History Line: 1914-1918/Goose

"Goose" is the second map on the French side of the campaign.



General Situation

Units

Buildings

Strategy
As the second map of the campaign this is still very easy. The enemy forces are much larger, but the advantage consists mainly of infantry and bunkers. The uneven resources are not a hindrance, because the enemy has no good way of consuming them, while the player still has enough for extensive upkeep. The player also has the terrain on his side, an outpost already set up and weak enemy flank. By using those assets the player can ensure victory without much effort.

Opening rounds
Your HQ is mostly set up for defending, however a few tweaks are desirable. Move the two Charrons and the Infantry back to the HQ side of the bridge and get the Medium Artillery to stand in the river bend. That way only one unit is needed to defend the Medium Artillery from the enemy and with Light Artillery support the artillery outpost is set here. This move confuses the AI, because not many units have direct access to the defenses on the northern bridge: the AI will move erratically and all of the enemy's northern force will be rendered useless. This "Bridge Blocking" strategy will prove very useful in a few later maps as well. You won't have much troubles on the southern bridge as well, however leave a few units there to be safe. Half of the defending units can be moved south to the central artillery outpost for support. Bring in your Heavy Artillery there as well, as it will not have much use near the HQ. The central spot is already set up and seems solid, however the enemy forces will be overpowering here, so it might be still hard to defend. You will need all the firepower you can, so bring in the Light Artillery from factory #5. With luck the enemy Medium Artillery will move in too close and you will have a clear shot at it, however since your units don't have experience yet, it will take 4 rounds to take it out, so it will still be able to do some damage to your infantry.

The target priority system of the AI is severely lacking, which will prove decisive in the early and middle battle stages, when you will be securing your victory. Your priorities will be most often long range and heavy armored units, though in specific cases it might be more beneficial to shoot down infantry. Right now however the Armored Train is another priority target, so while your Light Artillery and Bunker will be shooting at it, your infantry defenses will be on their own without long range support. You need to watch carefully for the losses on your side and have backup units ready to take the place of damaged ones. After taking down the Armored Train, deal with immediate infantry threats to your outpost.

On the western edge of the map take over factory #5 with one Elite Infantry and advance south with at least two other and a Charron support. Taking over factory #7 is a high priority, because it leaves the enemy flank open for a strike unit and at the same time covers a hole in your defenses. Luckily you won't meet with much resistance here - mostly Infantry, which is inferior to Elite Infantry.

Mid-battle
Hold your ground in the HQ. The enemy will probably decide to move most of his northern forces towards the center of the map, but since it is a long walk, you won't be threatened from that side for another few rounds. The central outpost is secured and after disposing of the enemy remnants, advance towards factory #6 with your well trained Light Artillery supported by infantry units, if you managed to retreat and repair them in factory #5. You need to look out for your northern flank though and the Bunker near depot #4 will give you some trouble - use both your Light Artillery to secure this area or prepare for losses. Pull in your Heavy Artillery from the outpost, as you no longer need it there and reposition it, so that it has a clear shot at the Bunker protecting the enemy HQ. Even with fully trained Heavy Artillery a trenched bunker will prove very resistant and will take three rounds to destroy.

On the western front take over factory #7 and make good use of it. One good use would be purchasing a Supply Car unit and a Heavy Artillery unit in the next round, which will allow you to bombard the enemy HQ from the west. Also it is very important to repair all units of the strike force. The key problem will be the Heavy Artillery stationed near the industrial area of buildings #9 and #10. You can however move in with your Elite Infantry and Charron, while taking relatively little damage and swiftly destroy the Heavy Artillery. One good strategy here is to move the Charron and one Elite Infantry through the mountain pass, while at the same time moving the other Elite Infantry directly through the mountains towards factory #9. That unit will have boosted defense due to the terrain and will be able to withstand the Heavy Artillery's bombardment and take over the factory.

Endgame
By now you have the victory secured. The only question remains as to how will you decide to take it. Use your two Heavy Artillery to destroy the Bunkers near the enemy HQ. The enemy will move his Armored Cars one by one, attempting to do some damage, but these will fall to your experienced Charron and Elite Infantry from the industrial area. If you are lucky, the enemy will also move his Heavy Artillery from position, leaving it and the HQ open for a quick charge of the southern strike team. You may chose to attack it either way and take a quick victory by HQ takeover. You can also use the remnants of your outpost to attack from the north.

Since the northern enemy forces are now approaching your position near factory #6, build your defenses out of the two Light Artillery used to take it over with the Medium Artillery from the dismantled outpost still having the edge of it's range around them as supplemental firepower and one or two infantry just to keep it safe. With that setup the enemy force will be quickly disposed of and the only threat will be the Bunker near depot #4, which should be your primary target as soon as your Light Artillery are in range.

It's now a good time to advance the Light Artillery and one or two short-range units from the far northern bridge towards factory #2 if you want to take the victory by vanquishing the enemy. Bear in mind though that this will require a few additional rounds, as the factory will be constantly producing new cannon fodder, delaying the inevitable.