Busan Pocket Total Victory

[sierra_one_]

I finished the Busan Pocket campaign a while back, albeit with victory on Day 8. This was only considered a minor victory, so I tried again and just managed to finish the campaign on Day 6. Now the next milestone appears to be winning on or before Day 4, which is usually when I'm pushing out of Seoul and trying to destroy the enemy battlegroup in the next sector.

Is it possible to win on Day 4 without resorting to underhanded, AI-exploiting tactics like memorising the location of the enemy CV? From what I can tell, the easiest way to neutralise an enemy battlegroup (and thus to not get swamped down in constant low-cohesion battles) is to kill all the CVs. Should I focus on this, or does destroying vast numbers of enemy vehicles while losing very few achieve the same goal? Any tips for completing Busan Pocket in the fastest time? :3

[Tyrannus Primus]

See I wish there was some way in order to modify the AI in the multiplayer without it being so stringent. I would like to play as a nation using the WG:ALB map except make the map the entire world. That would be awesome.

[antimike1976]

Hi Sierra_One,

It's been a while since I've ran the Busan Pocket campaign, but I think that Total Victory occurs when you complete it by Turn 3. And that is possible! The key to doing that is using the right battlegroups on the Strategic map at the right time.

When the Nimitz(correct carrier?) shows up in Turn 2, you will have to capture Seoul AND the middle zone next to it during Turn 2. Then you can roll into the last zone in Turn 3 and get a tactical Total Victory for a campaign Total Victory. Hitting that third zone in Turn 3 makes the fight for that last zone easier than later zones because the Norths don't have time to reinforce it and you only need something like 1700 points for a tac TV.

One of the hard fights for completing Campaign 1 at Turn 3 is capturing Seoul in one go. It takes 4000 points for a tactical Total Victory there.

I'll try to remember which battlegroups I use and where.

Turn 2 part 1
Move the marine battlegroup that does NOT have M60s w/ERA to assault Seoul. Add F-18s with mavs and Helicopter recon (I think that's the marine air assault battlegroup). Also send in SEAD Intruders to take care of Pongaes which will make life difficult for your F18s.

The AI has in the past put lots of units in the beachhead zone that can get pulverized by naval support, but the last time I played they spawned further back. Watch for attack helicopter attacks, scout with air, and attack ground forces with F18s and Cobras. There are Monitor ships with artillery that are good for indirect attacks on AAA.

Turn 2 part 2

After taking control of the Seoul zone, spawn a second marine battlegroup from the Nimitz, disembark them in Seoul and attack the next zone. Send in F4 air superiority fighters with the Marines since there will be a lot of North Helicopters in the middle zone.

Depending on how the battle in Part 1 went, you may or may not have a fight for the middle zone in part 2. If there's no North Korean Command Vehicle in the battlegroups there, they will bug out to an adjacent zone.

If you have to fight for it, you'll need another tactical Total Victory. Watch out for NK cluster bomb aircraft in this zone.

Turn 3 part 0

The AI will likely attack the middle zone at the start of Turn 3. Get a tactical Total Victory here and your marines will be ready for the attack on the next zone.

Turn 3 part 1

Attack the third zone with your Marines. Send in the F18s, Attack Helicopters, A6s (napalm and SEAD), and the naval antitank helicopters if you've got the extra dough. If you attack on Turn 3, all those units will be mostly overkill since the NKs will have weak forces. Keeping on the move gives you little Cohesion, though, so be prepared to fight the battle with little money. You can try taking zones for more points, but be aware that you need a tactical Total Victory so be sure to keep your losses low. I just keep some marines in the deployment zone town to protect my command unit and then send in AIR with helicopter recon to pound the AI as it moves towards you -- which it will. Napalm works good in getting SAM infantry that the NKs will put in forests. Fortunately F18s have good ECM and are difficult to shootdown.


I remember doing Busan Pocket and getting shorter and shorter finishes without getting the Total Victory and thinking it maybe was bugged. When I figured out to stagger my attacks and maximize mobility (some marines -- maybe all -- can move 4 zones and attack! Spawn zone 1, naval move to zone 2, disembark to zone 3, land move/attack zone 4). That kind of movement can be used to great effect in the other campaigns, too.


Good hunting!

[sierra_one_]

Thank you very much! That's a really audacious manoeuvre, but I guess that definitely makes sense when trying to win a total strategic victory. I hadn't thought of attacking more than one sector on Turn 2 when the Nimitz arrives, but yeah, that certainly seems like a better way of fighting it!

During the invasion of Seoul, the AI seems to favour putting its units close up against the beach, which certainly allows the naval bombardment trick, but I'm usually hesitant to spend the points on 1-2 OHPs just in case. I'll definitely give this strategy a go later, thank you for the advice!

[Iroh]

Hey did it work? I finally was able to complete on day 9.

[sierra_one_]

Originally posted by Iroh:

Hey did it work? I finally was able to complete on day 9.

It certainly did work! It took a few goes to get it right, but I managed to beat in two days, I think!