About those Panzer Replacement Battalions

[BlueInMotion]

I want to play the game with a more historical approach and those PRB somehow don't seem to fit into the way the 'Wehrmacht' was organised (they reorganised the way those replacement units were build and rebuild and reorganized again so many times you probably can't simulate that in a commercial game). What are they in game terms and how should they be used?

I know some people put those PRB into their Motorized Divisions so they get the extra punch but that,to me at least, seems a little bit gamey since there are the regular Panzer battalions (203., 203. and 204. PzBtl) for those purposes.

Are they 'simple' march battalions in game terms that are dissolved after they reach their destinations or something else?

Right now I keep them with the Corps Hq's so I can attach them to a division in times of need and don't use up much needed rail capacity? Or are their other ways to use them in a historical way?

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[RKhan]

During the summer 1941 offensive I like to have them around to complete encirclements, making them tight especially on the interior line where a weak unit works very well.

After that, attaching them to units is a good idea.

[DocHawkeye]

I think it's stated in the manual somewhere that the Panzer Replacement Battalions are an intentional design concession to abstract the round of equipment and replacements for the Panzer Divisions in the first half of 1942 to enable Blau. It was known they were a bit a-historic, since they can be used to constitute basically all new Panzer Brigades that can be used like all new combat units but the developer felt it was better to take the risk on being a bit a-historic than to ignore this important "2nd wind" of the Panzers that year that enabled Case Blue.