[13 August 2023]
Every Ardennes Assault mission is designed to have a distinctive setup in terms of the mission goals, the scoring, the structures of the opposing forces, and the flow of battle. In this sense, the “Hardpoint” mission is one of the least interesting and imaginative in AA: The only features that distinguish it from a plain vanilla cap-VPs mission are 1) the Germans hold one or two VPs (depending on the difficulty level) at the outset, and 2) you can boost your victory points by 10 points every time you decap a German-held VP.
In practice, this means that it usually isn’t a very “hard” mission at all, and thus can be one of the best missions to extend to build veterancy. Gold condition seems to be retaining at least 200 points at the end. 200 or even 250 is very doable, especially on a level 1 or 2 map, thanks to the ability to add points by decapping VPs.
Levels 3 and higher are more challenging, of course. The Germans will have at least moderately strong defenses, including mortars, covering the VPs from the outset. (German-controlled mortars can fire at extremely close range, down to a few meters—an obvious cheat.)
The challenge is to capture the open VP(s) asap, maybe with your starting RE squad, while using a stronger squad to take a second VP against opposition. Eventually establish a solid defense of those two VPs with a balance of anti-infantry (HMG, LMG, SMG) and anti-vehicle (AT guns, captured schrecks and rekatenwerfers, bazookas) power. Munitions and fuel usually are relatively plentiful on this mission, so you can get a Stuart within a few minutes of the start.
If you want to maximize your accumulation of veterancy points, hold two VPs for a while and then let the Germans decap one without recapping it—creating a red-white-blue pattern of VP colors—and then play in that state of no-score-change until you rack up extra veterancy. One way to maximize veterancy accumulation is to park your units outside the German base, make FP-HMGs, bring in AT guns, etc. so you can blast them indefinitely as they emerge. As you accumulate vetted units, though, you’ll run into the problem of diminishing returns.
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