Officer traits and HQs

[HOI2fan]

I see when I give my Field Marshal Zhukov command of an HQ his traits don't affect other divisions not directly under his common.

For example I have Zhukov commanding a HQ and a general with no traits commanding 9 divisions if I send them into battle Zhukov's pic is there running the battle(max 24 divisions etc) but when I check the actual divisions in battle none of them apart from the HQ are benefiting from his winter specialist trait :wacko:

 

[Pal]

Of course not. Divisions only get the benefits of the leaders of their formation. So in your case only the HQ division would get Zhukov's stats, because it's the only division in his formation. All the divisions in the large formation without any leader will get the over-command-limit penalty btw, as they are not commanded by a leader of appropriate rank. Zhukov will assume overall command in battles, yes, but that only determines whether your divisions will get an additional 75% penalty or not. All other modifiers, like skill and traits, will only affect the divisions DIRECTLY linked to the leader via merging them into the same formation.

Check the Beginner's Guide for Army Management at the HoI2Wiki for more info.

 

[unmerged(103268)]

I'm playing the complete patched (except for 1.3b I guess) version of HOI2; yet, when my HQ is near or even in the same province (with either FM or Gen leading it) it doesn't show his pic during the battle, and the it doesn't increase the number of units either he or any other general near him can command.

Honestly, I don't want him to gain battle experience. I just want the HQ to allow my good Generals around him to control more units and help supply.

Am I doing something wrong?

 

[unmerged(20459)]

A HQ does not change the number of divisions a leader can command. It doubles the number of divisions that can participate in an attack without penalties based on the total number of attacking divisions in a province. It does not allow a FM to lead a formation of 24 divisions without penalties, it allows him to lead an attack of 24 divisions without penalties with up to 12 of the attacking divs under his direct command and the rest in other formations. If attacking from more than one province, this is calculated for every single province, not for the attack as a whole.

 

[unmerged(103268)]

THANK YOU! that's been bugging the shit out of me. Now I can lead my attacks better. I read in the manual it's best to leave the HQ out of the front lines and just let them have the supply effects and what not. In order to lead more divisions in an attack as a whole, do I need to include that HQ under the command of the General I want to gain experience? Also, do I need to include the HQ in the attack (which I assume we do if that general's picture shows up - just asking to be 100% sure)?

Thank you for clarification!

 

[Pal]

All the answers are on the HoI2Wiki:
The Beginner's Guide to Army Management
HQ units in action
and many more!

Short answers:
HQ bonus is applied if the HQ is both commanded by General or Field Marshal AND the HQ is not more than one province away from the respective unit that is to receive the bonus. The HQ does not need to be involved in the combat.

As you usually have a lot of good generals as any major power, I advise you to include the HQ in a regular combat formation, like (1 HQ, 5 Infantry). That way the general "empowering" the HQ will also lend his skills to the units involved in the attack.

And yes, the picture shown in the battle screen belongs to the highest ranking commander of all units involved in the attack, so the HQ commander will only show there if he is engaged in the fighting himself.