Observations from Generals
about Lieutenant's tactics
From the General Staff:
In reviewing other C&C/C&CRA sites, we note that besides most of the sites being very well designed and offering much to the user, they all seem to cater to mere battles in the "advice" areas. We would like to make a point that we do NOT knock the other sites in any way as far as their "public service". We just have issues with the way that everybody seems to want to play the game. In reviewing other C&C/C&CRA websites, we find that the "advice" area usually centers around tactics that will win in the shortest amount of time. We don't understand this from a gaming point of view at all. As gamers, we want to have the recreation time to enjoy the game. After a rough day at the office, and a long drive home in a man-made hostile environment (Dallas roads in this writer's case.), a decision within 3 minutes of the beginning of the game does not lead to a fun game with any length of time to play. Why carry on a lost battle for 10 more minutes after a 3 minute decision. As a Warrior, aggravated by the Boss and the Texas Bubba trying to run over you with his new pickup, there is a desire to carry out a long term campaign of destruction to release that frustration in a harmless and socially acceptable manner. As a gamer, it is obvious that Westwood did not intend for 10 minute games, else they would not have included anything other than tanks and refineries. The peerage involved in our games expects a game to last 4 hours on average. Sometimes longer. Sometimes one of the computers lock up calling the game where it is. But we expect a War, and are not satisified with the usual Internet game where the nonthinking gamers try to decide the game in 3 minutes with a tank rush. Another item noticed is that IF one of our maps is used (designed to prevent rushes and linear bases), the player either resigns immediately because he cannot have instant gratification or will die a miserable death in short order because he lacks the stragetic capabilities to carry out a War as opposed to a mere battle. Thus the mission of this entire site is to advocate playing a longer game in order to simply have fun playing. This site is the E'Colle de Guerre for Lieutenants that would like to learn how to be worthy of flag rank, to earn the red stripe down the pants leg and the red epaulettes. You will find that it will have gaming information with a sprinkling of real world information.
Read carefully Lieutenant and you might make something of yourself....
Feldmarschal von Fuzznutz:
In conducting a real War, one does not win by sending over 2 platoons upon declaration of hostilities and thereby deciding the outcome of the war. Two or more Nations fight. They have their industrial might behind them. It takes strategy and planning to end the struggle. After the 18th and 19th Century equivalent of Panzer rushes (like Sedan and Sadowa), the Pruessiche Generalstab understood the need for a structure to survive and win a prolonged conflict. The start was General von Krauseneck's Wacht am Rhein and shortly thereafter, the mobility offered by the Reichsbahn reigned supreme in the minds of the Generalstab. The Ersten Franzoessiche-Pruessische Krieg (1870) saw the last of the Panzer rush (like) battles with an envelopement by quickly moving armies (quickly marching footpads) at Sedan. The genius of this War correctly forsaw the wars of the future. Feldmarschal von Moltke den Aelter warned that the next war might last 7 - 30 years. He was basically correct when considering the next two Franzoessiche-Pruessische Kriegen as two continuing acts of the original Franzoessiche-Pruessische Krieg. From there on out, Preussen's wars were of a longer term and strategic nature. The Zweiten Franzoessiche-Pruessische Krieg (1914-1922) was eventually lost because the British blockade cut off food, war materials, ores, and fuel necessary to maintain the War. The main War was over some 4 years after it began. The Dritten Franzoessiche-Pruessische Krieg (1938-1945) saw the strategic bombing and control of fuel, materials, factories and more. Granted that the Panzer Rush of September First flattened Polen and regained proper Preussen territories and Volk, it did not decide the entire War. Leutnant von Rommel's book "Panzer" advocated the rushing tactics that made him famous, but as Feldmarschal von Rommel leading an entire Army, it was economics, the lack of replacements, the lack of fuel, that cost his Afrika Korp the war in Nort Afrika. The ongoing War was again a prolonged event requiring thought and planning, and not merely a quick rush in the begininng. The Fourth Franzoessiche-Pruessische Krieg is overdue. The original "Deutsche Frage" as it was put in 1866 (Pruessiche-Oestereicher Krieg) has not yet been resolved. In this day and age, it is strange to see Preussen in league with Frankreich in the EEC. It is also hard to imagine Preussen being re-unified in the Fourth Partitioning of Polen. But when this comes, it will not be a Panzer rush and over in 3 minutes. If a C&C player wants to be a Leutnant, then tank rush the beginning and enjoy your short game. What is the point of playing the next 20 minutes since it was decided within the first 3.
If a C&C player wants to be a General, then hold your ground and take your enemies' ground.
This site will offer some maps that force a real industrial/economic war and don't allow for tank rushes.
the Janissary:
As a mercenary who plays for pay, I have seen situations where armour just did not cut it. Either they were too expensive for either combatant to afford, or simply, there was no place for them. Take the war in L'Indochine. Both the French and the U.S. tried to use armour, but with very limited success. The forests and mountainous terrain made it nigh unto impossible to rely on them. The Sovietskaya Soyuz found that in locations with tight passes such as Avghanetz, both ground tanks and aerial tanks (Hinds) did not take and hold ground. In neither case or place did the ludicrous tactic of building bases out to meet the other take place. The C&C player who builds linear bases across the field while rushing tanks may win a short battle. But if the map fields were large enough (I would that we could play 5000*5000 square maps) to begin immulating real life, the tactic would fail as ludicrously as it looks. And I point out the word "tactic". Not strategic movement.
We find very little in the way of thinkers on the net playing C&C. When presented with a map that does not allow tank rushes or linear bases, all to often the Lieutenant will either quit the game or die miserably because he is not a thinking General. This site will offer some maps that force a real guerilla war and don't allow for building out to the enemy's door.
Feldmarschal von Fuzznutz:
One of the weirder wars. I, Feldmarschal von Fuzznutz was allied with Tri-Tech against a 2 very heavy hitting AI's on the map Only One Bridge. As you know, AI cheat and build multiple units simultaneously and much faster than "huuuumaaannn" players. Thus it was a very interesting and tough war. Tri-Tech lost his base absorbing the blows of both AI players. However, he managed an orderly evacuation of an MCV and his 3 loaded ore trucks. He started a second base within my going base and his remaining men left from the selloff and destruction of his base managed to kill the last of the AI on the north continent. During the fighting the bridge had been blown to prevent any more southern AI from attacking him than were already there. It was a strange quirk that the orphaned soldiers managed to clear the continent on their own as they were all presumed dead. A Forlorn Hope. We survived in the double base arrangement while sending MCV's back to land on the now clear north continent. We had just managed to port noncombat items like power plants, silos, radardomes when the southern AI just overran our double base. I was building silos in a quick but smooth transition to port my cash over. As the AI attacked a silo, I sold it and started building another on the north continent to port over the next silos worth. We sold off the entire base and evacuated the cash and trucks to start building combat arms on the north continent. We eventually performed an amphibious assault with Tri-Tech landing 3 Panzer companies of leicht Panzern and I landed 1 company of leicht Panzern and 3 short platoons of Panzergrenadieren in Panzerspaehwagensonderkraftfahrzuege. Yes, we ultimately won with Panzerkampfwagenen, but it was not a Panzer Rush. It was an amphibious assault after ordered evacations of 2 prior bases. The strategies and planning kept this war going for over 2 hours when the AI destroyed Tri-Tech's base twice and mine once. In the prior game against 2 AI's, General Jodel lost her base and started another from an MCV and ready cash. General Tri-Tech was down to one V2 and MCV that my QRF escorted back to my base to start an embedded base. General Jodel was finally wiped out by the two AI's. General Tri-Tech and I were barely holding on in a war of attrition when my system locked up and hosed the game. Point being:
With planning and ordered evac, we kept going. A mere Leutnant would have rushed the AI to die in greasing the treads of the AI's Panzern.
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