Question about HQ's and theaters of war

[Speedy Gonzales]

Hi guys,

I am mostly lurking since I don't have time to post a lot or play against human players. I am usually playing the allies against ai. My units usually end up all over the place, meaning SoPac units in Port Moresby, SwPac units in the pacific and so on, you get the picture. This happens because otherwise I am basically forced to follow the historic strategy and timetable, e.g. attack Guadalcanal when it really happened, defend PM when it was really reinforced and so on. Does this have any negative effects on my units? How do you deal with this?

I don't have the pp's to change the hq and being a tidy person I find this a bit annoying every time I see the organisational mess. I'd rather have neatly organised theaters of wars with bases attached to the proper theater and the local units in the base too. I understand why I should pay pp to get restricted units out of home areas, I understand that the people of OZ or westcoasters are not too excited when I leave their homes undefended. But why I need to pay pp to change from SoPac to SwPac eludes me. What do the folks home care, where exactly in the pacific units are deployed?

[NormS3]

welcome aboard!
no it does not effect the units from what i've read. the units will get benefit from the nearest hq in effective range. I feel same way regarding the oob mess that i've made. so have created just added more political points to a senario vs ai.

[Speedy Gonzales]

Thanks for the info. I figured it doesn't really matter but wanted confirmation. I might do the same you did and increase pp in the scenario. Only problem is, I do use pp do buy out restricted units and when I upp the pp I might end up buying out more units than I should.

[HansBolter]

Personally, I try to use the HQ associations as realistically as possible.

If a unit is not attached to a given HQ and I don't have the PPs to make it so, then I do not send it off on adventures in that HQs domain.

SWPAC requires some early planning and a committment to save the PPs necessary to free up some units in the US to be sent there.

[mc3744]

ORIGINAL: Speedy Gonzales

I understand why I should pay pp to get restricted units out of home areas, I understand that the people of OZ or westcoasters are not too excited when I leave their homes undefended. But why I need to pay pp to change from SoPac to SwPac eludes me. What do the folks home care, where exactly in the pacific units are deployed?

I'm 100% with you on this!

[Barb]

Unfortunatelly the game doesn't really follow the reality in HQs. Numerous HQs were created, renamed, disbanded, recreated and units were shuffled between them as often as boundaries were changed.

In the game many HQs are missing, there are also only two levels of HQs - Higher and Lower. While in reality there were 3-5 levels of comand (Theathre-Area-Army-Corps) and these were often mixed between all the branches of states military or they were run separately.
I too hate to have mess in my units assignments - however in the game you have to pay PPs for Division moving from one Corps to another (and this happened very often IRL).

Actually SWPAC and SoPAC is quite a good point where PPs should be payed - As MacArthur and Nimitz actually competed for reinforcements. However there is not very clear boundary - Guadalcanal operation was run under SoPAC operational command, but it was part of MacArthurs plan to seize Rabaul. Next 1st Marines went to Australia and Cape Gloucester (Clearly SWPAC) and 2nd Marines to Tarawa (CenPac).
However, to keep it in game terms, you should buy both 1st and 2nd Marines to SoPAC and then rebuy them to SWPAC and CenPAC respectively. Then rebuy 1st Marines once more to CenPAC for Pallau and Okinawa. Having to pay for other units that changed commands in reality (like 7th Infantry first at NorPAC, then CenPac) you wouldnt have enough PPs even to use units that were used historically.

Similar situation is there for Japanese - having number of units at China and Manchuria that were used in Pacific islands from Burma to New Guinea to Okinawa. I made a rough calcullation and it seems that for Japanese to buy all those major units (Divisions) to all the commands they were IRL will spend all PPs they will get from start of war till end of 1944.

[Speedy Gonzales]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

Personally, I try to use the HQ associations as realistically as possible.

If a unit is not attached to a given HQ and I don't have the PPs to make it so, then I do not send it off on adventures in that HQs domain.

SWPAC requires some early planning and a committment to save the PPs necessary to free up some units in the US to be sent there.

You can do that but as a result, you are basically limiting yourself to the historic strategy and timetable. There is little room for strategic ideas of your own, simply because you don't have the needed units attached to the right theater. Example: Against the AI, by the time I get substantial troops for the south pacific theater, I am already heavily engaged in the Solomones, using forces from the Pacific Area. By the time I get substantial forces for SwPac, the AI has already made several attempts on Port Moresby and Milne (earlier than actually happened but I am fine with that) and I have already reinforced those places using forces bought out of OZ and planes from the pacific area. As a result, the base POrt Moresby is still attached to Australia and the units there to all kinds of theaters. As Norm already pointed out, it doesn't really matter, but it looks so untidy and disorganised. [;)]

[Speedy Gonzales]

Actually SWPAC and SoPAC is quite a good point where PPs should be payed - As MacArthur and Nimitz actually competed for reinforcements.

I see your point but would like to argue against it [;)]. I mean, I am after all the supreme, absolute ruler of the Pacific Theater of War. I am more powerful than the American presient was since I also command commonwealth, dutch and chinese forces. And I am pretty sure FDR could not pick up the phone to tell those Hurricanes in Chittagong to increase cap altitude to 15k feet. So, following that logic, MacArthur or Nimitz should pay me pp for sending them those precious units [;)]

Ok, I am beeing silly, but my point is, I am not MacArthur or Nimitz, I am their boss so I get to decide who is in my favour and gets the troops.