The General Rules

by Patrick C. Miller

If You Want A Promotion In THE PERFECT GENERAL II, It's Time To Raise
The IQ At Your HQ
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 I n the final hours of Operation Desert Storm, U.S. General Norman Schwarzkopf
was asked his opinion of Iraqi military leader Saddam Hussein. Schwarzkopf
didn't hide his utter disdain for his counterpart's abilities. "He is neither a
strategist, nor is he schooled in the operational art, nor is he a tactician,
nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier," Schwarzkopf replied. "Other than
that, he's a great military man."

Players of PERFECT GENERAL II (PG2) need not worry about comparisons to
military history's greatest flops. Still, it is nice to earn respect from your
opponents, both human and silicon. To win consistently at PG2 requires that you
master the game's mechanics, and properly grasp both strategic concepts and
combined-arms tactics. Learning to win at PG2 is considerably easier than
planning Desert Storm, and unlike Schwarzkopf, you can become a better general
simply by following the hints below.

About Interface!

The first key to success in PG2 is doing what you want, when it's most
advantageous for your forces. Although the computer makes suggestions about the
order in which your units move, the targets at which they shoot and the order
in which they fire, it doesn't always give the best advice. Fire at the enemy
units representing the greatest threat and take your highest percentage shot.
Use the right mouse button to click on your units and select them in the order
in which you want to move or fire. You can also use the right mouse button to
click on enemy units during the movement and firing phases, obtaining
information on your chances to hit eligible targets with direct fire or to
successfully conduct close assault attacks (see the Close Assaults Chart ).

There are some undocumented features in PG2 that can help you if you're aware
of their existence. For example, if you control two or more areas in which
you're receiving reinforcements, you have the option of spending some or none
of your points in one area and then using the remainder to buy additional units
for deployment in a more advantageous area. In addition, you can elect to bank
your reinforcement purchase points from turn to turn. You probably know that
during the movement phase, pressing the L key will show all the hexes the
selected unit can see from its current location. But did you know that from
this same view, you can click on any other hex to see what hexes are visible
from that location? This feature is useful in determining which hex provides
the best view before a unit moves or to help determine what enemy units can see
from their locations.

Tricks of the trade

Throughout history, commanders have fought to take the high ground, and it's
also a good idea in PG2. Always use terrain to your advantage by fighting from
hills, towns and woods whenever possible. You'll have the edge when conducting
direct fire against enemy units in the open, because your chance to hit will be
greater than that of your enemy. Firing from hillsides and hilltop hexes
increases a unit's range and accuracy, while degrading the accuracy of enemy
fire. Artillery's effectiveness can be reduced by using woods, sand, swamp and
water hexes to your advantage, because they prevent shrapnel damage to units
adjacent to the target hex.

Armored cars with machine guns are useful for quickly capturing or clearing
hexes held by infantry-type units. If a hex is held by a bazooka, tempt it into
taking opportunity fire by using a unit that can withstand the hit, such as a
medium or light tank. Then bring your MG armored car forward to fire (pressing
the A key) before it expends all its movement. You can often destroy the enemy
unit and capture a victory hex in the same turn. Powerful units can be whittled
down to size for a close assault attack. Once an enemy unit fires, it becomes
more vulnerable to close assault, and if it has taken at least 50 percent
damage, it's even more vulnerable. Although expensive, if you have units to
spare, repeated close assaults can enable lighter units to destroy heavier
units.

Artillery is nearly useless if you don't have units capable of sighting for it.
Hide infantry units on the edge of woods or place them on hilltops for use as
forward observers. Seek out and destroy your opponents' artillery spotters to
reduce the effectiveness of their artillery. If your opponent has you heavily
outgunned in artillery, attempt to neutralize its effect by quickly closing
with and intermixing your units with his. He'll have to decide whether the risk
of friendly fire casualties is worth it.
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Achtung Jabos!

  One of the biggest changes from PERFECT GENERAL to PG2 is that you now have
aircraft, which are best used for making pinpoint strikes against high-value
enemy targets. Air attacks always hit the hex on which they are targeted, and
they have a good chance (50 percent against elephant tanks and 66 percent
against all other units) of destroying their target. In addition, even though
air strikes must be plotted a turn in advance, you have the option of
re-targeting the attack to within two hexes during the turn the attack occurs,
providing added flexibility. Aircraft should be located at airfields close to
your front lines. This makes them vulnerable to artillery and marauding enemy
vehicles, so provide adequate protection. On airfields capable of providing
aircraft reinforcements, make sure you have a friendly unit on the runway or
the aircraft won't automatically be produced.
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Move It Or Lose It

There's nothing prettier than a heavy artillery barrage splattered all over an
enemy tank formation, or an elephant tank about to feast on an armored car
appetizer. However, as wonderful as heavy armor and artillery are, you're
usually better off not buying these units during the initial unit purchase
phase. Why? Because in PG2, mobility rules. Stationary or slow-moving units are
sitting ducks for artillery bombardment and air strikes, and a direct artillery
hit will kill an elephant tank just as easily as an armored car. Even more
important, nearly all scenarios require you to hold victory point areas, so the
faster you can occupy them, the more quickly you can start piling up points. In
other scenarios, victory will go to the side that controls reinforcement areas,
another good reason to opt for speed. When on the defensive, mobility enables
you to shift your forces to blunt the enemy's main attack, plug breakthroughs
or, if the opportunity presents itself, to counterattack.

Economize and maximize

One characteristic common among successful military commanders is their ability
to effectively allocate available resources, enabling them to concentrate
maximum force at critical points on the battlefield. This concept is called
economy of force, and it's as important in PG2 as it is in real-world warfare.
Use cheap infantry units to garrison victory hexes behind your front lines and
tanks as your core offensive or defensive units. In most cases, you don't have
to win everywhere on the battlefield, and usually, delaying or pinning enemy
units is enough when the main part of your force is successful where it matters
most.

A Whiff Of High Explosives

Artillery prevents the enemy from massing troops at the time and place of his
choosing. However, artillery should be treated as a support element, not as a
means to an end. Heavy and light artillery are difficult to use effectively,
because of the requirement to select a target hex a turn ahead of when its fire
actually arrives. To help you anticipate the possible locations of enemy units,
play with the hex grid display turned on, learn the movement distances of the
various unit types and how terrain affects those distances (see the
accompanying Terrain Effects Chart ).

Don't overlook stationary targets, such as bridges and enemy-occupied victory
hex areas, and plot artillery strikes on your opponent's known reinforcement
areas to destroy new units or delay their arrival at the front. While fire from
mobile artillery arrives the same turn it's plotted, it also has the shortest
range and least accuracy of any artillery type and lacks barrage capability.
Still, it is armored and self-propelled, making it more survivable and more
useful as a direct-fire unit. Target mobile artillery units in pairs to
increase their likelihood of hitting the desired hex. In scenarios where you
know your opponent must deploy in a confined space, plastering the area with
mobile artillery fire on the first turn can sometimes provide a significant
early advantage.

Be Good, Not Lucky

Photograph When German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was routinely trouncing the
British in North Africa during World War II, Winston Churchill told Parliament,
"We have a very daring and skillful opponent against us, and, may I say across
the havoc of war, a great general." To become a great general in the PERFECT
GENERAL II realm, you must learn to objectively analyze your victories and
losses, and learn from your mistakes. In the process, you'll develop better
strategies, minimizing your tactical errors, winning more consistently and
maybe, just maybe, garnering a little praise from those you defeat.
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