Part 55: Campaign Mission 21AOK: The Final Battle! as Andy, Olaf and Kanbei - Part 2

Mission 21AOK: The Final Battle! as Andy, Olaf and Kanbei (or "Operation Dunderhead") - Part 2

Previously on Advance Wars...



... we actually started out fairly strongly against Sturm.



But he's been hitting back pretty hard. We've got to try and nip this counterattack in the bud, and push on towards his complex in the north. Anyway, let's get on.

Day 10 - Andy



So here's where we are now. Sturm's got quite a buildup of troops on his side of the river, let's see if we can eat into that a bit.



First we'd better get rid of this 3HP fighter, though. Doing so charges up Hyper Repair again.



May as well use it, although we don't have that much to fix up.



It at least gives a B copter and an infantry a new lease of life.



Speaking of B copters, time to get stuck into Sturm.



Shame I couldn't quite finish Sturm's own B copter off, but we've got an answer to that.



The now-8HP B copter goes in and finishes that particular job, and the medium tank rolls through to take care of the biggest threat to my choppers.



Maybe I should really have just attacked that medium tank. But with all of my B copters around, I'd better keep Sturm's anti-air divisions in check.



Anyway, we've got a bunch of capturing to do: gotta eat into Sturm's funding base.



AA and an infantry from the factories.

Day 10 - Olaf



Not much for Olaf to do.



T copter goes to hide in the mountains while the AAs advance cautiously forward.



Meanwhile, he's still got a bunch of damage to repair.

Yes, and we all know whose fault that is!

Yep. Sturm's.

... fine.

Day 10 - Kanbei



Time for Kanbei. Hmm. Can I get at that bomber?



Well, if I use this light tank to take out the 4HP AA, and this medium tank to take out a light tank, then...



... no, not quite. The AA's still too far away. Darn it.



Oh well, we'll just have to get as close as we can. And leave that 2HP APC out as bait for the bomber.



Kanbei gets his first B copter.



Getting one last attack in as I send a medium tank in to damage a mech.

Day 10 - Sturm



More Sturm chaos.



I tell you what, there's some weirdly confident units in among this lot (although it seems that this Andy middie is out of ammo, due to the poor counterattack damage it delivered).



The B copters are rather more effective, though.



This mech adds a bit more humiliation to the mix.

Day 11 - Andy



All right, what can we do about this?



Well, at least we can get rid of that annoying rocket launcher with a B copter flank. And cripple this bomber, too.



Not sure how much else there is for Andy, though.



Let's do some more capturing and get this medium tank back for supplies and repairs.



It's after I've moved all this stuff around that I suddenly realise something bad. Andy's units are pretty clustered, aren't they?



It'd be a SHAME if something were to... HAPPEN to them.

Day 11 - Olaf



Yyyyes Sturm, it would.



We can take this B copter out at least, but I'm still worried about Andy.




I try and cluster Olaf's stuff together as much as possible, but Andy's units are looking pretty meteorable over there.

Day 11 - Kanbei



Hmm.



Well, while things are a bit crazy over here we may as well keep it up. Down goes another B copter.



I join up these two tanks as well. A futile move, if there is a meteor coming. Then again, I don't know for certain if there's a mete-



-oh.



Well then. Again, desperately trying to distract that meteor away from Andy.



Although I doubt I'm going to save Andy's bacon here. Still, better get this medium tank and arty out of harm's way.



Eeep.



Well, there we go. This is going to make life... tricky.

About time that young whelp took his fair share of the load!

Hey, some of your units are in there too, Olaf.

Oh... yes...



Especially given Sturm's smashing all my damaged units up. The biggest problem with taking a Meteor Strike in the centre of the map. When Olaf gets hit, at least he has time to recover from it.



This is a lot of zeroes.



And like I say, Olaf's not getting off lightly here either.



All right, let's see what the damage was.

Day 12 - Andy



Yeah. Sturm's back on this side of the river, and we've got to find a way to regain momentum here. I guess it could be worse, Andy still has a few full health units, and about half a medium tank (spread over two units, granted). We can salvage something out of this.



Joining a bunch of infantry together to help me try and get this city captured. I've got no real way to protect that infantry, though, so it might come in for a lot of damage next turn from one of that boatload of AAs up there. But it might just about survive.



Taking down one of Sturm's many mech teams, and joining the two battered medium tanks together into something that can at least hold its own.



Another mech team comes under fire, this time from one of my infantry. I also move this new artillery upfield, it should have something to shoot next turn.



Bunch of moving and building - Andy recovered about as well as could be expected there, I reckon. He's certainly got plenty of infantry to work with.

Day 12 - Olaf



Olaf's had Blizzard ready for the last couple of turns, but we're going to have to time it well to maximise the inconvenience for Sturm while minimising it for Andy and Kanbei. So we're going to be sitting on it for a few turns more yet.



Instead Olaf's just going to move upfield a bit. Once more he's got a sizeable army going, maybe this time it'll last long enough to have some effect.

I'd have won this battle by now if it wasn't for those confounded meteors!

Sure you would, Olaf (although it's an interesting question: how much easier would this mission be without the threat of meteors?)

Day 12 - Kanbei



Much like Olaf, Kanbei doesn't have much to do other than prepare.



We've got some nice supercharged tanks and copters over here, though.



Not to mention this swarm of infantry and mechs.

Day 12 - Sturm



Well, there goes my river infantry .



The one capturing the city (i.e. the one where I joined all those meteored units together) just about survives though.



Kanbei's tanks aren't safe either, even with his defence bonus.



And some of Andy's rearguard units take it in the neck as well.

Day 13 - Andy



Sturm's pushed a column of troops way into our territory now. But you know what? I reckon I can turn this to my advantage.



With all of Sturm's stuff lined up in a nice row, it's easy to take it down bit by bit.



Let's use our arty to neutralise the threat to Andy's B copters...



... which then fly in to soften up Sturms' medium tank.



Looking good. Wonder if we can finish that medium tank off?



Yep! Good shot there from our own 7HP medium tank. And speaking of damaged units finishing off their even more damaged evil counterparts, my 3HP AA takes out the 2HP AA.



Looking good. We can leave the light tank for Kanbei's artillery to deal with, and as for that mech...



... well.



Although taking out that mech does have some unforseen circumstances. I'm in rocket range now - could be problematic.



Well, can't worry about it too much. We've gone a long way to cleaning up Sturm's assault this turn, at least. And yet again we're joining infantry together to try and get this city captured - hopefully it'll stick this time.



More B copters! More infantry!

Day 13 - Olaf



Once more, we're just going to have Olaf sit on Blizzard.



At least we can set up some kind of column here.



And just generally build stuff.

Day 13 - Kanbei



Back with Kanbei, we've got some stuff to take care of.



I can wipe Sturm's B copter with one of Kanbei's (Kanbei's attack boost and Sturm's defence penalty is particularly nice in B copter vs. B copter fights), and cripple his AA with a tank attack.



In hindsight, it might have been a good idea to finish off the 3HP AA with a B copter, and take on the other AA with Kanbei's other tank. But there are a few things going against it: leaving that tank in rocket range, for one thing. I dunno.



Anyway, we've got a tank to deal with.



There we go. I get everything else moved up, too.

Day 13 - Sturm



Sturm's rocket deals out some serious punishment to my transgressing AA.



But other than that, it's a quiet turn from him.

Day 14 - Andy



He does park his APC on my HQ for the lulz, though.



Anyway, Hyper Repair's ready again. With four damaged units, three of them badly, it's looking like a good time to use it.



There we go.



Medium tank and arty get their shots in.



It does leave the medium tank in rocket range...



... but that's not going to be a problem. Nice little raid from the B copters there.



AA and infantry clear out some damaged units.



Arrows everywhere!



Hopefully Sturm'll target the damaged B copters and leave the healthy ones alone.



And if that AA's going to do things for the lulz, then so am I - surrounding the thing with infantry.

Day 14 - Olaf



Hmm. Maybe, just maybe, we could turn snow to our advantage here. It'll slow Sturm's new B copter down, and maybe all his AAs. And I think Andy and Kanbei can cope, too.



Finally, it's my chance to shine!



Well, maybe. On the other hand...



WHHHYYYYYY

Think of it as pennance for the snow, Olaf.

Day 14 - Kanbei



All right, can Kanbei cope with the snow?



Yeah, looks like it.



And his B copters seem happy enough with life, too.



Luckily everything's in pretty close range.



We've got plenty of money, but still not enough for a Kanbei middie. Those prices, eesh.



Oh well, an artillery and a B copter'll be fairly useful.

Day 14 - Sturm



And on a snow day, too! Sacrilege!



Well, Andy's suffering a bit here too, Olaf.



Although this B copter gets off relatively lightly.

Day 15 - Andy



Sturm's got a fighter to play with now, though. Could be problematic, that.



Oh well, gotta keep trucking.



Clearing out that medium tank exposes the soft underbelly of Sturm's AAs.



One of them gets knocked down to 1HP.



Meanwhile, might as well deal with this APC. Medium tank lands the big hit...



... and infantry do the clean-up.



No real threat, but it's a good idea to take out the APC on a Meteor Strike turn, when Sturm's power meter won't charge up.



Anyway yeah, buildin' and movin'.

Day 15 - Olaf



It's not fair! IT'S! NOT! FAIR!

Hmm. You know, I've been forgetting to build things with Olaf the last few turns, and he's got a fair bit of cash in the bank. Maybe I can appease him by...





... although on second thoughts, given Sturm's just built a fighter, maybe we'd be better off with a fighter of our own...



... oh fine, Olaf. You can have your bomber.



There. Good luck to all who fly in her.



Onwards, troops! Onwards to victory!

Day 15 - Kanbei



Well, that's Olaf satisfied. But we've got a big turn lined up for Kanbei.



B copters fly in, knocking a Sturm B copter down to 1HP and destroying a mech.



Now Kanbei's got a route to that full health AA.



Which we take full advantage of. A mech takes damage, too.



Sturm's really on the back foot now.



Some cleanup work as a B copter finishes off the 1HP AA and a tank gets rid of the 4HP mech.



And the infantry head over the mountains, ready to harass Sturm's cities.



Fielding an AA here because - with that fighter around and Andy's AA in a bad way - we could use one.

Day 15 - Sturm



It's a bad turn to be a Kanbei B copter, though.



A very bad turn.

Day 16 - Andy



But their noble sacrifices kept Andy safe, and so should make our final score slightly less awful.



Knocking another AA down to 1HP, and doing a bit of an attack-of-opportunity on this tank here.



Gettin' up in Sturm's grill. Spout. Whatever.



With this fighter around, I go a bit overboard on the old air defence, deploying a fighter of my own and an AA.



Finishing off that 1HP AA, and capturing more of Sturm's stuff.



Moving everything up, as per usual.

Day 16 - Olaf



So then, what exciting things are we going to do with Olaf's shiny new bomber?



Well... moving it up to these mountains, I guess. It also seems like a good time to send in these T copters to do some harassing.



That's about it, really.



Kanbei's got Morale Boost ready, so let's use it.



It's enough to get rid of this AA in one shot.



And Kanbei's many light tanks get to have some fun, too. This mech takes a lot of damage...



... and down goes another AA.



Meaning Sturm's AA defences are reduced to this one fighter.



Tank and infantry take down a mech.



Unfortunately, I can't surround the fighter with infantry completely this turn. Shame! It means that one of Andy's B copters is doomed, unfortunately.



But other than that, things are going fine.

Day 16 - Sturm



As predicted, I lose that B copter.



And one of Olaf's 2HP T copters to this tank (I know it still says 2HP here, but it does go down).

Day 17 - Andy



See? Anyway, it's a mopping-up operation from here on in, albeit one where we have to mop up medium tanks, fighters and bombers.



We can get an attack in with this B copter.



... but not that much else, although we can get this artillery here into a potentially useful position, and start capturing one of Sturm's bases.



Unfortunately for us, this medium tank can't hit anything right now.



So not much else to do but move everything up...



... and up...



... and up.

Day 17 - Olaf



Ahahaha!



AHAHAHAHAHA!!



AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Come on now, Olaf, it's only a 3HP light tank. Show a bit of restraint.



We can block this bomber in a bit since, as any fule kno, ground units block air units.



And the rest of Olaf's meteor-stricken army inches upfield. Might come in handy, you never know.

Day 17 - Kanbei



Quietish turn for Andy and Olaf that, but Kanbei's going to be landing the big punches.



Let's start with this mech (although in hindsight, maybe going for the medium tank would have been saner?).



The middie can't quite get rid of the mech, so the 9HP tank provides backup.



And this APC falls to tank and arty fire.



While all that's going on, I move in some more units to do another ground blockade - this time on Sturm's fighter. This actually ends up being a mistake that costs me quite a bit in the end. See if you can work out why.



B copter finishes off damaged B copter, light tank blocks a factory.



And the cavalcade moves on.

Day 17 - Sturm



Sturm does one attack, and that's it. Doesn't even use his bomber - that little quirk where the the AI decides not to attack with a unit that's "repairing" even when it's at full health.

Day 18 - Andy



All right, we've got a fighter to deal with the bomber, arty and middie to deal with the medium tank, AAs to deal with the fighter...



Well, that's the first part of that done...



... and the second part of it mostly done...



... but we won't be able to do the third part. Here's the mistake I mentioned earlier. Kanbei's got that fighter surrounded, sure - but because of that, Andy can't attack it: Kanbei's blocking him from getting close. If I'd left the fighter a bit of space to move around, Andy could have attacked with one AA and left Kanbei to finish the job.



Well, echoing the sentiment expressed at the start of this LP, no use crying over spilt blood. B copter flies in to soften up some infantry.



And that's basically it.

Day 18 - Olaf



Now's my chance to show everyone what a bomber can do!



What?



PAAAAAUUUUULLLLL!!!!!



*ahem* Anyway, moving on.

Day 18 - Kanbei



Can Kanbei complete the cleanup this turn?



I can't quite one-shot this B copter, but some infantry are on-hand to finish the job.



And down goes the infantry that Andy's B copter softened up. So far, so good.



But this is the big question: can I down this fighter in one hit? Will my mistake with surrounding that fighter cost me a day, or not? Hmm... 93%...



... dammit.



Oh well, just got to get rid of everything else. This mech goes down to medium and light tank fire...



... while another Kanbei light tank finishes off Sturm's 2HP middie.



Just that one bloody 1HP fighter to get rid of.



Oh well, better block it in (leaving room for Andy's AA this time) and gum up all of Sturm's production facilites to boot.

Day 18 - Sturm



The extra turn would bring about another Meteor Strike, wouldn't it.

Day 19 - Andy



But that's okay. Thanks to these cities, Andy's got just about enough health to pull this off.



Operation Dunderhead - Clear.


YOU... YOU... YOU YOU YOUYOUYOU HORRID LITTLE HEDGEHOG!!!!!

What can I say, Robotnik's just very quoteable.



Olaf's pretty cheerful after all the stuff he's just been through.

How's that? Did you see my display?

Err... yes, I suppose we did.

I paid back Sturm in kind for daring to deceive me!
I think you just caused a peck a trouble with all that snow, Boss.

IntSys' writers calling attention to the fact that Blizzard can be more trouble than it's worth here. Still, we only had to deal with it once, and Andy and Kanbei coped admirably.

What was that, Grit? Oh, who cares? It's a grand day! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
Well, it's not like he's got any bad intentions.

Well... okay. I guess (I think someone might still have a bit of a score to settle with him, though. More on that shortly).


Are you all right?
Uh-huh. Thank you, Father.
Oh, Sonja... If anything had happened to you...
Father! Don't you dare start crying!
Bu...but...
Really!

Oh, come on Sonja. Give the guy a break, he just went through hell for you.

Um, Father... I truly thank you. Do you know what Mother used to tell me?

Oh? What's this?

'Your Father's a bit silly, but he'll always be there when you need him.'
(sniff) You look just like her, Sonja. You really do.

Aww... . So, yeah, this is something I hadn't really seen before, not having used Kanbei in The Final Battle before now. From the look of it, Kanbei's wife/Sonja's mother must have died a few years ago or something. Probably a reason for Kanbei's zealous protection of his daughter? Either way, it never really crops up again in the later games. Bit of a shame, really.



can i have cake and ice cream now?
oh you
that's our andy!
but seriously where's eagle i need to arrange a date with him or something
hiya
captain drake!
why do we always call him "captain drake!" like that? rank and exclamation mark and all
whatever look don't worry about eagle he's just off doing eagley things
oh ok
meantime i'm worried about the huge series of international incidents we all just sparked off
sod that i want my cake
oh go on then but seriously we're gonna have to sort this at some point
look just talk to nell about it she handles this stuff probably
all right see you around i guess
here's your cake sir
CAKE
*sigh*



Only a B-Rank again - slightly better than the run with Nap Patrol (same number of days, but a little better on Power and Technique), but still not good enough for an A. Oh well, here's hoping I keep on improving with practice. Anyway, here's the Dunderhead Run Ending Reel.



Well, the Final Battle might have gone slightly better, but the run as a whole was slightly worse, at 940 points to the Nap Patrol Run's 942. Blame the B-Rank I gave myself on Olaf's Navy to unlock Olaf's Sea Strike, I guess. Still holding out for an S Rank on one of the remaining runs - hopefully!



A quick pop in to Battle Maps shows that, thanks to doing her bonus missions, we've now unlocked Sonja on this save (as well as the standard Kanbei unlock). She costs 10 Advance Wars Coins more than Grit, Drake or Kanbei, for some weird reason. It's not even like she's particularly strong in AW1 .



Anyway sure, why not, let's buy her.



Note that unfortunately, because of the way I've set up these saves, I can't unlock everyone on the same save. Kind of a shame, because to unlock Sturm and Nell in this game you've got to unlock everyone else.

Which is why, for the next intermission, I'll have to head off to the sequel...

Eh? What do you mean?

I'll leave Nell to explain it, Olaf.

It's been a while, Olaf.
Nell? Where did you spring from?
I know I've been a bit quiet of late, but the others seemed to have Sturm in hand. I just kind of faded out of the picture. I'm back now, though.
But why?
Well... Andy, Sami and Max may have forgiven you, but I've still got a little bit of a score to settle. Remember Field Training?
What? That old thing? Wait a minute... why did my hat change?
Oh, don't worry. This is a perfectly harmless procedure.
WHY AM I SANTA NOW?
This grudge match might not be so harmless, though.
NELLLLLLL



Tune in next time for War Room's Point Stormy, and the Field Training Grudge Match!