Bunker Busting and armor

[Tide1]

Hello all,

I'm fairly new to the Panzer Campaign system, and though I've picked up quite a bit through discussions with my PBEM opponents, I'm still learning.

So far, the toughest aspect of the game to master is attacking bunkers (though opposed river crossings can be quite difficult as well). I've read most every article I can find regarding the game, including RickyB's excellent article, "Attacking Fortified Positions."

One of the tips I keep reading about is to use armor to fire on bunkers, as they tend to have superior hard attack values. This tactic seems reasonable, but I (and another one of my opponents who is fairly new) have yet to see it actually work. Generally, when my armor fires vs. a bunker I get a "No Effect" result. Unsupported assaults are disastrous as well. I've tried grouping my armor with infantry when firing as well.

What am I missing? Is there a particular technique to employing armor vs. bunkers? FWIW, my only title at the moment is Kharkov '42 (though that will soon change ), so I realize this problem might relate to the limitations of the Soviets at the time.

Hi Caiussulla

The bunker busting in PzC can drive you to contemplate suicide for sure. I've been killing some time the last couple of days playing the Minsk'44 Campaign. In that game the Russians have massive arty support so I actually have been able to disrupt enemy units in bunkers then assault with tanks and infantry and drive them out. To try and assault undisrupted units in a bunker in my opinion is a forlorn hope and will cause huge losses to your troops. Come to think of it in the Moscow'42 Campaign I'm playing, my Germans are into turn 8 and still have not been able to take any bunkers. And in that scenario the areas I'm trying to move through have bunkers in every other hex.. Most of the time I try to hit the softer trench's around the bunkers and work around and isolate them if possible. But in Rzhev'42 even that is darn near impossible.
As a suggestion if you like the Ostfront get Smolensk'41. There are fortifications but lots of maneuver room. And Korsun'44 has a good amount of Russian arty to smash those bunkers into kindling.