How about some strategy & tactics?

[Kool Kat]

Gents:

Ok. I've bought into the PzC series... made my initial game title purchase (Sicily 43)... and started my first PBeM matches... so next on my agenda is learning more about the various strategies and tactics to utilize in game!

What other tips and hints can PzC vets point out for me?


Here's what the PzC User Manual has on "tactics."

Panzer Campaigns - Tactics

Here are some hints about game play that may help you enjoy your games more and perhaps enable you to do better against your opponents as well.

Don’t Attack In Travel-Mode
There are several penalties associated with units in Travel Mode, both having to do with their ability to defend as well as attack. In general, you should only use Travel-Mode to advance on the enemy position while using Road Movement, but then change to Deployed mode as soon as you encounter the enemy.

Disrupt Your Attackers
Disrupted units not only fire at a disadvantage, but they are also prohibited from assault attacking. The biggest effect you can have on an attacker is to disrupt his units. That will prevent him from assaulting your defensive positions and allow you to withstand the attack much better. You should consider the greatest value your artillery has against attacking armor is to disrupt the armor, not necessarily eliminate it. In this way, you can compel the attackers to break off the attack even though they still have strength.

Watch Out For the Combined Arms Penalty
Normally, any Combined Arms Penalty is reported to you when you add units to an assault attack. However, if Fog-of-War is in effect, then you will not be told when this penalty is in effect. So be careful. If you have vehicles assault attacking into non-Clear terrain against enemy infantry, make sure you have committed sufficient supporting infantry to protect your attacking vehicles.

Make Sure You Use Your Artillery
It may seem like an obvious fact, but firing your artillery into enemy positions is something you should consider as the first step in an attack. Often, when you are advancing on an enemy position, it is easy to forget that you have artillery available to support the attack and you try to just "blitz" the defending position. Think of your artillery first, not last, in your turn.

Attack Systematically
This has to do with the tempo of your attack. It’s easy to get excited about taking an enemy position and lose track of the fact that you are taking excessive casualties in the attack. Take your time. Plan your attack. Use your artillery and air support. Coordinate your efforts and you will end up losing much less that if you just attack piecemeal.

Watch Your Unit’s Battle Fatigue Levels
The fastest way to make a fighting unit ineffective is to push its Fatigue level to the point that it will take a long time to recover. When a unit takes losses from combat it also accumulates Fatigue Points. You'll see this as the fatigue level values change in color from green in the Low range, to yellow for Medium and to orange for High Fatigue. Units that move or fire have no chance of recovering from the effects of Fatigue.

Managing Your Units
Rotate your units to rest the heaviest engaged before they become too Fatigued. As a unit’s fatigue level approaches the top of the Medium Fatigue range, consider pulling it out of the fight for a rest. Units in the High Fatigue range will not stand up in battle and could quickly Disrupt and then become Broken causing an crisis in your lines.

Aiding your Unit’s Recovery from Disruption (and Broken)Status
As carefully as you may watch Fatigue or manage your units, some will still Disrupt as a result of combat and if they continue to be fired upon they may become Broken. When this occurs, there are a number of things you can do that will assist in the successful recovery of these units. Keep HQ's within range of their parent HQ's thereby increasing their chance to remain "in Command". The closer a unit is to its HQ the better the chance of recovery. As recovery is based on current unit Morale and factors such as amount of Fatigue, place units that are out of action in locations where they will not be fired upon, so as to lower their Fatigue.