Airborne Units

Share your gameplay tips, secret tactics and fabulous strategies with fellow gamers here.

Moderators: Joel Billings, Sabre21

Post Reply
User avatar
HITMAN202
Posts: 714
Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 3:10 pm

Airborne Units

Post by HITMAN202 »

Teach me (THEPROS really want to "teach" me !!!) about airdropped units. Questions... after reading 16.3.6

1) Potential airdrops per turn ?? This would seem to be dependent on the number transport airgroups (i'm guessing) with aircraft with a maximum load rating of over 2000. How many (potentially) could that be ???

2) With each AG with 150 ++ fighters on 150 air interdiction how effective is this defensive ??? I'm afraid zippo if the Soviets air ground attack units until the potential air interdiction is used up.

3) How often, on the average, is an airdrop successful (%) ??? Does the distance transported inluence it ???

4) Does the new patch (1.07.03 beta) make more units eligible (morale over 40) ???

5) I'm confused how Sean's airdrop (one of them) was routed on the first blizzard turn ??? The mechanism ???

6) If a a) mission is aborted, or an b) airdrop mission is intercepted (are A and B the same) does the Axis player know about it (turn report.)

7) I'm confused by 16.3.6's third paragraph, beginning with "When an airborn unit ..." I am dense. What are "ground elements" The paratroop unit itself ???

8) To strategically increase the number of turns it takes for a unit to be airdropped again, is it better to force a unit to "walk" back to an airbase (able to airdrop) or rout the sucker ??? I know zippo about routing partroops. How long it takes to get them unrouted and what happens to their morale.

9) Since Sillyflower may pull some legalese on me and confuse me more than I am already (but I do want to hear some humrous response from him) I need some help.

WITE is a good addiction with no cure.
User avatar
loki100
Posts: 11699
Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2012 12:38 pm
Location: Utlima Thule

RE: Airborne Units

Post by loki100 »

be interested to see the answers as I'm struggling to get much out of paras.

can answer your #4

the Soviet paras are very high morale in 1941 already - which is one reason they tend not to rout. Have been ever since I first saw the game some 8 months back ...
User avatar
Michael T
Posts: 4445
Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2006 9:35 pm
Location: Queensland, Australia.

RE: Airborne Units

Post by Michael T »

IIRC its not morale but experience that must be over 40.
User avatar
Belphegor
Posts: 1541
Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 2:03 am

RE: Airborne Units

Post by Belphegor »

ORIGINAL: HITMAN202


5) I'm confused how Sean's airdrop (one of them) was routed on the first blizzard turn ??? The mechanism ???



Unfortunately I lost so many troops in the drop that the unit was depleted. All it took was an enemy unit moving next to it. That would have happened in your turn if I hadn't forced one to retreat on my turn. As your unit moved, my depleted unit was displaced.

7.3. Depleted and Unready Units
Depleted Units: Units at 10% or less of TOE are in a depleted status, have no ZOC and will automatically displace if they end up next to an enemy unit and not stacked with a combat unit that is in a ready or unready status.
User avatar
Belphegor
Posts: 1541
Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 2:03 am

RE: Airborne Units

Post by Belphegor »

ORIGINAL: HITMAN202

Teach me (THEPROS really want to "teach" me !!!) about airdropped units. Questions... after reading 16.3.6

1) Potential airdrops per turn ?? This would seem to be dependent on the number transport airgroups (i'm guessing) with aircraft with a maximum load rating of over 2000. How many (potentially) could that be ???


It really depends on how many airborne units survive the summer and are fit to drop. Also of importance is the number of sorties it takes to make the drop. I'm partial to using as few sorties as possible which means for me there's less drops than the theoretical maximum if I went with more sorties (per air unit). I find that higher sortie numbers with one transport unit is hardest on the transports and with a bit more data might show it to be harder on the airborne as well.

So while I can't tell you in our current game; I generally can make 4/turn (but prefer 2) until I run out of airborne units and/or sufficient transport. Both of those happen quickly.

I'd say they're special occasion operations first used effectively in blizzard rather than blizzard=airborne.
User avatar
Belphegor
Posts: 1541
Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 2:03 am

RE: Airborne Units

Post by Belphegor »

ORIGINAL: HITMAN202

Teach me (THEPROS really want to "teach" me !!!) about airdropped units. Questions... after reading 16.3.6

2) With each AG with 150 ++ fighters on 150 air interdiction how effective is this defensive ??? I'm afraid zippo if the Soviets air ground attack units until the potential air interdiction is used up.



Don't know. I never worry about interception, I just expect it will happen and escort accordingly. I do not conduct ground attacks with the aim of exhausting axis interception. Others will no doubt have differing opinions on this.
User avatar
Belphegor
Posts: 1541
Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 2:03 am

RE: Airborne Units

Post by Belphegor »

ORIGINAL: HITMAN202

Teach me (THEPROS really want to "teach" me !!!) about airdropped units. Questions... after reading 16.3.6


3) How often, on the average, is an airdrop successful (%) ??? Does the distance transported inluence it ???


Define success. Our game is the first time I've ever depleted an airborne unit by dropping it. Generally there are high casualties but they do what they are intended to do. So for me so far 100% Limited only by transport, current situation in the front lines, and re-use after rebuilding. I don't drop airborne as a practice that I can't recover by advancing or by the opponent routing out next turn.
User avatar
Belphegor
Posts: 1541
Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 2:03 am

RE: Airborne Units

Post by Belphegor »

ORIGINAL: HITMAN202

Teach me (THEPROS really want to "teach" me !!!) about airdropped units. Questions... after reading 16.3.6


4) Does the new patch (1.07.03 beta) make more units eligible (morale over 40) ???


This has more to do with taking the airborne out of the frontline and into refit far enough behind the lines to build the appropriate morale levels. So I don't think it's reliant on the patch for our play.
Arstavidios
Posts: 782
Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 2:02 pm

RE: Airborne Units

Post by Arstavidios »

i still haven't managed to figure out how to airdrop units or air transport them either[8|] manual is a bit obscure about it; Kind of things that makes perfect sense when you already know how do to do it but does not make any when you do not know yet.
User avatar
Belphegor
Posts: 1541
Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 2:03 am

RE: Airborne Units

Post by Belphegor »

I relied on the info in the 'what's new'
The process is a little roundabout, but it does work.

---
V1.06.11 – May 11, 2012
<snip>
Interface Change (Section 5.3.9.3) – To airdrop a unit, now you must go to air transport mode and then left click on the hex containing the airbase and airborne unit. Make sure the airborne unit(s) you wish to drop are selected in the unit bar. Next, shift-left click on a hex near the airfield. This will cause the pick air units mission window to be displayed. Close this window and you will now see the hexes where you may conduct an airdrop lit up, while those that are not possible will be displayed in. Shift-left click on the hex you wish to drop the airborne unit and the pick air units mission window will appear. Due to some issues with the interface, the only way to indicate the valid hexes to airdrop in is to click on a valid hex. If you click on an invalid hex it will not bring up the air window nor will it indicate the valid hexes. This is why we suggest you click somewhere near the airbase. Whenever the air window appears, you can execute the air drop. It is important that you select the airborne unit after you have entered air transport mode (previously the airborne unit was supposed to be selected while still in movement mode).
--
Arstavidios
Posts: 782
Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 2:02 pm

RE: Airborne Units

Post by Arstavidios »

I guess i get lost somewhere in the roundabouts :)
I've not been farther than the sift left click on the airbase;
Must have been doing something wrong somewhere:)
User avatar
Belphegor
Posts: 1541
Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 2:03 am

RE: Airborne Units

Post by Belphegor »

once you've changed to air transport mode and left clicked on the hex with the para and airbase shift-left click on a hex near the airbase.

Close the resulting window

you will then see available hexes for the airdrop lit up

shift-left click (again) on the hex of the drop, choose your aircraft and launch

not sure if this is less roundabout, but it is less words than the other instructions.
User avatar
Spielverderber
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2013 2:31 pm

RE: Airborne Units

Post by Spielverderber »

The following information is from witewiki. For some reason I can't post the link:

The player must make the following steps to airdrop the unit:
1 Select the airborne unit in movement mode (F1). Deselect the airbase.
2 Switch to air transfer mode (F9).
3 Shift-Left-Click on target hex for airdrop.
4 Manually select fighter escort and transports paying attention to sorties required. Max sorties must at least equal required sorties here.
5 Click Launch.

On the website you can even download a save game to try it out. You can PM me if you want the link.

Hope that helps.
User avatar
Belphegor
Posts: 1541
Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 2:03 am

RE: Airborne Units

Post by Belphegor »

I think that info was superceded by the information posted in the patch 'what's new' section.
if you try that out I don't think it will work.
User avatar
M60A3TTS
Posts: 4489
Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 1:20 am

RE: Airborne Units

Post by M60A3TTS »

FWIW, I make the WiTE manual adobe acrobat doc editable and cut and paste notes like this into the appropriate section so I can find it when I need it.
User avatar
lastkozak
Posts: 267
Joined: Tue Nov 22, 2011 8:56 pm

RE: Airborne Units

Post by lastkozak »

I have several questions also!

How many transports and or transport units, does one need at an airfield to transport one airborne brigade?

Obviously the U-2s are not good enough, but the Li-2's and the TB-3G-2's are big enough. Is it possible to drop 3 brigades?

Does the experience/moral of the transports influence the accuracy of the drop? Or the survivability of the unit? How many men from the airborne brigade are lost in the drop that is?

What type of terrain is allowable for the drop in Blizzard? Is it better to drop in snow? Or drop in Bilzzard for the soviets.

Does one need to to the drop first thing in a turn, before anything else?

Does one drop at night? Or day mission? In which case I presume the transports need to be on day or night mission, respectively.

Inquiring minds want to know!!!!

lastkozak
___________________________________________
Born and raised in Toronto, where our Hockey Team is smoking hot,
and our former Mayor was smoking crack!
User avatar
Bozo_the_Clown
Posts: 890
Joined: Tue Jun 25, 2013 1:51 pm
Location: Bozotown

RE: Airborne Units

Post by Bozo_the_Clown »

Post Reply

Return to “The War Room”