WARNING WALL OF TEXT BELOW!!!!!!!
Keep in mind however that this is quite messy.
This is something I the call Axis Legions ...for lack of a better name.
As is typical of an Axis faction,you can field a small number of elite units with special tricks and surprises as is typical. You may decide to field an army of lighter units instead in order to make your enemy suffer for every inch of ground you lose.
Hide behind heavily reinforced mini-fortresses or set up carefully camouflaged kill-zones before counter-attacking with elite units and deadly surprises.
Although you can operate with just a single structure to maximize resources, you'd be missing out on the more durable and powerful units. Planning appropriately will get you some very deadly units many of which can counter blobbing but such units could be very squishy.
NOTE:many of your units may auto-retreat if they take too much damage unless a Veteran Officer squad or any Axis Officer type unit is nearby but as they vet up their damage threshold increases. This will allow you to concentrate elsewhere on the battlefield without having to worry too much.
CONCEPTION:
Inspired from the Waffen SS, the SS, Atlantic Wall, Siegfriend Line, Volkssturm, Gothic Line, panther/wotan line (despite it's failure),Hurtgen Forest, Hungary, Italian Social Republic, the other foreign entities under overall German command and the the propagandized fortress cities.
In essence it's turtling on a troll-tastic level but in order to actually get there takes tons on resources and time. Bunkers and trenches can be reinforced with concrete as an upgrade and/or they can connect to other bunkers and even neutral buildings via a tunnel system...
NOTE:Most of your infantry can fire panzerfausts. Axis (Waffen) reservists have the potential to fire several at once.The excessive amount of fausting is due to the limited number of support weapons...(don't quote me on that.)
Structures and emplacements:
-Forward Command Bunker (Reinforce, heal and recruit your basic units.)
-Supply chain hub (gives you some more powerful units, vehicles and support weapons.)
-Radio outpost (Can call-in light artillery barrages. Also recruit more infantry and reinforce them)
-Trench (can be reinforced with concrete or covered in camo. Garrison infantry units.)
-Pillbox (can be reinforced with concrete or camo.An upgrade called:Murder hole,increases garrison size and therefore dps. May be able to garrison AT guns...)
-Dragon's teeth (tank traps and such. Also acts as cover for infantry so beware.)
-Flak 88 position (deadly against almost everything including aircraft.They are pretty expensive though. It can potentially hit tanks across the map so long as there is a clear firing lane and it may target aircraft so be careful of any falling "debris".)
-Razor wire (the usual stuff...infantry are damaged over time if they get too close.)
-Sandbags (also usual)
Forward Command Bunker-Reinforce your infantry and heal them. Also it can mount a Nebelwerfer, a radio tower for access to artillery support or a divisional command radio for access to more powerful units. Combined with vet officer squad it projects a command aura to all units which also extends to any radio outposts you may have built.
-Veteran officer Squad (5 man squad with mp44's. They may take command of almost any vehicle to greatly improve survivability and/or inspire nearby units.Upgrades include: Infantry Commander,Panzer Commander and Sector Commander. Each specialization provides special bonuses.Sector Commander greatly increases command range,artillery barrages are bigger and air-support becomes available. Infantry Commander provides an lmg34,camoflage and AOE healing. Panzer commander allows occupied tanks to; Target Weakpoints/Cripple Tanks and Shell-Shock a small number of enemy units, stunning them for a short time and they can now repair vehicles.)
-Axis (Waffen) Reservists (5-10 man squad...They build your stuff and reinforce it. Armed with bolt action rifles, upgrades improve their combat utility by giving them emergency field-dressings (auto-healing) and panzerfausts or by adding 2-3 pioneers with mp40s to greatly improve repairing and construction.Abilities have them throw grenades. They Reinforce quickly, can place traps and reinforce structures with camouflage or concrete but are generally unimpressive unless in a full squad supported by an officer or set behind cover.In essence they are similar to osttruppen, rear echelon and volksgrens.)
-Recon motorcycle (Great visual range with an mg as upgrade but can't garrison officer squad.)
-Char B1 bis or Renault R35 (Some french tank for anti-infantry and anti-light vehicle duties. Armor is a bit weak and being an early tank makes it iffy if not risky in order to compensate for having a tank so early on.)
-Hetzer Jagdpanzer 38t (camos itself when stationary and it has a decent gun and it's armor is also decent. Becomes more effective over time. Upgrades include a spotting scope which increases sight range also allowing it to stun enemy vehicles as an ability and another called; tank hunters which allows it to fire from cover without being detected unless it moves.)
The following units require radio to command plus a vet officer squad to be attached to the FCB.
-Marder 3 (essentially a tank destroyer but like the Hetzer it's armor is lacking. A special ability allows it to instantly destroy an enemy vehicle at vet 2 or 3.)
-Fallschirmjager (luftwaffe infantry) Reserves (Lacks fg42s but can salvage munitions from areas with dead infantry, fuel and munitions from vehicle husks and have active camoflage until attacking or upon discovery. Reinforces in-field and may drop explosives upon death. Can also set booby traps or mines to constrict an enemy's retreat.)
-Jagdpanther (only usable when all structures are built,a vet officer occupys this structure or FCB and a divisional command radio is activated. Can instantly destroy a single unit for a big price regardless of armor. Also it is fairly durable, accurate and it can camoflage itself as it levels up.)
Supply chain hub-This structure repairs vehicles passively. Axis (Waffen) Reservists increase the speed of repairs greatly.
-Panzer 3 (It's simply akin to a much more heavily armored Puma.)
-Stug 4 (A stug with abit more armor and a slightly better gun.)
-Opel Blitz (transports infantry and can act as a mobile cap for a capture point when deployed. When deployed it increases the amount of resources gained from a nearby point.)
-Support weapon Supply truck (drops off some support weapons for you but only 2 at a time.Drops support weapons such as old MGs,mortars, AT rifles and other kinds of salvaged support weapons. Select 2 weapons that you may need. Fuel heavy,long reset time, choose your equipment carefully.)
(With vet officer squad garrison/A Divisional Radio this structure can produce the following units)
-Bergepanzer (brings vehicles and vehicle husks back into fighting condition.)
-Panzer Grenadier Reserves (when *supporting their selected vehicle* they receive a small combat bonus. They wield mp40s but they can salvage munitions from dead infantry/guns, fuel and munitions from vehicle husks and they can eventually equip themselves with Mp44's.) Limited in number but devastating when used properly.
-Sturm Haubitze 42 (Simply a stug with a 105mm cannon.)
Units:Radio outpost can reinforce and eventually call down light artillery barrages. It can be built almost anywhere on the map so long as it is in axis territory.2-3 can be built at a time.
Radio outposts can also be reinforced with concrete or camoflage.
-Schutzen Jagers/Sturm Grenadiers/Sturm Landsers (Schutzen Jagers means Riflemen hunters;an intentional misnomer for Landsers/Grenadiers.Obersoldaten justify it!. They are 4 man squads with Kar98k's.They can place booby traps or lace a small area with explosives.Basic Upgrades and abilities include; G43s, a snipe ability at vet 2, an extra model, Grenade toss, panzerfaust, Panzerfaust volley at vet 3 and smoke grenades.)
-Mg42 crew (Can fire tracer rounds to increase the accuracy of other nearby units.Duration and accuracy increases with experience.Other than that they are fairly similar to the Ostheer mg crew. The more notable difference would be model designs and the slightly larger amount of damage.)
-Nebelwerfer crew (can instantly pin enemy units including vehicles for a short time as part of their regular artillery barrage ability. Use wisely as each barrage takes some time to recharge.)
(With Vet officer squad occupant and/or within HQ building with radio tower to command upgrade)
-Elite Panzer Support (Limited numbers... Will be either a panzer 4 or Panther.)
Some of your units may retreat if they take too much damage unless a vet officer is nearby. Same goes for vehicles. When reaching a certain level the auto-retreat gets disabled or the units get a higher damage threshold.
DOCTRINES!!!!!
Italian Armored Reserves:Bersaglieri including Italian light armor support,the Semovente 105/25 assault gun and such
(NOTE:Bersaglieri are 6 man squads that can be cut in half to form another squad. They are armed with carcano rifles. Upgrades include:Repair kits HEAT rifle grenades and Breda 30 lmgs.)
Italian Airforce Reserves:Italian Paratroopers with Beretta 38 smgs and Air power spam.Italian Airborne can place demolitions charges,throw smoke-nades,reinforce anywhere on the map and can hijack almost any vehicle at the cost of the squad.Italian recon planes,fighters and bombers infest the skies.
Hungarian Motorized Reserves:Hungarian troops,very fast decapping+capping and a Tiger tank call in. Hungarian troops come armed with Steyr mannlicher rifles or Danuvia 43 smgs,they salvage resources from dead units and can fire panzerfausts. Vet officers with the panzer commander upgrade can instantly bring any unit to the maximum level including themselves for a price.
Guerrilla Defense Plan:Extensive use of camoflage and mobile defense with underground tunnels.
FCB's, radio outposts, pillboxes and trenchs can connect to an underground tunnel system to allow infantry to appear anywhere on the map from neutral/civilian structures.
Central Defense Plan:Heavy turtling/reinforced defensive emplacements/annoying static warfare. C.P's can be capped with a beacon to designate artillery, essentially eliminating warning signals (if possible). Can call in strafing runs. Structures can be repaired and built more quickly. Mobile artillery in the form of either Wespe,Grille or Hummel becomes available for use.
All powers and special abilities can instantly be reset.
Mountain troop Battlegroup:Elite hazard resistant troops, Artillery specialization and mobile artillery. Gebirgs-Jaegers are immune to hazards and have active camoflage during rain and blizzards. Upgrades for them include panzerschreks,lmg 34s and g43's with 1 scoped g43 for quick sniping.Mobile artillery can be called in. Artillery abilities can be instantly reset.
Vengeance Plan:V1 rockets, Interrogation, Fanaticism and Me262 strikes.
Reinforcement Plan:Replaces units as they are lost. Axis (Waffen) reservists get combat boosts. Call in 2 max vet infantry and 1 max vet stug. Replace lost units with the same type that had been lost.
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I personally think that the commonwealth should have quite a few units with lots of abilities or packages that make them more specialized.
(keep in mind that these are just placements for the real units)
Basic units:
Regulars:-Bren lmg -Stens -Scoped Lee Enfield
Royal Engineers:-Efficient Repairs -Sapper training -Mine detector (Unit available later on I guess.)
Dominion Volunteers:-Emergency replacements -Repair kit -Medical bags
Universal Carrier:-Wasp(flamethrower) -At rifle -2 pounder
Daimler Scout car:-Machine gunner -Reconnaissance
Valentine tank:-Spotter -6 pounder
Sherman tank:-Spotter -MG -Calliope
Churchill tank:-Spotter -95mm howtizer -Plow
Sherman VC Firefly:-Scope -MG -APDS shells (APDS possibly at vet level 2 or something)
Then you would have a few supply upgrades:UK supplies, American Imports, and Dominion support. These supply chains would give a few bonuses to your units as was mentioned in my other post. Bonuses such as an extra unit or two and a means to add some additional firepower to your individual infantry sections and vehicles among other things...
As mentioned American Imports would give 1 man in each infantry section a thompson. Sherman upgrades like the Calliope become available and possibly some of it's variations. You'll recieve a good bonus to gained munitions and fuel. You can get bazookas or something from your Supply Truck ((another feature which delivers your support weapons and such.)).Achilles 17pounder TD's also become available
UK supplies would give you access to churchill tanks, their upgrades and some of their variants like the heavy churchill, thd 95mm howitzer, the crocodile. The AVRE would be doctrine call-in.
You'll also get access to PIATs which can double as a miniature mortar, Cromwell tanks which replace the Sherman.Royal Engineers would also become available for use. They can do their sapper/engineer thing...Sherman VC Fireflies become available and they are devastating...
Dominion Supplies would give you manpower boosts, smaller muni and fuel bonuses, access to 2 pounder upgrades for the universal carrier.C15a trucks which double as ambulances and transports would become available. Sexton 25 pounder carriages would become available. Infantry and vehicles heal and reinforce more quickly.
This is just a rough idea of course but I've got lots more...
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I always thought of stuff like this:The Germans were mostly divided onto 3 fronts.
The Eastern front which was Ukraine,Russian,Poland,Romania,Hungary,Baltics,etc or simply the whole bloody Soviet Union.
Then there would be the Italian or Mediterranean Front which occured from 1943-1945 if you count the final battle in Tunisia and the landings at Sicily.Of course that is where you would get your Italians for a 3rd axis faction...
Finally you have the Western Front which includes France,Luxembourg, Belgium and The Netherlands. I think it's appropriate to remember that Germany still had Northern Italy (Fascist Italy and such) and Hungary on their side for future reference...
The Common Wealth had a massive number of resources available to them what with the extra help from Belgium,Poland, Czechoslovakia, Canada, New Zealand and all those other places.I don't know of any major Australian units in the European campaign...
The British faction I think should have units with access to special combat packages.For instance a Regulars Section (Tommy squad basically) could be given a scoped lee enfield,a bren lmg, or stens with a few small bonus skills per package.A Sten package would simply turn them into units akin to Shock troops or Assault Grenadiers with a sprint ability or a grenade volley(multi-grenade toss). A Bren package would be like having a mobile hmg with high accuracy but lots of reloads. Maybe a Vet 2 or 3 bonus would give it a 100 round drum.Scoped Enfields would be like COH1's version but with minor differences.
This is just for example of course.
I also think some special *Supply chain modifications* should affect their gameplay. The supply chains would permit you to access different types of units and add some little bonuses to your units. For example;one supply modification(upgrade) would give you access to Cromwells in place of Sherman tanks where another would give you access to Heavy Churchills and Royal Engineers. Another might add a single Thompson to an infantry section or permit you to build some ambulances.
Given that the real Common Wealth utilized Shermans they should be able to use them as a primary tank force alongside Churchill tanks.Kangaroos would probably be doctrine call in.Valentines could be a semi-decent early tank.Daimler scout cars would be your "SAS scout jeeps".
Perhaps you would have easy access to artillery and air forces but they'd be very expensive due to their op'ness. They'd be built anywhere on map or in a small dug-out similar to the USF's base with 4 or 5 hard-points where you can build radio towers to the Royal Airforce or artillery emplacements or bunkers that protect your officers so you can recruit units.So think:4-25pdrs pounding the enemy senseless but draining your munitions or plane spam which drains your fuel.
Late 1944 (as was mentioned) the CommonWealth lead armies were undergoing operation Market Garden, liberating the Channel Ports including the Scheldt Estuary and approaching the Gothic Line in Italy among other things. One can't forget the Rhineland battles either. During these battles there was loads of mud and flooded terrain but there were also some of the last tank battles.
Speaking of Tanks the British lead armies (21st Army group comes to mind) mainly made use of Shermans with a few Churchills here and there and lots of Bren carriers. |