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In my current game on version 1.02.25, I've found it impossible to use any of the Soviet stockpiles of 203 and 280 mm guns. The formations that use those ground elements (BM howitzer regiment and high power artillery battalion) prefer to equip themselves with ML 20s if both ML 20s and the 203/280 mms are available.

It's logical for the game to substitute ML 20s into those formations if no super-heavy guns are available, given that the Soviets don't really produce any replacements for them, but the logic seems to be backwards, where rather than 203/280 mms being used if available and ML 20s if there is no other option, the ML 20s are preferentially used. (Perhaps because they are "newer", and normally it makes sense to replace older equipment with newer equipment?)

All of those guns are classified as Heavy Artillery, so to game does not really have a preference between them. But then it looks at the stocks of 152mm and 203mm and thinks "Hey, why should I spend this rare gun when I have plenty of others?". At least, that is how it feels to me. I have also seen something similar in the Soviet 41c AT Regiments, which contain 76mm AT guns (produced 50/turn), but instead like to take 45mm guns (produced 320/turn).

When they go out of production the system wants to replace them. We will consider whether we should have them be listed for longer, although this will require that we remove the small number that get produced in 1941. Thanks for the report.