Quick Questions Thread

[Sertorius21]

I have in mind that attaching several SUs brings some form of malus to the unit that hosts them (on a direct basis, not as HQ allocation during combat), but I don't find it in the rules. Did I misunderstand that part? I have a couple of attacks planned where I would love to be able to maximise my clout.

And maybe a silly question, but does it make a difference attaching SUs to a unit with strong morale or not, since the SU has its own morale?

[Wiedrock]

I have in mind that attaching several SUs brings some form of malus to the unit that hosts them (on a direct basis, not as HQ allocation during combat), but I don't find it in the rules. Did I misunderstand that part? I have a couple of attacks planned where I would love to be able to maximise my clout.

clout - learned a new english word.

Points "2." in the first quote and the third (last) point in the second quote + the atatched pic should give you the answer.

[...]

1. The more Divisons/Corps (on MAP units) you attack with, the less chance the individual element will have to shoot (of your own units). This modifier starts shortly after/above 3 Divisions.
2. The more elements you bring (not sure if Elements, manpower ...whichever it is), the easier it will be for the enemy to hit you, so this improves German performance.
This is the point where the topic of CPP then comes into play.

There exist 3 layers.

• One being the "Intensity Level" (or attacking force value(?)), used to possibly reduce Fortification after failed attacks.

  Once the final combat odds and intensity level of the
  combat is calculated (defined by the unit size of the
  attacking force where a division equals 9 points but
  support units are not counted for this purpose), forts
  may be destroyed if; i. Odds are >= 1.5 or combat
  intensity is > 30, in this case there is an automatic 50
  point fort reduction (one full fort level reduction) [...]

  This works as described, it also includes Artillery Divisions's "+9".
  

  ---

• One being the "Stacking Penalty" to own elements firing.

  The size of the attacking force will also impact the
  number of shots taken in combat. This fire penalty
  occurs in combats where there is a large number of
  attacking units. The force value of the attacking side is
  calculated using the following values for each non-support,
  non-artillery division unit attacking:
  § Corps 15
  § Division 9
  § Brigade 5 (3 if the brigade has less than 2,000 men)
  § Regiment 3
  Once the force value exceeds 28 there is a chance that
  elements will not get to fire during combat.

  Afaik that one works as described and makes sense I'd say. If it actually only affects the Attacker I do nto know, and what about RESERVES I do not know either.
  I think it may be a little harsh to the Soviets with 3Corps already exceeding the 28 "limit" with 3 Corps by 3*45-28=+17surplus. Which I could imagine a good thing if it would being countered with removing/reducing the penalty(by 50%) from Soviet Elements inside Corps/Units with (let's say) 85CPP+ (it's possible that this is part of the Code already and we don't know about). This would make the Soviets rly look into CPP even mroe when trying to breack 3stacked Hexes in 1943++.
  

  ---

• One being the "If you have more Elements, more will be hit and the more men you will lose". Not sure if this quote is the only/exact mentioning:

  In addition, bombardment artillery fire will receive a
  bonus when firing if the enemy (defending or attacking)
  has more units. This bonus is limited if a side has more
  than 3 divisions (or equivalents) in the battle, although it
  increases as more units are engaged, so in most cases it
  will only cause higher losses to an attacking force.

  This works and also and makes sense, not sure what the "has more units" is exactly based on/supposed to mean, I'd say it is missleading and it is just "the more elements you bring to battle - the more hits you will take" and not actually "comparing forces" or "counting "X"es" of units. You will lose more men when attacking with attached Rifle Brigades than with attached Tank Regiments, as an example (since the number of elements in those TOEs is very different.
  I think this is supposed to (from a gameplay perspective) stop your from always using maximum meatwave CV-force to win battles (e.g. using 6 Rifle Corps with 6x3 Rifle Brigades in each attack) and acknowledges preparing CPP/Refitted units (when you will have the same CV with 3 Corps compared to 6 without CPP/with bad stats) and therefore only need 3-4 Units instead of 6 to attack.
  Attached you can see the difference between
  1. a normal TOEs attack
  2. then with 900→7k Rifle Squads per Corps
  3. one with 18→7k Rifle Squads per Tank Brigade
  4. one with Germans ~300→7k Rifle Squads
  So it is not based on a "force value" (like counting the X'es, adding up +9 for Divisions and +15 for Corps and so on) or some comparison of those. I'd propose it's a simple "the more elements the easier Artillery hits".
  @M60, this is the reasone why few German (very) large caliber Guns can make more hits than several thousand Soviet guns (where you then need to further account/not forget about MOREX, CPP, FORT, stacking penalty and so on).
  Again not sure about RESERVES and rolled SUs. It's testable but I don't think needed.

[Wiedrock]

General question,

I am playing Road to Misnk and on turn 2, no matter how well I position my Ground attacks or even if I let the AI do it.
No damage is done to the unit, nada, I select them to attack units and despite me selecting a hexe where there are soviet forces, the Ground attack party never flies out.
Only the recoon.
Just wondering if I am missing something or not paying attention to something.

It's not the scenario issue, so your missions must be set up in a way which makes them not work.

[Wiedrock]

We are in June 1943 with Q-Ball, and he doesn't seem patient enough to wait for Zitadelle and then launch his offensives. So I am mostly defending and getting pushed back in several places, with the odd counter attack.

What bombload would you recommend for the LW assets in defence? I have 28 x 50kg for the Ju 88, 8 x 250kg for the He 111 and 500kg + 2 x 250kg for the Ju 87 but am not sure if this is the best mix. I changed the Ju 88s for a couple of attacks as I had a reconnaissance in force against entrenched, rather unsupported Russians, but otherwise the LW will always intervene against troops in the open.

Since noone replies you see it's not all that easy to say.

When attacking and additionally having some fortifications to go through you may rather want bigger bombs from how I understand it (similar to how bigger Artillery has an easier life). Attacking GS generally is not all that effective compared to defense.
Generally it depends on what you want to achieve, either have many DISruptions or rather some less targets hit (overall) but some DEStroyed/KIA more.
Sidenote, the total number of planes are limited per battle, so in large battles with many units involved the impact of GS will be limited/lower.

I personally usually use everything from 100kg up to 500kg for all the ground element targeting and find the results sufficient. If I can choose from 2x500kg vs 4x250kg I would probably use the first for attack and the latter for defense (but I never quantified the effects, so it's all just vibes on my end).
With the TacB especially you also need (eventually) to consider the freight usage near the frontline.

[Sertorius21]

Thanks a lot for both answers. Yes I may change the bomb load if I try to take on level 3 fortifications, which happens seldom but the situation arose a couple of times recently as I deployed mandatory reserves against an area where the Soviet didn't seem about to launch a big offensive.

On the density factors, they are well taken into account, I try to minimise the number of attacking divisions and very seldom have anybody at less than 50% CPP. From what you indicate, there is not too much to loose from having attached units. The reason this is important is that I have GD and TK at near maximum force (GD over 70 points!) and even if a bit does not fire because 4 divisions will attack, I wouldn't want to dilute further with attachments if this plays a role.

[James80]

Hi everyone,
I’m late to the party and still very much a beginner with War in the East 2.

I’ve fully automated the air phase for now. I’m playing the scenario Destruction of the Southern Front (I hope that’s the correct name). My current goal is to capture Odessa, and I’ve already assigned some air units to Naval Ops.

My question is: is there a way to tell the AI to specifically bomb the city to weaken the defending units before the ground assault? Or is that kind of targeted city bombing not possible when using the automated air AI?

Any tips are appreciated—thanks!

[56ajax]

The city of Kerch has a supply value = 280,322. How do I get the supply out of there?

[Wiedrock]

The city of Kerch has a supply value = 280,322. How do I get the supply out of there?

By losing the City to the other faction.

[Wiedrock]

Any tips are appreciated—thanks!

Don't play AI air.
After Axis T1 (just relevant in 22th June 1941 starts):

• use Ground Support (GS) - just move your planes up while you advance (Levelbombers (LBs) can stay behind, they have huge ranges)
• use Recon (Interdict - to find enemy Combat Units (CUs))
• use Naval Patrol/Naval Interdiction (NP) to ISOLATE CUs inside of Ports (you need 2 more interdiction in the sea hexes to "control" them), Air Groups (AGs) which are "NAVAL ONLY" get huge bonuses on their efficiency.
• use Transport planes yourself (happens during ground phase (the time you move your CUs)) to supply your Panzers with Fuel at the end of a turn (so they more likely start with higher Movement Points (MP) next turn

More you rly do not need to worry about.

Then when the AI is set to "off" you can always press the AI Air button if you want (makes the AI to change your missions).