Airborne Drops FUBAR'd

[dmh0667FU]

Airborne unit in same hex as Airbase with TAP unit since......weeks.

In F1(Movement), selected just the airborne unit, also selected the whole hex (2x airborne units and Airbase, results same)

Clicked on F9 (Air Transport), airbase turns blue.

Shift-Left-Click on target-hex, well within range of the TAP unit......then after no "Pick Units" window showed up, as it says in the manual that it should, tried Shift-Left-Click on other hexes, until got to one hex away. Still no "Pick Units" window.

The mechanic for this seems to be screwed.

[Telemecus]

Try tm.asp?m=4329540

[dmh0667FU]

Thanks, clarified things a bit, but still wasn't able to get it done. Checked and re-checked if there's anything else wrong, but only got "no transports available, or out of range" messages, even one hex away. Mystified....

Again, thanks for the addt'l link! Maybe I'll just wait for WITE2, at this point. Already got 38 turns invested in a 212-turn sudden-death game, though.

[dmh0667FU]

Hi, Telemecus, is the air-drop also weather-dependent? I'm in a Snow turn (T38), and I believe in WITW, this condition would cause a cancellation of a para-drop. Is it likely this is also the (unstated) case in WITE, as well?

[Telemecus]

ORIGINAL: dmh0667FU
Thanks, clarified things a bit, but still wasn't able to get it done. Checked and re-checked if there's anything else wrong, but only got "no transports available, or out of range" messages, even one hex away. Mystified....

That message usually occurs when transports are too far away from rails. What is the movement points distance from railhead to airbase for the transports you are using? Also which air unit are you trying to para drop. For example the 22 airlanding on the axis side is not able to paradrop although many assume it can.

ORIGINAL: dmh0667FU
Hi, Telemecus, is the air-drop also weather-dependent? I'm in a Snow turn (T38), and I believe in WITW, this condition would cause a cancellation of a para-drop. Is it likely this is also the (unstated) case in WITE, as well?

I think paradrops have occured in all weathers in this game so not like WitW. That said bad weather missions are prone to die rolls for individual planes or the whole mission being cancelled and this gets worse with worse weather.

[eskuche]

Dropped unit needs 40 average experience too by the way. Game should hang for a few seconds (to calculate?) the moment you press F9 if it is to be an eligible unit.

[dmh0667FU]

1.) According to the Supply Details, it's about 20+ MPs to HQ and 0 to Rail (it's located in Chernigov, right on the rail-line). See embedded screenshot.

2.) The screenshot has the unit I'm trying to drop, 3d Airborne Brigade/2d Abn Corps, which has 40+ experience, as eskuche points out, below.

[dmh0667FU]

Hi, eskuche, thanks for the reply! Re-verified 3d Airborne fits the criteria you've pointed out, and the "hang" does, indeed, occur. So, at least I have THAT right.[:)]

[eskuche]

Ok here’s what works for me in 12.04/5.
Checklist: airbase in valid hex, has 1+ MP, transport available, doctrine settings let it fly, day time, airborne brigade or German flieger regiment with xp > 40 in commander report and at least one MP stacked with airbase.

1. Click hex.
2. Press F9. Should have a CPU delay here for computation.
3. Click toggle shift button (too toolbar by night mission toggle).
4. Left click same hex. Para icon shows up and sometimes transport screen shows up. Delay should be here too.
5. X out of drop screen.
6. Left click valid drop hex and execute.

If any time SUPPLY transport screen shows up start over including undoing the shift toggle button.

[dmh0667FU]

Okay, thx much, eskuche, getting it to work, consistently, with two changes to your checklist that I can see:

6.) SHIFT-left click the drop-hex (tried both my Soviet-controlled hexes and Axis-controlled, which works), AND, very importantly....

The drop has to be at night.

Daylight drops don't work, for whatever reason, but the transports have not executed for daytime drops, no matter what I try. *shrugs shoulders*

Believe me, I'm happy getting ANY drops, at this point. Reason: I'm planning a counterstroke against Odessa to help fend off a coming Axis blitz in the Spring of '42 with approx. 12x mobile units into Southern Front's zone. This "Hail Mary" will also be in conjunction with an Amhib by about 3x Soviet Naval Inf Brigades and follow-ons of about 3 Rifle Divisions and some Tank Brigades using Sea-Transport staging out of Sevastopol, once Odessa is secured. We'll see, but you can see now WHY this became very important to me, all of a sudden.

This part of the mechanic, BTW, may be what we see in WITW, with drops that are executed in conjunction with an Amphib invasion.


Thanks to you and Telemecus!! Much appreciated!

[Telemecus]

Congratulations - I also find airdrops to be the clunkiest most frustrating part of War in the East

On the day /night missions remember you need to both set the missions to day missions AND the airgroups to day missions (or presumably vice versa)

So if you can now get airdrops working for night missions and not day missions presumably the missions were set to nights and not days before which is why the airgroups did not work on day settings?

[dmh0667FU]

Thank you, Telemecus, glad to have finally made it!

Tested both ways, day mission with day-drop and night mission with night-drop, several times; only night missions with night-drops seemed to have worked in bringing up the Air Units menu and in execution. This may also be based on historical facts, with the Soviets only ever executing night-drops, particularly in support of partisans.

The only sizeable Eastern para-drop that I know anything about is Kanev, I think in 1943, and the only reason I know about that one is from playing the Cross of Iron Module for Squad Leader.

I'll research a bit further on that point, though.

[timmyab]

I think they dropped parachute units during the first blizzard offensive (not certain)and I'm fairly sure when they crossed the Dneper in 1943. Possibly others as well.

[Telemecus]

ORIGINAL: timmyab

I think they dropped parachute units during the first blizzard offensive (not certain)

Definitely - for example in the counter offensive from Moscow. They were not strategic like the western allies but much more tactical - frequently a drop was a regiment rather than a division.

[dmh0667FU]

Thanks, timmyab, for that; haven't seen that, yet, could you let me know what your source is for that, please? I may pick it up on Kindle, if it's available there.

[timmyab]

No sources I'm afraid, only my dusty memory
David Stahel has a new book out covering the Soviet 41 counteroffensive which I'm tempted by. Don't know if it gives any details of the Soviet airborne operation though.
The 41/42 blizzard offensive is not a common subject for history books.

[Chris21wen]

ORIGINAL: eskuche

Ok here’s what works for me in 12.04/5.
Checklist: airbase in valid hex, has 1+ MP, transport available, doctrine settings let it fly, day time, airborne brigade or German flieger regiment with xp > 40 in commander report and at least one MP stacked with airbase.

1. Click hex.
2. Press F9. Should have a CPU delay here for computation.
3. Click toggle shift button (too toolbar by night mission toggle).
4. Left click same hex. Para icon shows up and sometimes transport screen shows up. Delay should be here too.
5. X out of drop screen.
6. Left click valid drop hex and execute.

If any time SUPPLY transport screen shows up start over including undoing the shift toggle button.

The major reason I have that stops any air transport operation is distance to railhead. The airbase MUST be no more than 5MP away.

The unofficial manual says this about tranport (16.3.5.3)
'... Air transport missions may only be flown by air groups that are located on airbases within 5 MPs of a supply source (rail net). The mission can be escorted by fighter air group units'

It should now read '.. 5MPs of railhead ..'

Staging bases work and you can move the units airbase prior to the ops.

[Shellshock]

ORIGINAL: dmh0667FU

Thanks, timmyab, for that; haven't seen that, yet, could you let me know what your source is for that, please? I may pick it up on Kindle, if it's available there.

Here's a link to a Wikipedia article about the Soviet winter paratroop operations during the Moscow counteroffensive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vyazma_airborne_operation

The Vyazma Airborne Operation was a Red Army airborne landing in the rear of German lines during the Battles of Rzhev. It took place from 18 January to 28 February 1942. The objective of the airborne landing was to help troops of the Kalinin Front and Western Front to encircle and destroy Army Group Centre. The airborne operation was unsuccessful and resulted in the loss of most of the troops landed.