Soviet mech/tank divisions

[olorin42]

I have tank and mech divisions that are still alive in October. According to the manual, if they die before Nov 1941, they come back as infantry divisions or tank brigades. What happens if they are still alive in November 1941? If I disband them, do the new replacement units still show up (eventually)? I'm trying to decide what the right thing to do with them is --- since the divisions clearly should not stick around as is.

[Denniss]

AFAIR player-disbanded divs never come back. In a test I had a tank div survive into 1942. Pavel suggested to keep them on a rail hex very close to its HQ to increase chances of rebuilding into tank brigade/rifle div.

[Schmart]

In Jan 42 they will all automatically flip no matter what. Denis is right: if you disband them you will loose them forever. It's better to hold onto them and just wait for them to convert. A handful of Tank or Mot Divs surviving into Dec 42 (for blizzard) can come in quite handy...

[turtlefang]

Denniss and Schmart are absolutely correct - I've tested it several times after Flav let me know that disbanding makes them disappear and not come back as an infantry division. They disappear and don't come back.

I don't know if keeping them near thier HQ and on a rail line will increase thier odds of converting or reorganizing but would trust Pavel on that.

I would recommend setting the TO&E to 50% and keep them on ready.

And they will disappear in January. So you may just have to wait.

But if they are around in the blizzard time frame, use them and abuse them. You can't normally concentrate much armor in an attack, if you have an armor division or two, it adds some punch you don't normally have.

[KFosso]

The 51st, 52nd, 56th, 104th, 105th, and 107th tank divisions don't convert until turn 29. Two of them start in the Caucasus, three come in on the east edge on turn 2, and one starts in Bryansk. I haven't played much, but I've let them sit on 50% TOE and refit so they build up morale. When tthe other divisions converted on turn 12, I raised their TOE to 100%. When mud hits & I've got spare railcap, I'm planning to put them all together and try to have some fun with them. At the very least, I should be able to make a couple of hexes pretty hard to attack.