Spotters - One more from an old WinSPmbt player

[hveldenz]

I have being trying to use spotting planes in my 1941 campaign as the German. I loved them so in winSPmbt. It seems my Storch's and my Uhl's get shot down with same frequency and hit prob odds despite the difference in plane speeds (1 vs 2). I am infering I should stick with the cheaper storch and be more careful.

I also note the AI in my long campaign likes a lot of AA even if I have no planes allocated. Are there AA sets that the UHL would be truly worth twice the cost for?

[blitzkreig]

I love spotter planes when playing the Germans to, allows you to cover ground with cheap "eyes on" that you might not be able to cover otherwise due to always being outnumbered. My favorite tactics:

1. Use a plane to keep an eye on an open flank well away from enemy AAA. This allows you to concentrate your forces on one wing of the enemy while still allowing you to redeploy a reserve if the AI tries a sneaky flank attack.

2. Think SEAD- no fancy missiles here but if you have the numbers you can use a cheapish ground attack plane to recce the enemy defences before supressing them with Arty and/or Stukas allowing your Spotters to fly around unmolested for several turns depending on how much AAA they have.

3.Remeber a storch is a terribly vulnerable thing with no real armour at all, fly it into harms way and they will go down. The Uhl is better armoured but can't stand up to much more than light AAMG fire. Remember to use the air entry/exist point to avoid knwon AAA postions or enenmy held Rear area objective hexs which are nearly always defended by AAA.

4. Light ,espiallyy self propelled AA is good tool for the Germans to with or without an enemy air threat. They can make mince meat out of a massed inf attack in the open if used right, I have at least a plt's worth in my core.

Hope this helps.

[DRG]

Stick with what works for you. The Uhu has twice the survivablity of a Storch and over three times the "armour" ( and why they cost more ) but that doesn't mean much if you fly them into an area that is too dangerous for them to be used properly

[hveldenz]

I use the entrance and exits extensively. I also do not overfly them into the heart of the enemy, using them to see the front mainly at first. They have been scorched when that corner point of the SE/SW or NE/NE entrance/exit leg gets near the AI AA assets.

I think I will lean to the Storch given my desire to not even expose them to fire. Using other air assets to expose their AA seems to depend on having a few airstrikes to do that with!

[SGTGunn]

I've always thought that AI seems to buy way to much AAA, especially for some nations in the early years of the war. I was always under the impression that AA guns were in very short supply with many countries in the beginning of the war - France, Poland, the UK, etc. - not sure about the Soviets - but you would never know it from the AI's buying habits. In the opening battle of a German long campaign (an advance vs. Poland) points set at 2600 - I ran into 8 40mmm AA Guns, and another half dozen or so of the Taczanka AA MGs. That seems like an awful lot of AA for a very limited piece of frontage.

Adrian

[narwan]

Each polish division and most brigades had 4 40mm guns (some 8) and probably a number of aamg's (not sure but it seems the arty's lmg's might have served as aamg's).

http://www.orbat.com/site/ww2/drleo/...ons/_1939.html

Furthermore, there were close to 50 independent aamg companies serving with the different polish armies.

http://www.orbat.com/site/ww2/drleo/...1939/_army.htm

These armies also fielded a number of independent 40mm platoons and some companies of heavier calibre AA guns. These numbers do NOT include the AA assets for 'fortified zones' nor those of the AA brigade of the anti aircraft command nor those of the coastal commands
http://www.orbat.com/site/ww2/drleo/.../_army_aa.html

So there was plenty of flak available to the poles.
With up to 8 aamg's per platoon (in others 4, still looking for the exact number in the independent cie's) in each aamg cie and since 2900 points buys roughly a regiment of polish infantry with support the amount of AA you saw is not excessive.

Narwan

[narwan]

Just checked the polish OB and I can't locate any aamg's there (besides the taczanka). Maybe that's why there are slightly more 40mm's than would be expected and fewer aamg's.

Narwan