PANZER GENERAL
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) Norway
2) France
3) Embark/Debark troops and paratroopers (FJ's)
4) Troop replacement
5) Disbanding units (the "more prestige" myth)
6) Bombers
7) Jets
8) Best PBEM scenario
9) Blitzkrieg questions
1) NORWAY
main tip #1 - consolidate your navy to the west Immediately! and move it north. hit and run, just like the nazi's did in real life
main tip #2 - don't buy bombers, buy fighters!. you should be starting with enough prestige to buy two or three fighters the first turn

tip #3 - land on the beach south of oslo and south of the airfield in the SW corner of norway. take these ASAP! you'll need oslo for prestige and the airfield to establish air superority.

That's the thing, you must have 3 or 4 fighters and make wait your JU88's until the BF109's have cleared their bombers.

Also the cities in the south/center are easy to take. The one in the north is the problem because of the ship's fire. Hit the units around this city with tanks, because the ship's make on them much less hurt than to the artillery/infantry.

In my opinion, your air force is the key in this battle. Spend most or all of your prestige on level bombers and fighters. Bring the ships you have up top down to join with the rest of your navy. You need your whole navy and a couple of level bombers to defeat the allied navy.

I didnt use any air force units agains the allied navy. At the beginning I used only two ground unit to conquer the city in the upper left. Here I build a air defense unit as soon as possible to shoot down allied aircrafts which will attack. I retreat with my navy slowly in direction to this city (hit and run). I am losing all my large ships at the beginning but in most cases youll keep some destroyers (important) and most important your submarines. Always attack destroyers first (only threat for submarines). I try to join the rest of the navy as fast as possible. Nevertheless, air supremacy is the key to victory in this scenario. I use my bombers and fighters in the south: first destroy norwegian fighters and then protect my bombers from incoming british fighters and shoot down incoming british bombers. I always try to get the fighters first. I used my paratroopers to get the first two undefended cities in the valley.

Remember that the AI is using its prestige to create new units to defend strategic goals or (too rarely) to mount counterattacks, same as you do. In the example, the AI used a non-objective city that was not under attack to stage forces for a counterattack on units it was a able to see. Perhaps the first time you had taken that city, or the AI hadn't spotted your units. IOW, the AI will react differently depending on what you do, and plays by the same rules you do.

Strategy tips/spoilers follow:

I've found it fairly easy to blow through Norway and get a major victory by initially placing all my core units in the Northern placement area and taking the Northern cities first. Use the Luftwaffe airborne to capture one city down south (they start unoccupied) and build a couple HW infantry to take the Southern objective and then cruise with those units to the West to take the Western objective. You'll find you can land all your ground units in the first two turns taking minimal losses up North from planes and take the Northern objectives without suffering too badly.

As for the British Navy, move all your ships (except maybe the furthest removed) Cruiser and Destroyer which can come in handy taking the southern objectives) North as fast as you can without stopping along the way. Especially your Battleship which typically arives just about in time to see the last of your navy totally wiped out but all the Britsh ships damaged to the point where they don't pose much of a threat to your Battleship.

2) FRANCE

1) What is a feasible strategy for gaining a major in France? Remember, it needs to be accomplished in 13 turns. I have yet to get a major there, so I can't respond to this question.

You CAN get a major in France, and without too much difficulty. Paris seems to be the key. Blow away the French airforce while moving all your ground units to Paris (SAVE YOUR PRESTIGE) Once you take Paris use the prestige to buy any new units you would like and split in to 3 main battle groups. The largest group (by far) should take the two easternmost cities while the other groups take two cities apiece. Pound the French with your tac especially the tanks and you should come out with a Major.

1) Make sure you go in with with your core maxed out, even if it is with PzJags.
2) Attack in three groups, one down the coast, one towards Paris and one on the extreme southern flank. This latter group has to drive forward like crazy, bypassing resistance at every opportunity to press on.
3) Use your paras/airmobile infantry to seize airfields and cities in-land.
4) Gain air-superiority ASAP.
5) Guard your initial victory city from sneaky British counter-attacks.

In other words, pretty much what you do in all the other Blitzkrieg

Getting major in France is not that hard. Get yourself 4 fighters, 4 tac bombers, 5 PzIVD tanks, 4 15sFH 18 Artilleries on halftracks, 2-3 bridge engineers, anyone should be able to do it. The key is focusing on the objectives and keep moving. Use the main force to take Paris first. Send 2 tanks, 1 bridge, 1 artl, 1-2 tac bomber to the coastal objectives, while the main force is attacking Paris. Use your tac to attack French heavy tanks. Use your tank to protect other units from being attacked by those tanks. Use your 3-range powerful artilleries to the full extent. You will get your majors.

I found it _really_ helped to use paratroopers and/or air transport in this one. Send them deep into the rear cities, and land them in close to objective cities. They don't conquer anything (although, if they can, it's really nice if they can conquer an airfield), they just 'pin' the city and keep it from getting reinforcements until the cavalry arrived. This really helps keep the French from making huge defensive positions around those rear cities.

How do you keep the Hurricanes and assorted French fighters from tearing your level bombers to shreds in the first two-three rounds? I was doing ok until I hit Paris, now I can't win for losing...

Keep your bombers adjacent to your fighters, and send two fighters after every enemy plane until none are left. Then your bombers can range at will.

3) EMBARK/DEBARK TROOPS AND PARATROOPERS

Assuming they're paratroopers, just click on the same icon you used to embark them on the plane in the first place (the one with the ship on it). The hexes that they can land on are now highlighted on the map. Click on a hex and they'll try to jump onto it (but they might drift).

If they're not actual paratroopers (other infantry or light artillery units), you have to land on an unoccupied airfield and disembark on the next turn.

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4) TROOP REPLACEMENTS

While playing a campaign and finishing a battle, if a unit is not at full strength, the unit gets at full strength for the beginning of the next battle. My question is whether the unit is filled with elite or normal replacements? That is, there is no reason for me to waste my prestige in getting elite replacements at the end if the game will give me elite replacements equivalent for the beginning of the next seige.

If you are bringing rear line units up to normal strength near the end of a scenario, you are wasting prestige. These units will come up to full strength with elite troops at the end of the scenario for free. Now, if you're trying to go overstrength, that's a different story.

This is a correct analysis. If you purchase units in one campaign and don't have any core units left, then this unit will be made up of auxillary units which will not continue to the next campaign with you. Somewhat dissapointing I know, but that is the way it is! Just keep an eye on the available core units and buy units (unless desperate) only when you have enough core points. My experience is that it takes just one core point/unit.

5) DISBANDING UNITS

Nothing is wrong. When you disband a unit their gone, they don't give you any money for it. You don't get the prestige back! The only reasons I can think of for disbanding a unit are to create room in your core for something else (assuming your core is maxed out) or to eliminate a 1 or 2 strength unit that will face certain elimination, thus denying the prestige gains to the enemy. But I always choose to let the low stength unit die I'd rather let the enemy waste their time killing that crippled unit than have them take a full crack at a nearby full-strength unit.

No you don't get prestige when you disband units. But, don't feel bad. A number of people got the same impression when reading that portion of the rule book. I believe it says something about disbanding units allows you to get new units, which a lot of people assumed meant that you get prestige to do so. What this statement actually meant was that, if you were already at the max allowable number of units, and you disband a unit, you will now be at less than the max allowable number and can therefore buy more.
The only real advantage to disbanding a unit is to prevent the opponent from getting the prestige from destroying it.


6) BOMBERS

Level bombers are great. You need one or two. Use them when you take victory hexes. Start the turn with the level bomber. It will probably only reduce the garrason with one, but the rest will stay supressed for the rest of the turn. After the level bomber, a few artillery shots and one or two infantry atacks will do the job. Last nigth I got France in 13 turns using this technique.

Also very useful to destroy enemy ships and to weaken fortifications, because suppressed units remain supressed for one turn. If you bomb a fortification and then attack with a ground unit the fortification will surrender (very often).

7) JETS

I just won my first camaign after winning a victory in hungary, This was somtime in 1945. What I'm wondering is why did i never recieve any of the jet fighters? At the end of my campaign the newest figter availabe to me was the fw190 dora-9 according to the manual i believe the first jets are supposed to come out in 1944 but they never showed up in my game.Does any one know what might have caused this? Is there Something specific you must achieve before getting the advanced tech units?

8) BEST PBEM SCENARIO

I would rate the scenarios that I've played PBEM like this: Husky (favors Allies)

I see we differ on how we would rate the Husky scenario. In my game the Allied player completely dominated and was able to win the game several turns early. With massive use of airpower & seapower the German player was never able to mount much resistance. How did your game go?

In the scenario I played the German player opted for a strong northern defense of the mainland, using his starting prestige to purchase a couple of extra FW-190a fighters that were able to combine with the 3 he already had to establish air superiority in the north since the Allies never had a northern base from which to operate their more numerous but shorter range and less effective fighters.

I think this is the key to this scenario. I've only played against the computer, which isn't saying much, but if the the Axis can get air superiority in the North he's in good shape. I sent my two Italian planes up North to help out. Also made sure the Allies couldn't get the Northern airbase and sent a JU88a against his fleet. As for the ground war, I just bought a dozen of those 12 point Italian tank destroyers and clogged up all of Sicily with them, though I don't know if this'll work against a human player.

9) BLITZKREIG QUESTIONS

In France and Kiev (at least), the scenario instructions tell me that the sooner I win, the better, with respect to future battles.

APART from having to win fast enough to get a Major victory, is there any benefit to winning even quicker? If I have to win by turn 10, say, to get a Major, is there any benefit to winning on turn 6 instead of turn 9?

I think you'd actually be better off waiting until the last turn that you can still get a major. You can build up more prestige as well as pumping up your units to overstrength and dinking away at some of the last computer units to get some more experience for your rookies.



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