Mission 13

Achievements

Halbe Massacre: Allow no Germans to escape the encirclement.

• As long as you have plenty of units at the Western road and the railway, this will not be difficult to achieve. Be sure to reach your population cap by calling in more units before starting the defense, as the more units you have, the less likely the Germans will get through. Try using two ISU-152s at both the Western road and the railway, with a KV-1 at one and a T-34 at the other.

The Might of the Red Army: Complete the Halbe encirclement without producing any additional units.

• This achievement requires that you are very careful with your units. Lead your forces with the KV-1 as described in the mission walkthrough, but be sure to repair and reinforce all of your units after each engagement. Leave your SU-85, T-34, and a squad of Engineers at the railway territory point, then use your KV-1 and Half-track to capture the Western road territory point.

Walkthrough

The Soviets are nearing Berlin and are becoming more vicious with each victory. Halbe, a city occupied by the Germans, is not an immediate threat to the Soviet Army, yet you are tasked with encircling the area and killing any Germans that attempt to escape. Your first task is to secure the road into the city, which will provide a base and armored vehicles to help secure the area. The Soviet forces under your command are light, but will be enough to take out the German defenses to the northwest. Begin by moving your squads in cover to deal with the German infantry that are assaulting your position, then order your Mortar to barrage the German base. A Soviet aircraft will continue to strafe the area and provide sight of the Germans until you move closer to the defenses, allowing you to accurately take out the German forces. The first target should be the bunker guarding the road, as it is the only thing standing between your infantry and the German AT guns. Use the Mortar or the IL-2 Precision Bombing Strike commander ability to take it out from long range. Once it has been destroyed, move your infantry in to take out the AT guns. Be careful of the large amount of German infantry guarding the area, as they can easily wipe out a squad if left unchecked. Use Grenades and Molotovs to destroy the AT guns, which will prompt Soviet armor to enter the map under your command and grant you extra Munitions. Use the combined force of your new T-34, Half-track, and infantry to take out the remaining German forces.

When the Germans have been eliminated, send an infantry squad to capture the territory point. While doing this, move your squads into cover and move your T-34 and Half-track to the rear of your forces. Claiming the territory prompts the Germans to send the powerful Panther tank to take you out, along with other German vehicles. Fortunately, you are given heavy tank support to deal with the new threat. Your new KV-1 Heavy Tank and SU-85 Medium Tank Destroyer move into position near the defenses—order them to take out the German vehicles, beginning with the Panther tank. The KV-1 has incredible armor and a strong gun that can penetrate German armor, so be sure to keep it in front of your forces. Eliminate the rest of the German vehicles to accomplish your task.

Unlike other missions, you will not be granted preconstructed production buildings for your use. An Engineer squad will exit your new Headquarters after the tanks have been destroyed—use the squad to construct any production buildings you would like to use by clicking on the structure under their Production Buildings button and placing it in an open space near the Headquarters. For this mission, both anti-infantry and anti-vehicle units will be necessary. Feel free to call in any units that you feel will work for the mission, but keep in mind that you must complete the next objective in a certain amount of time, which calls for a mobile force. If you would like to use infantry, consider producing additional Half-tracks or Scout Cars to transport your squads around more quickly. Constructing the Mechanized Armor Kampaneya will allow you to call in the ISU-152 Heavy Assault Gun that you have used in previous missions which, when combined with the heavy armor of the KV-1 tank, will allow you to take out any German forces you come across. Consider calling in at least one ISU-152 to make the mission much easier to complete.

The first objective will be to secure the railway in the northeastern part of the map. While you are waiting for your buildings to finish and new units to enter the map, order your vehicles and infantry to move east along the dirt road and take out any Germans you may come across. The KV-1 should move in front of your forces as it will take minimal damage from the Germans, although you should still be cautious of anti-tank weaponry. Continue to the first territory point on the eastern side of the map. When you reach this area and begin to capture the territory, the Germans send infantry and vehicles from the town. Position your forces to deal with them, then take the territory and prepare to move north.

Keeping your KV-1 in the front, move toward the railway territory point north of your position. As your KV-1 has likely taken damage by this point, be careful not to let it get destroyed by Panzershreks or AT guns. Once you have eliminated all of the Germans in your path, claim the territory point and begin to set up some of your units for defense. The Germans will send units toward your position from the town to the southwest of the territory point—position any weapon teams or vehicles you have to aim in that direction. Until you have captured both points, the Germans will send only light reinforcements from the town, although it is easiest to secure the territory point and prepare for the final part of the mission if you leave some of your units in the area. Move your KV-1 and your more mobile forces back to your base, as they will be needed for securing the territory point along the western road. Remember to repair your vehicles if they have been damaged.

If you glance at the minimap, you will notice a dark road that leads from your base to the west, then turns north to the first territory point. Use this guideline for moving along the western side of the map, once again keeping your KV-1 in front of your forces. German infantry will be guarding the road, although they are easily taken out by your KV-1. The first territory point you come across is guarded by an HMG, AT gun, and other infantry. Take out the AT gun so that it cannot damage your KV-1, then proceed to eliminate the rest of the Germans and capture the territory point.

Continue north to the territory point on the Western road. The rest of the path is lightly defended, including the territory point itself. Capture the territory point and set up your units to defend the road against any Germans that come out from the town to the southeast. Once the territory point has been taken, your final task is to hold the railway and Western road, killing any Germans that attempt to escape. Reposition any units you may have to cover both of the exits. At this point, it is not easy to move units between the two points—call in any extra units you may need to hold each side instead of moving your units around the map. Be sure to use units that are capable of defending against infantry and vehicles, such as HMGs, AT guns, ISU-152s and SU-85s. By now your Munitions income should be +152 or greater, allowing you to use your abilities without worrying about resources—be sure to use your IL-2 Strafe Support and Precision Bombing Strike to help you hold each side. After two waves of German forces try to escape, small groups of Germans come out from the forest northeast of the Western road territory point, as well as from the road southeast of the railway territory point. If necessary, reposition your forces to cover those areas as well as the main exits to the city, as the Germans will send vehicles and infantry from the city and the additional areas mentioned. Hold out until the Germans give up on escaping, which gives you another Soviet victory.