(WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

Hi!
I made a new Russian campaign. You might remember the "Za Rodinu!" campaign I made a while back (It's officially in the game now). While I do like it, it was also relatively short and very hard. I thought there should be a Russian campaign that is:
1. A bit more accessible to new players
2. More focused on tank vs tank combat
3. Longer and with more content

So I made this. I tested it and it works and is winnable. I still would like to have some more eyes on it though and gather some feedback, especially in regards to difficulty level.

The campaign goes into campaign slot 56.

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

Next January PM me and we'll get any missed scenarios and campaigns of yours into the next upgrade.

Don

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

So, did anyone try it? Any feedback?

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

I just downloaded it, but at the moment I don't have time to play through a proper campaign. I will try to play it later this summer, though.

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

I have downloaded it and will try it. I consider myself a beginner though I have played before. As soon as I saw Za Rodinu I wanted to ry that but doubt I have the skill to do it justice. So this one will be a lot of fun to try first. Many thanks!

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

I played the first three battles. So far so good. 3 DV but I don't think it is too easy.The 2nd battle would have turned out much different if I had not been able to see the dust clouds of the approaching enemy. The 3rd battle would have too if I had been able to spot those panzerschrecker teams earlier. (as in I wouldn't have started backing up in time) I'd go into more detail but I do not want to be a spoiler.

I do not remember German troops routing so easily (especially without Artillery) or that they go Japan and fight to the las man (or almost) as frequently as it's been happening. I think the scenarios are well designed. I have fun.

I'm about to start the fourth battle. I do not have much confidence for another decisive victory. I do not want to split the force or try to cross the swamp river, though I will have to choose one or the other.

Many thanks!

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

Thanks for the feedback! I'm sure if you put a spoiler warning in, you could go into more detail if you want.

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

I do not see a spoiler button option to hide part of the thread. If I have to type "spoiler alert" manually I will do that.

I finished the 4th battle - DV
The KV-8s is an awesome machine. They worked to perfection. I did lose a tank (but not the crew!) and a carrier because I chose the wrong spots to smoke at the beginning. I'm always losing the tank hunters though they have done their job occasionally. As with earlier battles I was expecting more opposition even though I should've realized from the briefings that these are more pursuit/mop up operations than big battles.

I think this campaign is great for less experienced players. Every scenario requires use of different game concepts that we should all learn and understand. You have done a very nice job.

I really appreciate the work you put into it.

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

I am about to start the 5th battle. These are the type I always have trouble with - I can smell atg and mg hidden everywhere. I wish I knew where on the map reinforcements are going to show up. Here we go Katyushas!

Many thanks!

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

Yes, I made the campaign with less experienced players in mind. The first three battles are meant as a "tutorial" (not so much for the game mechanics but for your force).
In the first scenario I wanted to "force" players to mount their infantry on tanks, since the objective is pretty far away and you get no other transport. I think this is a quintessentially "Russian" thing to do and I wanted to structure the force around it.
In the second battle, with the dust clouds, I wanted to get the player to practice ambushing enemy tanks and anticipating where they would go. This will become more important later when you are facing kingtigers and other heavy stuff that is superior to your own tanks.
In the third battle I wanted to reinforce that your tanks need to be protected from infantry in close quarters. Especially the later levels have lots of Panzerfausts.
The fourth battle is optional, you only get it if you win the previous battle. The fifth one is what is called a "graduation" type level in game design in that you have to win it to advance and it "tests" all the stuff from the earlier scenarios (except the tank vs tank stuff, that becomes important later).

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

Everything has worked as designed. I have acted as intended. I would say that the 4th battle was the opposite of the 3rd. As in using tanks to support infantry in close fighting instead of using infantry to protect tanks.

Yes, the 5th battle appears to be much bigger than the previous ones. Just when the troops were getting good (most at leas 80 exp)

Thanks again!


test:
[spoiler] tester [/spoiler]

highlighted

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

I completed battle number five (Busk). I had fun. Another great map. Marginal victory - I think mainly because I lost eight tanks. It ended at turn eighteen. I thought it would take a lot more turns since I got so delayed and diverted the first few turns. But once the shell was cracked it all went rather easy. Was that the design? It seemed to match history for parts of the war at that time.

The lend lease companies went through the town easily and quickly. (lost the T-3 and an M4 to an unfound panzerscrecker towards the end) Once they took the intown objectives it seemed to start a chain reaction of other enemy units leaving their posts to head to the objectives in the town. It made things easier for the other approaches.

Most losses came from an approach I was going to ignore. (from north of the river) But then I did assign the starting aux tank co (plus the smg co) to take that approach. Smoke came late even with a priority hex nearby - all guns were concentrated on another approach for the first few turns. I did not intend to but one tank took out an enemy gun apc and another took out an atg in a duel. But other atg's destroyed both tanks. The enemy atg's got another tank a few turns later. (after the smoke arrived) Never found those atg's. Lost another tank to an unseen enemy smg squad w/panzerfaust. One of our smg platoons got hammered and pinned down for awhile by enemy artillery. One squad was almost destroyed.

The core force went straight for the town on this side of the river. This is where all the guns and smoke and katyushas were used for the first few turns.. The core got diverted to a more southerly approach by a nashorn that destroyed a tank (but not the crew!) The nashron destroyed another tank (a reinforcement) right before an IL-2 destroyed the nashorn. I sent all available aircraft after the nashorn, The first IL-2 destroyed it. As a bonus the second IL-2 found a panzer nearby and destroyed it. The third IL-2 found a stug but didn't get it. (a tank hunter eventually destroyed the stug and lived) I got the core set up where I wanted (covering a bridge) and was going to have the reinforement companies clear the area but there wasn't much fighting after the lend leasers took their objective hexes. The enemy came out of hiding and died easily. I think our artillery destroyed an atg and a smg platoon destroyed another. (I think all enemy artillery and aa was also destroyed)

Great job and many thanks!

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

I finished battle six (Vistula) Decisive victory turn 34, no lost tanks. The outcome was questionable the first 20 turns or so and then it went smoother. Glad that there was not more opposition and that there was plenty of artillery and smoke.

Another great job. Many thanks!

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

Thanks for taking your time to test this and write this stuff down! While it is technically true that these campaigns are free, I always felt that fan mappers and modders are paid in feedback ;)

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

So True! Thanks for all your hard work (sorry I havent had chance to have a go at this yet - RecruitMonty has me hard at it :P )

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

I have completed battle seven (securing the bridgehead) Decisive victory, 27 turns.

Cleared out the Estate but did not convert the objective hexes right away. Moved a platoon south of that to cover that approach. Some kind of spaa destroyed the halftrack (empty). Most of the force moved along the edge of the woods following the main road. Engaged a couple of atg and maybe an infantry platoon. Destroyed them with almost no loss. A tank hunter and a bren carrier continued up the road and met no oppostion. So a tank platoon (plus smg) was sent to approach the town from the north, taking objective hexes along the way. They eventually engaged a small mobile force that looked to be moving north to meet them. We won.

The remaining platoon (plus smg) moved south towards the town staying in the woods. The platoon (plus smg) at the estate also moved west toward the town to meet them. They both basically ambushed enemy troops moving towards the estate. And then took the town and all the objectives. Destroyed some mortars and another atg along the way. Did lose a tank (but not the crew!) to a panzerschreck team that managed to get behind them. I think all enemy forces were destroyed except the kommander who was never found.

Another well designed scenario. Had to find the right balance of speed and patience to come out with few losses. If there were a few less turns I probably would have been a little more reckless and lost more troops. And also if the enemy atg had waited for tanks and not fired on smg platoons first.(they were getting very close range) I keep wanting to add some scouts to the force or change the tank hunters/bren carriers into something else though I never do.

Thank you!

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

I appreciate new campaigns and scenarios and the work that goes in to making them. And there are a lot of new for me ones to try. In the past I usually play only as Western Allies. I have been looking for Soviet scenarios after reading "Enemy at the Gates" and "The Fall of Berlin" (and other books) .

Or even better, Soviet campaigns! - something akin to troops under Chuikov going from almost being eliminated or pushed into the Volga at Stalingrad all the way to the halls of the Reichstag. It must have been one hell of a journey for those that survived. This campaign is the closest thing I've found to that.

So many thanks and keep up the good work!

Re: (WIP) Campaign: Lvov to Berlin
 

In addition to the new scenario pack, I also made an updated version of this campaign. It fixes several mistakes and tweaks the difficulty of some scenarios.