• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Defend? An island? With marines!?

Marines are offensive. And expensive. Engineers, well, only give defence bonuses in certain terrain types. And they're expensive too.

Islands are better defended by either garrisons (if you feel you can afford the leadership, doesn’t care if they have obsolete techs or play a mod which helps with the former) or plain infantry. 2Gar or 2Inf should do the trick most of the time.

Well, the plan was to have a powerful island defence that can be used after the IJN have been sunk to retake islands...

Now, I have a rather strange problem : I started to pump out divisions as the USA, but I can't merge them ? Are divisions operating alone in HOI3 (like they should...)
 
Also, you won't be able to merge divisions if the total number of brigades exceede 4, or 5 with the appropriate tech (land doctrine, can't remember name)
 
- When you select an Air Superiority / Air Intercept missions, you only get to select one Province. How do you effectively defend against a host of bomber attacks ?
- In your experience which is more effective Air Superiority or Air Intercept ? Situational?
- How many Air units do you place together in the same "bridge" ?
 
- When you select an Air Superiority / Air Intercept missions, you only get to select one Province. How do you effectively defend against a host of bomber attacks ?

If you look at the area selection bit, you can select multiple provinces using that.

- In your experience which is more effective Air Superiority or Air Intercept ? Situational?

I wish I knew.

- How many Air units do you place together in the same "bridge" ?

I use two or three per group. The extra planes make the group more effective without sacrificing too much in efficiency to the stacking penalty.
 
It is my understanding that this is supposed to reduce overstacking but don't know what "+5%"actually means in real terms.
 
Great Thread.

What is the best way to re-oraganize all of your Bridges, Corps and Armies inot what you what from what they have at the start of the game ? I have used several methods, all of them very time consuming
 
If you play the same country(ies) a lot mod the history/unit/country.txt files to match your desired OOB. I am in the process of doing that for Germany. It is easy and does not take long. The key is opening the game and writing down which units need to go where in the OOB.
 
In your experience which is more effective Air Superiority or Air Intercept ? Situational?

I have to say air intercept. Granted, I'm a micromanager, but whether I'm intercepting strategic bombers behind the lines or TACs and CAS at the front, I want my planes to intercept immediatly. If you leave it up to air superiority they might not catch the bombers until after they've done their damage (a half a dozen times). The same goes for my planes being intercepted by super stacks. Having a squadron or four ready to join a stack-off means using air intercept. This can be very micro-intensive however, so staggering groups of fighters on air superiority should achieve the same result, albeit more slowly.
 
Great Thread.

What is the best way to re-oraganize all of your Bridges, Corps and Armies inot what you what from what they have at the start of the game ? I have used several methods, all of them very time consuming

You could always start a game, set up your oob, save your game and then make subsequent new games from that save.
 
- When you select an Air Superiority / Air Intercept missions, you only get to select one Province. How do you effectively defend against a host of bomber attacks ?
- In your experience which is more effective Air Superiority or Air Intercept ? Situational?
- How many Air units do you place together in the same "bridge" ?

(1) to Defend a larger area than a single province:
The province you initially click on when you select your air mission is the center of your patrol zone. If you do nothing further
- your mission is for that single province. You have the option to select a larger mission zone in the shape of (A) a circle
(expanding out from the province you clicked on) and you use the mileage slider to define the size of the radius ; (B) you
may also select a larger mission zone in the shape of a cone which expands outward from the province you select. You can
then define the length of the "cone" and also how "wide" of a cone you wish.

- In your experience which is more effective Air Superiority or Air Intercept ?

Air Intercept missions receive bonuses to their air attack. Air superiority missions drastically increase your intercept chance.
I use both: Set one interceptor wing to continuous air superiority over an area - to "catch" everything in that space, then
set a second interceptor squadron to respond to intercept requests issued by the original air superiority mission.

If you want your air squadron organization to last longer, use two pairs of air wings for each mission type and split them into
"day" and "night" superiority and intercept mission - that way they have 12 hrs to regain org before flying the next mission.

What is the best Air group size ?

If you use this method of both Air Sup and Air Intercept mission over the same space - realize
that BOTH of these groups will be in the same air battle.
Rule number one - NEVER ever have more than four air wings in an air battle (because of
stacking penalty): so create Air Superiority and Air Intercept groups of two wings each.

In an air battle a group of your planes that has (4) wings in it will kill enemy groups of 6 to 10
wings because of the inefficiency imposed on the enemy thru the stacking penalty.

The only air battle type in which you may "safely" exceed 4 wings are Carrier planes on CAG duty
 
Last edited:
I have the gnarly feeling that until it's completely abstracted, my B-29 will take an hell out of a beating.....

Hearts of Iron III: Semper Fi v2.04d
If you (buy) use the "common weapons" mod there is a long range escort fighter type available to each of the major powers -
after you reasearch in the Air technology tree "twin engine aircraft design"