Mission 7 - Battle of the Bulge | German| Campaign Sudden Strike 4 Guide

Mission objectives:

• Break through the villages occupied by the allied forces and regroup
• Eliminate the enemy in the north-eastern village and set up an observation post in the area.
• Occupy the villages to the north and prepare to advance further.
• New objective: repel the attack and withdraw your forces.

It's hard to determine which doctrine is best for this mission. The infantry will be useful to defend yourself and strike at certain moments. Tanks will be very important when facing hostile armored vehicles, and the support has many useful skills (camouflage can be used in various moments). Your biggest enemy will be lack of resources, and low level of fuel and ammo throughout the entire mission. Although you will get the best units, they will drain fuel and ammo at a very high rate.

You will begin the mission with two squads and your task is to take over two villages located near important crossroads. First you will strike one of the positions, use both groups to conquer the left village. Only then will you assault the other target. Every machine gun emplacement has mines in front of it. Make sure to keep a small squad of shooters in front of your tanks. Switch to the group on the right, and move it towards the first crossroad. Deploy your infantry and go below the road (1). You will come across a small group of opponents. Luckily, your infantry, supported by your tanks, will take care of the treat. There are two gun transporters but you will take them later. Take your infantry to the forest, above the road. It's possible that you will lure a tank but once again your Panzers will do the job.

Taking over the heavy artillery will make it easier to eliminate the enemy in the east town. Keep in mind to use only soldiers with rifles, or machine guns. Leave your mortars, rocket-launchers and anti-tank rifles.

Use soldiers with machine guns and clear the forest of any enemy troops (2). On the right of the forest, on the glade with cut trees, there is heavy artillery. Attack it from behind, to deal quickly with the enemy and take over the gun. This will save many soldiers and make it easier to assault the town. Slowly approach with your other group (3). Use one of the soldiers to crouch towards the enemy and reveal his position. Use the obtained artillery and destroy guns located in the town. You could also use the second squad to deal with the anti-tank guns from behind.

Time to secure the next location. Gather all your forces and send them south from the second town. Place your scouts and infantry in the forest, on the right of the town, and use your artillery to eliminate your opponents (4). It's good to clear certain areas with your infantry only (in order to save your guns and abandoned trucks). Before you enter with your vehicles, check the road for any mines. Send some soldiers for the abandoned guns and transporters.

Get rid of the mines, and prepare for a counterattack. Hide your infantry and vehicles in thick bushes, so that none of your vehicles gets destroyed.

Time to march north. Make sure that your shooters move in front of your army. At the junction, leading north, there are some mines, and some soldiers hidden on the way (5). Some Sherman tanks will arrive but your Tigers should deal with them without too many problems. You are supposed to reach the village in the north-east. Before you enter it, deal with a small group of opponents in the north. Opposite the road, there are two light tank destroyers, and heavy artillery protected by infantry on the right (6). You don't have to destroy it but it will make it much easier for you later. Taking over the gun is hard but possible. The key to success is to eliminate tank destroyers. Then, you need to reach the gun as quickly as possible (use the bushes), and eliminate at least two members of the crew (the gun won't be able to turn around).

Get rid of tank destroyers, and take over the heavy artillery gun. Now use it to eliminate enemy troops located in the town.

Move into the town slowly (7), and destroy all the buildings. You will not be defending yourself here, and opponents are hidden in every building. Although there are some machine guns and heavy guns, your artillery will deal with them. All you need to do is send a scout to reveal their position. Use the forests in the north or south, or just crouch. At the very end, there will be some tanks that may come closer if they get hit by your artillery. Keep your tanks close but don't attack unless it is necessary (save ammo for later). Take over the vantage point, and gather supply vehicles. Your next task is to take over the town in the west. The enemy will have many guns, located south from the road. Furthermore, they were fortified with sandbags. Thus, it's easier to strike from north and use the thick forest (8). Here you will find a supply storage and some abandoned equipment. Before you send your soldiers to the last vantage point, focus on defending both locations (9) and save your game.

Set up fortified lines in both towns. Fortify your tanks and guns, keep you infantry ready, and send your scouts in front of your emplacements. You can destroy first tanks that will arrive (they will have no support). Place mines (right part of the picture), or send tanks to flank your enemy. Mines will damage caterpillar tracks, and crews will leave their vehicles and join the assault.

The enemy will arrive from three directions. First, tanks will come from the north road, and the road near the west vantage point. The third attack will happen after several waves from the first two directions - it's the road on the west of the church. Place tanks with sandbags, guns and your infantry around the church. Place the remaining troops above the crossroads. Place tanks between buildings, your artillery behind the tanks, and some of the infantry in front of the tanks and inside the buildings. You can also set up a couple of guns in the forest, to improve the fire angle. You can place some mines in the respawn locations, or by the road. If you don't have any mines, deploy to medium tanks in each location, and flank your enemy. Destroy enemy tanks and pull your vehicles back. This approach will be effective only in case of the first couple waves, as additional soldiers will be sent to support the tanks later on. Furthermore, number of soldiers will increase from 5 to 15, in the first wave. Thus, you need to decide whether you want to destroy two tanks and 5 soldiers when they arrive, or face additional 10 soldiers (if you don't have enough anti-personnel ammo, you may get yourself into trouble. When you are ready, send soldiers to the vantage point. Finally, you will receive an order to retreat towards the middle of the map, right below the forest you passed previously.

After a desperate defense at the crossroads, in the forest, it's time to retreat and evacuate the area. Leave your vehicles behind if needed.

Pause the game, and order all your tanks and the infantry to retreat (5, white arrows). Leave the guns, and send your soldiers to the nearest transporters, or make them run directly to their new destination. The only vehicle worth your attention is your trophy - the heavy artillery. If any of the vehicles has not enough fuel or ammo, it's best to leave it behind and keep few more soldiers. It would be wise to save your game now. You could also cheat and send one of your soldiers/any vehicle to the bottom right corner of the map (10). Hold your ground. The majority of enemy forces will strike directly from north but several squads will come from the east. Place your tanks in the thin forest, and secure them with sandbags. Your infantry should hide in the thick forest and attack only other infantry units. The enemy will strike several times. Your Tiger II tanks and Panther tanks should hold on for most of the time. When you receive your last reinforcements (Panthers and one anti-aircraft gun), and the sky fills with aircrafts, you will know it's time to order full retreat. The game will make you send all your forces south-east (10). Your vehicles may run out of fuel, so don't hesitate to leave them. At least one of your units must reach the destination, while the rest may also get to the corner of the map, or die.