
I had similar problems with the first VC game, and for that, I never finished it or played any of the DLC. Same with VC II.
Your issues with it remind me of similar frustrations I've had with the Advance Wars series. There seems to be one specfic way the devs want you to win, and if you don't do it, you're penalized with bad dice rolls. Phoey on that.
I'll probably get VC4 though because of those delicious graphics and the first dozen levels or so that I will be able to beat. Sigh. . .