Rail repair units

[Laits]

Hello everybody.

As many players do I put some RAD units to empty HQ in order to repair specific parts of the map.
However I noticed that even if there wasn’t any FBD unit in the area, my RAD did not repair the rails up to the front and that this tactic only work in the rear part of the map (and so, secondary lines). So, practically speaking, it happens that my “rail repair HQ” doesn’t use its RAD units even if there are tons of rail to repair within the 5 hexes distance.
There is nothing about this point in the manual. Am I missing something?

[loki100]

the only formal constraint is that the SU can't repair adjacent to a FBD/NKPS. And that they can't go adjacent to an enemy unit (even if other units are in the hex).

beyond that should be ok.

heres an eg of one right up at the front from my current game:

[Laits]

Ok, so there is a problem because there are many situations when my RAD units are unused even if all the prerequisites are met.
I noticed that it happens with corps HQ and not with the army ones.
It’s quite disappointing because in the long turn it’s a lot of hexes that are not converted.
I’ll try to provide some screens as soon as possible (I cannot use my last turns for it’s a server game)

[Starway]

Maybe, because they must be next to a connected rail line hex?

[DeletedUser44]

I have had same issue where I have four or so R.A.D construction units in a Corp HQ, and carefully placed to be within 5 hexes of qualifying broken rail hexes....

only to find that they do not want to repair the ones with 3-4 hexes of front lines... and so a couple of them sat idle and I missed out on their repair feature.

I just shake my head, in complete confusion on why they would avoid repairing those hexes...

I assumed their was some kind of undocumented enemy range restriction I was not aware of.

[carlkay58]

The RAD units seem to stop in the four hex range from enemy units occasionally. I don't know if this is a new feature that has crept into the game in recent versions or not. I have seen them repair adjacent to enemy controlled hexes but not near enemy units in the past few versions at least. I will point out, however, that I rarely use them that close to the front lines.

[DeletedUser44]

ORIGINAL: carlkay58

The RAD units seem to stop in the four hex range from enemy units occasionally. I don't know if this is a new feature that has crept into the game in recent versions or not. I have seen them repair adjacent to enemy controlled hexes but not near enemy units in the past few versions at least. I will point out, however, that I rarely use them that close to the front lines.

You are correct and it is very inconsistent.

Last turn I can see them deployed close to Leningrad Border, like within 2 hexes of enemy front. But where I needed them previously near Veluki Luki, they would not go anywhere within 5 hexes of enemy front and simply refused to deploy. ???

[Laits]

There is clearly a problem here. It's unfortunate for the German player given the scarce resources he has to create a decent rail network.

[juv95hrn]

Is there a way to "encourage" the rail HQs to fill up with rail repair SUs? According to the manual there is no way to manually do this. Could the AI attach new RR-repair units in any manner? Since one of them have no rr-units in it, it currently useless.

Other than that I experience the same as above, lots of idle rr-repair units in HQs near broken rr-lines.

[Rollerman]

ORIGINAL: Laits

There is clearly a problem here. It's unfortunate for the German player given the scarce resources he has to create a decent rail network.

Speaking of Germany and rail networks, how many rail repair units do the axis get? I play the 1941 scenario and I have not gotten that far, perhaps 5-6 turns mostly due to me being a noob and have to restart. SO far I think axis have 4? 1 for grp north, 1 for grp center, 1 for grp south and 1 for Romania.

[DeletedUser44]

ORIGINAL: Rollerman

ORIGINAL: Laits

There is clearly a problem here. It's unfortunate for the German player given the scarce resources he has to create a decent rail network.

Speaking of Germany and rail networks, how many rail repair units do the axis get? I play the 1941 scenario and I have not gotten that far, perhaps 5-6 turns mostly due to me being a noob and have to restart. SO far I think axis have 4? 1 for grp north, 1 for grp center, 1 for grp south and 1 for Romania.

1 for AGN
2 for AGC
1 for AGS
1 for Romania (but disbands around turn 15 I think)

Also get about 8 R.A.D. Labor Construction units. These are controlled by Axis Logistic AI

[Rollerman]

ORIGINAL: Sauron_II

ORIGINAL: Rollerman

ORIGINAL: Laits

There is clearly a problem here. It's unfortunate for the German player given the scarce resources he has to create a decent rail network.

Speaking of Germany and rail networks, how many rail repair units do the axis get? I play the 1941 scenario and I have not gotten that far, perhaps 5-6 turns mostly due to me being a noob and have to restart. SO far I think axis have 4? 1 for grp north, 1 for grp center, 1 for grp south and 1 for Romania.

1 for AGN
2 for AGC
1 for AGS
1 for Romania (but disbands around turn 15 I think)

Also get about 8 R.A.D. Labor Construction units. These are controlled by Axis Logistic AI

Is there any hotkey for selecting all the repair units?

[Commanderski]

Is there any hotkey for selecting all the repair units?

CTRL-9

[Jango32]

Sometimes the railway repair SUs roll out on the map and sometimes they don't.

Right now for example only 1 out of 4 rolled out in two consecutive turns, and 4 from another HQ haven't rolled out at all. This is along the coast of the Black Sea. No adjacent enemy units and the HQs are in range of rail to repair. I am still confused why this occurs.

[Kriegsspieler]

I have another wonky thing about the RRU's to report. I have been playing the Leningrad scenario, in which the Germans get 2 RRUs that start the scenario attached to Army Group North. Try as I might, I cannot reassign those units to another HQ. Somehow, they always end up back with AGN. I tried returning them to the HQ after they had been deployed, but that doesn't work.

What am I missing here? Can they ONLY be assigned on the very first turn of the scenario/campaign?

[loki100]

do you have SU assignment locked or automatic?

if its automatic they will be moved as the AI routines deems best (hence the return to AGN). If you want them to stay in a particular corps either go to fully manual SU control or assign them and then set the controlling HQ to locked so nothing is removed or assigned.

in the specific context of the scenario, AGN is probably not a bad choice actually ... different in the campaign when you have the full set and can pull them into a particular sector

[Kriegsspieler]

Thanks, Loki, you have identified my problem, at least!
I would have to disagree about the desirability of leaving the RRU's with AGN, though. They spend their time repairing useless breaks in Kurland, for example.

But your comment about the desirability of leavng the RRUs with AGN has raised another question for me. Is there any weight given to where supplies are needed in determining where an HQ should send the RRUs? In my current game, I am using the AI assist to do things I don't want to bother with, like deploying air units from reserves and moving AOGs forward as the battle moves on. But one choice the AI made for moving the AOGs was to send several of them to Kurland, which is certainly closer to the front, but is otherwise off the beaten track. On the one hand, it is good to have the AOGs there, because they can draw supplies from sea transport and not overload the slender RR thread leading further north. On the other hand, AGN has decided that the RRUs can best be used repairing the RR network serving those air bases in Kurland. That really limits how efficienctly I can spread the rail net eastwards towards Pskov, among other place, and by turn 9 or 10 those limits are pretty devastating.

[loki100]

yes the AI-assist is very supply aware, it will avoid supply poor regions and do its best to find a supply rich area that broadly links to the HQ it is following. So for AGN it will use near port supply for some time.

[Kriegsspieler]

That's an answer to half of what I asked, but my primary interest was about how the AI determines where RRUs should be sent. Given that a bunch of AGOs have been sent to Kurland, does the AI then think, "Oh, I should improve the the rail links between those units and the rest of the army!" and dispatch RRUs to do that.

Because if so, I'm still going to put those RRUs elsewhere! They're wasting their (and my) time in Kurland. [:D]

[loki100]

ah, yes I avoided that one [8D]

my instinct is it picks (for the Germans in WiTE 1/2) the westernmost unrepaired hex in the feasible range for that HQ. Clearly it follows other rules to, but it seems to prefer E-W from the 41 borders.

I tested this to destruction in a vs AI game of WiTW. I put all the Allied RRU into SHAEF and it basically repaired from the western ports east (so once I took Bordeaux it started that line) and was pretty linear in its choices once my control of France became near total (it did odd things when I had broken up sectors).

So I think that is where it tends to go, but then it also does different things [:)]