PANZER FRONT - PlayStation FAQ (GERMANY Missions - 3 of 3)
by J Woodrow <
[email protected]>
Version 1.0 - 10/10/2002
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G E R M A N Y M I S S I O N S
______________________________
Stop the enemy's advance! Move out, tanks!
_________________________________________________________________________
PANZER FRONT - PLAYSTATION
Released: April 2001 (UK)
Developers: Enterbrain
Publisher: JVC
[This game was first released in Dec 1999 for Dreamcast in Japan]
_________________________________________________________________________
C O N T E N T S
_______________
INTRODUCTION
UP TO SPEED
G E R M A N Y M I S S I O N S
-------------------------------
1: Training-1
2: Training-2
3: 1943/ 7/ 5 Hill 220.5
4: 1943/ 7/12 Swch. Oktjabrskij
5: 1944/ 7/10 Hill 112
6: 1944/ 8/ 8 N158 Highway
7: 1945/ 3/23 Sachsendorf
8: 1945/ 4/30 Berlin
T A C T I C S - E X T R A M I S S I O N S
--------------------------------------------
9: 1943/ 1/20 Sinyavino
10: 1943/12/19 Vitebsk
11: 1944/ 6/13 Villers-Bocage
12: 1944/ 7/27 Barkmann Corner
13: Training-M1 vs T-80
'TACTICS' VEHICLES
CONCLUSION
---------------------------------------------
A P P E N D I X
---------------------------------------------
MISSIONS LIST
TANKS LIST for USA / RUSSIA MISSIONS
_________________________________________________________________________
I N T R O D U C T I O N
_______________________
This is the last of three guides to playing through the tank battle
simulator PANZER FRONT on PlayStation. The introductory part led the
beginner through the basic handling of the tank whilst playing as the
Allies in USA Missions, and the second part was a guide to using the
Soviet tanks and playing the RUSSIA Missions once some confidence had
been gained. Now you should be ready and able to fight your way through
the last set of battles in the list shown in the 'TACTICS' menu.
[I should repeat here that these guides are intended to help gamers
attempting to play through all these missions for about the first time.
There is nothing much to be learned in them for an 'Ace' although of
course I hope they make interesting reading as a comparison to your own
battle techniques.]
If you have come straight to this part of the guide without having
attempted any of those earlier missions then some of these suggestions
may be a little difficult to follow, since there are no detailed
explanations of the controls or menus. If you need more complete
instructions on their use, try to obtain and play through the other parts
first. (You should always find them at www.gamefaqs.com). If not, you
have all the controls explained in your manual anyway, and since there is
no 'storyline' to follow there is no reason why you shouldn't start with
the GERMANY Missions and there is nothing you will miss by doing so.
Ideally though, you will have read those previous guides and battled
through in the manner suggested or in your own way, and so you should by
now be well experienced. At last we can get to perhaps the most varied
and challenging series of battles in the game, this time playing as the
Axis forces in GERMANY Missions.
_________________________________________________________________________
U P T O S P E E D
___________________
As far as controls go, this is the least you need to know:
,-----------------------------------------------------------------.
| T A N K C O N T R O L S |
|=================================================================|
| |
| |
| L2 + R2 = move FORWARD { lift off either side |
| L1 + L2 = move BACKWARDS { to turn in motion |
| |
| L1 + R2 or L2 + R1 = TURN stationary |
| |
| LEFT ANALOG / D-pad = rotate turret |
| |
| START = enter Map mode |
| CIRCLE = return to Battle mode |
| |
| CIRCLE = enter Sight mode |
| TRIANGLE or SQUARE = set Range |
| CIRCLE = Fire! |
| X = return to Battle mode |
| |
| SELECT = change ammo type |
| |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------'
The game choice is between 'TANK SELECT' and 'TACTICS'.
We have been playing through in 'TANK SELECT' mode because that option
provides sturdier tanks for a generally less difficult although still
quite challenging initial run through. Even if you needed to lean heavily
on the hints in the first parts of this guide, by playing through all
those missions you will certainly have gained all the abilities you need
to carry on now in TANK SELECT mode and play the German missions by your
own instincts. The two fictitious German tanks are more similar than the
choice between tanks for the other armies. The E-79 comes equipped with
an awesome 88mm cannon which should deal with just about anything that
gets in your way, and it also has a reasonable turn of speed despite its
heavy armour. The 'Aureole' comes with a revolutionary engine design that
looks like rocket burners with blue flames shooting out, and so is
ridiculously fast but (together with its bizarre striated armour) totally
inauthentic. This may leave the enthusiast unsatisfied.
Therefore in this final part of the guide the missions will be outlined
as if playing in 'TACTICS' mode, with tanks modelled on those used in
WWII. The strategies and suggestions here will certainly still work for
you in 'TANK SELECT' mode, and most will even prove much easier. If you
want to stay in that mode then perhaps by now you will feel confident
enough to set yourself the full challenge of attempting these missions as
an 'Ace'. For 'TACTICS' you can stay as a 'Veteran' for now.
To select the mission you want, press X in the 'TACTICS' menu and then
DOWN to choose from the list and scroll this time to the GERMANY missions
that are initially offscreen. As before and even though you may be an
Ace, it still makes sense to start with 'Training' to get to know the
generally very impressive fighting machines which are the German tanks.
You have probably enjoyed the accompanying theme music for the USA and
RUSSIA missions. Now the appropriate soundtrack is a stirring rendition
of "Panzer Lied", as if through a scratchy gramophone in a Berlin bunker;
perhaps reminiscent of a heartfelt marching song belted out lustily by
fresh-faced replacement Panzer crews to a cynical and weary Commander who
looks not unlike Robert Shaw with a blonde hairdo. Or perhaps not. As
before, if it gets too much you can turn it down via 'Audio' after
pressing R1 in the 'OPTION' menu.
I tend not to bother too much with the scores. As you can well appreciate
by now, this really isn't that kind of game, and the challenge of simply
getting through the missions should be enough at first. With each
subsequent run through you can aim to improve your technique for the most
satisfying experience, and because there are any number of ways to
complete each mission you might already know better or easier routes than
those suggested here. Finding them by trying a different approach is half
the fun after all and I think that is what makes PANZER FRONT such a
rewarding game. Try these to begin with and see what you think.
_________________________________________________________________________
GERMANY Mission 1: T R A I N I N G - 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
T r a i n i n g 1 J u n 1 9 4 4, N o r m a n d y
____________________________________________________________
Destroy the two enemy tanks ahead of you and then pull back.
Defend your tanks which are in danger of being surrounded!
Take care! One of the enemy tanks is a long-barrel M4!
Destroy all five enemy tanks!
You play as Citron and receive an urgent call from Kirsche in his Panzer
IV to come quickly to help in the south where the enemy has broken
through. However, almost at once in the distance up ahead a Sherman
appears. For a few moments his flank is invitingly exposed...
Before he turns, waste no time in checking your gunsight by pressing
CIRCLE, and if this is your first time in a German tank then although it
looks a little different to the Allied and Russian ones, it works in the
same way. Press TRIANGLE and instead of a crosshair you see a digital
countdown appear below the central triangle. Pressing SQUARE reduces this
number again, and the range can thus be set very simply between 0-3000.
(The range will vary depending on the vehicle.) The centre of the target
should be aligned with the very tip of that central triangle, and this
proves to give you pinpoint accuracy.
That first tank is about 1250m away, so try it and fly it. Ka-BOOM!
If you missed or the shot bounced off, have another go but don't waste
too much time if a succession of shells ricochet off the very solid
frontal armour. Try aiming up to hit the turret or down a little so that
it blows up underneath. Perhaps exit Sight mode with a press of X to be
sure you have the correct range, and try again. That done, move forward
to the junction and another M4 appears only just around the corner to the
right. He has you lined up already but your gun is far more powerful than
his, so a quick shot at nearly point-blank range will brew him up nicely.
Now you can take heed of the Mission Briefing and pull back to go and
assist Kirsche. Turn around and make speed down the track and if you
didn't notice it already, your arrival in the village of Le Dezert should
make this battle arena quite familiar.
A Sherman has appeared from the south-west to attack your comrade from
behind, so cut diagonally along the track there to intercept it. You'll
need to be quick to save Kirsche from a rear shot knockout and then you
will have support as the last two Allied tanks appear in front of you
nearly simultaneously. Be careful, as the one coming down from the left
is an M4A1(76) which means it has the big gun that the Mission Briefing
warned of. If you can line him up properly and promptly it is still an
easy knockout though, and you should be quick enough to catch the last
one as he is turning along the road ahead to confront you.
Good work!
Run through this simple mission a couple of times just to get used to
aligning the gunsight and you will probably agree that although it looks
a little unconventional, the precise and rapid setting makes it the
easiest to use once you become used to placing the point of the triangle
just in the right place. This is going to be fun!
_________________________________________________________________________
GERMANY Mission 2: T R A I N I N G - 2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
As in the second training mission for the Allies, this one also gives you
the chance to learn to direct your Blue comrades. I assume that you are
already familiar with this procedure through playing the first two parts
of this guide, and of course the methods are explained in your manual but
there is a quick recap here should you need it anyway.
T r a i n i n g 2 J u l 1 9 4 4, N o r m a n d y
____________________________________________________________
The enemy has started probing missions to the south.
The only defense of the bridge is two SP guns and your tank!
Destroy all four enemy vehicles that appear
on the north side of the bridge!
Press START to look in your Map screen and you see that you are playing
as Wulf. If you scroll to the north-west you will find your comrade Luchs
in a vehicle coloured Blue (meaning that is a unit that can be controlled
by you), and a press of SQUARE shows that he has a rather fragile Marder
self-propelled gun with which to cover the small bridge at la Soulles.
Take a look to the east and the Green (non-controllable) vehicle you find
there is Kohlenklav, also in a flimsy Marder and he is covering another
bridge at 'Riv'. That leaves you in the middle to look after all the
other crossings!
Make speed straight ahead to le Pont Brocard. A Stuart appears at the top
of the hill so waste no time in using him as an example to the others.
Notice (only if you are playing 'TACTICS') that you have a new type of
shell ready loaded. We know that AP stands for Armour Piercing, but what
on earth can HEAT mean..? High Explosive Anti-Tank? Of course the name
lets you know that this is a particularly destructive shell that uses
enormous heat from the impact to burn instantly through the hull of all
but the very strongest tanks (at short range anyway) so when you are
playing as an 'Ace' you need to select these only when necessary. For
this mission there are not enough targets to enjoy it! Watch as your prey
becomes wreathed in flames in a spectacular explosion, but check your Map
screen for grey hulks as very often this is not a certain kill first
shot. (If you are on the default 'Veteran' setting then you get an Action
Replay of course, so there is no missing a knockout shot!) By the time
another flimsy Stuart shows itself to your deadly gun Kohlenklav will
have arrived in support, so leave him to cover that bridge now and he
should fend off the Sherman which appears amongst the smoking wreckage up
there.
Make your way over the bridge and head off to the left and push through
those hedges just north of the village to surprise another Sherman hiding
in the fields there. Luchs has been sat waiting patiently for this fellow
to show, so bring him over now to support your probing advance. (I know
that is what the enemy are supposed to be doing to US but we haven't got
all day.) Now that you have smoked out the would-be ambusher, you can
think about the safest route along which your comrade can advance to join
you.
Open the Map screen and press TRIANGLE to move the cursor over Luchs and
press X to see the 'MOVE FORWARD' option and then press UP a couple of
times to set the advance at a brisk '3' with another press of X, and now
move the 'crosshair' cursor just to the other side of the bridge ahead
and press X again. The red line shows the path he will follow, so move
right a short way and press X again to mark an extension of this intended
path along the track there to bring him close to your position. When you
have a nice little route marked in red, press SQUARE to confirm it and
the line turns grey and the camera tracks all the way back to Luchs, who
will then advance to that path as soon as you return to the Battle
screen.
Do so now and bring your gun to bear on that Sherman to let him have it
if you haven't already. Watch as the Blue triangle on your screen starts
to move in the distance to show that Luchs is indeed under way, and wait
for him to arrive somewhere nearby and then set him a course on the road
up the hill where those first tanks appeared. You can crash off through
the hedges to the top of the hill and by the time you arrive at the farm
building up there that lone Sherman will have all three of you to cope
with!
This training mission is very simple (even if you hadn't played all
through the other missions) but it is a little more challenging if you
sit out the battle and try to fend off the attack by directing Luchs to
tackle them on his own. This will be a good indication of how quickly and
capably you can analyse an engagement, since you won't be able to control
that Green tank but his accurate firing will prove crucial when your Blue
unit faces two at once, which means that you need to keep them covering
each other. Remember that the Marder is only lightly armoured, so stay in
cover and get Luchs to pick them off one at a time with frequent updating
of orders.
If you haven't tried it yet, insert a second controller into Port 2 of
your PlayStation and press SELECT on that controller. Now you have the
camera following Luchs and it is always fascinating to see how your Blues
cope with the route you have set them - perhaps knocking down trees and
struggling up slopes you hadn't even noticed. You can now use your own
controller to swing the camera view around and also press TRIANGLE for
the Binocular view. This experience will make you think very carefully
about laying down accurate paths for your controllable comrades and not
senselessly exposing them to danger. Seeing the battle from their point
of view really draws you into thinking of them as trusty allies and not
just disposable boxes on your Map screen! Unfortunately you have no
direct control over the Blue tanks other than those instructions set in
the Map screen. When you have more than one you can switch between their
views by pressing SELECT on the second controller again. They will engage
any target they come across, so it is up to you to direct them
effectively. This second controller facility may prove indispensable when
playing as an Ace with damage 'on' since you can then sometimes direct
them to complete a mission even when your own tank is disabled.
[Incidentally, if you have a friend who is interested in PANZER FRONT,
try playing together by plugging their controller in Port 2 when your own
tank is in action. Hours of fun and arguments guaranteed.]
_________________________________________________________________________
GERMANY Mission 3: H i l l 2 2 0 . 5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 J u l y 1 9 4 3, H i l l 2 2 0 . 5
____________________________________________________________
Commence "Operation Citadel!"
Start your attack from the hill that was secured
the previous night.
Support the Grenadiers until they successfully
capture Hill 220!
This battle is fought on the Eastern Front and you play as Tiger 04
(although you won't actually command a Tiger unless you are playing
'TACTICS') and your tank is at the spearhead of the formation. You have
control of Tiger 12 and Tank 3 and 4 which are StuG's, as are the Green
Tanks 5 and 6 which complete the left wing. The right is comprised of two
more Greens: Tank 7 which is another StuG and Tiger 13 (which thankfully
IS a Tiger). You'll need him.
The infantry are spread out ahead of you and are confronted by Red Army
units on the other side of what appear to be tank traps. Your boys
haven't spotted any enemy tanks yet, but you see in the Map screen that
there are clearly lines of bunker defences on the forward slopes of Hill
220.5. Let's go and see what they have waiting for us.
Set the 'FORMATION' command before you exit the Map screen to move ahead
with all your Blues in tow, and watch as the rocket barrage explodes
around the slopes in the distance. It is too much to hope that the
defenders are wiped out. (In fact the barrage seems mostly ineffectual.)
Pretty soon you overtake the infantry and now you should steer a course
over the land bridge across the tank trap but remember that your comrades
are following your current position and not your course, so break them
out of the formation in good time or they will most likely all tumble
into it. Spread them two to the left side and one to the right and maybe
point them over each corresponding land bridge where the fire is not as
hot as the centre crossing. Plough forward and suddenly there is a hail
of explosions as half a dozen Fire Points spring up ahead.
Check your menu options and you see that you have the extremely useful
'FIRE SUPPORT' available to you. This was not available in the USA
Missions, but if you have played through the RUSSIA Missions then you
should be very familiar with this. If not, then open the Map screen and
scroll right to 'FIRE SUPPORT'. Press X and a grid appears which can be
moved with the D-pad to cover the zone in which you want the barrage to
land, and this is set with another press of X. Exit the Map screen and
shortly afterwards the bombs will carpet that very area. Since this
barrage consists of High Explosive it will usually destroy everything
except tanks. When the first barrage has been delivered you can return to
the Map screen to arrange another one - in any place you choose - by
repeating the procedure. If you have played through the Russian missions
then you recognise the Fire Points in the Map screen as those black
squares connected by wavy lines of trenches. When they are knocked out
they will show with a red X.
Of course the first rocket barrage was almost entirely useless so there
remains no shortage of targets. I suggest trying to clear just one side
first and the greater concentration is on your left, so bring in the
barrages and head over there straight afterwards to take out any that get
missed. If you can also hit the entire front row then it gives you space
to move your tanks around the lower slopes and at least the infantry can
move up safely. Help them out by using the MG to spray those enemy ground
troops holding them back in front of you as you advance, because the more
infantry there are to take the position the sooner this job will be done.
Take a moment to direct your Blues now if they are crossing the tank trap
behind you and maybe send one off to the right with the Tiger and bring
the others with you if they have not been hit. This is a spearhead attack
so there are no replacements!
Resist the urge to charge those bunkers. There must be a couple of Anti-
tank Guns bedded in there somewhere, as they can certainly knock you out
if you show your flank. Stay low and move around the slope to expose just
one or two at a time, and watch for the red numbers to appear which means
that you are in range and visible to them. Take care now! Of course they
are a little hard to see at first - probably just a raised bump of
camouflage netting - but set the range according to the number, load up
the HE and aim slightly in front of each and watch for the yellow flames
to show you have scored a hit. It might take a couple of shots.
Just when you think you are making headway against all those Fire Points,
you might care to take a glance in your Map screen. Four T-34's have
appeared and are closing fast on your left. Verdamt! Look again - ANOTHER
four are closing from the right!! Ver-DAMT!
Keep calm. The immediate threat is coming from the left, so move a man at
speed to the road over there to halt their advance. There is a steep bank
running along that road and if you catch them as they are passing it then
they will be stuck there. It is a bit risky, but if your man is set in
the right place (just before those darker brown patches next to the road
directly up ahead of them seems to work), then it will be a stand-off and
he will keep the lot of them bottled up and you can go over to
concentrate on the right flank instead. If you prefer to clear them away
first, go over to where they are and try to aim over the ridge if you can
see a turret and knock out the one at the rear of the column to block the
others if they try to back up. As you knock out any T-34 a replacement
tank will appear from the north, but thankfully these are mostly just
clunky KV-1's. Tougher but slower. Clear that ditch and then direct a
Blue ahead to meet the replacements while you stay low to avoid the
remaining Fire Points and skirt the hill to catch them side-on. Keep the
fire coming just as fast as those tanks arrive.
Meanwhile there is a similar assault going on to the east. Send your
spare man over there now to bolster the defence if you already have your
own confrontation under control. You should remember that you can press
TRIANGLE when in the Map screen to jump to the nearest Blue unit and the
next and so on until you arrive back at your own tank, so it is simple to
keep track of all surviving Blue units on the battlefield. (To see the
position of all active units on both sides, press X at the 'MAP' option.)
If you keep your men back a little then you can draw the enemy on, but if
you press your Blues forward there is a possibility that the Russian
tanks will move around the back of the hill instead. This can be more
problematic since to get within view of them you'll become exposed to the
last few Fire Points as well. Proceed carefully.
This battle should be fought methodically because there are several
distinct areas of threat and you need to keep everybody working together.
As you clear the flanks, move your Blues slowly up the hill from each
side in support of the headstrong Greens and close in to knock out any
remaining Fire Points on the forward slopes with HE to allow the infantry
to take the position. It doesn't seem to be necessary to destroy every
enemy tank or even all the reverse bunker defences, but as you move up
over the hill in close support of the ground troops the job is done. Did
someone say "All Your Base Are Belong To Us"?
____________________________________________________________
M I S S I O N C O M P L E T E
____________________________________________________________
Grenadiers regiment: "We have taken point 220!
Mission accomplished!"
It feels pretty good to be atop Hill 220.5 looking out on all the smoking
wreckage in every direction. With each time you complete this mission
fewer of them will be yours!
_________________________________________________________________________
GERMANY Mission 4: 1943/ 7/12 Swch. Oktjabrskij
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 J u l y 1 9 4 3, S w c h. O k t j a b r s k i j
____________________________________________________________
A purple flare is up! Enemy tanks sighted!
Tanks of the Russian 5th Guards are attempting to break
through the elite German LAH Division's position!
Don't let a single enemy vehicle through!
This is a straightforward but exhausting mission, and a little different
from the others so far in that your tactics here are defensive. A barrage
is coming your way and right behind it wave after wave of Russian tanks!
Waste no time in checking the lie of the land in the Map screen. If you
hadn't guessed it from the title, then the map should be confirmation -
you have been here before, but on the other side of the battlefield!
Things didn't look too rosy then and they don't look so good from this
side either...
You see that you are playing as Tiger 24 and you have control of Tiger 21
to your right and two StuG's (Alpha and Bravo) to your left. Hey - what
happened to the other two Tigers? Giving moral support only are three
SPW's. At least they will provide decoys.
It is pretty obvious what to do in this round: Shoot, shoot, shoot! Again
and again. Use the few seconds you have before the first wave arrives to
set your sights at about 1200m. This will allow you to line up the first
rank as they spill down the incline to the road. Don't fall into the trap
of 'tracking' a particular target as he speeds by - the turret on the
Tiger takes forever to turn and you will be lucky if the shot hits anyway
because you'll have to aim ahead. Wait until they stop and turn towards
you and there's your chance. In any case there are too many targets
waiting.
Reset your sights so that when the first wave crests that incline from
the road at about 600m you can just fan along the front line directly
ahead and knock out three or four without leaving the gun Sight mode.
Don't get flustered or panicked by all the targets springing up in the
distance - stick to the near targets as they are of course the biggest
threat. Sometimes they will come right up to about 250m and then turn in
front of you which is nice of them, but if they sit there head-on it may
be difficult to penetrate even with a direct hit. Try aiming up or down a
little if too many shots just bounce off. It usually seems to help if you
exit the Sight mode, check the range and try again. Maybe angle yourself
a bit to one side. Those T-34's seem a little agitated and will usually
keep moving anyway. Individually they are no problem, but they just keep
coming and coming!!
If the heat gets too much, flick to the Map screen. It's only a game
after all and you don't want high blood pressure! Seriously, what you can
do is to start to pull your men back towards the land bridge (with the
'BACKWARDS' command of course), and move yourself nearly straight back in
reverse but keep firing as you go. Eventually you will all be lined up
tight and facing forwards fanned out and firing, firing, always firing.
In fact it may be a good idea to get this withdrawal underway before they
arrive, since moving shakes your aim but you are still under fire
yourself. This manoeuvre limits the direction of their attack but the
main benefit to you is that it leaves them little chance for a side shot.
Your sturdy Tiger seems to take any number of hits from in front, but a
fatal shot will almost always come from the side and there are so many
tanks firing at you that there is a good chance that you will get picked
off eventually even so.
Use RETRY to start again and just keep firing!
(See if you can get that guy Volga. He thinks he's so smart...)
Don't worry so much about the tanks trying to outflank you. Maybe set the
tank to your right to 'FIRE POINT' to destroy a particular target if it
is proving a threat, and then leave him facing slightly right but on
'DEFENCE'. The right side ones are usually just KV-1's but keep checking
the Map screen so they don't come too close. The others seem to take
their cue from you, so spread your fire across the front. If you made it
backwards to the land bridge with at least two of your comrades then with
the arrival of the StuG's Charlie and Delta there is more than enough
firepower to take out everything they can throw at the left, and you will
be able to choose between the many targets crossing in front. Perhaps the
hardest thing is choosing a target and sticking with it instead of
switching to something more tempting and missing both - "A bird in the
hand is worth two in the bush". Or something.
The artillery barrage when it comes won't do you any harm but the smoke
often obscures the target and the explosions shake your aim. Just keep
knocking them out and you will sense when you are getting on top because
the incoming fire dies down as their ranks get thinned out and then you
can choose from just a couple of distant targets and then just one and
then they are gone. Mein Gott!
LAH Division: "All enemy tanks destroyed! We've stopped their
advance!"
For once your fellow tanks have given a good account of themselves, and
on a typical mission you should score not far above half of the 34 tank
kills.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
If this kind of defensive stand-off goes against the grain for you, then
there is no need to shun this Mission. You can turn it on its head by
gathering your men in formation and rushing across the road and up the
slope to meet the charge. Leave one of the StuG's as a guard on the
crossing by selecting him and using 'DEFENCE'. You can pick off the
vanguard at close range as they pass in front of your gun and the second
wave will then stop for an almighty pitched battle. See if you can move
your men around behind them and they will turn in all directions in
confusion. Keep moving and fire as you go in the Sight mode view and
there are so many targets that you can't fail to hit something with every
shot. It is mad but very exciting and you can take the battle all the way
to the village of Swch. Oktjabrskij itself where if you didn't already
have enough targets, dozens of Fire Points spring up! Very often someone
will hit you unexpectedly and that's it but that shouldn't stop you
trying.
Halfway between these alternatives is to move off to the right, again
with your Blues following dutifully behind you. Track along with the
leading enemy tanks by turning your turret to get a hopeful shot in and
just when they turn on to the road that is the place to make your stand,
picking off those near tanks easily. Line up your men midway between the
tank trap and the road from the village all facing exactly north. (Don't
go too far or the enemy tanks will rush through to the land bridge before
you are ready for them and the mission will fail in record time.) Now you
are all facing the direction of attack, and you can angle yourself to the
right to hold off the sneaky KV-1's from the village and anyone else
trying to outflank you. Your combined firepower will keep all-comers at
bay and although they will still try doggedly to make it to the land
bridge, the arriving StuG's on the other side will deal with any strays
and even to get there they will have to present you and your Blues with
an easy side shot. Using this method you will be most likely to finish
without any casualties if you really can't bear the responsibility of
losing your Blue charges. (Remember to be quick though, or you are also
most likely to see MISSION FAILED without hitting anything at all!)
_________________________________________________________________________
GERMANY Mission 5: H i l l 1 1 2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
As with most of the other missions in PANZER FRONT this is based on an
actual WWII confrontation, and one particularly noted for the length and
ferocity of the engagement in the critical weeks after D-Day.
10 J u l y 1 9 4 4, H i l l 1 1 2
____________________________________________________________
Enemy tanks are moving across the slope to the east!
Stop the enemy vehicles attempting to capture Hill 112!
Support the Grenadiers defending the hill and destroy
all enemy vehicles!
Another year, another nameless Hill. Now even you are just a number -
"Tank 536". Is this what this cursed war has come to? You have command of
three other Panzers fanned out to the left, and some distance back and to
the right are three more Greens. (If you are playing 'TANK SELECT' then
you have only one other Blue, although you should notice that your gun
has been upgraded to compensate.) The enemy have not been sighted yet,
but there are troops ready for the defence a short distance ahead on
'COTE 112'. Set any 'FORMATION' command and move forward.
The French countryside here looks sparser than Normandy as you remember
it from the USA missions, so it is no surprise that as you make your
advance the first enemy is spotted some distance away, and closing fast.
It's a Cromwell, which is immediately joined by another two. And ANOTHER
two. And yet another... no, wait - this one isn't a Cromwell, it's a
Firefly. A FIREFLY!!! You may remember the capabilities of this tank if
you experimented with it after running through the USA Missions. You are
about to see that big barrel from the wrong end - they can and will get
you with one shot even from 1500m. Your tank is not very strong, so stay
low and no heroics.
The news doesn't get any better as you make speed to intercept them. Yet
another Cromwell appears on the lower slopes of Hill 112 with another
Firefly in support. As if that wasn't bad enough there is a similar pair
bearing down from the north. One thing at a time. Advance to the
crossroads at the north-east of Hill 112 and there is a shallow bank to
shield you as you lay into the column of Cromwells moving across in front
of you to engage the Greens. Don't expose yourself to the lot of them at
once or that will be it - stay down on the road and not up on the slope
and don't rush too far forward either. They don't take much punishment
but be quick to arrive and you'll get them one after the other as they
appear in the fields behind that bank ahead. When your Blue units catch
up with you they will assist. After that first attack has been stalled,
send one Blue tank back along the road and up onto Hill 112 from the
south and he should shortly engage those fellows making a nuisance of
themselves up there.
Clear up the last of the targets ahead and by now the Greens should be
joining you, so assess the progress of the northern attack before you
decide on the next move. Don't forget the primary mission objective,
which is to support the Grenadiers on that hill. There are only a handful
of them in each unit and they will be troubled by enemy infantry as well
as the tanks, so always send someone up there quickly as a precaution. If
they get wiped out or chased off then the mission will fail:
HJ Division: "Hill defense units have been destroyed!"
Whoops!
[An alternative strategy is to rush straight up there with all your Blues
and fight the entire engagement from among the hedges on the heights.]
There are more Cromwells appearing from the north (coincidentally exactly
as fast as you knock the others out) so break another of the Blues out of
formation and set him to 'DEFENCE' tucked down beside the crossroads and
together with any Green units he will hold back that offensive. They
shall not pass. The other one can come with you.
Turn your attention to Hill 112, where that Blue should be arriving about
now and may already have drawn the attention of those two enemy tanks up
there. Skirt around the other way and get the drop on them. The Cromwell
is very fast but also very weak. The Firefly you have got the measure of
by now. Continue over Hill 112 to the western slope and you will come
face-to-face with a new arrival in the ugly shape of a Churchill. Backed
up by another Churchill! These are immensely strong and so you will need
to get in close and preferably from the side - don't bother slinging
shells at anything over 1km. If that Blue is still in action up there
with you then he is sorely needed now. Use the undulating slope to your
advantage by keeping low but closing in around them. Try to move in among
the hedges then and work any of your Blues at a right angle to make the
almost unbelievably solid Churchills turn, so that soon enough one of you
has a side shot. It's the only way.
Sometimes even though you send your Blues to confront a particular target
they may become distracted by something else passing by and shoot at the
wrong thing. If this is the case simply use 'FIRE POINT' in the Map
screen options for that tank and press X to select the intended target -
NOT 'CIRCLE' as stated in the manual. (I took their word for it and
didn't notice for ages that my guys were just sat there like lemons
shooting at the wrong thing!)
If the northern attack has been beaten back then you can look to the west
where yet more Churchills have appeared. Remember that you have to get in
close and side-on, so send any surviving Blue units wide and bring them
in from opposite directions. You can approach over the crest of Hill 112
and move in while the Churchills are spinning around to track your Blues.
That should give you something to aim at. Of course by now these
suggestions might mean nothing to you because all the enemy tanks seem
highly mobile, so the direction of each attack cannot be anticipated; it
depends which tanks get knocked out and when. Just shoot at everything
but use a little caution - any of those tanks can get you unexpectedly.
This battlefield is a very lonely place if all your Blues get knocked
out, so have a plan and stick to it. Try to clear one set of Red tanks at
a time so that you can control the direction of attack. For example that
very first wave of attackers will try to circle around the hill and make
short work of your Greens over there even before the Churchills appear on
the opposite side. With the zippy Cromwells closing in and the odd
cruising Firefly, you can very easily lose control of this battle if you
are not methodical. Make frequent visits to the Map screen and pay
attention to the flickers of triangles which will appear on your screen
as reported sightings will be erratic due to the uneven terrain. Tanks
pop in and out of view all over the place and the only way to be sure of
their location is to leave a grey wreck there.
[For some unknown reason that last Churchill in particular is extremely
hard to knock out. It seems to be made out of Kryptonite because I've had
it surrounded at point-blank range from three directions all piling in
the hits so that it kept turning side to side but it still took forever.
Once all alone with gritted teeth I ducked among the hedges on top of
Hill 112 and counted over 30 direct hits at all angles before penetration
and the blessed relief of MISSION COMPLETE. I may be missing something.]
_________________________________________________________________________
GERMANY Mission 6: N 1 5 8 H I G H W A Y
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
8 A u g u s t 1 9 4 4, N 1 5 8 H i g h w a y
____________________________________________________________
The front is collapsing!
The heavy tank battalion must protect the flanks of
Cintheaux and prevent the enemy from breaking through
to Falaise!
More anonymous tank numbers but this time you shouldn't care because once
again you have a Tiger - the famous 'Tiger 007' no less. In fact you have
a whole set of Tigers to play with and up ahead are just puny Shermans.
Lots of them though...
The Green infantry are close by in Cintheaux with Tiger 313 and other
elements are further ahead in the hamlet of Gaumesnil and at the
crossroads on highway N158 directly ahead, with still others off in the
fields to the right. In close support behind you is Tiger 211 and to the
right is Tiger 314. Push the flank Tigers up to where the infantry are on
each forward position and leave Tiger 211 tucked in safely between two
buildings in Cintheaux. The reason why will become apparent. Move forward
and see what develops.
Leave the first reported enemy (way off on the left) to Tiger 313. As you
head up highway N158 another column of Shermans appear on the road ahead
and you can open up with your incredible 56-calibre 88 at about 2000m
just as soon as those red triangles appear. You should take out the lead
tank and then pick off the other three as they try desperately to move
off to the buildings either side. Rest assured that you are out of range
even if they try to reply. That creates a nice little roadblock anyway.
Do this quickly and turn to the right just in time to see two Shermans
making tracks toward your comrade on the right. Two side shots at about
1700m should cancel that threat. As usual, monitor the entire battlefield
frequently with a look at the 'MAP' option in the Map screen. Soon you
will see the odd Red dot on your map in an unexpected place, but a scan
of the area reveals nothing..? Could the program be on the frizz? Wait a
minute... Engine noise. Aircraft engine noise. Getting louder!
"Jagdbomber overhead!"
Suddenly all hell breaks loose. Tracer rains down and your tank is rocked
by mighty explosions and you have no chance to aim at anything as Scher-
WOOOMMMMM!!! A Typhoon swoops overhead and gives you a taste of what it's
got. Get yourself to cover quickly! Any nearby building will do, as at
least you can get close to a wall and give him one less direction from
which to swoop down. A useful spot is that isolated house with a hedge,
just to the right on the road ahead. On the next strafing run you might
find that it no longer has a hedge! Tiger 007 is shaken but not stirred.
You can't damage that airplane at all, so you'll just have to weather the
storm and wait for him to run out of ammo and retire. If you are caught
in the open then KEEP MOVING! You can see the direction of attack by the
tracer fire, so try to move across it and not along it or that bomb will
get you for sure. (A small consolation is that you can enjoy a truly
spectacular aerial Action Replay of the event.) Don't forget your
comrades are also going to be hot targets, so try to get them to cover or
at least update their orders so that they are always on the move as well.
(I'm certainly not suggesting that you 'cheat' and park everybody off in
the corners.) Of course while all this is going on the enemy tanks will
not be letting up, so keep an eye on the overall picture.
Next threat to you is not one but two Churchills, already appearing on
the crossroads ahead. As you found in the last mission these are VERY
tough to crack, even with the Tiger's bigger gun. You may get a chance
for a side shot as they move into position but they are likely to turn to
you very quickly then and you have almost no chance of penetrating from
the front. As before you will need a Blue tank as a distraction, so that
is why we had to make sure someone stayed safe.
Take a look at how your comrades are faring. If you laid your left flank
man up properly shielded in Gaumesnil (at the west side of the first
building seems best) then not only will he have a clear view down the
road to continue to knock out everything coming down it, but he will be
covered from attack in at least one direction. It is hard to predict this
exactly but he seems to survive most missions in this position. The right
flank man has a tougher task as there is little cover. Perhaps set him a
speedy course zig-zagging around the fields over there and that plane
will have to be an excellent shot or a lucky one to zero him. You ideally
need this tank to pick off the two or three Shermans coming from the
north, and in fact if you stay to the southern side of that building
where you sought refuge, then even as you are shielded from the
Churchills you can turn to assist either of your flank men as targets
hove into view.
Check the Map screen and when that Typhoon seems to have gone, and after
all other outlying targets have been destroyed, bring in your flank men
to the crossroads. You know the drill for distracting the Churchills and
one good shot each full into the side as close as you can manage should
do for them at last. Once again it is unrealistic to expect to take one
on in a head-on duel, much less two of them if you are alone, so perhaps
if that Typhoon destroyed everybody else then it may be best to Retry or
face some tense moments chasing around hedges and buildings to try for a
rear shot.
Even when you nail those two at the crossroads it isn't over. Another
Churchill appears off to the north-west accompanied by a Sherman, and
then another Sherman comes from the south-east to sneak into Cintheaux.
He is no problem for your big gun, so turn back to clear that one away
before stalking that last Churchill and his buddy. If you have a Blue man
left then work him in from the flank as usual and you yourself will
probably be able to knock the Sherman out before your man arrives over
the railway track to engage in battle. One of you will then have the
honour of a side-shot knockout on the Churchill.
That should be it. Phew!
There is always the opportunity to roam the battlefield at your leisure
once the MISSION COMPLETE message comes up (annoyingly it stays up) and </pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
this is a great way to familiarise yourself with the layout of each arena
as well as generally trundle about to admire your handiwork. Sometimes
there may still be enemies active, and in this case there will probably
be a lot of infantry, so get some practice in with the Machine Gun. Just
set the circle of the crosshair icon over your target and watch as the
tracer takes a moment to home in on the spot, and then as they dive to
the ground simply pour it on at close range and watch the khaki turn to
grey. Nasty really. You can deal with them as a group by launching a
carefully placed HE shell. Don't worry so much about the range - just set
it to '0' no matter how far away you are and aim at their feet. Unless it
falls drastically short that should be spot on
_________________________________________________________________________
GERMANY Mission 7: S A C H S E N D O R F
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 3 M a r c h 1 9 4 5, S a c h s e n d o r f
____________________________________________________________
Use all your strength to break through the powerful
Russian forces holding the bridgehead on the
Odel front.
Destroy anything that might hinder the paratroops advance
and support them until the end of the fighting!
Back on the Eastern Front in the dark days towards the end of the war and
there is an eerie half-light over the battlefield.
Now you are Tiger 121 (an awesome Tiger II this time) and you have
command of Tiger 133 which is another mighty 'King Tiger', and also
controlled by you is Fox, who is backing you up with his Hetzer self-
propelled tank destroyer. To the right are the Green Panthers of Red 1
and 2. Quite an impressive force! The infantry are moving ahead and
already sighted is a Russian T-34, this particular model fitted with a
deadly 85mm gun.
Give your Blues a formation command and make your way across the muddy
landscape to close directly with that distant target. The Panthers will
open up and so should you as soon as you have the range at 2000m. Your
gun is bigger than his gun, and with his attention elsewhere you can lob
an APCR right on his turret. I hope that was easy for you because as you
move forward another appears and you'll have to do it again. And again.
And again... The T-34's are surprisingly fast, so it is difficult to
target them at distance. Get the range and aim ahead as they move.
Break the Hetzer out of formation now and send him up the road with the
Paras to the north. Take a look around in your map screen occasionally
because there will be a couple of artillery barrages laid on round about,
so plot a safe course for your Blues. This battlefield is a nightmare to
traverse as it is covered in mud and this and the boggy thickets
everywhere will slow you to a crawl. Steer clear of the marshy ditches
and try to move everybody along the roads where possible. Most of the
arena is exposed and you will face fire from all directions and it seems
that every enemy has a long-range gun! Fox's 75mm gun is very useful at
long range but his armour is as good as non-existent, so don't expose him
to fire needlessly - aim for that farm building ahead and park him up
against the west wall so that he can pick off those targets that move
down from the north-east but is shielded from the eastern attacks. After
you have knocked out those first few lone tanks from that direction, two
massed ranks of T-34's appear simultaneously, not only from the north-
east but also further south. Yikes.
That other Tiger should have been following you faithfully and now you
can give him directions to move to shielded ground and cover you from
that southern attack, while you look for a good spot over the crest of
the rise to stand and pick off the closer attackers from the north. It
helps not to expose yourself to both fronts at once but to concentrate on
one at a time, and with your Greens lending a hand some quick shooting
will beat off these first attacks. Yet another wave arrives now from the
north-east, but at the same time a new and very troublesome opponent
appears on the battlefield.
Watch for the warnings about a counter-attack on Sachsendorf and then
look in your Map screen to see two pairs of tanks to the south and soon
another pair to the north closing in on the town. Each of these is a JS-
2, named after Josef Stalin and not without good reason. Big and deadly.
They have sloped and very thick armour so you ideally need to get close
to penetrate, but they also have huge 122mm guns which are designed to
prevent you doing that. Just when you thought it was all so easy!
Try a few shots at about 1500m with AP and you should be able to knock
out something if the others are distracting them. Try to be quick, and
again focus on one pair at a time or you will leave strays closing in
every direction. Needless to say, every time you knock one out a
replacement appears so stay focused and keep shooting. Get to some
shelter such as the isolated farmhouse by the crossroads in the centre of
the arena because then you can limit the direction of incoming fire.
After trying this mission a couple of times you may find a good vantage
point with cover from the slight inclines and tree-lines, but really that
open ground is too risky - you'll most likely find you come under fire
from opposite directions and you already know that is not a good thing.
Don't forget to monitor the situation in the Map screen after every few
kills, and pour fire on the most pressing areas. Move your Blue units
close but each facing a different set of attackers to spread their fire.
In this manner you should be able to command the centre of the
battlefield and use your long-range abilities to wreak destruction on
everything that passes by. When enough tanks are hit the attack will
break down and the mission is completed - on a typical run this will mean
over 40 tank kills and you will most likely have to get three-quarters of
them!
On the other hand if everybody else gets knocked out before the final
onslaught then you will suffer Incoming from almost literally every
direction. Then it will be a case of getting to any available building to
screen yourself from at least one direction and looking to the north
first as these will be T-34's and they take only one hit usually. Then
come round to face east and clear that side and lastly home in on the
trickier JS-2's which by now will be advancing to the south-west,
probably behind the woods. There should be another Green unit to cover
the village and stop their advance, and it doesn't seem necessary to
destroy every last tank, as long as the infantry are not annihilated.
It seems that the attacks will never stop coming, but keep moving around
and hammering away and probably just when you are about to run out of
ammo the enemy will have been cleared.
Now there comes bitter news:
"The enemy has been held, but we can't continue our mission...
Retreat to Sachsendorf!"
_________________________________________________________________________
GERMANY Mission 8: B E R L I N
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the climax of the war against the Red Army - or more particularly
the aftermath. The Reichstag has fallen and you are in imminent danger of
being surrounded by a vengeful foe. Of course this is just a game and
nothing can come close to giving any sense of the horror of that
desperate situation, but the experience here is pretty intense.
3 0 A p r i l 1 9 4 5, B e r l i n
____________________________________________________________
The Reich has collapsed. It's every man for himself!
Open a lifeline together with at least one other
friendly vehicle to Friedrich Road north of the Spree
river!
You play as Sentinel and there appears to be but one survivor on your
side, and that is Bolt close by. (You have a couple more if you are
playing 'TANK SELECT'. If you choose the E-79 then for some reason this
model will be blood red.) In 'TACTICS' mode you have that mighty Tiger II
once more at your command.
Firstly take a good look around in your Map screen. The city is of course
in ruins, but you saw in the Mission Briefing that you must make your way
across the Tiergarten to the Brandenburg Gate and then perhaps along
Unter den Linden, across Wilhelm Strasse and up to the river from there,
to where 'DESTINATION' is marked a little to the right on the other side.
That isn't far, but there are already two Russian JS-2's waiting near
there with no doubt more to come. A route must be found.
The arena is divided by the River Spree and there are only three
crossings intact. The one to the west is the direction of the enemy's
main attack, so that is why you must flee to the east of the city.
Scattered throughout the ruins are your own Fire Points, and these will
be useful in relaying the position of the enemy tanks and hopefully
drawing some of the fire. The defenders have no heavy weapons though, so
you can't expect them to take out many (or any) tanks. In fact they
usually don't survive for very long as it is. You and Bolt must fend for
yourselves.
The Tiger II is massively armoured and formidably armed, but the downside
is that this makes it slow and the otherwise impervious armour is no use
against a point-blank broadside or a rear shot. There is very little
possibility of success if you just charge down the streets without a
plan. There are literally dozens of enemy tanks in every direction and
you'll have to move from street to street clearing the immediate threat
as you go and only then moving ahead quickly in short distances. Be
methodical and take heart that the mission gets a little easier the
further from the Reichstag you get. Keep trying but be cautious.
For example don't be tempted to take off across the road straight away,
because there are already three JS-2's appearing from the right and you
will very quickly find that they mean business. Move Bolt forward a
little and then reverse and move around him. Edge forward and turn the
turret ready to open fire with APCR as that first one shows himself, and
then angle quickly to face down that street and pick off the other two as
they arrive. The turret turns VERY slowly! If they are head-on but at a
short distance, it is a nearly certain kill if you set the range exactly
and aim just below the centreline where the armour slopes back underneath
and that will brew him up. Anywhere above and it often just makes tiny
splinters of steel. You should be able to withstand any number of frontal
shots, but that big 122mm gun on the Russian JS-2 will shake your
gunsights like an earthquake - exit quickly and return and it should
settle a little faster than waiting for your aim to steady and meanwhile
receiving the next one!
Soon more JS-2's will appear from the bridge down there but you can break
off now because even if they come around the corner Bolt should take care
of them. Try not to take too long over this first action or you will be
blown up by some unseen opponents already drawing a bead from the other
side of the river behind you. Instead, be quick and leave Bolt to
continue to cover this direction. Turn back and swing around and move
forward, ready for these two to arrive across the river basin behind your
start position. If you go to the Sight view and set the range to about
700 you will be able to see them as if through (darkly tinted)
binoculars. Open up the very moment they appear from behind the building
where the lamp-post is, one after the other. One shot each should do it
before they even have time to turn on you: shoot-track-shoot. That'll
teach the little sneaks! It is vital that these two are removed because
they have the entire sweep of the open ground ahead and you can't go two
yards without them giving you a rude surprise from behind.
[You could turn around to settle back and wait for these two from the
start but then those three from the right may prove troublesome - they
will speed up around the bend and probably Bolt will get the first one or
two but just occasionally they will get him or you first. Even then the
last one retreats and pulls in tight so as to stop you advancing when the
big wave arrives ahead, which means you're in crossfire... Do it
whichever way works for you but this is my best suggestion after a LOT of
trial and error! Mostly error.]
Other JS-2's will appear from the west, so hopefully Bolt has continued
to engage them as they come. It helps to build a wall of mangled steel
directly in front. Now that your rear is safe, turn around again quickly
as already there are a legion of tanks spilling down the road ahead from
the Tiergarten. Catch the first three as they are side-on engaging the
Fire Points around the Brandenburg Gate. There are half a dozen or more
JS-2's following on but as the wrecks accumulate they won't get a clear
shot at you as you now make a dash for the diagonal track along the
Tiergarten. Keep moving and firing if you can and don't try to knock out
all those targets appearing, just get across the road for now and watch
for any more tanks arriving from the right against Bolt.
Remember that the objective of the mission is to get to the escape point
WITH another survivor. That means that you must look out for Bolt because
if he gets knocked out then it is over for you as well. There is far too
much going on at the beginning to worry about moving him as well so take
a tip and leave him parked at the Reichstag for now. You can set him to
'DEFENCE' but he will shoot at any likely target that comes to bother him
anyway. Notice in the Map screen about now that there appears to be a
grid placed directly over your starting position...
Unlike almost every other barrage in the game, this one CAN blow you up
with a direct hit and at the least it will shake your aim. (If Bolt gets
blown up you'll have to Retry of course. I find if you move him just a
little at the start he should be OK.) Move forward heading down that
diagonal track which leads to the Brandenburg Gate. There is a ridge to
shield you from fire as another wave of JS-2's appears up ahead. Move
over to the right to limit their view of you and Bolt should have a good
enough view of them to open up on one after the other as they move
through the trees. Build on the chaos by knocking off the lead tanks
(don't leave him to fight on his own or they'll gang up on him).
Eventually this onslaught dies down and now watch for even more
approaching from the south side of the Tiergarten and make short work of
any that show themselves. Check the route is clear and hold your fire as
you bring Bolt forward quickly now to join you behind the relative safety
of that ridge. (If you try to bring him any sooner then as you fire on
the enemy he will ignore your command to advance and stop to engage
pointless targets until someone picks him off.) Point yourself back
towards the Reichstag before he gets under way and see off any tanks
still waiting to his right or he'll have a go himself and one of the
others will clonk him while he's doing it. When he makes it to where you
are, breathe a sigh of relief and then turn around again and edge
forward.
There will probably be a horde of JS-2's pouring down Charlottenburgen
Chaussee and they will congregate facing the Brandenburg Gate where your
comrades in the buildings will hold them back heroically. This makes a
straight dash down Unter den Linden a bit too risky, and even so you'll
need to thin them out a little so you can make it across the open space
right in front of them. Edge forward behind the cover of that ridge and
try to get the front men in the pack that is facing off with your Fire
Points and again a useful barricade will be formed. Keep checking on the
other pack further away at the foot of the Tiergarten. You will probably
need to switch between the packs to pick off the most urgent threat in
each. This is the most perilous phase of the mission.
Having dealt with the lead tanks, dash across now and make speed for the
Supply Point which is up on the grass there and if you are playing as an
'Ace' you can stock up. You'll probably need it. From this position you
can shield yourself from crossfire by aiming back between the buildings
and clear those remaining JS-2's. That is also a good place to wait as
you summon Bolt now that the way is relatively clear. Set him a course at
top speed around the 'sticky' piles of rubble the same way you came and
cover him when he breaks across in front of the Brandenburg Gate, just in
case there are any new arrivals. A glance in your Map screen shows that a
good many Red infantry units are now apparent around the Reichstag and
may even now be hoisting the Red Flag high. There is no going back that
way.
If Bolt makes it around the corner then that is the trickiest part over,
so having stocked up, head east and then move down the south end of
Wilhelm Strasse, avoiding any fire still coming from the west at the foot
of the Tiergarten. There is a slightly unfair trick played by the
programmers in that there is a stream of T-34's coming up that road one
after the other and your natural instinct is to see them off. However
they will just keep coming and coming. And coming. And coming. And so on
until the screen starts to slow down jerkily as the PlayStation struggles
to keep tabs on the position of all these targets. The point is that your
situation is supposedly nearly hopeless and so you are not expected to
take on the entire Red Army. Discretion is the better part of Valour so
be discreet quickly!
Now that Bolt has joined you, point him at full speed next left (going
east again now) where there is a large empty Square. (Hopefully - if you
took too long to get here this is the 'entry point' for wave after wave
of T-34's so you'll have to go back and fight your way along Unter den
Linden or perform a Keystone Kops weaving pursuit all the way home with
the whole pack weaving after you.) If you have the mission under control
to this point, then cover him now from that fire still coming from the
Tiergarten and direct him a little way around the corner out of shot.
Move backwards to hold off any T-34's with big ideas and join him now.
There is only one way to go once around the corner, and that is straight
up to the bridge where those initial JS-2's are still waiting...
You can either leave Bolt in the Square out of harm's way and go and deal
with them yourself first, or send him around the corner quickly and trust
him to get stuck in. This mission would be a whole lot easier without the
big lug but orders are orders. Either way be quick because the other
Russian tanks are now closing in. Back yourself up around the corner if
you are still holding off any enemy tanks and turn quickly then to deal
with those 'sentries'. You should be only just out of range so edge
forward and let them have it. The second might be obscured by the first
when that one gets knocked out, so move forward and watch for him to pull
out into view and into your gunsight.
Now move cautiously up to the crossing of Unter den Linden. All those JS-
2's have been waiting on the other side of the Gate and this is their
last chance to get you. Edge around the corner and pick off any that seem
available and then just set Bolt to 4 and make a dash for it, fingers
crossed. There is a pile of rubble to give a little shelter (which is why
you take a bigger risk trying to come straight down that road to here -
nine and a half times out of ten you'll get blasted hereabouts). If you
made it this way then you are home free. The escape point is just a
little way over the bridge on the right; it appears to be a basketball
court marked with a white rectangle. High five.
Tank Commander: "This is it. You've done well.
You're relieved of your orders."
I think we're both relieved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are REALLY stuck and fed up and you just want to get this mission
ticked off your list for now, try this:
Begin as normal by clearing the immediate threat around the Reichstag.
From the start, reverse and turn to set yourself up in good time to get
the two that appear behind. That done, turn around again and Bolt will
already be on to the three JS-2's at 1100m. Help out and then move
forward to get one or hopefully two of those waiting nearby to the right.
The other will then back off fast and park himself tight in and wait, so
edge forward and finish him with a shot to the turret at about 300m. Now
the barrage begins. Quickly set Bolt a course at full speed to the right
along the path beside the Reichstag, right once more up to the river and
then left and over that bridge and up the hell away from there. Even as
he begins this journey you must rush forward to knock out ALL THREE of
the other JS-2's waiting down the diagonal path just ahead at about 600m.
Ideally you want to hit them all before Bolt joins you, or the daft fool
will stop and try to help out and you need him to just keep moving fast.
If you can get Bolt safely across that bridge (avoiding the occasional
shot coming from the Tiergarten) then once you cross over yourself you
are as good as home, since you won't meet a single enemy until you score
two rear knockouts at about 1200m on that last turn. I suppose this way
counts but it somehow feels like cheating.
_________________________________________________________________________
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
+ +
+ 'T A C T I C S' - E X T R A M I S S I O N S +
+ +
+ ------------------------------------------------------------------- +
+ +
+ The last five missions in PANZER FRONT are only available when +
+ playing in 'TACTICS' mode, so if you have been using 'TANK SELECT' +
+ mode to build your skills then now it is time to try out the more +
+ demanding 'real' tanks. Perhaps run through some of the earlier +
+ GERMANY Missions again in this mode to get used to the difference. +
+ +
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
_________________________________________________________________________
GERMANY Mission 9: S I N Y A V I N O
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 0 J a n u a r y 1 9 4 3, S i n y a v i n o
____________________________________________________________
Escape from the banks of Lake Ladoga and retreat
to a new stronghold in Sinyavino
The 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion is in place.
Don't let the enemy reach high ground!
If you scout around this battle arena in the Map Screen you will notice
Poselok No. 5 is directly ahead along the railway line. That place you
should remember well, and although the layout of the battlefield would
appear to mean that this is the direct continuation of that Russian
mission, from the dates it seems that there have been two days of
fighting to reach the current position. Or possibly only a day and a
half, since this is also a night battle.
You are in command of Tank 102 and close behind is Tank 08, with Tank 115
straddling the rail road to the west (all Panzer III's) and over to the
east is Tiger 101. Each of these are controlled by you. Advancing from
the far north-west are a squadron of T-34's. There are elements of your
Grenadiers in evidence across the expanse in front of Sinyavino, working
their way back to the defences there. It will be your job to cover their
retreat and fend off the Russian attack.
It appears that Sinyavino is a mining town of some description. Numerous
rail tracks are laid across the arena and there are what appear to be
strip mines and a slag heap over to the north-east. If you press R1 then
the map becomes 'tilted' and if you scroll around again you will notice
that there is quite a lot of variation in the height of the terrain (you
can tell undulations by the way the top edge of the lighter Grey area
deforms). This tilted view is also very good for zooming out in
increments by tapping L1 and seeing all active units at once as Red or
Green dots on the darker blue background in the distance.
If you glance up to the right from your starting position you should make
out a large ruined church with a commanding view over the snowy country
down below. The strange landscape is made even more unreal by the eerie
blue moonlight cast across the battlefield and because this is a night
battle it is sometimes very difficult to pick out the enemy ahead in the
gloom. After every few tense seconds of near darkness a flare will be
sent up, lighting everything around in a brilliant glow and then you must
pick out your target quickly and loose off a couple of shots before the
light fades again.
[If you can find a spare moment to look around with your binoculars,
watch for the flare (sometimes there are two) like a brilliant moon
drifting gently to ground, showering sparks as it fades and dies. Really
wonderful programming and not at all necessary for the enjoyment of the
game, but yet another example of how meticulous PANZER FRONT is.]
The major problem in this level is that your feeble Panzer III has only a
short-barrelled gun which you will find very difficult to calibrate above
1200m. All shells seem infuriatingly weak at any distance, but at least
you have smoke so make good use of it to get close to your target. Since
tank 08 has only the same armament, this battle will call for lots of
close fighting on your part and ambush on his. To this end, send Tank 08
forward and a little to the left and place him at the head of that valley
down in front of the Fire Points so that he will get the drop on the T-
34's from the Leningrad forces when they arrive. Advance the Tiger at
speed along the rail track to a point about where the line branches just
short of your Green infantry in evidence up ahead. This will make the
most of his longer barrel, and similarly send Tank 115 forward to the
same distance but covering the western advance from the middle valley
just east of that little island of trees. It has to be said that this
level will depend on best use of the long-range abilities of these two,
particularly the Tiger.
As for yourself, hurry forward and turn west along the rail tracks to
make speed to the north-west, to where the forest reaches in from the
left of your Map screen. Look out as the first flares show up those fast
approaching Russian tanks over there. If you show yourself then they will
zero you and they can get you from nearly 2km away when they are still
way beyond your range, so keep moving fast until they disappear behind
the woods. Move around the island of trees then and you have a ridge to
shield you as they pass right in front of you on the other side and you
can approach to only about 600m. As they move forward to engage the
others you should have a good few side shots available, so be quick and
pick off a couple but watch that you don't expose yourself to too many at
once. When confronted by two or more enemies with no easy way out, try
quickly loading a smoke round and lobbing it to obscure one while you
concentrate on the other. By the time the smoke clears you should be
ready to take the other one on, or make good your escape. They will make
short work of you here if you give them the chance, so lob that smoke in
first and get your best shots in soon after.
As that first attack is stalled, watch out for the replacements moving
along the same path as well as the next wave coming down a little farther
north. Any survivors from the first wave will congregate in the centre
valley and Tank 08 should hold them there. Leave him in the valley by the
rail track to cover that route to your defences and push Tank 115 (or his
replacement 124) further up the western valley between the stands of
trees to create a cross-fire trap and finish them off. These two will
turn their attention to the couple closing from the north now. It is a
bit risky, but you can speed around the back to engage, although don't
become distracted as there are already other long-range threats
arriving...
When the second wave from the north has been depleted a T-34 is sighted
in the east at the same time as other tanks appear up in Poselok. Send
the Tiger wide to the right to cover that flat area around the strip
mines with his big 88. Move cautiously eastwards, shielded by the high
ground with the trees, watching for any further tanks from the west so
that you don't give them an easy side shot, and get set for the next
infiltrations from the north. There are only a couple of KV-1's, and
using the trees and ridges as protection you should be able to move
around and pick them off as they approach. Use the undulations to screen
yourself a little and let the enemy tanks come on to your gun. It is
really a balance between getting close and staying out of range!
You will notice that the gun elevates about 100m with every 'click' so
you can set the range above the 1200 on your scale but the shot is
noticeably weaker and you'll be lucky to score a hit because the
trajectory is so lazy. If there is only one target threatening then it is
worth having a go - you can fire in the dark when you see their muzzle
flashes if you think you have the range. Try not to go too far into the
open as you already know they have better long-range abilities than you
and there is precious little cover to the east. When all the near targets
have been cleared, pull back to the railway tracks just in front of the
Fire Points and you can move quickly along them in support of whichever
Blue needs it most. If you are playing as an Ace then you will in any
case need to stay close to your Supply Point up in Sinyavino itself.
The most dangerous attack now comes from two separate massed attacks of
T-34's, one from the north and another set of four from the Volkhov
Forces which attempt to storm your position from the near right flank.
Hopefully your 'Big Brother' the Tiger is still holding the open ground
to the front, and somebody is left to guard the west, because you will
have to speed along the railway tracks towards those dormitory buildings
over there as that group approaches. With luck and good timing you will
catch them in the gaps between the buildings or just crossing the tracks
right in front of your gun at short range. With that lot in flames and
the fading attack in the west, you should have a little respite.
Just as soon as you have some peace, set about the Red infantry with some
HE or the MG if you can make them out in the dark. Concentrate on those
nearest to your defences and any group troubling your own infantry. Don't
get them mixed up! Use the Map screen to check that the infantry in your
sights are Red ones, because it is not easy to tell by looking when they
are all moving around out there in the dark. While your attention has
been diverted elsewhere they may also have knocked out some of your Fire
Points and the covering fire from those is very useful to you, so don't
let the enemy infantry get too close to them. Wait and watch for the last
enemy tank to come into view, and stay close to that precious Tiger
because he will have a better chance than you to destroy it, and that
should be enough to end this uniquely atmospheric mission.
_________________________________________________________________________
GERMANY Mission 10: V I T E B S K
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 9 D e c e m b e r 1 9 4 3, V i t e b s k
____________________________________________________________
Enemy tanks are approaching our position!
The Tank Destroyer Battalion has been mobilized!
Prevent the enemy from breaking through our lines!
Something a little different now. You are Falke and nearby is your Blue
comrade Adler. Some distance ahead are the infantry accompanied by Green
half-tracks with girlie names. Further along and headed your way are four
T-34's. Not much of a threat under normal circumstances but for this job
you have only a Hornisse (Hornet) self-propelled gun each. This has quite
a sting though, in the shape of an 88mm cannon. You won't need to be told
that these vehicles are not very robust, and so you should try always to
use that powerful gun at distance.
Make speed towards the red triangles and park up on the flat grey patch
on the crest by the settlement directly ahead and you will see those
tanks only just out of normal range. Load up the APCR and open the Sight
screen. Set the range to 2000 and line up the first one and by the time
you are done he will be right where you want him, so just Let It Rip!
Awesome!! Adjust right for the next in line and the next and the next...
At this distance you should get the point of the triangle just on the
turret and slightly ahead if they are on the move, and your shell will
drop bang on and you can stay in Sight mode and just fan along the whole
lot of them as they come on to your gun one after the other. Well that
was easy.
Soon enough reports come of further tank movements towards there but
these are just KV-1's. More pressing is the appearance of four more T-
34's from the eastern edge of the arena. Bring Adler up and along the
road there and let him continue to cover the approach at a point about
halfway between the bend and the crossroads, where there is some
protection offered by a bank which will shield him from that eastern
attack so he can concentrate on the frontal infiltrations. Make your way
across the little road and lay up on the crest where those bombed-out
buildings are for a commanding view possibly only a bit obscured by
trees. Get set for a repeat performance of your deadly marksmanship and
then some - those four T-34's are soon joined by three more!
With the expert Adler covering your left flank, find the range once more
at about 2km and pick them off as they advance. A barrage will strike up
which has no effect except to obscure your view, but continue firing and
you might hit something. Keep the hits coming, and when Adler has halted
those two from the north-east then he should join in your deadly sniping
from his position wide to the left, so that some of the closer targets
turn invitingly his way. Check the range when you can, as they are pretty
quick and they will spread out a little so they may be at different
distances. As you might have found in earlier missions, sometimes you get
a series of ricochets off one target for no good reason and others blow
up first shot. It can't be all bad luck or bad angles but anyway if
PANZER FRONT was too easy you wouldn't play it, right?
Now that the southern advance has been halted the action switches to the
north. Keep an eye out for tank movements which are reported by your
infantry and flick to the Map screen to check on these. Once again the
ground is uneven with many screening woods and buildings, so keeping tabs
on the advance can be difficult. The first threat is from a number of T-
34's and KV-1's coming down from the north. Almost at the same time
Grille (another half-track) will report seeing a T-34 a little further
west. There is a lot of ground to cover so use the roads whenever you can
(one thing missing from this game is minefields!) Send Adler at speed now
over the crossroads and point him up the road by the ruined buildings so
that he will get the drop on those KV-1's and a weedy T-60.
(If you are playing as an Ace then make a very quick diversion to the
nearby Supply Point because it is a long way back here.)
Follow close behind Adler but be ready for another attack from the north-
east, where more T-34's show up. See off the two coming from the right
and when Adler has cleared the left, turn him around and point him back
towards the crossroads but turn up that short branch facing west and
along to the end, where he should be just in time to intercept the lead
tanks trying to force their way into your defences. Don't send him too
far, as there are a couple waiting by the woods there in case you try to
come around; just to the end of the short track is fine. You should stay
on the main road and speed along to take the branch of the crossroads to
come across probably four T-34's moving quickly on your defences. You
should catch them one behind the other side-on about 1200m away making
their way over the road, so put a stop to that lot. Just in time, because
if even one of them breaks through then the mission fails.
Push Adler forward to engage those two left back in the woods now and try
a shot from the road to help out. When that field is clear, send him
forward and to the north-west around the foot of the hill in order to
intercept the last T-34 coming down from there. You will be occupied with
a KV-1 approaching the crossroads from behind, and just to round things
off there is another coming through that ruined town back there to the
north. It's enough to make your head spin! Of course if you have somehow
lost Adler then all this running around will be too much for you I should
think - save your sanity and go into the Map screen options for RETRY.
(Or simply bring his replacement 'Buzzard' up from the start point if
there is time.)
If you lose Adler/Buzzard but you are determined to tough it out alone,
then after culling the eastern attacks, I suggest laying yourself up on
the road just north of your start position. The main body of tanks will
try to come straight at you from the north but will have to negotiate a
steep slope up from the valley they are in, and should present themselves
as easy targets to you one by one as they crest the rise only about 700m
away. In just the right spot you are safely screened from the two lone
attackers coming from the north-east, so you can finally turn to them
after you have beaten back the main thrust.
If this goes well, you might like to try leaving Adler at the start and
attempt to fend off all-comers on your own once you have played through
this mission a couple of times and know where the attacks are coming
from. It should prove the ultimate test of your marksmanship - 'Ace' mode
with the range indicator 'off' of course!
Grenadier regiment: "We held off the enemy!"
Yes WE did, didn't we...
_________________________________________________________________________
GERMANY Mission 11: V I L L E R S - B O C A G E
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you know anything about tanks and tank warfare in WWII then this
should be a familiar placename to you; whole books have been written
about this legendary engagement. Of course it would be impossible and
anyway pointless to try to recreate any battle exactly in PANZER FRONT,
but all credit to the developers for giving you the chance to emulate the
German tank ace Michael Wittmann.
1 3 J u n e 1 9 4 4, V i l l e r s - B o c a g e
____________________________________________________________
The defense of Caen is in danger! A single enemy
tank Brigade is attempting to sneak behind our lines!
Move out your tanks and stop the enemy's advance!
It seems from the map that you are on your own for this one. That's no
problem because you have a Tiger and by now you certainly know how to use
it. Grrr. Move forwards and burst through the hedge to catch the Allied
column parked up on the left by surprise. First knock out the Cromwell
which tries to skirt around and then move down onto the road and get the
one at the rear of the column and a third which appears coming up the
road just behind him. Then turn your turret on the half-tracks one by one
just to keep things tidy. You can use up some HE on these as they are
very lightly armoured.
That column seems to have halted while the spearhead have pushed up the
road a little way to 'COTE 213', so turn around and move ahead cautiously
to investigate. About now Tiger 131 will show up on the battlefield to
the north and he will report enemy tanks now firing on him. These are a
Cromwell and a Firefly just out of sight over the brow of the road ahead.
Get there fast and with their attention turned to him you will come
across them broadside at about 900m. Open up quickly as another Cromwell
pops up from the hedge there. Get the Firefly at the back first if you
can because his gun is deadly. Clearing that lot will allow Tiger 131 to
advance to your position and now you can follow him towards the town of
Villers-Bocage. (If you are too late and they catch him first, then your
task here will be only just a little more difficult.)
Soon your infantry will report tank movements in the town, so get ready
for some tense street fighting. Watch those triangles pop in and out of
view as the tanks thread their way about the streets. There appear to be
at least three Cromwells in the town. Make your way there (ideally in
company with Tiger 131) and use HE or the machine-Gun to make short work
of the 'Tommies' scurrying about the hedgerows as you go. The object of
this mission is to allow the Grenadiers to move into the heart of
Villers-Bocage and these enemy infantry can thin them out, so mop them up
as you see them. No need to waste too much time though, because you have
bigger fish to fry.
There are a number of routes from here and no doubt you will have a lot
of fun experimenting with different approaches. Remember that the vital
factor is that the Grenadiers must advance for the mission to end. If
they are wiped out then it fails. It seems to me that if you approach
down the left side you are more likely to draw the enemy tanks over there
and they will start laying into your troops while you attempt to
negotiate the trees and low walls around there without a clear line of
fire. The two platoons in the centre don't seem to count; but if just
that third group of five men get annihilated then it is all over.
For now you should know that most of the enemy tanks are stationed to the
right and if you have Tiger 131 to cover the centre, move to the right
now and cut across the fields as you advance. You will surprise a
Cromwell or possibly two waiting and covering the dirt road that leads to
the top of the hill there. Deal with them quickly and then as you
approach the hill at the top of the town another will open up from the
foot of that hill. Unless you are playing as an Ace, notice on your
'Action Replay' that there are quite a few other tanks down there as
well!
In fact there are probably two Fireflys and two Cromwells, with another
two or three around the corner. Take it easy. Replacement tanks for any
you destroy will appear over the bridge to the west and later from the
south so be aware of the possible threat to your flank as you move into
town. The tanks down there are all set for anything breezing along the
High Street. If you fancy a rumble, head on into town and take your
chances; it is very thrilling to come around a corner and find two zippy
Cromwells bang in front of you and reversing much faster than you can
traverse the turret! Even as you engage, another arrives from a street
behind and then probably a Firefly pops an asp in your cap from literally
miles away. Yes, that is certainly exciting...
You are smarter than that. Stay wide among the hedges on the north side
of town with some low walls for cover and look out for any Cromwell
parked in between the buildings as you pass. Keep checking your Map
screen to stay aware of likely threats whenever an enemy is reported, and
don't let too many Cromwells build up on the south side or they'll
slaughter the infantry and your own efforts will be wasted. If that seems
likely to happen then cut across there sharpish.
If everything looks under control, continue to make your way wide through
the hedges going down the hill and look out for any cruising Cromwells
there. Soon enough you will expose more of those defenders at the foot of
the town, so move slowly to take on just one at a time. One round of APCR
should do for each of them at these ranges, and if you sneak up from
behind a hedge then they may not even know what hit them. As the
replacement tanks come up from the bridge they will spread north to greet
you, so be ready for them to appear around the last hedge as you reach
the bottom of the hill. You may now also be visible to the remaining
tanks at the edge of Villers-Bocage, so deal with the targets in front
and then cut across between the trees to enter the town and finish the
job down there.
Meanwhile Tiger 131 may have engaged other enemy tanks at the top of the
High Street. If you haven't done enough to end the mission by now, head
up there and help out. It just seems to be necessary that the way forward
is clear for the infantry and you don't need to wipe out that lot at the
foot of the hill, but that is half the fun after all.
Panzer Lehr division: "You did well! Our rear has been saved!"
That's the polite way of putting it.
This mission can be a little difficult to predict exactly. Sometimes it
can end very quickly with no trouble and other times you have a mess of
action. You can't hurry the Grenadiers; just clear the way for them as
best you can. I don't know what it is about that garden at the top of the
High Street that Tiger 131 finds so interesting, but those other infantry
platoons seem content just to sit up there with him. You need the third
squad to head boldly into town, and if just one solitary soldier makes it
halfway down the High Street that is enough for MISSION COMPLETE.
If you are having difficulty simply completing this mission, another
strategy is to shepherd that left flank squad every inch of the way.
Demolish the tanks in the convoy but leave the carriers intact so that
there will be fewer wandering Tommies, and then stay just ahead of your
troops as you knock out the Cromwells in the fields to the left now that
you know where they will materialise. Move slowly into the buildings at
the top of the hill and edge between the gaps to expose those zippy
Cromwells in and about the streets one by one. You don't need to trouble
the concentration of tanks waiting at the bottom of the hill or all those
out on the right, because just as soon as those plucky Grenadiers toddle
into the town centre the mission is complete. It's a little boring this
way though. A mighty Tiger craves ACTION!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you want to try for the 'perfect' round of Maximum Destruction/No Hits
try this:
Load APCR. Calibrate to 600.
Tilt left, burst through the hedge and stop on the verge. Knock out
moving Cromwell before anyone else is condition 'Red'. Move sight just
slightly for Parked Cromwell. Raise sight to 1000 and fire blind over
crest for No.3.
Leave half-tracks for now. Calibrate to 900m and advance up slope until
three ambushers alerted. Hit deadly Firefly first if possible then others
all at same range. Turn 180. You have a commanding view.
Load HE. Pick off half-tracks one above the other. Keep same range and
finish 3-4 enemy infantry platoons now fleeing in fields either side.
Await Tiger 131.
Move through right side fields and lob HE at remaining infantry as you
go. Burst out on Cromwell at point-blank range and finish the second that
arrives. Nail third in High Street.
Move into northern edge of town and knock out Firefly at foot of hill and
Cromwell behind him. Move downhill a little and await any other target.
Head across to High Street if none appear and remove Cromwell sitting
down there.
Troops have advanced. MISSION COMPLETE.
Polish fingernails casually on lapel of jacket.
Now try it in the Marder! (It is certainly possible but you'll need to
stay out of sight and sneak up on everybody or one shot will do for you.)
_________________________________________________________________________
GERMANY Mission 12: B A R K M A N N C O R N E R
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another 'lone' mission based on a widely documented historical feat of
arms. It's up to you to show that you are worthy of the honour of
representing panzer ace Ernst Barkmann.
2 7 J u l y 1 9 4 4, B a r k m a n n C o r n e r
____________________________________________________________
"The streets are full of yankees!"
Barkmann heard the Grenadiers words:
"Head for the crossroads!"
This is the epic struggle of Panther 424:
Destroy all enemy vehicles on the road.
Stop their advance!
Once again you are alone on the battlefield. This is the usual Normandy
patchwork of fields bounded by low hedges, with a river and its
tributaries to your right and curling behind. You start at la Jusseliere
and ahead of you cutting across the map is the N172 leading to the town
of le Neufbourg. Rather worryingly if you are playing as an Ace, there
does not seem to be a Supply Point anywhere in your Map screen, but this
should be no problem as your Panther is heavily armed and surprisingly
fast despite that. It will need both these virtues.
Head forward and take a moment to load best ammo. As you hit the highway
there is a sudden and unwelcome surprise - a column of Allied tanks is </pre><pre id="faqspan-3">
right upon you! These are only flimsy Sherman M4's so open up at point-
blank range on the lead tank to halt the advance and then wait for
agonising seconds to pass before the next shell arrives... BANG! and the
next... BOOM! Phew! You don't want any more shocks like that, so keep
your wits about you.
There are no infantry out in the countryside to give warnings, so be very
sure of what lies ahead before you proceed. In fact if you take a glance
up that road then another M4 is soon in evidence and who knows how many
more behind? Although you can charge up there and take your chances, it
may be best on this occasion to get off the road quickly. Try heading
into the field to your right. Dammit - another one! And yet another
arriving... The Panther is a fabulous fighting machine, so resign
yourself to the probability of a lot of close action and continue by
setting about these two quickly.
After seeing off all the feeble Shermans you will be feeling quite
invincible but that is far from the case. Out of nowhere tracer starts
flying around your ears and then there is a familiar and unwelcome roar
of engines...
Shheeeee-Woooooooommmppppph!!!!
Gott in Himmel! Another Typhoon of course, and this time there is only
one target - YOU!! My advice is to get moving and keep moving. The trees
and hedges are no protection at all, and rather unfairly the buildings
often seem totally transparent to that chappie, so parking up and
watching him zoom overhead is likely to become brewing up and watching an
aerial shot of it happening. KEEP MOVING! Bizarrely enough just running
backwards and forwards seems to do the trick, and in any case this
ignominy is preferable to fleeing headlong into another troop of
Shermans. The direction of attack is mostly from east to west, so you
could try getting close to the west side of one of your burning victims
for a little shelter if he is bearing down on you in the open, but it is
better to stay in motion and keep your fingers crossed.
You will suffer about six or seven bombing runs - there may be more than
one plane or else he can circle unfeasibly quickly. When it seems to
quieten down, take the track past le Fut and follow the stream to la
Cosnetiere. (There is a possibility of a last strafing run if you hang
about.) Skirt along the track there to la Montagne and now take that
track north towards le Neufbourg and BINGO! Four Shermans side-on staking
out that road. Are you quick enough? You'd better be, because the
replacements come straight down the track towards you on the other side
of the highway and even when you've dealt with them there are just one or
two (or ten) more parked along the N172 to either side of this carnage.
Deal with that lot in your own time and round up the stray in the field
and...that's it. Entirely.
________________________________________________________________
| |
| Battle results M I S S I O N C O M P L E T E |
|________________________________________________________________|
Name Vehicle Tanks(Total)
Panther 424 Panther A 18 (18)
,--------------------------------------------------------------,
| Hit Ratio 19/19(100%) |
| Hits taken 2 TOTAL SCORE |
| Total time 8:24 1 9 1 5 0 |
'--------------------------------------------------------------'
I'm no expert, so I think this is the only mission I completed with a
100% hit ratio; perhaps because they were all point-blank! Surely that
lot should be worth an oak-leaf cluster to go on the old Iron Cross?
_________________________________________________________________________
GERMANY Mission 13: T R A I N I N G - M 1 v s T - 8 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
T r a i n i n g M 1 v s. T - 8 0
____________________________________________________________
This is a hypothetical combat.
Both tanks are at maximum firepower.
A long-range shooting contest is expected.
Commence firing as soon as you locate the enemy!
After all that intensely realistic and authentic action, this 'bonus'
mission is not so much Training as a chance to have some fun charging
around in a big tank blasting anything that moves in an Arcade style
point-and-shoot joyride! Have fun.
_________________________________________________________________________
'T A C T I C S' V E H I C L E S
________________________________
Here is a list of all the tanks used in the default run of each mission
when playing 'TACTICS' as the Germans. Some of these are undoubtedly the
most formidable of all the weapons in PANZER FRONT, so have some fun
setting yourself up with the strongest tanks for the easiest ride in some
missions or giving yourself a tough (or impossible?) challenge by using
the weakest vehicle in others. Remember you can change your Blue and
Green tanks and of course the Enemy tanks too.
[Not every tank is available for use in every Mission - see list below.]
| Player Blue units Green units Enemy Tanks
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Training-1 | PzIV H s - PzIV H s M4A1(76)
| M4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Training-2 | PzIII N s Marder II Marder II M5A1
| M4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hill 220.5 | Tiger 1 E Tiger 1 E StuGIII G T-34 (1942)
| StuGIII G KB-1 (1942)
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Swch. | Tiger 1 E Tiger 1 E StuGIII G T-34 (1942)
Oktjabrskij | StuGIII G KB-1 (1942)
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hill 112 | PzIV H s PzIV H s PzIV H s Churchill VI
| Firefly Vc
| Cromwell IV
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
N158 Highway | Tiger 1 L Tiger 1 L - M4
| Firefly Vc
| Churchill VI
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sachsendorf | Tiger II Tiger II Panther G T-34-85
| Hetzer NC-2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Berlin | Tiger II Tiger II - NC-2M
| T-34-85
| NCY-152
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sinyavino | PzIII n PzIII n - T-34 (1942)
| PzIIIJ/L60 KB-1 (1942)
| Tiger 1 E
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vitebsk | Hornisse Hornisse - T-34 (1942)
| KB-1 (1942)
| T-60
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Villers | Tiger 1 L - Tiger 1 L Firefly Vc
-Bocage | Cromwell IV
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barkmann | Panther A - - M4A1(76)
Corner | M4
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Training - | M1A2 M1A2 - T-80YA
M1 vs T-80 |
|
Having battled through each of the GERMANY Missions, you should have a
fair idea of which tanks are best suited to a particular type of action.
Sometimes it can be better to have a fast or strong tank than merely a
destructive one. Consider each model carefully, as sometimes a simple
letter or number added to the name can make an otherwise innocuous
vehicle into a killing machine. The E-79 armed with the 88mm is a useful
weapon but fitted with the even bigger 128 it becomes spectacular!
Check the characteristics of each model by using the Map screen and
pressing SQUARE. You can rotate the tank (notice the tracks moving - nice
touch) and zoom in and out and see all around it with the D-pad and the
front shoulder buttons. The green 'power bars' will give you a ready
comparison for things like speed and armour. Whilst it is always good to
pack a heavy punch, some missions need a fast tank (such as Vitebsk) and
others a sturdy one (Swch. Oktjabrskij). Some ideally need both virtues
(Berlin!). Similar models may carry a different armoury or have better
protection, so it is not simply a question of bigger guns.
Use this list to decide which tanks you feel most comfortable with and
see what else is available for each mission, and then set your enemies to
be as strong as you can handle.
MISSION No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
PzIIIJ/L42 * * * * * * * * * * * * *
PzIIIJ/L60 * * * * * * * * * * * * *
PzIII N s * * * * * * * * * * * *
PzIII N *
PzIV H tur s * * * *
PzIV G * *
PzIV H s * * * * * * * *
Panther A * * * * * * * * * *
Panther G * * * * * * * * *
Tiger I E * * * * *
Tiger I L * * * * * * * * *
Tiger II * * * * * * * * *
Hetzer * * * * * * * * *
PzJagdIV/L48 * * * * * * * * *
PzIV/70(V) * * * * * *
JagdTiger * * * * * * * *
StuGIII E * * * * * * * * * * * * *
StuGIII G * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Marder III * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Hornisse * * * *
Nashorn * * * * * * * * *
Cromwell IV * * * * * * * * *
Firefly Vc * * * * * * * * *
Churchill VI * * * * * * * * *
T-34 (1941) * * * * * * * * * * * * *
T-34 (1942) * * * * * * * * * * * * *
T-34-85 * * * * * * *
KB-1 (1940) * * * * * * * * * * * * *
KB-1 (1942) * * * * * * * * * * * * *
NC-2 * * * * * * *
NC-2M * * * * * * *
NC-3 *
CY-85 * * * * * * * *
NCY-152 * * * * * * * *
M5A1 * * * * * * * * * *
M4 * * * * * * * * * * *
M4A1(76) * * * * * * * * * * *
M4A3E2 * * * * * * *
M10 * * * * * * * * * * *
Aureole/75 * * * * *
Aureole/88 *
Aureole s * *
Aureole s/1 * * * * * *
E-79/88 * * * * * * * * *
E-79/128 * * *
CY-122c * * * * * * * * * * * *
NC-152 * * * * * * * * * * * *
NC-152M * * * * * * * * * * * *
T69E3 * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ShortBull * * * * * * * * * * * * *
M1A2 ABRAMS *
T-80YA *
As you see, the widest range of tanks is available when playing the last
Training mission. This arena seems to be somewhere like the Eastern Front
in summertime, although it is more like the Western Desert since it
features a vast open terrain with just a few scrubby patches and some
thin trees. A track in the centre leads through a deep culvert which
opens into a wide sandy gully - packed with waiting enemies and precious
little cover! This is the perfect environment to try out the shooting
abilities and relative speediness of all the vehicles and you will soon
see which match each other. Try going up against the modern tanks using
any of the WWII armour to see how far the technology has advanced; it's a
pity that you can't timewarp an M1 Abrams back to the Eastern Front or
you could really do some damage.
______________
/ \
__/ PzIII \_____________________________________________________
There are several variants of this tank available and none of them are
any good. You know the limitations of the short-barrelled version from
the Sinyavino mission; check out that mission again, and using the Map
screen and SQUARE you can compare the best of these PzIII's ('Tank 115'
with the 60mm gun) and the worst (your own!) and you won't find much
difference at all in terms of speed or armour.
_____________
/ \
__________________/ PzIV \______________________________________
Although looking very stylish (less so the models with the skirts and
collar - which in fact are no protection at all), this is not a top
choice except possibly with the fairly decent 48-calibre gun on the 'H'
variants.
_____________
/ \
___________________________________/ Panther \_____________________
Now we're talking. Incorporating the best features of the T-34 and even
improving on them, this tank was one of the finest fighting machines of
WWII. For most of the missions it is the best all-round tank in PANZER
FRONT because it is well-armed and quite fast over even the most
difficult terrain. The sloped armour is proof against most attacks and it
is fast enough to elude others. The two models are nearly identical -
visually about the only difference is that the front 'letterbox' viewing
plate is removed on the Ausf 'G'. Panther - choice of champions.
______________
/ \
____________________________________________________/ Tiger I \___
This is the classic heavy tank of World War II. Feared and respected by
the enemy, this will get you ahead in almost every mission. The main
drawback is the slow turret traverse, and it is also fairly slow in a
straight line so is highly vulnerable to rear attack or from the air. It
will cope very well with any number of Shermans or T-34's head on. You
will have a choice of either the 'E' or 'L' model but these seem to be
identical except for the paint job.
_____________
/ \
__/ Tiger II \______________________________________________________
This tank has the same disadvantages as the Tiger I in terms of speed and
the slow turret traverse, but it has an even more powerful 71-calibre
88mm gun to compensate. Few of the other tanks would survive the Berlin
Mission, so what other recommendation do you need?
______________
/ \
__________________/ Hetzer \_____________________________________
Well armed but lightly armoured despite its impregnable appearance.
Annoyingly limited 'gun range movement'. Its reasonable weapon and low
profile as well as above average speed will give you a fighting chance if
you like to make things difficult for yourself.
_____________
/ \
___________________________________/ PzJagdIV/L48 \_____________________
Similar in most respects to the Hetzer but a little slower and even
uglier. It has the same gun but is much quicker to load.
______________
/ \
____________________________________________________/ PzIV/70(V) \___
Very low profile and consequently has extremely limited gun movement
(vertical as well as lateral) making this too frustrating to use despite
its powerful armament and general sturdiness.
_____________
/ \
__/ JagdTiger \______________________________________________________
This is the massive tank that gave you so much grief at Ludendorf Bridge.
It has a devastating 128mm gun and is very heavily armoured and so will
breeze through many missions but will still light up like a candle when a
Typhoon appears. The loading is painfully slow and there is no turret
movement to speak of, so it is vulnerable to massed attacks. Your target
will ideally need to be stationary and very distant!
______________
/ \
__________________/ StuG E / G \_____________________________________
A fairly sturdy tank - dull but reliable. The two variants look very
different even if they are both closely related to the PzIII. The gun on
the 'G' model is a big improvement on the 'E' but still not up to much.
_____________
/ \
___________________________________/ Marder III \_____________________
A "tank hunter" armoured gun carrier. As mentioned before, this looks
like a comedy golf-cart and is about as useful. The gun is fairly capable
if you survive long enough to use it.
________________
/ \
__________________________________________________/ Nashorn/Hornisse \___
These are virtually identical self-propelled Anti-tank Guns. The gun on
each is a powerful 88mm Pak 43 which is very useful at long range, but
the armour is practically non-existent and one shot from anybody at
almost any distance will end your mission very quickly. Luckily it is
fairly nippy, so it can be quite exhilarating to speed around behind your
target(s). You normally take command of this vehicle only in the Vitebsk
mission, in which configuration it is known as a 'Hornisse' (Hornet). Use
either of these in another mission if you like to live dangerously!
_____________
/ \
__/ E-79 \______________________________________________________
As mentioned, the standard (fictitious) E-79 comes fitted with a deadly
88, and this tank is sturdy yet still reasonably fast and manoeuverable.
A good choice which becomes even better in the Sachsendorf and Berlin
missions where it has the bigger 128mm gun. Gun movement can be
restricted and loading is painfully slow, but you can't have everything.
______________
/ \
__________________/ Aureole \_____________________________________
There are four slight variants of this other fictitious German tank. The
standard model has a barely adequate 75mm gun but it does at least have
HEAT shells amongst its armoury. Even if they are weak, they are
spectacular! A far better choice when available is the incredible 100-
calibre 88mm, fired through an enormous barrel. Even a Churchill will be
blown to bits with one shot! All models retain the outrageous speed, and
with that big 88 fitted you can charge about banging away at everything
and as likely as not you won't get a scratch if you just keep moving.
Totally inauthentic but lots of fun.
With all these tanks available for you to try, there is such a wide range
of possibilities that you can play every mission a dozen times and still
find something new.
_________________________________________________________________________
C O N C L U S I O N
___________________
You have ended the Missions, but PANZER FRONT is not 'finished'. I doubt
that an enthusiast (as you must surely be by now) can ever consider this
game finished; there are any number of strategies and refinements to
consider and you will have a different experience every time if you make
it so. For the greatest satisfaction, try always to play in the spirit of
the game and make it a point of pride to complete each mission in the
most economical way. The scoreboard will show how many shots are wasted
or even just how much time has been taken, so there is always room for
improvement I'm sure.
Having battled through in the easier 'Veteran' mode, try again as an
'Ace'. Perhaps the most difficult thing then will be deciding when to use
each of your precious stock of ammo before risking a trip to the Supply
Point. You can make it even harder on yourself by switching 'Range
Indicator' off in the Options menu. Trying to target your many enemies
without the benefit of having the range given to you makes it very
satisfying to achieve once you have mastered finding them with just a
test shot or two. It is nerve-wracking on occasion, as the first
indication of an enemy target may be when he is right on top of you!
Of course the experience will never become truly authentic - after all, a
real battlefield commander will have to gather snippets of information
and try to put them together to form an overall picture before making a
decision, whereas you have the whole thing laid out whenever you want it
right there in the Map screen. While for the first few times you will use
this frequently (and rightly so) perhaps the ultimate challenge is to use
it only to direct your Blues or set up a barrage etc., and otherwise try
just to head for where the action looks hottest until you actually spot
your target as in a real battle. This way PANZER FRONT will never grow
stale and that surely is the best compliment that can be paid to any
game.
_________________________________________________________________________
A P P E N D I X
_________________________________________________________________________
M I S S I O N S L I S T
________________________
________
1: USA Training-1
2: Training-2
3: 1944/ 7/ 9 St. Jean-de-Daye
4: 1944/ 7/10 Le Dezert
5: 1944/ 8/15 Argentan
6: 1944/12/18 Poteau
7: 1944/12/21 Saint-Vith
8: 1945/ 3/ 7 Ludendorf Bridge
________
1: RUSSIA Training
2: 1941/12/ 9 Strike Army
3: 1942/ 8/27 Gaytolovo
4: 1943/ 1/18 Poselok No.5
5: 1943/ 7/12 Swch. Oktjabrskij
6: 1943/ 7 22 Junction
7: 1944/ 1/19 Krasnoe Sero
_________
1: GERMANY Training-1
2: Training-2
3: 1943/ 7/ 5 Hill 220.5
4: 1943/ 7/12 Swch. Oktjabrskij
5: 1944/ 7/10 Hill 112
6: 1944/ 8/ 8 N158 Highway
7: 1945/ 3/23 Sachsendorf
8: 1945/ 4/30 Berlin
9: 1943/ 1/20 Sinyavino
10: 1943/12/19 Vitebsk
11: 1944/ 6/13 Villers-Bocage
12: 1944/ 7/27 Barkmann Corner
13: Training-M1 vs T-80
T A N K S L I S T F O R U S A / R U S S I A M I S S I O N S
_______________________________________________________________
Just for reference, here is a list of all tanks available for you to
choose between when you customise each of the USA and RUSSIA Missions:
USA MISSION No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
-----------------------------------------
PzIIIJ/L42 * * * * * * * *
PzIIIJ/L60 * * * * * * * *
PzIII N s * * * * * * * *
PzIII H tur s * *
PzIV H s * * * * * *
Panther A * * * * * * * *
Panther G * * * * * * * *
Tiger I L * * * * * * * *
Tiger II * * * * * * * *
Hetzer * * * * * * * *
PzJagdIV/L48 * * * * * * * *
PzIV/70(V) * * * * *
JagdTiger * * * * * * * *
StuGIII E * * * * * * * *
StuGIII G * * * * * * * *
Marder II * * * * * * * *
Nashorn * * * * * * * *
Cromwell IV * * * * * * * *
Firefly Vc * * * * * * * *
Churchill VI * * * * * * * *
T-34 (1941) * * * * * * * *
T-34 (1942) * * * * * * * *
T-34-85 * * * * * * * *
KB-1 (1940) * * * * * * * *
KB-1 (1942) * * * * * * * *
NC-2 * * * * * * * *
NC-2M * * * * * * * *
CY-85 * * * * * * * *
NCY-152 * * * * * * * *
M5A1 * * * * * * * *
M4 * * * * * * * *
M4A1(76) * * * * * * * *
M4A3E2 * * * *
M10 * * * * * * * *
Aureole/88 *
Aureole s * * * *
Aureole s/1 * *
E-79/88 * * * * *
E-79/128 * * * *
CY-122c * * * * * * * *
NC-152 * * * * * * * *
NC-152M * * * * * * * *
T69E3 * * * * * * * *
ShortBull * * * * * * * *
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
RUSSIA MISSION No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
--------------------------------------
PzIIIJ/L42 * * * * * * *
PzIIIJ/L60 * * * * * * *
PzIII N *
PzIII N s * * *
PzIV H s * * *
Panther A *
Tiger I E * * * * *
StuGIII E * * * * * * *
StuGIII G * * *
Marder II * * * * *
Hornisse * * *
Cromwell IV *
Firefly Vc *
Churchill VI *
T-34 (1941) * * * * * * *
T-34 (1942) * * * * *
KB-1 (1940) * * * * * * *
KB-1 (1942) * * * * *
CY-85 *
NCY-152 *
M5A1 * * * * *
M4 * * * *
M4A1(76) * * * *
M10 * * * *
Aureole/75 * * * * * * *
Aureole s *
Aureole s/1 *
E-79/88 * * * * * * *
CY-122c * * * * * * *
NC-152 * * * * * * *
NC-152M * * * * * * *
T69E3 * * * * * * *
ShortBull * * * * * * *
_________________________________________________________________________
PANZER FRONT - PLAYSTATION
Released: April 2001 (UK)
Developers: Enterbrain
Publisher: JVC
_________________________________________________________________________
(c) J Woodrow 2002
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