Description[]
The Red Baron is the third scenario of the German Campaign in Empire Earth.
Briefing[]
The Red Baron: Spring 1916
The stalemate along the Western Front has dragged on and on. The Battle of Verdun, a fight over a mere 10 square kilometers which has already lasted three months, is chewing up men like no battle ever before. Nearly 100, 000 men have fallen dead or wounded so far.
Germany had begun the offensive hoping to wear down France's will to fight, but the attack's early momentum has since dwindled away. Now, the German High Command has detected a possible weakness in one sector, and sees an opportunity to grab new territory. The plan hinges on capturing or eliminating three French strongholds in the region. Veteran troops and fliers, including Manfred von Richthofen - now feared by the Allies as the "Red Baron" - have been dispatched to the area. Their orders: destroy the three forts by any means necessary.
Starting conditions[]
Territory[]
At the beginning of the scenario, German territory occupies the northern and eastern parts of the map. French territory occupies the Southwestern part of the map. The territories are separated by lines of Barbed Wire, Pillboxes, AA Guns and Towers.
Economy[]
At the beginning of the scenario, you have control over a Capitol, many Houses, and several military buildings, including Barracks, Stables, Tank Factories, Siege Factories, and an Aerodrome. You also begin with four Citizens, There are scant Food resources in the territory. There are plentiful Trees, plus several Stone, Gold And Iron mines in the northern part of the territory. You also have the following initial resources:
Military Units[]
You start with four German Infantry, two Machine Guns, two Anti-Tank Guns and two Artillery. In addition, Manfred von Richthofen and four Fokker Fighter/Bombers are garrisoned at the Aerodrome, while an Observation Balloon hovers close by. Citizens can build most structures typical to the era except for AA Guns. All combat units are unimproved.
Brief Summary[]
Your objective is to destroy all French buildings within the three walled "forts" located in the southern part of the map. These are Douaumont in the north, and Vaux and Souville in the south.
When this has been accomplished, you will then be required to destroy nine Allied fighter planes originating in the top right corner of the map.
Objectives[]
- The French have three heavily defended forts in this sector: Douaumont, Vaux, and Souville. Destroy everything within the Walls of these forts.
- The Red Baron must survive.
- Shoot down all aircraft belonging to the "Anti-Richthofen Squad".
History[]
As the war dragged on, aerial combat gradually changed. It was becoming less about glorious one-on-one duels and more about bringing the maximum firepower to bear to kill an enemy as quickly as possible. Manfred von Richthofen helped reorganize the German Air Force into larger groups of aircraft (called Jastas) and personally took command of Jasta 11. After learning that the Allies were gunning specifically for him and his plane, which he had painted bright red, Richthofen's response was to have all his pilots fly red planes. "Richthofen's Flying Circus" was thus born.
On the ground, the war had become a quagmire. No side could achieve the breakthrough needed to permit a significant advance. The Battle of Verdun, fought over many months in 1916, was one of the largest, longest, and costliest battles of all time. The German High Command believed that Germany's best chance against the allied forces of Britain, France, and Russia (who had Germany surrounded and outnumbered) was to pry them apart. They chose Verdun as the point to launch an attack against the French forces. The theory was that a victory there would cripple France's ability to wage war and dishearten the allies as a whole. The French army ultimately repelled the attack, but the combined losses on both sides totaled about 750,000 men. And, when it was all over, the battle lines remained virtually unchanged.
Hints & Strategy[]
- Engineers can be used to build Pillboxes and Barbed Wire.
- Don't wait too long to produce more troops. The French certainly won't.
- French airpower will be nonexistent at first, but will build up slowly. Don't forget to prepare a small force of fighters. The Albatros is much more effective against other aircraft than the Fokker.
- The three French forts are quite large. They offer lots of room to make a forward outpost to springboard further attacks, instead of trying to funnel in more troops from the German lines.
- Some of the deadliest units in the French arsenal come from Bras. Victory can come swifter if this city can be eliminated quickly.
- Don't forget about your Artillery Spotter Balloon. It can be quite useful. When the balloon is positioned over a fort, selecting a building inside the fort will call in a devastating, one-time barrage.
- Cargo Trucks can be used to move foot soldiers quickly across the battlefield. Load and unload the trucks just like any transport.
- Be careful - the French will be quick to upgrade both their troops and aircraft.
Some hints:
- Although the current epoch is World War I, it is still possible to produce cavalry units in existing Stables.
- The French have two Aerodromes up on a plateau at the upper left edge of the map; these Aerodromes are inaccessible by land, and they take over as the operating Aerodrome should the ones in Bras be destroyed.
- Players can feasibly reach and attack these Aerodromes with Bomber planes if they manage to establish an Aerodrome within the planes' travel distance, though the French will defend this Aerodrome fiercely with their own planes; Manfred's direct and extensive involvement might be needed if players wish to destroy these Aerodromes.
- Destroying these Aerodromes and the ones in Bras will effectively disable the French's air force up until the last segment of the scenario.
- The French forts and the French army outside of the forts are technically different factions in the scenario, and have rather different behaviors.
- The French forts predominantly produce Artillery and Medics, and they don't bother patrolling the French territories to hunt down player units, or even sending units to attack the player's side of the map; most of the time, they won't even bother attacking player units that are seen and are being engaged by the army faction, even though it's within French side of the map. However, if the player's land units aggravate their Artillery, they might send sizeable groups of said siege weapon to attack the German side, which could be devastating when happening in tandem with the French Army's occasional onslaught.
- The French army covers everything else; infantry, tanks, and the war planes produced in facilities outside the forts. They will actively attack the German side of the map. Their planes often circle area around the French territories, acting as both patrols and quick defensive response against attempt of approach towards the Forts. They will adapt their deployment depending on what militant production facility they still have left.
Storyline[]
In Verdun, a German Officer is relaying a battleplan to Manfred Von Richthofen and the other troops.
German Officer: Today we have an opportunity for a major breakthrough! Although the Allies are still heavily entrenched here, High Command believes we can smash through if we commit everything to one big push. I have arranged for some heavy artillery support. Once the Balloon is over a chosen target, the artillery can be ordered to commence its barrage. Our long-range artillery forces have only enough rounds for one attack, so the target must be chosen wisely.
Manfred Von Richthofen: Jasta 11 and I are here as well to lend support in the coming fight. Controlling the skies will help keep the enemy at bay, should they devote any flyers to this sector.
German Officer: I've also managed to procure a shipment of Armored Fighting Vehicles, or "tanks" as the English call them. We will hopefully get at least ten of these, perhaps a few more if we are very lucky, Freiherr von Richthofen, I wish you and these men the best of luck on this important mission.
The Artillery Spotter Balloon is highlighted.
Manfred Von Richthofen: My fliers and I are available to help protect the artillery spotter balloon, which is vital to our victory. When the balloon is positioned over a fort, selecting a building inside the fort will call in a devastating, one-time barrage from our special long-range artillery.
The first fort is destroyed.
German Officer: Manfred, congratulations! In view of your bravery, the High Command has awarded you four medals. I have here the Saint Henry's Military Order, the Imperial Order of the Iron Cross, the Order of the Royal House of Oldenburg, and the Griffen Cross!
Manfred Von Richthofen: Thank you, sir. And extend my thanks to our people, who suffer so much so that we may fight.
German Officer: Such gallantry will cheer the hearts of the people. But keep a sharp eye, Manfred. There is talk amongst the Allied POWs that a special squad of fliers is being assembled to exterminate you.
The second fort is destroyed.
German Officer: Manfred, the German people have demanded that we reward you still further! The High Command has therefore conferred the Hessian Philips Order, the Order of the Iron Crown, and the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Medal for Bravery. Not only that, the King of Bulgaria has awarded you the Bulgarian Order of Military Valour!
Manfred Von Richthofen: These trinkets are all well and good, but reward is there for those dying on the battlefields below?
German Officer: Do not concern yourself with such things, Manfred. Each man has his place and duty - it is enough for those on the battlefield to know that they die in service to their country.
The Artillery Spotter Balloon is activated.
German Trooper: Our target is marked! Commence the shelling!
The third fort is destroyed.
German Officer: With the French forts gone, the Verdun sector will soon be entirely ours! At long last, the months of horrible slaughter are over... What is this? Manfred, I've just received word that the intelligence reports are true! The finest English and French pilots have been gathered into one squadron for the sole purpose of shooting you down! We will have to deal with this threat if we are ever to secure this sector.
Manfred Von Richthofen: No fear! I am honored that our enemies deem me such a threat. Perhaps I will finally meet a worthy foe!
The Anti-R Squad is defeated.
German Officer: Well done Manfred! Once again we rule the skies as well as the land in Verdun. And there is greater news as well. I have been informed that the Kaiser himself has approved the Orden Pour le Merite for you. The "Blue Max" you desired for so long is finally yours.
Walkthrough[]
Civ point investment: Artillery, Buildings and Fighter Airplanes should have had their attack/range bonuses in the last scenarios. Now focus on
- Tanks: attack, range
- Pop Cap: +15% bonus
New options:
- we finally have Tanks, the replacement for Cuirassiers. We can build only 10 in this scenario, but that is enough
- we can build the Engineer in the Barracks: he is faster and more robust than the Citizen; he can build the useful Pillboxes, can help build and can repair all buildings, and he repairs fast
- we can train the German Officer in Town Centers/Capitols: he is by far a better healer than Medics
- we have an one-time use of a "long-range artillery" (not seen on the map), that is triggered via the Observation Balloon (click at a building while the Balloon is above a fortress). It works in the same manner as the Prophet's Earthquake, only with double or triple the impact zone
This scenario has two phases as usual.
Pause the game with F3 to give all the first orders, then unpause.
Phase 1 Preparations[]
After around 5 minutes, the French will begin their attack at your positions and will regularly do so until the very end of the scenario. You have to build up economy and defenses simultaneously.
Economy[]
- build a Granary, fully manned and populated, slightly northwest of the Capitol
- build a Settlement near the Iron, Gold and Stone fields. The most efficient spot is right behind the 88mm AA Gun. Populate it to a Town Center (and later Capitol) and assign 12 Citizens to Iron, 6 to Stone, 6 to Gold (in this order)
- from your first Capitol, send 6 Citizens to chop wood
- When you have enough resources, let some of the Citizens populate the secondary Capitol to free pop space for military units
Defense[]
The French will attack often and with a variety of unit types: Infantry, Tanks, Artillery, Fighter Planes. You need a defense that can withstand all this without needing to much micromanagement, or you will have a hard time doing your attack. And you need to build it fast.
- Upgrade your Towers, Pillboxes and 88mm AA Guns
- Build 10 Albatros fighters to complete the squadron (upgrade 2x attack, 2x range, 1x hitpoints). Set the rally point at your eastern front, later perhaps directly at your airport
- At the westernmost position, train 6 Partisans as mobile AA-Unit, and a German Officer for them as healer
- Assign 2 Artillery to the westernmost position (group them) and 2 to the eastern front (upgrade 2x attack, 2x range, 1x splash damage)
- Send your 2 Anti-Tank Artillery to the westernmost position. Only there will the tank attacks happen
- Build 2 Engineers for the western and 2 for the eastern front
- At the westernmost position, build some more Towers and Pillboxes before them, and build a Hospital behind the Siege Workshop; position your units in the Hospital range;
- Every time there is an alarm, pause with F3, hit SPACE to jump to the alarm point and check if there is enemy Artillery involved. If it is, react with your own Artillery. Let the Engineers repair Pillboxes and Towers occasionally. Consider saving the game after each or after important successful defenses.
Army[]
Only when Economy and Defense are done, build an attack force that includes
- 10 Tanks (2x attack, 2x range, 1x hitpoints)
- 4-6 Artillery (2x attack, 2x range, 1x splash damage)
- 6-8 Partisans (fully upgraded) and 1 German Officer
- Observation Balloon
Phase 2 Attack[]
Formation and roles: use the Balloon as spotter for the Artillery. If there are enemy aircraft or AA Guns, use the tanks. Move the Partisans near your other units to defend against air attacks. Use the Artillery from a safe distance whenever possible. Destroy all (blue) French buildings you can, so that their Artillery cannot see your units.
You have to use two tactics and be flexible in changing between them to adapt to the situation on the battlefield:
- Fire Wall (steam roll): When the resistance allows it, advance in full formation slowly destroying all things with the Artillery, maintaining your distance to the enemy. Stationary units (e.g. artillery) are easy targets, but when they move it is another story.
- Hit-and-run: If the resistance is too strong, use advances with all or some of your units (e.g. 2 Tanks against 1-2 Artillery, the Tanks move, shoot, and when the artillery fires, move again). Retreat fast, if necessary, even a long distance.
Save often.
Fortress 1 (Vaux)[]
Steamroll until you get near. Kill Artillery, Towers and AA Guns until the Balloon can move above the fortress and trigger the "barrage". Try to aim it at an building more at the center, so that hopefully the surrounding Towers are also affected, so that you do not have to mop up too much afterwards. Enjoy the sight and the 5 civ points.
Fortress 2 (Souville)[]
Mop up slightly on the plateau of Vaux, but dont stay there long, as the attack route of the second Fortress passes there. Go south, take the narrow valley along the southern edge of the map, destroying things on the plateau if necessary for advancement. After a short while, you arrive at the second Fortress. If there are units, wait until they go fighting at the front, then destroy Towers, AA Guns, the Gate and all building inside the fortress. Advance slowly guarding with the Tanks against possible Infantry attacks from the north and west, with the Partisans against air attacks from the west. 5 civ points.
Production Cluster[]
After the second fortress, advance further west – you will find the Jackpot: a lot of Siege Workshops and 3 Airports, none well guarded. After you steamroll them, you should feel the weight of the French attacks lessen at your front.
Further north is a yellow (neutral) Hospital where you can heal your tanks.
Airports on the hill[]
Further north are 2 Airports on a hill. You can destroy them with your Artillery, but the effort is high and this is not worth it. Even if you take the maximal distance, you will eventually be attacked by a huge number of fighters, more than the Partisan can handle, and are attacked from the north and east from the last fortress, so you have to retreat often. Compared to this, the few fighters that are harassing your main force during its attack on the last fortress are a mere nuisance.
Fortress 3 (Douaumont)[]
Do a series of hit-and-run attacks from different angles until you can destroy the three Sieges Workshop from the distance. Now the enemy can not build Artillery anymore and you can do the rest with ease. Mop up some of the training buildings around the fortress before you destroy the last building within.
As soon as the fortress is gone, an air attack at Richthofen is announced. It will take some minutes to take place. Simply wait. When your fighter squadron has killed enough of them, you win (15 civ points).
Alternative walkthrough[]
Economy[]
Although you start the scenario with generous resources, it will be necessary to gather Food, Wood and Iron to maintain your forces through the long campaign. A Farm is the best option for gathering Food. The forest in the top right corner of the map is suitable for logging. The Iron mines in the north are not on level ground, so it won't be possible to build Settlements directly adjacent to them. This will slow gathering, so it is a good idea to mine two Iron mines simultaneously. Also, the Hospital improvement "Vitamins" will boost Citizen Speed, increasing their gather rate. Some valuable combat units require Gold, so it is also worth mining that resource, although it is less important than Iron. There is no need to gather Wood or Stone.
Defense[]
Some of your territory will be periodically attacked by French forces, and over time, these attacks can impact on your economy and military strategy.
French forces on ground mostly uses anti-infantry units such as Machine Guns and MkV Tank (HE) so it is not very advised to use infantry units. The best unit to counter them are Imperial Cuirassiers as they are enough solid to deal against HE tanks and as Machine Guns are classed as ranged units.
The best unit for defense is Artillery with improved Range and Area Damage. Create 2-3 of these for vulnerable fronts, and keep them far back from front lines to prevent them from being attacked by ground forces. Spare citizens can also be deployed to build Towers to improve defense lines. Partisans are the only infantry unit that can shoot at planes, so 5-6 of these standing close together and set to Stand Ground behavior are a good defense against air attack, especially since you can't build AA Guns.
Offense[]
A good mobile offensive force consists of 20+ German Infantry, 3-4 German Officers, 6-8 Partisans, 6-8 Trench Mortars, and 3-4 Howitzer Cannons and all with full improvements. When set to Stand Ground behavior, these units move quickly and remain tightly arranged. The German Officers can heal injuries, the Partisans shoot at Aircraft. while the Trench Mortar and Howitzer Cannons can quickly destroy Walls, Towers and Buildings from a safe distance.
The biggest hazard of your offensive is enemy Artillery, which can reduce your forces to ruin in mere seconds. A first hit will cause serious injury to about 50% of your force, and a second hit will result in widespread fatalities. Artillery units are scattered throughout enemy territory, sometimes in groups of up to six. The risk is highest when your forces are near dark or fogged areas of the map: it is vitally important that you do not take your eyes off your forces in these conditions. If your forces are hit, quickly retreat to a safe space and allow units to heal. To eliminate Artillery, send the fast-moving German Infantry and German Officers to the location of the attack until the unit is revealed, or use Fighter/Bombers. When Artillery is located, quickly fire at it in unison, while moving forward to uncover other units that may be behind it. One shot from multiple Infantry units will destroy an Artillery unit immediately. You may sustain losses in these missions, so it a good idea to begin producing more units at nearby Barracks to restore your forces as you advance.
Combat Strategy[]
First target: Vaux[]
You can eliminate your first target fort easily using the one-time-use "artillery barrage" option. To use this option, you must send your Observation Balloon to hover above a target fort, and then select on a building within the fort. An Earthquake then destroys all buildings within the fort. However, the forts are armed with AA Guns, and your Balloon will be quickly shot down if it is sent alone. If you set the gather point for your Aerodrome above the fort, the planes will distract enough AA fire to allow your Balloon to arrive over the fort safely. When the planes return to the Aerodrome, select Stop to withdraw the gather point. The closest fort to your Aerodrome is Vaux, so this target is recommended for the barrage.
When all buildings in Vaux are destroyed, there will still be many military buildings standing outside its walls, and these will continue producing units. You may wish to send your Offensive force into these areas to destroy some of these buildings, as they will not be rebuilt, and you may be saving yourself trouble further along in the scenario. However, attempting to advance too far west past Vaux may result in your forces being overcome by enemy units, which will attack from several directions.
Second target: Douaumont[]
You should withdraw your offensive force to friendly territory, and direct them to the northwestern limit of your territory. Moving west from this point, you will encounter a (neutral) French Town hosting some French military buildings. Destroy these buildings, and do a quick search of the area to make sure there are no stray Artillery lurking in the shadows. Then bring five Citizens to the location to build a Settlement, and have them populate it to create a Town Center. From there, create new citizens to build Houses, a Hospital, Towers, Barracks, and Siege Factory. When these are completed, you may populate the Citizens into the Town Center, or redeploy them to gather resources elsewhere. This town will be an important stronghold as you advance south, and will provide you with a base to replace units if you sustain casualties.
This town will be vulnerable to air attack from two Aerodromes on a plateau at the top left corner of the map; however, these Aerodromes do not send Bombers, so the attacks are little more than a nuisance, and can be counterattacked by a small group of Partisans standing ground within range of a Hospital. These enemy Aerodromes are not accessible to ground troops, but they can be reached by Artillery with improved range, so it is possible to destroy them if it proves convenient to do so.
From this position you should direct your Offensive Force in a south-east direction towards the fort at Douaumont. Be sure to eliminate external Towers from the northern and western walls of the fort, and then enter the fort by destroying the western gate. Destroying the buildings within the fort may be difficult due to hidden Artillery, so take care with your troops and withdraw them where necessary. It is a good idea to cross the fort and destroy the eastern gate, as this will allow you to attack units and building on this side of the fort.
Third target: Souville[]
When this Douaumont is defeated, withdraw your troops westward, and send them southward to flank three Aerodromes at the very south of the map. When the Aerodromes are destroyed, you can slowly work your way northward and eastward, destroying military buildings scattered across the territory. You should encounter persistent enemy forces advancing from the area between Douaumont and Vaux. While they should be easy to overcome, don't advance too quickly, as you will likely walk into Artillery fire. Once the area is clear of enemy units and buildings, you can attack Souville from the west following a similar procedure to Douaumont.
New objective: Eliminate Fighter Planes[]
Once the three forts are destroyed, you will be given the new objective of destroying a fleet of Allied Fighter Planes that will come from the top right corner of the map. Even if you have already destroyed the Aerodrome in this position, these planes will fly to your nearest Aerodrome and continue flying until they are shot down. If you garrison von Richthofen in the Aerodrome, they will circle overhead until your AA Guns or Partisans shoot them down.
