I picked up Normandy '44 a few months ago and really really love it. It's my first foray into operational level war gaming and lots of the mechanics are still pretty opaque to me still though. Are there any decent articles besides the "7 Habits of..." article which outline general strategy outlines and just like, helpful hints? I've scrolled around these forums and found some useful material (what to do with units at night? it depends!) but still have so many questions...
How best to combine armor and infantry? I can't assault them at the same time - I get the "combined arms" penalty. Direct fire from both units then assault with the unit with less fatigue?
How should I plan my overall strategy? For the grand campaign I'm usually just looking up what a particular unit's actual D-Day (and beyond) objectives were and broadly trying to match up with them, but I can't help but think there are better methods.
What should I do with all my engineers?! The Allies land so many engineers on D-Day and I use some to clear mines, blow a couple bridges but generally I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing with all these units. Should I think of them more as infantry than something separate?
When should I be using full battalions and when should I be breaking units down to their constituent companies? I know there's a downside to combined battalions in Panzer Battles, but is there any reason to break down units in Campaigns?
And I could go on! Again, love the game...need a resource for the basics!
First off, on combined arms ....
When vehicles assault attack into non-Clear hexes, they MAY suffer from a lack of infantry support. If there is at least as much attacking supporting infantry as there is defending infantry, then no Combined Arms Penalty occurs.
On strategy ....I'll leave that for you ....your approach is fine.
Engineers ....I wouldn't blow the bridges if your allied, you may need them. Sure use them as Normal inf but don't lose sight of special functions .....ferrying foot infantry, clearing rubble will also help.
I'd also try to keep you btln units combined if you can, less battle fatigue.
Good luck and enjoy.
I think you have misunderstood the Combined Arms Penalty rule, from the rules.......
"When vehicles assault attack into non-Clear hexes, they may suffer from a lack of infantry support. If there is at least as much attacking supporting infantry as there is defending infantry, then no Combined Arms Penalty occurs"
When making the calculation each vehicle is considered to be 10 men.
I agree with Glenn, until you become more accustomed to the game system it is best to follow historical lines when planning strategy, this is one reason we always suggest that new players start with the smaller scenarios until they master the game system as you have enough to learn without adding strategy to that learning curve.
Engineer Functions:
All Engineer units except for Bridgelayers (see below) are capable of:
• Improving the ability to Dig-In
• Bridge Damage and Anti-Tank Ditch Destruction
• Ferrying units across Rivers and Canals
• Mine Laying
• Clearing Rubble
While some Engineer units are also capable of:
• Mine Clearing
• Bridge Building
Some units other than Engineer units are also capable of clearing minefields. To determine this, right click on the unit picture in the Hex Info Area in the Scenario Editor or Main Program and look for the words Mine Clear. Engineer units capable of building bridges will have the words Bridge Eng in this display.
Engineers can also be used for assaults as many have enhanced assault value, but it is best to check the values as some bridge engineers have very low assault values.
If can manage to keep battalions combined then they will suffer less fatigue, here is how the rule works...
"Fatigue is gained from losses in combat. The factor used to determine Fatigue accumulation depends on the size of the unit.
• For Battalions, the Fatigue accumulation factor is 2.
• For Companies and Platoons, the Fatigue accumulation factor is 6 (When 2 Companies are Combined, the factor is 4 and when 3 or more Companies are Combined, the factor is 2). "
And here I thought I read the user manual thoroughly. Thanks for the responses guys, all very helpful.
(02-20-2017, 12:38 PM)historysteve Wrote: [ -> ]And here I thought I read the user manual thoroughly. Thanks for the responses guys, all very helpful.
Hey Steve:
More articles on understanding the "basics" of First World War Campaign Series, Panzer Campaigns and Modern Campaigns can be found in the TOC Article Section:
https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards...hp?fid=291
Enjoy!
Thanks again guys, can't believe I was playing without all this information before.
One more question you might not know the answer to, but I'll shoot anyway. I'm currently playing one of the monster 750 turn mods for Normandy 44. It's rebalanced so that there are only a dozen or so VP locations (Caen, Cherbourg, etc.). I can't find a lot of information about playthrus - does the AI get messed by only defending a handful of victory locations? Am I going to be facing crazy, unrealistic doomstacks in Caen and Mortain while Bayeux and Carentan are left undefended?