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Just a quick overall strategy question for fighting in China. How can you figure out and estimate the number of enemy forces you're facing? I hate having to do a deliberate attack just to determine this, only to come out with large casualties because it turns out their force was enormous.

Also, do you have any good rules for the number of AV you typically have on your front lines in China? Thanks!

recon will give you a specific count that may or may not be correct. The recon level is displayed in the mouseover that also gives you the number of troops.

Grafin Zeppelin -

Your photograph displays the very graceful lines of the Dinah in flight, she really looks like racer!

Recon to get a good idea of troops present. Look for a high detection level (e.g. 9/10) to have confidence in the info. Then compare number of LCUs to number of troops and guns present (Chinese forces don't have many vehicles). A high "gun" ratio often means more combat forces rather than HQs and base forces.

The acid test is to launch a bombardment attack, though. This will give you a good idea of the enemy's raw assault strength. Don't forget that forts and terrain modify this raw number, however.

In a roleplaying sense, how could bombardment in real life give you an idea of an enemy's strength? Then best you're going to get is from forward observers calling in artillery, but that shouldn't be able to get you strong estimates of an overall enemy force, should it?

And what exactly does "24660 spotted troops" refer to? I know my own troops are broken down to "Infantry" and "Second-line Troops".

recon will give you a specific count that may or may not be correct.

ORIGINAL: fflaguna

In a roleplaying sense, how could bombardment in real life give you an idea of an enemy's strength? Then best you're going to get is from forward observers calling in artillery, but that shouldn't be able to get you strong estimates of an overall enemy force, should it?

And what exactly does "24660 spotted troops" refer to? I know my own troops are broken down to "Infantry" and "Second-line Troops".

You can't really but armies in close contact eventually were able to form realistic intel (not always, Battle of the Bulge fans) on the units facing them by gathering local intel, spies, patrols, armed recon and probing attack. None of which are available to the players in the game due to it's large scope and abstraction. I consider the bombardment "probe" to be a very crude representation of all of the above and for that reason don't really have a problem with it.