War in the East Q&A

[Zovs]

For screen shots I use a free tool called: Gadwin Print Screen.

http://www.gadwin.com/printscreen/

[GuderianTA]

Hi, I read in the manual that my arties could attack the enemy 2 squares away... im not sure how to do this...

Also, Can i select multiple units at the same time and attack from many sides at once, or am i forced to attack piece meal?

[ComradeP]

Hi, I read in the manual that my arties could attack the enemy 2 squares away... im not sure how to do this...

Also, Can i select multiple units at the same time and attack from many sides at once, or am i forced to attack piece meal?

Soviet on-map artillery units can support attacks from 2 hexes away (so: hex containing enemy unit>another hex>hex containing artillery unit), they become available as brigades early in 1942, with divisions becoming available late in 1942.

You can attack from more than one hexside only with a deliberate attack, with hasty attacks you're limited to attacking from a single hex (you can use 1,2 or 3 units).

[Lützow]

Currently reading the manual and another question came into my mind. How much impact can city bombing have on Sovjet production?

[GuderianTA]

How do i launch a deliberate attack?

[ComradeP]

Currently reading the manual and another question came into my mind. How much impact can city bombing have on Sovjet production?

The effect won't be worth the bombers send out to do it, with the possible exception of damaging factories prior to a move into the city containing them, but as you only have medium bombers, I'd advise against it.

To be completely honest: the last time I asked about it, the production system, or rather: the damage, doesn't scale with production, but is instead a percentage chance a factory will produce at full capacity (when below 50% damage). So a 49% damaged factory doesn't work at 51% production capacity, but has a 51% chance for full production.

How do i launch a deliberate attack?

Hold shift with a stack selected, move the mouse over to an enemy unit, and click. As I had not read the manual by the time I played the tutorial, I was wondering about that myself at the time.

[elmo3]

How do i launch a deliberate attack?

Page 60 in the manual.  Shift right click for a deliberate attack.  Right click for a hasty attack.

[Manstein63]

2 questions
 
1. How are divisonal breakdowns handled? do they have to be done before the unit moves?, subject to stacking restrictions, or can they be done at any time, for example you move a panzer division then break it down & subsequently move the 3 regiments in different directions.
 
2. Is there some way that you can see what territory is held by the Axis & what is held by the Soviets. If I am trying to create a pocket it would be handy if I could see where I have advanced and be able to see if I have managed to surround the units that I am trying to pocket.
 
Many Thanks
Manstein63

[karonagames]

1. Always subject to stacking limits, you can split at any time, but movement costs for rgts/brigs are higher than for Divs, so although a hex may look reachable for the div, when you split it may be unreachable.

2. The "e" key highlights who controls the hex currently, but ownership can change during the next players' turn, so you probably need to have a three hex buffer zone to be reasonably hopeful of keeping a pocket locked down. Obviously in PBEM you have to work harder than against the AI, which will sometimes try rescue missions.

[Manstein63]

Thanks for the quick response
Manstein63

[solops]

ORIGINAL: jaw
I can't answer your first question except to say that was what Gary wanted and yes, the stacking is three units of any size period, no exceptions.

Poop...wish I had known this BEFORE I shelled out $90. All the work put in for historical accuracy and detailed combat modelling is largely undone by this "Stack Of Three" rule.

[Speedysteve]

Hi guys,

Noticed in the production screen that Panther A's upgrade to Panther G's but there's no Panther G model on the production screen that I can see.

Haven't checked all of the AFV's but also noticed the Turan 1 upgrades to the Toran 2 but can't see a Turan 2 either?

[ComradeP]

Poop...wish I had known this BEFORE I shelled out $90. All the work put in for historical accuracy and detailed combat modelling is largely undone by this "Stack Of Three" rule.

As I told you over at Wargamer.com, it's not like the stacking rules have been changed recently. The information was available, and even a quick glance at most AAR's would reveal it.

Haven't checked all of the AFV's but also noticed the Turan 1 upgrades to the Toran 2 but can't see a Turan 2 either?

This may not be documented: production that is part of a "tree" with a starting point and an end will only show the equipment piece that is either in production and/or the closest to being in production. Clicking on any vehicle will reveal whether the factories will produce something else. Clicking on the Turan I in the Hungarian part of the production screen will reveal the factories will at some point start producing Turan II's. As another example, clicking on the Panzer III J L/60 will reveal that production will at some point change to the Panzer III M.

[Flaviusx]

ORIGINAL: solops

ORIGINAL: jaw
I can't answer your first question except to say that was what Gary wanted and yes, the stacking is three units of any size period, no exceptions.

Poop...wish I had known this BEFORE I shelled out $90. All the work put in for historical accuracy and detailed combat modelling is largely undone by this "Stack Of Three" rule.

Give it a chance, man. This isn't at all a deal killer. The Germans hardly are even in a position to stack even that high in practice.

This is true even for the Sovs once they switch over to corps. (However, before then, traffic can get pretty heavy.)

[karonagames]

It does seem strange, but as a game mechanic it is a actually a very good way to manage and reflect the relative troop densities. Wait till you play Flavio and he throws 250,000 men and 6,000 guns at you - you will wish there was a stacking limit of 1!

[Speedysteve]

ORIGINAL: ComradeP

Haven't checked all of the AFV's but also noticed the Turan 1 upgrades to the Toran 2 but can't see a Turan 2 either?

This may not be documented: production that is part of a "tree" with a starting point and an end will only show the equipment piece that is either in production and/or the closest to being in production. Clicking on any vehicle will reveal whether the factories will produce something else. Clicking on the Turan I in the Hungarian part of the production screen will reveal the factories will at some point start producing Turan II's. As another example, clicking on the Panzer III J L/60 will reveal that production will at some point change to the Panzer III M.

Thanks.

[amatteucci]

ORIGINAL: solops
Poop...wish I had known this BEFORE I shelled out $90. All the work put in for historical accuracy and detailed combat modelling is largely undone by this "Stack Of Three" rule.

I was surprised too about that restriction at first. I thought: "Wait, we have powerful computers to instantly calculate troop and equipement densities and here we resort to this simplicistic boardgame-like stacking rule?".
But, after examining the rules about Soviet Corps' formation and trying how stacking actually works in the tutorial, I realized that it was a simple yet elegant solution to the actual problem on how to represent doctrinal limitations and historical unit frontages.

Let's consider soviet Rifle Divisions, just for example.
In 1941 a Soviet Rifle Division was expected to defend a sector of 14-20km deployed in a single echelon (I'm quoting figures from "Soviet Military Operational Art - In pursuit of Deep Battle" by col. D. Glantz) while attacked in sectors 5-6km wide. Considering that a game hex is 16km (10 miles) wide, the aforementioned figures mean one Rifle Division per hex in defense and three Rifle Divisions per hex in attack. Game staking works.
But it's not the end of the story. Starting from 1942 Soviet Rifle Divisions attack frontages began to shrink. From the 5-6km of 1941 and 3-4km in 1942 to 1.5-2km in 1945! That means that by the end of the war, the Red Army typically massed while attacking, in a given sector, three times the riflemen it was able (due to training and doctrine) to mass at the start of Barbarossa. In the game you can do too this consolidating three Rifle Divisions into a single Corps, and this without changing the basic stacking rules. The additional benefit is that it is impossible, for the Soviet player, to use hindsight and force its unit to use tactics they were simply not taught or trained to in 1941. The same thing could, more or less, be said for mechanized formations.

Summing up, in my opinion, this is probably the best solution to the density problem, given the constraint of an hex&counter type wargame.

[pompack]

ORIGINAL: amatteucci

ORIGINAL: solops
Poop...wish I had known this BEFORE I shelled out $90. All the work put in for historical accuracy and detailed combat modelling is largely undone by this "Stack Of Three" rule.

I was surprised too about that restriction at first. I thought: "Wait, we have powerful computers to instantly calculate troop and equipement densities and here we resort to this simplicistic boardgame-like stacking rule?".
But, after examining the rules about Soviet Corps' formation and trying how stacking actually works in the tutorial, I realized that it was a simple yet elegant solution to the actual problem on how to represent doctrinal limitations and historical unit frontages.

Let's consider soviet Rifle Divisions, just for example.
In 1941 a Soviet Rifle Division was expected to defend a sector of 14-20km deployed in a single echelon (I'm quoting figures from "Soviet Military Operational Art - In pursuit of Deep Battle" by col. D. Glantz) while attacked in sectors 5-6km wide. Considering that a game hex is 16km (10 miles) wide, the aforementioned figures mean one Rifle Division per hex in defense and three Rifle Divisions per hex in attack. Game staking works.
But it's not the end of the story. Starting from 1942 Soviet Rifle Divisions attack frontages began to shrink. From the 5-6km of 1941 and 3-4km in 1942 to 1.5-2km in 1945! That means that by the end of the war, the Red Army typically massed while attacking, in a given sector, three times the riflemen it was able (due to training and doctrine) to mass at the start of Barbarossa. In the game you can do too this consolidating three Rifle Divisions into a single Corps, and this without changing the basic stacking rules. The additional benefit is that it is impossible, for the Soviet player, to use hindsight and force its unit to use tactics they were simply not taught or trained to in 1941. The same thing could, more or less, be said for mechanized formations.

Summing up, in my opinion, this is probably the best solution to the density problem, given the constraint of an hex&counter type wargame.

And don't forget the reserve rule. Even with the three hex limit for commiting reserves to offensive action you can pump a LOT of divisions into the fight if you have good leaders.

[Flaviusx]

Besides the reserve rule, note that Soviet artillery brigades and divisions can fire from two hexes away.

Between this and the corps conversions, you can really mass stuff in a big way eventually. The stacking limitation should be understood in the larger context of the game. It's not quite as restrictive as it might first appear and in practical terms does the job imo.

[Montbrun]

ORIGINAL: Speedy

Hi guys,

Noticed in the production screen that Panther A's upgrade to Panther G's but there's no Panther G model on the production screen that I can see.

Haven't checked all of the AFV's but also noticed the Turan 1 upgrades to the Toran 2 but can't see a Turan 2 either?

The factories for those switch to the upgraded production.

I had the same question when I started, too.

Brad