Strategic Bombing - City Repetition

[DazKaz]

Does anyone know how to make an Air Wing of strategic bombers, target more than one region without having to micromanage every mission?

The problem I am having is, even though I select an area with multiple regions of industry in the initial orders I give, (can be seen in the composite image below) using the 'Target a circular area' option.
The bombers keep returning to the same region over and over again, even though it was reduced to rubble after the first sortie.
This is incredibly wasteful.
The only way I have found around the problem is to micro every mission, which is a ridiculous amount of micro management.
I was expecting them to switch to a different city after the first two runs, but they don't, even if I leave the game to run for months.

Has anyone found a better solution?

 

[Beefbomber]

You could try and add them to a theater (RAF Bomber Command) then turn on AI control and do "Air Offensive".

 

[JerkyJerry]

I know of no other way DazKaz than the way you are doing it...... micro managing

I'm fairly certain that in HoI4 Paradox has created a new system for air missions. The information may be in a dev diary or posted on the HOI4 forum.
As for HOI3 as far as I know you have to micro manage your air force.

 

[Kovax]

Unfortunately, target selection in HOI3 is based on the most valuable target compared to its AA protection value, but calculated without taking damage into consideration. That means, whatever was the "best target" for the first raid will STILL be the "best target" after that target has been reduced to rubble, and there are a dozen other completely untouched targets nearby.

Sadly, Nukes are calculated the same way, so if you give the AI control over your nuclear arsenal and have 2 nukes built, it will nuke the same target twice....which will incidentally be the same target that your bombers already pounded into gravel a dozen times over.

 

[Count Blue]

Use single province mode and Shift-Click each of the provinces you want to bomb?
At least in airsupply missions it works that way, every province gets one run. (In my book)
HTH

 

[DazKaz]

Thanks for the reply's guys.
I'll try the shift-click on individual provinces as Count Blue said, then the 'RAF Bomber Command' theatre idea from beefbomber.

The problem with 'RAF Bomber Command' theatre idea is, will I have to un-assign all the current land and sea units from it, or can I locate it within the area of an existing theatre HQ?
Which theatre will its area of operations extend to, because I don't think you can paint a theatre on top of another one. So will it extend to, the area of the theatre, where the new theatre HQ is located inside, or will it reposition units all over the globe?

Has there been a mod or anything like it, where you can set a theatre used like this 'RAF Bomber Command', to use runway cratering missions as priority, then switch to strategic bombing once the runways have been neutralised? Or is it just a case of attaching them to the theatre and preying for the best?
I like the idea of 'RAF bomber command theater' and if it had more options for control would be a great solution.

 

[DazKaz]

I have a big problem with the 'RAF Bomber Command' theatre HQ.
The theatre level HQ will not work on continental Europe as the land belongs to my allies, so the AI control button is greyed out.
I already have a theatre HQ on mainland UK and the AI button is greyed out there too, so thats no good either.

To get round this I have made an Army Group level HQ into the RAF Bomber Command, but all the missions that the strat bombers are being sent on are logistics bombing, which is completely useless for the present situation.
Is there any way I can influence the AI HQ to send them on strategic bombing runs instead?

 

[DazKaz]

I'm giving up on this now.
RAF Bomber Command sent all my strategic bombers to Bagdad

 

[yamato2cz]

strat bombing doesnt only targets industry, but also resources. also, use region selection for strat bombing. it will work better.

 

[DazKaz]

strat bombing doesnt only targets industry, but also resources. also, use region selection for strat bombing. it will work better.

Region selection does work a lot better for strategic bombing, thanks yamoto2cz
It still wont work for runway cratering though as they still continue to attack the same airfield over and over again, but at least you have managed to reduce some of the micro.
Thanks mate.

I have done quite a bit of experimenting leaving the air wings attached to AI controlled HQ's now and its next to useless.
There is no control over the type of mission or the area they will operate in but worst of all, they mostly do nothing at all!

I have come to the conclusion, after twelve or so hours of experimenting, that the best way to handle this, is to micro the orders using region selections as yamato2cz has suggested.

 

[yamato2cz]

i wonder if stacking of orders could work. in many RTS you can stack movement and attack orders with use of "shift" button. anyway, runway cratering is very specific mission, while strategic bombing is just dropping bombs on IC, or maybe they will bomb the runways until there is literary nothing left (planes)

 

[DazKaz]

Yes stacking the regions using shift does work for the strategic bombing.
Its still not ideal as they do seem to get stuck on the same province sometimes but its by far the best method compared to the other options.

Runway cratering does not, and never has, destroyed aircraft on the ground in game.
If I recall correctly the decision was made not to do this in development, because it was considered to 'gamey', possibly because the enemy AI is incapable of doing this mission.
At least in 5ooo hours of playing this game, I have never noticed the AI do it to any of my airfields.

I have mostly ignored strategic bombing and runway cratering in past games because the tools in the UI for managing it effectively are just not there.
I was kind of hoping that by now someone would have come up with a method of making it easier.

Its a shame, because both missions were very effective during the war, especially for the Brits who I am playing at the moment.

 

[yamato2cz]

well, you can open list of all ongoing bombings/wings/air combat, by that small plus in upper right corner. along with that list of all units and all together all ongoing combat.

 

[sevsquad]

Something to try that I've found sort of works is to logistically bomb an area to hell at the same time as your strategic bombing campaign. Not sure why but on my play-through as America the logistical bombing seemed to "unstick" the bombers bombing the same place over and over.

 

[Kovax]

Bombing airfields to destroy planes would be overpowered against the AI, which would simply keep them parked there until fully repaired, except that you'd damage them again, and again, long before that repair ever completed. The port strikes were one-sided enough (unless the AI had a mega-fleet in the port which would devastate the attacking aircraft); being able to wipe out the opposing air force with no return fire would have been broken, no matter how realistic it is to hit aircraft on the runways.

In other words, yes, it's wrong, but the alternative was potentially a lot worse, and a better solution would have taken a lot more time, which the developers put toward other issues instead.

 

[GarfunkeL]

As stated, using shift-click to select multiple regions for strategic bombing works. Your bombers will run out of targets though, and that's when you see them keep bombing already devastated provinces. Don't bother with runaway strikes, they are completely pointless. Park 2-4 INT over an airfield that the enemy uses and you just grounded those enemy planes for good. And when you do capture that province, the airfield is ready to used by your planes. Plus, enemy fighters can't go after your bombers.

 

[EllisDee]

I don't mind runway strikes. The cost is often prohibitively expensive (the huge airfield combat bonus and the ease of intercepting is a pain), but it can be useful. Especially any when there aren't any interceptors stationed there, letting you cripple it and put them out of action.
The strikes definitely damage the planes, but i don't fully understand the mechanics. I think maybe it only deals damage while the airfield has over 1 point of health or something...who knows. It deals a good amount of damage when you first start the bombing, that's for sure.