Question for experienced players

[Gris]

I am at mid November 1942 and I was wondering what aircraft levels experienced players aim for, if any, and which support units they tend to buy and which they ignore.

My aircraft levels are at 7348, of which:  3200 are fighter/FB; 950 are tactical bombers, and; 3100 are bombers/recon/NF/transport.  Should I be increasing or decreasing any amounts?  I think transports need more, only have 173 of them (I just disbanded a bunch of U2 ones).

As for support units what are the main ones you go for?  I seem to be mostly building army artillery, sappers, flame companies and construction units.  Mortars, rockets and tank battalions are little used, is that good or bad?  I have yet to build a support AAA battalion, are they really needed?

Thanks for any feedback.

**Oh, what the hell do I do with air army HQ?**

For Air Army Hq, pretty much the same as other HQs. You can only assign AA support units (I assign at least 2 AA Bn), and keep them in range of units (although supply is different for them). Probably the most important function you can perform is assign a really good Leader. Leaders influence many of the action your air units perform.

Support and Aircraft preferences seem to vary from player to player. In the beginning many players disbanded the Motorcycle units for the trucks, but they also have a high CV. Oddly enough, last time I check, they had no recon value, which you would think otherwise. I use a lot of artillery and mortars. I like to hit the enemy in all range bands. I use motorcycle units at Front HQ (although they don't always join combats, never dug into why). Flame units are just cool. The difficulty I have and one of the reasons I don't dig into it too much is every patch the device list changes (huge list) and it has an effect. So are Motorcycle Regiments good? Maybe if the Motorcycle "devices" are. I think you have three player camps in both areas. 

1. Players build whatever, randomly, when they remember to. This was me in the beginning.

2. Min/max. Digs into the numbers and builds the most effective units. I have too many games going on to invest the time in this one.

3. Historical perception (my version of history, which may be "accurate"). I fall in this camp. I like to make the 5th Guards Tanks Army just like the Soviets did.

So if you are new and want an idea how to do this, here is one way without researching Tables of Organizations. (Although researching TO&E is great fun! Just sayin')

Open up the Campaign game 1944 -45 and find the 5th GTA (hex 86,51). Here is the Support units attached.



If your not sure what to build, here is what the Soviets did and it worked for them. It is a good start. You can use this for airbases too. The 1st Air Army had 15 airbases with 2-4 air groups per base. The Soviets have 328 air groups. 142 Fighters/FB, 124 Tac, and the rest. You can look at the campaign in each year to get an idea of where your historical counterpart was. You can look at Soviets Corps too and see what are attached to them.



You can see the units in the bottom right. It also is a great reference for experience, morale, and CV comparisons. 

I like to lean towards artillery at all ranges. For Aircraft, 1/2 fighters, 1/4+ Tac, 1/4- everything else. I will compensate too. If I am short on transports, I will build IL-4s if I have more of them, until I get the transports up to speed. They have great range and if you set them to night on a VSS airbases they can help supply partisans. If I have an abundance of T-34's. I will build separate tank BN. 

I wish I could post a snapshot from my current game, but it is on the server. It would be interesting to see some of the ideal builds by other players on the ladder.

Weasel,  It would be interesting to see what you have attached to one of your Corps and the CVs vs the 36th.

Myself, I lean towards history (as related in WITE and my own grandiose perception) and based on what I have logistically. 

Except for flame units. They are just too cool to pass up. See you on the Steppe.

- Gris.

I just read this again and it sunk in that you are saying at campaign start all HQs/Corps etc are historically stocked as per their real life counter part?  If so, well first off HOLY CRAP, talk about a ton of research by GG and secondly that is excellent information.  I do have a standard buy now, for infantry I like sapper regiment, FT company and MG-Art btn; for tanks l like sapper regiment, tank FT company and heavy tank regiment, and for cav I like sapper regiment, FT company and a TD btn.

I am finding my biggest problem with my attack right now is that fatigue is heavy but I don't want to waste a week rotating units around and letting the enemy reform their lines so I am grinding them out.  I have fresh armies behind that are moving up and now that I have punched a 30 mile gap in the lines with no enemy in sight in the south I should be able to rotate.  Blizzard isn't helping.

Reading various parts of the what's new pdf, it seems all the scenarios receive updates for unit composition, and based on the many post on the matrix forums, I would say it is an acceptable representation. Like any game, book, or media, it is open to interpretation, but I feel it gets the job done:) My perception and given Mr Grigsby and team's reputation, I believe it to be so. We could check it if we wanted too, but it is difficult to know why something was done if it does not match our sources, like game balance for example. The Sapper discussion and change in 1.11 patch was one of the most recent changes based on history for example. Air dropping fuel is another. The device lists in the patches are a huge amount of research. I agree, quite a task!

I use the method  (looking at campaigns) quite a bit to put support templates together and has worked well for me. I also use them to check my rate of advance  (or retreat) when playing HTH. I always like to stress too, it is a good starting point. With the experience you have gained, your support package looks like something I would want to use.
 
Flame tanks, my friend, flame tanks 

The golden rule for fatigue, if it has not changed under the hood, is 30 fatigue points is a drop of 10%CV. That is a big hit, especially for the Soviets in 44. As you know, sometimes you have no choice. My guess, if you are heading for Berlin, you will probably outrun your rail line before fatigue shuts you down. Which was a big problem for the Soviets. Supply stopped Bagration, not the Axis. 

In WITE, like many other stats, they are indications for the Commander to assist in making a decision. Do I keep pushing my men or do I pull them out of line. Ready, Refit, or Reserve are decisions inputted by the player based on feedback in the interface and the desire to have a unit perform a certain action. I really enjoy this part of the game. It is all logistics really. Just as your selection of support units. Well done.

I would too, keep the pressure on, and feed more units through that gap.

"so I am grinding them out"

That's how you Soviet Steam Roll like a Commissar!  

- Gris