Reserves

[hfarrish]

I've played a lot of rounds without fully understanding how these work, to my detriment. Was hoping someone could clarify on the following:

- Do reserves only activate to support a unit from the same Army/Corps?

- If its broader, what is the scope? Will reserves from one Army/Corps support a different Army/Corps within the same Front? Will Front-attached reserves support any underlying attached Army?

- Are STAVKA reserves committed to any battle, or only to other STAVKA units? Do STAVKA units activate to support each other at all if they aren't part of the same Army?

- Does anyone have some good suggestions for managing the reserve process as the Soviets without either (a) burning craploads of APs and/or (b) turning every turn into a massive headache of putting units on Refit, Reserve and vice versa (I tend to just put most everything on refit except in very specific key combat situations where I will manage reserves carefully)

Thanks in advance.

[AFV]

They will definitely activate from another Army- chance might be less but they do (as Soviet).

[gingerbread]

These two rule changes interact for reserve commitment:

----- V1.04.10
9) Rule Change - Introduced the concept of a commanding HQ for each side for each
combat. Generally this commanding HQ is selected because it has the most CVs
directly reporting to it in the battle. Units not reporting directly to the commanding
HQ will suffer command battle modifiers that will reduce their CV for the battle. The
battle report now lists the units in the battle grouped under the name of the HQ they
report to. If an HQ’s units are suffering a command battle modifier, the amount of the
CV reduction is shown next to the name of the HQ (for example XXIV Panzer Corps
-36% indicates that each unit listed in this corps has had its CV reduced by 36%). The
greater the number of HQ’s that the unit must trace through to reach the commanding
HQ, the greater the modifier. In addition, units that report directly to a high command
HQ suffer an additional 20% modifier, and those that report directly to an Army
Group or Front suffer an additional 10% modifier (these are shown as part of the total
modifier percentage displayed).
10) Changed the way reserves are committed to battle. The lower the command battle
modifier described in item 9 above, the higher the chance the unit will be committed
from reserve (especially those units with a command modifier below 10%). Also
increased the chance of motorized units being committed.
-----

In practice, below 10% means same Army. There is no info about the size modifiers in the original rule, nor about the special rule on committing to a defence in an urban hex.

[hfarrish]

Thanks guys - does that imply that STAVKA units will support other STAVKA units, although the chances are much higher if they are part of the same STAVKA army or front?

In '41 I tend to leave most of my units as STAVKA until the Germans hit the key defenses of Leningrad and Moscow...I find this saves huge amounts of AP since it avoids constant reorganization. If STAVKA reserves commit to other STAVKA units even without the intervening Army HQ, that would get me to utilize reserve mode a lot more.

[Seminole]

In '41 I tend to leave most of my units as STAVKA until the Germans hit the key defenses of Leningrad and Moscow...I find this saves huge amounts of AP since it avoids constant reorganization.

When new units arrive I assign them to one of the MDs that is in command range. That way they get at least two command checks. Replacements, replenishment, morale, etc. all are affected by leadership checks. I think it is better to take two bites at the apple each time. One of the patches a while back removed the cost of re-assigning units from MDs (work like Stavka).
Since they're not going to be within supply range I almost always keep them on the rails to feed themselves, and most often try to leave them parked in a city (to dig and I think it helps them get supplies better on their own).

In practice, below 10% means same Army

Anyone know who the initiative check is performed against when units are not of the same Army? If 30th Army is assigned to Northwest Front, and 1st Airborne Corps is attached to Stavka, does the commitment of a para bde from 1st Arb Corps rely on 1st Airborne Corps' leader passing an initiative check, 30th Army's leader passing an initiative check for the para unit, or both?
Should most emphasis be placed on the initiative of the defending army general, or the reserve army general? Or is the latter irrelevant (except for getting supplies and MP to the reserve units) to the commitment check?

[von Runstedt]

Regarding your question I would suggest taking 1 corps/army out of the front line and use its units as reserve formations. This also has the advantage of preserving these units as a strike force under a single command if you choose to counter attack an enemy penetration.

Although this wasn't a major part of your question I would also add that you should not leave all your units on refit. In German's case, but most of all in the Soviet's case setting a unit on refit will replenish a unit best if it is no longer in the front line, I realize this is not always possible but it is the best option for replenishing a unit quickly. My policy is usually to hold back a few fresh divisions and when one of the front line divisions looks worn down, take it out of the line to refit and replace it with the fresh division. Once it has refitted it is ready to take the place of another worn out division and so on. I have found that this works especially well for when the Germans are on the defensive and for when the Soviets are on the offensive. To avoid the headache I find it best to keep units that are in reserve separate from units that are refitting where possible. Since I try to keep units that are in the reserve corps/army out of the front line they tend to suffer far fewer casualties and can replenish on their own without needing to be set to refit, unless of course there are a powerful series of enemy offensives.