Ground support squads - What do they do?

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).

Moderators: Joel Billings, elmo3, Sabre21

Post Reply
thecowboysmiles
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu May 25, 2017 7:58 am

Ground support squads - What do they do?

Post by thecowboysmiles »

In manual it says support squads are "ground elements that provide the administrative and logistical backbone required for a unit to operate effectively". HQ units usually have as many as vehicles as they have support squads. why do they need these if they don't provide supply using these vehicles? (afaik supplies are distributed with vehicles in motor pool).

Also, why higher HQ (corps, army HQ) have too many ground support squads? for example, in the scenario "road to leningrad" 16th army HQ has almost 500 support squads. is this historically accurate? it seems kinda exaggrated as divisions also have supports squads too.
User avatar
56ajax
Posts: 2132
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2007 3:43 am
Location: Cairns, Australia

RE: Ground support squads - What do they do?

Post by 56ajax »

From my understanding support units is the way all those elements that do not have a direct combat role are modeled in the game.

For example, in a 41A Soviet Rifle Div approx 55% of the personel are in support unit. This covers Medical, Veterinary, Bridging, Security, Bakery, Signals, HQ, Supply etc.

Not sure this helps...
Molotov : This we did not deserve.

Foch : This is not peace. This is a 20 year armistice.

C'est la guerre aérienne
Stelteck
Posts: 1420
Joined: Tue Jul 20, 2004 5:07 pm

RE: Ground support squads - What do they do?

Post by Stelteck »

My best guess is that support units help succeeding leadership roll.

A badly support unit will fail leadership roll more (With direct consequences on combat and logistic ability). How much i do not know.

As a soviet, you quickly learn to play without decent support..... [:D]
Brakes are for cowards !!
User avatar
Telemecus
Posts: 4689
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 8:32 pm
Contact:

RE: Ground support squads - What do they do?

Post by Telemecus »

Yes the manual gives the exact formula where lack of support squads reduces leaders ratings checks.

Higher level HQs can "lend" their support squads to lower levels - so having extra in higher HQs is not necessarily a bad thing.
Wargamers Discord https://discord.gg/U6DcDxT
thecowboysmiles
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu May 25, 2017 7:58 am

Ground support squads - What do they do?

Post by thecowboysmiles »

I see, it's an abstraction then. The game represents TOE very realistically, that's why i've asked.

One more question though, about vehicles in units, do these vehicles come from motor pool? again, in "road to leningrad" in turn 1 hq units have more vehicles than they need and combat units are short of vehicles. after turn 2 they seem to give away these vehicles because in "supply details" window there's a minus sign to "vehicles received". but there are more combat units than the HQ, so not enough excessive vehicles in HQ units. so does the rest come from motor pool?
User avatar
Telemecus
Posts: 4689
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 8:32 pm
Contact:

RE: Ground support squads - What do they do?

Post by Telemecus »

Yes - the motor pool is in effect the leftovers not taken into units and which then get used for logistics.
Wargamers Discord https://discord.gg/U6DcDxT
Post Reply

Return to “Gary Grigsby's War in the East Series”