DAR: GE Long campaign - small core

[Brian61]

Originally Posted by RERomine

I was reading through and agree completely that StuGs and North Africa don't mix.

That might be why, as far as I can tell, only one batterie of StuGs was sent to Afrika Korps.

Originally Posted by RERomine

My overall solution to the problem was to replace the StuGs with Tigers, as it was 1/43. I'm not sure if they had any Tigers in North Africa, but I wasn't as focused on realism at that point.

They did, mostly under Paulus though who didn't agree with Rommel as to their employment. He ended up more or less wasting them. The PzIVf2 'specials' were also a good answer to the problem of Shermans and other (for the time anyhow) heavily armored tanks.

Originally Posted by RERomine

StuGs might have been more realistic support for infantry, but the "AI Heavy Tank" setting tossed realistic opposition out the window.

This is where I have to disagree. The north africa theatre was largely a desert war, static infantry was pretty much pointless. Thus the ratio of armor to infantry was dramatically different than in other theatres. In meeting engagements it was practically inverted. In the open with good visibility, infantry (in WWII especially) was just cannon fodder for tanks unless they were dug in or in fixed fortifications. Many times those were rendered useless just because Rommel would bypass them and cut them off from resupply, similar to the US 'island hopping' strategy in the Pacific.

The problem is that the AI is *horrible* with mechanized/truck-borne infanty and rather suicidal with armored cars as well. So in meeting engagements and to a degree in advance/delays, the problem isn't the ratio of armor to infantry being unrealistic, the problem is the AI not being able to use what it has very effectively. The AI just isn't a very hard opponent in mobile warfare.

What I do currently with this campaign is, for North Africa, turn AI Tank Heavy on but when I'm coming up to a historic assault/defend battle (such as the assault on the Knightsbridge box in the Gazala battle that I'm in the middle of playing), I set the preferences to AI Tank Heavy off. If I was sticking around for Tunisia (Kasserine Pass,etc) I'd probably turn it off for most of those battles as well.

Anyhow, that's my 2c on playing in the North Africa theatre
Thanks,
Brian