Matrix Games Forums

Hi,

Newish player here.

I'm trying to chain HQs in North Africa and having hard time of it.
I moved an HQ from South Africa is in Alexandria, and it is at strength 8
A UK HQ strength 8 5 hexes away one hex west of Marsa Matruh.
I do not see the effect of the chaining and my units west of marsa Matruh are crippled.

What am I doing wrong?
- is it that a SA HQ can not chain with a UK HQ?
- it is because the command level of the UK HQ is higher then the SA one?

Something else?

They should be able to chain together, and the quality of the HQ does not matter.

Try moving the UK HQ a few hexes closer to the SA one, and hopefully in the subsequent turn you'll see a difference.

Thanks.
And thanks for a great game!

Typically how far apart should they be? When the supply drops to 5 or something?

There's a few different possible issues.

One is that if your HQs are literally at "strength" 8, then their supply will be less effective. HQs should be at strength 10 (i.e., fully reinforced) in order to provide maximum supply.

Another is that HQs need to be stationed *inside* a supply source to be effective in North Africa. The best supply available from a resource is usually only 5, which means that the HQ has to be sitting in the port or city or whatever in order to get up to 8 supply. If you have the first HQ even one hex away from the city, then its supply is going to be 4, 5, 6, or 7 (depending on terrain), which means that the second HQ will not be receiving good supply and so the second HQs ability to provide supply to your front-line units will also drop.

A third is that resources in north Africa are often damaged, either by enemy bombing, or because they were only recently captured, or by event (Axis control of Gibraltar damages Allied resources, and Allied control of Malta damages Axis resources). If the resource is damaged, then it will have less than 5 supply, so your first HQ has less than 8 supply, and the problems propagate all up and down the line.

In terms of how far apart they should be, yes, you've got the right idea -- don't send the second HQ so far from the first HQ that the second HQ is receiving less than 5 supply if you can help it. When an HQ receives 4 supply, I believe it generates only 6 supply, which means that combat units even one hex away from the second HQ will be at only 5 supply, i.e., unable to fully reinforce. 5 supply is tolerable for short periods but not a good way to run a campaign.

This last comment is quite insightful. As a port like Alexandria with an HQ strength ten will only provide 8 supply, this means that the second HQ can be no farther then 3 hexes away along the coast in order to be at 5 supply and thus be able to support in turn as best as it can the front line.