Computers - http://maxpages.com/catzmm/Allied

great deal has been written on taking the offense in Allied General. From the game's README file, which includes a rather extensive treatise on the blow by blow capture of objectives, to the pages of the World Wide Web, which are awash with cyber surfers discussing the best way to seize Tobruk, Berlin, or St Lo, much ink has been spilled on the subject. No doubt, attacking is the meat of the game. Nevertheless, obtaining the overwhelming force necessary to capture one portion of the battlefield will frequently require holding in another. To this end, we felt an article covering some basic tenants on Allied General defense might prove helpful to the silicon based Pattons and Montgomerys of the world.

The best defense...

Okay, so you've heard it a thousand times, from football to laying blame on co-workers, the best defense is a good offense. Don't sit there and take what your opponent is shoving down your throat, stand up and lay into him. Allied General is no exception. Seizing the initiative directs the action where you want it - away from your opponent's objectives. This works best against humans as the computer's artificial intelligence may not respond to your attempts to refocus the flow of the battle.

On the other hand, the CPU's refusal (or rather inability) to react may work to your advantage. In many Allied General scenarios the Nazis seem to have an insurmountable number of units (Hey, nobody claimed this was an historical wargame). Killing them all may be more than a little difficult. Why not take them out before they are born? That's right, constantly be on the lookout for ways of denying prestige points to the motherboard. Flank attacks by small task forces, paradrops, and amphibious assaults are all methods to pull a surprise coup on a lightly defended city. If you have air superiority, bomb the hell out of the bad guy's cities with level bombers.

Lean on me

Despite the previously mentioned offensive minded ploys, the time will come when a piece of real estate must be held, pure and simple. There are two critical elements to the holding: proper utilization of supporting units, and terrain.

The three types of supporting units in Allied General are artillery, the air defense family, and fighters. Each has a key role in defending. Due to their ability to provide defensive fire to adjacent units artillery is a must for any successful defense. Remember, the pivotal aspect of the series General [officially known as the Five Star Series - ed] is initiative. Artillery provides defensive fire before the initiative is calculated for the attack proper, and suppressed enemy strength points stay that way for the ensuing attack. Obviously, the artillery should be placed to provide support to the most units without allowing a direct attack on itself.

Air defense units provide a function similar to artillery. In this case however, protection is provided to adjacent units from air attack. Place these guys to primarily protect the artillery. The easiest way for the bad guys to dismantle a defense is by first taking out the artillery with air attacks. The air defense units may get them to think twice.

Ditto for aircraft, especially fighters. In order to bomb a unit the bomber must be in the hex. If your fighter is already there it will first have to be eliminated. This adds another layer on the onion the attacker must peel in order to capture his objective.

Terrain is a strange bird in Allied General. Certainly, geography works in a manner familiar to wargamers - units in the city, mountains, etc, are tough; those in the clear are not. Yet the software's method is a tad curious. Rather than add a bonus to a unit's defense factor, terrain places a cap on the attacking unit's initiative, frequently enabling the defender to fire first. For example, the clear terrain cap is 99 (unlimited) while the cap for units defending in a forest or city is three and one, respectively. That will cut those Panthers' initiative down to size!

While certainly not the most glamorous part of Allied General, sound defensive tactics are critical to the gamer's ability to win, especially in the campaign game, where defending one location with the minimum number of units is necessary to conduct an offense on the other side of the screen with overwhelming force. Hopefully, the above will assist in your endeavors to smash the wicked Boche within your computer, log on to the internet, and splash some ink on a new subject.

mmorphon00@yahoo.com

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Page Updated Mon Feb 28, 2000 8:25pm EST