Support Units and Refit

Gary Grigsby’s War in the East: The German-Soviet War 1941-1945 is a turn-based World War II strategy game stretching across the entire Eastern Front. Gamers can engage in an epic campaign, including division-sized battles with realistic and historical terrain, weather, orders of battle, logistics and combat results.

The critically and fan-acclaimed Eastern Front mega-game Gary Grigsby’s War in the East just got bigger and better with Gary Grigsby’s War in the East: Don to the Danube! This expansion to the award-winning War in the East comes with a wide array of later war scenarios ranging from short but intense 6 turn bouts like the Battle for Kharkov (1942) to immense 37-turn engagements taking place across multiple nations like Drama on the Danube (Summer 1944 – Spring 1945).

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BK6583
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Support Units and Refit

Post by BK6583 »

I want to make sure I understand the rules here as I approach winter as the Germans. As I've read these posts when winter hits I should pretty much turn off refit completely. However, the rules say that for support units refit is always on. Does mean even when I've turned refit off all the way up to OKH? If that's the case then I guess I should either systematically reduce their TOEs so they don't suck replacements or ship them off to OKH in Germany to winter there?
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Telemecus
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RE: Support Units and Refit

Post by Telemecus »

Yes SUs and also all your HQs (including airbases) are always on refit. Personally I do not ship all SUs back to OKH but use them selectively to help hold a line where I can and want to. Engineering/construction units which help in fortification build, which I think do not suck up to OKH, should be left.

If you are a real micro manager like me then ToE is your friend. Ideally you want all your armament points going to build replacement rifle squads for your divisions as they suffer the most and their replacement does the most and are cheapest to keep your divisions from going depleted/unready. This means that SUs (that use APs for their replacement and do not help fortification) should be put on a maximum ToE of 50%. You can also do this for HQs and airbases you do not need. If one of them has a high actual ToE they can be left on the front as their losses will not be replaced using APs. But if they do approach 50% then you will want to withdraw them so that they do not start using APs for replacements. Occasionally I might leave say a heavy artillery unit on a higher max ToE if there is a really large surplus in the pool (and which is not also part of the ToE of any division on the front) and I am sure they will not be used up by the end of winter, or if you think your divisions will max out their replacements anyway and so will leave you with a surplus anyhow. Also any minor axis SUs on the front are sometimes best left with a max of say 55 % as with morale at around 50% it is better to have a ready Romanian artillery at 55% than an unready lame duck one at 50%. And best of all do this long before winter or from the start.

The other aim over winter is to not be left with a vehicle deficit if possible. Better to have fewer units without a vehicle deficit modifier than more with. If you can do this then there is no harm leaving extra at the front and having refits.

AFVs and aircraft are built on their own schedule and not using APs so you can make your own independent strategic decision whether to refit units with these and use them on the front in winter or save them for weather that causes less damage to them.

Two other tips for winter that I have not seen mentioned elsewhere on the forums
i) Units in urban, 2 units in cities and a unit in towns of population of 4 do not suffer first blizzard penalties. Rather than send motorised and high morale infantry to winter in Germany use them as garrison units (especially if they are on a rail line). The freed up garrison units can be used on the front and your lowest quality troops can take the attrition. After winter swap them back again and they have the whole year to recover.
ii) There are lower morale limits beyond which winter morale penalties do not apply. Use Romanians and security units for the line where you accept you are going to beaten back. Yes they are going to be beaten badly - but your global loss of morale will be lower as the penalties stop getting applied at that level. They can still garrison after winter even if unready and have the rest of the year to recover.
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GabrielBora
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RE: Support Units and Refit

Post by GabrielBora »

Any build up area helps during blizard , in towns with population of 3, you only lose morale 75% of blizard turns .in towns with population of 2 ,you only lose morale 50% of blizard turns.

TheOne
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RE: Support Units and Refit

Post by TheOne »

ORIGINAL: BK6583

I want to make sure I understand the rules here as I approach winter as the Germans.
As I've read these posts when winter hits I should pretty much turn off refit completely.
However, the rules say that for support units refit is always on.
Does mean even when I've turned refit off all the way up to OKH?
If that's the case then I guess I should either systematically reduce their TOEs so they don't suck replacements or
ship them off to OKH in Germany to winter there?

You will want to return most of your AB's ( LW and Army ) and planes. The planes and AB's require a allot of trucks and planes allot of fuel/supplies/ammo.
This alone will be a big truck saver, freeing up trucks to carry supplies to your all important infantry squads ect.I would advise sending back most if not all of your artillery, again a big truck hog.
Leave 1 LT AA unit per Corp HQ.For sure leave your pioneer units in Germany they are huge in 42.From what I have read as Germany you should never have infantry on refit other then your 1 Infantry Army that's loaded with
heavy guns and pioneers. You can also lower losses by simply retreating a hex or 2 per turn below Oka, you can easily retake this area and cause more manpower to flip east.

You can leave all infantry on Ready and they will still get replacements. You should be using ToE% to "even out" %'s.
Say all infantry at 90% so that units above will not get any and ones below will. This is usefull keeping your units balanced.

Refit means they get them first and helps with morale building not having it on does not mean they don't get replacements. ToE % is more important.


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Telemecus
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RE: Support Units and Refit

Post by Telemecus »

ORIGINAL: TheOne
You can leave all infantry on Ready and they will still get replacements. You should be using ToE% to "even out" %'s.
Say all infantry at 90% so that units above will not get any and ones below will. This is usefull keeping your units balanced.

Refit means they get them first and helps with morale building not having it on does not mean they don't get replacements. ToE % is more important.

Just an addendum to the good stuff from TheOne. The restrictions on replacements to your front line divisions mostly come from the modifiers from how far East they are and so apply individually. If you have surplus manpower in your pool then restricting replacements to some of your divisions will not then cause all the saved manpower to go others. Also although the manual in the refits section describes it as only a prioritisation in another part it admits that later in the game over a certain level (80% ToE I think) it only sends replacements to those on refit. So then you can use refits to increase the global amount of replacements as well as prioritise.

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