Giving an army multiple orders

[Imhotep]

I had an army set up to do a grand plan attack, but I wanted a couple of its divisions to guard an airbase. When I ordered these two units to do a Fallback Line around the airbase, it said it would cancel the previous orders. I'm not sure if that would be the orders for these two divisions or the whole army.

Is it possible to give multiple different orders like this to a single army? I've given multiple orders of the same type before, with a single army set to two different Front Lines and Offensive Lines.

[Mimir]

You can't have area defense orders combined with any other order. Note that area defense generally suck (troops will not stay in place and will actually leave ports undefended at random), with the only positive being that a single army group can have more divisions.

[Imhotep]

Originally posted by Mimer:

You can't have area defense orders combined with any other order. Note that area defense generally suck (troops will not stay in place and will actually leave ports undefended at random), with the only positive being that a single army group can have more divisions.

The defensive order I wanted to do was Fallback line, which is a defensive line rather than area defense.

I seem to have done it in my current war-planning.

In the screenshot below, there's a single Argentinian Army along the border of Chile in the left of the screen. I have divided it into three parts by using shift+click in the army list to select three different groups of units and given them each different orders. In the centre, there's a Front Line and Offensive Line to capture Santiago, and either side of it are Fallback Line defensive lines to defend Argentinian territory.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2538373854

[bubbas]

1. Select the army you want to give these orders to.
2. Right click on the trashcan and confirm (this removes all orders for that army).
3. Shift+click select the divisions you want to assign to a specific order to and then make that order.
4. Repeat step 3 for the next bunch of divisions and so on.

Note, a division can only be assigned to one order at the time. So if you already had select the army (thereby selecting all its divisions) and assigned an order to it, then the divisions you were trying to assign to guard that airfield already were assigned to a different order.

Note 2, you can also un-assign divisions from their current order by selecting them and pressing Ctrl+H and then you can assign them to a new order.

[Imhotep]

Originally posted by bubbas:

1. Select the army you want to give these orders to.
2. Right click on the trashcan and confirm (this removes all orders for that army).
3. Shift+click select the divisions you want to assign to a specific order to and then make that order.
4. Repeat step 3 for the next bunch of divisions and so on.

Note, a division can only be assigned to one order at the time. So if you already had select the army (thereby selecting all its divisions) and assigned an order to it, then the divisions you were trying to assign to guard that airfield already were assigned to a different order.

Note 2, you can also un-assign divisions from their current order by selecting them and pressing Ctrl+H and then you can assign them to a new order.

Thanks. Didn't know about right clicking dustbin to delete all orders.

The other thing I'd like to know is whether it's possible to manually control a unit in a planned operation and for it to remain under manual control until ordered otherwise. Currently, units will follow a manual order for a bit and then go back to auto-control, carrying out the planned operation. One can un-assign a unit, but that removes it from the army.

[drewbstar]

Originally posted by Imhotep:

Originally posted by bubbas:

1. Select the army you want to give these orders to.
2. Right click on the trashcan and confirm (this removes all orders for that army).
3. Shift+click select the divisions you want to assign to a specific order to and then make that order.
4. Repeat step 3 for the next bunch of divisions and so on.

Note, a division can only be assigned to one order at the time. So if you already had select the army (thereby selecting all its divisions) and assigned an order to it, then the divisions you were trying to assign to guard that airfield already were assigned to a different order.

Note 2, you can also un-assign divisions from their current order by selecting them and pressing Ctrl+H and then you can assign them to a new order.

Thanks. Didn't know about right clicking dustbin to delete all orders.

The other thing I'd like to know is whether it's possible to manually control a unit in a planned operation and for it to remain under manual control until ordered otherwise. Currently, units will follow a manual order for a bit and then go back to auto-control, carrying out the planned operation. One can un-assign a unit, but that removes it from the army.

Set a fall back line, select the units you want, assign them to the line, delete the line.

[mk11]

You can remove a division from an order by using the button to unassign orders for the selected divisions. Then you can manually instruct them. However, as soon as you do that they will start losing planning bonus until it is all gone.

Alternatively, you can create a 1-area front-line, assign the division to that, order an offensive for wherever you are heading and get planning bonus. As you advance you can keep adjusting the front-line to make sure the division stays where you want it.

Whether, you can put up with all that micro depends on your tolerance! I will do it sometimes if fighting in mountains where you want to avoid AI induced movement that causes attrition but need the planning bonus to fight through difficult terrain.

[Imhotep]

Originally posted by drewbstar:

Set a fall back line, select the units you want, assign them to the line, delete the line.

Originally posted by mk11:

You can remove a division from an order by using the button to unassign orders for the selected divisions. Then you can manually instruct them. However, as soon as you do that they will start losing planning bonus until it is all gone.

Alternatively, you can create a 1-area front-line, assign the division to that, order an offensive for wherever you are heading and get planning bonus. As you advance you can keep adjusting the front-line to make sure the division stays where you want it.

Whether, you can put up with all that micro depends on your tolerance! I will do it sometimes if fighting in mountains where you want to avoid AI induced movement that causes attrition but need the planning bonus to fight through difficult terrain.

Thanks.

I'd tried the wrong unassign divisions button - the one in the army panel, rather than order panel. So I'll try the methods you've suggested later.

[Imhotep]

Does anyone know how to do this?

In the screenshot below, I have an army split to do two tasks. There are three divisions set to a Front Line + Offensive Line order. Then there are four divisions prepared to execute a Naval Invasion from Tobruk.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2548215266
The three divisions doing Offensive Line are doing badly, and I want to pause them while the Naval Invasion continues.

In the infobox in the bottom-left, it says:

Shift + Click on the desired order to Toggle execution

It sounds from that that it looks like one should be able to pause/unpause an individual order, but I can't get it to work, or do anything. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

Anyone know?

[drewbstar]

Originally posted by Imhotep:

Does anyone know how to do this?

In the screenshot below, I have an army split to do two tasks. There are three divisions set to a Front Line + Offensive Line order. Then there are four divisions prepared to execute a Naval Invasion from Tobruk.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2548215266
The three divisions doing Offensive Line are doing badly, and I want to pause them while the Naval Invasion continues.

In the infobox in the bottom-left, it says:

Shift + Click on the desired order to Toggle execution

It sounds from that that it looks like one should be able to pause/unpause an individual order, but I can't get it to work, or do anything. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

Anyone know?

Select the divisions you want to stop, press "H" to hold. If the attack order is still going, they'll start attacking again. Either delete the attack plan (leaving just the front line) or turn it into a defensive line.

[bubbas]

Originally posted by Imhotep:

Does anyone know how to do this?

In the screenshot below, I have an army split to do two tasks. There are three divisions set to a Front Line + Offensive Line order. Then there are four divisions prepared to execute a Naval Invasion from Tobruk.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2548215266
The three divisions doing Offensive Line are doing badly, and I want to pause them while the Naval Invasion continues.

In the infobox in the bottom-left, it says:

Shift + Click on the desired order to Toggle execution

It sounds from that that it looks like one should be able to pause/unpause an individual order, but I can't get it to work, or do anything. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

Anyone know?

1) Shift+click on the execution arrow ontop of the commander.
2) Click on the order you want to execute (like in your example either the naval invasion or the normal attack.
EDIT: Same works with stopping individual orders, by shift+clicking the stop box above the commander and then clicking on the order you want to stop.

[Imhotep]

Originally posted by bubbas:

1) Shift+click on the execution arrow ontop of the commander.
2) Click on the order you want to execute (like in your example either the naval invasion or the normal attack.
EDIT: Same works with stopping individual orders, by shift+clicking the stop box above the commander and then clicking on the order you want to stop.

Thanks.

I thought that would be how it was done, but it wasn't working when I tried it. I loaded the save and I think that after clicking the green arrow, I needed to click on the general's portrait to select the army. Anyway, I can now toggle each order on or off individually.

Both on:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2548233606
Both paused:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2548233513
By the way, the reason I'm doing this long-winded naval invasion manoeuvre is because I want to open up a new territorial front so Egypt will be controlled by Spain rather than Italy. I think that's how the game works, anyway.