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title: HQ_Units_in_Action
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*This Guide was originally developed by **czar1111** . Please see [this
thread](http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?t=188821){.external
.text rel="nofollow"} on the Paradox Forums for the original file.*

::: {#toc .toc aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading" role="navigation"}
::: {.toctitle dir="ltr" lang="en"}
## Contents {#mw-toc-heading}

[ ]{.toctogglespan}
:::

-   [[ 1 ]{.tocnumber} [ HQ Units and Planning in HoI 2 (The Invasion of
    Poland)
    ]{.toctext}](#HQ_Units_and_Planning_in_HoI_2_.28The_Invasion_of_Poland.29)
    -   [[ 1.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ HQ Command Abilities
        ]{.toctext}](#HQ_Command_Abilities)
    -   [[ 1.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Battle Planning
        ]{.toctext}](#Battle_Planning)
        -   [[ 1.2.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Adding a Second HQ
            ]{.toctext}](#Adding_a_Second_HQ)
        -   [[ 1.2.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Three HQ Units??
            ]{.toctext}](#Three_HQ_Units.3F.3F)
    -   [[ 1.3 ]{.tocnumber} [ The Results ]{.toctext}](#The_Results)
:::

# [ ]{#HQ_Units_and_Planning_in_HoI_2_(The_Invasion_of_Poland)} [ HQ Units and Planning in HoI 2 (The Invasion of Poland) ]{#HQ_Units_and_Planning_in_HoI_2_.28The_Invasion_of_Poland.29 .mw-headline}

This AAR is more a discussion of the use of [HQ
Units](/wiki/HQ_Division "HQ Division") in HoI2. It began as a more
general AAR and that will still be completed at a later time.

However, while writing the AAR I realized that this particular element
could easily stand alone as a discussion of HQ Units, their influence
and their effect on operational planning.

HQ units are new to HoI2 and many people (myself included) are still
coming to grips with their correct use. Some people still doubt that
they are even necessary. Well, perhaps not, but I replayed this scenario
several times and at first I tried to "HoI" it. That is, I played the
HoI way -- no HQs. Let's just say that things did not go well. This is
not HoI. If you want to do well at HoI2 you have to be prepared to use
the new tools at your disposal; HQ Units and the 'Support' command.
Using these new tools I found that I was much more successful and the
time taken in this particular case was much more 'historic'.

First of all, you should check out the [Land Combat Efficiency
FAQ](/wiki/Land_Combat_Efficiency_FAQ "Land Combat Efficiency FAQ"){.mw-redirect}
with regard to HQ units as kindly posted by **Fiendix** .

HQs provide a bonus to the number of units a leader can control; a bonus
to the attack and defence efficiency; HQs provide a boost to a units ESE
(Effective Supply Efficiency) by an HQ adjacent or in the same province.

## [ HQ Command Abilities ]{#HQ_Command_Abilities .mw-headline}

Look at the next screen shot. I have placed an HQ we will call "Red
Command" in Oppeln:

What it shows is that a HQ unit based in Oppeln provides direct support
to allied units based in Kustrin, Brealau, Poznan, Czestachova, Cracow
and of course Oppeln. Now obviously some of these are Polish provinces
so that means that the HQ will assist any units attacking from Kustrin,
Brealau and Oppeln into Poznan, Czestachova and Cracow.

But, that is not all. In HoI2 [movement is
attack](/wiki/index.php?title=Movement_is_attack&action=edit&redlink=1 "Movement is attack (page does not exist)"){.new}
, so any unit inside Kustrin, Brealau, Poznan, Czestachova or Cracow
attacking into a neighbouring province still gets the bonuses! That
means that with an HQ based in Oppeln units get a bonus for the
following attacks:

Kustrin to Bydgoszcz

Kustrin to Poznan

Oppeln to Poznan

Oppeln to Czestachova

Oppeln to Cracow

Brealau to Cracow

AND

Poznan to Bydgoszcz

Poznan to Lodz

Poznan to Czestachova

Czestachova to Poznan

Czestachova to Radom

Czestachova to Kielce

Czestachova to Cracow

Cracow to Czestachova

Cracow to Kielce

Cracow to Przemyal

And that is all without the HQ even having to move!

8 provinces! By now I hope you are beginning to understand how useful
HQs can be.

An HQ gives more supply eff (so your unit regains org faster) and some
combat bonuses (from supply eff) and a big combat bonus (for waiving the
75% penalties for overloaded command units). And if you research more of
doctrine, it will give you some nice chances of combat events!

The small combat bonus (ESE bonus) may be not small if used for dozens
of divisions! The combat event chance is hard to value. So use an HQ if
you are one of the major nations and have numerous divisions or often
attack with more than 12 division in a province!

But there is something else to consider here; where is the attack coming
from?

This is important because only units attacking from provinces adjacent
to the HQ get the attack and ESE bonuses -- so the direction and origin
of your attack is critical. So while an attack from Cracow to Przemyal
would be aided by an HQ in Oppeln --an attack from Kielce to Przemyal
would not.

This fact actually encourages something new in HoI2: Battle Planning.

## [ Battle Planning ]{#Battle_Planning .mw-headline}

As you can see from the Battle Planning image, the plan takes advantage
of the HQ by making sure all the attacks come from provinces within the
HQ influence. In some cases the furthest provinces can be attacked from
multiple directions (Bydgoszcz, Lodz and Kielce) but in others there is
only one possible province the attack can be launched from (Radom and
Przemyal).

### [ Adding a Second HQ ]{#Adding_a_Second_HQ .mw-headline}

OK. This is all very well. But can we do better? How about introducing a
Second HQ unit? Alright. But where will we put it? Obviously we want it
to cover as many new provinces as possible -- so let's try Elbing.

We will call this new HQ unit "Blue Command" and this shows the area of
influence of the two commands combined.

And with the information provided in Blue Command, we can build a Battle
Plan.

What this plan shows is the attacks we intend to make and where we will
make them from. The BLUE arrows show the attacks that can be made with
HQ support without moving the HQs. The GREEN arrows show the attacks
that must be made without HQ support unless we move the HQs There is
certainly nothing wrong with doing that, so in this case:

Blue Command should advance from Elbing to Torun

Red Command should follow behind the front advancing from Oppeln to
Czestachova to Kielce and finally to Zamosc.

By doing this all attacks shown can be made with HQ support. The RED
line shows a rough demarcation line between the area each command is
responsible for.

It is a workable plan at this point and certainly adequate to complete
the invasion of Poland.

But, let's look at the plan with a critical eye and see if it has any
weak points. Well... The strongest Polish resistance is expected to be
around Danzig, Bydgoszcz, Lodz and Warsaw. The plan calls for many of
the attacks on these areas to be controlled by Blue Command. The attacks
on Danzig must come from Elbing and Bydgoszcz to have HQ support. In
fact, looking at the plan, a lot of attacks must come from Elbing! (That
means we must transport the units there to begin with.) Also Stettin has
no HQ support at all -- what if the Polish attack there? Will we be at a
disadvantage? So is there a better way?

Moving the HQs ?

If Red Command is moved away from Oppeln to either Kustrin or Brealau it
immediately becomes apparent that it is less effective. However moving
Blue Command to Konigsburg however presents some interesting new
options.

(There is no battle plan for this one. Readers are invited to design
their own.)

But again, many of the same weaknesses exist.

And now ALL attacks on Danzig must come from Elbing if we want HQ
support there. What is more, now units attacking into Bydgoszcz have no
HQ support if they attack onward to Lodz.

The solution is to introduce a third HQ! (Assuming you have one)

### [ ]{#Three_HQ_Units??} [ Three HQ Units?? ]{#Three_HQ_Units.3F.3F .mw-headline}

There is some overlap with Red Command here, but now it is possible to
attack Danzig from all fronts and units in Bydgoszcz also have HQ
support when attacking into Lodz. Green Command should advance from
Stettin to Bydgoszcz on to Lodz and then Radom while Blue command now
advances from Konigsberg to Suwalki.

Now obviously, Poland is mostly flat. With the exception of a few rivers
there is not a lot of difficulty advancing and capturing most of the key
centres. Any country which includes swamps, jungle, mountains or large
low infrastructure provinces will complicate the plan. In those cases
your HQ placement may be dictated by the possible routes of advance
(rather than the other way around). Still, that's the challenge of being
a Strategic Commander, isn't it?

So, how did it go?

## [ The Results ]{#The_Results .mw-headline}

The map shows Poland on the 5th September 1939 (5 days into the
fighting) using the final plan. (The Slovakian units are supporting
German attacks, but are not advancing themselves)

You be the judge.
:::