Are We Forced to Place Units from the Production Chart?

[HBG GW Enthusiast]

Page 26, Place Units & Collect Income Phase
“Put all the nation’s units from the Place Units Box of the Production chart onto the map.”

Am I required to this, or may I?

Page 47, 11.1 Place Units: “Place all units that are in the Place Units Box of the Production Chart onto the map.”

It seems clear that I must place them and cannot hold back units in reserve, correct? The reason I ask is in my current game, I held back on placing my destroyer and submarine as USSR. I thought I was being clever and giving myself strategic flexibility to place them later in any theater I needed them. Now, rereading the rules, I feel I am not actually allowed to do this.

[TinCanoftheSea]

@hbg-gw-enthusiast I don’t play this game by based off my interpretation of the rules and other games I assume you have to place them. This is likely done to prevent you from placing giant stacks of battleships or something at the same time

[barnee]

I’ve seen in some games if you over purchase what you can place, you return the unplaced units and are reimbursed at end turn. Don’t have any examples. Just something I’ve seen.

Seems pretty clear from the rules listed, you’d need to place them all.

[GeneralHandGrenade]

@hbg-gw-enthusiast

You have to place them if you’re able to. If not they remain on the production chart until you can place them. Read the last bullet point.

[insaneHoshi]

@generalhandgrenade said …

Do you know if this means as USSR you are able to load up the production box with cheap infantry on the turn they get their discount?

[Trig]

@insanehoshi Oh Yes!
You don’t have to place units if you can’t.

Thus, if you save up you can buy two or three turn of infantry to place over time, along with heavier units.

This doesn’t work as well with militia, as you have to fill up all the Siberian territories before you can hold any over till next turn, so I wouldn’t waste that many militia where they will never see the fight.

On memorable game I saved up around 200 IPP with the USSR, and built ~50 Militia, ~30 Infantry, and ~20 tanks on the turn they were at war. The Germans didn’t know what hit them.

[TheVeteran]

@trig i would never build that many militia, sheesh!

[Trig]

@theveteran Militia are really quite strong due to their low cost and flexibility in building. They are the perfect cannon fodder in large numbers.

[HBG GW Enthusiast]

@trig That was my analysis exactly, Trig. One follow-on is when you are defending cities, there is no more cost effective unit since a city confers a +1 to infantry class units and gives them target selection versus vehicles on a “1”.

[TheVeteran]

@trig they can never go on the offensive outside of home country!

[Trig]

@theveteran So? That is the job of other units.

[TheVeteran]

@hbg-gw-enthusiast I like militia in cities but not really anywhere else.

[TheVeteran]

@trig but you spent $50 to get 50 of them….

[Trig]

@theveteran Yes, b/c that is all the militia I will ever need. It is best to get them when they are discounted. I then used my other 150 IPP to buy infantry and tanks for offensives outside of the USSR.

[TheVeteran]

@trig are you playing in any of these YouTube wars games or anything ? I’d be interested to watch you play, see your strategies.

[Trig]

@theveteran No, not currently. Maybe later.

[HBG GW Enthusiast]

@generalhandgrenade @Trig @insaneHoshi In Operation Live and Let Die 12.3, Panzer J points out that on Page 27, 7.3, Process: “You may postpone the placement of units in the place units box if desired.” That seems definitively to answer the original question of this thread.

[TheVeteran]

@hbg-gw-enthusiast that rule is about multi stage production units but that last sentence where it actually says that is a blanket statement and doesn’t seem like it fits where it’s written. The GHG pointed out rule seems to be the real answer. If you can’t place then it’s ok, but if you can then you must, also it seems to be a disadvantage to wait to place units.

[Trig]

@theveteran Not really. Until errattaed, that is perfectly, valid, and might I say, correct. GHG is not always right.
Also delaying production is sometimes very nice.

[Noneshallpass]

Rule 11.1 posted by GHG above is the general rule regarding placement of units : You place all your units except if the rules prevent you from doing so (generally production limits on Factory capacity).

Rule 7.3 is a specific rule for Multi-Stage production. You are not obligated to advance production every turn and even when you reach the last stage you are not obligated to place it.

This seems to be the way to conciliate both rules.

Otherwise the sentences “If you cannot place a unit for any reason it remains on the Production Chart until a later turn” (11.1) and “You may postpone the placement of units in the place units box if desired” (7.3) do contradict themselves.