D-Day and other questions

[MechaMaestro]

I've recently purchased Normandy '44 and am hoping people have more experience with the mechanics of the game to help me understand how to do better in invading Normandy, and many of the other games in the series.

Firstly, what's the real strategy with paratroops? When they first drop they seem effectively useless, and the following turn they seem to be unable to do anything useful on their own. I have Market - Garden '44 and they're usually capable of doing things and heading towards objectives by the following turn. Should I prioritize getting them assembled into their parent battalions or is there a way to use them effectively at company strength?

Secondly, is it better to have my units at the battalion level or company level? Is there any advantage to breaking them down or should I always keep them in a battalion?

Thirdly, does anyone have any tips for breaking the bunkers and pillboxes on the beaches? I feel like even Utah is a difficult beast to get out of and I have little hope for moving on to Omaha. All my naval assets seem to be completely useless as well.

Thanks to anyone who can shine some light on this!

[Elxaime]

On Allied Airborne:

- Normandy, unlike Market Garden, was a night drop and the troop-carrying aircraft also had the misfortune to hit a fog bank just as they crossed the coast. Hence, the parachutists were mostly dropped wildly off target and scattered. That said, due to the advantage of surprise, the German garrisons are not optimally placed to keep them from taking and holding ground inland, including key points like St. Mere Eglise and Pegasus Bridge. As Allied player, you can use those of your units that dropped relatively intact aggressively, while others (with big drop losses) should be used to occupy and hold the lodgment until link-up from the sea landings

On Utah:

- While the initial German pillboxes on the beach can be frustrating, just keep pounding them with naval guns and the US tanks (which have decent hard attack values), focusing on the Germany infantry unit first to disrupt it, then assault. If enough US troops are ashore you can try assaults even if the defenders aren't disrupted, since the odds will be pretty high in your favor. But just keep pounding away, especially with th naval guns and tanks. The German defender doesn't have much behind the beach and your airborne should be keeping them busy. No reason Utah isn't well taken by mid-day

On Omaha:

- This is another matter entirely. In RL, there was a chance the US landing would have been defeated and it was a near-run thing. Accept that losses will be heavy no matter what you do. That said, for Omaha, you need to concentrate on the bunker hexes with: a) the lowest defense values; b) access from the beach (you'll need to blow the anti-tank ditches first with your engineers in order to assault. Early on, usually you have to sit tight and not even fire with the few intact US tanks you have, since you will suffer more from the German return fire. But keeping pounding with naval and make carefully considered assaults when you either see good odds or absolutely assault if you see the defenders are disrupted. But this is a tough one. If things get really bad, if you've managed to clear a hex of mines you can dig-in on the beach, which can help reduce losses although obviously doing this is a last resort, since that means you have given up getting inland and need to wait for forces from neighboring beaches (Utah and Gold) to rescue you the next day.

On Gold:

- The British Empire forces land a lot of armor and specialized troops. Pound away with the naval and tanks, but don't be afraid to mass assault either, as the German beach defenses here are just a few troops and they are low-quality. Gold, along with Utah, should be one of the easier beaches.

On Juno:

- Same formula as Gold, the British and Canadian forces have lots of armor, naval and troops, just keep pounding away you will break through. Use your special forces units (Commandos) ability to infiltrate one hex at a time, which will enable you to advance regular troops in their wake once they occupy a hex, and also to see if you can isolate defensive positions - defenders disrupt more easily when isolated

On Sword:

- This is the second toughest beach after Omaha. Blow the ditches ASAP with engineers so you can assault when you see a defender disrupted. If troops are piling up, you have some empty beach to the rear to put the most battered ones so you can fill.

Generally, use your battleship and heavy cruiser guns to hit the weakest defensive bunkers/pillboxes, while the destroyers try to get a luck shot in wherever. Same thing with your opening rocket ships...hit the hexes you hope to make your breakout on. Also, remember that hitting even the defenses that you don't plan to assault with destroyer guns can help, if you see the defender rotating battered units to rest there, as firing on them keeps them from recovering fatigue.

I haven't had much luck using the rocket-firing Typhoons and fighter bombers on beach fortifications, but do use them on any German armor that appears. Also, generally pound the hell of any Axis units in the open using your air units, as that will keep them from reinforcing the beach and make your later advance inland easier.

Also, remember you can double click to see your landing forces before you click to have them land. Later waves often contain soft units which are vulnerable if the beaches remain untaken, and just serve to increase unit losses through density of targets. You want to get your HQ ashore, as they are needed to help your armor and infantry recover from disruption, but give thought as to whether it is a good time to bring other units ashore. AT guns are often worth it, despite their vulnerability on a beach, as they can crack bunkers/pillboxes. But you don't want to have your soft field and heavy artillery land and get chewed up uselessly.

Hope this helps. D-Day is very exciting and tough in some areas, but if you get ashore in force, it then becomes just a matter of time before the German army is bled and crushed.

[MechaMaestro]

On Allied Airborne:

- Normandy, unlike Market Garden, was a night drop and the troop-carrying aircraft also had the misfortune to hit a fog bank just as they crossed the coast.  Hence, the parachutists were mostly dropped wildly off target and scattered.  That said, due to the advantage of surprise, the German garrisons are not optimally placed to keep them from taking and holding ground inland, including key points like St. Mere Eglise and Pegasus Bridge.  As Allied player, you can use those of your units that dropped relatively intact aggressively, while others (with big drop losses) should be used to occupy and hold the lodgment until link-up from the sea landings

On Utah:

- While the initial German pillboxes on the beach can be frustrating, just keep pounding them with naval guns and the US tanks (which have decent hard attack values), focusing on the Germany infantry unit first to disrupt it, then assault.  If enough US troops are ashore you can try assaults even if the defenders aren't disrupted, since the odds will be pretty high in your favor.  But just keep pounding away, especially with th naval guns and tanks.  The German defender doesn't have much behind the beach and your airborne should be keeping them busy.  No reason Utah isn't well taken by mid-day

On Omaha:

- This is another matter entirely.  In RL, there was a chance the US landing would have been defeated and it was a near-run thing.  Accept that losses will be heavy no matter what you do.  That said, for Omaha, you need to concentrate on the bunker hexes with: a) the lowest defense values; b) access from the beach (you'll need to blow the anti-tank ditches first with your engineers in order to assault.  Early on, usually you have to sit tight and not even fire with the few intact US tanks you have, since you will suffer more from the German return fire.  But keeping pounding with naval and make carefully considered assaults when you either see good odds or absolutely assault if you see the defenders are disrupted.  But this is a tough one.  If things get really bad, if you've managed to clear a hex of mines you can dig-in on the beach, which can help reduce losses although obviously doing this is a last resort, since that means you have given up getting inland and need to wait for forces from neighboring beaches (Utah and Gold) to rescue you the next day.

On Gold:

- The British Empire forces land a lot of armor and specialized troops.  Pound away with the naval and tanks, but don't be afraid to mass assault either, as the German beach defenses here are just a few troops and they are low-quality.  Gold, along with Utah, should be one of the easier beaches.

On Juno:

- Same formula as Gold, the British and Canadian forces have lots of armor, naval and troops, just keep pounding away you will break through.  Use your special forces units (Commandos) ability to infiltrate one hex at a time, which will enable you to advance regular troops in their wake once they occupy a hex, and also to see if you can isolate defensive positions - defenders disrupt more easily when isolated

On Sword:

- This is the second toughest beach after Omaha.  Blow the ditches ASAP with engineers so you can assault when you see a defender disrupted.  If troops are piling up, you have some empty beach to the rear to put the most battered ones so you can fill.

Generally, use your battleship and heavy cruiser guns to hit the weakest defensive bunkers/pillboxes, while the destroyers try to get a luck shot in wherever.  Same thing with your opening rocket ships...hit the hexes you hope to make your breakout on.  Also, remember that hitting even the defenses that you don't plan to assault with destroyer guns can help, if you see the defender rotating battered units to rest there, as firing on them keeps them from recovering fatigue.

I haven't had much luck using the rocket-firing Typhoons and fighter bombers on beach fortifications, but do use them on any German armor that appears.  Also, generally pound the hell of any Axis units in the open using your air units, as that will keep them from reinforcing the beach and make your later advance inland easier.

Also, remember you can double click to see your landing forces before you click to have them land.  Later waves often contain soft units which are vulnerable if the beaches remain untaken, and just serve to increase unit losses through density of targets.  You want to get your HQ ashore, as they are needed to help your armor and infantry recover from disruption, but give thought as to whether it is a good time to bring other units ashore.  AT guns are often worth it, despite their vulnerability on a beach, as they can crack bunkers/pillboxes.  But you don't want to have your soft field and heavy artillery land and get chewed up uselessly.

Hope this helps.  D-Day is very exciting and tough in some areas, but if you get ashore in force, it then becomes just a matter of time before the German army is bled and crushed.

Thanks! I'll keep all this in mind!

[wildb]

Might I recommend you purchase Battles in Normandy. It will really give you a better perspective on each landing beach, the airborne drops, and the difficulties of the bocage.

[MechaMaestro]

Might I recommend you purchase Battles in Normandy.  It will really give you a better perspective on each landing beach, the airborne drops, and the difficulties of the bocage.

Already own it, and don't worry I'm well versed on the subject. My issue is more with the game mechanics than understanding the history behind them.