2 pdr and 25 pounder.
This is a turkey shoot.

Day 4 ai CA:
Nuts!
Those stupid Dingo's came and hit some of my units very hard that had to be the product of some lucky rolls.
Yep 19% chance and I end up getting hit for 5 damage to my MG Battaillon 2 with 1 damage to them.
Also a 25 pounder and another Dingo took 5 from my recon.
Day 4 Sunny:
Pressuring Fort Capuzzo.
Destroyed 2nd Jock Column Dingo and 25 Pounder, LRDG Dingo, and 1st Jock Column Dingo and 40mm Bofors.
Bought 5 reg reps for Green Saetta.

Day 5 ai CA:
This is what I was waiting for. 12 strength Matilda 2 hit my Pz3H-3 each.
Ok this is not so bad. This entire battle is going much better than I could have hoped as this Matilda 2 is now in Fort Capuzzo ready to get Smacked down by my infantry units.
Day 5 Sunny:
Seized Point 208
Destroyed 2nd jock Column 2pdr, 5th Daimler Dingo, A Squadron RTR Matilda 2 with 1 surrendering.
Hopefully some of my weakened units will not be in trouble.

Day 6 ai CA:
Nuts!
They have another 12 str Matilda 2 and this one is in the open.
Now this just got serious.
My Pz3H is at 6 str. My M14/14 Ariete is down to 3 Str. My Mobil AA is down to 4 str. My Green Saetta is back down to 5 str and my aux Kradschutzen was destroyed. Rough Round.
Day 6 Sunny:
Destroyed 4th Hurricane with Stormo; 1st Bn Durham Light Inf.; 2nd Bn Rifle brigade.
Bought 4 reg reps for Panzerjager Abt. 605

Day 7 ai CA:
Hurricane hit my 13th SM.79 guarded by green Saetta -1 them -3 me; Matilda 2 hit weakened aux recon guarded by 2 arty's -2 each; 2 infantry tried hitting a couple inf units -2 each. This was a pretty good round for me.
Day 7 Sunny:
Destroyed 1st Jock Column British Inf and 1st British HW inf.
11.Abteilung Panzer Rgt. 5 Flammpanzer awarded Iron Cross 2nd Class (50)

Day 8 ai CA:
Csquadron 4RTR hit 27th Brescia -3 me; 1st hurricane hit Flammpanzer guarded by weakened mobilAA -2 them -1 me.
Day 8 Sunny
Seized Fort Capuzzo and Point 206.
Destroyed 1st Hurricane and force surrendered Csquadron 4RTR 7 Str Matilda 2 for 130 in prestige.

Day 9 and 10 ai CA: Nothing!
Day 9 Sunny: Nothing
Day 10 Sunny:
Seized Sollum and Sidi Omar.
Destroyed 8th Field Regt. RA 25 Pounder.

Day 11 ai CA:
Inf destroyed 3rd Recce Battalion recon.
Day 11 Sunny:
Seized Sidi Suleiman.
Destroyed 2nd Bn. Scots Guards as I force surrendered 6 of them.

Day 12 ai CA: Nothing Day 13 ai CA: 4th Vickers Mk. VI hit 1st 75mm 75/18 -2 me.

By Day 14 I destroyed the 4th Vickers Mk. VI and seized Airfield (29,22) (33,20) and Halfaya Pass.

Decisive Victory 1175

Overall assessment Pretty easy scenario as the Brits were a bit too brazen in their attempted assault. I was a little worried about the 2nd Matilda 2 12 strength unit, but even though I took some damage on too many units I still was able to wrap this one up easily and aggressively.

Next time Battle Axe with 1625 in prestige.
Essentially the same map just with lower deployment.
Looks like the enemy is going first and I will set up deployment accordingly.

It looks like I will get some more time to post more AAR's on Monday, so I will try and finish 5th scenario on Manstein this weekend, and start 6th, Modlin in my Guderian playthrough. I do not think I can take the Fortress with Guderian time scale and I know I will not even try on Manstein level once I reach it as it will just be a kill zon for the enemy.

The most important is for me to get a Decisive victory in Warsaw so I can get Spoils of War scenario.

I will also try to get through mission 4 on this playthrough.
My Multiplayer friends are going to be so mad.

Ok I finished on Monday and now have time to type up today.

Battle Axe Starting prestige 1625 after buying replacements, upgrades, new purchase, and a little Overstrengthening 476
I tried to retain any stars of experience so if buying regular replacements reduced the number of stars experience a unit would retain I would buy elite replacements.
Bought Piaggio P.108 and I upgraded my 75mm arty to a 149mm arty and 2 star 27th Brescia Italian inf to a Bersagleiri. Brought everything except greenest Italian inf and greenest Bersaglieri.

Based on the defensive nature of the look of the start of this map positioned 3 arty's around Hafid Ridge and a nice defensive pocket around Fort Capuzzo.

Day 1 ai CA:
Enemy destroyed 2 aux Inf's and seized all 3 central Desert Main Objectives, Point 206 Main Objective, and Sidi Omar, but all of their attacks are against auxiliary units.
Day 1 Sunny:
Backed out aux L6/40 out of Sollum.
Destroyed 2nd Bn, RTR Cruiser Mk IV, 6th Bn, RTR Cruiser MkIV, 11th Hussars Dingo, 4th Royal Engineers, and C Squadron, 4th RTR Matilda 2.
Bought 6 reg reps for aux 88.

Day 2 ai CA:
The Buffs took out my aux 88 near Halfaya Pass, but I am still holding on to this area, barely.
132nd Ariete M14/41 hit by 2 Matilda 2's -4 me -1 them (But that 1 earned them the Bronze Medal for Military Valour for 50 kills.
Cruiser Mk IV ambushed by recon -1 me -5 them.
Day 2 Sunny:
Trying to lure them in so not rushing forward.
Destroyed B Squadron, 4th RTR Matilda 2, 7th Support Group 25 Pounder, 1st Light AA 40mm Bofors, and A Squadron Hussars Cruiser Mk IV.
27th Brescia awarded Bronze Medal for Military Valour.

Day 3 ai CA:
Aux inf in Halfaya Pass destroyed.
Matilda 2 ambushed outside of Fort Capuzzo -3 them -1 me and based on that First Abteilung Panzer Matilda 2 received the Iron Cross 2nd class also the MG Battailon 8 was awarded 1 for surprising a Lorry trying to rush into the Desert. Another Lorry was destroyed by my Brescia and the enemy destroyed my aux AT and have seized Halfaya Pass.
Day 3 Sunny:
Again still waiting for them to rush forward as it is paying off big time.
Destroyed Consorts Own British Inf, 3rd Hurrican Mk.1, 7th Battalion and 4th Battalion, RTR Matilda 2's.

Day 4 ai CA:
Scots Guards tried hitting my AT guarded by arty -3 them and enemy finally seized my open Sollum objective.
Day 4 Sunny:
Ok, now I am starting to inch forward from the Desert.
Destroyed 1st Blenheim Mk. 1, Scots Guards, and 3rd M11/39.

Day 5 ai CA:
Bomber hit 1.Abteilung Panzer Rgt. 5 -2 me; Dingo and 2pdr hit aux L6/40 -5 me; and I received the message about the enemy coming from my flank. UH OH!
Day 5 Sunny:
Seized Sidi Omar.
Destroyed 1st Hurricane Mk.1, 1st Daimler Dingo, A Squadron, 4th RTR, 22nd Bde AT Company, Coldstream Guards, and 9th Daimler Dingo.
Stormo ace finally awarded a Bronze Medal for Military Valour.

Day 6 ai CA:
Some enemy movement and 6th Rajputana tried attacking but they were stopped cold by artillery.
Received message about defending Sidi Azeiz, which is completely unguarded. Uh Oh!
I am going to rush units back there.
Day 6 Sunny
Destroyed 9th Cruiser Mk IV and force surrendered 5 of the 6th Rajputnana.

Day 7 ai CA:
Enemy seized Sidi Aziez.
Day 7 Cloudy:
Pressuring Sidi Azeiz and seized Point 206.
Shoot my FlammPanzer was ambushed by a MkIV Diversion Group -5 me.
Destroyed FS 9th Cruiser M1 and 1st Hurricane Mk 1.
MG Bataillon 2 awarded Iron Cross 2nd Class.

Day 8 ai CA:
Aux 88 destroyed because I set it up as a greater temptation then my weakened Flammpanzer.
Received message that the entirety of the Diversionary Group needs to be eliminated. Uh Oh!
Need to move more units up to do this.
My Panzer Rgt. 5 has been reduced to only 2 str by a nasty hit from their bomber.
Day 8 Sunny:
Seized Sollum.
Destroyed The Buffs, Diversion Group Mk IV, and 5th Mahratta.

Day 9 ai CA: Nothing but movement around Sidi Saleiman that my recon near can see.
Day 9 Sandstorm:
This is where I make a mistake.
Because I saw so many units in trucks I was tempted to hit them with my recon, but I should have backed them up to utilize later.
Destroyed Diversionary Group Mk IV.
This is also where I buy like crazy to guarantee enough strength to win this match and this cost me a lot of prestige.
Bought 3 reg reps for Ital Inf; 5 elite for Flammpanzer; 6 reg reps for aux 88; 2 elite for MG Bataillon 2; and 8 elite for Pz Rgt 5.

Day 10 ai CA:
Enemy destroyed my recon. (That is what aggression costs you)
Also a few other minor attacks.
Day 10 Sunny:
Seized Halfaya Pass and Sidi Azeiz by placing Bersagleiri replacement for the lost recon.
Destroyed 1st Blenheim Mk. 1, 2nd Bn Highlanders; Diversionary Group Matilda 2; and Diversionary Group Dingo; Diversionary Group 25 Pounder; and British Inf.
Flammpanzer awarded 1st hero of the war +1 Initiative. He likes to shoot first.

Day 11 ai CA:
M11/39 hit Ital Inf -3 each and then British inf tried hitting them for -1 me -5 them and they were awarded a Bronze Medal for Military Valour.
Cruiser hit aux M-13/40 -2 each; Crusier was ambushed by MG Bataillon 8 which we totally destroyed and were awarded a +1 Initiative hero. (Shoot First ask questions later.)
Day 11 Sunny:
Destroyed 9th QF 25 Pounder, Diversionary Group Cruiser Mk IV and my Panzer Rgt 5 PZ3H was awarded a +2 attack hero.

Day 12 ai CA:
M11/39 seized Point 206 but they self emulated on my Pz3H; Hurricane hit Piaggio -1 me -4 them (I love this strat Bomber), British Inf rushed forward were stopped cold by arty.
Day 12 Sunny:
Seized both Eastern most airfields. (I surrounded the Diversionary Group of Engineers, but waiting to destroy so I can earn maximum prestige.)
Destroyed 1st Hurricane Mk. 1; 9th M13/40; and 9th British Inf.

Day 13 - 17 ai CA: nothing

Day 13 Sunny:
Destroyed 9th British HW Inf.
Day 14 Cloudy:
Pressuring Sidi Suleiman.
Day 15 Cloudy:
Seized Point 206 and Sidi Suleiman.
132nd Ariete M14/41 awarded +1 Att Hero.
Destroyed Garrison.
Day 16 nothing but moved away from all secondary objectives.

Day 17:
Awarded Matilda 2(e) around Sidi Suleiman.
Destroyed Engineers.

Decisive Victory 1069

This was like a redux of Brevity only a little more thought out, and as such difficult.
I especially panicked when I lost that recon and orders changed and bought a ton of elite reps for way too many units but it strengthened me to easily finish the rest of the map.

Next Dash to the Wire.
Orders are Capture and hold all Objectives and destroy 3 Supply Dumps.

Ah some nice new upgrades available and 1619 prestige to do it.

Maybe this weekend or at least within 2 weeks...I hope

Congrats for another Triumph

You now are aware that you are through with the learning Scenarios.

This one was definitely a bit harder to do and the surprise Attack (albeit announced) was just that a bit surprising

Anyway you mastered all the tasks including the Captured Matilda, so way to go

added Brevity and Battleaxe Replays on Feb 5 2017

I better type this one up as Hurly has been waiting in breathless anticipation. I appreciate the interest and interaction he has given me on this subject. It really helps to keep me engaged.

Dash to Wire
Starting with 1619 but after replacements, upgrades, new purchase, and a little Overstrengthening 920
Upgraded 2 Saetta's to Folgore's.
Bought Sahariana.

Brought Grenadier and Sahariana around Bir Hacheim. Air Group around Acroma.
Grenadier and 2 10.5cm artys and Mobil AA around Bir el Gubi.
Bersaglieri and 10.5cm arty, Panzerjager, SE Pz3H, and 5cm Pak around Belhammed.
4 tanks in the desert Pz3H, Matilda 2, M14/41, and Flammpanzer.
Ital Inf in Bardia as well as an arty and Fighter in airfield near it.

Day 1 Sunny:
Destroyed British inf, 2 Crusader Mk1's, and 25 Pounder.
12th SE Panzer 3H awarded Iron Cross 2nd Class and was awarded a +1 Def Hero.
Bought a few reg reps for weakened units.
Day 1 ai CA:
A whole bunch of attacks on aux units but not as bad as I thought it might be.
However a 4 str AA hit my Bomber -3 me. Really!
Yeomanry hit my Flamm -1 me -2 them.

Day 2 Sunny
Seized Sidi Rezegh.
Destroyed 7th Hussars Crusader Mk1, 2 Pounder, 5th SA Brigade, 25 Pounder, 3rd and 2nd Yeomanry Crusader Mk1's, M3 Stuart, and 6th New Zealand Bde.
SM.79 awarded Bronze Medal for Military Valour.
Bought 2 reg reps for 2 aux inf units.
Day 2 ai CA:
Enemy destroyed my Mobile AA! Nuts Nuts!!!
Bomber and M3 Stuart brought my Flamm down to 5 Str.
A few other attacks against aux units and a few nicks on some of my core units but no other major hits other than the ones I spelled out. But man I lost my mobile AA.
I know I am going to miss that badly in the years to come. I will need to buy one of those Italian versions of the 88 but not yet. (I regret this because this would have been a good one to build up that gun on.) Oh well first Blind.

Day 3 Cloudy:
Bought 5 Elite Reps for Flamm and a couple for some aux units.
Destroyed Blenheim, M3 Stuart, 40mm Bofors, 1st SA Brigade, 4th RTR M3 Stuart, and 4th Yeomanry Crusader Mk1.
Day 3 ai CA:
A few attacks all against aux units.
UhOh! I received a message about rushing my units forward or I will lose. And wouldn't you know it I am blessed with a Sandstorm.

Day 4 Sandstorm:
Seized Gabr Saleh and was able to move 1 (Sahariana) to the Assembly Area.
Destroyed 11th Hussars, 22nd Guards, 4th New Zealand Bgde.
Bought 2 reg reps for aux inf.
Day 4 ai CA:
Enemy destroyed aux inf and Matilda 2 hit core Ital inf -2 each a few other aux attacks.

Day 5 Cloudy:
Assembled 6 in assembly area and received message to destroy those supply dumps.
Destroyed 10th Hurricane Mk1.
Brought in my core Bersagleiri to replace lost Mobil AA.
Bought 3 reg reps for SM.79 and a few others for aux units.
Stormo awarded +1 att hero.
Day 5 ai CA:
Kittyhawk hit Piaggio -2 me -4 them (love, love, love this strat Bomber) and Matilda 2 and 2pdr hit my Panzerjager -9 me. Yikes!!!

Day 6 Sunny:
Bought 3 elite for Core Ital Inf and some reg reps for aux Ital units.
Destroyed P-40 Kittyhawk, Matilda2, 5th New Zealand Bde.
Day 6 ai CA:
Enemy destroyed my new Sahariana and a bunch of other attacks against aux inf units.

Day 7 Sunny:
Bought new Sahariana to replace the one lost.
2 reg reps for MG Bataillon 2 and various for aux units.
Destroyed Vickers Mk. V1.
Day 7 ai CA:
Indian Bde hit core Ital Inf -2 them -3 me and all other attacks were against aux units or rolls that went my way.

Day 8 Sunny:
Destroyed M3 Stuart, 25 Pounder, 2pdr AT, 7th Indian Bde, and 16th Bde.
1.Abteilung Panzer Rgt. 5 was awarded Iron Cross 1st Class.
Bought reg reps for aux units.
Day 8 ai CA:
Shoot!
They are now coming out of Tobruk and beginning to hit me hard.
Hurricane hit SM.79 -4 me -1 them.

Day 9 Sunny
Seized Sidi Omar and bought 9 elite reps for Panzerjager.
Destroyed 5th Indian Bde, 15th Daimler Dingo, 2pdr AT, and 1st Supply Dump.
105mm Ital arty awarded Bronze Medal for Military Valour.
Day 9 ai CA:
2pdr hit my Matilda 2 -2 each; Indian Inf. hit SE Pz3H -4 them -1 me; and I am feeling the pressure around Tobruk.

Day 10 Cloudy
Destroyed Hurricane, 14th Brigade, 4th SA Brigade, 2nd Supply Dump, and 29th Indian Bde.
14th Folgore awarded Bronze Medal for Military Valour.
Bought Reg Reps for various units.
Day 10 ai CA:
This was a rough Round for Daddy.
Thankfully they have backed off around Tobruk for some reason. Thank God!
But attacks against MG Bataillon 8 left me with 5 str; Matilda 2 attacked and left with 3 str; and my new Sahariana was hit and left with 1 str.

Day 11 Sunny:
Seized Fort Maddalena.
Destroyed 18th Crusader Mk. 1, Dingo, 2 pdr, 3rd, 6th, and 2nd SA Brigadeas well as the 24th British Inf.
2.Abteilung Flamm was awarded Iron Cross 1st Class.
Bought reg reps for various units.
Day 11 ai CA:
All attacks against only aux units and nothing against me.

Day 12 Sandstorm
Seized El Hamia.
Destroyed 25 pounder.
Awarded Crusader 1 around Fort Maddalena.
Day 12 ai CA:
Again all attacks against aux units.

Day 13 Sandstorm again.
Seized Sofafi.
Destroyed M3 Stuart, 11th Indian Bde, 3rd Supply Dump, and Matilda 2.
Day 13 ai CA:
Enemy in Tobruk destroyed aux inf and a few other attacks but nothing major.

Day 14 Sunny
Seized airfield near Rabia.
Destroyed 19th Crusader Mk1, 2pdr, Service Corps around Tobruk, 19th Hurricane.
Panzerjager awarded +1 Def hero bought some reg reps for my aux units around Tobruk.
Stormo awarded Silver Medal for Military Valour.
Day 14 ai CA:
Enemy destroyed another aux units around Tobruk.

Day 15 Sunny:
Seized airfield near Buq Buq.
Destroyed South African Inf and Dingo.
MG Bataillon 2 Grenadier's awarded +1 Att hero.
Day 15 ai CA:
Nothing but a couple of attacks around Tobruk.

Day 16 Sunny:
Destroyed Indian Inf in Buq Buq.
Day 16 ai CA:
Matilda 2 hit Panzerjager reducing it to 5 Str. and a few other attacks out of Tobruk.

Day 17 Sunny:
Seized Buq Buq and Sidi Barrani and it's airfield and Nibeiwa.
Destroyed British Para's.
Stormo awarded 2nd +1 att hero. (2 heroes in 1 scenario, that is great but I was hoping for some better heroes.)
Day 17 ai CA:
A bunch around Tobruk but that was it.

Day 18 Sunny:
Destroyed 2nd SA Brigade.
Seized Rubia and I think one other area I forgot to write down.
Day 18 ai CA:
Enemy destroyed 1 last aux inf outside of Tobruk.

Decisive Victory
This was a rough Scenario for me as I spent a lot in replacing lost units and casualties for various units.
In looking at the Final Map I see there were Hangers located in the South.
I wonder what that was about?
If I was to play it again I would send 1 or 2 units South to take out those Hangers as I am sure it is something nice, but this is a blind playthrough.

I also took a look what was holding Tobruk.
Has anyone ever laid a successful assault on Tobruk?
If so how?
Was anything special awarded?

Next Mission
2nd Offensive which is a retreat to El Agheila with only 679 in prestige to start off with.
Painful.

My initial thoughts are to place fast moving units including probably a couple of those Sahariana's in the Far East to help seize multiple Neutral Objectives and to rush back to El Agheila as quickly as possible so I can begin the Counter attack.

We will see if that works, maybe this weekend.

You mention getting an order to destroy the supply dumps but don't mention whether you did so?

Congratulations on getting the Crusader, I missed it on my first playthrough.

Destroying the hangers gets you some nice shiny toys (that would have been useful in the battles to come).

I detailed the destruction of the supply dumps in Day 9 10, and 3rd one on Day 13.

I kind of figured those hangers had some nice hidden gems, but I am ok with not receiving them even though I could use those nice shiny units, but I want this to be blind and I am ok with documenting my destruction.

I am such a dork

goose_2 wrote:I detailed the destruction of the supply dumps in Day 9 10, and 3rd one on Day 13.

You did indeed and despite reading your post 3 times it did not register with me.

Well well well my Friend

You really experienced some kind of Horrorshow

You kind of experienced bad rolls all the way given your writeups and basically experienced the ultimate MCA (maximum credible accident) not destroying the Hangars in the Desert

Which I want to add is based on a technical Thing as a very subpar Briefing

With the Strategical Tasks and the Fighting you had no trouble to get it all done even though you lost a few cheap Units. Just by the Fact you were able to grasp the Crusader Tank in Fort Maddalena on TURN 12 tells me that you are more the victim of fu..ed up Briefing than anything else and I'm 100% sure it would have been no problem to take out the 4 Hangars in time.

So I wanna campaign for you to do this Scenario again, without losing Face that anyone will say this not a perfect blindthrough (<- it was a typo at first but I like it as a term blindthrough for blind playthrough) anmyore. It still is and from our personal messages exchanged I can tell anyone that I saw this problem coming, but it was very hard to warn you about insufficient Intel given out by the Game without giving away any spoilers

Maybe it's still possible to go all the way, but missing out on 2 valuabale SE Units + another German Unit and basically 2 extra Slots in your Army that might be never filled anymore makes this Campaign a Task of Herculean Effort imho. Still possible you can do it still, as I have just scratched the Surface in Understanding your Fighting and Strategical Abilities, but it would be really sad if you have to go pretty shorthanded for 3 Quarters of the Campaign caused by such a glitch (and it's nothing else) in the Game


So I hereby start the Official Campaign

Hangars for Goose Reloaded if only for the Fact that while you now know they exist, at least 3 of them will spawn at random locations so maybe your advantage in dointg the scenario can be neglected


Here is the FIRST fat

YES

in my petition to to the Dash to the Wire again

Just DO IT

DO IT

DO IT

DO IT

I encourage anyone in the audience here to stand united behind our Chanpion goose_2 and give him full support and a vote of confidence as well

DO IT

Replay for Dash to the Wire


Can say so much for now

Your SM 79 Tac Bomber definitely has a bad Kharma as you seem to get bad or at best moderate Rolls almost all the Time.

On the other Hand your 2 Folgore Fighters are just the opposite of that and seem to be different Units than the one I got

And I have to admit I'm a bit jealous regarding the Piaggio
On almost the exact same Hex in the same Round I got attacked by the exact same Kittyhawk and was almost one-shot losing 7 strength while you lost just 2 strength

Don't wanna complain though the Game can be a bitch sometimes and you certainly got the short end on several other occasions during your Scenario.

One question though
You fought bravely near Tobruk with the Auxiliary Troops and did reasonably well, but the Scenario is called "Dash to the Wire" and not "Stay In the LIne of Fire"
Why did you not just step one Hex back with your frontline East and West of Tobruk and deal with anything coming out of Tobruk from a safe Place ?