I really like taking - when I can; units like Recon, Anti tank, Strategic bombers and AA.
From reading some of the posts here, some players do not take (for example) recon at all?
I take great pleasure when I get to use one of these in exactly the role it is meant for.
who uses auxiliary units like Recon, AT, bombers and AA?
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The Poll may be misleading since auxiliary, in PG or PC, usually refers to units given only for a specific scenario 
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I have a core recon unit which I find very useful. Not only I can capture far away unprotected victory points, by I can also expose a large area of the front line so that my artillery, tactical and strategic bombers know where to hit. Also, the unit is great to quickly give an extra firepower through mass attack to a weak sector. Another useful thing you can do with this unit because of its high mobility, is to give the final blow to weak units that have retreated after taking massive casualties. The same applies for units on river hexes. Ah, almost forgot, many times it provided tremendous support to my air force (low on ammo/fuel), by capturing airfields (usually you have enough units to clear the airfield and capture the city, but you have to wait for the next turn to also take the airfield => recon to the rescue).
Never used AT until now, but I never played a defensive scenario. However, in the low countries and France, I used the auxiliary 8.8 cm Flak as anti tank to capture some cities and to destroy/inflict heavy damage on 1 or 2 tank units.
Strategic bombers are life savers, especially in Norway and Sea Lion. I don't know how you can manage without them. Their ability to destroy ammo and fuel is really great and they are the bane of naval power.
I used a Stuka as a tactical bomber and, with experience, it was able to inflict 4-7 damage in the early scenarios. However, I was forced to switch it to Fighter Bomber class, when the Allied air power increased.
Never used the AA, but I'm playing on Lieutenant difficulty. Because of the low cost, you will probably need to use them on higher difficulty levels when you are tight on prestige.
.I have a core recon unit which I find very useful. Not only I can capture far away unprotected victory points, by I can also expose a large area of the front line so that my artillery, tactical and strategic bombers know where to hit. Also, the unit is great to quickly give an extra firepower through mass attack to a weak sector. Another useful thing you can do with this unit because of its high mobility, is to give the final blow to weak units that have retreated after taking massive casualties. The same applies for units on river hexes. Ah, almost forgot, many times it provided tremendous support to my air force (low on ammo/fuel), by capturing airfields (usually you have enough units to clear the airfield and capture the city, but you have to wait for the next turn to also take the airfield => recon to the rescue).
Never used AT until now, but I never played a defensive scenario. However, in the low countries and France, I used the auxiliary 8.8 cm Flak as anti tank to capture some cities and to destroy/inflict heavy damage on 1 or 2 tank units.
Strategic bombers are life savers, especially in Norway and Sea Lion. I don't know how you can manage without them. Their ability to destroy ammo and fuel is really great and they are the bane of naval power.
I used a Stuka as a tactical bomber and, with experience, it was able to inflict 4-7 damage in the early scenarios. However, I was forced to switch it to Fighter Bomber class, when the Allied air power increased.
Never used the AA, but I'm playing on Lieutenant difficulty. Because of the low cost, you will probably need to use them on higher difficulty levels when you are tight on prestige.
Re: who uses auxiliary units like Recon, AT, bombers and AA?
I dont think you can decisively win East Coast on Field Marshal without Recons, Anti-Tank and Strategic Bombers. I have never bought AA though (only got the 8.8 you get in the campaign)gnuru wrote:I really like taking - when I can; units like Recon, Anti tank, Strategic bombers and AA.
From reading some of the posts here, some players do not take (for example) recon at all?
I usuaully have recon vehicles as part of my core force. They travel ahead, if they run into enemy units the panzer corps is right behind and will keep it safe.
I also use AA guns as part of my core to protect my stationary artillery.
I use self-propelled AT guns, these suck early on and is a burden. But later they turn into jagdpanthers which are very good and cheap.
Level bombers i used heaps off in PG, but here they dont seem to have the same usage.
I do have one as a ship destroyer.
I also use AA guns as part of my core to protect my stationary artillery.
I use self-propelled AT guns, these suck early on and is a burden. But later they turn into jagdpanthers which are very good and cheap.
Level bombers i used heaps off in PG, but here they dont seem to have the same usage.
I do have one as a ship destroyer.
I keep reading that strategic bombers are great for destroying fuel and ammo, but the game doesn't tell me when I succeed in doing this. I bomb a city, and if I'm lucky, I'll "neutralize" it, which is great. Otherwise, nothing much seems to happen. Does the game give us feedback on when we decrease enemy fuel/ammo stocks? If not, could it do so? Perhaps a little "-5 ammo/-4 fuel" text blurb (like the "-4" we see now in combat) when we bomb?
Problem is they can re-supply in one turn.Grotius wrote:I keep reading that strategic bombers are great for destroying fuel and ammo, but the game doesn't tell me when I succeed in doing this. I bomb a city, and if I'm lucky, I'll "neutralize" it, which is great. Otherwise, nothing much seems to happen. Does the game give us feedback on when we decrease enemy fuel/ammo stocks? If not, could it do so? Perhaps a little "-5 ammo/-4 fuel" text blurb (like the "-4" we see now in combat) when we bomb?
So you can keep bombing all you want, its gonna make little or no differense.
Must have recon to "see".
Must have one Strategic Bomber to soften up enemy AA at defensive points, so that your Tac air can safely get into blast artillery and other stuff.
AT is a waste, IMO.
AA is kind of a waste too, except the dual-purpose 88mm AA unit can come in handy as an AT when your early tanks are too wimpy.
The problem with dedicated AT and AA is they do not fight often enough; they sort of have to wait for the enemy to come to them. If you have units "not fighting" very often, they are wasting a slot. This is why air is so valuable, because air (weather permitting) it gets in and fights almost every frickin' round and can zig zag all over the map.
(One thing that would make AT and AA more acceptable would be if it could "set up" immediately after moving if it made no attacks that turn. So you could get it into position at least.)
Must have one Strategic Bomber to soften up enemy AA at defensive points, so that your Tac air can safely get into blast artillery and other stuff.
AT is a waste, IMO.
AA is kind of a waste too, except the dual-purpose 88mm AA unit can come in handy as an AT when your early tanks are too wimpy.
The problem with dedicated AT and AA is they do not fight often enough; they sort of have to wait for the enemy to come to them. If you have units "not fighting" very often, they are wasting a slot. This is why air is so valuable, because air (weather permitting) it gets in and fights almost every frickin' round and can zig zag all over the map.
(One thing that would make AT and AA more acceptable would be if it could "set up" immediately after moving if it made no attacks that turn. So you could get it into position at least.)
Heh. But I can't even tell whether I'm stripping a city or units of supply -- the game doesn't tell me, does it?Problem is they can re-supply in one turn.
So you can keep bombing all you want, its gonna make little or no differense.
I didn't realize Strategic Bombers were useful in this role. They are particularly effective against anti-aircraft units? Should I be sending them to attack AA?Must have one Strategic Bomber to soften up enemy AA at defensive points
I understand that Strategic Bombers are useful against enemy shipping, but is there any other reason to have them?
Strategic Bombers suppress targets, making them less effective. They also deplete a target's ammo and fuel. Best way to take a city, IMO, is to us a Strategic Bomber before attacking with infantry. And for dealing with AA, yes, they sort of take the bite out of AA.Grotius wrote:Heh. But I can't even tell whether I'm stripping a city or units of supply -- the game doesn't tell me, does it?Problem is they can re-supply in one turn.
So you can keep bombing all you want, its gonna make little or no differense.
I didn't realize Strategic Bombers were useful in this role. They are particularly effective against anti-aircraft units? Should I be sending them to attack AA?Must have one Strategic Bomber to soften up enemy AA at defensive points
I understand that Strategic Bombers are useful against enemy shipping, but is there any other reason to have them?
Grotius, texican makes a very good point. Think of strat bombers as like aerial artillery. They don't cause a lot of kills, but do suppress the enemy which makes them easier for your ground units. Personally, I don't usually send them after AA, I use artillery for that so the bombers don't take much damage. Then, send in strat and tac bombers afterwards with the offensive ground units finishing the job.
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Well, you simply hover the mouse over the enemy units and look at the stats panel on the left. Of course, if your plane is already above the unit, use the toggle air/ground button.Grotius wrote:Heh. But I can't even tell whether I'm stripping a city or units of supply -- the game doesn't tell me, does it?
After attacking, you compare the difference. The number of suppressed units is written in blue and it is deducted from the units strength. This means that those suppressed units will not fire back during, very important, the next direct ground attack (suppressed units accumulate when attacking with air or artillery units).
The ideal attack against entrenched enemy units is something like this:Grotius wrote: I didn't realize Strategic Bombers were useful in this role. They are particularly effective against anti-aircraft units? Should I be sending them to attack AA?
- strategic bomber (already above the enemy unit when the turn begins) attacks and moves away.
- tactical bomber moves into the hex and attacks.
- artillery attacks.
up to this point you stacked suppression and, most likely, also manages to kill several units. You have a high chance that all the remaining enemy units will not be able to fire back, so 0% chance of casualties for you.
- infantry (pioneers) attack while 1 or 2 units are next to the enemy (mass attack mechanic is in place)
Strategic bombers are very resilient and can attack an AA position with minimum or no casualties. AA are dangerous to tanks and infantry, so they must be suppressed prior to the ground attack.
All good advice except you don't need a mass attack bonus if all the enemy is suppressed! Mass attack just reduces your opponents initiative AFAIKDreadWing wrote:Well, you simply hover the mouse over the enemy units and look at the stats panel on the left. Of course, if your plane is already above the unit, use the toggle air/ground button.Grotius wrote:Heh. But I can't even tell whether I'm stripping a city or units of supply -- the game doesn't tell me, does it?
After attacking, you compare the difference. The number of suppressed units is written in blue and it is deducted from the units strength. This means that those suppressed units will not fire back during, very important, the next direct ground attack (suppressed units accumulate when attacking with air or artillery units).
The ideal attack against entrenched enemy units is something like this:Grotius wrote: I didn't realize Strategic Bombers were useful in this role. They are particularly effective against anti-aircraft units? Should I be sending them to attack AA?
- strategic bomber (already above the enemy unit when the turn begins) attacks and moves away.
- tactical bomber moves into the hex and attacks.
- artillery attacks.
up to this point you stacked suppression and, most likely, also manages to kill several units. You have a high chance that all the remaining enemy units will not be able to fire back, so 0% chance of casualties for you.
- infantry (pioneers) attack while 1 or 2 units are next to the enemy (mass attack mechanic is in place)
Strategic bombers are very resilient and can attack an AA position with minimum or no casualties. AA are dangerous to tanks and infantry, so they must be suppressed prior to the ground attack.
Thanks for the replies. I do routinely check for suppression after I hit the enemy with arty or aicraft fire; I just don't see much suppression with my early-war strategic bombers. I just upgraded, though, so maybe it will improve.
Now *that* is an excellent idea! I should've thought of that. Thanks!"L" Hot key after engaging in a strategic bomber attack (or any battle really) will provide you exact details on supplies destroyed.
I have 2 Strat bombers in my core, dont have any AA or Recon and don't intend to get any (I just dont see a use for them, my fighters provide air defense and the extra 1 hex of spotting just doesn't seem worthwhile to me) But I am thinking about getting some SPATs...though I may just settle for more tanks
Are you talking about the recons? Their job is not just the extra spotting - their big strength is moving in multiple steps and going through the zone of control of enemies.Horseman wrote:I just dont see a use for them, my fighters provide air defense and the extra 1 hex of spotting just doesn't seem worthwhile to me
Yes I was talkign about recons...Korrigan wrote:Are you talking about the recons? Their job is not just the extra spotting - their big strength is moving in multiple steps and going through the zone of control of enemies.Horseman wrote:I just dont see a use for them, my fighters provide air defense and the extra 1 hex of spotting just doesn't seem worthwhile to me
In a different thread I've already mentioned this, the moving through zones of control/moving in stages does not seem like a worthwhile trade off to me...against the AI I'd far rather have the extra combat power of course when I up the difficulty level or start playing against a human opponent I might change my mind