We’re going to switch to how Boxes work and explain how “Take Over of Italy” and “D-Day” work in the future.
Updated 11-20-24 at Bottom of Post
Using the Boxes will take some getting used to, but like anything, it’ll get easier the more you use them :)
In this example, we have Army Group North in Belarus, which consists of 3rd Waffen, 2nd Panzer, 6 Infantry, 2 Artillery and 2 Panzer Grenadiers. 2nd Panzer is “Active”. Meaning it gets it’s bonus shots.
There are also 2 Waffen Paras present. The minefields have already been crossed and will not play a part in the battle.
NOTE
You MUST move the Defender in Edit with “Perform Move or Other Actions” before the Attacker or the Defender will not defend correctly.
At the start of russia’s Combat Move, we move AG North to belarus.
Click on Edit Mode “Perform Move or Other Actions” . Use “Ctrl e” or click on “Game” top left.
Now we move AG North.
2nd Panzer and 3rd Waffen need to move as well.
Germany has All of it’s defending units in belarus, so now we move russia’s.
They’re going to send 1st AG and 3rd Corps from Bryansk, along with 1st Tank from moscow.
I’m not certain on this point, but I believe I asked @The-Captain previously, that the AG must have one of it’s Corps/Armies “Active” to be an AG, so we will deactivate 1st Tank in this instance.
We click on Edit again so it will deactivate the moving and replace “Tank_General3” with “Tank_General” so they won’t get the bonus.
Now we click on "Perform Move … " again and move the rest of the godless communists from there Boxes to belarus.
We’ll pause before the Battle as i don’t wanna get timed out :)
So, if you are using the “2.6” prerelease, you will notice at the bottom of screen the units in the territory that the cursor is on are listed.
Unfortunately, our Ginormous battle doesn’t show them all. I guess it depends on monitor size :)
All right. Time for battle :)
So Big battles like these require a lot of attention. Especially with the Armies and Corps. Triplea will show the AG/Corps/Armies as potential hits.
Obviously don’t select them. That may be a reason not to send them into the battle, but I like the information purpose it provides.
A matter of personal preference.
Almost forgot, gonna send 10 bullet stoppers for the commies too. It’s just a learning tool not a strategic guide :) The Captain has those here https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/37458/strategy-guide-global-1940
Hmm … somewhat disappointing for russia.
So we can’t take any of the Tokens as hits, so we deselect those.
The AG is no longer functional, so we off it’s Flag and kill the Panzer General as well, so he won’t keep giving his bonus.
Note
You can add a PG/TG/ etc … if needed, after battle with edit, and switch it out for a different casualty.
Jerry isn’t gonna have to worry about that in this example lol
They still got the Badass 5 hittin Waffen Panzer though lol
Pretty solid comeback. His 4 hitters kinda sucked but those 2 boys were all over it :)
This is where it requires you to be on it. I can’t remember for sure, but I think ivan had 10 Inf in his AG.
Sadly, we can’t access History while in Battle :(
So, i dusted 10 Inf and the AG. Rather keep the Tanks I’m thinking.
NOTE
The AG is Disbanded but the Active component of it, Commisar 3, retains his bonus shots, as he still has all of his dudes.
Another solid strike by ivan and Jerry is toast. Note we have to whack the Tokens and will still need one more rd to finish him.
Not too bad, got the rest of the Inf anyway.
Need to B double E double RUN back in a bit :)
So machine froze and had to rerun battle. Jerry got his ass kicked Big time this go. So any discrepancies from the previous example are due to that :)
Non Combat Move time. 1st Tank remained intact and moves back to his Box.
1st, 2nd and 3rd Corps Reform with all Tank units and move to there Boxes.
1st AG Reforms with 1st Tank and 1st Corps, as well as 5 Inf from Bryansk and 5 from Smolensk.
1st Tank is now Active in the AG, so we want to deactivate the commiesar in 3rd Corps. We already moved units to the 3rd Corps Box, so it won’t let us.
You must change Units Before moving any of them or it won’t let you.
In this case, we just say F it, and edit the change in the next phase.
Anyway, should be helpful. Victory and I have only played one game with Boxes and we’re on rd 4 or 5 I think, so still in the testing phase :)
Hmm … looks like I need to change the Smolensk place.
No biggie, will do :)
Edit
11-20-24
So thanks to @VictoryFirst 's astuteness, we now fight large battles in edit mode.
This isn’t nearly problematic as it looks, as you generally need to change what triplea picks as casualties in a big battle anyway.
One of the cool things that we’ve discovered, is that the AG and Army/Corps tokens stay in their box. We just move the units. And playing in edit allows us to take the AG flag as an additional casualty, since triplea would give it a hitpoint otherwise.
The big thing to remember, besides being deliberate and double checking the casualties taken, just as you would in a Face to Face game :) is to kill off any bonus units first.
So once the AG is no longer active, we take it as an additional hit. When a Panzer Army or Corps will no longer be active, we need to take the PG and Commisar as hits first, so they don’t continue to give their bonus.
After the battle, you can edit them back in if needed.
Try and move as many units as you can in edit during NCM, especially if you are going to reform a AG or Army/Corps at End Turn.
It will save you some edit remove and place time.
NOTE
During Combat Move, Some Territories will be incorrectly conquered. While still in edit, just switch back to the proper owner.
This usually happens with Poland and sometimes Soviet Far East and China.
While to read this it may seem complicated, after a few games it becomes quite natural. Victory and @Panzerstahl-Helm and myself find it to play quite smoothly. :)