[updated 3 August 2023]
Theater of War Mission Pack: Operation Barbarossa
Mission: Oka River
This was once a relatively easy 2v2 co-op for the Germans, based on the usual, simple combo of HMGs then Pak-40s then mortars and grenadiers at your three key points (two left VPs and fuel point in between). It is no longer easy. The recent nerfage of MG42s and other universal and mission-specific changes by the devs have made it overall much more challenging to win ToW missions as Germany on General (Hard) difficulty level, even though these missions were already heavily biased against Germany. Some German ToW missions are now (or have always been) unwinnable on General; others are winnable only sometimes. This one is probably still winnable most of the time, though it takes longer than it once did, and requires a slightly different strategy than the one I posted here a couple of years ago.
You will need some flexibility on this mission, but one strategy that can work is to bring in four HMGs to start, and put them in 1) the building beside the left muni point, 2) the building S of the left fuel point, then asap (when no enemy in sight) the church, 3) the building NE of the left fuel point, 4) the small hut across the street and SE from the last-mentioned building. Then 4 Paks, two in cover S of the church, two against the S side of the hut occupied by your #4 HMG. Then a mortar squad or halftrack, near the church. Then flamer 251s, grens, and more mortars. Spam bunker-HMGs when you get to 100 pop cap.
Occasional blizzards bring the fog of war very close and impair your units’ range and firing accuracy. Russian tanks roll in at 9-13 minutes (the exact time depending on factors I don’t fully understand) so try to have a few mines laid on approach paths by then. The CPU-Russians can also be very persistent and tenacious in attacking your #3 position, which is at a key crossroads-type site. If they destroy that building, set up the HMG (or its replacement) in the next building toward the Russian base—in general, the farther forward you can go, the more time you will buy. You cannot dominate the map, so you can only hope to hold 2 or 3 VPs long enough (usually 15-20 mins) to get the Russian points to zero—which means you will really have to cling to those points. Typically for the first 10 minutes or so, your CPU ally will hold the right VP most of the time; after that, you will probably have to hold both VPs on your (left) side of the river if you want to keep the Russian points counting down.
Grenadiers and panzergrenadiers are not very valuable here. Grens can and often will lose badly to any Russian infantry unit. Panzergrens also are weak against everything—even two or three of them together will struggle to kill a Russian scout car (a good illustration of the fundamental ToW imbalance).
Playing from the right-side base with a CPU-ally in the left-side base doesn’t work. The CPU ally will collapse, leaving you in a hopeless position holding only the right VP and having to defend a long left flank.
The mission may be easier on Captain level, but when I tried it took considerably longer (>25 mins), I think because my CPU-ally for some reason was much weaker and almost never held the right VP.
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