Further ELM questions (long!)

From: casben@brolga.cc.uq.oz.au (andrew bennett)

Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1993 13:29:10 +0000

>Thanks for the information given.
>I've got some stuff to ask you, so I hope you'll bear with me. You may want to
>post some of the more interesting points to the net.

>1, Which villages do you start in ? It indicates a random choice, but do you
>start in one of the first 6 numbered in your province ?

This depends a lot on whether or not the GM is running a "standard" setup
or has bothered to change it a little. For each province I have listed my
most common starting villages below.

Cortes     - Colon (107), San Esetba (105)
Galvez     - La Ceiba (203), Wizardos (212)
Libertad   - Teaco (313), Nevado (312)
Diosa      - Twarnella (407), San Evideo (405)
Hycondea   - Guyape (509), Merendon (502)
Tacopulco  - El Viga (608), Ramon (613)

>2, How vulnerable are APC/Mech units to AT weapons ? Is a infantry team with,
>say, LAW-72s a good match ? What about TOWs or Milans ? What about if they're
>in ambush ? How good are infantry AA weapons against helicopters ? Planes ?

This depends a lot on how experienced the unit with the AT weapons is, and
how much training they have and also whether or not the APC/mech
combination is fighting mounted or not. More experienced/trained units
shoot more often and more accurately. If the mech unit is fighting mounted
then any damage done to the APC is also done against the rifles company.
However, if the rifles company is on foot it may fight more effectively
against the other units with the AT weapons. I always give the APC riders
lots of additional equipment anyway and have them fight dismounted - this
way, the soak up firepower that might otherwise be directed against my
APC's. Ambush gives you one god, extra shot against an "abushed" unit
before they get a chance to fire back. See my previous comments about
experienced or trained units. Much the same applies to AA weapons against
planes although helicopters are easier to hit and damage with infantry AA
weapons  than say, a fighter bomber on the same mission.

>3, Planes/Naval vessels look expensive in large numbers. Would units of 2 or 3
>be effective ? Certainly, you'd get more missions performed.

You pay the same maintenance cost for ten boats whether they are in one
unit, two or five. Certainly, with 5 units you can perform a lot more
missions but two boats may not have enough portage capacity to carry a
unit of troops or some tanks ?

>4, Over-the-border villages. Can we gain pop-control over them by simple
>transfer orders, and if so, does this mean we can get Cat B equip delivered
>to them AND get manpower points ? I can see a way to get some armoured units
here...

Absolutely! As a guerilla who may or may not be co-operating with the
governor this should probaly be your FIRST priority.

>Immediate moves towards getting Pop-Control of OTB villages would appear to
>be a good starting strategy. Are they harder to get ? Garrisoned ?

While they are not garrisoned, they are no more difficult to gain initial
control of than any other village in your province. However, because of
their obvious strategic advantages, lots of people bid for them and they
can be VERY expensive to hang on to in the long term.

>5, Setting up an ambush downriver from the towns seems like a good idea. About
>how much chance do I have of intercepting shipments ?

I have never bothered to determine the exact percentage chance but you
should get about 1 in 5 deliveries per GREEN unit stationed there. As with
everything else in the game, more experienced or better trained units have
a much greater chance of succeeding.

>6, Using AirCav set to support moving units would appear to be a good way to
>concentrate large amounts of force. Comments ?

I am currently (in ELM 24 with the Australian wizard) using AirCav and
transport choppers a lot as the Diosan governor with some success. They
are very good provided that the risk of encountering enemy planes on Air
superiority is LOW. Choppers fall out of the sky when encountering high
performance jet fighters. [grin]

>7, How hard is it to get Vet and Crack troops ? Do they tend to die out before
>hand ?

You require 9 turns to train a green unit to ELITE status - worth it if
you start in the first phases of the game. Your starting units initially
are at level 2 to begin with.

>8, How much more effective is armour over APCs ? For example, is a PT-76 of
>less combat value than a BMP-1 ?

You can more or less equate combat effectiveness to the relative AP cost
of any unit. Tactical advantages of movement aside, I prefer APC's because
they can be formed into mech units. However, heavy tanks really do have
staying power!! They last for ages and ages, even if they don't hit their
target a great deal until they get experienced.

>9, Where are the regular army garrisons, and what type of units ? Are they in
>all the hexes of the City ? What about all the installations (especially the
>gold mine, Cortes province) ? Andino airport and the Army barracks ? Any hard
>figures ? Do these troops have an ongoing military control over their hexes,
>making it harder to get pop-control?

Experience has taught GM's that it is a good idea to have garrisons in all
city hexes but they do disperse eventually. All major installations will
have a garrison of at least one infantry company with additional
equipment. *Special* hexes such as the Palace, the Army HQ, ELM TV will
probably have 2 units, one of them dug in or entrenched. They do not
appear to garrison or search the hexes they are in.

>10, How useful is it to attempt to secure pop-control over city hexes ? Over
>town hexes, given that the governer is not co-operating ? Should I attempt to
>attack the city while his APCs are out playing ? Should I try to pop-control as
>many villages as I can get my hands on ?

Very important after turn 5 or 6. Most provinces are not a model of
co-operation and it will probably take at least that long to completely
secure the whole province. If you are not co-operating with the governor
you should *definately* try to buy out his town - make sure you spend
sufficient AP to hold it. Yes - grab as many as you can.

>11, Is mine warfare worth it, given the economic cost ? Is artillery worth it,
>given the cost in ammo ? Are fortifications worth it, given the cost in time ?
>Do you have to Garrison an installation or Urban centre to protect it or
>secure it ?

With one exception, I have only ever used Mine warfare as a defensive
measure. If you want to backstab a trusting ally it can be really nasty to
go in and mine their town/admin routes/villages while still allied because
minefields are invisible once laid (even to their owner) and they don't
attack allied units. Fortifications are VERY GOOD if you have to defend a
hex against repeated assaults - they also give great protection against
air attack, shore bombardment and artillery fire.

>12, Investment. About what level for an Underworld figure should I start
>investing ? How much ? (Only 10 economic actions per turn of course).

As an underworld figure I don't start investing until I'm at least level
3 and then try to do at least 4 or 5 a turn. You are better off investing
lots one turn and spending it the next because it makes better use of pop
and economic orders.

>13, An agent in the target governers town would be a major advantage, one
>assumes ? Comments on use ? How much do I spend on assassinations ? What is
>the subvert order, how much does it cost and how effective is it ? What about
>sabotage of port and airport facilities ?

An agent is good for spotting units or subverting an opponents control of
a urban centre. Amount to spend on assassinations may vary on how many
guard units are present. Probably at least 40 for 2 units present. I have
succeeded when sabotaging airports and ports when using 40+ AP's.

>14, PBRs seem to be able to go almost anywhere. How good are naval units as
>a strike force on their own ? As transport ? How hard is it to secure and
>maintain an effective air-force ?

Naval units are very effective at bombardment - PBR's are not too good for
transporting units - use ATC's instead. An example I can quote is where 10
green pbc's destroyed 2 rifle companies in 2 combat phases with coastal
bombardment.  Air units work better with training but simply flying them
gives them experience if they actually see combat. Try to have more than 1
aircraft per unit in case you get spotted by some remote unit with AD
weapons.

>15, Any special tricks to suggest using Elite units ?

Get some assault troops and engineers - they really boost the combat
results and tend to shoot first.

>16, What sort of random events show up, and can they be exploited in non-
>obvious ways ?

Don't believe anything people tell you about random events - to the best
opf my knowledge they don't EVER occur unless the GM makes a blunder and
passes it off as one ...

Hope this is helpful to you - these are my impressions and if anyone has
comments or suggestions that differ, I'd be glad to hear them.