Dnepr/Donbas

Let's keep only one thread active per scenario. What do you think about a particular scenario. Was it too easy, too hard? Did you win or lose at first? Post descriptions of your brilliant victories and unfortunate defeats here.
easyBreeze
Second Lieutenant
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2011 5:13 am

Dnepr/Donbas

Unread postby easyBreeze » Thu Dec 29, 2011 10:35 pm

Has anyone completed this mission with a BV? I'm having problems with the objectives in the center and south (north is not a problem). Below is a screenshot of my best shot at completing the scenario.

The unit guarding the city in the center is very powerful: It is dug in, behind a river, has six active steps and an anti-tank specialist attached. My fully supplied six step active tank couldn't even get one guaranteed kill on it. The only way I can see someone taking this city is by cutting off its supply for at least two turns.

In the south, the mud that comes in at around turn 3 slows my advance to a crawl. I need at least a couple of turns to destroy the Axis divisions in bulge at the beginning but when I do I can't get to the city in time.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Image

Thales
Cadet
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2011 11:21 pm

Re: Dnepr/Donbas

Unread postby Thales » Fri Dec 30, 2011 11:34 pm

I was able to achieve a BV (using all prestige points though) in the attached save game. Isolating the unit defending the central victory objective indeed makes the task easier. On my first try I managed to destroy this unit on turn 7 without isolating it before, but unfortunately I had no movement points left to move into the town.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

User avatar
Tomislav Uzelac
2x2 Games
Posts: 2211
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:24 pm
Location: Zagreb, Croatia

Re: Dnepr/Donbas

Unread postby Tomislav Uzelac » Sat Dec 31, 2011 11:41 am

I know I shouldn't be dropping hints, but getting max score here is tough here so... note that mud is your friend here. If you cut the railway into Dnepropetrovsk by about turn 5, surrounding mud should prevent that city from being supplied from the west - you don't need to cut it off completely. ;)

Thales
Cadet
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2011 11:21 pm

Re: Dnepr/Donbas

Unread postby Thales » Wed Jan 04, 2012 3:33 pm

dnepr.jpg
The more you play the more you learn about this game. I now managed to achieve victory after 6 turns (7 is the limit for BV) without using any prestige points. Even 5 turns might be possible, as I got two of the three objectives on turn 5. One (quite gamey though) trick I learned is to entice the AI to attack a low strength infantry unit with the unit entrenched in the central victory objective, thereby losing its entrenched status. Maybe the AI should be modified to prevent this behavior.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

User avatar
Tomislav Uzelac
2x2 Games
Posts: 2211
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:24 pm
Location: Zagreb, Croatia

Re: Dnepr/Donbas

Unread postby Tomislav Uzelac » Mon Jan 09, 2012 5:49 pm

Thales wrote:Maybe the AI should be modified to prevent this behavior.


It should - it's obviously doing something that's putting it at a disadvantage. Thanks! :)

Arctic-Nation
Major
Posts: 65
Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2013 7:10 pm

Re: Dnepr/Donbas

Unread postby Arctic-Nation » Mon Mar 18, 2013 2:20 pm

I had quite some problems with this scenario, though guessing by the relative popularity of this thread, I must've been one of the few. :|

Still, some hints for those who might find them useful.
1. Starting from turn 1, move a unit towards the western supply dump. Force a path with your tanks, and you'll be able to capture it by turn 4 (2 turns to get to the river, 1 to cross, 1 to capture). I used my cavalry, but a carefully guided infantry unit might work too.
2. Protect your armour in the northwest with your infantry - the AI really likes killin ur d00dz when given the chance, and this allows your own sickly tanks to survive a bit longer. You can't hit the SS Panzer Corps head-on anyway. Destroying the Grossdeutschland division on the first turn is optional, but I prefer to encircle Poltava (only Poltava, not everything north of the bridge) and keep them and the SS unit OoS.
3. The Panzer Corps' movements can be a bit erratic, but try to cut them off whenever given the chance. Destroy any infantry in your path instead. You should be able to get to the bridge on turn 4. In my last game, the SS units, for some reason, moved toward the east to cut off two infantry divisions heading directly towards Dnepropetrovsk. If they instead gather around the bridge or even cross the river, I'd say you're screwed unless you've cut off both enemy supply dumps.
4. Take the bridge and move what you can towards the east.

5. Around Stalino, things can get a bit hectic. I've tried several times to go for the grand encirclement, only to find my spearheads cut off or blocked by the massed Axis armour and mobile units. Especially the elite Wiking division is a tough nut to crack, and it's not like you can quickly move a large number of units west to support your tanks. Instead, I went for a 'little solution', where I hugged the town of Stalino with as many units as possible.
6. The enemy will now put its heavy hitters south of yours, but your relative position allows you to cut them off again further to the west. By the next turn, all those units are hopelessly OoS, so take out anything that might still pose a threat if it escapes, and start moving west. Force your Mech corps through the cauldron to support your other armour, and destroy anything still standing with your infantry.
7. Don't get bogged down in the mud, so position your units carefully. I don't really understand how Thales managed to win on turn 6 (or hints at turn 5) without outrunning his supply lines (cycle-in cycle-out is a great tactic, but if the mud advances one hex too far, your spearhead is suddenly as useful as a bottle of wine on a beer festival), but all the better for him, of course.

8. Dnepropetrovsk. You've got that handy little infantry unit doing not very much at all in the centre of the map. Keep it there at the edge of your supply lines, and use it to take Zaporozhye when the opportunity arises. The AI doesn't protect the city, and it's your key to starving and taking the final target. Use whatever units you have at your disposal to get to it.

And there you have it: brilliant victory, no prestige spent. I've been playing this game a bit too much, I think.

slippr
Captain
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2015 3:11 pm

Re: Dnepr/Donbas

Unread postby slippr » Sat Feb 14, 2015 3:30 pm

downloading the history save above i see you guys are getting 20 supply distance: my version is only giving me 16!!!

whats going on? now i know why this level has been a pita!

tnx

slippr
Captain
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2015 3:11 pm

Re: Dnepr/Donbas

Unread postby slippr » Mon Feb 16, 2015 8:06 pm

i never realiized that you need to click on the supply extension button and then click on the supply train to extend it. played through the whole stalingrad campaign assuming that this was an automated thing with no issue...