WITE vet asks some questions

[Cavalry Corp]

Dear all,

A few questions and observations. I have just started the campaign game as the axis play by email. Overall quite enjoying the new game and there seems to be a vast improvement although the air game seems overly complex to me, when rather strangely the naval aspect is almost totally ignored. Okay I do accept it a land kind of game.

Firstly I think that the rout rules that worked just about okay in war in the East are not so good here on a smaller map, units randomly jumping all over the place. I don't think the allies lose enough by having a beachhead being captured and this I think makes the Allied player fairly and concerned as a routing in unit takes little damage after being driven off the beach and the other player can just land more or less without care.If the unit just routs to a friendly port it does not even lose all that much strength. I would have thought you should have some special rules for routing of a beachhead certainly they should lose almost all their equipment, and potential for elimination if say the sea state did not permit an evacuation. I'm not talking about the withdrawal of a beachhead but an attack in the axis turn. I think an enormous amount of effort has gone to getting realism down to the smallest level in this game and they routing rules look clumsy and rather unrealistic. Having said that I don't think it mattered quite as much in war in the East.

The next question I have got is I cannot see anywhere where I can modify the naval interdiction. And is that important to keep the interdiction level as high as possible I assume that it is.
I cannot see anywhere about any sea state for amphibious operations the sea state was critical and I assume it is factored in somehow that as an axis player I cannot determine if there is a period when amphibious operations cannot realistically take place. We are now in December 1943.

I cannot see how to get the axis air units to take replacements. Even on rest they are not doing anything.

There is no axis railroad repair unit. The axis engineer Battalion's do not seem to want to come out from the headquarters. I only have two on the map and they have been sitting on rail lines repairing them at a snails pace for the last three terms. It is working as designed?

On a units TOE I get a number like 51/55 and below 100% I understand what the hundred percent is but what is the number above that is split into two parts.

Just a few questions would appreciate some help. I have been going through the living manual but it is a real slog, over 200 pages. Which is the best manual to read to get the general feel of the game?

[Cavalry Corp]

Oh and another point - I have withdrawls for SS PZC HQ? but no units, are the SS supposed to be in north Italy?

[loki100]

1 - routs hurt the allies, esp out of a port, believe me

2 - by either (a) running naval patrols or (b) setting your air commands to fly auto naval interdiction. The base numbers for the axis are a result of your ports.

Neither side will do (a) by default, its a mission designed to gain/contest a sea area for a particular purpose - usually around a landing. See my longer answer to your other post about this.

attrition losses go up as the weather gets worse - formula is in the manual

Its feasible to do a winter landing in the Med on a good weather turn (Anzio), so I've done/seen landings around Rome as late as December. You need to pull a couple of TF back to the UK by about mid-January.

3 - do you have replacements for that type of plane? Is the airbase in supply? The axis side runs out of some plane models pretty readily.

4 - yes, if you want them in a particular place as in WiTE put them in a corps or army HQ

5 - same as WiTE 51/55 means that unit has a max of 55% of its elements but 4% are currently damaged

6 - yep, you lose HQs or units as per the historical pattern (again as in WiTE)

edit: if you want a quick overview, you can play the game simply using Red Lancer's one page guides and the provided videos

[Cavalry Corp]

Many thanks

And one more thing do 88mm Flak guns have dual purpose to AT?. Is it worth attaching them to front line units for this purpose? I remember this issue was never resolved in WITE.

BTW no RR repair (Eng units detatching from HQ) is not happening in my game. Units are not leaving the HQ except two which have been doing nothing I can see on the map?