Axis AI and WaW

[Timskorn]

I've almost completed my first full game against the AI as the Allies and here is a complete rundown of what I experienced and my thoughts. If anyone gives a rats arse. I played on Expert +0.

It's currently September 1944. The Russians have been fighting for their lives ever since the Germans crossed the border. Zhukov leads a desperate defense in the Urals, and two pockets of resistance has kept the Russians from being completely wiped out. One has occurred in the city between Moscow and Archangel. An unbelievable defense has bloodied the Germans for nearly three years straight. Communist forces operated hit and run attacks from the dense forests and AA guns have kept heavy Axis air in check. It is on the verge of being captured, but German forces have worn thin there and hope remains. The other pocket, and most importantly, lay at the gates of the Caucusus. There Russian forces dug in and organized a rag-tag army group and sprung a counter-offensive in late 1943 and re-captured Stalingrad. It's been a total bloodbath in Russia though and I'm lucky to have lasted this long.

In late June, British forces out of Tunisia staged an invasion of southern Italy and succeeded with minimal losses. With crack artillery, army and armor on land they are forcing their way north through the boot. Two UK fighters lend support but are greatly outclassed by the Luftwaffe which has shut down air sorties.

On July 4th, 1944 Allied forces launched D-Day. US and UK paratroopers landed in France first to cut off rail lines, then over 12 units hit the beaches and captured every city except Paris within a month. US bombers leveled German cities and rail lines, hampering reinforcements into France. Finally, the Russians gain some breathing room. After killing half a dozen units in the Urals and combined with simultaneous Allied landings, German forces are pulling back in the east. They have manned the Seigfried line, but not in time. The Allied advances were too swift and were able to swing around the north and invade Germany proper, after quickly liberating Paris and Belgium. German jets have been sent to the homeland to protect their cities and troops from Allied air attack and a desperate fight for the skies has begun. With intense pressure bearing down on both Italy and Germany, the Russians will finally be able to organize themselves and begin retaking their land.

Notes:

Germany was swift in taking Poland and France, as well as getting into North Africa quickly. Their U-boats caused havoc all the way into 1944, with diminishing results each year as Allied DD's were able to hunt down and damage, if not destroy them outright each successive year. The Axis AI has a great deal of difficulty attacking in Egypt. They have the firepower to do the job but it is not applied properly. Their fighter and tac-bomber did not soften up El-Alamein, and they sent armor, Corp. and Armies at it piecemeal. They also had artillery that was not used against El Alamein. With my armor there, including supporting artillery and air, I was able to easily chew up every unit tossed at El Alamein. Once a few of those key units were destroyed, it was cake cleaning up and heading west. With the unique situation there I feel there almost needs to be special scripts or AI created specifically for this situation, which may not justify the time required to do that. At any rate, this is the only glaring weakness I saw from the AI the entire game, which is pretty damn good to say.

When Barbarossa began it was an extremely tough fight every year. I offered a mid-level defense in front of Moscow down the river behind the two southern cities. I was able to hold for quite awhile, but eventually they broke through and flanked, surrounding and destroying a good handful of units in the process. With no rail connection I let three armies get completely obliterated. Hard lesson learned. From there Moscow fell fairly quickly, and that's when I established "the defense to end all defenses" at the city north of there and in the surrounding forests. A lot of German units were killed there, and a lot of their air power remained behind to deal with the defenders. Without that defense I would have lost Russia by now, without a doubt. Same with the defense in the Caucusus, although it didn't see nearly as much action, I could have lost all those resources down there. The Axis AI definitely executes very well in Russia. They find weak spots and exploit them, and know just how to cut you off. If you play on Expert you better bring your A game.

It remains to be seen what kind of forces the Germans bring to defend their homeland, but so far it feels a little weak considering the success they've had in Russia and how many units they could spare. Right now a Rocket, Artillery and Army defend the southern part of the Seigfried line. I'm not sure if there is a script yet to determine specific units to garrison on tiles, but this would be useful to trigger whenever x amount of Allied units are detected in France. The entire Seigfried line should be garrisoned at that point in anticipation of Allied advances. Right now the UK and US are the biggest threat to Germany. Even if the front lines in Russia were back around Minsk, the western Allies still become the closest and biggest threat to Germany itself with a successful D-Day. But I'll withold judgment for now. My last turn I captured a German city which may set off a hornets nest. But, if not, Allied air combined with para and ground troops will probably be in Berlin within 2-3 months max and that's without much fighting(compared to the bloodshed in the east anyway). Germans had sent two Panzer divisions at the Allied forces after landing on D-Day, but air and AT units destroyed them within two turns.

Overall, the Axis AI is great though. Their forces really exceeded mine in Russia, but I also made some early mistakes. I'd like to play it again and see if I can perform better in Russia. As it is I've barely held on and will still win, unless the western Allies get blasted back to the sea somehow. For a more historical experience in Russia I'd probably lower the difficulty a notch, but that would also mean a sure-fire victory. It's good to know that the AI offers a much greater range for players though. The War in Russia seems to benefit the most from the AI changes and is the most apparent. It's also one of the most crucial fights of the game so it makes sense. It'd be great to see the AI put North Africa in question from time to time and a stronger defense of France/Germany (even if it's just additional air units), but it's not a huge issue, and to be fair this is only my first game vs. the Axis AI. I'd have to run through it a few times on the same settings to get a truly accurate bearing on it.

For the WaW additions I feel the two biggest changes have come with subs and rail lines. Rail movement greatly changes the dynamics of ground warfare and really make para’s important. As Russia in particular, you really need to know your exit strategy from every defensive position and know when to pull back tactically so your forces don't get surrounded and completely destroyed. One cut-off rail line can imperil multiple units and risk their complete destruction from the game. Subs are now a factor in every game. They will hurt you, but it's just a matter of time and resources before they are sent either to the bottom of the ocean or limping back to port.

I've found AA guns invaluable in Russia, but they need tech which combined is a risky investment. At level 3 they can really hurt air units and help protect your valuable forces, but they are vulnerable and you can waste a lot of MPP's on them. AT guns have, so far, seem to be the least used new unit. They are very effective at what they do, but putting them in the right position at the right time can be difficult as they are vulnerable to infantry. Having motorization for these guys is very important. Special Forces are a nice unit to have as their offensive punch can really be felt, but I haven’t taken advantage of their ability to amphib off of any coastline.

All the new units are useful though and add not only new functions but more strategic options. With all the viable tech paths, new units, upgrades and diplomacy the game requires you to plan and think a little more on how, when and where to spend those precious MPP’s and that makes for a much more re-playable and entertaining experience.

Hubert’s game has come a long way since the original, pre-patched version of SC1 and right now it stands as a real classic. Until, of course, he releases an even better version.

[ChrisND]

Commandos can be very useful for launching an early attack on Turkey or southern Russia without needin the use of the Odessa port. Just launch them off the Romanian coast.

[John DiFool the 2nd]

One thing you have to do is try to budget in 1-2 extra armor (you get one free) before Barbarossa), and hit his armor when it is overextended and a bit damaged. With the double attack thing armor is vital for any offensives now and killing his permanently kills all those experience bars too, even if you lose your armor in the counter-counter attack. Buys you time too while the Axis waits for them to get rebuilt.

[Hubert Cater]

Great write-up Timskorn!

Looks like you had a pretty good game there and definitely a few things in there for me to consider

Hubert

[Timskorn]

I finished the game last night in July of 1945.

The Germans did bring back a good number of units to protect the homeland. A Finnish Army defended Berlin proper supported with AT and armor, but most of the crack German divisions holed up in and around Munich. Without properly defending the Seigfried line though, they could have trucked in double the amount of troops and still got beat down. I think by late 1943 or early 1944, Germany should begin garrisoning the Seigfried line (even if it means giving them a few units! Add a "Hitler Commissions Volkstrum to defend Germany" event). A German engineer also diligently built fortifications in France in preparation for D-Day but not of them had been occupied. Was really cool to see though.

German forces tried to help poor Mussolini out. Troops were railed in to protect Sicily, then the southern part of the boot, and finally a single Panzer to help defend outside Rome. German Me-262's and Me-163's tore up the Allied air over the skies of Germany, preventing them from doing much.

In the winter of '44 the Russians didn't take long to spring their counter-offensives. One was launched with 10 units out of the Urals, and another with 5 from the south and at Stalingrad. Most of the German forces had pulled back and freezing storms kept Axis air grounded which were quickly overrun and destroyed. It was definitely a nice feeling to go on a real offensive for the first time in Russia! This also showed me that Russia can come back even on the ropes like that. I was still getting around 300 MPP a turn which was plenty to quickly rebuild my shattered military, and this was with barely any MPP help from Britain and only about 7 cities under my control (But including the Caucusus which was critical).

After Italy and Germany surrendered however, the game continued with Romania and Bulgaria fighting on, crazy enough. Next up will be checking out the Allied AI!

[Fred19]

Me-163's ?! :eek:

Is there an upgrade I missed?

[Timskorn]

Let's just say I like to add some flair to my reports. Germans had level 5 fighters at the time. They look like Me-262's but I'm sure they had some Me-163's in there too to take down my bombers.

[Retributar]

Hubert Cater

Originally Quoted by 'Hubert Cater'

Great write-up Timskorn!

What i say MYSELF!!!,...is what a... "'Hell of a Write-Up!!!'" ,..."Shiver-Me-Bloody-Timbers!!!".

[Konigs]

Very nice Timskorn...