By Ian Boys

Strategic Considerations

When playing the Grand Campaign, there are a number of operations that you, playing as either side, are not expected to win. That is not to say that it's impossible to do so, just tough. These are generally the missions in which you start with 10 points.  That means that if you have overreached yourself on the last day of the previous mission you are going to be completely wiped out on the first day of the next. You will lose you best and most experienced troops. So do what you can to be careful - you may have 500 points one day, but you will have just 10 the next. If you do get into this situation try giving up your wounded units and buying some anti-tank guns to blunt the enemy advance. If necessary you can then retreat before the enemy closes with your foward units. This should buy you some extra points.

Tanks

Now on the tactical level, the tank is the king of the battlefield. Always buy the heaviest you can. In the long run its survivability will mean crew experience increases. A tank that lasts two missions may be cheaper in the first instance - but you will have to replace both the tank and probably the valuable crew.

Identify good tank country from the start. There is almost always an open flank by which you can reach the enemy rear. In the Stalingrad Apartment Block map, you can race a tank or two (or five!) across the open ground to the south to encircle and disrupt the enemy. There are times when tanks unsupported by infantry will run into problems, most notably in woods, but mostly it is worth the risk.
 

Anti-tank Guns

It is a good job the AI doesn't use too many of these. They are lethal. In cover they can often shoot you to bits before you even know where they are. They fit perfectly in those hardened bunkers. They fit neatly in those gun emplacements you find dotted around trenchlines. They do NOT fit in the trenches, however.

Anti-tank guns have a good rate of fire, are protected (a bit) from rifle fire from the front and can, surprisingly enough, shoot holes in tanks. They are vulnerable to annoyed tanks, and therefore they need a bit of thought. This is demonstrated when you start a game. Tanks go to DEFEND state. AT guns go to AMBUSH. That is, largely, how they should stay till a really good shot presents itself.

This can mean positioning the gun perpendicular to the line of advance. German tanks are very vulnerable to side shots. Position the gun to catch the tank as it passes. If it is coming straight for you, give it a burst of machinegun fire from the flank to encourage it to turn its turret, and possibly hull. This may well work if your AT gun is undetected. Then when the probability of kill indicator goes green, fire. One dead tank.

Lastly, use your AT guns against infantry if you really have to. A 75/76mm shell can spoil someone's plans for the weekend.
 

Indirect Fire

Mortars, and their rarer cousin, the rocket launcher, are the only units that can fire everywhere on the map without moving. They can reach behind that hill and into that frozen river bed. They don't always kill the enemy, but they can slow his advance to a crawl. They can kill or wound a couple of his men, maybe the leaders. They can suppress a machinegun nest on a hilltop so your men can get close enough to assault it. They are useful.

So what about that mortar halftrack? It's worth getting for its extra machinegun. It is always useful to have the option of sending a fast vehicle round a flank to induce a surrender or to harrass. It's desperate, but on occasion it can really help.

It is worth mentioning that anti-tank guns make excellent mortar targets. They don't run away and they are very vulnerable to dropping fire. The large guns like the AA guns or the 120mm mortars are just asking for it. No crew protection.
 
 

Leaders

Typically I will use two leaders. The main one will be in a tank, with a big command circle, able to follow the advance or counterattack. The secondary leader will be on foot, on a hilltop or in a stone building, near an AT gun, a machinegun and with a mortar just to his rear. He will keep the fire fast and accurate and keep the men on station. He can then defend against armoured, vehicular and infantry targets.

(Use the spacebar to get the leadership radius)
 
 

Infantry

Very vulnerable to being caught in the open, infantry should hole up in buildings, trenchlines, foxholes, river beds and gullies. Run them, quickly, from building to building, usually with an armoured vehicle nearby, which can return fire if necessary. Crawl them across open ground. Use all available cover.
 
 

Stealth and Fog of War

The fog of war works very well in Close Combat 3. The ability of a sniper in cover to get off a few shots before being discovered can stall a platoon's advance.

The biggest beneficiary of fog of war is the anti-tank gun. Small guns (including some infantry cannon) can hide very effectively in woods or along hedgerows. It becomes very dangerous to move through woods in armoured vehicles without infantry support. Indeed sometimes a tank has to approach within 20 metres of the AT gun to spot it. It rarely makes it that close. Recently I only spotted an AT gun once the tank was burning and the crew had bailed out and spotted it!

Different units have differing abilities to spot enemy units. Tanks are the worst. Halftracks and armoured cars fare somewhat better. Infantry do considerably better. Best of all are the elite scout units, SS, Fallschirmjaeger, Guards and Airborne. Use them mobile to find the enemy, especially moving through woods well ahead of armour. Use them stationary in observation posts like hilltop trenches to spot enemy units when they begin firing.
 

Good Units

German:

Russian:

Bad Units

German:

Russian:
 

Last but not least

It is very tempting in the final Reichstag map (if playing as the Russians) to invest heavily in JSU-152s and other heavy metal. Just remember that the final victory location is inside the Reichstag and can only be reached by infantry. A determined opponent with combat engineers and heavy infantry could steal your final satisfaction.