Are my LCUs idiots or savants? (No Snidely!)

[porpoisehead]

Hey folks,

Opsec warning for Snidely!

I've had some funny movement behaviour from some of my Japanese LCUs that I'd originally shrugged off, but as things get stranger... I've decided I'd better get a handle on LCU routing decisions to ensure many glorious victories for the Emperor.

(Please see image below for clarity.)

In the first scenario, some infantry and combat engineers I'd ordered from Kota Bharu to Temuloh elected to take the coastal road towards Kuantan to get there; I assume that, once they reach the hex northeast of Kuantan, they'll cut through the unmarked bush and ford the river. On the face of it, this seems like questionable judgement on the part of my commanders, but I decided to roll with it and see what happens.

The second scenario is far stranger. I have a recon unit that's arrived in Alor Star ahead of the infantry column (I probably should've foreseen that mechanized units would move faster than the booted masses... derp. Lesson learned.). I decided to order them to the hex southeast of Alor Star to take control of the hexside and make life difficult for anything retreating from Alor Star. But my wise tank(ette) commander responds to this order to move to the next hex over by moving... northeast! Wait... what?!? I've tried this in both Move and Combat Op Modes, with the same result.

Does anyone know what the routing procedure is considering in these situations? In Scenario 1, the road to Temuloh is blocked by an enemy unit, and my units are in Move mode; I had assumed that was the reason for their coastal route (or, perhaps, the "rail... road" between KB and Temuloh is actually slower than the coastal bushwhacking). But, considering the behaviour of my recon unit in Scenario 2, which wants to move away from its destination despite its Op Mode and being directly next to the DH, I'm at a total loss...

Thanks in advance!

[Kull]

Read up on hex control (pg 48) and zones of control (pg 191-192)

[porpoisehead]

ORIGINAL: Kull

Read up on hex control (pg 48) and zones of control (pg 191-192)

Ahhh... that explains why my recon unit can't exit the AS hex. Thanks, Kull!

What about the units I ordered to Temuloh? Is it because they were in "Move" mode when I submitted the order, so they didn't want to "contest the hexside"? I don't think that makes sense because I've "moved into combat" in Move mode many times already... is the railway trail rate incredibly slow? I can't find a table in the rulebook that gives the different modifiers, but might be poor search terming on my part...

[Kull]

It's those inconveniently-located British units sitting directly SW of Kota Bahru. You can't just march through them as if they weren't there. ZOC applies, so your unit has to march around that hex.

[Kull]

ORIGINAL: porpoisehead

In the first scenario, some infantry and combat engineers I'd ordered from Kota Bharu to Temuloh elected to take the coastal road towards Kuantan to get there; I assume that, once they reach the hex northeast of Kuantan, they'll cut through the unmarked bush and ford the river. On the face of it, this seems like questionable judgement on the part of my commanders, but I decided to roll with it and see what happens.

This is a really good learning opportunity, so let's follow up on it. It's easy to get caught up in technicalities and gamey terms like "ZOC", but there's another way to look at this. You, as the commanding officer, have the responsibility to issue orders that are clear and not subject to interpretation. You did NOT tell your subordinates to "Follow the railroad directly SW of Kota Bahru, engage any enemy units located there and further down that railway, and keep on fighting and pushing until you finally reach Temuloh".

Nope, you told them to "go to Temuloh". And that is exactly what they are doing. [;)]

[porpoisehead]

ORIGINAL: Kull

It's those inconveniently-located British units sitting directly SW of Kota Bahru. You can't just march through them as if they weren't there. ZOC applies, so your unit has to march around that hex.

Ahh, yeah, that makes sense. Well, this is a good lesson-learned... I'll have to be aware of this in the future and take the approach of making short-range "Combat" op mode attacks repeatedly if I want to advance along a contested front like this.

[porpoisehead]

ORIGINAL: Kull

Nope, you told them to "go to Temuloh". And that is exactly what they are doing. [;)]

Hahahaha... I better get down there and do it myself!

[Trugrit]

+1

A great learning experience. One of the important things is that when you issue orders
the unit will tell you what it is doing and you need to pay close attention.

Most important on long moves. But….a short move can still go wrong unless you watch carefully.

Watch for the word “Direct” in the move order.

…...below is another sad story.

[GetAssista]

porpoisehead, press W hotkey now and then and it will all be clear.

ORIGINAL: Kull
ZOC applies, so your unit has to march around that hex.

I find the whole concept of ZOC misleading in case of WITP LCU movement. There are hex side controls and that's it, finita. Zones only apply when stopping strat movement or disallowing retreat into the hex.

[porpoisehead]

Thanks all! This has been very helpful. @Trugrit, I don't follow all the steps in your diagram... but the "six doors" concept is very useful!

@GetAssista... W hotkey... [&o]