How the Ground Element Map works

[K62_]

Ground Element Map.png (545.72 KiB) Viewed 665 times

I've recently figured out how the Ground Element Map screen works in this game and wanted to share my findings with the community! It took me a while to understand it, as I was initially confused and thought it was inaccurate. Here's how it actually works:

• The dark grey "Medium Tank" row at the top totals all the medium tank types below it. Currently, 3,107 medium tanks are missing from units in all theaters, with 1,155 missing from units on refit.
TIP: You can see how many elements are missing in specific areas by setting those units to refit. For example, to find out how many medium tanks are missing from Army Group Center, first set all units Refit/Reserve to None in the Commander's Report. Then select Army Group Center, Show Subordinates, and set Refit/Reserve to Refit. The Ground Element Map will now show how many medium tanks are missing from AGC.

• There are 134 medium tanks in the ready pool, available for immediate replacements. There are also 551 medium tanks in the transit pool, which will move to the ready pool at a rate of 25% each turn.

• The "Built" number totals all types below. The "Manpower" number indicates how many men are needed to crew all the missing tanks. German medium tanks usually have a crew of 5, so 3,107 tanks x 5 men = 15,535 men needed to fully refill these units, plus the tanks themselves. For units on refit, 5,775 men are needed.

• The blue rows below correspond to specific equipment types: Pz IIIe, Pz IIIm, Pz IVh, Panther A, Panther G, and Pz IVj. Models with an asterisk (*) before their name (Panther G and Pz IVj) are still in production as of January 1945. The others are no longer produced but may still be in use.

• In each blue row, the "Miss," "Pool," "Built," and "Manpower" columns have the same meanings as in the total row. There is also a "Not in OB" field, which is rarely used but indicates random elements in some units at the start of a scenario. Setting such units to refit will prompt the game engine to remove these elements and return them to the pool.

• Between the Pz IIIe and Pz IIIm blue rows, note that three units are currently calling for a Pz IIIe in their OOB. These units have 51 tanks total in the Pz IIIe slots, but none are the actual Pz IIIe model. Due to a lack of Pz IIIe in the active pool, the engine has substituted other medium tanks: one unit uses 17 Pz IVh, the second uses 17 Panther A, and the third uses 17 Panther G instead.

• The Pz IIIm, Pz IVh, and Panther A blue rows correspond to models not currently demanded by any unit's OOB. However, some are in the pool and might be substituted for other medium tanks, as we've seen with the Pz IIIe.

• Below the Panther G blue row, 41 units require the Panther G in their OOB, with 1,187 existing tanks in Panther G slots. Only 1,035 of these are the actual Panther G model, while the remaining 152 are substituted Pz IVh and Panther A models. To bring all these units to full strength, 1,437 additional tanks and 7,185 men are needed.

• The Pz IVj blue row is similar to the Panther G row, except some Pz IVj slots have a less desirable substitution of a tank destroyer (Hetzer or JPz IV) instead of a medium tank, indicated by the => symbol. The game engine will try to replace the tank destroyers with medium tanks as soon as more become available.

I hope this explanation helps! I'm looking forward to answering any questions about this functionality.

[K62_]

Bonus tip: rifle squad counting

Many of you are probably familiar with using the Formation Inventory in the CR HQs tab. For example, here's a look at Guderian's tanks at the beginning of GC41:

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Formation inventory Guderian AFVs.png (533.62 KiB) Viewed 653 times

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However, something you might not know is that the Formation Inventory accurately tracks tanks and guns, but it doesn't do as well with infantry units. For instance, it shows that OKH has only 7,000 rifle squads at the start of GC41:

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Formation inventory OKH rifle squads.png (164.98 KiB) Viewed 653 times

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This seems quite incorrect considering there are over 80 German infantry divisions on the map in June 1941, and each division typically has more than 300 rifle squads. So, let me show you a better way to find the actual number:

1. Head over to the Production screen and look for "Rifle Squad 40". Click on the text that shows 181 units are using it.
2. This will take you to the Commander's Report. Set it to filter by only map units.
3. You'll see the real total number of Rifle Squad 40s in the lower left corner. It turns out to be four times larger than what's reported by the Formation Inventory!

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On map rifle squads.png (451.08 KiB) Viewed 653 times

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Hope this helps!