Matrix Games Forums

1) When playing the Axis (against the A-1 Soviet) how do you find the Soviet's attacks the previous turn ??

2)How would you attach a support unit form an army HQ to a Corp HQ, lets say a construction or gun battalion unit from 3rd Panzer Group to its XXXIX Pz Corp ??? Or a support unit to one of its division, lets say the 100th Flaming unit to its 34th infantry division ???

3)Are there any special guidelines to diminish attrition from turn to turn. I noticed Emir specifically (as well as many others) in his recent AAR with Cannonfodder seemed to have a very low rate, particularly in his fist 10 turns as the Axis ??

4) I can't find the HIWI #'s on the Production Sheet. I've seen it on the very bottom on others

5)I still don understand the benefit of setting a Corp support level at the same # as the #of its assigned divisions.

I can answer a few:

1) You can use F11 to see the Soviet attacks from the previous turn

2) You can assign a support unit by selecting it on the parent HQ and then clicking on HHQ (it will be highlighted in blue). This will allow you to pick another HQ to attach it to. You can only attach it to HQ's within a certain distance. I normally assign them to STAVKA or OKH and then you can transfer them from OKH to any other HQ you would like without any admin point charge.

3) Attrition is at its highest when you are next to an enemy unit. I normally keep some infantry on refit back from the line to try and keep them at full TOE.

I had this same question, I was using F11 to see the attacks, but the AI *never* attacked me so I thought I was looking in the wrong place.
Maybe, eventually the chicken Russian will launch an attack ... coming up on Blizzard.

Sgt. Tillman many moons ago advised us on the grenade course the only stupid question is the one you don’t ask. I’m gonna test that proposition – so bear with me.

Back in the day I played Avalon Hill board games with great enjoyment [I had an article about BotB published in “The General” once!], and had a lot of fun when computers came along with Grigsby’s WIR and other early computer games, also a long time ago. I recently picked up WitE just to see what’s going on, and I find a lot of the detail hard to penetrate. So, Grognards, help me if you can.

I’ve read a number of the help articles and AARs on the forums, and I know one should RTFM, but that is easier said than done with a manual well over 200 pages [Rhetorical Question – is something that has a 200+ page manual really a game, or are we making the nerds on ‘Big Bang Theory’ playing 3 dimensional chess and talking Klingon seem as hip as Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossible movies? Don’t ask my wife. ]

For example, supply is a mystery to me at this point. I obtained a ‘decisive’ Axis win in the Minsk 3 turn tutorial, but supply doesn’t play a role much there. My general understanding is that you should do something like the following:

Have a railhead in repair at 100%.
Have an HQ within range of it.
Have subordinate units within 5 hexes of their HQ.

Question 1. Am I right so far?

Question 2. Therefore, in the Leningrad short game, for example, should you be doing something like the following?

Move OKH to a place as far into the Baltic States as you can go and still be considered connected to a railhead.
Then, have subordinate HQs like AGN move 5 or so hexes further north/east from OKH.
Then have AGNs subordinate HQs like a Panzer Army or Group do the same, i.e., 5 more hexes in. Repeat as needed. Then keep combat units within 5 hexes of their HQ. If that’s wrong, what is wrong about it?

Question 3. Can you use ports along the Baltic as Supply points / railheads? If so, how?

Question 4. I really don’t get what is happening with the rail repair and conversion units. I assume as Axis you want to get a secure rail line converted for Axis use running through the Baltic States up toward L-grad. But I don’t get what those little units are doing, where I have to place HQs to make the rail units productive, and what I can do ‘manually’ to make them work better / faster. Guidance, please.

Question 5. And really basic, I have a hard time finding the combat units locations on the screen that are attached to an HQ, and conversely, finding the HQ to which the unit is subordinate. What am I missing?

That’s plenty for now. In any event, I’m having fun playing around with WitE, and I’ll thank you in advance for your insights. Feel free to mock my ignorance for the amusement of the crowd.


Ole AHer

But I don’t get what those little units are doing, where I have to place HQs to make the rail units productive, and what I can do ‘manually’ to make them work better / faster. Guidance, please.

CTRL-9 will highlight your RR repair units
There's an important distinction with the RR repair units.  You have some that are onmap units that you control.  These units can repair several hexes of rail per turn, but you must make them do it.  The AI also dispatches automatically from HQs any attached RR repair units.  It's best to let these 'fill in' your rail networks interconnects while the RR Repair units you control are used to extend the rail head for your main axes of advance.  My understanding is that the HQs will dispatch their RR repair subunits within their command range, but it seems to me they operate pretty 'close to home', so move the HQ with the RR repair subunits to where you want interconnects backfilled.

Move OKH to a place as far into the Baltic States as you can go and still be considered connected to a railhead.
Then, have subordinate HQs like AGN move 5 or so hexes further north/east from OKH.
Then have AGNs subordinate HQs like a Panzer Army or Group do the same, i.e., 5 more hexes in. Repeat as needed. Then keep combat units within 5 hexes of their HQ. If that’s wrong, what is wrong about it?

HQs don't chain supplies to each other, they chain supplies from rail head to their own depots, then to units.  If a unit isn't close enough to their parent HQ they will instead trace supplies directly to the rail head as though they were an HQ.

Can you use ports along the Baltic as Supply points / railheads? If so, how?

Once repaired the ports will function in the supply chain automatically as a rail head.  I've posted some more questions about how this works, but only gotten looks and no responses so I suppose no one knows yet.

And really basic, I have a hard time finding the combat units locations on the screen that are attached to an HQ, and conversely, finding the HQ to which the unit is subordinate. What am I missing?

When you click on a unit (or HQ) the parent HQ will be highlighted orange, units (or HQs) on the same organizational level will be highlighted yellow, and subordinate units will be highlighted blue.

If you end up scattering your forces I find it helps to highlight the HQ then pan the zoom back so I can see which squares are highlighted.

Thanks, Seminole!

Ole AHer

Good questions, its great to read answers.

Avalaon Hill board games- I used to play I believe the title was Stalingrad with my brother. That game is older than almost anyone that posts here!

Not really, some of us are actually OLDER than dirt! let alone Stalingrad. I played two copies to death with friends in the 60s and 70s.

I will up your Stalingrad and bid a Tactics II - which I modded to allow step loss rather than all or nothing. I use to caddy at the local golf club until I had the cash for the latest game. Try Time of Fury for something close to the 'classics' [:)]

HAH! Got that one too! The "monster" game back then was Blitzkrieg - which only got more "monster" with the S&T supplement!

Though the first wargame my older brother bought was 1914 after we got hooked on my uncle's copy of D-Day.

ORIGINAL: Seminole

But I don’t get what those little units are doing, where I have to place HQs to make the rail units productive, and what I can do ‘manually’ to make them work better / faster. Guidance, please.

CTRL-9 will highlight your RR repair units
There's an important distinction with the RR repair units.  You have some that are onmap units that you control.  These units can repair several hexes of rail per turn, but you must make them do it.  The AI also dispatches automatically from HQs any attached RR repair units.  It's best to let these 'fill in' your rail networks interconnects while the RR Repair units you control are used to extend the rail head for your main axes of advance.  My understanding is that the HQs will dispatch their RR repair subunits within their command range, but it seems to me they operate pretty 'close to home', so move the HQ with the RR repair subunits to where you want interconnects backfilled.

Move OKH to a place as far into the Baltic States as you can go and still be considered connected to a railhead.
Then, have subordinate HQs like AGN move 5 or so hexes further north/east from OKH.
Then have AGNs subordinate HQs like a Panzer Army or Group do the same, i.e., 5 more hexes in. Repeat as needed. Then keep combat units within 5 hexes of their HQ. If that’s wrong, what is wrong about it?

HQs don't chain supplies to each other, they chain supplies from rail head to their own depots, then to units.  If a unit isn't close enough to their parent HQ they will instead trace supplies directly to the rail head as though they were an HQ.

Can you use ports along the Baltic as Supply points / railheads? If so, how?

Once repaired the ports will function in the supply chain automatically as a rail head.  I've posted some more questions about how this works, but only gotten looks and no responses so I suppose no one knows yet.

And really basic, I have a hard time finding the combat units locations on the screen that are attached to an HQ, and conversely, finding the HQ to which the unit is subordinate. What am I missing?

When you click on a unit (or HQ) the parent HQ will be highlighted orange, units (or HQs) on the same organizational level will be highlighted yellow, and subordinate units will be highlighted blue.

If you end up scattering your forces I find it helps to highlight the HQ then pan the zoom back so I can see which squares are highlighted.

i went through the same ordeal - the FBD instructions are in the movement part of the handbook. basically you move them and manually repair rail one at a time by clicking the repair link on the unit icon. each army and ag unit has its own repar units that move towards it randomly. supply works to the hq and non hq units directly subordinate to it - theres no supply link hq to hq