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title: Amphibious_assault

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[Template:Anthology](/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Anthology&action=edit&redlink=1 "Template:Anthology (page does not exist)"){.new}

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An amphibious assault is an attack by units borded on [transport

ships](/wiki/Transport "Transport") on a coastal province. To be able to

start an amphibious assault, the coastal province attacked needs to have

a beach suitable for a landing party \-- this can be checked by looking

at the terrain map in the game. A province will have a small beach line

if this is the case. Consult the image to the right. Tokyo has a beach,

as indicated by the beach symbol on the terrain map. Additionally, if

you click on the province a small beach symbol will be shown in the

overview.

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## Contents {#mw-toc-heading}

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[ ]{.toctogglespan}

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-   [[ 1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Amphibious Assault Efficiency

    ]{.toctext}](#Amphibious_Assault_Efficiency)

-   [[ 2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Best units for a landing

    ]{.toctext}](#Best_units_for_a_landing)

-   [[ 3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Planning the landing

    ]{.toctext}](#Planning_the_landing)

-   [[ 4 ]{.tocnumber} [ Changes with Armageddon 1.3 Beta

    ]{.toctext}](#Changes_with_Armageddon_1.3_Beta)

:::

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### [ Amphibious Assault Efficiency ]{#Amphibious_Assault_Efficiency .mw-headline}

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Often, a newer player will throw lots of units into the attack,

including tanks and HQs. Then, they wonder why the attack fails

miserably. An amphibious landing requires much preparation and

coordination. This is why, in-game, an additional amphibious landing

stacking limit exists. For Doomsday, the limit is 3 divisions, for

Armageddon, the limit depends on your naval doctrines and can be between

3 and 8 (for the [Base Strike](/wiki/Base_Strike "Base Strike") 1952

tech). Every unit over this limit will decrease the combat effectiveness

of *all units* by 10%, cumulatively. For example, let\'s say the command

limit is 3. If you attack with 3 divisions, all attack with 100%

efficiency. If you attack with 4, all four will attack at 90%

efficiency. If you should chose to attack with 12 divisions, all units

will have a penalty of (12-3)x10 = 90 percent!

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This doesn\'t mean that one should never attack with more divisions than

the limit. In fact, every additional division will add Org and draw fire

from the other divisions. The marginal benefits of an additional unit\'s

Org will have to be compared to the marginal loss of combat efficiency

(10%, for each division over the stacking limit). The following table

will demonstrate this for a stacking limit of 3.

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    Units Eff/unit Total Eff 1 100 100 2 100 200 3 100 300 4 90 360 5 80 400 6 70 420* 7 60 420* 8 50 400 9 40 360 

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Committing 6 or 7 divisions to the attack will yield the highest amount

of total combat effectiveness deployed.

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### [ Best units for a landing ]{#Best_units_for_a_landing .mw-headline}

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Obviously, [marines](/wiki/Marines "Marines"){.mw-redirect} are the best

divisions for an amphibious landing. They get the lowest combat penalty

in an attack. Second best are

[mountaineers](/wiki/Mountaineers "Mountaineers"){.mw-redirect} . These

are also very well suited for an amphibious landing and can clear a

beach that is not so heavily defended and are more versatile as well as

cheaper to build.

[Paratroopers](/wiki/Paratroopers "Paratroopers"){.mw-redirect} also

have less difficulty participating in a landing. But consider, if you

have paratroopers, these would be better used to stage a simultaneous

drop-off over the beachhead for extra efficiency. Plain vanilla leg

infantry will also be capable of an amphibious invasion. Do *not* use

Mechs, Mots, Arms or HQs, as these divisions have excessive amphibious

landing penalties.

​

The amphibious landing penalties are reduced for each Marines tech

researched. Even if you never plan to build marines and want to use Mnt

or pure Inf in your landings, you should research the Marines techs, as

the increased amphibious assault efficiency will make landings easier

for *all* unit types.

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As you would want to have as much firepower as possible during the

attack, all units should be brigaded if you expect stiff resistance.

Artillery for marines is a good idea, leg infantry can also field

SP-Art. Putting all divisions on offensive supply can also help to tip

the scales in your favour. Flying interdiction and logistical strike

missions with your bombers will also help \"soften up\" your opponents.

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Should you encounter a particularly well defended beach, try attacking

in waves. Immediately after the first attack fails, have the next group

of marines attack again, until the defences wear out. It\'s very costly,

but taking land by amphibious assault always was.

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Lastly, remember that having a capable [surface action

group](/wiki/Surface_action_group "Surface action group"){.mw-redirect}

(or [MAF](/wiki/Marine_Amphibious_Force "Marine Amphibious Force") ) in

the sea zone adjacent to the province attacked. Not only will these

ships protect your transports, but the [shore

bombardment](/wiki/index.php?title=Shore_bombardment&action=edit&redlink=1 "Shore bombardment (page does not exist)"){.new}

they can provide is another (max) 25% combat penalty for the defender of

the province. Also note that the shore bombardment will help your

marines once they have occupied the province, giving the same penalty to

the counter-attacker!

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### [ Planning the landing ]{#Planning_the_landing .mw-headline}

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Put together your landing force \-- preferably marines with artillery

and load them onto your transports. An *Amphibious Assault* mission is

now active for the transports \-- do *not* use it! It is bugged and can

lead to lots of headaches. Instead, move the transports to a sea zone

next to the province you want to attack. Click on the \"unload\" button

of the transport fleet. Chose the units you want to use in the attack

and right-click on the province you would like attacked. The attack will

now function just as a normal land-based attack. Do not move your

transports, as the attack will break off. Do not forget to put your

fighting ships on Shore Bombardment mission.

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### [ Changes with Armageddon 1.3 Beta ]{#Changes_with_Armageddon_1.3_Beta .mw-headline}

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For the Armageddon 1.3beta patch, the above does not hold. One can no

longer disembark units into enemy territory. If you use the 1.3beta

patch, you will have to use the amphibious assault mission. On the plus

side, all remaining bugs with this mission type have been squashed and

it should work exactly as intended. If you wish to attack in waves, this

means that you will have to make a separate fleet for each wave, as the

amphibious assault mission is fleet-dependent.

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