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Panzer General (e)

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Panzer General Strategy Guide

V1.0
Part 1

This is part 1 of 2 of a strategy guide for panzer general. Part 1 will cover
General issues of play, as well as offensive operations tactics.

Part 2 will cover defensive operations, and will include a chart of
victory objectives for  all of the scenarios .

In writing this, I am indebted to SSI for producing such a wonderful game.
All the material for this guide comes from my own experience
playing the game, and if anything is incorrect, I have only myself
to blame.

This guide is based on campaign play, but almost everything is
applicable to single scenario and two player games as well.

Please feel free to distribute this freely.







Contents
--------
I. General Issues

        a. Experience
        b. Initiative
        c. Strength
        d. Prestige
        e. Combat Values
        f. Entrenchment and Rugged Defense
        g. Suppression
        h. Supply
        i. Weather

II. Offensive Operations
        
        a. Planning to Win
        b. Battle Group Composition
        c. Secondary Objectives
        d. City Busting
        e. Open Field Assaults
        f. Aerial Assaults
        g. Overstrength buildup

III. Defensive Operations    

        a. City Defense
        b. Counterattacks
        c. Counter Air
        d. Terrain Effects 

IV. Campaign Game Chart of Victory Conditions  







I. General Issues

  
A. EXPERIENCE AND ITS EFFECTS

Experience plays a VERY important part in Panzer General. It determines
the following during combat :

  - Along with Initiative values and a random factor, experience
  determines who shoots first. This is a HUGE factor. If two units
  are in combat, each with ten strength points, the unit who shoots first
  can very often knock enough strength from the enemy that it is
  not damaged during the enemies couterblow.

  - Casualties sustained by experienced troops are often FAR less
  than similar,. unexperienced troops. This difference can often be
  as much as 50%.

  - Experienced troops can be made 'overstrength.' This is accomplished
  by selecting 'elite replacements' for units with their 'gold stars'
  filled in next to their unit type. These  units can be made 1 overstrength
  point per turn for each gold star completely filled in  before overstrength points are 
  added>.
  
  - Experienced Troops are much less likely to face a 'rugged defense'
  in combat 

A unit that is severely beaten in combat will gain experience
quickly , 
provided you fix it up with elite replacments.

Note that when using replacements, ELITE REPLACEMENTS will have no
effect upon a units experience, whereas regular REPLACEMENTS will
SEVERELY cut into a units experience values. DO NOT DILUTE CRACK
TROOPS WITH REGULAR REPLACEMENTS  !!!


B. INITIATIVE AND ITS EFFECTS

Initative serves one purpose in PG. It determines who shoots first. Now, this
is very important, since fights between equal strength units often
comes down to whoever gets in the first blow. Initiative is determined
by a combination of experience, unit initiative rating, and a random
roll of 0, 1 or 2. The unit with the higher # goes first, with some
exceptions :


        - Whenever a unit faces a rugged defense, it has an initiative
of 1.

        - Whenever a Non-Infantry unit faces a dismounted infantry unit in a
forest,city, or mountain hex, it has an initiative of 1. Note that
this applies to infantry that are mounted. Only dismounted infantry are
excepted from this rule.


C. Strength

All units in Panzer general start with 10 strength points. Strength
is at the heart of the combat system. Weakened units are easy
prey to almost any attacker; for example a unit of paratroopers would
normally inflict almost no damage upon a full strength tank division;
however, if the tank division is weakened to say, 2 or 3 strength points,
the paratroops should be able to finish them off without any damage to
themselves !!!

Always try to pull weakened units off the battle line and issue them
replacements. This is much cheaper that purchasing a new unit outright,
if it is destroyed.

D. Prestige

Prestige is the heart of Panzer general. Every battle you fight in, every
city you win or lose, effects your prestige.

What does this mean? Well, prestige has four uses :

  -  It allows you to trade prestige points for new units

  -  It allows you to issue replacements to weak units

  -  It allows you to upgrade your troops

  -  After certain campaign scenarios, it allows you to skip certain battles
  by 'buying' them off with prestige

A further discussion of prestige will follow in various sections to come.


E. Combat Values

How do you choose among troops? Well, with two exceptions, the combat
value tables is how you do it .

When choosing new troops or upgrading old troops, you should try
to have a well balanced force. For example, Panzer III tank divisions
have higher HA  value than the Panzer IV line, making 
them good tank busters. But the Panzer III's are not especially 
good against 'soft targets'  like 
infantry and dismounted artillery; the panzer 4's 
are excellent  against these targets, however. This
is where a well balanced unit mix is important. Ideally, each
battle group  should have a good mix of units
to ensure success.

Most combat values are fairly clear, except for CLOSE DEFENSE.
Close defense is the units defensive values in the following
situations :

 - When facing a Rugged Defense

 - When a non infantry unit is fighting dismounted infantry 
   in a city hex

Since these Close Defense values normally stink, it is a good idea
to try to avoid either of the above situations 


F. Entrenchment and Rugged Defense

Entrenchment is a very important part of Panzer General.

There are two parts to the entrenchment equation : a units
entrenchment rate, and the base/max entrenchment values
for a given terrain. Normally, infantry and non armored vehicles
entrench quickest; tanks entrench slowest.

Base Entrenchemnt value refers to the begining entrenchment values a unit
has after 1 turn in a given hex. Base values are highest for City, Mountain, 
and forest hexes, and are lowest for road and clear hexes.

Max Values refers to the highest entrenchment level a unit can attain
in a given hex . Highest values are for
cities and mountain hexes.

Why is entrenchment so important? The higher a units entrenchment
level, the greater the chance of a RUGGED DEFENSE ! There also
seems to be some factor in the combat equation that favors heavily
entrenched units, even if a rugged defense doesnt occur.

Every attack upon an entrenched unit lowers its entrenchment by 1.
The significance of this will be discussed in the relevant offensive
and defensive sections.

RUGGED DEFENSE

What is a rugged defense? Simply put, it means the defender
kicks your butt!!

How does it occur?

     - When a unit moves into the ZONE OF CONTROL  of a previously
undetected unit