My Time with Panzer Campaigns: Normandy
Alright, so I finally carved out some time to really sit down with Panzer Campaigns: Normandy. Had it installed for a bit, but you know how it is, life gets busy. Anyway, fired it up the other evening.
First thing, navigating the menus to pick a scenario. Lots of choices there. Decided against the massive campaign game for now, figured I’d dip my toes in first. Found a smaller scenario focusing on one of the British operations, maybe Epsom or Goodwood, can’t recall the exact name right now. Looked like a manageable chunk of the map.
The map itself, well, it’s detailed. Lots of hexes, different terrain types clearly marked. You’ve got towns, forests, those infamous hedgerows, rivers. And the counters, tons of them. Little squares representing all the different units – infantry, tanks, artillery, HQs. Took me a minute to just sort of… look at everything. It’s got that classic wargame feel, you know?
Okay, so I picked the German side for this first try. Seemed like defending might be easier to start. Started clicking around. Selected a Panzer unit, saw its movement range highlighted. Clicked on a hex to move it. Pretty straightforward. Did the same for some infantry, trying to set up a basic defensive line near a village.
Then came the AI’s turn. Watched its units move. It was methodical. Some recon units probed forward, then the main attack started hitting my lines. Combat time. I selected one of my units, right-clicked on an enemy unit in range. A little combat results window popped up. Lots of numbers and modifiers in there – terrain, unit strength, morale. Didn’t fully grasp all of it immediately, but you get the gist: red numbers bad for the target, results shown. My tanks fired, their tanks fired back. Some units took hits, showed as disrupted or having lost steps.
Getting into the rhythm took a bit.
- Moving units phase by phase.
- Remembering to check supply levels. Some units started showing low supply after a few turns of fighting.
- Figuring out artillery. Called in some barrages, which helped soften up attackers before they closed in.
- Dealing with air power. The Allied planes were annoying, popping up and hitting my units.
Made some mistakes, definitely. Moved some Panzers too far forward without support, they got isolated and chewed up. Forgot about the zone of control sometimes, letting enemy units slip past where I didn’t want them. The hedgerow country, the bocage, really slows down tanks and makes infantry defense strong. Learned that the hard way.
Played through that scenario over a couple of evenings. Didn’t exactly achieve a glorious victory, more like a battered stalemate, maybe a minor loss based on objectives. But the process was engaging. You really have to think about positioning, combined arms, anticipating what the enemy might do. It’s not a fast-paced game at all, it’s turn-based strategy in its purest form.
So yeah, that was my first real dive into Panzer Campaigns: Normandy. It’s dense, requires patience, and you have to be willing to learn its systems. But there’s a real satisfaction in planning a move and seeing it work, or holding a tough defensive position. Definitely going to try another scenario soon, maybe tackle the American sector next time, or even brave the full campaign.
