Best first WW II CM campaigns?

[Kevinorf]

I have all of the WW II CM games and DLCs except Fire and Rubble... I've completed all of the tutorial campaigns.

I may do Devil's Descent next, though I do like more combined arms including tanks and larger arty...

What are the best WW II campaigns for a noob? Looking for something smaller and easier... I enjoy all theaters...

[Vacillator]

I think my first WW2 campaign was the KG Peiper one from FB, which was challenging but a lot of fun.  Whether this counts as 'smaller and easier' I'm not sure.

[Kevinorf]

29 minutes ago, Vacillator said:

I think my first WW2 campaign was the KG Peiper one from FB, which was challenging but a lot of fun.  Whether this counts as 'smaller and easier' I'm not sure.

The Allied campaign in FB looks pretty interesting too. I might give that a go...

[landser]

Devil's Descent -- Pitch perfect company sized para campaign.

Kampfgruppe Engel (CMBN) -- Not a beginner level campaign, but one of the most innovative in Combat Mission. Features ammo and repair state carry-over and core force.

The Outllaws (CMBN) -- Ramping para campaign, where you start small as the troopers march to the sound of the guns, culminating in much larger battles as your paras link up with 4th Division straightlegs coming off the beach. Interesting briefing style that provides virtually no useful tactical information. but it does provide a narrative, and the player fills in the blanks.

Road to Montebourg (CMBN) -- One of the most ambitious Combat Mission campaigns, and one of the biggest (16 missions?). Excellent mission variety, with the opening mission a showcase for suppression in Combat Mission.

Blunting the Spear (CMRT) -- Battalion + sized campaign. I tend to steer clear of the larger campaigns, but this one is too good to ignore. A near perfect blend of long range gunnery duels and close-in fighting.

Just a few suggestions

Edited February 19, 2022 by landser

[Monty's Mighty Moustache]

CMBN The Road to Montebourg is a classic. It’s long but it has a bit of everything and there are plenty of playthrough videos on YouTube if you want some tips

[Kevinorf]

2 hours ago, Monty's Mighty Moustache said:

CMBN The Road to Montebourg is a classic. It’s long but it has a bit of everything and there are plenty of playthrough videos on YouTube if you want some tips

I see that Usually Hapless has videos on this campaign. He's great. I love how his videos are succinct and well edited and don't make me sit through 46 hours of "Let's Play" style game play.

[chuckdyke]

Road to Nijmegen is buggy reason I didn't complete it apart from the first two games I won't waste my time on it. Just play Bridge No7, Nijmegen Road Bridge and Back over the Waal scenarios. These scenarios should have been in the Campaign. 

[Warts 'n' all]

Sadly, both "Outlaws" and "Montebourg" feature fictional PzIVs. But, if you're OK with that them give them a go.

As previously mentioned, both "Devils Descent" and "Blunting the Spear" are excellent. Once you've played them you might be ready for "Rollbahn D" the best ever CMx2 campaign.

[Monty's Mighty Moustache]

10 hours ago, Kevinorf said:

I see that Usually Hapless has videos on this campaign. He's great. I love how his videos are succinct and well edited and don't make me sit through 46 hours of "Let's Play" style game play.

He does, General Jack Ripper has been through the campaign too and I am sure there are others. 

I am currently playing through To Berlin in the Fire and Rubble module for Red Thunder and it’s not too difficult. I am having success using Soviet doctrine too, just take the lumps and keep on pushing through. It’s worth a go, the first couple of battles are easy going and you get some night fighting early on too  

MMM

[FredLW]

21 hours ago, landser said:

Devil's Descent -- Pitch perfect company sized para campaign.

Kampfgruppe Engel (CMBN) -- Not a beginner level campaign, but one of the most innovative in Combat Mission. Features ammo and repair state carry-over and core force.

The Outllaws (CMBN) -- Ramping para campaign, where you start small as the troopers march to the sound of the guns, culminating in much larger battles as your paras link up with 4th Division straightlegs coming off the beach. Interesting briefing style that provides virtually no useful tactical information. but it does provide a narrative, and the player fills in the blanks.

Road to Montebourg (CMBN) -- One of the most ambitious Combat Mission campaigns, and one of the biggest (16 missions?). Excellent mission variety, with the opening mission a showcase for suppression in Combat Mission.

Blunting the Spear (CMRT) -- Battalion + sized campaign. I tend to steer clear of the larger campaigns, but this one is too good to ignore. A near perfect blend of long range gunnery duels and close-in fighting.

Just a few suggestions

Kampfgruppe Engel is really exciting !  Nice and innovative scenarios, and nice  stuff... miaow...

[Simcoe]

The Courage Conquers campaign for Final Blitzkrieg is pretty noobie friendly. The first mission has multiple ways to beat it and teaches a lot of great lessons.

[chuckdyke]

Knock them all down the Aachen Campaign. Urban warfare and you learn artillery missions. The engineers also play a good part. They have my favourite TD the Hellcat.

 

[Kevinorf]

Got a total victory on the first scenario of Road to Montebourg but second scenario is much tougher.

Playing second scenario of Devil's Descent. Two German units (a panzerschreck and MG) are broken yet won't surrender in the building on the western objective, thus not allowing me to take the objective, no matter how many times I try to assault the room they are in or target them... Bug? Any tips on this scenario? Lost 12 men which seems like a lot, and that was after retrying it...

[landser]

22 hours ago, FredLW said:

Kampfgruppe Engel is really exciting !  Nice and innovative scenarios, and nice  stuff... miaow...

 

Yes indeed. I like it for a number of reasons

-- Fearsome German armor.  Your force is limited, but what you do get is top shelf

-- Core force.  I prefer this for a number of reasons, not least of which is that each loss is keenly felt. I lost my Pak40 with twenty rings painted on the barrel, and you know how hard it is to keep an AT gun alive long enough to get twenty kills. Ouch, but in a good way. Core force also makes me learn the names of my commanders and officers, imparting a sense of attachment I don't get in campaigns with a different approach, such as Montebourg (except Lt Turnbull!).

-- Ammo and repair state carry over. One of the later missions is to force the river Dives, which comes on the heels of the Hunters in the Mist mission. There is a single, heavily-defended bridge to get across. And the player must do so with battered tanks and nearly-empty racks. A tough nut, and forces you to find a different approach, since you cannot rely on overwhelming firepower applied at range.

When I played I focused on keeping my armor alive, and was very successful at this, but by the end it was in tatters. Damaged tracks and barrels, shot-out optics, broken radios. Campaigns are best when decisions and outcomes have cascading effects on what comes next. One Panther was little more than a barely-mobile pill box at the end.

-- Mission innovation. Some of the missions in this campaign are clever and innovative, such as Tiger Poaching, where you must recover an abandoned King Tiger behind the enemy's forward outposts. Or Hunter's in the Mist where you must capture a couple hamlets, while one enemy force meets you head on, and you also encounter a Canadian armored force moving across the map from side to side. As the name implies, the limited visibility negates the range advantage afforded by German optics, and you must work out how to capture your objectives while simultaneously denying the Canadian's exit. This is the mission I lost that Pak, grrr....

This is the opening map for this campaign. Love this sort, with lots of open ground and broken sight lines that make it such an interesting tactical puzzle. I sent recon elements to OPs 2 and 3, another element to fix the troops at the road block, while my main effort went up the right side.

 

 

 

On the other side of the ledger I felt the exit mechanic was used too much (not a fan) and one or two missions I didn't care for, such as Guardian Angels which is a fairly tedious battle/exit mission. It may be more due to Combat Mission's limitations than anything. If we could easily give formation orders it wouldn't be bad. There is another mission, I can't recall the name, where you must traverse the map at night and exit your entire force. I perfectly chose my path and rather breezed through it. In the debrief I was shocked to see how strong the enemy had been, and it was only by good fortune that I weaved my way through it all. If I had chosen a different path it would have been very difficult and not a fun mission I don't think. I'm no fan of exit missions, night fighting or urban combat in Combat Mission.

But in all it's one of the best Combat Mission campaigns I've played and well worth your time if you like German heavy hitters and don't mind having the odds distinctly against you (hard campaign). It is the Falaise pocket after all, and it takes all of your skill to get through to the end. Speaking of which... I got there through a combination of luck and skill, and was promptly handed my ass in the final battle, called Deliverance.

[Peregrine]

If you are just starting out it is probably a good idea to play a lot of scenarios first so you get better at the game before starting the campaigns. Most of the campaigns are challenging in many ways and while most have great replay-ability it isn't quite the same as the first play through.

A good way to get experience quickly would be to pick a module then play a small, medium, medium then large scenario with the force your are intending to campaign with.

"Looking for something smaller and easier" is difficult to quantify because most campaigns have at least one or two battles of considerably size/complexity.

Blunting the Spear (CMRT) should be a no-no as it has some very big truly grinding battles.

Kampfgruppe Engel I can't remember well but it has some really good individual battles and it is a little simpler than some others due to force composition and length.

[Codreanu]

A shame you don't have Fire and Rubble because the To Berlin campaign is perfect for beginners IMHO. Not too hard, a lot of medium sized battles, urban and non-urban combat, some punishment for playing recklessly but it's also generous in replenishing most of your core forces every 3 missions and you get a good amount of non-core forces to play with if you really happen to mess up. Every mission in it is excellent too.

[Peregrine]

3 hours ago, Codreanu said:

A shame you don't have Fire and Rubble because the To Berlin campaign is perfect for beginners IMHO. Not too hard, a lot of medium sized battles, urban and non-urban combat, some punishment for playing recklessly but it's also generous in replenishing most of your core forces every 3 missions and you get a good amount of non-core forces to play with if you really happen to mess up. Every mission in it is excellent too.

Haven't played CM for awhile until recently so haven't bought anything in years. You just sold a Fire and Rubble upgrade for them.

[Peregrine]

6 hours ago, Peregrine said:

Blunting the Spear (CMRT) should be a no-no as it has some very big truly grinding battles.

Could simply see how to edit my post. This is a mistake. I had confused Hammer' Flank and Blunting the Spear in my head.

[landser]

Blunting the Spear does have very big battles too. Not a beginner's campaign I don't think, but in my view one of the best WW2 campaigns in Combat Mission.

Great map(s). Written that way because each battle takes place on a section of a single master map, right?

The action this campaign portrays is not very well-known, but this was the largest armor clash that occurred in Poland. In July of '44 the Russians were closing the Vistula and the eastern approaches to Warsaw. Operationally, it was XXXIX Panzer Corps defending against Rokossovsky's 1st Belorussian Front, and in this region 2nd Tank Army, of which the campaign's enemy, the 3rd Tank Corps, was part. Model ordered a counterattack with four Panzer Divisions. The Hermann Goring and 19th Panzer Divisions attacked first and managed to cut off 3rd Tank Corps from 2nd Tank Army. 5th SS and 4th Panzer then arrived and the pocketed 3rd Tank Corps was destroyed. In the campaign we command elements of 4th Panzer, and the player is attacking/pursuing 3rd Tank Corps as they fall back in to the pocket to ultimately deliver the crushing blow.

Historically, this action was a sharp success for the German. For the moment anyway, the Vistula crossings were safe, and the direct threat to Warsaw removed. It was a good example of how vulnerable armored spearheads can become after a long advance, and here, at the end of Bagration, 2nd Tank army was exploitable, Model recognized this and struck when the time was right. This action is also interesting for the role it played in the Warsaw Uprising which sparked as these forces approached the river. The Soviet defeat left Warsaw on it's own as they needed to cross the river elsewhere. Of course it's questionable whether Stalin wanted to enter Warsaw in the first place, as one might reason capturing Warsaw with no home army intact was preferable from a political point of view.

In the game, this campaign is strong, but larger than what I usually play, battalion sized, with large maps 3km x 3km? As I said earlier, I really like the 'balance' here, between long-range gunnery duels, and close-in fighting. For me, balance is often a mis-guided aim in wargaming, not desirable in of itself, except for multiplayer fairness. But here I mean the way the nature of the combat is balanced between distant engagement and close assault in a way that appeals to me. I was getting kills at over 1800 meters, and these sorts of duels are always fun in Combat Mission.

Despite how I tend to shy away from large-unit campaigns, I really took to Blunting the Spear. One of the biggest challenges for me when playing it was movement. The maps are so large that simply walking my infantry across from the jump-off positions was not practical. Not only does it take too long, the infantry then arrives out of shape, out of breath and nearly out of time. So I felt compelled to organize and execute motorized movement. This imparted a distinctly operational feel to the tactical framing.

The campaign is split narratively between two 'flank forces' one with Panthers and the other with Mark IVs. One flank force has trucks and one has half-tracks. Both are vulnerable, but the trucks especially so. I found it a compelling challenge to bring the weight of my infantry to bear where and when I needed them, to safely get them in to position and in condition to fight. This compelled me to establish things like embarkation points, columns, disembarkation points and covered assembly locations where the troops could form up to reach their jump-off. More than once, infantry formations mounted up, moved forward, jumped off, took a position, remounted and moved forward to the next position and did it again.

The very first battle was like this, where I used the troops to clear the terrain on the near side of the river, before loading everyone up to make the river crossing. To do this it requires planning ahead, good timing, overwatch, escort, suppression, smoke, co-ordination and luck.

This is the opening map in Blunting the Spear

 

In this battle the Germans must cross the river you can barely see running through the center, take the VLs on the other side while attempting to deny the exit of Red armor. You can see the smoke I am laying as a screen against any forces in the village on the right edge of the shot. As it turned out that village was unoccupied, but you can't know that (and AI plans means next time it might be garrisoned and defended) and I did a full assault on that dead space, with smoke, arty and recon by fire. Once the near side was clear (watch out for surprises!) then all the infantry was mounted up on the tracks under concealment, and then all made the move simultaneously to cross the river.

This is a big undertaking, massive co-ordination of assets, but I loved it. It felt like an operational challenge in the tactical Combat Mission.

Edited February 28, 2022 by landser

[Simcoe]

On 2/28/2022 at 7:26 AM, landser said:

Blunting the Spear does have very big battles too. Not a beginner's campaign I don't think, but in my view one of the best WW2 campaigns in Combat Mission.

Great map(s). Written that way because each battle takes place on a section of a single master map, right?

The action this campaign portrays is not very well-known, but this was the largest armor clash that occurred in Poland. In July of '44 the Russians were closing the Vistula and the eastern approaches to Warsaw. Operationally, it was XXXIX Panzer Corps defending against Rokossovsky's 1st Belorussian Front, and in this region 2nd Tank Army, of which the campaign's enemy, the 3rd Tank Corps, was part. Model ordered a counterattack with four Panzer Divisions. The Hermann Goring and 19th Panzer Divisions attacked first and managed to cut off 3rd Tank Corps from 2nd Tank Army. 5th SS and 4th Panzer then arrived and the pocketed 3rd Tank Corps was destroyed. In the campaign we command elements of 4th Panzer, and the player is attacking/pursuing 3rd Tank Corps as they fall back in to the pocket to ultimately deliver the crushing blow.

Historically, this action was a sharp success for the German. For the moment anyway, the Vistula crossings were safe, and the direct threat to Warsaw removed. It was a good example of how vulnerable armored spearheads can become after a long advance, and here, at the end of Bagration, 2nd Tank army was exploitable, Model recognized this and struck when the time was right. This action is also interesting for the role it played in the Warsaw Uprising which sparked as these forces approached the river. The Soviet defeat left Warsaw on it's own as they needed to cross the river elsewhere. Of course it's questionable whether Stalin wanted to enter Warsaw in the first place, as one might reason capturing Warsaw with no home army intact was preferable from a political point of view.

In the game, this campaign is strong, but larger than what I usually play, battalion sized, with large maps 3km x 3km? As I said earlier, I really like the 'balance' here, between long-range gunnery duels, and close-in fighting. For me, balance is often a mis-guided aim in wargaming, not desirable in of itself, except for multiplayer fairness. But here I mean the way the nature of the combat is balanced between distant engagement and close assault in a way that appeals to me. I was getting kills at over 1800 meters, and these sorts of duels are always fun in Combat Mission.

Despite how I tend to shy away from large-unit campaigns, I really took to Blunting the Spear. One of the biggest challenges for me when playing it was movement. The maps are so large that simply walking my infantry across from the jump-off positions was not practical. Not only does it take too long, the infantry then arrives out of shape, out of breath and nearly out of time. So I felt compelled to organize and execute motorized movement. This imparted a distinctly operational feel to the tactical framing.

The campaign is split narratively between two 'flank forces' one with Panthers and the other with Mark IVs. One flank force has trucks and one has half-tracks. Both are vulnerable, but the trucks especially so. I found it a compelling challenge to bring the weight of my infantry to bear where and when I needed them, to safely get them in to position and in condition to fight. This compelled me to establish things like embarkation points, columns, disembarkation points and covered assembly locations where the troops could form up to reach their jump-off. More than once, infantry formations mounted up, moved forward, jumped off, took a position, remounted and moved forward to the next position and did it again.

The very first battle was like this, where I used the troops to clear the terrain on the near side of the river, before loading everyone up to make the river crossing. To do this it requires planning ahead, good timing, overwatch, escort, suppression, smoke, co-ordination and luck.

This is the opening map in Blunting the Spear

 

In this battle the Germans must cross the river you can barely see running through the center, take the VLs on the other side while attempting to deny the exit of Red armor. You can see the smoke I am laying as a screen against any forces in the village on the right edge of the shot. As it turned out that village was unoccupied, but you can't know that (and AI plans means next time it might be garrisoned and defended) and I did a full assault on that dead space, with smoke, arty and recon by fire. Once the near side was clear (watch out for surprises!) then all the infantry was mounted up on the tracks under concealment, and then all made the move simultaneously to cross the river.

This is a big undertaking, massive co-ordination of assets, but I loved it. It felt like an operational challenge in the tactical Combat Mission.

Thank you for the summary. This campaign has been my white whale for a long time.

[Kevinorf]

On 2/27/2022 at 10:21 PM, Codreanu said:

A shame you don't have Fire and Rubble because the To Berlin campaign is perfect for beginners IMHO. Not too hard, a lot of medium sized battles, urban and non-urban combat, some punishment for playing recklessly but it's also generous in replenishing most of your core forces every 3 missions and you get a good amount of non-core forces to play with if you really happen to mess up. Every mission in it is excellent too.

I just got Fire and Rubble and just took a peak at the first scenario of the To Berlin campaign. Looks very manageable...

Any tips? Bring recon and infantry up into the tree line first and carefully bring up the armor? The 88 makes me nervous but I have a lot of tanks...

Edited March 6, 2022 by Kevinorf

[chuckdyke]

3 minutes ago, Kevinorf said:

Any tips?

You don't have time to waste. 2men scout unit in the half tracks the remainder of the squad rides on a Panzer IV. That is how you do your recon. Analyze the terrain where you put your TRPs. The Soviet tanks have a better gun and better armor than your Panzer IVs. Capture as much terrain as you can. 

[Kevinorf]

48 minutes ago, chuckdyke said:

You don't have time to waste. 2men scout unit in the half tracks the remainder of the squad rides on a Panzer IV. That is how you do your recon. Analyze the terrain where you put your TRPs. The Soviet tanks have a better gun and better armor than your Panzer IVs. Capture as much terrain as you can. 

Codreanu meant the To Berlin campaign, played from the Soviet side... Any tips on that one?

[Codreanu]

2 hours ago, Kevinorf said:

I just got Fire and Rubble and just took a peak at the first scenario of the To Berlin campaign. Looks very manageable...

Any tips? Bring recon and infantry up into the tree line first and carefully bring up the armor? The 88 makes me nervous but I have a lot of tanks...

I've seen three different playthroughs of that mission (one being my own) and all of them had totally different ideas on how to best tackle the mission and they all succeeded. Unless you're facing a real time crunch I think recon is always valuable, if you can spot and take out any enemy AT assets first then the rest of the scenario is mopping up with your tanks as long as you stay out of panzershrek/panzerfaust range.

[Warts 'n' all]

5 hours ago, Codreanu said:

as long as you stay out of panzershrek/panzerfaust range.

Great advice. You can simply use the "Target" command to measure the distance from suspected sites where the enemy might be, buildings, clumps of trees, ditches etc. If your tanks are a few hundred meters away then they are safe.