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I have three questions about amphibious operations. I'm in my first game as the WA (after one failed effort as Germany), trying to set up D-Day, and I'm confused. The manual hasn't answered my questions.

1. It seems there are two ways to move units amphibiously -- via normal strategic movement over a chain of transport fleets, or by "loading" the unit onto a transport. What does the latter achieve? Once I do it, the transport won't move anywhere.

2. So then I try ordering strategic movement from England to France. I think I have transports connecting the two. But I get "illegal move" whenever I try. Maybe I lack enough transport capacity for even one unit? Does each transport have a capacity of only 3, and each infantry requires 5? So I'm gonna need a bucket full of transports to transport even five or six units?

3. Which leads to my third question: is transport capacity the last number you see by transports at see? The first number is # of units in the sea region; second number is strategic capacity of the transport (typically starts at 30); and the third number is amphib capacity?

yes, yes and yes... hehehe you seem to have answered your own questions!

the only thing I also don't know like you is why would you ever load a unit onto a transport and leave it there. the only reason I've ever done this is a german invasion of brazil from south africa. I used three transports and while one held the unit the others moved so it could strategically move. the trick worked and I took brazil, columbia, panama and mexico all with a single infantry! the only problem I had was trying to invade the USA. it creates militia every time I attack, so one unit really could never succed.

>So then I try ordering strategic movement from England to France. I think I >have transports connecting the two. But I get "illegal move" whenever I >try.

Actually, if you look at the manual, you do not make an amphibious landing using transports. You use heavy bombers.

Transports are needed if you are going some distance, I believe. But to land amphibious units in France from London,say, you use heavy bombers.

Look on page 54, section 7.1.11.

There may be other ways to get somewhere amphibiously, I don't know.

Am I correct on this? Must one use heavy bombers, exclusively?


I guess we need another good explanation about how you get amphibious units to enemy territory.

Thanks,

Alanb

Heavy Bombers have nothing to do with amphib assualts. You use transport fleets to amhibious assualt. The third number as explained is teh amphib transport - you need 5 to transport anon-tank unit - just like other transport menas - so to amphib assualt with 3 units as the WA (assuming you have not upped the Amphib value through research) you have a chain of transports from the area the three units are to teh area you are assaulting. The 30 transport is enough to carry the three units and a couple extra if you win.

Now you need 4 more transports in the area adjacent to the area you are assulting. Not 5 in each are of the whole chain - just the area adjacent to the assualt target. 3 amphibous assualt capacity x 5 = 15 enought to assualt with three units. So now that that "pipe" has been configured you select the units and left click on teh target (as though strategically moving them normally and they will follow the chaon tothe area under assualt. Its good to have a few hvy fleets and air and if you have hvy bapmbers and paratroops - they can join in too.

If you are successful, you can use teh 10 transport capacity that remains to bring in 10 supplies, a tank, a nother unit and 5 supplies or two more units. once you hace one the assualt - then normal sea tranfer rules apply to creat your beachhead.

Thanks, Paul, that mostly clears it up for me. But I still have one question: why ever "load" a unit on a fleet transport? Once you do that, the unit and transport are just stuck in place, it seems.

IF you don;t have enough transports to make a "chain" you can take a stack of transports and load some units and just move them. THe turn you load troops or supplies you can't move, but you can the next turn.

Also, don't forget that the transport capacity (which starts at a lowly 3 for all countries except Japan) is one of the things that can be improved with research. Of course, WA has so many transports that this would be expensive research for them. It might still pay off in the long run, however, especially if the Germans have been aggressive in using air to thin your transport fleet beyond the losses inflicted by subs and surface raiders.

>Heavy Bombers have nothing to do with amphib assualts. You use transport fleets to amhibious assualt.

My fault, I was thinking of airborne units or at least thinking that the poster was thinking of airborne units.

Too much thinking I guess.

As for the amphibious assaults, you sure do need a lot of transports to get things ashore.


Alanb

THe turn you load troops or supplies you can't move, but you can the next turn.

Ah, that explains it. So it's a tradeoff: a transport with an amphib capacity of 3 ordinarily can't itself support an infantry unit doing an amphib assault, since that infantry takes 5 capacity; but a workaround is to "load" the infantry onto the transport and wait a turn. I suppose the "chain" method is generally more efficient in that it costs no supply.

Here is another thing to keep in mind if you are talking invasions distant enough to need a chain.

For each zone beyond 2 ( I presume that means 1 intervening sea zone between your launch and landing sites) there is an additional -1 penalty in combat.

You could, in theory, invade France directly from Washington D.C. but it would be a terrible idea. Much better to pile up in Britain and then make the short trip across the Channel in a later turn.

Yep, I just focused on that distant-invasion rule last night. A very sensible rule! It requires one to establish staging grounds. No D-Days from Halifax.