Don't be discouraged if you do not win the first time you play a scenario. There is a definite learning curve to Allied General -- if you haven't played before, you will be trying to both win the battle and get the 'feel' of the game system. Be patient and give yourself some time to learn; then you can concentrate on a winning strategy. Allied General, as Panzer General before it, has a strong puzzle element in that you must 'solve' the scenarios. Read all the tactical notes in this file and in the manual, and try to apply them. With time you will gain confidence and skill.
If you realize you have made an irretrievable blunder early in a scenario, start again. (Save often!). There is no shame in a Minor Victory, but if you want to achieve a Major Victory, you will usually have to replay a scenario more than once. There is a 'basic formula' for play that has stood up through Panzer General and Allied General, and can be used as a guideline for the user, though there are some exceptions:
1. First play - get the 'feel' of the scenario.
2. Second play - either achieve or come close to, a Minor Victory.
3. Third play - either achieve, or come close to, a Major Victory.
Note that this will vary according to the difficulty level of the scenario; sometimes getting a Minor Victory can be almost as difficult as achieving a Major Victory. Make a habit of loading your current campaign game as an individual scenario and read the text in the Narrative window carefully. Although we do not usually spell out what it takes to get a Major Victory, we will give you one important piece of advice - move quickly and decisively towards your victory objectives.
Each of the following campaigns has the number of scenarios it contains listed, but remember that your own successes or failures dictate where you will fight - you will not go to every possible scenario in a campaign. When you finish a campaign, try playing any scenarios you missed as stand alone battles, or go back to your campaign saves (it's always good to keep them) and see where a different victory result (or even a loss) sends you.
North Africa Campaign (8 Scenarios, 21 Scenarios if playing the extended campaign)
We recommend this campaign as the best place to start for the novice or the casual user. Even if you are an accomplished tactician, North Africa is a great tune-up for the larger, more challenging Western Europe and Russian Campaigns, and if you do well, you are set to play the extended campaign that carries the war to Europe.
If you do triumph in North Africa, and don't want to 'extend' your campaign, simply choose 'No' when asked if you want to continue. Novices should play Sidi Barrani (in campaign mode) until they feel comfortable with the game mechanics and have achieved a victory. Please remember to save often. Once Sidi Barrani has been mastered, it's on to El Agheila, which is a bit more of a challenge to the beginner. If El Agheila is still a little too much for you to absorb, return to Sidi Barrani and play to a Decisive Victory before you move on in the campaign.
The extended campaign allows the winner of the North Africa campaign to continue on with his command (Core units) into the Western Europe campaign, starting with the Mareth Line battle. Though you will have more experienced troops to start the campaign, the prestige you earned in the North Africa Campaign will NOT be transferred with you.
Western Europe Campaign (14 Scenarios)
This is really two campaigns. As the American, 'Operation Torch' will be your first battlefield test. As the British Commander you will start at the Mareth Line, attempting to defeat 'Jerry' and his Italian allies. Though many of the scenarios are shared, the 'feel' of the campaign will vary depending on what nationality you choose. When choosing, it is important to note that the U.S. player can only purchase U.S. Core units, and the British player only British Core units, though Auxiliary units (units available only in the current scenario) of either nationality may be purchased if a city of the correct nationality is available. Besides the Core unit restriction, another variable is the respective nation's unit types. Though there are many similarities, there are critical differences.
The U.S. forces have a wealth of powerful air unit types, each class (Fighter, Tactical Bomber, and Level Bomber) being well represented. Air Defense and Antiaircraft units are plentiful for the U.S. player, while the British player has to make do with a few basic types. The British have an excellent mix of armored units, especially later in the war, and many of them are more powerful than their U.S. counterparts.
Three of the scenarios in the campaign can be played only by an American General; Torch, Kasserine, and Moselle. The Meuse scenario is British only.
In most Western Europe Campaign scenarios a Major Victory will require you to capture all victory objectives by a certain turn; As an example, the Torch scenario is 10 turns long, and if you capture all victory objectives by turn 7, you will achieve a Major Victory. If you take all the victory objectives by the end of the battle, on turn 10, you will have achieved a Minor Victory.
We will leave it to you to discover the other Major Victory turn counts. The important thing to remember is that (with the exceptions listed below) capturing all victory objectives by the last turn of a scenario will achieve a Minor Victory.
- A Minor Victory is achieved in Kasserine by holding all but one victory objective by the last turn in the scenario.
- A Minor Victory is achieved in Meuse by capturing every victory objective except The Hague, Utrecht, Rotterdam, and Middleburg.
Russia Campaign (17 Scenarios)
This campaign should only be undertaken by very experienced players. Early in the war you will face either a constant struggle for survival, or the frustration of Stavka's (the Soviet High Command, dominated by Stalin) overly ambitious offensive goals until late 1942 or early 1943. Even after the war turns in your favor, you will be challenged by the vast tracts you will have to cover against tough German resistance.
Careful planning is imperative because of the combination of large battlefields and low turn counts. At times the enemy will seem less of a concern than the distance to your next victory objective.
Before you begin any battle, locate the best routes to your objectives, formulate a plan, and stick to it. If you become distracted, you will be defeated. Having the necessary force to win isn't enough; losing a battle because you didn't get to an objective in time is very frustrating.
In many battles you will note that the Wehrmacht seem to have as many combat units as you do, and many of them will be superior to yours. (We are not postulating that the German Army was as large as the Red Army, simply trying to reflect the Wehrmacht's tactical flexibility and ability to quickly form ad hoc formations called 'Kampfgruppe' that worked well together).
To beat the enemy you will need to become adept at hitting each of their armored units with multiple blows to weaken, then finish, them off. Soviet armored units should not be expected to handle enemy panzer units one on one until later in the war, when your Core tank units have accumulated experience. (In Allied General, like Panzer General before it, the abilities of individual tanks are not as important as the tactical doctrine and training of those units -- remember, a tank unit is not just one tank, it is many tanks and supporting formations.)
In most battles you will have plenty of artillery; use it to pound opposing infantry formations before you assault them with your infantry.
Until late 1942 (When 'Guards' infantry and cavalry become available) your infantry will not measure up, and will have to be heavily supported by other arms to succeed. Another complication for the infantry arm is the unavailability of half-tracks. The trucks that carry your motorized units are much more vulnerable than armored half-tracks. Careful use of any available roadnet is required by motorized units, especially in inclement weather.
The Luftwaffe will be hard to match at first and will probably have to be dealt with by copious use of Air Defense (AD) units until late in the war. Your air units are not as well trained and supported as the Luftwaffe, and you will need to have a minimum fighter air superiority of 2 to 3 to 1 plus supporting Air Defense to wrest control of the skies away from the enemy.
If you can control the air, your Il ('Ilyushin') series of Tactical Bombers can do heavy damage. The Il-2M3 Sturmovik, the model you will use for most of the war, can take a pounding and survive, but will be destroyed without proper Fighter and/or Air Defense support.
In spite of all this, (maybe because of it) The Russian Campaign is a lot of fun to play, and has a 'feel' completely different from the other campaigns. See you in Berlin, 'Tovarisch!'
(2). Campaign Notes.
Force Balance
Playtesters have found that a range of approaches works, but there are a number of consistent factors. The largest parts of Core groups tend to be tanks, infantry, and aircraft. Tank strength is typically from 25-50% of the Core group, generally increasing over the war. Infantry strength is typically from 20-30% and slowly declining on a battlefield where only veteran infantry can effectively defend themselves. Some players use paratroops; others don't. The proportion of engineers and pionieres (who are very costly in terms of prestige) to other infantry also varies widely.
Air strength varies the most of the "big three" types of forces, from a couple of fighters up to over 30%, with the "big wing" proponents using one or two level bombers and the rest split in varying proportions between fighters and tactical bombers. Some players prefer the greater ground attack ability of dedicated tactical bombers while others prefer the added anti-air capabilities of fighter bombers, particularly when
facing strong enemy air opposition.
Some players' Core groups include up to 10% each of artillery and anti-tank units, while others use none or rely on Auxiliary forces. Self-propelled artillery is more useful on the advance, but towed artillery, if entrenched and protected against air and ground attack, suffices on the defense or for slow-moving
attacks such as those through mountainous or other unfavorable terrain.
Artillery, like engineers and pionieres, are magnets for enemy air attacks -- so use of these troop types necessitates a strong air force or air defense. Even players de-emphasizing airpower found a small fighter force useful for picking off isolated enemy bombers, forcing the enemy to escort his bombers, and for reconnaissance.
The main alternative to air reconnaissance (other than turning "Hidden Units" off) is Recon class units. Players who use them usually use no more than one per spearhead for scouting purposes. Late in the war, they have to be used more carefully in the face of increasingly powerful enemy units.
Though the force percentages can vary significantly, each approach strikes a particular combined arms balance between the types of units the player uses together to achieve victory on the battlefield. Some choices limit others -- for example, an army with a powerful air force will have little need for air defense and can afford to deploy a lot of expensive artillery and engineers, which, however, are no more than vulnerable targets if the enemy rules the skies. Auxiliary units available to you will often help deal with key gaps in your force mix for particular scenarios.
Core Versus Auxiliary Units
There is a tension in the campaign game between getting experience for your units and letting the auxiliaries take the bulk of the punishment. Use only auxiliaries for scouting into unexplored territory (because of the risk of ambush), and for those occasional sacrificial attacks needed to soften up a tough
enemy target.
Using elite replacements for auxiliaries is rarely worth it. Remember that elite replacements will be provided to your Core units once a battle is over.
You are not penalized for losing Auxiliary units (though the enemy does gain prestige for killing them).
Core units take special handling. At the start of a campaign, Core units have little or no experience. As your original Core group becomes more powerful, you will still have newly acquired Core units to develop as a campaign progresses.
It is important to initiate low risk combats with your Core units as frequently as possible while still keeping your overall battle plan intact. More powerful Core units can be given more difficult tasks, but it is best to let new Core units engage in 'mopping up' of units already weakened by auxiliaries. Avoid placing even powerful Core units in high risk tactical situations if possible.
Upgrading And Elite Replacements
Players' styles differ significantly on when to spend prestige to upgrade a unit's equipment and when to give it elite rather than regular replacements. These are important decisions, and there is a trade-off between the two and between these and raising new units because you rarely have enough prestige to do everything you want.
Upgrading: The upgrade issue is easier -- you can't afford to allow your technology to become obsolete, but you can't afford to upgrade every time new technology becomes available. Some units never upgrade -- engineer and pioniere units never get any better than their initial values. Most infantry, particularly the slower-moving heavy weapons and engineer units, needs transport to be effective offensively.
Aircraft are typically upgraded one to three times during the course of the war, sometimes more, while tanks can easily be upgraded three to five times. Naturally, experienced units receive the best equipment -- they can use it most effectively and it increases their survivability.
As you play, you will probably develop a preferred upgrade path that fits your force balance and tactics. You may also wish to experiment with alternative approaches to force structure.
