Matrix Games Forums

I am looking for tips on Luftwaffe Management from experienced players. Can some of the vets here comment on the following:

1. Ideal Settings. Is the default OK? (Other than turn 1)

2. Airbases; do we really need all these airbases, or can they be consolidated to reduce clutter, and free up manpower?

This seeems particularly relevant for the Romanians, who have FAR more airbases than needed it seems, and really need the manpower later.

What do you guys do to consolidate/move around?

3. There are STAB units with max of 3 A/C; basically, headquarters units. I am tempted to disband these; they don't provide much power, would allow fewer airbases, and add to the clutter. Am I off-base here?

4. What do you do MANUALLY with the Axis air, or do you let the AI do the work?


5. How do you place airbases?

6. Do you keep the "Army Airbases"?

Help is appreciated, particularly since later the Germans will be scrounging for manpower, and the Luftwaffe seems like a good place to look.....

I'm not sure there are going to be any experts until the air model has had it's revamp. If the Luftwaffe keep getting the hammering in 1943 I seem to keep getting, then I may have to change my policy away from consolidating airbases, to one of keeping them spread out so Soviet airfield bombing becomes less effective.

The Army Air-bases, are definitely candidates for disbanding when manpower is required.

Agree on the Rumanian bases and the Stabs - I think they are there for historical accuracy rather than any gameplay benefit.

I have messed around with doctrine settings for 1943, to try to control the overwhelming superiority of the Sovs with some effect, but until the air model stabilises, I don't think my advice would be relevant.

I asked somewhat similar questions quite awhlie ago. I was advised to keep the Stabs since the Axis needs all the air units it can get. Therefore I quit disbanding them, but I keep an eye on aircraft levels, and if I start seeing shortages I'll rethink this advice. I only use ground support when I really need it on the Axis turn (love that new X hotkey), but I do enable ground support during the Soviet AI turn. The best advice I saw for Axis air was that since the Axis fighters are so superior in the early game years to set them at 100% or higher. I started setting the fighter levels accross the board at 100% and I'm amazed at the losses they are giving the Russian airforce.

I am not sure about disbanding Axis army air bases -- if you observe how airmissions are flown, the lines 'converge' from LW bases onto the army bases many times and then strike a target, or resupply.

16.1.3 says
With the exception of air transfer and automatic air interception missions, all air missions, to
include automatic interdiction and ground support, will have a player or computer selected
staging base. This is an air base unit that all air group units participating in the air mission will
first fly to before heading to the target hex of the air mission. The miles flown by an air group
unit will be calculated from its original air base unit to the chosen staging base and then to the
target hex, with the return from the target hex being determined in the same manner. Thus the
use of a particular staging base to “extend” the range of an air group unit is likely to have a cost
in increasing the total miles flown by that air group unit for that mission.

Well one of the things I did was to upgrade the number of aircraft in the Stabs (using the editor) to make them less useless. But to be frank, the air war seems to be half broken and after the first turn, I run automated recon (followed by a handful or two of manual ones) then rely on the AI to run air support and interdiction. Everything else seems to be a waste of time. Going to have to go with the general view that until this part of the game is fixed, it is really not much use in trying to optimize it (if your car has 4 flat tires, fixing the timing of the spark plugs won't get you much better fuel efficiency).

I will say that, Rumania excepted, I like more LW airfields as there is a lot of geography to cover and not all that many airgroups to do ut with.

For the first time since I started playing I have played past the first dreadful winter. I got out in very good shape (imo)

But now that my summeroffensive is starting I´m having some serious problems with the red airforce. They suddenly have a huge amount of fighters and bombers. Around 200 fighters and almost 300 bombers in a ground support role each battle. I have massed most of LWs fighters to the same front but something seems a bit wacky with the code. Despite there being almost a 700 aircraft in the air over the battlefield seldom more then 10 is shot down on both sides. I have massed AA guns with little diffence.

The main problem is that my losses are mounting due to Soviet bombers but I can´t shoot them down. Airfield attack is useless aswell as fightersweeps. [:(] Any advice would be welcome!