How do i find a units HQ's?

[Antmf_slith]

What is the easiest way to find a units HQ's? I know I can click on them and their HQ lights up but later on in game when I have units all over the place I am having a hard time finding them? Also aside from them being close to their HQ do they also need to be close to a rail or as long as its one or the other?

P.S. Can I manually set forth the rail road repair units to repair the lines or do they do it themselves?

[fritzfarlig]

Highlight a HQ and then shift+z

[Telemecus]

ORIGINAL: Antmf_slith
Also aside from them being close to their HQ do they also need to be close to a rail or as long as its one or the other?

The ideal is to be just in range of the units but then as close to the rail as possible. This in practice (usually) means 5 hexes from the unit exactly, but choose which one of those is closest to rail. But also in practice it is rare to get the ideal.

P.S. Can I manually set forth the rail road repair units to repair the lines or do they do it themselves?

There are FBD units for the Germans and one Rumanian rail repair unit that have to be moved and repair each hex manually. The Russians have equivalents later.

This is very important to do every turn - and the routes you choose to manually repair rail along will also shape where your armies should ideally advance along.

There are also other construction units that do it for themselves during the logistics phase. However you can move the HQs to maximise the chances of doing it where you want it to. Remember high level HQs send construction units further away. If you really want to repair a particular hex with auto rail repair, put the lowest level HQ with spare construction next to it.

[Antmf_slith]

ORIGINAL: Telemecus

ORIGINAL: Antmf_slith
Also aside from them being close to their HQ do they also need to be close to a rail or as long as its one or the other?

The ideal is to be just in range of the units but then as close to the rail as possible. This in practice (usually) means 5 hexes from the unit exactly, but choose which one of those is closest to rail. But also in practice it is rare to get the ideal.

P.S. Can I manually set forth the rail road repair units to repair the lines or do they do it themselves?

There are FBD units for the Germans and one Rumanian rail repair unit that have to be moved and repair each hex manually. The Russians have equivalents later.

This is very important to do every turn - and the routes you choose to manually repair rail along will also shape where your armies should ideally advance along.

There are also other construction units that do it for themselves during the logistics phase. However you can move the HQs to maximise the chances of doing it where you want it to. Remember high level HQs send construction units further away. If you really want to repair a particular hex with auto rail repair, put the lowest level HQ with spare construction next to it.

When you say 5 hexes is that the HQ 5 hexes from the unit or both units have to be 5 hexes from each other and a rail line?

Also when I move and FBD unit on a rail line do I have to manually do anything else? Or does it auto-repair?

[Chris21wen]

HQ are the primary supply source for units attached to them. The range is 20MP or 5 hexes. HQ ideally should be on a connected rail line or as close as possible to it. This is called a railhead. The further away it is the less supply the HQ receives. Units not in range of their HQ may trace a supply path themselves to a railhead. I forget the distant and it's late.

[corbon]

ORIGINAL: Antmf_slith

What is the easiest way to find a units HQ's? I know I can click on them and their HQ lights up but later on in game when I have units all over the place I am having a hard time finding them?

When you select a unit and the unit counter comes up in the right hand box, the unit's immediate HQ is named underneath the name of the unit. That name is a link.

ORIGINAL: Antmf_slithAlso aside from them being close to their HQ do they also need to be close to a rail or as long as its one or the other?

One or the other. HQs, like connected rail, are supply sources. Of course, if the HQ itself is not close to a higher supply source (railhead, port, higher HQ etc), then it won't have many supplies to feed out to its units.
And of course you generally want your HQ close for other reasons. So ideally the HQ s close to the rail and the units are close to the HQ.

ORIGINAL: Antmf_slith
P.S. Can I manually set forth the rail road repair units to repair the lines or do they do it themselves?
...Also when I move and FBD unit on a rail line do I have to manually do anything else? Or does it auto-repair?

The main Rail repair counters on the map need to be manually controlled. You manually move them to a suitable hex to be repaired (usually at the end of a working line) and then in their counter box on the right hand side there is a repair link titled RRC (value usually 3, 1 in the baltic area). Clicking on that link in the counter spends 3MP (or 1 in baltic area) (you have to have 3 (or 1 in baltic area) MP and be on a suitable hex for the link to be active) to repair the rail there to 99% (and the last 1% will repair automatically in the admin phase after your turn). You then move to the next hex, click the repair link again, move to the next hex etc until you don't have enough MP left to either move or repair.
There are also smaller support units of construction and rail repair that you don't really control but appear on the map fixing the rail on their own. Just leave them for the AI. The only way to manipulate them is by suitable positioning of the HQ that they are attached to and sending them 'home' (to their HQ, who then sends them out 'locally' - hence your suitably positioning the HQ - to repair rail during the admin. However these are much slower at repairing rail than the big units and their job is really to infill the side parts of your main lines, unless you are a very highly skilled player - way beyond me!).

You definitely need to read the manual (bits of it at least). Not exhaustively at this stage, but you do need some very basic understandings to play the game without lots of frustration.
This is not a game you can just pick up and play and expect to have any success at.

[Telemecus]

ORIGINAL: corbon

ORIGINAL: Antmf_slithAlso aside from them being close to their HQ do they also need to be close to a rail or as long as its one or the other?

Of course, if the HQ itself is not close to a higher supply source (railhead, port, higher HQ etc), then it won't have many supplies to feed out to its units.

Just as a correction there higher HQs do not act as a supply source for lower HQs, or the units of of any lower HQs. I know this keeps getting repeated in the forums so quite understandable for the mistake.

While in real life we expect a logistics chain of supply going from higher HQs to lower HQs, this is simply not the case in WitE. Each HQ in its own right gets supply from railheads and ports only. There is no geographical daisy-chaining of HQs concept at all in WitE.

[Telemecus]

ORIGINAL: Antmf_slith
When you say 5 hexes is that the HQ 5 hexes from the unit or both units have to be 5 hexes from each other and a rail line?

HQ and unit should be 5 hexes or less from each other. There is no advantage to being less than 5 hexes - 5 hexes away is just as good as 1 hex away. In most circumstances this is the only thing you need to worry about between HQ and unit. However Chris21wen correctly added they also need to be within 20 movement points - this only becomes important in very bad terrain or bad weather. One tip: if you highlight the HQ and its units have a red border, this means they are not in supply range of the HQ.

The distance between rail and HQ should be as close as possible - there is nothing special about 5 hexes here. The best is if the HQ is actually on a railhead. Next best is one hex away from a railhead and so on.

Clearly if an HQ is on a railhead, but not in supply range of its units then that is pointless. So ideal is to get the HQ as close as possible to the railhead but still just in supply range for the units.

So long as an HQ is in supply range of its units, in practice you should then only try to minimise the range of the HQ to the railhead. The distance of the unit to the railhead does not matter. (I will note there are some rare examples of where it could be significant, but it is so little so rarely that no one takes notice of it)

In the example below XVII HQ has been selected. You will see it has four units assigned to it. The three in blue are in supply range. The one in red is not. If you want the HQ to supply the unit in red the distance between them must be reduced.

You will also see in the pop up message it says the HQ is 4 hexes from rail and 4 MPs from rail. The lower those two numbers are, the more supplies the HQ will get to then pass on to its units.