Overloon Scenarios

[John Given]

Hi John! Where've you been?

Thanks for the advice. I pretty much did all that up until reaching the mines and traps, at least with the Constellation scenario. I'm trying to bring as much as I can through a flank, while trying to hold him in other areas. I'm finally moving through the mines anyway, since, like you say, I'm desperate. There may be a clue in the map I didn't see. Wouldn't surprise me.

Pretty challenging scenarios. Just wish I were putting up a better fight.

Dave

Hey David, I can't see what your forces are up to, but it sounds like Mike can see pretty much see where most of your forces are, and what they're up to. This is probably the hardest part of an attack - getting your advance set up in such a way that your opponent doesn't suspect anything.

1. You may want to try a diversion - a small advance of expendables that draws his attention (and units) in another direction, but this is only practical in large scenarios where you have expendable units that won't likely change the outcome. This method is also handy because it's a great way to probe his line and see what is where.

2. Recon and anti-recon! You MUST be able to see his forces: he MUST NOT be able to see yours. So how to go about that? Again,

a. use expendable units (3 point value infantry or 2-point value vehicles) to check out what he's up to. It's imperative to set these guys up EARLY in the scenario, because once his force is organized and laid out against you, it will be extremely difficult to find a way in.

b. Try to get to a point where you suspect his units will likely move through, and just hide in the woods if you can and turn off that units' op-fire. Best results with low-sp platoons (to minimize chance of being spotted). These spotter units should be well-forward of your line to do their job properly. Expect to lose all of them eventually. While spotting, just air-strike and artillery blast to your hearts' content. (IMO, late-war axis armored cars are not good for this role, since they are high-value units that do better in other roles like anti-aircraft and rear-area patrol.)

3. My philosophy on mines. They are a two edged sword - they restrict movement and damage your units, but the enemy will often think you won't dare come through there. An advance through mines of even a battalion-sized force (give a turn or two to recover from disruptions) could easily win the game for you if he hasn't prepared for an attack from that direction.

Note: don't ever move loaded units through mines, especially infantry on tanks and motorcycle riders. If you absolutely must carry the unit (in a truck for example), be certain the carrier has at least 2 additional strength than what is required to carry the unit. Once through the mines, you can re-load your infantry.

4. The nuance of maps. This should mainly be done on the first turn. I love to study CS series maps - they are often well-made and even beautiful. While looking at them during my early-game planning, I make special note of the following:

a. Shallow places in rivers or streams - be extra careful in rough terrain as it can cover the hexside. Press "R" to rotate the map so that you can see it from the opposite side.

b. Whether existing bridges are intact or not. I shift to view 4 to help on this. Sometimes the map will even tell you if a bridge is blown.

c. What my own bridge-making capabilities are. It is possible that you could use engineers to make light bridges, and that gets your small vehicles and infantry across. (is it possible to build heavier bridges or use bridge layers? I have yet to look into this...)

d. My mine removal abilities. Do not ever attempt to have your engineer vehicle remove mines while enemies can see it. Do not attempt to remove mines you don't need to remove - stick to the mission! Also, when advancing, have an expendable vehicle in front to detect an enemy mine / ambushes, and engineers following. That way, the truck carrying your engineers won't get KO'd. It's the only way I've found to move fast on mine-infested maps.

e. After checking what it will take to get a victory, determine what objectives you will need to take - study the map carefully for this. Often, there will be 'red herring' objectives that you should not attempt to take - a perfect example is a lot of far-flung exit hexes. I almost never exit units for example.

f. Leave some damaged and disrupted units behind to 'babysit' captured objective hexes. That used to be an issue for me, causing me to lose some objectives later in the game. This one is very important if you have a fluid battle situation or maybe an opponent who doesn't respect your front line...

5. A special rule that always worked for me: Don't leave vehicles in LOS of the enemy at the end of your current turn!

Anyway, I hope you gleaned a hint or two out of this, Dave?