I'm back! More questions (generally about supply in far east SU)

[Saltynuts]

Thanks a ton everyone, especially Pang and the good Commander, for helping me on my last few games several months ago. Took a break, but I'm back, along with more questions!

I'm playing Germany. Stalin sued for peace, but he soon thereafter he broke it, so I'm trying to push the SU out of existence, or puppet them. I've annexed Tuva Tuva and Mongolia. The SU is literally down to 4 or 5 IUs. But they still have some troops.

I'm having trouble getting enough supplies to the east to move my troops at all. In the worst spot its 10% ESE. I've got a 200% infra line running from Berlin to Rostock. I've also liberated almost every nation in between me and where I'm at in the east - including Transural Republic (I think), Siberia, and more.

But supply just doesn't seem to be getting there. I made several garrison units, and stationed them all over where the supply goes from yellow or orange to red (below 20% I think). But they just don't seem to be helping much.

My transportation network is not overworked - barely any units are moving and I'm still way in the black.

Thoughts on how to best increase ESE in those far east provinces so I can finish taking out (or puppeting) the SU? Do I need to spread out garrison units stretching out every province from Berlin to my far east provinces? Seems like a ton.

Note, I was unable to annex and liberate Poland because Hungary apparently did so (I take it to stop this from happening I should assume full military control for all my puppets - Finland annexed all of Sweden and Norway when I took them out lol). I suspect this isn't helping. But I get ESE into the 20s all the way to the far east, which is suffiicient for me to continue my drive east, albiet very slowly. But when I hit the area over there by Mongolia, the ESE drops off into the teens, as low as 10, and I cannot resupply my units for the life of me.

Thanks for any help.

On a different note, what is the ideal make up for a "cheap" surface fleet? Its like 1943, and I'm building lots of heavy subs, which I know will work for awhile. But eventually the allies will build ASW capabilities and crush them. So I want to build a cheap, quick, surface fleet. I know I need some capital ships and smaller ships to screen. What about battlecruiders and destroyers? What ratios?

Thanks!

 

[Saltynuts]

Sorry, forgot one question. My battlescore versus the SU is like 72%. I tried to demand that it become my puppet, as I need 70% to demand that. But the SU has refused several times. Any idea what the percentage change is it agrees, or if there is anything else I can do (other than conquer more of its territories) to increase the odds? Thanks!

 

[Pang Bingxun]

Thoughts on how to best increase ESE in those far east provinces so I can finish taking out (or puppeting) the SU? Do I need to spread out garrison units stretching out every province from Berlin to my far east provinces? Seems like a ton.

This is probably a terrible wrong idea. What you should do is to simply take the last provinces with VP and annex soviet union. The main tool for increasing ESE is to increase Infra and that takes years. Having your troops in nonowned territory with super low ESE in subarticlimate means high losses every week due to attrition. Speed is the key. This is why i like to wait for 1942 logistics and 1943 armoured divisions with speed 15 for taking the far east.

What can help is to liberte puppets, but that should not happen to early. If possible this should not happen till all future provinces of the puppet are controlled by you. That way when liberating the puppet all its national provinces will be owned by it, thus it is friendly territory. Territory not owned by your alliance however results is some minor and some major disadvatages.

On a different note, what is the ideal make up for a "cheap" surface fleet? Its like 1943, and I'm building lots of heavy subs, which I know will work for awhile. But eventually the allies will build ASW capabilities and crush them. So I want to build a cheap, quick, surface fleet. I know I need some capital ships and smaller ships to screen. What about battlecruiders and destroyers? What ratios?

Heavy cruisers with light cruisers as escorts are a cheap combination. But the idea for Germany to aim for a cheap fleet is very wrong. What you need is a strong capable fleet that has a future. This means Carriers.

Sorry, forgot one question. My battlescore versus the SU is like 72%. I tried to demand that it become my puppet, as I need 70% to demand that. But the SU has refused several times. Any idea what the percentage change is it agrees, or if there is anything else I can do (other than conquer more of its territories) to increase the odds? Thanks!

You cannot negotiate peace with a major alliance. You need to annex the soviet union.

 

[Commander666]

In the worst spot its 10% ESE.

There will always be places in northern SU that have very low infra. That does NOT help to understand your situation. What matters is the ESE and revolt risk on the direct line from Berlin, thru Novosibirsk and onwards to your eastern front.

Can you post screen shots of your eastern front in Supply Map Mode and Partisan map mode? One shot of each mode having the map in most small size showing as much as possible extending to your eastern front. Or make it 2 shots per mode to cover the whole area from Berlin to eastern front.

I've got a 200% infra line running from Berlin to Rostock.

That is good but nearly inapplicable to your most eastern front since it seems you do not have Vladivostok so ESE could start new there and run westwards to so supply the area from both ends. The high ESE at Rostock outlet can only help by giving new starting ESE at all coastlines - so you will get good ESE two provinces inland from all targets such as Riga, Leningrad, Murmansk, Archangel, Sevastopol.... and Vladivostok (if you had that). After that overseas ESE is inapplicable. However, Berlin to Rostock at 200 infra does result in Sevastopol becoming the best target and the primary contributor of highest possible ESE reaching the eastern front - and not the ESE from Berlin which dissipates more than the ESE from Sevastopol because of longer distance. In short, you problem is with the overland line to eastern front. I need to study supply mode map to determine exactly where and why.

Did you use any NUKES? They can totally wreck everything.

I've also liberated almost every nation in between me and where I'm at in the east - including Transural Republic (I think), Siberia, and more.

That is excellent. So you should have no revolt risk? But it is very important that you took all provinces for any future puppet and fully repaired them before you liberated any puppet.

But supply just doesn't seem to be getting there. I made several garrison units, and stationed them all over where the supply goes from yellow or orange to red (below 20% I think). But they just don't seem to be helping much.

To check switch to Partisan Map mode. It should be green from berlin to your eastern front. As you did not liberate Poland - every province there must be green using GAR (unless it is somebody's puppet).

Did you liberate Ukraine and Byelorussia? Who else did you liberate past Transural Republic. There are 3-4 more before you reach Siberia puppet. If you liberated them all, you should have zero revolt risk so no effect on your TC. Only Poland makes problem, which needs GAR. So that really isn't many. Can't understand your report without seeing screen shots.

Can you also do screen shots of area in POLITCAL mode as that will confirm if you really have the needed puppets?

My transportation network is not overworked - barely any units are moving and I'm still way in the black.

That is excellent. If your TC is green, then your supply will work at its best possible - determined as to the infra level along the line from Berlin or Sevastopol ESE target.

Thoughts on how to best increase ESE in those far east provinces so I can finish taking out (or puppeting) the SU? Do I need to spread out garrison units stretching out every province from Berlin to my far east provinces? Seems like a ton.

No. If you liberate puppet, there is usually zero revolt risk in that puppet's area (unless puppet has dissent). Nothing needed except ensuring no nukes destroyed the infra - and also that you or puppet has fully repaired every province.

IMPORTANT: DID YOU 100% FIX THE PROVINCE REPAIRS FOR ALL PUPPETS BEFORE YOU LIBERSTED THEM? If not, here's your problem as puppets can take months to fully repair it. Check the infra level in every province for all your puppets.

Note, I was unable to annex and liberate Poland because Hungary apparently did so

Well, did Hungary do so or did it not? Your "apparently" is only confusing. Check Hungary and Poland diplomatic modes to find out what is the situation. Anyway, if Poland is a puppet, you don't need GAR there.

MAYBE YOUR PROBLEM IS YOU HAVE VERY MANY UNITS IN THE DEPLOYMENT POOL - especially airbases? Empty completely your deployment pool. But you state your TC is in the black. Hopefully you mean "in the green". There is no black.

But I get ESE into the 20s all the way to the far east, which is suffiicient for me to continue my drive east, albiet very slowly. But when I hit the area over there by Mongolia, the ESE drops off into the teens, as low as 10, and I cannot resupply my units for the life of me.

Well, now I am vey confused. You give contradictory info. You state " suffiicient for me to continue my drive east" and "I cannot resupply my units for the life of me". The two are opposites.

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS. Pls do screen shots - Political, Supply and Partisan - each mode needs 2 shots with map at smallest zoom to cover the big area fully.

FINALLY, are you advanced in your Supply Techs?

Your solution - provided any of the above points are not messed up - is to stop your army to resupply, and continue only with units that can maintain supply. So no armor, mech or probably even MOTs and CAV. Use only INF and MTN if it really is as bad as it sounds.



Alternately, you might have much better success working the strategy to amphib Vladivostok and head eastwards from there. You only need all remaining Victory provinces to annex SU. Don't think anybody can puppet Stalin.

 

[Commander666]

My battlescore versus the SU is like 72%.

With that low a battle score, something seems very contradictory with your report which indicates you have Siberia. Maybe your Siberia puppet is only very small and you continuing on unrepaired provinces? I'm guessing but think you will discover your problem once you mouse over every conquered SU province to see what the infra is. It needs to be 100% repaired. But if you just liberated nations and left it to the fledgling puppets to repairt it, you made major mistake.

 

[Pang Bingxun]

I'm having trouble getting enough supplies to the east to move my troops at all. In the worst spot its 10% ESE. I've got a 200% infra line running from Berlin to Rostock. I've also liberated almost every nation in between me and where I'm at in the east - including Transural Republic (I think), Siberia, and more.

Once you have liberated Siberia this might be the best piece of advice: Lend your troops as expeditionary forces to Siberia. This way they get the high ESE of Siberia that in Novosibirsk is around 200%. That obviously helps alot. Make sure that Siberia has enough oil to fuel your units and make sure that it has enough resources to fuel its industriy so it can produce enough supplies. Also make sure your units donnot cause more tc load than Siberia can stomach.

The ESE of more or less freshly liberated Puppets like siberia depends on on some decisions by you. Current Infra has an important impact, so repairing it is important. Another impact comes from ic and thus available tc. Repairing factories has an impact, but more important can be that it takes 135 days for provincal efficiency to reach the maximum and this is usually the major limitation on how much tc-load a puppet like Siberia can stomach. Once 75+% of all repairing icd has been paid it is reasonable to liberate a puppet, the remaining icd can easily be paid by the puppet. That does not mean that it willl be paid in the first month of its existence because provincial effiency starts at near zero and thus nothing is paid for repairs. But as ic provincial effiency climbs so does ic and so does does ic put on repairs. One has to weight what suits you most: Liberating more early or repairing more before Liberation. As repairing Infra in provinces with nothing else is rather cheap but repairing of factories and military installations is expensive it is suitble to take provinces with high icd needed for repairing first and repair them fast. The minor repairs can be done by your puppet.

 

[Saltynuts]

Thanks so so much Pang and Commander! I used your latest piece of advice Pang and lent my troops to Siberia (and other liberated countries way to the east) and it worked like a charm. I had to often give those puppets some supplies, but that is no big deal.

I have tons of follow-up questions on these various issues, but I'll start a few different threads since they fall into different categories so they are more organized for everyone.

Thanks!