Sudden Strike, the series that forgot time.
Then came resource war.
Sudden Strike: Resource war added an element I never dreamed of having to deal with in any game, fuel consumption. Not just for the player, but your opponents have to weather the blows of ammunition and gasoline restrictions. SS brings very deep tactical game play even further into the depths of... tactical gameplay... with each installment of the series. It retains all of the original (lovable) features as the previous, including;
-Anti- warfare, use the right tool for the right job, and you'll find your boys unshaven as ever.
-Stealth, sick of the American Pershings and German Tigers? Lay a tank hunter or two in wait and let them stroll on past. Tanks still have the narrow forward sight line, requiring you to keep them well covered in whatever way you wish.
-Barrage tactics, why wait for the Tiger to come to you, when you can shell it and it's entire family from the comfort of a self propelled guns.
Resource war also adds Hospitals and Machine Factories to the mix. C&C fans can unclench their buttocks, you don't build them, they act as capturable 'spawn points' for your infantry and vehicles. Just be sure not to blast the hospitals to smithereens, Geneva wont like that one bit.
I'm still yet to complete the campaign, I'm slow on all real time strategies. Although from the missions I've been able to wrench myself through, I've seen a game which caters to a very free mission styling (and getting free-er with each installment). Tackling each scenario can be daunting and trilling as micro-management goes full throttle, unlike the classic 'rush and boom' gameplay, Sudden strike: RW can really hurt you for being lazy. Later on in battles things can get extremely hard if you were careless with your tankers and other units, tanks can become almost un-feasible when you've only one fuel truck to carry them across the map, like wise tanks can become a daunting challenge when you waste your tank hunters and armour on frontal assaults.
Hell, even side assaults, rear assaults and verbal assaults can end up disastrous if you take them lightly.
In conclusion, Sudden Strike has to be the best top down strategy game of it's price tag (or most others), Resource war only further enhances that. If you can't find the anthology, just get SS2 and RW, these are apparently the last to feature the super detailed 2D rendered sprites. And also the last to feature the 'use what'cha got, y'aint gettin' no more' mission setup (all be it, loosely).
After SS, you'll reconsider calling any others 'Real Time Strategy' games.