How do you keep your petro flowing?

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sabo10
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2011 7:53 pm
Location: Minneapolis

How do you keep your petro flowing?

Post by sabo10 »

Seems to me towards the end game I come up short with gasoline, I repair trucks, and take care of the trains but that doesn't quite cut it, my last game was a draw. How do you keep the gasoline flowing? Partisans, weather, trucks, trains, good repoire?
I think I will finally stop procrastinating......... tomorrow
aaminoff
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2006 12:23 am
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RE: How do you keep your petro flowing?

Post by aaminoff »

The way trains and trucks are calculated means that there is a pretty quick drop-off from full transport of PG fuel to none, dependent on distance and difficulty. You can spend PPs on decisions to try to improve the number of trains/trucks, but those have limited impact. Trains there is very little you can do, since once you have moved the FSB beyond train range all you can really do is move it back. Trucks you can play games with making sure your PG HQ is on a road and possibly run it back closer to the FSB to fill up and then run forward to the panzers (or just leave the PG HQ within truck range and continue operating your panzers at a -AP for being far from the HQ).

There is an odd thing, I might almost call it an exploit. Fuel is stored in 3 places: the base back in Greater Germany, the FSB, and the PG HQ. When you move the FSB, all the stored fuel that has accumulated there is de facto moved with it. So you can outrun your trucks (but the trains are still filling up the FSB), and then when you move the FSB forward to beyond train range suddenly you have all that stored fuel at the FSB which the trucks (now short range) bring to your HQ.

Finally there is always the Luftwaffe. It is not clear to me where the LW pulls the fuel that it is flying to you from. All the way back in Greater Germany? That makes the LW a pretty efficient way to get at least a trickle of fuel to your PG HQ, as long as there is an air base near your forward operating area. Moving the airbase only takes 4 days, and then as long as the HQ is quite close (within about 6-7 hexes or the effectiveness drops off quickly) you can get maybe half a quota delivered. Of course, this consumes 3 PP each time, plus you can only do it in one theatre. The reduction in LW ground support however does not seem like a big deal.

Another aspect of fuel management, however, is the demand side. I learned not to waste fuel making random attacks at the end of the panzers movement against a defensive line, where the only benefit would be grabbing a random hex. Only attack to create a breakthrough; make use of the non-motoried units (inf and cav) included in the PG to do as much as possible. Consider, if you can, using motorized infantry instead of panzer divisions to do the really long exploitation moves. Maybe a Pz div or 2 should just be sidelined or refitted while the fuel goes to the remaining divs. Also, if a motorized or Pz div gets left behind, instead of spending fuel to bring it back up to the front, use the strategic transport card, which does not consume any fuel.
- Alex
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sabo10
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2011 7:53 pm
Location: Minneapolis

RE: How do you keep your petro flowing?

Post by sabo10 »

Thanks aaminoff, I wish more people came to this site. I like this game.
I think I will finally stop procrastinating......... tomorrow
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