GAME MANUAL - Steam

HEARTS OF IRON DARKEST HOURthem daunting to manage.Each unit has a useful set oforders that may be given to itbeyond the basic “move here”or “attack right now”commands. Depending on theunit type, an available optionis selected on the orderinterface and the force willthen carry out the ordersexactly as you haveinstructed. The specificoptions are detailed later inthe manual, but the conceptthat you should understand isthat the order interfaceincludes the ability to set adate and time that you wouldlike a force to begin an action,allowing you to coordinate theorders of multiple units. Inmany cases, you will also beable to set a date and time oroperational condition for it todiscontinue operations, oreven give a unit a set ofstanding orders to repeat thesame mission ad infinitum,allowing you to focus yourattention elsewhere while itgoes about its business.Air and Naval CombatAir and naval operations doexist, of course, but areabstracted to a large degree.You will usually assign generalorders to each air wing orflotilla, giving specific timeperiod and other parametersthat you would like it to follow.When combat occurs, thereare special rules that governthe engagements which takethe types of units involved intoconsideration, as well as thetime of day and weatherconditions. Aerial combat isfurther limited by the range ofthe aircraft involved, as theywill eventually need to breakoff and return to base to avoidrunning out of fuel andammunition.It is vital to understand thatneither sea zones nor the airspace above provinces aresubject to control in the waythat the provinces themselvesare. There is no “ownership” ofthem, and neither aircraft nornaval vessels are capable ofcapturing a province. Mostoften, you will use them insupport of your armies,seeking to soften up anenemy’s resistance throughbombardment or to hamper oreven cut off his lines of supply.Combat between them willtherefore most likely be acontest to determine whetheryou are able to carry out thesegoals.The Fog of WarThis doesn’t refer to a weathercondition, but rather todarkened regions of the mapwhere the game will hidethings from you that you aren’tin a position to know - namely,the dispositions of othernations’ armed forces. It isassumed that you will havesufficient reconnaissance andintelligence sources todetermine some basicinformation about provinces,even in your enemy’s territory,but you will be unaware of thelocation of any forces thatdon’t belong to you and areoutside your territory orbeyond the sighting range ofyour units. You will be awareof enemy units occupyingprovinces adjacent to yourtroops, but you will usuallyhave only a very vague idea oftheir complement and sizeuntil you engage them. Youmay also wish to fly severallong-range missions deep intoenemy territory prior to anattack in order to gainadditional information aboutpossible reinforcements andreserves that the fog of warwill otherwise obscure. Keepin mind that some units,particularly submarines, areable to hide their presence,but that there are alsotechnologies you can researchto assist you in detecting andidentifying them.Strategic Redeployment andthe Force PoolAny new military units youproduce will enter your forcepool and can then bedeployed at your discretion toany valid location. Navalforces and air forces have anadditional deploymentprerequisite: they must beassigned to specialised basesthat are constructed to houseand support them. Thesebases are limited in thenumber of units they caneffectively handle, and thisnumber can be temporarilyreduced as a result of damagefrom enemy attacks.Land units that are already inthe field may be temporarilywithdrawn from active serviceand strategically redeployedelsewhere without the need tomanage their exactmovements. As long as theydon’t have to cross water,which requires the use ofnaval transports and thusactive management, they willarrive at their new postingafter a period of time. Thisredeployment method is notpossible for naval or air forces,which must be rebased viaconventional means.20