task force help for a newbie

[mmartens]

I apologize in advance for the newbie question, but I'm muddling my way through learning the game (using primarily the Jutland scenario), and I'm wondering if somebody might provide a primer on composing a transport task force. I'm trying to set up a task force that includes troops, oil, and supplies transports, but am not sure if I'm doing it correctly. For example, I seem to not be loading troops onto troop transports, am not sure if I'm loading supplies when I click "load resources," cannot seem to load both supplies and oil, etc. Suggestions on proper number of escorts for transport task forces would also be welcome. I have not played these types of games in awhile (never played WiTP), so I'm trying to get caught up. Thanks in advance.

[Roger Neilson 3]

ORIGINAL: mmartens

I apologize in advance for the newbie question, but I'm muddling my way through learning the game (using primarily the Jutland scenario), and I'm wondering if somebody might provide a primer on composing a transport task force. I'm trying to set up a task force that includes troops, oil, and supplies transports, but am not sure if I'm doing it correctly. For example, I seem to not be loading troops onto troop transports, am not sure if I'm loading supplies when I click "load resources," cannot seem to load both supplies and oil, etc. Suggestions on proper number of escorts for transport task forces would also be welcome. I have not played these types of games in awhile (never played WiTP), so I'm trying to get caught up. Thanks in advance.

To invade somehwere, or garrison it, you need supplies and troops. Some people put just troops in one TF and supplies in another. Supplies are what allow you to fight. Fuel is needed for your ships and is not needed for land combat. Resources and oil is raw material which you ship back to your industry and this is turned into fuel and supplies to allow you to fight. That's a very simple explanation. As a rule of thumb from WITP always try to have at least double, if not triple the load capacity of troops you want in your transports, this allows thenm to embark and disembark as rapidly as possible.

If you are landing at a contested position, or expect to be interecpeted by enemy forces some players add some DDs or CLs and CAs to their troop transport TF - they offer some protection against enemy ships and they tend to attract the shore batteries fire - and they can take it better than unarmoured merchant ships.

When you have a transport TF (made up of APs) for your troops then select 'load troops' and it will do just that, it will then fill up any space with supplies that is left. If you don't want supplies loaded select 'load troops only'... but beware, they won't carry much in the way of supplies and therefore won't last long in combat - thats why soem people have a separate AK TF for supplies following closely to unload over the beachhead once established.

Also bear in mind that the move you hit the beaches, unless it is an Atoll where you must shock attack, you will take what seem to be a lot of casualties - many of these are just twisted ankles, minor injuries. What you will get is a very disrupted unit that first move. Don't, if you can avoid it, attack straight away. Consolidate on the beach for a day to allow your units to organise and then attack the day after when they are sorted and have their supplies in place.

Roger

I just noticed I was signed in with my wrong name.... ignore the fact that it only says I have one post, I'm actually near to 600 now on my real id!

[Roger Neilson]

Okay, I'm now signed in properly.

Roger
[;)]

[Helpless]

I think that production is something which doesn't affect anything in WPO. Which means that oil and resource shipping back to Japan could be easily ignored.