Battlefront Repository Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 It's morning on 23 March, 1943, and your GIs are dug in east of El Guettar when the message arrives: "The enemy has broken through our front lines...10th Panzer Division is heading straight for you. You must stop them before they penetrate deeper and cut us off from the rest of the 1st Infantry Division..." All you've got is a scratch force of some infantry, tank destroyers, and some dangerously exposed 105mm artillery positions. Can you repeat history and stop Von Broich in his tracks? This scenario is to be played on the El Guettar March 23 map. More... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadsword Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 I hope you all enjoy this scenario and find it challenging. In the actual battle, the US tank destroyers that start on the map were not M-10 Wolverines (they were actually much inferior M3 halftrack mounted tank destroyers). But, since M-10s are all we have in the game, I used M-10s and then made adjustments during playtesting to keep the battle in balance. You will not find a lot of variety in the way the German AI attacks. This was intentional, to reproduce the tactics the Germans actually used in this battle (direct frontal assaults by a massive force of tanks and armored infantry). And, just like in history, the US player will defeat this tactic most of the time with a smart and stubborn defense. But even so, I found it took everything I had to stop the German juggernaut -- it gets pretty wild when the Stukas are swarming, the smoke is swirling, the AT rounds are flying, and you're down to your last tank destroyer or bazooka team. Remember one thing: tank destroyers are not tanks! Use "shoot and scoot" tactics (how I wish we had a single "shoot and scoot" order for this), keep a reserve, and you may live to hear Eisenhower's words of commendation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadsword Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 Oh, and please be sure to download the improved/updated El Guettar map from the repository before you play this scenario. It has more accurate terrain in the NW corner, more foxholes/fighting positions, and a few more statics for eye candy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadsword Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 Another tip: The small foxholes are designed to hold two men. When you deploy soldiers into the foxholes, be sure to set their starting body position to "kneel." That way, they will get good cover and still be able to shoot. Unfortunately, the individual soldier AI makes them stand up to shoot, instead of remaining crouched. But the cover still helps. Because the foxholes and trenches on the El Guettar map are topped with sandbags, they offer pretty good cover and the infantry can survive a lot longer under fire. But just as in real life, a dug-in soldier who's isolated and/or under a hail of fire will quickly get suppressed, panic, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadsword Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 A note about victory conditions: I'm not a whiz at coding win/fail triggers, but I arrived at something that seemed to work to my satisfaction. If the Germans succeed in "exiting" a certain number of units from the map (you'll see the units disappear when they reach the exit zone), they win right then -- period. That's a decisive German vistory, representing an outcome similar to the US disaster at Kasserine Pass. For the US to win, you not only have to prevent the German units from exiting, but you also have to inflict a certain level of casualties and not lose too many men yourself. That's a decisive US victory. But in a certain number of battles, you'll see an in-between situation: The Germans haven't exited enough units to win outright, yet the US has lost so many troops that while they may have prevented disaster, they're too depleted/exhausted to trigger a win. Consider this a marginal US victory (despite heavy losses you achieved the objective of stopping the morning attack, buying time for the US to rally/reinforce/prepare for the second German effort in the late afternoon). If this stalemate gets too boring, just quit the battle and claim your marginal victory. Or, if you have good coding skills, create a "timer" and a marginal victory message, and share that trigger with the rest if us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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