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2194DaysOfWar
2194DaysOfWar
By Captain Nemo
Strategy by Field Marshal Klesh
This is one of the best Global WWII scenarios the net has to offer. I hope these strategic considerations help the player succeed in his goals.
Germany
I have divided Germany’s war into four major phases. They are sequential, such that one must be completed in order for there to be enough production to continue on. The phases are as follows:
I. THE WAR IN THE EAST
a. Stalingrad/Baku
b. Moscow
c. Leningrad
II. NORTH AFRIKA
a. Freighters bound for Bengazi
b. Alexandria/Cairo
c. Gibraltar
d. The push East
III. OPERATION SEALION
a. The build-up
b. The execution
IV. THE TRANS-ATLANTIC DECISION
a. The escort question
b. Luftwaffe
c. Strength
Phase 1
The War in the East is by far Germany’s biggest threat as the scenario starts in December of 1941. You’ve already captured Riga, Minsk and Kiev. You’ll need to keep up the momentum in order to blitz the Soviets before they can build up their Eastern cities. The key here is not to get too carried away with oneself, you cant just slam away at the Red Army because your later era tanks are quite expensive to build, and your reinforcements won’t be as plentiful.
In the opening round you should take strategic cities to move your forces up for attacks on your real targets. Take your Riga vicinity forces and capture Kalinin, but do secure the fortress north of Riga. Kalinin should be well defended so as to block a Soviet counterattack, but do not house your assault forces there because it is surrounded only by roads. Kalinin’s vast food supply should eventually produce Engineers (Todt Org.?) to connect your newly captured territory with rail lines.
Your Minsk area troops should push south towars Karkov, to be supported from the west by any necessary divisions from European cities. Karkov should be a base for a very large number of your assault forces. They will take part in a later campaign, so fortify them for now, and keep the rail line to Moscow in tact. Also be sure to send an Engineer out to connect Warsaw to Karkov, and provide him some defensive cover.
Now, of utmost importance is the capture of Rostov. Once it is secured, fill it with a large number of armored divisions, SS Stormtroopers and aircraft. They will take part in the assault on Stalingrad. The city will be rather hevily defended, but nowhere near as much as later in the game. The oil fields at Baku can boost your trade and science such that its capture along with Stalin’s city should be the highest priority. You should assault Stalingrad on turn 2. There is a convenient rail line connecting it to Rostov, so your ground forces should have full movement values. Once you’ve taken the city, you should experience the one bug in the scenario (v1.2). The pop-up text should appear, then the Soviets should be given the tech for the Japanese Ki-67 Bomber! Oh well, they’ll need a lot more than that to save ‘em. The cities of Saratov and Astrakhan won’t have anti-tank defenses, so be careful not to wipe them off the map. Baku, once properly defended, should produce freight so as to trade (preferably with the Neutrals or Japanese).
With the fall of Stalingrad, the next obvious target is the Capital of the Soviet Union: Moscow. By now you should have quite a hefty force (30-40 good units) to assault Moscow from Karkov. Try to clear out the AA Batteries before the Luftwaffe raids so as to mop up the countless infantry in there. Not much to say here…”Onward to Red Square!”
Now that Moscow has fallen, push northward along the rail lines to Leningrad. With the harassment in the south, Leningrad probably hasn’t been able to be reinforced from the east. It should be the easiest of the “big three” cities to take. Again, the use of the rail lines should give your artillery and infantry full movement values, which are crucial for the “ign. city walls” units. By taking Leningrad, you’ve totally isolated the cities of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, they should fall without too mush trouble.
With a last push into Gorkiy, you’ll see a fortress on a mountain. By capturing this gateway to the Urals and fortifying a Tiger or 88mm Mp gun or three there, you’ll effectively be able to consolidate your forces either for a continued push east (which by then you shouldn’t need a strategy), or for shipment to other theatres. I’ve watched the Soviets throw T-34’s by the tens at that fortress, by holding it you effectively block the Trans-Siberian Railroad the last hope for the USSR.
Phase 2
By now your defenses in North Africa are probably in dire need of reinforcements, especially if they are to push east into Egypt. Since there are enough units in North Africa at the start of the scenario, you should still hold Tunisia and Libya by the time you’re ready to focus on this theatre.
By now you should be producing TigerI’s at least, if not TigerII’s. This should be around the late winter/early spring ’42. Two freighters full of TigerII’s from Rome bound for Bengazi should easily be able to clear out Alexandria via the roadway. Consolidate with perhaps another freighter on the next turn and move along the Nile into Cairo. Leaving a TigerII with support from a 88mm MP gun should be plenty of defensive firepower for these cities. Expect the main British counterattacks to come from the Middle East, via Jerusalem and Baghdad. They’ll come with Churchill tanks, light tanks and British Infantry…none of which is any match for the TigerII. However, one must be aware of the RAF, so be ready to rushbuild 88mm MP’s wherever necessary.
Now, on to Gibraltar. This city is built on hills so it will naturally be well defended. Airstrikes are certainly less effective here, especially when their Carriers are in. Their “2x vs air” flag helps them greatly whilst in port. Use V-1’s if you’ve got them, but a sloppy ol’ freighter-born assault with TigerII’s will clear that city out as well. Use the victorious remnants of the Afrika Korps from Egypt if necessary. The British won’t have much to counterattack with, except perhaps some Spitfires. So if you don’t get it on the first turn, there is a low probability of a successful counterattack.
If coordinated properly, the North African Campaign should only last three turns max. It is really just a precursor to you next phase against the British: Operation Sea Lion. It gives you a chance to practice sea-born landings since you have no “amphibious assault” troops to strike off of boats. If you follow my plans for Sea Lion, you won’t need any!
Phase 3
So, if you’ve made it this far you should be well outfitted for a strike at England proper. I have executed this Operation countless times, and achieved a complete victory, often without any casualties, every single time. As long as your Atlantic Wall defenses are in proper order, you shouldn’t have much to worry about as far as England stopping your invasion from the air before it starts.
Since Germany has no “amphibious assault” units, you’ll need to clear out their cities from the air. Rather than taking part in the Battle of Britain at the start of the scenario and watching your medium bombers get torn up by Spitfires, mass strikes of V-1’s are the key to a successful Operation Sea Lion. You’ll notice that Paris is exactly 5 spaces away from both London and Plymouth…the exact distance required for V-1 strikes. You should have your smaller production cities in Europe such as Vienna, Munich, Lyon and Prague produce V-1’s and send them to Paris. I’ll build them in Scandinavia as well, and house them in Oslo. Your land forces should be amassed in Lyon so as to keep them safe from any possible airstrikes from Britain. Build freighters along the coast and send them to Bordeaux without leaving them in the open ocean. You should have 15-20 V-1’s ready in Paris to secure complete victory. Land forces should be in the area of 20 armor units as well, again insuring a complete domination.
The invasion begins…4:30am in Paris. Scores of V-1’s let fly toward England. Your primary target is Plymouth, it will be less heavily defended. You should be able to clear it out and have some assorted V-1’s left over to shoot at London. Simply set sail from Bordeaux with your armor, and viola! instant amphibious assault!!! You can enter an unguarded city with any kind of unit. Now ferry the remainder of your land army over and make your way up the British Isles. Using your armor, and letting fresh units move up, you should be able to wipe Britain off the Map in one turn giving them no chance to counterattack. Operation Sea Lion has been a complete success!!!
Phase 4
The decision to make a Trans-Atlantic invasion is a tough one. If you are this far along you don’t really have any other enemies to take out. But to get it done correctly you’ll have a good amount of preparation on your hands. What are you going to do for an escort? Be sure to note that your subs aren’t an effective escort by themselves. How, since you have no carriers, are you going to get the Luftwaffe out there? Can you safely get 40-50 land units acoss the Atlantic without being spotted? The USAF loves to prowl the coast with it’s B-17’s. You’ve got a lot of planning ahead.
First, you’ll need to start a large Naval construction program. You’ll need Destroyers, Cruisers, Type XXI U-Boats and Battleships to guarantee the invasion goes off without a hitch. Be sure to produce them in cities with Naval Bases to give vet. status, especially for the capital ships. England has a bunch of them. There is a chance that the American Atlantic Fleet, untouched by the Japanese, will meet you half way to duke it out. You can be sure they will have plenty of Superbattleships with them. They are a pain in the arse. Build more ships than you think you’ll need, and include plenty of freighters as they only carry 4 units.
In order to give your land forces aircover in the Americas, you’ll have to conduct some mini-raids whilst you are conducting the real build-up. Use the V-1 method from Dublin to clear out and capture Reykjavik. Then you can launch regular airstrikes, use Battleship escort shore bombardment to move troops up to Narrasauqqqq AFB in SouthernGreenland. Contunue to fly Me262’s etc into Greenland to await further orders. The last stop on the North Atlantic island-hopping campaign will be St. John’s. That city need not be captured until your fleet is along side it. Then move the planes in from Greenland to get into the fray on the next turn.
Use Brest or Plymouth as the base for your freighters and land troops. They are pretty much equal in latitude to Boston, the target for the invasion. When you move across the ocean, cover all the freighters with a Battleship, and make a wall with the other ships to the west so as to protect the vital cargo behind the Battleship. Also be sure to protect the subs with V-1’s in them. They are they key to the invasion. Without them, you risk having to shore bombard and therefore lose a few Battleships. This is not an option.
All prior sea-born invasions can be considered a warm up for this one. You should have a fun time coordinating such a large force. You’ll need it too. I’ve seen the AI Americans have upward of 250 units all sitting idle on the continent. Pace yourself as you push westward. Also be sure to have a good resuply system of TigerII’s coming from France. Your industrial might should give you the ability to resuply rapidly. The Americans will not have enough firepower to dislodge 40-50 TigerII’s from the coast, so it may be a battle of attrition for a few turns. But they cannot last for long, especially with a small resuply program going.
And with that, you’ve thoroughly beaten 2194DaysofWar! Congradulations.
A WORD ON TECHS
I feel that the best tech path in this scenario is straight to TigerII’s. This armor unit is so valuable that’s its production supercedes any other weapon, especially for fighting on the Eastern Front. The second-most important tech is the Jet Engine. It gives you the ultra-valuable V-1 Rocket as well as the path to the Me 262. I also enjoy upgrading the Kreigsmarine’s U-Boat fleet. Once the Americans learn to build the Superbattleship you’ll need wolfpacks of Type XXI U-Boats with V-1’s in them to take care of their capital ships. The Air-Defense tech comes too late to have any real effect (unless you find yourself under attack from B-17’s) but they won’t send enough to do any real damage that late in the game. I don’t really use the Panzergrenadier unit very much, and I only use the 105mm Wespe occasionally. Their respective techs take a back seat to the all important TigerII. But without upgrading your Steel Mills to Ammunition Plants, you’ll have a long time to wait for reinforcements.
Last thoughts
· Never build standard Wermacht. SS Stormtroopers are far more valuable.
· When fighting in the east, try to let at least 1 European city upgrade its production capability. You’ll need the shields later.
· Build Industry on Plains squares. They take forever, but are well worth it.
· Cover Soviet city territory with Luftwaffe to avoid the Partisans that will appear. Quickly kill those that do show up, because they’ll tear up the rail lines.
· There is an invasion event in June’44. If you properly reinforce the Atlantic wall, there’s no place for the troops to land. Let them land if you are bored by then.
· Repair war-torn territory in the east. It is very valuable productionwise.
. Do not be afraid to throw most of your troops at the Soviets. The Allies can’t muster a decent invasion in the west.
Thank You.
Field Marshal Klesh
[This message has been edited by Field Marshal Klesh (edited September 26, 2000).]
By Captain Nemo
Strategy by Field Marshal Klesh
This is one of the best Global WWII scenarios the net has to offer. I hope these strategic considerations help the player succeed in his goals.
Germany
I have divided Germany’s war into four major phases. They are sequential, such that one must be completed in order for there to be enough production to continue on. The phases are as follows:
I. THE WAR IN THE EAST
a. Stalingrad/Baku
b. Moscow
c. Leningrad
II. NORTH AFRIKA
a. Freighters bound for Bengazi
b. Alexandria/Cairo
c. Gibraltar
d. The push East
III. OPERATION SEALION
a. The build-up
b. The execution
IV. THE TRANS-ATLANTIC DECISION
a. The escort question
b. Luftwaffe
c. Strength
Phase 1
The War in the East is by far Germany’s biggest threat as the scenario starts in December of 1941. You’ve already captured Riga, Minsk and Kiev. You’ll need to keep up the momentum in order to blitz the Soviets before they can build up their Eastern cities. The key here is not to get too carried away with oneself, you cant just slam away at the Red Army because your later era tanks are quite expensive to build, and your reinforcements won’t be as plentiful.
In the opening round you should take strategic cities to move your forces up for attacks on your real targets. Take your Riga vicinity forces and capture Kalinin, but do secure the fortress north of Riga. Kalinin should be well defended so as to block a Soviet counterattack, but do not house your assault forces there because it is surrounded only by roads. Kalinin’s vast food supply should eventually produce Engineers (Todt Org.?) to connect your newly captured territory with rail lines.
Your Minsk area troops should push south towars Karkov, to be supported from the west by any necessary divisions from European cities. Karkov should be a base for a very large number of your assault forces. They will take part in a later campaign, so fortify them for now, and keep the rail line to Moscow in tact. Also be sure to send an Engineer out to connect Warsaw to Karkov, and provide him some defensive cover.
Now, of utmost importance is the capture of Rostov. Once it is secured, fill it with a large number of armored divisions, SS Stormtroopers and aircraft. They will take part in the assault on Stalingrad. The city will be rather hevily defended, but nowhere near as much as later in the game. The oil fields at Baku can boost your trade and science such that its capture along with Stalin’s city should be the highest priority. You should assault Stalingrad on turn 2. There is a convenient rail line connecting it to Rostov, so your ground forces should have full movement values. Once you’ve taken the city, you should experience the one bug in the scenario (v1.2). The pop-up text should appear, then the Soviets should be given the tech for the Japanese Ki-67 Bomber! Oh well, they’ll need a lot more than that to save ‘em. The cities of Saratov and Astrakhan won’t have anti-tank defenses, so be careful not to wipe them off the map. Baku, once properly defended, should produce freight so as to trade (preferably with the Neutrals or Japanese).
With the fall of Stalingrad, the next obvious target is the Capital of the Soviet Union: Moscow. By now you should have quite a hefty force (30-40 good units) to assault Moscow from Karkov. Try to clear out the AA Batteries before the Luftwaffe raids so as to mop up the countless infantry in there. Not much to say here…”Onward to Red Square!”
Now that Moscow has fallen, push northward along the rail lines to Leningrad. With the harassment in the south, Leningrad probably hasn’t been able to be reinforced from the east. It should be the easiest of the “big three” cities to take. Again, the use of the rail lines should give your artillery and infantry full movement values, which are crucial for the “ign. city walls” units. By taking Leningrad, you’ve totally isolated the cities of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, they should fall without too mush trouble.
With a last push into Gorkiy, you’ll see a fortress on a mountain. By capturing this gateway to the Urals and fortifying a Tiger or 88mm Mp gun or three there, you’ll effectively be able to consolidate your forces either for a continued push east (which by then you shouldn’t need a strategy), or for shipment to other theatres. I’ve watched the Soviets throw T-34’s by the tens at that fortress, by holding it you effectively block the Trans-Siberian Railroad the last hope for the USSR.
Phase 2
By now your defenses in North Africa are probably in dire need of reinforcements, especially if they are to push east into Egypt. Since there are enough units in North Africa at the start of the scenario, you should still hold Tunisia and Libya by the time you’re ready to focus on this theatre.
By now you should be producing TigerI’s at least, if not TigerII’s. This should be around the late winter/early spring ’42. Two freighters full of TigerII’s from Rome bound for Bengazi should easily be able to clear out Alexandria via the roadway. Consolidate with perhaps another freighter on the next turn and move along the Nile into Cairo. Leaving a TigerII with support from a 88mm MP gun should be plenty of defensive firepower for these cities. Expect the main British counterattacks to come from the Middle East, via Jerusalem and Baghdad. They’ll come with Churchill tanks, light tanks and British Infantry…none of which is any match for the TigerII. However, one must be aware of the RAF, so be ready to rushbuild 88mm MP’s wherever necessary.
Now, on to Gibraltar. This city is built on hills so it will naturally be well defended. Airstrikes are certainly less effective here, especially when their Carriers are in. Their “2x vs air” flag helps them greatly whilst in port. Use V-1’s if you’ve got them, but a sloppy ol’ freighter-born assault with TigerII’s will clear that city out as well. Use the victorious remnants of the Afrika Korps from Egypt if necessary. The British won’t have much to counterattack with, except perhaps some Spitfires. So if you don’t get it on the first turn, there is a low probability of a successful counterattack.
If coordinated properly, the North African Campaign should only last three turns max. It is really just a precursor to you next phase against the British: Operation Sea Lion. It gives you a chance to practice sea-born landings since you have no “amphibious assault” troops to strike off of boats. If you follow my plans for Sea Lion, you won’t need any!
Phase 3
So, if you’ve made it this far you should be well outfitted for a strike at England proper. I have executed this Operation countless times, and achieved a complete victory, often without any casualties, every single time. As long as your Atlantic Wall defenses are in proper order, you shouldn’t have much to worry about as far as England stopping your invasion from the air before it starts.
Since Germany has no “amphibious assault” units, you’ll need to clear out their cities from the air. Rather than taking part in the Battle of Britain at the start of the scenario and watching your medium bombers get torn up by Spitfires, mass strikes of V-1’s are the key to a successful Operation Sea Lion. You’ll notice that Paris is exactly 5 spaces away from both London and Plymouth…the exact distance required for V-1 strikes. You should have your smaller production cities in Europe such as Vienna, Munich, Lyon and Prague produce V-1’s and send them to Paris. I’ll build them in Scandinavia as well, and house them in Oslo. Your land forces should be amassed in Lyon so as to keep them safe from any possible airstrikes from Britain. Build freighters along the coast and send them to Bordeaux without leaving them in the open ocean. You should have 15-20 V-1’s ready in Paris to secure complete victory. Land forces should be in the area of 20 armor units as well, again insuring a complete domination.
The invasion begins…4:30am in Paris. Scores of V-1’s let fly toward England. Your primary target is Plymouth, it will be less heavily defended. You should be able to clear it out and have some assorted V-1’s left over to shoot at London. Simply set sail from Bordeaux with your armor, and viola! instant amphibious assault!!! You can enter an unguarded city with any kind of unit. Now ferry the remainder of your land army over and make your way up the British Isles. Using your armor, and letting fresh units move up, you should be able to wipe Britain off the Map in one turn giving them no chance to counterattack. Operation Sea Lion has been a complete success!!!
Phase 4
The decision to make a Trans-Atlantic invasion is a tough one. If you are this far along you don’t really have any other enemies to take out. But to get it done correctly you’ll have a good amount of preparation on your hands. What are you going to do for an escort? Be sure to note that your subs aren’t an effective escort by themselves. How, since you have no carriers, are you going to get the Luftwaffe out there? Can you safely get 40-50 land units acoss the Atlantic without being spotted? The USAF loves to prowl the coast with it’s B-17’s. You’ve got a lot of planning ahead.
First, you’ll need to start a large Naval construction program. You’ll need Destroyers, Cruisers, Type XXI U-Boats and Battleships to guarantee the invasion goes off without a hitch. Be sure to produce them in cities with Naval Bases to give vet. status, especially for the capital ships. England has a bunch of them. There is a chance that the American Atlantic Fleet, untouched by the Japanese, will meet you half way to duke it out. You can be sure they will have plenty of Superbattleships with them. They are a pain in the arse. Build more ships than you think you’ll need, and include plenty of freighters as they only carry 4 units.
In order to give your land forces aircover in the Americas, you’ll have to conduct some mini-raids whilst you are conducting the real build-up. Use the V-1 method from Dublin to clear out and capture Reykjavik. Then you can launch regular airstrikes, use Battleship escort shore bombardment to move troops up to Narrasauqqqq AFB in SouthernGreenland. Contunue to fly Me262’s etc into Greenland to await further orders. The last stop on the North Atlantic island-hopping campaign will be St. John’s. That city need not be captured until your fleet is along side it. Then move the planes in from Greenland to get into the fray on the next turn.
Use Brest or Plymouth as the base for your freighters and land troops. They are pretty much equal in latitude to Boston, the target for the invasion. When you move across the ocean, cover all the freighters with a Battleship, and make a wall with the other ships to the west so as to protect the vital cargo behind the Battleship. Also be sure to protect the subs with V-1’s in them. They are they key to the invasion. Without them, you risk having to shore bombard and therefore lose a few Battleships. This is not an option.
All prior sea-born invasions can be considered a warm up for this one. You should have a fun time coordinating such a large force. You’ll need it too. I’ve seen the AI Americans have upward of 250 units all sitting idle on the continent. Pace yourself as you push westward. Also be sure to have a good resuply system of TigerII’s coming from France. Your industrial might should give you the ability to resuply rapidly. The Americans will not have enough firepower to dislodge 40-50 TigerII’s from the coast, so it may be a battle of attrition for a few turns. But they cannot last for long, especially with a small resuply program going.
And with that, you’ve thoroughly beaten 2194DaysofWar! Congradulations.
A WORD ON TECHS
I feel that the best tech path in this scenario is straight to TigerII’s. This armor unit is so valuable that’s its production supercedes any other weapon, especially for fighting on the Eastern Front. The second-most important tech is the Jet Engine. It gives you the ultra-valuable V-1 Rocket as well as the path to the Me 262. I also enjoy upgrading the Kreigsmarine’s U-Boat fleet. Once the Americans learn to build the Superbattleship you’ll need wolfpacks of Type XXI U-Boats with V-1’s in them to take care of their capital ships. The Air-Defense tech comes too late to have any real effect (unless you find yourself under attack from B-17’s) but they won’t send enough to do any real damage that late in the game. I don’t really use the Panzergrenadier unit very much, and I only use the 105mm Wespe occasionally. Their respective techs take a back seat to the all important TigerII. But without upgrading your Steel Mills to Ammunition Plants, you’ll have a long time to wait for reinforcements.
Last thoughts
· Never build standard Wermacht. SS Stormtroopers are far more valuable.
· When fighting in the east, try to let at least 1 European city upgrade its production capability. You’ll need the shields later.
· Build Industry on Plains squares. They take forever, but are well worth it.
· Cover Soviet city territory with Luftwaffe to avoid the Partisans that will appear. Quickly kill those that do show up, because they’ll tear up the rail lines.
· There is an invasion event in June’44. If you properly reinforce the Atlantic wall, there’s no place for the troops to land. Let them land if you are bored by then.
· Repair war-torn territory in the east. It is very valuable productionwise.
. Do not be afraid to throw most of your troops at the Soviets. The Allies can’t muster a decent invasion in the west.
Thank You.
Field Marshal Klesh
[This message has been edited by Field Marshal Klesh (edited September 26, 2000).]
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