Winter Line

[SparkleyTits]

Ways you can temporarily alleviate your truck situation is by putting your planes into reserve as you probably don't need many of them atm just keep some fighters out and some ground support in areas if you feel you need it but putting as many of the heavy planes as you can like LB's and transports will help
Another thing is keeping your lines as static as possible throughout the blizzards, definitely don't move divisions with alot of trucks, panzers, motorised etc as they will eat your trucks badly (Everytime you move a division it's elements have a chance of breaking down, this chance is high in the blizzard second only to mud)
So definitely never ever move in muds as Axis unless you absolutely have to, it will destroy your trucks and panzers and such like no other weather debuff!

Soon you will get your HIWI's being put into divisions soon and they will bolster your manpower needs very nicely so I imagine your men will be in no trouble at all once that happens
In december your divisions will be replenished very slowly as there are big limits on reinforcements but like all the other debuffs they diminish with each new month

[Zug]

You bring up a good point. I haven't been able to make heads nor tails of how to deploy my air groups. I see the units in National Reserve, and I've gotten some to be deployed by adding capacity to an airfield and clicking move. But I had no control over which units moved. I need to research how this is all done.

Speaking of this, Luftlotte 2 just withdrew and I now have no air cover for Army Group A. I see no fighters above staffel strength in reserve. How do players handle this? I'd really like to get some air power down on the right wing. There was also a large fleet of Ju-52s added to the reserve, and I'd like to deploy them for supply drops when needed. Can I deploy airfields in some way? This game is fantastic, so much to learn.

[SparkleyTits]

You can make airbases as Soviets but you only have the airfields you are given as Axis
You need to transfer the airframes from other theatres that can do without as much cover to the areas you feel needs more air power

[Zug]

By transfer, that means 'driving' the airbase overland correct? That will gobble up the few trucks I have left.

I need another Luftlotte!

Speaking of another... I also need another Army HQ. When AGS split I was able to fix overloading on the Army Group level and the corps level. But a few Armies still have some overloading especially 9th Army. I'd love to fix this without assigning infantry to Panzer Armies and without assigning German units to satellite HQs. Any chance of this? Does another Army HQ eventually make an appearance?

[SparkleyTits]

No you can transfer planes in and out of different airbases in two ways
By sending them to reserve and then bringing them to your desired base next turn. This takes 1 turn to reserve then 1 turn to bring out of reserve then another turn use the planes offensively (will still fly defensive missions when you bring them out of reserve)
Or use the support setting for air allocations which can be sent back and to a new base in one turn (But you get no fatigue reduction or morale additives if applicable)
This bit would be much easier to show with a pic but I aren't at my PC atm mate so hopefully somebody else could help here but if not will PM you tomorrow [:)]

[Zug]

Thanks, and I have turned this thread in to catchall and gotten away from the winter line topic, apologies.

I asked my overloading questions here

Ooops, no links yet.....

As to the transferring of squadrons, thanks for the answers, but when the Luftlotte withdrew, they took their airbases with them, so I cannot use the methods described above, as there is no airbase to send them to. Or I am missing the obvious.

Anyway, this is off topic and I should keep things where they belong or title the thread 'Answer all of my questions' [:D]

You've been a big help SparkleyTits.

[SparkleyTits]

My pleasure mate I always love to help so do please keep asking!

When I first joined many people did this very same thing to me helping me with my questions and helping me to understand the game so the way I see it, it's the least I can do to give a little to the forum back! [:)]

[Kielec]

ORIGINAL: Zug

Do the effects of the blizzard lessen during the first winter? It lasts until March? The loss rate would be hard to sustain for that long.

The First Blizzard effects become less painful with every passing month. Go to the updated manual for the details (22.3.1 and around).

[Zug]

Thanks Kielec. I've reached the end of January and indeed the effects have abated somewhat. Replacements are trickling in at the rate of about 3,000 per week and I look forward to when the troops disabled by the cold make their way back!

[Zug]

Thanks for the help everyone. We successfully navigated the blizzard turns in good shape. The line mostly stayed in place and the armor was preserved in garrison positions. We took heavy casualties from the conditions of course, but these men will be back in time and we can begin to plan the summer offensive.

[Arstavidios]

You also have plenty of allies you can make use of in your command structure.
The Finns have two armies and a number of corps hqs. You can attach a few German divisions there.

Romanians have Two army HQs you can use. You can attach some german corps to them. also you can attach some german divisions to romanian HQ. and romanian divisions under german HQs can be useful too.

Same thing with the hungarian army.

[Zug]

Thanks, in the end I completed the reorganization by placing a number of infantry corps under direct control of the Army Group HQ. When done, no overloading existed on any level, and I like to think this helped us come through the winter in good shape, though I have no way to know if, or by how much, it actually helped. But it was so much work reorganizing the Wehrmacht that I like to think it's effect was significant.

[Saulust]

ORIGINAL: Zug

I haven't been able to make heads nor tails of how to deploy my air groups. I see the units in National Reserve, and I've gotten some to be deployed by adding capacity to an airfield and clicking move. But I had no control over which units moved. I need to research how this is all done.

Speaking of this, Luftlotte 2 just withdrew and I now have no air cover for Army Group A. I see no fighters above staffel strength in reserve. How do players handle this? I'd really like to get some air power down on the right wing. There was also a large fleet of Ju-52s added to the reserve, and I'd like to deploy them for supply drops when needed. Can I deploy airfields in some way? This game is fantastic, so much to learn.

Yeah, I'm not great with the Luftwaffe, but then again neither was Goring during WWII especially from some point in 1942!

Not sure if you know this but you can choose which individual air wing goes to which specific airbase by a couple of methods other than your random 'moves', you can do it from National Reserve list itself, or by clicking on the airbase card when you have it selected and bring up the 'divisional' (what-ya-ma-call-it) tab and click on the light blue written "ASSIGN" and the list of wings in National Reserve comes up and you just click the ones you want on that base, each one you add automatically increases the Aviation Commitment by 1 each time, but like how you've been 'moving' them if you have more or less commitment than the number of actual wings is on the base you'll get random moves like how SUs move unlocked... someone may explain this better if you are still not sure.

What I don't understand here in your post Zug is that you say that Army Grp A has no air cover after Luftflotte 2 was removed, AFAIK the actual airbases and their wings just go up in assignment control to the actual HQ above Luftflotte 2 which it was directly under so the bases and planes should still cover AG A if that was where LF 2 was directly under control.

[Zug]

Yeah, err, we need to chalk that up to umm, the fluid situation at the front, or something.

I think this was a matter of me misunderstanding what was going on. I eventually worked it all out, including the transfer of specific units to certain fields. It wasn't intuitive, but I got it. In the end I played through a 260-point Axis campaign (won in June of '42), a 290-point Axis campaign (September '42) and a Russian grand campaign (September '44). Through all of this I was able to work out these details. But by then I had burned out. Great game, but I played it too much