Ersatz Units: Questions + do you use them a lot?

The development team behind the award-winning games Decisive Campaigns: From Warsaw To Paris and Advanced Tactics is back with a new and improved game engine that focuses on the decisive year and theater of World War II! Decisive Campaigns: Case Blue simulates the German drive to Stalingrad and into the Caucasus of the summer of 1942, as well as its May preludes (2nd Kharkov offensive, Operation Trappenjagd) and also the Soviet winter counter-offensive (Operation Uranus) that ended with the encirclement of 6th Army in Stalingrad and the destruction of the axis minor armies. With many improvements including the PBEM++ system, this is a release to watch for wargamers!

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Hugolin
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Mar 17, 2013 6:12 pm

Ersatz Units: Questions + do you use them a lot?

Post by Hugolin »

Slowly moving in the big league scenarios after having explored the 1st Panzer Army one...

Now some German Army HQs officers have the 'Emergency Unit' card, giving the German player 2 x 1,200 infantry in an Ersatz Group. As far as I can see these units perform like regular iNF...

So my questions:
1 -do they really perform like regular INF? Do they have penalties?
2- is there a negative side to producing these units? (worst I can see is to strain the German supply)
3- is it truly 'free infantry' so to speak? Or is it affecting the replacement rate (I don't think so)
4- Every time so far I received 2 units - the card says the officer will 'try' to create a group, is it working 100% of the time?

I suppose a reasonable strategy with these guys is to set them on 'Disband' so as to funnel precious INF reinforcement to the regular divisions...

Don't these cards giving a great boost to the German line? Are you guys using them systematically, or do you also use other Army cards.

Seems like a winner to me... Germany is in dire need of more units to plug the line, so this is better than nothing...

Thanks for your feedbacks!
Bismarck2761
Posts: 89
Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 4:11 pm

RE: Ersatz Units: Questions + do you use them a lot?

Post by Bismarck2761 »

I tend to prefer to play Personnel rather than build emergency units. I think there was a post that they do not affect replacements but perform poorly.
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LiquidSky
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RE: Ersatz Units: Questions + do you use them a lot?

Post by LiquidSky »



Most of the time I get one when I play the card. Occasionally I get two. I never get none.

Ersatz infantry use their own infantry type, of which there are no replacements. But if they take casualties, they can get regular infantry as replacements (you don't want that, so set them to 25%)

Their starting exp is very low...but they will slowly climb up.

I use my ersatz to replace the coastal battalions (which I disband). I put one in every port, and every big vp city. I used to use them to chase down partisans since they are cheap to rail, but have switched to using the STuG battalions instead.

I once used ersatz to invade the Caucaus, as they are really easy to supply by air...and you don't really care if they die.

In the beginning of the game, I will play the Ersatz card as much as possible. (OKH, 6th Armee, 2nd Armee). Then I will switch to Personnel. The personnel card only raises staff experience in an HQ, so I like to make sure my HQ's are full up on staff first, since replacements will only lower the exp.
“My logisticians are a humorless lot … they know if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay.” – Alexander the Great
Bismarck2761
Posts: 89
Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 4:11 pm

RE: Ersatz Units: Questions + do you use them a lot?

Post by Bismarck2761 »

Why STuGs to hunt partisans?
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LiquidSky
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RE: Ersatz Units: Questions + do you use them a lot?

Post by LiquidSky »



They are fast. They are easy to rail. They don't add a lot to combat on the front line. Because they are non-divisional, they lower the divisional bonus you get for attacking.

But mostly because they are fast. I can surround a partisan unit and kill it the turn after I rail near it.
“My logisticians are a humorless lot … they know if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay.” – Alexander the Great
Hugolin
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Mar 17, 2013 6:12 pm

RE: Ersatz Units: Questions + do you use them a lot?

Post by Hugolin »

So yes, HQs spawn 1 or 2 Ersatz units.

Seems the only difference with regular INF is their starting experience: they start at 15%. This, the fact they are also non-divisional and finally that they have no guns mean they are weaker indeed.
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