1943....east of Stalingrad.....ver 1.09

[bshirt73]

major problem with supplies.....even with Blomberg as chief of army (-15% supplies) & completed front line supplies & repair some time ago my advance into deep Russia has come to a complete stop.

My transport capacity is wayyyyy in the red with about 1500/900. Ouch!

I just don't know what to do and would be grateful for your advice. Thank you!!

 

[Simon1397]

Hi, couple of pointers:

Do you have all the logistical techs researched to date? These increase TC and reduce attrition.

There are Chiefs of Staff who also increase TC by 5% - use them to increase load.

You probably have too many units, particularly tanks, in the field. Once your approaching the Urals you really only need armour, mechanised or motorised infantry and any commando outfits.

Pause your advance, make changes to your ministers and tech research. Send some your infantry home or onto garrison duty in West Soviet Union. Reduce any dissent to zero and then push forward.

Hope you find that useful.

 

[Simon1397]

PS. TC capacity is a function of IC, it is one and a half times your IC (subject to modifiers) so use your industry minister to increase IC by 10% will have a corresponding increase in TC. This is subject to you having enough rares/metal.

 

[bshirt73]

Oh yeah, I've got about 90% of all my forces way, way east of Stalingrad. Aha.....ok, you bet I'll try it. I'll get the 10% industry minister & whoever chief of staff who will increase my TC. Great idea! Dissent is at zero & yes I've already researched the logistic techs. Thank you Simon1397!!!

 

[bshirt73]

I can't seem to find a Chiefs of Staff who also increase TC by 5% ......could you please give me one of their names? Maybe I'm just blind.

Thank you!!

 

[Simon1397]

Try Carl von Schubert or Albert Praun.

These are Head of Intelligence ministers. Apologies if I may of mislead you earlier.

 

[bshirt73]

oh yes......I got it now. Thank you so very much!

 

[Pang Bingxun]

PS. TC capacity is a function of IC, it is one and a half times your IC (subject to modifiers) so use your industry minister to increase IC by 10% will have a corresponding increase in TC. This is subject to you having enough rares/metal.

That really is the most important consideration. It is imperative to increase effective ic to about 700 at the start of barbarossa. 700 effective ic give you 700 x 1.5 x 1.3 = 1365 available tc with 1942 logistics and some ministers give you a bonus on that. Effective ic however is very much limited by available resources, most notably rare_materials. So instead of +10% ic you might choose +5% resource production or +10% tc as your armanent ministers. It really can be struggle there.

One way to deal with the problem is to delay barbarossa into 1942. What good is an early start of barbarossa if the logistics stop you later anyway?

My transport capacity is wayyyyy in the red with about 1500/900

Some tc overload, especially temporary ones, can be quite acceptable. If your available tc were 1365 x 1.05 = 1433.25, than a tc load of 1500 or even 1800 could be within tolerance. The later would reduce ese by 20.4%, the earlier by only 4.5%, but 1500/900 reduces it by 40%.

even with Blomberg as chief of army (-15% supplies)

That ministers can be really helpful. It reduces tc load from supplies by those 15% and it reduces supply consumption, both increase the current supply stockpile / maximum supply stockpile ratio. That ratio determines the combat malus from logistics.

In the early phase of barbarossa you might be more interested in the combat boni from another chief of army. After that you might want to avoid the dissent from a ministers change and the 60 day without any advantage from your chief of army are also best avoided. As a great deal of your tc load might not be caused by supply consumption, but by oil consumption, occupied territory and partisans the advantages of a ministers change diminish even further. The ministers type is a very good choice for Soviet Union and China, for germany it is not unless you created an army of 150 to 180 Mtn1941-Art1940. If you want to beat soviet union in winter warfare you are very well off with this minister that combines very nicely with offensive supplies for your Bergsjaegers.

Once the bulk of the red army is beaten you can let up to 2/3 of your army rest. That greatly reduces the tc load. 90 Arm1943-SpArt1943 cause a tc load of 1395 during combat, 1030.5 during movement and 409.5 during rest. So one third in combat and 2/3 at rest will cause a tc load of "only" 738.

 

[bshirt73]

Hi Pang! Hmmmm...delay barbarossa until 1942......oh boy, what an idea! That's a very tempting thought (as usual from you). Thank you sir!!

 

[Commander666]

All the above advice is good. But the other reason your TC is so terrible is because of very poor infrastructure. Infra largely determines Effective Supply Efficiency (ESE), which directly relates to TC LOAD. The problem is both:
a) not enough TC (Transport Capacity) - increased by higher IC and some techs
b) too much TC LOAD - reduced by increasing infrastructure to increase the ESE, and diminishing army size/activity to reduce the demand.

If you recall, you did not have that massive TC problem when you were fighting the Soviets at the Polish border. But as you progressed into very low infra provinces, then your TC became unmanageable. That should be a clue as to the root cause of the problem (which is low infra) with all the other things being remedies of how to keep fighting over low infra.

Sure, do all already mentioned - increase IC, pick the right ministers, and - most importantly - reduce your army size/activity. But I would also suggest returning to 1936, and building infra so Berlin is at 200%, also a line to Rostock at 200% to give a "maximum ESE outlet", Konigsberg at 200%, and from Berlin thru Breslau also 200%. Then - with Poland annexed, you build infra there so you have 200% infra continuous from Berlin to Polish border (or as high as you can reasonably get it when Barbarossa starts). What happens after Barbarossa, and how further infra construction should be selectively undertaken to follow conquest, is another story.

 

[Mr_B0narpte]

Revolt risk also takes up a lot of TC. Puppeting nations is a great strategy generally - but also because it removes the revolt risk from all 'liberated' provinces. I.e. puppeting Ukraine, Serbia, Wallonia, Flanders etc would all help reduce the revolt risk (while also giving you some useful puppets). However you receive between 2.5 and 5% dissent for each puppet you create, so it will temporarily have a negative effect - but in the medium & long term it will pay off.

 

[bshirt73]

Thank you

All the above advice is good. But the other reason your TC is so terrible is because of very poor infrastructure. Infra largely determines Effective Supply Efficiency (ESE), which directly relates to TC LOAD. The problem is both:
a) not enough TC (Transport Capacity) - increased by higher IC and some techs
b) too much TC LOAD - reduced by increasing t infrastructureo increase the ESE, and diminishing army size/activity to reduce the demand.

If you recall, you did not have that massive TC problem when you were fighting the Soviets at the Polish border. But as you progressed into very low infra provinces, then your TC became unmanageable. That should be a clue as to the root cause of the problem (which is low infra) with all the other things being remedies of how to keep fighting over low infra.

Sure, do all already mentioned - increase IC, pick the right ministers, and - most importantly - reduce your army size/activity. But I would also suggest returning to 1936, and building infra so Berlin is at 200%, also a line to Rostock at 200% to give a "maximum ESE outlet", Konigsberg at 200%, and from Berlin thru Breslau also 200%. Then - with Poland annexed, you build infra there so you have 200% infra continuous from Berlin to Polish border (or as high as you can reasonably get it when Barbarossa starts). What happens after Barbarossa, and how further infra construction should be selectively undertaken to follow conquest, is another story.

Thank you so very much Commander666.

Sadly, I don't have a clue how to reduce my army size/activity when east of Stalingrad. The Soviet Union's army is still big (despite slaughtering endless divisions). I've tried initially to do everything possible we've discussed such as building factories everywhere and the right ministers. That does help for sure!

But yet once again, in late 1942, after conquering Stalingrad, Moscow & Leningrad......it's time to head east for their rares & oil. Everything is Hunky Dory until I steamroll into Saratov, Syzran, Gorkij and so on. Heh....then it's disaster again. No supplies for my whole army. Grrrrr....

So, it seems the next strategy could be increasing infrastructure to increase the ESE, correct? Hmmmm....I already do 200% for Berlin. But Rostock & Konigsburg? And Berlin through Breslau? Ok, I can do that!

But what then? Increase infrastructure through to Stalingrad?? It would be spendy as heck. But having some reasonable supplies eastward is absolutely essential.

Thanks again Commander666! I greatly appreciate your insights.

 

[Pang Bingxun]

But what then? Increase infrastructure through to Stalingrad?? It would be spendy as heck.

But that would be needed. All better ESE from higher Infra at pre war borders will vanish within 2 provinces of lower Infra. Increasing Infra till past Stalingrad will either take very long or require high spending. Both options are best avoided as is any tc-overload over significant amounts of time.

Sadly, I don't have a clue how to reduce my army size/activity when east of Stalingrad.

The key is to reduce the enemy army size long before you are east of Stalingrad. The first weeks of the war are not about "gaining" ground, they are about reducing the size of the red army to below 50 divisions. Once this is achieved ground is to be gained, then you need to truely rush to Swerdlovsk. Else you risk being outproduced by soviet union. In AoD 1.09 the amount of divisions soviet union may produce per week is rather high.

From the situation you are in it is a bit harder to proceed. One approach is to fall back in order to change TC and ESE into your favour. Another approach is to fight a war of attrition at current borders. For that you must avoid to advance any further. Your land divisions must attack any enemy land division to make them retreat. Your land divisions must not persue them, they must stop immediatly to minimize tc-load and be refueled and resupplied. Your TAC and CAS will then do bloody hunting against any retreating divisions. Ground attack missions will reduce their strenght until somewhen soviet union runs out of manpower. Soviet union has a lot of manpower.


For a proper analyses of your situation a savegame would be helpful. From what you tell you might be close before winning barbarossa or are already losing it. That is quite a range of possibilities to cover by guesswork.

 

[bshirt73]

Hi Pang!

Oh, I would "love" to send you a savegame and get your insight. However, could I bother you for your email address? I can't seem to find it here. Mine is bshirt1983@gmail.com. While 1.08 is easy as pie I've having problems in River City with 1.09.

Thank you sir!

 

[Commander666]

...send you a savegame... ... ... your email address? ... While 1.08 is easy as pie I've having problems in River City with 1.09.

Letting others look at your save game is an excellent idea. However, are you able to upload the file to a storage place (like Drop Box which is free) and then post the link here for us to access the file? Publishing your email address in this forum is likely to give you much spam; and people are rightly hesitant about giving out their email address here.

What is River City?

Please check that all your army units have "Prioritized" checked (the star at bottom left when clicking on stack should be green)... although it sounds like possibly there are deeper problems with your conquest.

I've tried initially to do everything possible we've discussed such as building factories everywhere. That does help for sure!

I suggested building infrastructure - not factories! Is yours a typo? If not, kill the factories and make sure you are building lots of supplies. How much is your supply stockpile and is it in the green?

Building infrastructure may be needed but that is a long term solution. This is not the time to worry about it.

Sadly, I don't have a clue how to reduce my army size/activity when east of Stalingrad.... ... ...

Umh... try stopping all your units - everywhere! Cancel all battles. Only move up a few units if needed to plug any existing gap in your lines. Also, ground your air force. Only if attacked should you react to stop the attack asap using air force and moving in reinforcements. Your first priority is getting supplies to the whole army which should be no problem unless something deficient in your supply stockpile. Next step will be moving some of your army (probably moving infantry back for partisan control) to see if that still keeps everybody supplied.

No supplies for my whole army. Grrrrr....

How do you know you are out of supplies? Might it be you are out of oil? Please detail precisely.

There are 4 types of basic supply readings:

1) The supplies stockpile in your capital. How much is your daily supplies (mouse over the supply icon next to supply slider and read the top - Daily Change. Insure you are building enough to keep that positive and maintain a stockpile size of over 1000 always.

2) The army division (unit) states OUT OF SUPPLY. That is serious. Cause during Barbarossa is usually a unit being surrounded - or no supplies in your capital stockpile.

3) Each unit carries it own onboard supply; read the horizontal brown bar. That not being full is normal and not serious unless empty or not recovering.

4) During combat display, scroll over units and read "lack of supply" figure. That is normal but is a negative modifier to combat and seriously will prevent winning when the number gets past -5, and can cause instant elimination of unit if it hits -25. Solution - stop combat.

When replying, please be specific to help nail down your problem. Be assured it is not v1.09

To summarize, please give us your readings for size of supply stockpile, size of your oil stockpile, daily supplies building, average onboard supplies carried, average onboard oil carried, which units where exactly state OUT OF SUPPLY, what is your TC, and how much your provincial repairs needed? Also, it will help if you can more or less detail where about is your frontline (or post screen shot) and how many divisions are committed to your Barbarossa and include breakdown (# of MOTs, MECH, ARM, INF, CAV).

The gist of it is this: Given the terrain between your units and Berlin, only so much supply can move each day. That is reduced by revolt risk and low infra resulting in poor ESE. With poor ESE units can not take up all that is needed in new supplies each day, so their on board stockpile will decrease (unless they rest).

Solution to keep the units moving is to repair provinces quickly and do partisan control so more supplies can pass everyday. However, if your supply demand is too high (by running too big an army or too many battles at same time) then supplies run short of demand so giving you increased TC overload and a lessening of onboard stockpiles.

Of course, if Berlin is deficient in building enough supplies, that is the problem. But likely it is just too big an army moving too fast over bad terrain; and the fix is improving the terrain (province repairs and lessening revolt risk by units doing suppression) and reducing the war. Don't run any navy. Minimize air use. Limit yourself to no more that a dozen divisions moving or fighting at any time until you get the problem fixed.

EDITED: to draw attention to also checking the oil stockpile. I am guessing that your problem is either you are out of oil, or you not building enough daily supplies, or your units have just been run for too long - and need to be rested so they can replenish their onboard oil/supply stockpiles. This will take longer to do if low infra/high partisan territory between them and Berlin. That units be prioritized is critical.

 

[bshirt73]

here we go commander666......

oh crap.....it says "The uploaded file does not have an allowed extension." grrrrrrrr.......something wrong with the "eug" extension?

 

[Pang Bingxun]

oh crap.....it says "The uploaded file does not have an allowed extension." grrrrrrrr.......something wrong with the "eug" extension?

You need to compress it first. zip, rar and 7z are accepted formats.

 

[bshirt73]

oh boy.....it says it can't send that extension. geeeeshhhhhh

 

[bshirt73]

oh yeah.....ok! Very good....

 

[bshirt73]

oh God.....I can't get the bloody email thing to work. Please forgive me for the hassle Commander666. I'll just skip to 1.10 I think. Again.......so sorry my kind sir.