In most battles you’re going to have to attack. Let’s go over the most efficient ways to take territory while conserving troops.
ESTABLISHING A TIMELINE
First, are you in a hurry? Do you need to take that objective city RIGHT NOW, or can you wait? Read the mission briefing carefully, and look at the remaining time in the mission. Your approach will vary depending on how much time you have.
QUICK OFFENCES
If you’re in a hurry, use a Breakthrough Attack followed by an Assemble order. Breakthrough Attacks have the division use a formation, then slowly push through a given route. Units WON’T stop to hold taken territory, and won’t wait to mop up enemy units.
Once at the end of the path, the Assemble order has units break formation move as quickly as possible to the destination.
This is ideal for quickly breaking through lightly defended frontlines. However this won’t break through heavy fortifications or breach dense cities.
LONG OFFENCES
You’ve got time, or facing heavy defences/veteran enemies. Use the ‘Complex Attack’ order, which will have your officers generate an elaborate multi-step plan for you.
Steps will include:
Assemble: Move close to the frontlines (but don’t engage yet).
Simultaneously:
◦ Prepatory Artillery Barrage: Artillery opens on frontline enemies, damaging them, reducing their fortications, lowering their morale and applying a status debuff. You can set the barrage duration – the longer the better (but it costs more ammunition).
◦ Scouting: Scouts in armoured cars will move forward and ‘spot’ enemies – revealing them in the fog of war temporarily and applying a stat debuff. This also has a duration – set it to match your artillery barrage.
Simultaneously:
◦ Breakthrough Attacks: Depending on the composition of your divisions, multiple Breakthrough Attacks may be created, with different regiments moving along different roads to breakthrough enemy lines.
◦ Reserves: Normally one Regiment will be held in Reserve. They sit in in friendly territory, and move to assist friendlies who are in trouble. This happens simultaneously to the Breakthrough Attacks.
Seize Ground: Lastly, your units will split up to seize and hold all remaining ground, forming a defensive perimeter. This will mop up enemies who fled earlier.
Feel free to edit/delete/customize orders within the generated attack plan.
It’s best to draw the territory to seize in a Complex Attack starting from your frontlines, and pressing inwards 5-15 km depending on the strength of your troops and strength of the enemy.
WHICH UNIT(S)?
First, what units should you use to attack? Armoured divisions are ideal. Tanks & mechanized infantry are hard-hitting, and most importantly FAST. They’re vehicles, and move more quickly than infantry do marching (regular infantry ride in trucks whilst in safe territory, and dismount close to the front).
Furthermore, your attacking division should have Artillery to perform prepatory barrages, Scouts to perform recon, Engineers to assault fortifications & clear minefields.
The division should also ideally be fresh and have sustained few casualties.
You don’t have to limit yourself to one attacking division – merge multiple divisions into a Corps!Combine an Armoured Division combined with an Infantry Division (or even two Armoured Divisions) make a mighty force. More regiments allow for better Complex Attacks. It also lets you create fewer plans.
You can also split units off from division (their artillery or engineers) and give them to another division to help an attack. Don’t let your specialty units languish in the frontlines! Or in the army constructor, create specific ‘storm’ divisions that contain your expensive units, and create ‘hold’ divisions filled with cheaper infantry.
SUPPLY
Don’t use a division with less than half its maximum supply for an offensive lest they run out while fighting. Armoured divisions use supply more quickly, so be sure to set up a supply depot at the attack assembly point BEFORE initiating the attack.
After extensive fighting, pull your units back to a supply depot to replenish more quickly.
TERRAIN
Analyze the terrain carefully. Use the elevation view to see where the high ground is. Seize high ground to see further and gain combat bonuses.
MORE TIPS
Officers have different personality quirks & stats – assign ‘offensive’ Officers to your ‘storm’ divisions. Ex: movement speed bonuses, offence bonuses.
Use ‘wait until date/signal’ to sync multiple attacks to occur simultaneously.
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