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Trifler -> Infantry and Transport Types (8/22/2012 10:20:56 AM)
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Infantry
Infantry normally have a movement range of 1 on mountainous terrain. Statistics displayed in brackets in the game are for counterattacks only.
Wehrmacht Inf – General issue German infantry. They are highly mobile with a movement range of 3.
Grenadier – Equipped with heavier weapons, they can put up a better fight against hard targets and have slightly higher initiative. They can also shoot back for minimal damage when attacked by aircraft. The main downside is their slower movement range of 2.
Fallschirmjager – Paratroopers can deploy from airplanes. However, they lose this ability if they are assigned vehicular transports. They’re excellent against soft targets, have a movement range of 3, and have high initiative.
Gebirgsjager – Mountaineers can move over mountain terrain without any movement penalty. However, like other infantry, if they are assigned vehicular transports they lose the ability to move on mountain terrain at all. They have a movement range of 3.
Pioniere – Although statistically similar to Grenadiers, these infantry are armed with flamethrowers, which allow them to ignore enemy entrenchment bonuses (flame tanks also get this bonus). This makes them very effective at attacking cities and forts. They have a movement range of 2.
Bruckenpioniere – When these Bridging units stop on a river, they form a temporary bridge allowing your other units to cross for as long as the Bridging unit remains there. They have a movement range of 2.
Kavallerie – Fairly outdated for modern combat, cavalry units can be used in a reconnaissance capacity to some extent. They have a view range of 3 and a movement range of 5.
Kradschutzen – Motorcycle infantry are similar to cavalry. The main differences are: they are faster, have better defense, have higher initiative, and can counterattack for minimal damage against air units. Unlike cavalry, they require fuel. Their movement type is Wheeled, so they have a much harder time moving over rough terrain.
Bersaglieri - Afrika Corps Only. These are the only Italian infantry worth their salt. Compared with Wehrmacht Infantry, they have +1 to Ammo, Soft Attack, and Hard Attack, but -1 to Ground Defense. They have a movement range of 3. Unfortunately, the Italians don't have half-track transports so they can only use trucks.
Saharan Infantry - Afrika Corps Only. These Italian infantry cannot be purchased directly. You get them by first purchasing a Sahariana Recon vehicle. It carries Saharan Infantry and they can dismount/remount during a mission using the "Switch Mode" button. They have the same stats as Bersaglieri, except they get a Spotting range of 3. The Sahariana's movement type is All Terrain, making these the only Italian infantry with good off-road transportation.
Transports
Transports are optional and are available to infantry and towed units. When moving a distance that the unit could normally move without the transports, they will remain dismounted and the transports follow behind. When moving a longer distance, the unit will mount the transports until the next turn. While in the transports, any enemy attacks will encounter the statistics of the transports themselves, not of the the unit being transported. It's also important to note that transports cannot be loaded onto airplanes and they cannot travel on mountain terrain at all. Thus, infantry with transports lose those two abilities. Unfortunately all transport upgrades are full price.
Opel Blitz – These transport trucks are the cheapest transport vehicles at only 50 prestige. They greatly increase mobility with a movement range of 8. They’re unarmed so they will not shoot back if attacked. Their movement type is Wheeled and they are Soft targets.
SdKfz 251/1 – These transport vehicles are half-tracks and cost 100 prestige. They’re not quite as fast on roads, having a movement range of 6, but they can go further than trucks when off-road. They are minimally armed. They have some basic armor giving them slightly more protection and they count as Hard targets.
SdKfz 250/1 – These half-tracks cost 200 prestige. The only difference from the previous half-track is that they have a movement range of 8. Although expensive, you don't have to worry about upgrading again.
SdKfz 7 – The only transport available for the largest towed artillery and AA. It’s an unarmed half-track and has a movement range of 6. Fortunately its price isn't overly high at 70 prestige.
Towed
Towed units only have a movement range of 1 on their own, so they essentially require transports in order to be effective. Their extreme reliance on transports means that while they can fire and then move without difficulty, they can rarely move and then fire. On the other hand, towed units tend to have larger and more powerful guns than their self-propelled versions.
Afrika Corps - Virtually all of the Italian towed units have identical stats compared with the German versions. If they're not identical, they're nearly so. Unfortunately, they do not have access to half-track transports, which is a painful limitation, especially with all the desert terrain.
Anti-Air
At first glance, it appears that AA simply gets better as time goes on. However, I'd like to note a few things.
2 cm FlaK 38 - This single-barrel 2 cm (20 mm) auto-cannon is clearly the weakest option available. It has a range of 2 and 11 damage.
2 cm Flakvierling 38 - This is a quad-barrel version of the 2 cm FlaK 38. It fires the same shells, but a whole lot more of them. This AA weapon is unique in being highly effective against any soft target that attacks it. It has a range of 2 and 13 damage.
3.7 cm FlaK 37 - Another auto-cannon that fires much larger shells. It has higher Initiative than the 2 cm models. It has a range of 2 and 14 damage.
8.8 cm FlaK 36 - This cannon fires shells designed to explode in the air and distribute clouds of shrapnel. The word "flak" in English originated from this weapon. This weapon is able to switch into a ground firing mode to fire at enemy vehicles. It has a range of 3 and 18 damage. If you're going to use a towed AA gun, this is the one to use.
All of the above AA weapons are towed, but there are also self-propelled versions mounted on half-tracks.
SdKfz 10/4 - This is a 2 cm FlaK 38 mounted in the back of a SdKfz 250/1 half-track. Being the weakest AA gun, it's easy to dismiss it, but this one has a movement range of 8. No other self-propelled AA vehicle can move as far.
SdKfz 7/1 - A 2 cm Flakvierling 38 mounted in the back of a SdKfz 251/1 half-track. It has a movement range of 5.
SdKfz 7/2 - A 3.7 cm FlaK 37 mounted in the back of a SdKfz 251/1 half-track. The most powerful of the half-track mounted AA weapons and the most powerful self-propelled German AA gun until 1944.
The choice often comes down to towing the slow but powerful 8.8 cm FlaK 36, using the moderately fast SdKfz 7/1 or 7/2, or the speedy SdKfz 10/4. Still another option is to tow a 3.7 cm FlaK 37 with a SdKfz 250/1 half-track for 8 movement, but most would consider the 8.8 cm with 6 movement a better choice at that point.
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