Unit withdraw/disband in editor?

[Dili]

I know one option is withdraw and the other disband but what each are in the 1 and 2 option ?

What is the option that means the unit takes with weapons and equipment out of scenario.

I know that in air units it seems units that disband take their aircraft out of scenario while with withdraw take go but return aircraft to pools, but i think regarding LCU this is inverted.

[Dutch_slith]

It's in the manual.

1 = out of scenario
2 = back to pools

[Ian R]

The short answer is that if you want a land unit or airgroup to disappear and take its kit with it, use withdraw type 1 for the ground units, and the disband field for the air groups.

The withdraw 1/2 thing looks simple, but beware of butterfly wings. References to location slots here are from the standard campaign allied OOB as used in the ironman nasty scenario.

For ground units, as Harald says, marking it withdraw #1 means it will "withdraw out of theatre" and take its devices with it. Have a look at EG the US 3rd Infantry division, which is probably in location slot 5614. It withdraws out of theatre on 420901, taking its devices with it, and goes off to liberate Europe. No complexities there, and most players switch off replacements and upgrades for that sort of unit. Similarly, have a look at the 13th Armored division in location slot 6808 - it packs up and goes to Europe with its kit on 450118. It comes back for Coronet on 451015, so there is another 13th Armored division in location slot 5355 that arrives with a full complement of devices. Unlike ships, these units cannot be given a return date so use two slots. There is a way to give the AI opponent HQ changes for restricted units - using the otherwise vacant port and airfield fields - but it does not appear to work for human players, so that is another reason to use two slots.

Then have a look at, say, the 4th USMC raider battalion, probably in location slot 5174. It withdraws type #2 on 440201, and the devices go back in the pool. Historically the raiders (by then administratively organised into 2 small regiments associated with the Provisional Marine brigade) were, broadly speaking, used to man a new 4th Marine Regt. Then note there are two 4th Marine Regts - the one that starts in the PI, and the one that appears later and is part of 6th Marine division. The first one (location 5524) withdraws type #2 on 440801, so if you saved it you keep its devices; the new one (location 5142) appears on 440917 at Pearl, with a fairly full TOE. That might sound like a windfall gain, but also look at the US Raider Squad 43 in device slot 1117 - it doesn't upgrade to anything, they aren't used by the standard units, so they just sit in the pool. In my own mod, I thought about giving them a device upgrade to USMC Rifle Squad 45 (so the automatic squad pool upgrade would re-use the manpower), and stripping the new 4th Regt TOE on arrival, but then I'd need to advance its arrival date, and work out how long it would take to fill out, etc. Butterfly wings. Blackhorse and Andy Mac had it effectively arranged already.

You can also disband any ground unit that is not (static) restricted, and does not have a withdraw date, in its national base and keep the devices - in effect a withdraw type #2 - BUT - if it has disabled devices, they will/may be lost permanently. I have never worked out if that loss of disabled devices also affects units withdrawn in the field, but I tend to pull them out to a non malarial base and give them a rest before they go, just in case.

When you look at air units, withdraw and disband do not mean the same thing as they do with land units. If an airgroup has a disband date, it takes its planes and pilots with it. I think a lot of people strip the experienced pilots out of such groups before hitting the disband button, some might even re-fill them with nuggets first.

If an airgroup has a withdraw date, then leaving to one side what happens if you take the PP bonus, the pilots and planes go into the pool, but if you have damaged planes, you might lose them. The precise algorithm that determines that has not to my knowledge been disclosed.

Someone here (General Patton?) reckons the (undamaged) planes do go to the pool even if you collect the PP bonus; in my mod I have quadrupled the PPs so I can build an army/corps structure for my ground forces, so I haven't tested this.

The air team stated years ago that rather than stressing about the nomenclature they preferred to make sure the withdraw/disband buttons produced the correct result; so all air units have withdraw/disband buttons, but you get a different message/effect from using them if the group has withdraw or disband dates set in the editor.

Hope that helps.

[Dili]

Certainly helps from broth of you. Thanks.