How to build trenches?

[GeneralMacek]

Hello. May I ask for some tips how to build trenches?

French are attacking at my positions, but I do not know how to build trenches and set up my forces effectively. AI is always charging at one side with a massive Zerg stack and I am not able to fight them off.

[WasntmeNL]

A layered defense is what works for me. The problem is that the artillary will ussually supress the first trench line. This makes them incapable of shooting the rush of infantry. Thats why I build a second line of trenches behind the frist line so they can still shoot when the first line is supressed. Make sure that the second line is not too close so they don't suffer the same suppression as the first line. Prioritise building trenches over MG nests.

You most likely will still lose the first trench line to the assault so make sure you have a communication trench from your second line to your first line so you can reinforce the first trench when troops in the first line innevitable die to bombardment or melee.

I also build a small third trench line in case my 1st falls and my 2nd trench line now becomes my main line.

Don't forget to bring in fresh troops to replace losses. use the pause function if it all gets a bit hectic. Also when I know the enamy is going for a specific point I take roughly half of the troops from my other points to the one that is being attacked. A spotting balloon is a great tool to get an early warning for where they are going to attack.

[GeneralMacek]

Originally posted by WasntmeNL:

A layered defense is what works for me. The problem is that the artillary will ussually supress the first trench line. This makes them incapable of shooting the rush of infantry. Thats why I build a second line of trenches behind the frist line so they can still shoot when the first line is supressed. Make sure that the second line is not too close so they don't suffer the same suppression as the first line. Prioritise building trenches over MG nests.

You most likely will still lose the first trench line to the assault so make sure you have a communication trench from your second line to your first line so you can reinforce the first trench when troops in the first line innevitable die to bombardment or melee.

I also build a small third trench line in case my 1st falls and my 2nd trench line now becomes my main line.

Don't forget to bring in fresh troops to replace losses. use the pause function if it all gets a bit hectic. Also when I know the enamy is going for a specific point I take roughly half of the troops from my other points to the one that is being attacked. A spotting balloon is a great tool to get an early warning for where they are going to attack.

I see, thank you. I will try to build my trenches further from each other. I can always savescum this so I can see the range of shell-shock and build around it accordingly. Though I admit I might not know which side the enemy AI is going to take, so it will take time before I manage to fight the AI off.

[WasntmeNL]

With this game you don't really need to save scum. Losing a battle is not the end of the world. It just costs money, national unity and maybe a star. Than you can just reinforce the region the next turn. Especially at the start of a campaign you have more than enough of all these resources that you can lose a few battles.

Save scumming is actually bad for your defense. The game saves the trench systems that you have build. So if the enemy attack from the same direction for a second time you will have the benefit of already having build the trenches last time. This leaves more supplies for other things and thus a better defense thsn last time.

Allow yourself to lose a few battles and you will see that losing a battle isnt a big deal in this game.

Losing is actually part of my campaign strategy. Attacking is difficult in this game so in order to mass enough troops and supplies to launch an effective attack for a star I have to leave 1 or more regions lightly defended. These regions will probable lose the battle but as long as I don't lose too hard it allows me to make gains somewhere else.

[BattleCat]

like Wasntmenl said at the start, layered defences. think "Defence in depth" which is what the germans in WW started to do towards mid-end WW!. lightely hold the front line with better 2nd line and 3rd line for reserves. I know that you should probably connect the lines of defense with communication lines BUT what I found is if you section off the trenches, so there is no connection between 1st, 2nd and 3rd. the enemy will have to get back out of the trench into the open to push the next line, leaving them in the open to be attacked. I used MG's in the 2nd/3rd line so the infanty cannot destory them as easy. oh and Barbwire is AWESOME, get the perk that makes it cheaper and then use it everywhere you can it also is persistant so you don't have to keep buying it.

[Shadow]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2956565620
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2956565666

Personaly i have a "Wavebreaker" that is along the entire frontline that is not connected to the rear area so the enemy cant meele rush into the rest of my network.

I then place a "Fighting Trench" as my main defensive line behind it with a depth of 3 trench wides so that artilley may not supress to much of a section on the trench and they still have overlapping fields of fire.

In an equal distance behind that i have my reserve trenches that are conected to the fighting trench to bring up reinforcements to the front via com trenches so they dont get shot if enemys occupy the "Wavebreaker"

In the middle only the "Wavebreaker" and "Fighting Trench are there to move troops from west to east and vice versa to drive enemys back out with meeles without having to go over the top.

The reserve trenches consist of 2 lines of Trenches where command posts are.

You fill the wavebreaker fully with 1 unit in each trench so you dont lose to much to arty (One unit uses the firestep at anytime anyway) and the fighting trench is also manned.

You sprinkle some direct reinforcements in the rear trenches and if you can affort it you get artillery BUT its more important to send in more soldiers (10 per normal unit,20 for elites) instead of placing 90 for a heavy arty (9 units) that uses 9 supply per round (almost a unit) since soldiers can be more usefull when defending then artillery. Only use artillery so that you can keep the trenches supplied and armed.

MGs should maybe places at the Fighting or the Rear trench because the wavebreaker will most likely get suppresed by light artillery and the mgs fall to grenates from assaulting units.

[Darth Glorious]

In defense, use the cheapest trench in the front to collect enemies there and blast them with heavy artillery.

[Shadow]

I blast them with heavy arty after they won the meele,then rush them with more units! :D