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Arnhem - Never did 'em any!

ToboTobo
edited November 2009 in Games
Wotcha, folks.

I've been a long time fan of Arnhem, and have recently been having another pop at it.

Unfortunately, I am incredibly crap at it. I must have played the first scenario, Advance to Eindhoven, a hundred times, and not once have I been successful! It always tells me that due to a slow start, the Germans will probably win.

Tips on 'Advance to Eindhoven', anyone?

Tobo
Post edited by Tobo on

Comments

  • ArjunArjun
    edited November 2009
    I know what you mean. When I first started playing it, I couldn't win a single game. But then later on (once I'd studied how the AI played it) I could beat the crap out of the computer ever single time.

    The trick is to think like a military strategist of course (well, duh!). ;) The easiest and best way to slow down an enemy is to control the bridges and the road network. Stick an infantry+tank combo at the end of one bridge with other units like artillery providing support, and watch how surprisingly long they can hold off the enemy. Since the AI does the same thing to you, one of the best way to overcome such a bottleneck is to throw your heaviest units in a frontal assault while infantry units attack from the flanks. Use the air drop support to drop parachute units behind enemy lines and have them attack from the rear! Yes, you'll lose some units but it's speed that is imperative. Once you've dislodged the units holding you up, send in your tanks and infantry units immediately to the other side so that they can hold the roads open till you can get your other units across.

    I used to drop the para-units way ahead of my other units and secure bridges to stall the enemy from advancing and then make my main units travel via roads as fast they could (tanks especially). You will keep getting re-enforcements so it's okay if you have to bypass a few enemy units in the initial rush - you can deal with them later. As I said, speed is of essence!
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  • Matt_BMatt_B
    edited November 2009
    Advance to Eindhoven is a real bugger. You don't get any paras, so you've got to take all the bridges by fighting.

    My tips would be:

    1. Launch a full frontal assault at the units blocking the road with your tanks and mechanized infantry; try to fan out with the latter to get more units to attack and remember that you only get one attack per turn so try to use different ones on phase one and three. The Germans here are weak and will crumble after a few turns, but will still hold you up just long enough for the tanks to take up a position behind the bridge. The unit towards the bottom of the screen can be dealt with later; it's not particularly tough and can be seen off with later arriving units.

    2. Meanwhile, send a few units cross country towards the road at the top of the map; the 231st Infantry Brigade in particular is a very strong unit. The German units in this area are very weak and easily defeated. You can then move into position to attack the units in Eindhoven itself with them.

    3. The German tanks are tough, but they'll just sit there giving you a chance to organize yourself against them. Try to get three or four mechanized infantry and recce units to launch a simultaneous attack on them across the river, preferably with artillery support; it may take a while but they'll eventually win. Get your own tanks out of the way as they're useless here; I usually send them around to the road at the top to join forces with the other units there or use them to finish off the other unit I mentioned earlier.

    4. Once you've got the tanks out of the way, it's a straight push to Eindhoven itself. If you're lucky, the units you sent round the top will have got the Germans on the run by now. Send your recce units ahead from the main force to help with the mopping up if need be.
  • ToboTobo
    edited November 2009
    Fantastic tips, guys. As Matty_B* says, there aren't any drops in this scenario, so I look forward to trying his tactics later.

    What is the 'win' criteria here? Do I have to destroy all enemy forces or just clear the 'central' road as the docs suggest?

    Many thanks.

    Toby.
    *I used to go school with a Matt B who, when copying your originals, used to swap the actual tape spools with a C15, so he actually kept the original whilst returning the copy. Honour amongst thieves skipped a page in our playground!
  • Matt_BMatt_B
    edited November 2009
    Tobo wrote: »
    Fantastic tips, guys. As Matty_B* says, there aren't any drops in this scenario, so I look forward to trying his tactics later.

    What is the 'win' criteria here? Do I have to destroy all enemy forces or just clear the 'central' road as the docs suggest?

    Many thanks.

    Toby.

    Clearing the road will do, but destroying all the German units is certainly possible and you can score an early victory by doing so before the last turn.
    *I used to go school with a Matt B who, when copying your originals, used to swap the actual tape spools with a C15, so he actually kept the original whilst returning the copy. Honour amongst thieves skipped a page in our playground!

    I'm glad to be able to say that it wasn't me. I'd have spliced out the excess tape from the C15 for starters. ;)
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