STRATEGY AND TACTICS WORLD WAR II FAQ/WALKTHROUGH by Brian Pendell v 1.0 (13 JUL 2013) initial FAQ, no walkthrough as yet. Revision History v1.0 13 JUL 2013 Initial FAQ without campaign walkthrough. Table of Contents 1. Overview 2. Gameplay basics. 3. Unit Types 4. Reinforcements 5. Upgrades 6. Combat Theory, Tips, and Tricks 1) Overview Strategy and tactics is a campaign-level simulation of World War II combat. The objective is to take the role of a general officer and personally lead the armies of your nation to victory. The viewpoint character shifts between German, Russian, and American combatants. There are both single scenarios and campaigns of related scenarios. The game is designed for iPad but also runs on other phones and tablets such as Android. Up to 4 'players' may participate in a single scenario. 1.1) How do I win? All scenarios can be won by destroying all enemy troops. The scenario will automatically end in victory at that point regardless of whether the enemy still controls territory, and regardless of whether the enemy could have fielded reinforcements next turn. This is a shortcut and will prove invaluable during battles when the time to complete other goals is limited. However, there is also a trap in this: Some scenarios have an additional goal of 'collect a certain number of resources'. If you destroy all troops before these resources are collected, you will not be able to finish this goal. So it may be worth your time to spare the enemy for a turn or two to complete the additional objective. Likewise, just as all scenarios can be won by destroying all enemy troops, so all scenarios can be lost by losing all your own. This is true regardless of other factors. This is important in defensive scenarios where the objective is to hold a particular region for a given amount of time. Lives must often be sacrificed to buy time, but you cannot sacrifice all your troops. In addition, almost all scenarios will have victory conditions allowing you to win in some other way than destroying all enemy troops, which is sometimes completely impossible. Some common victory conditions are: 1.1.1) Capture a particular province and hold it for a number of turns. To fulfill this condition, move at least 1 ground unit into this province, changing it to your color, and ensure that the province is not taken back for the requisite number of turns. Sometimes no turns are specified, in which case all you have to do is move troops onto it and you will automatically win if all other primary conditions are fulfilled. Critical provinces are usually marked with a red cross-hair. 1.1.2) Hold a particular province for a number of turns. This is a defensive goal which simply requires you to keep the province under your own control. The province will be lost when enemy ground troops of any strength enter the province, at which point the number of turns you held it will be assessed. If you held it for long enough you will win regardless of other factors. In some scenarios it is a question of WHEN, not IF, you will lose the province in question. Critical provinces are usually marked with a red cross-hair. 1.1.3) Destroy a certain number of enemy units. Air units may be destroyed either by air fighters or by moving ground troops into the province in which they are based. Ground units can be destroyed either by subjecting them to overwhelming force, or by forcing them to retreat when they have nowhere to retreat to. This last feat will be discussed in greater detail under 'gameplay basics'. The smallest unit on the field of battle is the 'division', and this is true both for ground and air forces. HISTORICAL NOTE: "Destroying a unit" in the military sense does not mean 'to kill every last man in the unit'. "Destruction" means only that the unit is no longer able to function as an organized military force and cannot be reconstituted. During World War II it was not uncommon for 50% of the members of such destroyed units to survive as prisoners or as small, isolated groups of survivors who were capable only of survival and returning to friendly lines. These groups would then be re-incorporated into new or existing formations. 1.1.4) Store a certain number of resources. Normally, without upgrades, one province will produce 1 resource every turn. These resources may be spent to purchase reinforcements. So in this circumstance one must retain a certain number of provinces for enough to turns to collect necessary resources and not spend more than the absolute minimum necessary on reinforcements. Finally, except in a defensive scenario which contains a condition such as 1.1.2) above , there is a hidden condition in all scenarios which may cause defeat: Allowing the game to drag on too long in terms of turns. All scenarios are expecte to be completed quickly and there is a limited number of turns in which to win. If this number of turns is exceeded you will lose regardless of any other advantages you have. The operational art of World War II is the art of 'blitzkrieg' -- lightning war -- and the enemy is to be crushed speedily in a rapid campaign. A drawn-out shoving match , in which armies fight over the same ground again and again, costs lives, money and time and gains nothing. So complete your objectives quickly! The sole exception is in the case of a defensive scenario where the objective is to disrupt the attacker's momentum and force him into the long drawn out shoving match described above. 1.2) Are there different levels of victory? Yes. Each scenario has three different levels of victory: 1.2.1) Gold badge. This is awarded for the highest level of skill, which typically manifests in winning in the fewest number of turns. Alternatively, when on the defense, it is awarded for keeping the enemy out of critical provinces for the maximum number of turns. This is typically worth a large number of points. 1.2.2) Red medal. This is given for demonstrated skill, but not to the level of the gold badge. This typically involves completing the victory objectives in 4 or 5 turns longer than that awarded for the gold badge. This is typically worth a fewer, but still significant, number of points. 1.2.3) Stripes. This is the lowest level of victory and is awarded for a victory whichis marginal, just barely one step above defeat. But it's still a win, although it is worth only a trivial number of points. Finally, there are often additional scenario objectives such as 'destroy all enemy air divisions' or 'lose less than a certain number of divisions'. These objectives are always worth an additional fixed number of points if they are completed. regardless of the level of victory. 1.3) Are these points important? Points are important for two reasons: 1.3.1) In the campaigns, points may be spent to purchase upgrades. So the more points you receive in earlier battles, the better prepared your troops are for combat in the later ones. Upgrades may also be purchased with real cash from Herocraft, but this is not necessary to win any scenario. 1.3.2) Points contribute to your rating. This allows your profile to receive higher ranks and to be ranked on Herocraft's server. Currently the author is a lieutenant general and is ranked 7 on the board with 270,000 or so points. 2. Gameplay basics. 2.1 How do I select troops and move? You will see you a map of the campaign area. The campaign area is divided into a number of 'provinces'. Provinces marked in your color are under your control (Red = Russian, Light Blue = German, Dark Blue = Italian, Green = American/British). Some of these provinces will have troop icons in them, and these troops will have a flag next to them denoting their allegiance. HISTORICAL NOTE: The red, white, and black flag used by the Germans in this scenario is NOT the flag used by the Germans historically during this period. The red, white, and black flag is instead the flag of the German Empire used from 1871 to 1918, and again from 1933 to 1935. The flag actually used by the German forces was the Nazi flag with the swastika. I assume the substitution was made in order to make the game marketable in Germany, where the use of those symbols is outlawed today. At any rate, tap on a province with your troops to select it. If you change your mind, tap the same province again to un-select it. When troops are selected, a sidebar will open on the right. You will see the exact unit types of each division, as well as a small vertical bar next to each icon indicating the health of the unit, which the game refers to as the 'operational index'. You may select enemy troops and view their unit types, but you cannot view their health or issue them orders. To move troops from one place to another, tap once on a province containing troops. Then tap a second time on a neighboring province. A dialog box will pop up which will enable you to determine exactly how many troops you wish to move, and of what types. Move the slider bars to denote the number of troops you wish to move, then press the check button. The move is now programmed. You can now execute the move by pressing the '!' button in the lower right hand corner. If you do not want to execute the move after all but you have not pressed the '!' button yet, click on the troops you have programmed. The '!' button changes to an 'X' button. Press the 'X' and the move will be cancelled. A province may have no more than 12 ground units of any type. You can program many troops to move all at the same time. To do this , select a province with troops and give them a move order. Then select another province and give those troops a move order. You can move all your troops at once if you wish, but troops can still be moved in the same turn even if you do not issue them simultaneous orders. Once you have issued all the orders you wish to at this time, press the '!' button at the lower right hand corner, and the selected troops will carry out the order you have issued. Note that it is possible to move troops one after the other even in the same turn. A turn does not end until the '!' box shows a clock icon. Pressing the clock icon ends the turn. SO suppose you want to do two different things in a turn, one after the other . This is how it would be done: 1) Select troops in province A. Issue them a move order, press '!'. The troops in province A move. 2) Select troops in province B. Issue them a move order, press '!'. The troops in province B move, but it's still the same turn. 3) Now press the clock icon. NOW the turn ends. Some units have only 1 move, while others have two. IMPORTANT NOTE: A ground unit will ALWAYS lose all move if it enters an enemy province. Thus, if you want to move fast troops (such as motorized troops) into a province , you must first use slow troops to capture the province, then move the fast troops through the now-friendly province, and then finally move them to their destination. 2.2) Can I undo a move once made? Yes. You can undo the last move by exploiting the fact that the game always saves up to the last move you made. So if you make a move and it is an error, exit to the main menu , then re-enter the scenario. The scenario will reload at the point just before you executed your last move. You may now cancel the move and issue new orders. 2.3) How do I fight ground combats ? To attack enemy troops, move friendly troops into a province occupied by enemy troops. It is often optimal to use the troops of multiple adjoining provinces to attack a single enemy province. There are two attack options: 1) Attack. The troops attempt to move into the enemy province. No more than 12 units may participate in an attack at any time. 2) Support. The troops add their firepower to an attack but do not attempt to move into the province themselves. This allows forces in excess of 12 units to participate in the battle. So, if you have three adjoining provinces with 36 units, you can launch an attack of up to 12 units supported by up to 24 units. At least one division must be used to conduct the attack, but an unlimited number of units may support the attack. So in the example above, with 36 available units, the attack may be conducted with 1 unit supported by 35 other units, rather than 12 supported by 24. After the attack is made , all units involved in combat will suffer damage. If a unit's health is reduced to zero, the unit is 'destroyed' and will be removed permanently from the game. In addition to combat losses, there is an overall 'winner' and 'loser' of the battle. If the attacker loses, they remain in their original provinces and do not move into the province they were attacking. If the defender loses, the defender must 'retreat' to an adjoining sector if possible. A unit which cannot retreat will be destroyed. In order for a province to be retreated to, the province must be A) unoccupied or occupied by less than 12 friendly troops B) must be either friendly or enemy. It may NOT be neutral. This is important because , due to a game error, troops may not retreat into an 'allied' province. Say, for example, you are playing a western european scenario as the Germans and attack a Dutch unit in Holland. You have taken all the other Dutch provinces, so the only open territory is neighboring Belgium. The Dutch unit cannot retreat into Belgian territory even if it is unoccupied, and so the Dutch unit will be eliminated. Ironically, if you had first occupied the Belgian territory with German troops then withdrew them, the Dutch unit could retreat to that province because it is now considered 'German' territory! So in the above example, the Dutch unit can retreat to Dutch or to German territory that is unoccupied, but CANNOT retreat to Belgian or French territory regardless of any other status. A unit may not retreat into a province in which even one enemy division is present. So a common tactic is 'encirclement' -- when facing a larg e concentration of enemy forces, to move 1 division into each adjoining province to cut off their retreat, then launch the main attack. The enemy will be unable to retreat and consequently destroyed. Finally, there may never be more than 12 units in a province. So if a force of 12 units is forced to retreat into a province where there are already 4 units, 8 of the 12 retreating units will retreat, bringing the new strength of the province retreated into to the maximum of 12, and the remaining 4 units will be destroyed. Defense is easy. When it is the enemy turn, the enemy may choose to attack any province occupied by your troops. The troops in the attacked province will fight a defensive battle automatically. 2.4) What about the provinces marked with a pentagon? The pentagon indicates that the province in question is considered fortified and thus defending troops in this province will receive a bonus. The exact amount of the bonus is unknown, but in the author's experience has never been decisive. So ignore them for all intents and purpose. HISTORICAL NOTE: "Fortified" in terms of World War II means that entrenchments have been dug, fields of fire have been cleared and pre-registered for artillery, minefields have been laid, pillboxes and anti-tank obstacles have been constructed. 2.5) How do I move across the ocean? Certain provinces are marked with an anchor and have a line connecting them to another province across the water. This indicates that ground troops may be moved from this province to the other just as if they were adjoined by land. This movement is available to troops of any nationality. So, for example, in a 1944 scenario it is perfectly possible for German troops defending against the Normandy invasion to counterattack by landing in England and capturing London, despite the fact that the lack of landing craft and overwhelming Allied naval superiority made this impossible historically. Note that this movement is only available to ground units. Air units have no special rules for relocating , as air relocation works the same way across both land and sea. 2.6) How do I select air units? An air unit by itself is selected by simply tapping on it, the same as with a ground unit. As with a ground unit, selecting a group of air units will open up a side bar showing the exact air units in the province and their health. If an air unit and a ground unit share a province, the province will have an airplane symbol as well as an icon for the ground units. Tap on the province once to select the ground units in it. Tap on it a second time to select the air units in it. Tap a third time to de-select the province. You will know that air units are selected because a dark circle will appear around the province indicating the range of the selected air units. If there are air units with different ranges, the air unit with the shorter range will have the dark, inner circle while the longer range will be a lighter, larger circle. 2.7) What orders do I issue to air units? After you have selected an air unit, you may then click again on any province that is at least half within the range circle. You may then execute the following actions; For a friendly province, a unit may either RELOCATE to it or it may PATROL it. For an enemy province, a unit may either STRIKE it or PATROL it. In RELOCATION, a unit moves by air to the new province and will be ready to perform operations there next turn. Relocation may occur over land and sea. Note that in some scenarios it is not possible to move an air unit between two provinces separated by ocean when it is possible to move a ground unit! PATROL of both friendly and enemy provinces functions the same way. It does nothing on a friendly turn, but on the enemy turn any enemy air attacks through this or adjoining provinces may be intercepted by your aircraft on patrol , and this will inflict additional casualties on the attackers. Note that, because PATROL takes place on the enemy turn, any air unit instructed to PATROL may be redirected to STRIKE or RELOCATE before the end of the turn, although the units thus redirected will no longer be able to carry out the patrol task. Of the two air unit types, only fighters may conduct patrols. WARNING: If a unit is instructed to PATROL and receives no other orders, it will continue to PATROL until ordered otherwise. Because of this it is quite possible to lose aircraft division that are weak because they have not had their PATROL instruction countermanded! This can be best done by either ordering a STRIKE or a RELoCATION, after which they will do nothing and can refit. STRIKE operations permit the air units to attack enemy ground units. When an air strike occurs, both the attacking air unit and the defending ground unit will suffer damage to their health. While aircraft typically cause much more damage to ground targets than the reverse, it is still possible to lose air divisions if they are continually thrown in small groups against large , well-defended targets. Ground units will not retreat as a result of suffering air attack, but they may be destroyed. This normally happens when large quantities of aircraft are used against small, isolated targets, or the ground units are at critically low health. STRIKE may occur in conjunction with ground attacks. To perform this operations, select an air unit, then order it to STRIKE an enemy province. Select a friendly ground unit and order it to ATTACK that same province. Add SUPPORT from other ground units as appropriate. Then press the "!" key to initiate the attack. With clockwork precision the air attack will occur, reducing the enemy's health. The ground units will then conduct a synchronized attack with support against the now-weakened enemy. This is the most appropriate way to use STRIKE against large groups of ground units. 2.8) What else can I do on a turn? You may purchase reinforcements by clicking the parachute box in the upper left corner. 2.9) How do reinforcments work? When you click the reinforcement icon, you can now spend resources to bring in new troops at designated areas on your side. Resources, as mentioned, are typically collected at the rate of 1 resource per province per turn. To purchase reinforcements, simply view the list of available troop types, and click on the appropriate icon. After you have selected the unit to purchase, you will see one of two screens: 2.9.1) You will return to the original map and various provinces will blink. This indicates you have enough resources to purchase the unit and must now deploy it to one of the blinking provinces. Click on such a province and your purchased units will arrive their next turn. 2.9.2) Instead of being taken directly to the map, you are taken to a window marked 'purchase of resources' with the options 200 /500/1000. This indicates you do not have enough resources to deploy the requested units, but Herocraft will be willing to sell you resources over and above what you have gathered for a cost in real money. The author strongly recommends you do not do this. Simply select the 'x' to cancel out of this. But if you feel you must, select one of the options and Herocraft will assist you with processing the purchase of the additional resources and the new units will be available as usual next turn. The author wishes to emphasize that he has won all scenarios without purchasing a single resource point, so purchases are not necessary to win the game. The resources gathered per province may be improved with upgrades, see below. 2.9.3) How do I know where the reinforcements may be deployed? Reinforcements (with the exception of airborne reinforcements, see below) must be deployed to a strategic province, which are denoted by an icon resembling a building with two smokestacks. Only friendly strategic provinces may be used. For example, if you are playing as the Russians in a late-war scenario and capture a strategic German province in Lublin, occupied Poland, you may not then send reinforcements here in the same scenario. If all strategic provinces are captured, reinforcements may still be deployed to any friendly province, but the province to which they are deployed will be randomly chosen. 2.9.4) Hey! I bought reinforcments but now I can't buy them again! All reinforcments are subject to a 'cooldown' period of about 6 turns , after which they may be purchased again. So if I buy 6 units of basic infantry in block, on the next turn I could buy 4 motorized units or 1 tank unit but it would be another 6 turns before I could again buy the exact same block of 6 basic infantry. This cooldown period may be improved by the purchase of upgrades. 2.9.5) What about airborne reinforcments? The author played for months before discovering this feature! After clicking on the reinforcement button , you will see a dialog panel with potential normal reinforcments, but there are also three other icons here: -- the cancel icon in the lower right hand corner. -- A panel with boxes and a 'plus' mark. This allows Herocraft to sell you additional resource points. However, as previously emphasized, this is not necessary to win the game. -- a parachute with a box panel in the lower left corner. Pressing on this brings up the AIRBORNE REINFORCEMENT panel. Airborne reinforcements are different from normal reinforcements in that they can be deployed ANYWHERE on the map, AT WILL. Even into provinces that are currently held by enemy troops! If airborne troops are dropped onto enemies, combat will ensue. If airborne troops lose they will be destroyed, as they have nowhere to retreat to. If the enemy loses the enemy will retreat as normal. Airborne reinforcements are typically much more expensive than normal troops, but may make the difference in a critical situation where the player is flush with resources but not with time. 2.10) What happens if I do nothing on a turn? A unit which receives no orders during a turn will conduct replenishment and refit, thus increasing its health. Most units start at 50% health, so even new units can benefit from a few turns of rest to increase their health bars to maximum, although there will typically not be time to do this on any large scale. 2.10) How do I end a turn? A turn ends when you press the action button and have issued no additional orders. In this circumstance the action button shows a clock icon. All other participating players will then take their turns. 3) Unit Types 3.1) Ground units. 3.1.1) What stats do ground units have? All ground units have the following attributes: -- Mobility (MOB): How many provinces they can move to in a single turn. Note that moving into an enemy province, even an unoccupied one, results in the loss of all move. -- Attack factor versus tanks (AFT): The unit's strength when attacking a tank unit. -- Attack factor versus infantry (AFI): The unit's strength when attacking anything else. -- Defense (DEF): The unit's strength on defense against ANY attacker, air or ground. -- Attack against Aircraft (AAFT) : The unit's capability of inflicting damage on an attacking aircraft unit. -- Defense against aircraft (DAFT): The unit's ability to resist damage from an attacking aircraft. -- Health: The operational index of the unit. A measure of how much more damage it can sustain before being destroyed. Health changes during the game and is not listed below, but is included here for the sake of completeness. 3.1.2) What are the different grount units? -- Basic Infantry MOB: 1 AFT: 5 AFI: 6 DEF: 2 AAFT: 1 DAFT: 2 Les Enfants. The footsloggers. The grunts. 17-year-old kids with rifles who go to the battle and fight on foot. This is the cheapest and most common form of unit, and so can be thought of as the pillar, or base, of the army. Other units may improve or assist this unit, but this unit is the one that is going to be doing most of the marching, fighting, and dying. HISTORICAL NOTE: How can an infantry division attack a tank division with any hope of success? The answer is that you must not think of the unit as if it is comprised only of men on foot carrying rifles. A 'division' is a combined arms unit consisting, at this time period, of artillery, scouts and vehicles as well as soldiers. So an infantry division is not JUST soldiers on foot. Instead , it is primarily composed of soldiers but supported by other branches, such as an antitank unit specializing in high-velocity, accurate artillery specifically designed to destroy tanks. Likewise, a tank division is not just tanks but is primarily tanks supported by a smaller number of infantry and artillery. In the time period under discussion, direct attack of a tank by foot soldiers was a heroic last-ditch action attempted only by the suicidal, so when an infantry division attacked an armored division, the destruction of tanks would be conducted primarily by the attached artillery and NOT by the foot soldiers. -- Elite Infantry MOB: 1 AFT: 6 AFI: 9 DEF: 3 AAFT: 2 DAFT: 1 Improved infantry distinguished from basic infantry by a higher standard of training and the greater use of rapid-fire weapons such as submachine guns or assault rifles, as opposed to the bolt-action rifle commonly used by basic infantry. Only marginally more effective against tanks, these units excel against basic infantry and are therefore best used as the spearhead of an attack on an infantry-only defense. They can also be used in any other role infantry can be used in. -- Motorized Infantry MOB: 2 AFT: 8 AFI: 6 DEF: 3 AAFT: 1 DAFT: 2 Infantry who ride into battle on trucks but fight on foot once brought to battle. They are distinguished from 'mechanized' infantry (who do not appear in the game) in that mechanized infantry is supported by Infantry Fighting Vehicles such as the BMP or Bradley. Mechanized infantry both ride to battle in IFVs but fight alongside them as well. By contrast, motorized vehicles are 'soft-skinned', unfit for combat. So the infantry rides to the battle but must dismount and fight on foot without support, the same as their basic infantry cousins. The overwhelming advantage of motorized infantry is in its mobility, allowing it to conduct deep raids into enemy territory or conduct encirclement of enemy troops. Use these divisions for high-risk operations, as motorized infantry has the advantage not only of speed but of being much, much easier to replace than tanks. -- Tanks MOB: 2 AFT: 12 AFI: 18(!!) DEF: 5 AAFT: 2 DAFT: 1 The 'armored fist' which makes 'lightning war' possible. Tanks are fast and have overwhelming power on the attack against all enemies, but are relatively weak defensively. They have the additional advantage of being expensive and difficult to replace (see reinforcements below) , so once the tank division are used up they aren't going to be coming back for the duration of the scenario. So use them for the decisive breakthrough but if at all possible coddle and protect them outside of these occurrences as they cannot be replaced. Be that as it may, they must sometimes be expended in order to achieve operational goals. Of course, killing enemy tanks should be a very high priority in any scenario for this reason. -- Artillery MOB: 1 AFT: 12 AFI: 9 DEF: 1 AAFT: 0 DAFT: 1 Large caliber guns, both howitzer and direct fire, supported by a security detachment of infantry. These units have the worst defense in the game and consequently should never be left by themselves but stacked with other units. They are best used to give infantry stacks additional punch against tanks. Since they travel at the same speed of infantry they should therefore almost never be separated from infantry, giving infantry the added firepower necessary to overcome obstacles, in addition to the infantry division's own organic artillary. 3.2 Air Units 3.2.1) What stats do air units have? Air units can be characterized as follows: Range (RGE): How far a unit can operate from its base. Attack against Ground (ATG): A unit's effectiveness when attacking a ground unit. Defense against Ground (DFG): A unit's survivability against a ground unit's anti-air defenses. Attack against air (ATA): A unit's ability to inflict damage on an air unit it is in combat with. Defense against air (DFA): A unit's ability to resist damage from an air unit it is in combat with. 3.2.2 What are the different types of air units? -- Fighters RGE: Short ATG: 6 DFG: 6 ATA: 10 DFA: 6 Fighters are all purpose units which can be used in a fighter-bomber role against ground targets or against aircraft. They are capable of performing STRIKE and PATROL missions. Since they are highly effective against aircraft, they are best kept on patrol to defend against enemy aircraft so long as they are a significant threat. Their short range means they must constantly relocate to provide an air umbrella for the battle lines. -- Bombers: RGE: Long ATG: 10 DFG: 2 ATA: 2 DFA: 2 Bombers are extremely long ranged and can hit almost anything on the map in most scenarios. Their firepower when concentrated is shocking, but as with tanks they are extremely expensive and difficult to replace. Consequently they need to be carefully watched and protected. Bombers cannot PATROL, and thus will only participate in air combat if they are attacked by patrolling fighters while conducting a STRIKE mission. 4) Reinforcements For an overview of the reinforcement mechanism see sections 2.8 and 2.9 above. This section is intended to review the specific kinds of reinforcements available and to what extent they are valuable. 4.1) Conventional reinforcements -- 2 basic infantry units Resource cost: 10 This is something you will rarely use but in some scenarios can provide a critical punch at the beginning, as they are typically the only reinforcements you can afford. An additional 2 divisions at the beginning can mean the difference between a quick success and a drawn out battle. Outside of this exceptional occurrence your resource points are usually better saved for other options, unless you are in an emergency situation where you must have those 2 divisions immediately and can't afford anything better. -- 1 motorized infantry unit Resource cost: 15 The same as for the 2 basic infantry, except even less used because it costs nearly 50% more while having half the combat power. If you happen to have 50 resource points, this purchase can bring a 4-unit purchase of motorized infantry up to 5-units, and that is a very powerful group of combat nits to have. But aside from that you won't be using this much. -- 6 basic infantry units Resource cost: 25 This is a purchase you will not be able to get enough of. A great bargain whose only flaw is the low speed of the units. It may be worthwhile spending upgrade points to improve your cooldown rate just so you can have more of these faster. Nonetheless, it is less useful in the later parts of the game due to the slow speed at which they will march all the way across the map. Best purchased early. -- 4 motorized infantry units Resource cost: 35 The single best buy, in the author's opinion, in the game. It combines not only a sizeable amount of combat power with something that is otherwise nearly impossible to buy in any quantity: Mobility. 4 motorized divisions moving at 2 spaces per turn is a lightning force, and stacks well with the 1 motorized unit purchase already mentioned. The only drawback is that it is marginally more expensive than the 6 basic infantry units, but they are perfect for envelopment and encirclement. However many you have, you haven't got enough. Even better than the 6 unit infantry buy because, thanks to mobility, it remains useful in all parts of the game and becomes even more useful towards the end. -- 3 air fighter units Resource cost: 40 Only rarely useful, if you have resource points to burn and everything else is cooling down. As a rule if you can afford this you're better off buying a ground unit. As a rule when the enemy has aircraft and you don't you'll have more luck destroying the aircraft on the ground then spending time and money deploying enough fighters to make a difference. -- 1 tank unit Resource cost: 35 A wonderful purchase limited by the fact you can only get one of them. A single tank division by itself isn't terribly useful, and will be used in much the same way as a motorized infantry division. Worth the purchase, but not if other things are available or if you really need mobility NOW. -- 3 artillery units Resource cost: 40 The author hasn't made much use of this as they are fairly new. Nonetheless, the author doesn't expect them to be terribly useful, as for the resource cost you could be purchasing either cheaper mobile units or holding out for the more expensive groupings. The problem with a slow unit such as artillery is they are best purchased at the beginning of the scenario, as their slow speed means they will probably not be used towards the end. So at the beginning of a game you have other things to purchase with the resources, and towards the end of the game you can't use them. Still better than nothing if you've got the points to burn. -- 12 basic infantry units Resource cost: 80 This is an excellent purchase which can be a game-changer in the early Russian campaign, as 12 infantry divisions suddenly appearing can turn the tide of any battle. Marginally less useful than it might be due to the fact that, while only twice the divisions of the 6-division buy, it is more than three times the cost. Still an excellent thing to bring onto the field of battle if they can get there in time. -- 8 artillery units Resource cost: 80 The author has never purchased this due to its newness. Nonetheless, they are expected to be very useful in a defensive campaign when the 80-point buy for infantry is cooling down, and may have much the same effect. -- 10 elite infantry units Resource cost: 120 The author never purchases this because 12 basic infantry units is better than 10 elite infantry units for 2/3rds the cost. If I've saved enough for this buy I'm better off either spending it on something cheaper or waiting for something better. -- 7 bomber air units Resource cost: 200 The author has never purchased this. As a rule, if you've saved up 200 resource units in a scenario it's taking too long anyway, and there are other things you can purchase with this amount. Such as the next, and final option. -- 6 tank units Resource cost: 200 YES. 6 tanks units give you everything you want on the battlefield, mobility and firepower and a lot of it all at once. The only downside is the immense cost. There are only a few scenarios in which you will be able to husband these many resources, and in most of them, it means the scenario is taking too long and you've already lost. Still, if you happen to have 200 extra resource points THIS is what to spend it on. 4.2) Airborne reinforcements -- 2 elite infantry units Resource cost: 50 -- 5 elite infantry units Resource cost: 80 -- 8 elite infantry units Resource cost: 120 Of these three, only the last one is a really good buy under most circumstances. The last option sacrifices 2 divisions from the conventional 10-division elite infantry buy but you can deploy them anywhere on the map instantly. Airborne troops are rarely a good investment because they cost a great deal compared to other units. Their great advantage is that they can be deployed anywhere on the map at once so if you are near the end of a scenario, you have a goal which requires you only to enter a target province and not hold it, then you can instantly win by dropping these troops right on the objective. Because the groups are small it is highly advisable under normal circumstances to deploy airborne troops in conjunction with regular troops, or they will be isolated and destroyed. Still, it takes time and effort to destroy 8 infantry divisions, so it may be a useful distraction from somewhere else on the map. 5) Upgrades Upgrades are available between scenarios during the campaigns. Upgrades are not available in single scenarios such as 'Operation Exporter'. Some upgrades are given at the start of a campaign. So to see the effect of combat upgrades, start the German campaign 'Twilight of the Gods'. The German player starts with infantry upgraded to level 4 , tanks upgraded to level 4, jet fighters and jet bombers. In all situations, upgrades have more impact when they are cumulative in the same tree. So purchasing many artillery upgrades will have more of an impact than having two or three upgrades in all disciplines. 5.1) How do I acquire upgrades? As discussed in 1.3, upgrades may be given at the start of a campaign, or purchased with points. Points may be either won by completing scenarios or by purchasing from Herocraft with real money. 5.2) Is it necessary to buy upgrades from Herocraft to complete the game? No. All scenarios may be completed without purchasing additional upgrades. The author has completed every available scenario and has never spent a single dollar on upgrades. In point of fact, the author suspects that every scenario can be won without any upgrades at all, whether "won" or purchased, but this has not been proven. 5.3) What upgrades are there, and what upgrades are worth getting? Upgrades come in two types: Military and economic. Each of these is subdivided into three types. 5.3.1) Military upgrades -- Artillery upgrades. For a minimum of 100 points and a max of 300 , improve the effectiveness of artillery against a variety of targets and the defense as well. The author has never purchased these. There are many other things to buy for the cost. -- Infantry upgrades. For a minimum of 100 points and a max of 300, improve the effectiveness of elite, basic, and motorized infantry. I purchase these frequently, concentrating on improvements to basic and motorized infantry while ignoring elite infantry. This is because basic and motorized infantry are the units I most commonly use or buy, and so upgrade points spent here have the greatest effect. Economic upgrades should take priority over this, however. -- Armor and aircraft upgrades. I hardly ever purchase these. Aircraft upgrades are meaningless in the early scenarios because there aren't enough to matter. ONly the first armor upgrade is worthwhile, after which additional improvements are simply too far down the pipeline to be useful. For the time spent in upgrading tanks you could have upgraded infantry or economics. 5.3.2) Economic upgrades -- Research upgrades. For a minimum of 100 and a maximum of 100 points, decrease the cost of upgrades by a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 50% I do not purchase these. It simply takes too long to pay off, and by that time the campaign is over. Only the first one or two options might be feasible. -- Production upgrades. For a minimum of 100 points and a maximum of 300 points, increase the production points gathered from provinces per turn by up to 50%. YES. This is THE upgrade tree. Experience demonstrates intuitively that a level 5 tank is not much better than a level 1 tank, but 2 extra infantry divisions is better than 1 upgraded division. So put all the points in here you can. Quantity defeats quality in this game, and production upgrades dramatically increase the quantity of troops you can bring to the battle. It can also make the difference between bringing in a critical set of reinforcements and being 3 points short. -- Cooldown upgrades. For a minimum of 100 and a maximum of 180, decrease the reinforcement cooldown period by 1 turn. So instead of having to wait 6 turns to buy another set of 4 motorized divisions, with 2 upgrades you need only wait 4 turns. The first two upgrades are well worth the purchase price, especially in longer scenarios. However, beyond this point they begin to get very expensive compared to what you could otherwise buy. After all, there's no point in having a 2-turn cooldown if you can't afford anything in two turns anyway. 6) Combat Theory, Tips and Tricks. 6.1) Combat resolution Combat is resolved thus: 6.1.1) Sum up all the attack factors of the attacking troops into one large number. 6.1.2) From this number, subrract the total defense of the defenders. 6.1.3) The remaining number is the total damage inflicted. This number is apportioned among the defending units to determine how each one is damage. Half the damage is evenly passed out among all defending units. The remaining damage is randomly divided between defending units. So while all defending units will receive some damage, it is possible for some units to be wiped out while others are almost untouched. 6.1.4) Sum up all the health of all the defending units to find the total health of the defending group. 6.1.5) Now, using the numbers from before the battle, sum up all the attack factors of the defending troops. 6.1.6) Subtract the sum of the attackers defense. The remainder is the total damage inflicted on the group. 6.1.7) Half the damage is inflicted evenly across all attackerrs. The remainder is randomly apportioned out among the attackers. 6.1.8) Sum up all the health of the attacking units to find the overall health of the attacking group. 6.1.9) At the end of this calculation, the group with the highest health wins. This is unimportant in air to air or air to ground combat, but is important in ground to ground combat. If the attacker won, the defender must retreat. If the defender won, the attacker stays where it was. Note that this theory is not complete: It is possible for a single unit attacking a group of 12 to still win, even if the single unit is destroyed in the process, provided that single unit is heavily supported by other units in the attack. Why this is so is unknown. 6.2) Combat Principles, tips and tricks -- Offensive is all-important; Defense is meaningless. This is nowhere so obvious as in the early Russian campaign, when it seems that no number of stacked troops, even in a fortified hex, will stop an oncoming attacker. As a rule of thumb, an attack will succeed if the attack contains 1 more unit than there is on the defense. Consequently, there is no value to simply occupying a fortified position and allowing the enemy to attack. The enemy will win. The way to "defend" is instead to attack: If at all possible, to lure the enemy into placing his forces in an untenable position, so that you may then encircle and destroy the exposed attacking forces. Even the most courageous attacker will be forced back when you've destroyed some 30 or so of his units. -- Quantity is more important than quality. The author has seen two half strength infantry divisions attack and defeat a full strength tank division. The lesson is obvious: While it is wise to rest and recover your forces' health when possible there is nothing so important as having more troops than the enemy at the point of conflict. To paraphrase Nathan Bedford Forest (Lieutenant General, CSA) , "He who gets there first with the most wins". This means constantly moving troops into combat, even when they are so weak that they may very well be destroyed by the action. However, since offense is so much more powerful than defense, it is important that these units be properly covered so they are not destroyed on the enemy's turn. -- Speed is important. As a rule, the longer a scenario runs the more production points the enemy will gain, the more troops they field, the more trouble you are in. This is especially true when you are on the offense and have an initial preponderance of troops but very few provinces. In such a case, it is vital to overrun as much enemy territory as possible before the enemy gains enough production points to bring in reinforcements and turn the tide. This is less true in defensive operations when time is ostensibly on your side. However, even here , speed is important because, as discussed above, most "defense" relies on luring enemy forces into a trap, then encircling and destroying them. This is much easier with armored or motorized forces than with slow infantry. Also, most defensive operations can be won with a gold badge by the simple expedient of destroying all attacking forces. This is actually possible in many of the scenarios,and the sooner this is done the better. So act to get things done as speedily as possible! This means that fast troops are invaluable, and motorized troops are the most valuable, because you can get them cheaply and in quantity. There is almost nothing more important than speed, as it allows you to rapidly concentrate force anywhere on the battlefield! As Napolean is supposed to have said, "Go sir, gallop, and don't forget that the world was made in six days. You can ask me for anything you like, except time." -- Use small units as bait for the enemy AI. This is similar to the "pawn sacrifice" in chess. As a rule if the AI adjoins a weaker force, it will always attack it regardless of whether such an action makes sense int the larger operational picture. Thus the enemy may completely ignore an unoccupied province, but attack that same province with maximum force from every applicable location if that province has even one division in it. This can be exploited. By focusing a large number of forces near an area, advance a single infantry division . The enemy will attack this division with all strength, destroying it. You then encircle the enemy force and destroy it, trading 1 friendly division for 12 enemy divisions. This can also be exploited on the defense -- the enemy will often attack a weak force while ignoring an unoccupied province, even if that province is critical to the scenario. So it is possible, if all else has failed, to "lure" an enemy force away from a capital by placing a small number of divisions in front of the enemy. Then leaving a trail of divisions behind like bird seed and lead the enemy away from the critical province until the scenario ends or you are able to field fresh troops. -- Exploit the one division attack. As a rule, a single division attacking, if supported by 12 or more divisions , will defeat 12 enemy divisions and drive them off. This can be exploited in conjunction with the pawn sacrifice above. Send a single division forward with support to drive a wedge into the enemy line. The enemy will counterattack the division with all force, erasing the wedge. You can then encircle the forces, or repeat the 1 division supported by many more attack that you did last turn . In this way, in exchange for losing a division per turn, you can lure the enemy into a series of lopsided battles in which you repeatedly bring overwhelming force to bear and inflict much heavier causalites. While this is going on, you can bring up additional reinforcements and eventually encircle and destroy the enemy. -- Exploit overlapping provinces. If you can , try to lure the enemy into a situation where his one province borders two or more of yours. You can then pour forces into your two provinces and hit the enemy with overwhelming force. If you cannot encircle and destroy the enemy, make him fight as lopsided a battle as possible. -- Never allow the enemy a line of retreat. This is the opposite of Sun Tzu's dictum. Sun Tzu, the famous Chinese general, advised to always allow the enemy a path of retreat so they would run away rather than fight like cornered rats. This doesn't work at all in Strategy and Tactics, as you will never be able to establish a cordon tight enough to prevent individual soldiers from deserting. So the important thing is to make sure no unit escapes as an organized force. If you must win a battle, try to ensure that the enemy is forced to retreat into a province that already has 12 units, or is otherwise impossible. If you can't destroy ALL The units then at least try to force him to retreat to an occupied province and therefore lose SOME of his units. Try to make every battle count. Which means it is not enough merely to force an enemy out of a province -- one must also force him either into a situation where he must lose troops, or into an otherwise untenable situation. It is sometimes more worthwhile to LOSE a battle than it is to win one, if the "lost" battle puts the enemy in a position where he can be easily encircled and destroyed. This is a common trick: When facing an enemy, with draw all forces into adjacent provinces save one division. The enemy falls on the single division, but is now surrounded on three sides by the troops you evacuated. Use motorized troops to 'close the door' on his one avenue of retreat and destroy him. -- Use aircraft to destroy isolated and weak units. Air attacks are often wasted on large units, as the damage will be spread across many units. By contrast, massing overwhelming force against 1 or 2 units can destroy them, and that is far more valuable. Even weak units can join together in to a powerful force, but a destroyed unit is permanently out of play. So use your air force like scavenging vultures to hunt down fleeing, damaged, and isolated units. This is helped by the fact the AI will frequently pull badly damaged units out of the battle line and put them off by themselves to rest. They might as well have 'bomb me' signs on them. Not only are they easily susceptible to destruction, they cause less damage to attacking air units. -- Prioritize tank units for air attack. As mentioned before, tank units are expensive and difficult to replace. So priority should be given to single tank units. If there are no other single or badly damaged on the field, find the nearest collection of tanks and bomb them. Any decrease in their health will make your future battles easier. -- Use bombers to attack ground forces and fighters to patrol until enemy bombers are a minimal threat. Enemy bombers can inflict heavy damage, especially if they repeatedly attack the same target. So keep fighters on patrol. Enemy bombers cannot be stopped from executing a strike unless they are very weak, but they can be so badly damaged that the enemy will allow them to rest and refit rather than conducting a mission. Alternatively, on rare occasions the enemy will press on with critically weakened bombers and lose them all. -- Protect your bombers. Your bombers are expensive and hard to replace, so if their health falls into the red give them rest until they are at least back into the yellow, unless the situation is so critical they must be used up to save the battle. -- Concentrate your air attacks. The engine ensures that small groups of bombers attacking large targets will do minimal damage while suffering greatly themselves. So don't do that. Instead, focus large groups of bombers on small, isolated targets in order to achieve their complete destruction. Alternatively, when executing a critical attack focus every single fighter and bomber on the map on the attack in the hopes of giving the ground forces the crucial edge they need to turn repulse into victory. -- Be unfair! "Fair" is something for football fields or pingpong tournaments. When you are facing off with more than a hundred division, each of whom is determined to kill you, steal your family's home, and send them to the gas chamber, being "fair" to the enemy should be the furthest thing from your mind. Take every advantage you can get to maximize their casualty rates while minimizing your own. The more unfair you are, the fewer of your people will die, the sooner the war ends, the better for everyone, even the enemy. 7) Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Strategy and Tactics : World War II is copyright 2013 by Herocraft. This FAQ Copyright 20013 by Brian Pendell. This document is made available under the Gnu Free Documentation License (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), and may be freely copied, distributed and edited so long as the original author receives credit for the work , and any additional changes are attributed to subsequent authors.
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