Few basic questions

[AlbertN]

Greetings,

Here newbye questions - and please do not gun at me! I tend to try to play rather quick than to study the whole manual first (After all I bought a game and not signed up for academical study!).

Militia vs Infantry:
Is there any substantial difference, since the first is cheaper in construction terms and still appear more than decent? (Besides requiring to possess the "label" City on the unit still).
Has Militia some intrinsic penalties such as not being able to depart from homeland or so?

Surprise Bonus - Airplanes:
Toyed a bit with Barbarossa. Surprise is supposed to give double roll for Ground Strikes. I do not see that happening in the combat logs. Am I wrong or is there the script to just show the best roll of the 2?

Choice of Combat:
Again in Barbarossa it seems I can choose which combat table to use (Blitz or Assault) pratically -always- as the German (The background screen remains Gray!) even if I do not have panzer / mech units in the attack. Is that normal too?

[paulderynck]

Militia vs Infantry: The rule is you cannot build Mil until at war with a major power (i.e. you are an "Active" major power). There is a bug currently that you can build them while neutral (i.e that rule is not yet enforced by the game). Easy workaround for now - don't build them until you're supposed to. Generally they are of far less quality than the Infantry you can get in later years - lower combat and movement factors. Also once their city is taken by the enemy they are out of the game until you take it back. (Edit: - if they are in the force pool at the time. If on the map, they remain so until destroyed.)

Surprise Bonus - Airplanes: The program won't roll again if the first result disrupts the target. I think the results are shown somewhere, but have not looked for awhile.

Choice of Combat: No. You should only be able to choose it if you meet the criteria for combat choice. Otherwise it's a bug, but I suspect it would have been reported long before now, and thus, you must be misinterpreting what you see.

[AlbertN]

I'll give a new try then and see better to it.
I was just astonished at the Militia as Berlin / Moscow for example are 7 Combat Factor and Elite as well! So I was quite impressed - placed in a "static" part of the front they are an excellent unit still for a cheap cost!

[Joseignacio]

ORIGINAL: Cohen

Greetings,

Here newbye questions - and please do not gun at me! I tend to try to play rather quick than to study the whole manual first (After all I bought a game and not signed up for academical study!).

Militia vs Infantry:
Is there any substantial difference, since the first is cheaper in construction terms and still appear more than decent? (Besides requiring to possess the "label" City on the unit still).
Has Militia some intrinsic penalties such as not being able to depart from homeland or so?

Surprise Bonus - Airplanes:
Toyed a bit with Barbarossa. Surprise is supposed to give double roll for Ground Strikes. I do not see that happening in the combat logs. Am I wrong or is there the script to just show the best roll of the 2?

Choice of Combat:
Again in Barbarossa it seems I can choose which combat table to use (Blitz or Assault) pratically -always- as the German (The background screen remains Gray!) even if I do not have panzer / mech units in the attack. Is that normal too?

Most militia have very bad combat values. Look at the russian militias as the worst case. Also, if I recall well, the Militia units are Army size, vhile INF are corps size, this would affect their values of strength and cost.

Also, most militas are VERY slow. The usual movement number is 2 which is just 1 more than a garrison.

Besides, in the latter versions of WIF (not in the game) there is some fine tunning to their effectivity in combat. For example, in a city a militia and a garrison can stand the ground almost as well as an INF, but in the open... that's another story. Because of this, it's easier for a militia to be encircled for example, and be destroyed.

All the same, in the latter versions of WIF, there are different combat tables, and you don't get destroyed units but destroyed BPs that the units consist of. So, a MIL or GARR, which cost only 2 can be destroyed more easily simply by hits (BP lost) than a INF with 3 BP.

Last but not last, MIL can only be built IN THEIR CITIES, and as they told you before, once you are at war with a major power, can only be deployed in those cities, no matter that you may need them elsewhere, and THEY CANNOT BE BUILT ONCE the city has been taken, until you recover it.

Moscow Militia, and Berlin militia IIRW are notable exceptions. Maybe Leningrad too if my memory serves me. Now look at the rest. On the other side, I am no history nerd but I guess the Red Guard and the SA and following organizations gave better militia units than average.

I don't play much from the launch of the game, cause Netplay is not working well. However, I made some trials like one month ago, and played 2 turns each side and the blitz selection seeemed to work ok, AFAIK.

[paulderynck]

One thing the rules actually do say [:)] is that Russian Armies and other countries Corps are indeed the same size...

[Joseignacio]

I could quote you [:)]:

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

Thinking it and finding it in the rules are different things.

It is NOT in the rules, not in the RAW of WIF we are using with MWIF. May be in MWIF texts or in the scenario booklet...

[Viktor_Kormel_slith]

I think militia are good to take casualties, garrison duties and fill gaps in desperate moments, in other cases build infantry is best option.

[AlbertN]

I did some more toying around and have encountered some difficulties and other things eluding my comprehension.

Naval Transport:
I manage to load successfully units in Transports - but when I move them to a matching nationality port, all is good. (Example - to ship French units from colonies to mainland France.).
When I try to unload in a different country, it is prevented to me. (Like, I cannot absolutely land UK units in France!)

In my newbz experiments too, following the advice of some I DoWed Netherlands on 3rd Impulse of the 1st turn. (1st Impulse Allies you get Reserves as Germany; 2nd Impulse you Reorganize them with the HQ - though I discovered only later to reorganize the HQ costs a truckload of oil! 3rd Impulse: DoW Netherland.).
The poor defenders got overann easily, and with a breakthrough result the Mech unit can get into the next hex. (I probably have poorly deployed the Dutch Infantry too).
I had placed the ships in Rotterdam and not Amsterdam ... so I sent the breakthrough mech in Rotterdam thinking it would naturally ZOC and thus control Amsterdam.
The Allies all passed and managed to get the end of the turn. Next turn a Dutch Militia popped in Amsterdam! (Thus not affected by the ZoC of closeby Germans?)
Not just, Allies wins initiative and ship in a mechanized unit. (Not sure it was an excellent idea though).

Now, the Germans poured in bombers to crush the defenders - and disorganized the UK mech. Which also resulted to be Out of Supply? (Given there are no naval units by any side in the north sea - why is it Out of Supply? Did it required some UK convoys there?). The Germans realized that only after having moved in for the kill - since anyhow a retreat result could have still turned the place rather empty of defenders before it was converted in some form of bastion for the UK but ultimately ended up in disaster as I (too confidently of having seized Amsterdam too, left all the fighters on Belgium border or to protect factories which the Allies are rather fond of bombing. - Or at least they did that the 1st turn. Suggestions on how to use the Allied bombers otherwise?)

[Centuur]

Militia are also cheap garrison forces (if you play with the partisan rule). So I tend to use the real trashy ones for that, and use the better ones on the front lines. You can't have enough cheap boots on the floor, IMHO...

[Centuur]

ORIGINAL: Cohen

I did some more toying around and have encountered some difficulties and other things eluding my comprehension.

Naval Transport:
I manage to load successfully units in Transports - but when I move them to a matching nationality port, all is good. (Example - to ship French units from colonies to mainland France.).
When I try to unload in a different country, it is prevented to me. (Like, I cannot absolutely land UK units in France!)

In my newbz experiments too, following the advice of some I DoWed Netherlands on 3rd Impulse of the 1st turn. (1st Impulse Allies you get Reserves as Germany; 2nd Impulse you Reorganize them with the HQ - though I discovered only later to reorganize the HQ costs a truckload of oil! 3rd Impulse: DoW Netherland.).
The poor defenders got overann easily, and with a breakthrough result the Mech unit can get into the next hex. (I probably have poorly deployed the Dutch Infantry too).
I had placed the ships in Rotterdam and not Amsterdam ... so I sent the breakthrough mech in Rotterdam thinking it would naturally ZOC and thus control Amsterdam.
The Allies all passed and managed to get the end of the turn. Next turn a Dutch Militia popped in Amsterdam! (Thus not affected by the ZoC of closeby Germans?)
Not just, Allies wins initiative and ship in a mechanized unit. (Not sure it was an excellent idea though).

Now, the Germans poured in bombers to crush the defenders - and disorganized the UK mech. Which also resulted to be Out of Supply? (Given there are no naval units by any side in the north sea - why is it Out of Supply? Did it required some UK convoys there?). The Germans realized that only after having moved in for the kill - since anyhow a retreat result could have still turned the place rather empty of defenders before it was converted in some form of bastion for the UK but ultimately ended up in disaster as I (too confidently of having seized Amsterdam too, left all the fighters on Belgium border or to protect factories which the Allies are rather fond of bombing. - Or at least they did that the 1st turn. Suggestions on how to use the Allied bombers otherwise?)

Naval transport of units to France: check the cooperation rules. France doesn't cooperate with the CW, so you need a CW HQ in France first to put other CW units in France (the maximum being the CW HQ's reorganisation value).

Conquest: you need to have moved a unit through a hex to gain control of it. To conquer the Netherlands having a ZOC in Amsterdam isn't enough.
On the supply issue: supply is blocked when there are enemy ships (not CONV/TRS) or air units with an air to sea factor in the sea area, without you having a ship or air-to-sea factor plane in the sea area too. When playing with Limited Overseas Supply optional rule, you need a CONV/TRS/AMPH to get supply to the Netherlands.

To use allied bombers apart from strategic bombing Germany? If they are NAV, for convoy protection. Otherwise that's the only thing the CW can do, to tie up German FTR's all over the area...

[AlbertN]

Another quick question - would it make sense for Germany to invest in the first turns in Synthethic Oil plants?
Technically it's a free resource each which in the long run could neat some extra income BUT it's a bucketload of production missing for other operations.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Cohen

Another quick question - would it make sense for Germany to invest in the first turns in Synthethic Oil plants?
Technically it's a free resource each which in the long run could neat some extra income BUT it's a bucketload of production missing for other operations.

Exactly. Think of it as a capital investment. One thing to consider is that on the first turn of war you can build as many units as you like of different types. On subsequent turns, you are limited by gearing limits. So, you might want to delay building the Synthetic Oil unit until the second turn - so you can take advantage of the unrestricted builds available in the first turn.

[Ur_Vile_WEdge]

I wouldn't say you're nuts for building the synth on the first turn, but I personally wait a bit. True, the longer you have the synth plant, the more oil you pump out of it, but for that 7 up front, I could build an inf and a stuka and use those towards beating someone up and taking their resources. Use over time is something that applies to troops as well...

In my personal play, I usually throw a Synth up in S/O 40, and then a second in M/A 41, and possibly a third, depending on how well the war against the USSR is going.

[AlbertN]

I'll keep on with the questions as there are things which puzzles me still.

A- What happens if let's say Finland opposes the claims of Soviets? They go to war? But can then Finland sue for peace later?

B- How minors are Aligned precisely? I have sought on the manuals but have found the references and pages mismatching so it's like seeking a needle in the mound of hay.

[Ur_Vile_WEdge]

A) If Finland denies the Soviet border claims, the USSR must immediately declare war on Finland (for a hefty USE penalty). If, at the end of the turn, during the peace phase, there are no Soviet units outside the borderlands, and Germany and the USSR are at peace, then yes, Germany can force a peace (and probably should)


B) You declare them aligned to you during the declare war step. There's individual conditions necessary for each minor country though, and too many to list. Any country in particular you're looking at?

[AlbertN]

B) You declare them aligned to you during the declare war step. There's individual conditions necessary for each minor country though, and too many to list. Any country in particular you're looking at?

Well is there a list I can find somewhere?

Meanwhile at the present I am playing by instinct - I tend to use rationality on the long run.
Let's say anyhow the European Main Theather is the biggest political focus - Balkans (the 3 historical axis allies, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey).

[paulderynck]

ORIGINAL: Joseignacio

I could quote you [:)]:

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

Thinking it and finding it in the rules are different things.

It is NOT in the rules, not in the RAW of WIF we are using with MWIF. May be in MWIF texts or in the scenario booklet...

Look again, I quote the RAW:

1.2 Scale
Units
A land unit represents an army or corps (optional division units represent smaller units, see 22.4.1 and 22.4.2).

[paulderynck]

ORIGINAL: Cohen

B) You declare them aligned to you during the declare war step. There's individual conditions necessary for each minor country though, and too many to list. Any country in particular you're looking at?

Well is there a list I can find somewhere?

Read Section 19 of the RAC.

[Joseignacio]

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

ORIGINAL: Joseignacio

I could quote you [:)]:

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

Thinking it and finding it in the rules are different things.

It is NOT in the rules, not in the RAW of WIF we are using with MWIF. May be in MWIF texts or in the scenario booklet...

Look again, I quote the RAW:

1.2 Scale
Units
A land unit represents an army or corps (optional division units represent smaller units, see 22.4.1 and 22.4.2).

And I quote you, because I was referring to this [:)]:

One thing the rules actually do say is that Russian Armies and other countries Corps are indeed the same size...

[Extraneous]

China and Japan have armies instead of corps also.