No idea. I sure hope so, I bought a physical copy of Vicky 2.
I couldn't find anything about it in the strategy guide (which should be called the revised and extended manual), but what is the maximum front width before you start getting reserves and does it change depending on the terrain, and are reserves nothing but a waste in a battle? Does putting armour and motorized units into infantry divisions really do that much for their effectiveness? And is there any point at all in getting into light tanks?
As Republican Spain, with Spain conquered, I look to save France from the fascists and not sure if there is much use bothering with tanks as the nation has no practical or theoretical proficiency, seems wiser to get a solid infantry core and use the nations already established disposition towards bombers and interceptors, but if the Germans field their mighty tanks will I yet get shattered due to infantry units not mixed in with tanks?
I am aware I am using this thread as some sort of information service at this point, but as pleasant as the strategy guide is it doesn't provide the sort of solid strategy information as was provided above on the use of airpower.
Front Width is by default 15, and is increased by 5 for each additional direction you attack from (when you take envelopment bonuses to account, this is the single most important aspect of advancing, and the key to "rolling thunder" type attacks with the front moving in two steps in order to maximize envelopment to minimize your own casualties). When you attack from 3 directions, the first Envelopment penalty for the defender appears, and each additional direction increases it. Here's an important piece of info: Only Battle Brigades (3,000 strength) take Front Width, Support Brigades (1,000 strength) do not (but Support Brigades cannot fight on their own). This is why the standard division is 3 Battle Brigades and 2 Support Brigades.
Combat Events can also change Front Width temporarily. Encirclement increases it by 5, and Tactical Withdrawal decreases it by 5.
The point to reserves is that you can shift forces around in the battle and react to Combat Event changes to Front Width. A reserve unit can be brought to replace a damaged unit much more easily than a brand new combatant. This is also why Grand Battle Plan is one of the most important techs in the game: It allows rapid reaction to changes in the Front, as the reinforce chance (checked each hour or so to see if a reserve unit joins the Front if Width is available) changes from ~1% to ~5%.
Light Tank tech also influences Motorized and Mechanized units, which is very important because Mechanized is one of the most (if not the most) powerful units in the game. However, Mechanized is for high IC countries only, as they're the most expensive unit in the game. Similarly, you shouldn't use tanks if you can't afford to keep them up to date and have a solid strike capacity for them (ie, at least three-five divisions for Spain, far more if you fight Barbarossa), which requires IC and guaranteed fuel access. More on tanks later.
When a Minor considers an air force, there's only one thing to know: Build Interceptors. A Minor cannot waste the time to build a bomber force, they need air superiority far more in order to conserve manpower (lost to TAC and CAS otherwise). Similarly, they cannot spare the vital doctrine research needed for an effective bomber force. That's the reason why you need at least 20 Leadership for everyone: There's so much shit that you *need* to research to survive.
But keep in mind that Practical proficiency is earned ONLY by building units, which is why you want to make big orders in fast succession to maximize the benefits it gives to building (tech benefits aren't as big for units due to unit techs being low difficulty, but keep in mind to always research Education ahead of schedule and all the other Land Experience techs).
The purpose in mixing "soft" Battle Brigades (infanty, motorised, etc) and "hard" Battle Brigades (all armour, late game mechanized, etc) is to get you the vital benefit of Combined Arms for your armoured formations. More on why you need it next. Infantry doesn't need it for reasons also explained. You don't mix regular infantry and tanks because they do not synch: The tanks main advantage, speed, is lost because Infantry is slow, and Infantry's main advantage, all-terrain functionality, is also lost.
Terrain does not change Front Width, but terrain has enormous influence on combat effectiveness. This is where rivers, mountains, marshes and forests come in. The defender takes very little penalty from terrain, but the attacker can feel it if his divisions aren't appropriate. Terrain also influences supply lines and supply consumption, which can leave fuel dependant divisions bogged down because they lack the supplies needed to act. This is why terrain is the single most important aspect in army composition, and why infantry is the backbone: Because terrain can assrape tanks and fuel-dependant armies in a low infrastructure country with harsh terrain like Finland or Soviet Union. Rivers cut your offensive ability in half for all divisions except Marines, Mountains are daunting to anyone but Mountaineers, and Marines are the only ones who are effective in Marshes. But remember, when penalties aren't big enough, tanks have the single largest bang-to-buck ratio in the game, along with Mechanized, and are also the most resilient units when things are good.
The boon Infantry possesses is that they're decent in every terrain type, which makes up for their slow speed and combines well with their statistics. The Achilles Heel of the tank is that it takes massive terrain penalties anywhere but open plains and steppes, with Hills and Woods being manageable but Forests, Marshes and Mountains being deathtraps. Mechanized are better in dealing with Terrain, though don't have the massive Hard Attack and Hardness tanks have. This is also why Engineers are the tanks best friends: An Engineer brigade will alleviate the tanks' natural weaknesses, making it much more effective than if you'd just pack more artillery. This is also why Tanks should have a Motorized brigade, because it gives them the Combined Arms bonus that also makes them more effective (doubly so after '40).
If you want info on Paradox games, go here:
http://www.paradoxian.org/
