Direct Automated Rail?

[Salathor]

Hello,

I've got my automated construction battalions assigned to Army Group South here in Shepetovka. I was hoping that they would be directed to shorten the rail toward their owner; but they seem obsessed with furthering the rail back toward the start of the map. Is there any way to get them to pursue their owner instead? It's slow going with just the single FBD making 30-40 miles of progress per week.

Thanks for the help!

[Salathor]

To clarify--this is where I would LIKE them to go. My guesses were--attach them to a lower level HQ with lower range, but I tried that and it did not seem to work. If that is the answer, maybe I had something else wrong at the time? If that is what you do, do you guys, as a strategy, marshal a few corps HQs around just to guide the rail forward?

[Chris21wen]

You have no control over where HQs will send eng for rail repair. Yes you are correct about assigning them to lower level HQ as they are only assigned within the HQ command range hence positioning them where you need rail repaired. However this could mean being to far from the front (>5 hex) resulting in no control over their units. The later is much, much more important than building rail. This is automatic repair

For full manual repair you have the FND/NKPS rail repair units.

See section 14.4.4. of the unofficial manual for how both work.

[Chris21wen]

I forgot to add. In auto repair there's no guarantee that the HQ will actually send out units to repiar rail. It has randomness biult in.

[fritzfarlig]

Remember they also need to start from a functional rail on the line

[Salathor]

fritzfarlig Ah, thanks, I think that must be it. I saw but didn't quite take into consideration the fact that the FBD only repairs them to 1% damage, and also it seems that they cannot build on each other. I guess this means that no matter how many automated units you have, no individual line can progress more than 10 miles per week (via automation, not FBDs)?

Chris21wen Do you happen to know which factor determines whether they issue an repair unit? Is it the same leadership checks that would cause them to send support to a battle?

[Chris21wen]

ORIGINAL: Salathor

fritzfarlig Ah, thanks, I think that must be it. I saw but didn't quite take into consideration the fact that the FBD only repairs them to 1% damage, and also it seems that they cannot build on each other. I guess this means that no matter how many automated units you have, no individual line can progress more than 10 miles per week (via automation, not FBDs)?

That is in the manual.

ORIGINAL: Salathor

Chris21wen Do you happen to know which factor determines whether they issue an repair unit? Is it the same leadership checks that would cause them to send support to a battle?

No idea but the randomness is not that bad. I should also point out the auto repair takes more than one turn to repair a hex, or appears to as repair does not happen on the turn it is assigned. I rarely ever have more than two construction eng units in the lower HQ (Soviets Armies), I've found they are not needed in great numbers. I put most in the high and just let tehm get on with it.

With manual repair you can repair a number of hexes per turn per unit depending on the RRV and terrain. If you want your rail to get to the front as soon as possible these are the units that do it. Also note that to attain full repair speed (up to 6 hexs on the flat, no rivers) you need to have over 90% TOE and have enough eng units to get RRV 15.

All the above is in the manual.