Stalingrad Pack - Into the Void scenario (Spoiler)

[Knaust]

Can anyone tell me how the germans can win this scenario?

I tried twice with the Germans and got 2 total losses. :mad:

I tried with the Russians and the Germans got beaten hard.

[Eden Smallwood]

I can tell you how you *can* win, yes.

You can play a cautious game, feel like you're getting nowhere fast, lose a few HTs, revise the plan a bit, take *forever* trying to locate and destroy those d*mn guns, advance slowly, cautiously...

Eventually I was about to run out of time, (by my best guess, anyway), and the allies surrendered- I had spent so much time blowing him to Kansas that there was not much left of him, but I would have been lucky to have gotten everyone across that dinky bridge...

I *sorta* hesitate to admit winning that way- I think most grogs here would say 'that's not how you're Supposed to do it', but hey- I've been through enough of these scenarios like this where you just can't find those stupid guns and all your stuff gets knocked out... Well, that just dang well wasn't going to happen THIS time, so that's how I played, that's how I won.

Sure was a *pain*, at any rate. Good one.

Eden

[jwxspoon]

hehe - I was one of the testers on this scenario. It is indeed a hard row to hoe for the Germans, but is definitely winnable. The more experienced player should be the Germans in this one, without a doubt.

jw

[ December 13, 2002, 08:14 AM: Message edited by: jwxspoon ]

[WWB]

Glad you like it enough to try it a time or two. It is definitely more difficult on the germans, and really should not be played as the soviets vs the AI. That said, it is winnable. The Germans do have overwhelming firepower, and you have to use it. Dont ever expose just one vehicle, use the long LOS to your advantage. The combined firepower of a panzer kompanie and all those SPWs can put a hurting on anything you spot.

WWB

[demoss]

German total victory by autosurrender - 90-10, I believe.

Here's what I did. Your mileage may vary. I believe this approach should work against pretty much any Russian defense, human or AI - the biggest potential problem being a reverse-slope defense on the hill, IMO, in which case I'm not sure who really has the advantage but suspect it probably shifts back to the Russians. I'm going to keep the spoilers to a minimum.

First, look at the map. There's only one river crossing, and a few relatively unimportant flags (you have about *6000* exit points, and all else pales in comparison). Think about what this means from the defender's standpoint - what REALLY needs to be defended?. This is VERY IMPORTANT. Note also that you DON'T have a lot of time, so you mostly need to keep moving.

Start by putting the Pz IIs hull-down on the ridge, one platoon on the right of the balka crossing and one on the left. Advance ONE from each platoon until it starts to take fire. ID the firers & return fire with others (and, of course, with your bigger tanks as they arrive). If you need to, send out a second and a third, one at a time. Send artillery their way too, but you MUST take out the guns. Do whatever you have to do to make sure you take them down.

Keep your HTs out of sight most of the time. I set up one HQ in the trees on the left and rushed one over to the right, with the 105 spotter. These HQs spot for the mortar HTs. Move HTs in large groups when potentially in sight of the enemy to minimize firing opportunities - if you move them up one at a time, they can get picked off one at a time.

I rushed the Pz Recon platoon forward to the balka crossing very early on. These are the guys you want to be using to HOLD the flags after you've taken them, since they're all you have that doesn't need to exit (well, there are the Pz IIs too, but don't count on too many survivors there). They're also great for securing that crossing. Note also that the balka CAN be crossed anywhere by armor - I didn't find it worth the trouble to use the crossing for the tanks, but the area does make a great forward staging area for your PzGr halftrack assaults later, because it's hidden from a LOT of potential enemy positions.

Hunt the bigger tanks forward using bounding overwatch. DO NOT risk the Pz IV F2s (go ahead and bring them forward, but they should not be on point) at this point. They're your big baddies, and you'll need them both later on. Hope you don't bog them. Keep in mind that you do need to haul rear, so don't have more than a couple tanks stationary at any given time unless either you know there's a target you want heavy fire upon or it's just too dangerous to proceed.

Once you can do it without coming under fire from the guns, halftrack-rush a flag with a PzGr platoon to clear it out (hopefully you've suppressed the defenders some already - you HAVE, haven't you?). Drive your PSWs right up to the edge of the rough/trees/whatever & give your men Assault orders to get into cover. This is REMARKABLY effective - the firepower you can put out is truly frightening - and works well for both the farm and the hill. Where needed, follow up with the pioneers & perhaps the recon platoon. Remember to mount back up once the objective is clear - you can ultimately use an SPW 250/1 from the recon platoon just as well as the infantry to control the flag. Continue using any surviving Pz II (and recon platoon units that you can spare) for recon.

When the hilltop is nearly clear, start concentrating your armor on the right shoulder of the hill (the passable part). You'll run into some more problems, but if you can get this far, you can probably deal with them. Don't forget that just about everybody needs to exit, so KEEP MOVING. If you're pressed for time and there's enemy infantry in tank-traversable terrain, just RUN RIGHT OVER IT with several tanks, if possible. Alternatively (this is particularly good in wheatfields), do another platoon-sized PzGr halftrack assault. Kills are good, because as the scenario is structured, your best bet is actually to force surrender (but don't count on getting it!).

Good luck, and GO, GO, GO!

[ December 13, 2002, 12:47 PM: Message edited by: demoss ]