Protecting Engineers

[Compass Rose]

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what can be done to help protect engineers when they are clearing mines in a hex by themselves, and they are located adjacent to a hex that contains enemy units in a bunker? From what I have seen, it is like just throwing them out to the wolves, and watching them get chewed up!

The only thing I can come up with is air support or artillery (as long as they are able to view and/or reach the bunker hex).

Thanks

[P.Ako]

Try to disrupt the enemy unit(s) before clearing the minefield. If you can't due to visibility wait until it increases or simply find another way around.

[Mr Grumpy]

Is there a hex next to the bunker the engineers can move into that has some defensive benefit?

If you have several engineers units you can swamp the hex hoping one will not disrupt and lower or remove the mines.

Use your arty or any units with a hard attack value to disrupt the bunker defenders before you use your engineers, this will halve the defenders firepower.

Can you isolate the bunker? If so the defenders will lose a morale level for the isolation and go "low ammo" the first time they fire and lose another morale level.

By default bunkers are hard to take normally......:(

[Compass Rose]

Is there a hex next to the bunker the engineers can move into that has some defensive benefit?

If you have several engineers units you can swamp the hex hoping one will not disrupt and lower or remove the mines.

Use your arty or any units with a hard attack value to disrupt the bunker defenders before you use your engineers, this will halve the defenders firepower.

Can you isolate the bunker? If so the defenders will lose a morale level for the isolation and go "low ammo" the first time they fire and lose another morale level.

By default bunkers are hard to take normally......:(

I finished the game about a week ago; EL Alamein First Try for the Dogs Well. Basically, the Tommies were holding a position that had 3 bunkers almost adjacent to each other in a up-side-down T formation with mines around the whole 360 degree perimeter, 2-3 hexs in depth. My engineers had no cover in any of the mine hexes and my artillery could only reach one of the three bunkers. I was forced to have my engineers attempt a frontal mine clearing operation, due to a very short turn sequence. Once the engineers got to the adjacent hex, right next to one of the bunker, they started getting chewed up from the front two bunkers firing on them!

I originally planned a flanking move with 95% of my armor and artillery however, once I committed to the move, after about 3-4 turns, my recon finally noticed that there were mines all over the place and I had no engineers with them, since they were already busy tackling mines in a different area.

BTW, that brings up another question; is there a way to know which way a bunker is facing like in the SB series?

Thanks

[Ricky B]

Bunkers have no facing in the PzC series - a bunker hex really represents a group of positions, including bunkers/trenches, mines etc as a part of the "bunker".