Damaged rail, engineer and assessing best units to counter panzer division questions.

[VonWulfen]

Hello all.
After a successful landing on the southern tip of Sicily, my forces have made their first push inland with very little opposition. We now have a good foothold and a strong frontline.
I notice that the rail network has been hit hard despite no specific orders to target the rail infrastructure.
As I am playing "Operation Husky" it does not really matter but I would like to know how one goes about repairing rail and other infrastructure.
Do you just position an engineer regiment on the hex and give it a command to repair?
What role do my engineers take as part of the main force?
Should they be positioned just behind my combat units and what bonuses do they apply?
What criteria should I consider when an infantry unit is faced with a panzer unit?
Are there any infantry units more suited to tackling armor units?


Cheers

[cfulbright]

As I am playing "Operation Husky" it does not really matter but I would like to know how one goes about repairing rail and other infrastructure.
Do you just position an engineer regiment on the hex and give it a command to repair?

There are railways and railyards, the latter in cities and towns. To repair railways, you use the ono-map Construction units, specifically the Eng Rail Grp. MTO and the MTO CW Rail Group. Move one to the first damaged railway hex and click the number next to "RRC" in the unit's box in the upper right of the screen. See screenshot.

To repair ports or railyards (or factories if the Axis) or increase the size of air fields, you use the US Eng GS Rgt support units. First you'll need to get them to an HQ on Sicily (or whatever landmass you're on), then you can click on the "Assign/Form" link in the city detail screen and pick one of the Construction Units. If you transfer the units from AFHQ in Africa to an HQ in Sicily you'll need to wait a turn to then assign them to a city.

What role do my engineers take as part of the main force?
Should they be positioned just behind my combat units and what bonuses do they apply?

Combat engineer units are support units only, so they can't be positioned behind combat units. You'll need to assign them to on-map combat units such as infantry divisions. They serve two purposes: 1) improve your effectiveness when attacking a fortified unit or unit in a city; and 2) help your units build their own fortifications more quickly.

Combat engineer units are different than the "Engineer GS Regiments" which despite the name actually are construction units.

What criteria should I consider when an infantry unit is faced with a panzer unit?
Are there any infantry units more suited to tackling armor units?

If you're attacking panzer units, assign tank battalions or armoured or tank brigades to your infantry units. If you think you're going to get attacked by a panzer unit, assign those or an anti-tank support unit to your infantry divisions.

The other criteria for the infantry unit facing a panzer unit is its combat strength, morale, experience level, and fatigue. Also assign field artillery units to the corps HQ's for those infantry units and move them right behind the infantry unit before the attack.

Cary

[VonWulfen]

ORIGINAL: cfulbright

As I am playing "Operation Husky" it does not really matter but I would like to know how one goes about repairing rail and other infrastructure.
Do you just position an engineer regiment on the hex and give it a command to repair?

There are railways and railyards, the latter in cities and towns. To repair railways, you use the ono-map Construction units, specifically the Eng Rail Grp. MTO and the MTO CW Rail Group. Move one to the first damaged railway hex and click the number next to "RRC" in the unit's box in the upper right of the screen. See screenshot.

To repair ports or railyards (or factories if the Axis) or increase the size of air fields, you use the US Eng GS Rgt support units. First you'll need to get them to an HQ on Sicily (or whatever landmass you're on), then you can click on the "Assign/Form" link in the city detail screen and pick one of the Construction Units. If you transfer the units from AFHQ in Africa to an HQ in Sicily you'll need to wait a turn to then assign them to a city.

What role do my engineers take as part of the main force?
Should they be positioned just behind my combat units and what bonuses do they apply?

Combat engineer units are support units only, so they can't be positioned behind combat units. You'll need to assign them to on-map combat units such as infantry divisions. They serve two purposes: 1) improve your effectiveness when attacking a fortified unit or unit in a city; and 2) help your units build their own fortifications more quickly.

Combat engineer units are different than the "Engineer GS Regiments" which despite the name actually are construction units.

What criteria should I consider when an infantry unit is faced with a panzer unit?
Are there any infantry units more suited to tackling armor units?

If you're attacking panzer units, assign tank battalions or armoured or tank brigades to your infantry units. If you think you're going to get attacked by a panzer unit, assign those or an anti-tank support unit to your infantry divisions.

The other criteria for the infantry unit facing a panzer unit is its combat strength, morale, experience level, and fatigue. Also assign field artillery units to the corps HQ's for those infantry units and move them right behind the infantry unit before the attack.

Cary

Many thanks again for taking the time to give a detailed reply