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The Great War: Western Frontputs players in command for some of history’s bloodiest battles. Whether you’re fighting for the Allies or the Central Powers, winning even a single battle takes careful planning and risk-taking bravado in equal measure. Things only get more complicated as the war goes on, as both sides gain access to new technologies!
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If you’re just getting started in the trenches, use these tips to prevent casualties and secure objectives. This game has a long road to victory, so be ready to have your skills tested time and time again!
Withdraw And Replace Units Between Engagements
As a general rule, units that have suffered losses will be destroyed or captured if they remain on the battlefield. There will be many cases where this becomes a necessary sacrifice, but if you have time to bring in fresh troops,withdraw any companies that aren’t at full strengthto make room. Not only does this increase your odds of winning the next engagement, but it also saves money, as withdrawn troops don’t have to be replaced after the battle.
The best way to do this is tohave the replacements waiting in a trench away from the front lines. That way, it takes the least amount of time to make the switch; move the reserves up, withdraw the wounded, then call in reinforcements to act as the next set of reserves.
Always Send Units In Pairs
Each trench can hold two companies; try to make sure thatinfantry units are always paired up, especially when assaulting the enemy trenches! If you can’t see inside a trench,assume the enemy has two units inside.
Once you have infantry inside the enemy trench network, it becomes much easier tomove from trench to trench, winning close combat as you go. Keeping units in pairs makes it easier to win these fights, and if one unit is lost, the other can hold their position until help arrives.
Autoresolved Battles Have Variable Outcomes
Each battle takes around ten to twenty minutes, so as the campaign goes on it can be expedient to autoresolve battles. Be warned, however, that unlike in most strategy games, autoresolving doesn’t give you a set result based on the average strength of the two sides.
You can see on the game’s interface that autoresolving a battle will select fromwithin a range of possible outcomes.Just because the likely outcome is a Great Victory doesn’t mean that the actual result won’t be a Major or Minor Victory, or even a Stalemate if you’re very unlucky. If a Region Star is on the line, it’s best to always take the field.
Artillery Is Key To Victory
While infantry are the most important unit type in the game since they’re the only ones that can claim objectives,they won’t get anything done without artillery support.Artillery’s main function is tosuppress enemy fire- soldiers, including machine gunners and other artillery crews, can’t fire while they’re being shelled.
Light artillery deals little to no damage, but has a wide area of effect, making it your best friend when assaulting the enemy trenches.Fire just before your troops come within range of the enemyto ensure that most of them reach the trench in one piece.Always prioritize shutting down machine gun nests, as they can mow down entire companies in seconds.
Place Machine Guns Just Behind The Front Line
Machine guns are the game’sbiggest deterrent to infantry assaults.While it can be tempting to place them at the very front so that enemy soldiers come within range as quickly as possible, it’smuch better to put them on the second trench line.
A large enough force will eventually reach the trenches, machine guns or no. When they do, they’llimmediately destroy your machine gunswith their grenades. Placing the guns slightly backhelps keep them out of range,while still dealing plenty of damage. Best of all, if there are no connecting trenches, the enemy will have togo over the top again- and right into more machine gun fire - if they want to deal with your gunners for good.
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Lose The Battle, Win The War
World War I was a years-long battle of attrition, and the game captures this perfectly. You’re not going to win every battle in your campaign, but if you’re clever and patient you canmake the enemy pay dearly for victory.If you can’t win a battle, try to inflict as many casualties as possible before surrendering.
Typically, this meansfortifying your command trench and surrounding it with machine guns, forcing the enemy to lose lots of troops or call a cease-fire before getting their ultimate objective. This tacticworks best on maps where your command trench is near the edge of the map, as it’s less likely to be within range of enemy artillery.
On offense, you may find that securing control points was too costly, and you won’t be able to reach the enemy’s command trench. In that case,make sure to destroy any artillery, observation balloons, or other equipmentbefore calling a cease-fire. This ensures the biggest drain on their Gold Reserves!
Nothing Is Invincible
Everything in the game can be countered. Infantry are fragile but can quickly destroy machine guns and artillery if they get into grenade range. Bombers can be chased off by fighter planes. Tanks crush barbed wire just by rolling into it.Even the mighty Sturmpanzerwagen is easily destroyedif you can catch it from behind!
If the enemy researches a technology that you can’t counter, don’t panic - it shouldonly take a few turns to research your own new weapons! You may lose a space or two on the strategic map in the meantime, but the war isn’t over until it’s over.
