Help Needed

[panzerde]

Definitely take a look at the thread that GerryM pointed you to. There are some tips in there for dealing with bunkers.

Probably the biggest thing to realize is that the terrain in the hex and particularly the hexsides can have a huge impact on your attacks. In the case of the first tutorial for example, terrain effects can reduce the effectiveness of incoming direct fire on the Kraut Corner objective by 100% from all but two of the surrounding hexes. You can lay direct fire on that hex all day and you are not going to get anything but a No Effect result if you try it from any but those two hex sides.

In actuality dealing with bunkers once you understand what makes them work isn't that tough and you can pretty much take any bunker in the game in about three or four turns, depending on what forces you have. You do NOT have to disrupt the troops in them, but you do need to reduce their morale as much as possible, as well as bring the defender's numbers down. Mortars are just about useless against bunkers, though they are useful against other types of fortifications. Heavier artillery may allow you to causes losses or get you a lucky disruption.

Your best bet, though, is to isloate the troops in the bunker but still allow them an exit path, and then pound the bunker with direct fire from tanks and guns across the most advantageous hex sides. Cause as many casualties/fatigue as you can that way for about three turns. Kraut Corner is a bit tougher of a nut - there's a full FJ company in there. Most bunkers will only have a platoon or so in them in most scenarios. After hitting them with effective direct fire, assault the bunker with at least a full rifle company. If you have AVRE's, Crocodile flame tanks, include those in the assault. In a pinch regular tanks/assault guns are useful too, though I've almost always already used their action points for direct fire. If you have more than two rifle companies available, assault with the remainder after the first two have been used if theri assault didn't push the enemy out.

It might take a couple of assaults, but this approach will usually clear the enemy out of the bunker. If not, do another round of direct fire and assault again the next turn. Bunkers very seldom last more than two turns like this.

PB is a very subtle game with a lot of factors that aren't immediately obvious impacting unit effectiveness. Assaulting with units that have different morale ratings will, for example, cause the entire assault to be resolved using the lowest rating. Assaulting with vehicles factors in the terrain in the hex, while assaulting without only considers the hex side terrain. Completely isolating a unit so that it has no retreat path will cause the defenders to fight to the last man. There's a lot more to understand than just moving up a bigger stack and letting fly, hoping for the best.

Once you figure it out, though, taking fortified positions is understandable and straightforward. I won't say it's always easy, because even when you know the process you might not have the right forces, or enough forces, or be easily able to maneuver into the right terrain. Positions with interlocking fields of fire can still cause serious casualties for the attacker. Despite all of that though, it becomes a lot less frustrating and you can begin to plan your attack knowing it'll take you three or four turns to capture a particular bunker. Knowing that allows you to start to figure out your larger plan of attack and where you need to take out a bunker versus what you want to bypass, etc.

When I started I really found bunkers frustrating, and just couldn't see how others were dealing with them as quickly as they claimed. I certainly didn't buy the idea that the attacker might have an advantage and that weakening bunkers would make it too easy for the attacker. Having figured out how to do it now, though, as well as learning more about the game in general, I have to agree. The balance is right. If anything, the attacker does have an advantage. You just have to understand the entire picture of what is impacting both the defender and the attacker's effectiveness and how to work with that. You have to be a smart attacker - PB will punish you if you think you can just swamp an enemy position with troops.

Don't give up on it. I'm finding the process of figuring it all out very rewarding, if for no other reason than that the game reflects the actual combat conditions of Normandy very well. Read some of the histories written about some of the very engagements covered in the game and you'll find that you're going through the same learning process that the Allies did. Fortunately for us, we can just restart the scenario and all of our pixeltrruppen are ready to go again, healthy and eager!