Using air power

[Wikingus]

Any general tips on how to use air power in the game? Obviously there are different ways to go about it depending on the side and scenario, but I want to know whether the AI does a good job if I use it for that, or should I take the time and do it manually? How do I know when my air units have been overused? For example, I'm now playing Minsk and I bombarded the cr*p out of the Soviets on turn 1, before actually doing anything with my land units. As a result, I had air support in the first few battles, but after that it disappeared. I'm guessing it's due to the fact I used so much of it to bomb airfields?

[ComradeP]

You can let the AI run the air war for you and get fairly decent results.

In my opinion, as the Axis the first turn of the 1941 campaign is the only turn where massive bombing campaigns against Soviet airfields are worth the lost/damaged aircraft you suffer. You don't really need that much air support on turn 1 as the units alongs the border in occupied Poland are not too strong, although I can see why you might want Stuka support for the battles against the Kiev Military District/Southwest Front.

If there are a few attacks you really want air support for, but if you're afraid that the air support will be used up, set percent required to fly to over 100% (not 100%, as some squadrons will dodge it) until you're ready to make the attacks, and set them back to normal when you're about to attack. That should focus your air support on the few "iffy" odds attacks where you really need air support.

Keeping your air bases as close to the front as is safe for them is a good idea too.

[Krupinski]

ORIGINAL: Wikingus
How do I know when my air units have been overused? For example, I'm now playing Minsk and I bombarded the cr*p out of the Soviets on turn 1, before actually doing anything with my land units. As a result, I had air support in the first few battles, but after that it disappeared. I'm guessing it's due to the fact I used so much of it to bomb airfields?

Well you can take a look into the Commanders Report. Open the section Air Groups. On the right you have a column "trvl" (travel). There you can see the percentage of miles which your plans have flown.

[jjdenver]

The entire air war seems a little foggy.

Let's say that I want to let the computer run air attacks for me on the first turn as Germany but I'd like to in one section - say around Brest Litovsk - conduct a couple of specific airfield attacks.

How do I conduct those specific attacks? I don't seem to see a blow by blow description of how to do this in the manual, even in 5.4. I guess I click on a single air unit then right click on an enemy airfield while I have bomb airfield mode on? Is it similar to ground attacks in that I can use shift to select multiple air units to participate in one strike?

And how do I tell the computer to "go do airfield attacks now"? I'd like to have them done at start of my turn I think so that there are not so many Red Air Force interceptors hitting my ground support aircraft.

Can someone shed some light and give some advice on the use of air force? A little primer would be great.

Thanks

[elmo3]

To let the AI handle bombing airfields hit F7 then "A".  The AI will bomb airfields for you.  I suggest hitting F5 and "A" first so the AI does air recon before you bomb.

To bomb a specific airfield manually hit F7 then put your mouse over the target airfield and hit Sift right click to being up a list of air units eligible to bomb the airfield.  Choose the units you want to do the mission and hit Launch at the bottom of the screen.  Some units may not participate due to bad weather or other factors.

[Avenger]

In the campaign I bomb airfields on turn one. After that I seldom even touch the air force. I don't even change the settings. When I conduct attacks the game chooses when to assist me and automatically sends ground support.

Many times in later turns I find my leading units in need of supply, so I air drop supplies to them. This often boosts their movement speed and combat ability instantly. I always click the "Soft Factors" button (cycle) to the supply icon and look for units with an orange or red tick on them, and I drop them supplies.

When the major battles and the supplies for the turn have been done, I then move the airfields closer to the front. This is best done at the end of the turn (MY opinion) because very few planes will fly after you have used all the movement points of the air field.

[CarnageINC]

ORIGINAL: ComradeP

You can let the AI run the air war for you and get fairly decent results.


If there are a few attacks you really want air support for, but if you're afraid that the air support will be used up, set percent required to fly to over 100% (not 100%, as some squadrons will dodge it) until you're ready to make the attacks, and set them back to normal when you're about to attack. That should focus your air support on the few "iffy" odds attacks where you really need air support.

That's a useful tip, but it sure would cause a lot of micro managing of the air war. None the less, I will give it a try [;)]

[Speedysteve]

I think a few other have mentioned this already but I personally wouldn't mind seeign a few tweaks with the air war and how the game let's us influence it.
 
For example we can influence the Ground War to the minute with which support units go where etc but we can't influence which air units will support a ground attack (others have mentioned that it's frustrating to see 100 bombers supporting an attack on a surrrounded division when you want them to support a tough attack further to the east. I don't by the you can change the force allocation percentages since I don't and IMO shouldn't have to change these many times during each turn).
 
2.) Not sure on the loss ratio in the air. To explain. I'm currently playing the Road to Leningrad scenario and after the first turn obliterating soviet AF's it's pointless attacking them from then on as you hardly get anything on the ground. Why? Further than this I;m finding I'm losing about 20/30 planes a day and so are the Soviets. I quite often lose 3-5 fighters during the AI turn when they recon and yet the Soviet's lose none? That doesn't feel right to me at this stage of the war?
 
Love this game by the way. It's so well done. I literally think of it a lot of the time at the moment! Musn't tell the Mrs that......

[ComradeP]

Speedy: the Luftwaffe's operational losses, especially for its fighters (Bf 109's, with their less than stellar landing gear, are not made to land on some grassland classified as an "airfield"). As soon as rookies start to pilot planes, operational losses will skyrocket. Soviet operational losses still seem fairly low on many turns. The operational losses you see in the first few turns are probably mostly caused by damaged aircraft either not being repairable or crashing upon landing. The Luftwaffe has a fair number of damaged aircraft so soon after the battle for Crete.

[Speedysteve]

Thanks. How about the fact after Turn 1 so few Soviet planes seems to be destroyed during AF attacks? I know so many planes were destroyed but many should still be around....

[ComradeP]

I've also been wondering about that, maybe it's primarily due to the reduced target density and the Soviets being a bit smarter with spacing their planes apart. Bombing missions can still get some peculiar results from time to time, and bombing was recently tweaked, so maybe some unexpected problems appeared. I've never had good bombing runs on airfields after turn 1, though, but I may just have been unlucky.

I ran a test in the 1942 campaign: 300 bombers bombed an airfield with around 70 planes, and destroyed/damaged about 40.

[Speedysteve]

Hmm. My take so far in every scenario I've played is that I'm lucky to destroy more than 10 planes in an AF attack after turn 1

[FredSanford3]

Another air power question: Is there any limitation on how many air missions can be staged through a particular airbase in a turn? I haven't tested it fully, but it appears you can stage the entire Luftwaffe through a field army's forward airbase.

[ComradeP]

I don't believe there's a limit.

[jjdenver]

Can some playtesters/vets give helpful advice about how to physically organize and move your air units?

Let's say I want to have the AI basically run the air war. I still need to physically move air base units around on the map and move air units into the air base units in a logical way, right? I think I have this right...

So do you try to mix unit types in the same air base? For example fighters, dive bombers at one air base. Fighters, level bombers at another air base. Fighters, Transports at another air base?

Or do you split them completely? Fighters at one air base, Dive bombers at a 2nd air base, and level bombers at a 3rd air base?

Any helpful thoughts here would be nice. Thanks.

[ComradeP]

I personally try to create single function air bases, so short range fighters at one air base, long range fighters at another, tactical bombers at yet another and so on. I try to stick to a maximum of around 4 units at an air base for both the Soviets and the Axis. The only exception for mixing units I make is probably keeping night fighters in level bomber bases sometimes, as those are usually further to the rear.

I know Andy prefers single function air bases as the Soviets, I don't know anything about his air power preferences when playing as the Axis.

Air power is also a "he who tries to defend everything, defends nothing" kind of thing for me, so I don't even try to establish the illusion of a super air umbrella all across the front, but instead focus on some critical areas. The entire front will have fighters, but only the important areas will have (large numbers of) tactical bombers. 20 tactical bombers don't really pack a punch, 200 will rip a unit to shreds over time.

[FM WarB]

I look forward to improvements in the air war component of this game.

[jjdenver]

FYI I decided in my first playthrough of Minsk to try to continue to bomb Soviet airfields throughout the 3 turns of the scenario. I didn't watch closely on turn 2, but on turn 3 I was taking terrible German AC losses, and in many cases the Soviet airfields I was bombing were taking no losses at all.

I think bombing planes on the ground was a viable tactic throughout WW2 so it seems like there is some problem w/ how airfield strikes are modeled.

[Speedysteve]

I know it's been mentioned before but with me play testing 43 Campaign's onwards I can also confirm that it's VERY hard for the Axis to achieve success in land battles since 100+ Soviet bombers massively reduce and disrupt any German offensive across the front. I cna only dread how it would be in 44 and 45......really think the Air elements need a little look at:
 
1.) The intelligence behind Ground Support assignments - i.e frustrating to see 100's of bombers attacking a surrounded soviet division which doesn't require them.
 
2.) The effect of bombing on ground units. As I say 43 onwards it's terrifying to see 100's of Soviet bombers obliterating a Panzer division during an attack.
 
3.) AF bombing. Seems odd that after the first turn there's virtually no point of attacking any AF's anywhere. Despite having planes on them you're lucky if you destroy 10 on the ground in 1 attack.
 
These are just my observations and I love this game so not a big bash. Just thoughts for tweaking/improvement perhaps......

[karonagames]

@ Speedy are you playing V1.01?

The disruption was a very late catch from testing that was being done as the game was being mastered.

V1.01 contains a fix for the disruption, but the behavior of SU bombers is, I think, an over-reaction to a situation we had in 1943 where the Germans were wiping out 100s if not 1000's of SU aircraft. on turn 1 (see the 1943 AARs)

The programmers are aware, but I can't give you an ETA for a "tweak".