Why use the Bridge Layer Unit?

[jdarocha]

The Bridge Layer (tank) unit has just become available in a scenario I am playing. I am reluctant to purchase it because the Engineer unit can accomplish the same goal with a longer range. So why bother with the Bridge Layer at all??
Thanks
Halder

[captainjack]

Bridge Engineers have two important features.
First if they move into a river hex, other units can cross over the river (though they can't stop on the bridge unit and suffer the relevant move penalties for the terrain on each side. Bridge layer tanks also have this ability. This allows faster crossing with lower risk for a normal river (since normal units have to spend a whole move crossing otherwise). It also menas you can cross major rivers (which can't otherwise be crossed away from bridges).
Second, they don't suffer a combat penalty for attacking from a river or when attacked and in a river. Standard bridge laying tanks don't have attacks, so only the defensive aspect matters.

Some other points.
They work just as well for bridging when they have no experience, so you can normally use green reinforcements and disband between scenarios.
For attacking across rivers, some experience can be useful.
Consider giving them the fastest transport available, as they are no use if they are lagging behind your other troops.
There is no 43 upgrade in the standard game so they become very limited from 43 onwards.

Pioneers and engineers have special benefits when attacking fortifications and entrenched units but have no special skills for river crossings - of course you can create special bridge/assault engineers if you want to, just as it's not that hard to create a 43 Bridge Engineer unit.

[proline]

The benefit of the tank over a bridge engineer is minimal. You get improved defense, but you still have to protect them a lot as they die easy to mechanized anti-tank. They cost more, and they move slower than the fastest available transports. While bridge engineers have minimal attack, tanks have none at all.

Overall bridging is pretty weak in PzC. Because they are weak, they need to travel behind the front lines in contested areas. This means that you need to fight your way to the river, then wait two turns to move them next to the river and then onto it. Once placed, they can be nullified by having one enemy unit on the other side touching them so no units can cross. In that time, you could often fight your way across at a city or whatever. They would be a lot stronger if they could move onto a river from further away from it in one turn, or if they could leave a bridge behind and move elsewhere. As they are, they have uses in certain scenarios but I don't use them much. Killing them helps you win certain Eastern front scenarios which can be kind of fun.

[captainjack]

Bridgies would be much more use if they only used part of their move to enter minor rivers. It seems quite reasonable to spend a whole turn for a major river crossing, but maybe 2 (or at max 3) hexes for a normal river would eliminate the annoying case where you are one hex from a river, but have to move next to it before you can cross it. Since this takes two turns, you will often be better off just taking the risk of walking across and being caught in the water.

Do any of the more advanced modders know if changing the table of terrain effects on movement could do this?

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Bridgies would be much more use if they only used part of their move to enter minor rivers. It seems quite reasonable to spend a whole turn for a major river crossing, but maybe 2 (or at max 3) hexes for a normal river would eliminate the annoying case where you are one hex from a river, but have to move next to it before you can cross it. Since this takes two turns, you will often be better off just taking the risk of walking across and being caught in the water.

Do any of the more advanced modders know if changing the table of terrain effects on movement could do this?

It would be possible to get rid of movement penalties on rivers entirely (changing river from -100 to 1, 2 or whatever), but this would affect all units and all minor river hexes (or major river hexes if that was changed instead), not just the ones with Bridge Eng units.

- BNC

[ptje63]

I upgraded an infantry unit with +1 movement and +1 attack hero to bridge engineer. It gives extra speed and usefull at the same time for attacking wounded AI units if needed.

[captainjack]

Thanks ptje63 and BiteNibbleChomp:
Inspired, I've spent the last five minutes or so coming up with a heap of ideas that would be perfect, except for one (in some cases two or three) small flaw that would cause a bigger problem.....

[RVallant]

They would also be more useful as 'free' units that don't count towards the deploy cap, OR if there was a unit limit based on unit type if they were classified as spare utility units. Swings and roundabouts I guess.

[Scholomancer]

I personally avoid bridging units if at all possible. Usually scenarios that absolute require bridge units will provide them as auxiliary units.

EDIT: To answer the question directly, there are only a few scenarios where you need one, making this unit a very specific tool for a very specific, and often rare, problem of breaching a super-river or series of smaller rivers.

Usually, if I determine that I need a, or another, bridging unit, I will convert one of my existing infantry in the deployment phase. I then use it for wherever I need it, and then as soon as the bridge is crossed (literally, haha!) I find a town and upgrade it back to something more useful. A little prestige heavy but extremely useful in the few scenarios I've did it in.

The Allied Corps scenario "Cassino Breakthrough" comes most to mind, and I believe both of the Narva mini-campaign scenarios where you have to rescue trapped troops. But again, as soon as the main body of your troops are over the obstacle these units are more of a liability than a help.

[DeMeza]

Bridge engineers allow you to make frontal assaults on victory hexes across water obstacles - also the ones which are well fortified. They also increase the tempo of your whole army, if there are rivers present.

I couldn't have achieved a decisive victory in the Obayan (GC '43) scenario without bridging units. They performed several crossings, allowing me to avoid major enemy concentrations at the bridges. At the northernmost city, they allowed me to perform a flanking manoeuvre west of the city and a frontal assault, simultaneously.

These units are perhaps the most specialized in the game, but because crossing operations are so important to warfare, they are also some of the most important units.