Order of battle - Combat Mechanics!!

[sandymaniac]

Dear All,

I am a new player, and found the game fascinating. I need help in totally understanding combat mechanics. Just like we have detailed in Unity of command manual. How are casualties on either side calculated, how experience, terrain, entrenchment and efficiency contributes to it. I know there is some randomising, but understanding thew same will help in better enjoyment.

If it has already been answered please redirect it to the topic.

[bru888]

Welcome, Sandy!

Although there are tons of threads on such topics, the search will be exhausting. The most concise summary of combat mechanics is still to be found in the game manual. That should be available with the installation and perhaps a click on the game menu but if for some reason it is not, I have uploaded a copy of it here on my Google Drive:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1JrTL_ ... cLMgwwzA9i

The manual has not been updated in a long while but everything is still pertinent with one exception: naval combat. That was updated a few years ago and a summary of the changes can be found here:

viewtopic.php?f=264&t=76808

[sandymaniac]

Thanks bru.
But the amount of causalities how is it computed on either side a matrix of some factors might be of great help. I am willing to dive in the game and buy all DLC's but without understanding the same it is proving a hurdle for me to fully embrace the game.
The combat mechanics in manual is just no enough

[bru888]

Hmm. Then you might want to search these forums, Sandy. Somebody may have done such work at some time. Good luck.

[timberwolf15]

Dear All,

I am a new player, and found the game fascinating. I need help in totally understanding combat mechanics. Just like we have detailed in Unity of command manual. How are casualties on either side calculated, how experience, terrain, entrenchment and efficiency contributes to it. I know there is some randomising, but understanding thew same will help in better enjoyment.

If it has already been answered please redirect it to the topic.

In my opinion much of combat pertains to Efficiency, Terrain, Entrenchment, and Supply. These topics quickly allow you to figure out how casualties on each side are calculated BUT not exactly BUT knowing these concepts and how they relate to each other will prevent you from having to do mathematical calculations each turn. Finally, if I remember to I will get into some of the math stuff sort of.

Supply is simple make sure each turn your units stay in supply or you are screwed - if not in supply - you have to waste time and effort moving other units around to rescue the out of supply unit(s).

So let's first look at some concepts in the manual - (Efficiency, Terrain, Entrenchment)
Consider EFFICIENCY below:

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Ok I messed up it repeated the pics but anyway notice every single thing it says about efficiency - Efficiency affects unit combat more than anything else lack of supply lowers it substantially, Terrain ! and Entrenchment !! cause Efficiency to DECREASE LESS after combat IF you are in good terrain and have entrenchment. Do not get overly focused on entrenchment though this is good primarily for DEFENSE. Realize what happens with varying levels of efficiency just read and reread what the manual says about it.

[timberwolf15]

Ok Great now lets look at Terrain

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This pic hear has about 1000 different things to consider regarding combat but first let's focus on terrain. You can click on a map hex to figure out the terrain you are in - in addition to simply observing .. uh, ... what terrain you are in. Infantry unit A is in clear terrain they are considered screwed at this point. They are in open ground and a tank not only can see them is next to them wheeee. Open ground has no cover so when they are attacked their EFFICIENCY will go down more so than in would in any other terrain - (except for maybe swamp or on a river hex - being in a river hex is very precarious ) so they get attacked their efficiency goes down a lot since they are in open terrain then they cannot mount as good an attack on their next attack turn nor even if they do not attack they can get even depleted more if they get attacked again because their efficiency went down. Infantry unit B this unit cannot even get attacked by the tank Woo Hooo !!! so again its great to know about combat values but ALSO great to know about TERRAIN and efficiency - Infantry unit B is in DENSE FOREST Tanks cannot attack into dense forest this knowledge can give you many benefits. If an infantry unit is about wiped out and near a bunch of armor or even 1 armor that is after it dive into the forest hex and strengthen the unit - remembering you can strengthen the unit AFTER you move OR before you move (which cancels the ability to move that turn) OTHER infantry units planes ect. though can still attack it. ALSO very important you can attack the tank with an infantry unit in a forest hex BUT then if you do this the tank can THEN attack you BUT since you are in this type of hex rather than OPEN Terrain you will fair better. So therefore also focus on terrain - Mountains are great for infantry to be in especially when being attacked by tanks the tank can attack but the infantry has some good defensive terrain there - Regular Forest is also good get into it rather than running around in the open terrain. So point is consider the Terrain.
Now let's consider this pic below

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This is the same exact pic above but Infantry B in the Dense woods has been clicked on notice the white outline and is thinking about attacking the tank. BECAUSE infantry B is NOT next to Infantry A but is in a hex at an angle sort of or one hex away or more anyway this is also in the manual but infantry A gives a combat bonus to this attack this is quickly seen by the BLUE hex thing. A RED hex thing will show up when you attack something in this same type of situation such as a plane attacks a unit and an AA unit is near the unit etc. So again, if infantry A in dense woods attacks the tank the tanks efficiency will go down. ALSO remember the tank can then attack this infantry back. Should the infantry in the open terrain attack the tank .. nope because its in open terrain it should skedadle out of their - Actually the AT gun should attack the tank BUT WAIT - if the tank Attacks a unit that has an AT gun next to it the tank is screwed the manual has a fancy name for this "Defensive Fire Support"

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So remember the unit must be adjacent - you can have up to 3 participating - this is why when you see an infantry sitting there and your tank sitting there and you think woo hoo and attack if you cannot see ALL of the hexes next to this unit you may be in for a surprise. So therefor Terrain AND Positioning of your units is good to know too.

[timberwolf15]

Learn this about Entrenchment

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Remember even though you are frustrated having your entrenched unit being attacked all the time and even though a weakened unit is sitting there right next to it - it may be better to just strengthen your unit up rather than attacking the unit and lowering some of your entrenchment. It is important to know it lowers it and does not eliminate it (the units entrenchment) UNLESS it was already way low to begin with. Again, do not get hung up on wasting time entrenching your units especially if you are suppose to be attacking consider the TERRAIN around your units good terrain is for a lack of better words instant entrenchment.
There are ways to determine a units entrenchment value and efficiency value - your arty as it fires and fires looses efficiency you may want to skip a turn firing on something to let the efficiency build back up some ... why ... so that when it does fire it is more effective - Efficiency - again, - is one of the keys. This also means if you are planning an attack plan also to have your arty units or at least some of them rested as your attacking rather than they are all worn out and now you want to attack something....

[timberwolf15]

ok now let's get into the math of it all:
Back to Terrain here is a value thing

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you find out this info by clicking on a particular terrain hex you want to figure this out about and then click on the small i thing it will be shown in another pic below then if you can figure out these numbers - I still do not understand them its probably simple but to me its confusing cause clicking on other terrain types seem to contradict these values or maybe not maybe its just me ...
Here is the small i thing to click on regarding terrain hexes to get this info

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ok main thing though is the UNIT info you can instantly see when you click on a unit.

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The thing that looks like a battery this is the efficiency number it more less changes each turn depending on what the unit does. If we had attacked the tank with the AT gun this would have greatly lowered its EFFICIENCY more so than if the infantry unit attacked it - more than likely especially if it is a decent AT gun. So even if an infantry may kill say 3 of the tank the AT gun may have killed less than 3 but its efficiency may have dropped more Or using AT against a tank as oppose to infantry drops it more. ARTY before the attack can drop it then you attack it .. so you can click on units all the time and check this number .. THE SHOVEL is the Entrenchment value again you can see this decrease when you get attacked and if you attack when a unit is entrenched... So back to Terrain if an infantry unit is in forest hex and arty hits it then its efficiency will drop but less so than if it was in open terrain and more so than if it was in mountain terrain ... So focus on Terrain, Efficiency, Supply, Unit Placement for Defensive Fire Support - Remember you can move a unit THEN strengthen it. At times you will see where you can move a unit but ONE of YOUR units are on the hex it can move to you see this by the lighted hexes so you would maybe FIRST move the unit that is "in the way" then move your wounded unit strengthen it and then move some other unit perhaps to protect it woo hooo !!!