How to garrison France?

[Grotius]

How do Axis players recommend we garrison France? Do I need, say, a corps in each port? Are garrison units appropriate here, or are they best used in the USSR to counter partisans?

[Hartmann]

A corps in each port is certainly overkill as you'll definitely need those troops elsewhere. Use garrisons instead. But even this seems only really necessary later in the game and if you don't have control of the seas (z-plan, sealion).

If the US and UK are preparing for invasion later in the game, then you have to have a sizeable mobile force in France to beat back any attempts at Overlord of course.

For all other situations: garrisons won't stand an invasion, of course, but they'll buy you enough time to operate troops in from somewhere else should the need arise.

[n0kn0k]

ORIGINAL: Grotius

How do Axis players recommend we garrison France? Do I need, say, a corps in each port? Are garrison units appropriate here, or are they best used in the USSR to counter partisans?

Use Garrisons. And if you've invested in submarine warfare, then use those to scout the Atlantic so you get an early warning.
Try to stick at least 2 subs close to the US coastline. But watch out for the US Navy.
One game I went there with the whole German fleet and I sank all the escorts and transports.
They fought very well though. There was a whole screen of ships guarding the transports.

[Grotius]

Thanks! Good to know garrisons might help.

My Kriegsmarine isn't all that large, so I doubt I could beat that large an escort, but we'll see.

[Treefrog]

Later in game you'll get four coast batteries in logical locations, which helps. I leave an army in Paris and upgrade to max except mobility (the troops can walk to the cafes and cabarets), leave G in the partisan areas and put corps in Brussels and Antwerpt to protect against paratroops. In mid 1942 I start to move striped bar infantry corps into the port cities, then upgrade them as time permits. Build the engineer ASAP and start on fortifications which you strategy suggests. When the allies invade "operate" some panzers from Russian and fly over tacticals. I try to keep a minimum of two fighters in France after mid 1942 as a precaution.

[Grotius]

Thanks! Those sound like good suggestions.

[dave123]

I think this needs fixing. All the British have to do is start invading all over france and taking cities unopposed. Too expensive to defend, IMO.

[Aksully]

Given the advantage the British have in quantity and quality and if the AI is as advertised then shipping all your Corps, Armies, etc to the Eastern Front perhaps should trigger some sort of raid that could turn into an early invasion???

Having just purchased the game and played only the Poland scenario leaves me more questions than answers at this point. And Grotius....I see you asking some really good questions! And appreciate you asking them and the folks that are answering them!

[jakemon]

In my first / only V1.03 game as the Germs on default settings, I had garrisoned Brest / Le Havre / Calais and was
surprised when the coastal guns showed up in adjacent hexes- not the port hexes. DE 627 describes the destination
hexes as "near", so perhaps that's working as advertised. I was also surprised the Engineer unit cannot fortify the
cities & ports.

The biggest surprise came with good weather in '43. I ignored an earlier surrender offer & Major Victory to get more
experience with game mechanics. My Heer was pressing attacks at the map edges, I defeated the Torch landings, and
thought my respectable French garrison had some further breathing room. I even imagined winning a North Sea naval
engagement (feint!) meant getting a handle on naval combat.

My first clue something was amiss was a level 2 entrenched Army evaporating under air attack in Le Havre. No problem,
right? I've got the MPPs, and now I finally get to see how destroyed units come back w/ reduced cost and cycle time...

Wrong! At least a dozen Amis swarmed ashore between Le Havre and St. Malo, annihilated everything in their path, and
established a wide beachhead several hexes deep. Air attacks against Paris and Orleans prevent operating any
reserves into western France. 3 Fighter units are half strength after one turn of intercepts. It's harder than it
looks to disengage in the east and get help moving west- Paris will likely fall first. And then?

Great game- there are a lot of subtleties in play. Kudos to the developers.

[vonik]

It all dépends how strong your KM is .
If you have 11 U boats level 3 and XP 1 or 2 (because you raided) around mid 42 then no invasion will happen because you'll keep the Channel and French west coast closed (patrolling silents) .

If your KM is weak, Allied destroyers with anti sub 2 or 3 all over the place, then you ll need a G in all ports and a K in strategical ones .
Besides you'll need fighters (you normally don't need them in the East anymore) and 1 Pz in a mobile reserve in Paris . If a landing happens, you ll have to operate mech inf, tanks and bombers from the East .
In this latter case do NOT underestimate the forces you'll need . Like in RL, the success or the failure of an invasion plays in the first 2 rounds .
If you send too little then you just loose it and will not stop the flood .

Also do not forget that you can expect an invasion in late spring/summer (rarely 42, more often 43) because the invading forces need speed .
With mud or snow you would have enough time to stop the Allied easily .

[jakemon]

I followed your "Barbarossa - the ultimate strategy" post with much interest- thanks for providing that orientation.
Britain as your strategic priority surprised me at the time; now I have a better understanding why it's necessary.

I haven't played as the Allies yet, so their unit strengths and capabilities are still in the fog. I'm finding the
naval war particularly tricky and seem to come out on the bottom of each naval encounter. I try to keep the
rock-paper-scissors analogy in mind, but it's not clicking yet. If you'd care to expand on the naval tactics that
make your strategy successful, this newcomer would welcome it.

[BillRunacre]

ORIGINAL: jakemon

In my first / only V1.03 game as the Germs on default settings, I had garrisoned Brest / Le Havre / Calais and was
surprised when the coastal guns showed up in adjacent hexes- not the port hexes. DE 627 describes the destination
hexes as "near", so perhaps that's working as advertised. I was also surprised the Engineer unit cannot fortify the cities & ports.

Hi jakemon

There was an issue with the Coastal Guns' deployment in some circumstances and it will be fixed in a coming patch.

Engineers cannot fortify resources but the resources themselves already provide defensive bonuses that units occupying them can benefit from, and they also have higher maximum entrenchment levels than clear hexes.

Great to hear you're enjoying the game, please spread the word! [:)]

Bill