Allied General tips and strategies: I will add to the list whenever I get time or inspired to add more. If you have any strategies or tips that you would like to add, then please e-mail them to me.

Allied General Campaign: Mersa...

I never go for the Major because I like to allow my units to rest and thus overstrength. But I have done it once or twice just to see if I could. I remember having all Mosquitos in the air, and, I think, Grants and AECs on the ground followed by one or two 7.2" guns.

Allied General Campaign: Kasserine Pass

Kasserine is easy, or at least it can be. I'm going off of the top of my head so this won't be terribly accurate. I don't remember the names of any of the towns since I haven't played it in over a year. But here is what you do:

Buy as many flak, artillery, tank, fighters and bombers as you can. Infantry won't do you much good here. Nor will recon, etc., since they will be coming to you. Think defensively. You'll be defensive for most of the scenario.

You'll have to deploy around the center left most town, and then the main town in the center. You will defend these two. Abandon all of the other towns to the south of these two. I think the other towns are occupied by motorized infantry. Pull them back as rapidly as possible to the aforementioned towns that you are going to defend. It might take one or two turns. You want to retreat faster than the Nazis can advance.

Put flak and artillery next to the center town that you are defending. I think that you might have tank destroyers available by now. Put those and the flak in front, but right behind the river; block the passes that the Germans will be coming through to the south and to the east. Put the artillery behind. If you can, put more flak behind those.

The Nazi air units will eventually start attacking that center town right about the same time as his armor does the same. Let his air get softened up on your flak before you attack him with your air. Then when his air has weakened a little, send your fighters out. You should have about three or four. At least one or two of your fighters should have one or two extra stars by now. Use them wisely.

His armor should be stalled on the river by now. That makes them easy prey for your bombers. He's got a unit of 88s that's going to be moving forward in a truck. That unit is very dangerous for your fighters. Make taking out that 88 the first priority for your bombers. Then hit the Nazis stalled along the river with everything you have.

Meanwhile, you should be moving your armor and other units that are at the left most city forward on both sides of the river to help defend the central town. To the north, above the main fray, play defensively for a turn or two until he attacks. Let him weaken himself against your infantry (and maybe an artillery).

Eventually the Nazi attack will peter out. You're pretty much home free at that point.

Allied General Campaign: Anzio

Anzio is a great one.... one of my favorites. I actually made that one a part of my Pacific General campaign. Except this time you get tremendous naval support and carrier borne support.

Allied General Campaign: D-Day

D-Day is a great scenario, perhaps one of my favorites. I also like the way that it is paired with Cobra. In fact, I usually do my utmost not to get a major victory so that I can play Cobra.

I'm going off of the top of my head as I haven't played in quite a few months or perhaps even a year. So forgive my vagueness in some places.

Preparation: Upgrade to get as many Fireflies, P-51Hs, A-26s, B-29s, B-17s as you can. You shouldn't have to upgrade too much of your US land equipment, though engineers are very helpful as are the 7.2" (?) artillery.

The airfield behind Caen should be one of your key objectives. Use ALL of your British units to land north (below) Caen and abandon the British non-cores that are already landed to the west (right). Once you capture the airfield, you can start resupplying your aircraft. THEN go after the city itself.

The airfield at Cherbourg is initially more important than the city itself as well.

In both cases, keep the battleships softening up the AA. Then keep strategic bombers doing the same. A great combo is to hit with battleships, then hit with Lancasters or B-17s or B-29s, then on the next turn do the same, and then move your strategic bombers off and hit again with attack bombers. That should do in his flak with minimum reciprocal damage to you.

Omaha Beach: Bayeux isn't that important, even if it has, IMHO, the lovliest cathedral in the world. Take your time there. But here is what you do to capture Bayeux and Omaha:

Deploy your infantry in the first wave and artillery immediately behind. Blast his flak with your battleships, etc., as outlined above. The slowly make your way inland by destroying his forts. DO NOT hurry because you will suffer from heavily entrenched defenders.

Later move your battleships to the west to suppress flak at St. Lo. Keep your Utah beach units north (below) the river next to St. Lo until you feel comfortable that you can move forward and still absorb counter-attacks.

Then move your battleships to suppress flak at Cherbourg. I like the 1-2-3 combo of BBs, strategic bombers, and then attack bombers taking out AA.

That should be enough to get you established without giving away the game, so to speak.

On a related note, if you like D-Day, please try my US Naval Campaign for Pacific General. It has a great D-Day scenario with lots of great battleships, submarines, Me-262s. I've taken some liberties for the Germans, but have been more accurate with the Allies. All the ships are named, for example. It is self contained for those of you who already have PacGen.

I also could really use your advice, help and opinion on some polls in the People's General forum. This will help shape the future WWI to WWIII game.

Have fun on the longest day!

Playing the British

As the British, I typically purchase about half-Mosquitos, and the rest Spitfires and strategic bombers. It is very tempting to have all Mosquitos, because they are so great so early in the game, and there is almost always enough prestige to buy them. Still, it is fun to have Meteors and other cool fighters later in the game.

Other than that, British tanks are great, especially the Sherman Fireflies! Okay, they're not quite British, but you get the picture. British recons are pretty deadly too when they are mopping up behind Mosquitos.

I usually convert Infantry as quickly as possible, but you run out of interesting choices pretty quickly. I typically only keep the two that I have to start with.

Artillery is never very satisfying because it doesn't gain experience fast at all. If I am lucky I end up with a 13 strength at the end of the campaign. But I still get two of them.

The Soviet Campaign

Congratulations! You've just selected the hardest (but best!) of the first generation of Panzer General games. At first run, it is hard, perhaps even too hard to play and enjoy. But it don't let that first impression fool you. Why?

I'll tell you...

It's fun! And it can become a relatively easy campaign with time. But with some of the following tips, it can become easier faster.

Here are some tricks of the trade to help you out...

Ideally, the game should be a combination of the various types of units which you can use to overcome the enemy. But that's not really the case. Like the other great games from SSI, you can get by without infantry. You can get by without anti-tank units. You can get by without reconnaisance, at least as part of your core units. You may even get by without strategic bombers, as I did the first 20 or so times I played this campaign. I think that I played AG for about a year before I realized that Soviet strategic bombers could become potent warriors and scenario winners!

I just played the whole Soviet campaign this week, and loved it. I hadn't played in about a year, but managed to do better than I have ever done, winning scenarios (or being able to win them) two, three or four turns earlier than normal! I had 15 strength fighters by about the eighth or ninth scenario. I have never had such air superiority so early in the game.

You should have some decent strength fighters all along if you use my methods. I usually have three 15 strength fighters by '44. In '43, they're usually about 13 strength, and certainly don't have to be totally in fear of the Germans.

But you won't get by without tanks, fighters, tactical bombers, artillery and AA. Yup, you'll definitely need all of those.

It took me a long time to figure this out: get fighters early and get them experienced quickly. With them, you can quickly gain control of the skies, which will then allow you to use your tactical and strategic bombers to full effect, especially to weaken his armor, and that, in turn, allows you to use your armor and so on.

So how to do so without getting crushed by superior German air power? Here is what I do. During the first scenario, Finland, I get at least three fighters as rapidly as possible. This means disbanding two units, which are my conscript infantry and my cavalry. By the end of Finland, the three fighters each have 30 to 50 experience points.

During Pskov, the second scenario, I have the three fighters supplemented by one auxiliary fighter and four or five AA units. I then proceed to act like a coward and avoid air combat, at least not until his fighters have been sufficiently weakened by my AA. By the end of this scenario, all three usually have their first 100 points of experience.

I repeat this for the next few scenarios until I can gain easy air superiority on the first one or two turns. This takes about six in all. After that, I never have to use my AA again. By Stalingrad, you should be able to pounce on his fighters without too much fear of getting your own fighters killed (though they will be weakened).

Here are some more detailed notes on some selected scenarios.

Allied General Campaign: Finland

This is one of my favorites! I got a major in Finland. And I'll also give you some hints on Pskov.

For Finland, I always get rid of the useless units like cavalry, the cheap infantry, etc. If I want just a victory that puts me in the best position for the rest of the campaign, I get two fighters and as much artillery as I can afford. For a major victory, use the fighters to pound the artillery to the north. Use one or two paratroop units to keep the artillery from getting replacements and resupplying. Keep the surface vessels as intact as possible because you'll need them to bombard Vipuri/Vyborg. Once you break through to the north (I haven't played in months and have forgotten city names), speed through with your fast tanks to the northern most city. Land paratroopers, bombard with fighters repeatedly to decrease entrenchment, and then attack with whatever you have the last two turns and pray for the best.

However, you will be in a better position for Pskov (which comes next) if you don't get the paratroopers and get AA instead. But you won't get the major victory.

Allied General Campaign: Pskov

This is one of my favorites! It's only hard until you know the trick.

For Pskov, get two fighters in Finland, add one more in Pskov. Get two or three bombers after getting rid of other non-essential core units in Finland or on turn one of Pskov. Get rid of cavalry units, etc., and use the extra slots to get tanks and aircraft and AA. In your first turn, pull everything left as far back toward the river as possible. Then sit behind the river and wait for the Germans to jump in. German fighters will be serious problem, which is why you should have about six or more AA units. Three to four around the southern city behind the river and the rest elsewhere. More on Pskov below.

I usually just try to hold the three cities to the east of the river. But I think that if you lose one of those cities, even if just for one turn, and then regain it, you will lose. If you hold all three throughout the scenario, then you will get the minor victory. I have never gotten a major by the way. Pskov is one of my favorites. It's a great way to build experience for tanks, fighters, bombers and artillery.

On the first turn, I pull everything that I can east of the river or as close as possible. The other units that are near the German lines (cavalry, etc.), I exchange for auxiliary AA that I can put right next to the three cities.

I then wait for the Germans to try to breach the river! I buy three fighters and two bombers, and once my AA (and fighters) has taken care of his fighters, I use my fighters and bombers to attack (and rapidly gain experience) on his units that are in the river. Watch out for his artillery to the south west of the bottom of the three cities. I use one auxiliary fighter in Pskov and let him take most of the damage. I also try to chew the German fighters up first by buying about five or six AAs and positioning them by the cities and rivers.

It works really well, and is a real blast.

Allied General Campaign: Leningrad

I never go on the offensive at Pskov or at Leningrad, since they make great defensive scenarios and good places to get experience really fast, especially for the very weak Soviet air force. Your fighters can probably pick up a whole star by the end of Pskov, especially if you bought them during Finland. I buy three in Finland, and then use them to hit German units in the rivers where they are weakest. In Leningrad, I hold the city to the east of the east river (sorry, going by fragile memory here) and get more experience for at least one fighter or bomber. And otherwise, I wait for the German fighters to get chewed up on my 76mm AAs that I have parked everywhere, usually without any transport and right outside the victory hex cities. I keep my 155mms behind the AAs to prevent them from getting destroyed too quickly by the Germans, though they do get killed in the end. But that's okay, because by then they have done their job. I also keep my fighters around, hovering over Leningrad's airfields. The Germans come in all the way there sometimes, and do a nasty job on my fighters that aren't hiding behind bombers. But if the fighters survive, then they can go after the by now weakened German fighters. I keep the enemy fighters pinned between my own until the AA weakens or kills them as needed. After all of that is done, I try to use my fighters and bombers to nail German units on the rivers and the self-propelled artillery that is so effective. Watch out for that one lone German 88mm unit.

Make sure you are developing your fighters. I found that once I started developing my fighters as early as possible starting at Finland and Pskov, the second half of the campaign gets really easy since my by then 3 and 4 star Yak-9U and La-5FNs can handle the Germans on equal terms and I don't need the supporting AA any more.

That gives me a much greater offensive capability.

Allied General Campaign: Moscow

This is a great one! AG is so much fun largely in part because of the defensive scenarios.

Moscow is also defensive. Buy AA, put infantry on the fortification hexes ringing Moscow, and pull everything else behind the river in front of Moscow as quickly as possible. Let the Germans wear themselves out on your defense.

Moscow is easy! Play it defensively and you almost can't go wrong. Pull everything, and I mean everything, to the east of the river (the Moscow River?). Have flak around all of the towns you are going to defend. Have tanks. Park infantry on the fortification hexes outside of Moscow.

Hold the towns just to the west of the river (especially the one or two to the immediate north-west of Moscow) for as long as you can. You'll lose the eventually, probably, but at great cost to the Germans.

Hold the town to the far south-west of Moscow (next to its own river) as long as you can by pulling all immediate units back around it and inside the river with an artillery unit in the center. Park a KV-1 next to the river. Let the Germans blunt their own attack on that city by coming across the river. The artillery will weaken their attacks. Never attack with the artillery. Use your turn to keep resupplying that unit. Use the KV-1 to keep knocking off the weakened tanks. Also keep one or two "useless" bombers over the river too to get what the KV can't. You'll get lots of experience for your bomber.

Back to Moscow. Let him run his head against the river. Keep a couple of T-34s or KV-1s on standby on the "friendly" side of the river. Kill his armor as they struggle on in frontal assaults.

Meanwhile, his air units will start to cluster around Moscow directly above your flak unless you position your fighters further out (don't). Use your flak to keep firing away. Then start using your fighters to nip at his flanks to kill his fighters. Then go after his bombers.

Eventually, his attack will be spent. Then just go after his one or two cities and you'll win. Actually, you may not even have to do that. I think that you win if you just hold Moscow and two or three others.

Allied General Campaign: Stalingrad

Stalingrad is pretty hard. Use guard units and heavy artillery liberally within the city itself. Put one flak unit in the river that divides Stalingrad or adjacent to it as soon as possible to help defend your other units. Attack with your heavily entrenched infantry after you've destroyed the German artillery. Once you push the Germans out of their hexes, advance with the entrenched infantry even though it means losing the entrenchment. Then buy artillery in the newly vacated hexes.

I always wait until his tanks are softened up. Until then, I move my tanks about one hex at a time per turn, supported by artillery, in a turtle formation.

The big battle for Stalingrad is to get the German Air Force taken care of. You have to have a decent air force yourself for that... That you have to build over the course of the campaign.

Take out the air force, throw whatever you can (especially Guards infantry, Katyushas and 155mm guns) into the city itself.

Narayan Sengupta
June 7, 2001-January 25, 2002