How can I beat Axis on dod_avalanche?

I have recently gone back to playing Day of Defeat: Source. The servers are no where near as populated as they were when I played it regular, and therefore you don't always have the choice of playing on your favourite maps.

Back when I played regular, the dod_avalanche map was either a case of racking up easy/effortless kills if you were on the Axis team, or just pure frustration on the Allies team. At times I would play for a few hours until I got my first Allies win before leaving.

Not much on that front has changed in the years since the game's release. The Axis team has a major advantage in most, if not all, areas of the map:

1. You can get into parts of the Allies spawn for spawn killing
2. Allies cannot get into your spawn
3. You can place an MG above the second Axis flag giving a strong defense on the flag below, and also stopping entry to the church or the middle flag
4. Entrance to the church is only hampered by Allies in the apartment windows (which is never permanent)
5. Entrance to the apartments from the second flag is rarely hampered
6. First flag barely needs defending due to more-forward defending positions
7. You have several sniper points from the main building across the top of the map
8. You are pretty much fighting downhill for most of the map (of course, Allies are fighting up hill)
9. The sniper points from the Axis side have poor lighting, whereas the main sniper point above the Allies window has no such advantage
10. There are several spots in the middle of the map that are easier to exploit for the Axis, such as the plants around the church, the lower church entrance, the fountain and the "blind" corner

This is coming from years of experience, not just playing a couple of games in the past and a couple in recent times. A standard map usually sees Axis cap the middle flag almost immediately, then a prolonged fight with the second Allies flag swapping hands several times. Finally, the first flag capture (which is simply a drop out of the apartment windows) is timed nicely with the capture of the second flag for an Axis win.

I have seen plenty of good players on the Allies side (with high kdr, cap points etc) but unfortunately even with the best player in the game on your team, the map is completely in favour of an Axis victory.

Question

I was wondering if there were any known strategies to help tip the balance in favour of the Allies. Specifically, methods of holding the middle flag, as well as keeping pressure on the second axis flag. I'm not really interested in good sniper spots unless it can control a significant part of the map for others to concentrate on capping flags. I am looking for weak points in the usual Axis attack and how to exploit them.

Usual Failures

I cannot really get into church. Most times either an MG from the 2nd Axis flag mows me down or I get caught on the blind corner by a couple of support/assault soldiers. If there is an MG or group of closer soldiers I rarely make it (even with smoke for cover).

Apartments involves a lot of running up and down stairs without any penetration. Sure, I can rack up the kills but dropping to the third flag is far from profitable (getting shot on the way down is more likely) and the 2nd Axis flag is usually defended by a mounted MG plus several Axis on the move. If I kill the MG through nades I am prone to getting shot in the back by Axis on the move.

Running through the middle is useless for the same reasons as getting to church, plus the additional extra danger points (church entrance, church roof, far left hand side middle, shutters in top right, apartment entrance) - you are literally in the middle of all possible danger. You are very lucky if you can step out without something shooting at you.

Solution 1:

Yeah the map has always been unbalanced. Avalanche was one of my favorite maps, playing as ally, just because of the challenge. I think you have more experience than me, but here are some tips anyway.

• First of all capturing the middle flag depends on which axis flag is your team suppressing or controlling. It's a lot more situational for the allies.
• I suppose the church blind corner you are referring to is here (1). That's actually a great spot for allied captures, however you need some smoke around here (2), or high suppression on the second flag. Of course, moving there with an MG over the second flag is suicide, if there's one there it must be taken out first.
• I believe having control of the church is more important than having control of the apartments, as that allows suppression over the second flag, the apartments and the axis sniper spots, however you need at least two teammates covering the axis entrance from the first flag around here(3).
• A good MG position for the allies is here(4), it's a bit tricky though, you need to prone on the second window, pointing at here(5), and trying to get the most cover from the window frame, with quick reflexes you can buy your team enough time to capture the middle flag, by mowing down anything that comes out of the first flag, being from the tunnel, or from the main exit, you also get a view of the church tower. However if you want to stay long enough there you need a sniper covering the axis sniper spot here(6), as that is your main concern as sometimes you don't position yourself properly, and the snipers get a shot at your legs.
• Another good MG position is here(7), if you got teammates on the church covering your back, you'll be able to kill some people coming from the second flag giving time to capture middle. You will die because of a grenade though. That's a fact.
• So when capturing middle, you need to think of which side is being controlled, and position accordingly. If second flag is being suppressed. Church blind spot(1) and prone under the fountain(7) are the way to go. If first flag is being suppressed then it's a bout smoke here(2) and have 3 or 4 teammates prone under the fountain. And pray.
• Now unlike other maps, the allies need to consider both flags as kind of a first flag, that is they must be taken at the same time. Given the ease of access from the axis they won't stay captured more than a few seconds. So once middle flag is captured, people from the church must storm the first flag from around here(3), and people in the apartments(8) must suppress second flag (with grenades for example) so the people on the field can capture second flag.

And that's how most allied won matches went when we I was in avalanche. Granted they were few times, as, as said before the map is indeed unbalanced.