What do the peices actually represent?

[sherminator1]

any1 know how many infantry, tanks,planes etc. one peice represents? i've always wondered

[Moderator Sinister]

There is no way to figure this out and people have gone round and round about it. The truth is that it is just too abstract of a game to know for sure.

[pagan]

They represent whatever it is you want them to represent.

I like to think of them as plastic power creatures!

[dma02]

1 peice has "enough" military units represented to battle an opposing peice which also has the same number of "enough" units represented. ;)

[steben]

They represent "divisions" in my opinion.
I think for germany for example, a tank unit represents about 250 tanks and 5000 men. Infantry is more difficult. 50 000 to 100 000 per unit I guess.

[nielsvk]

If 1 infantry could let 1 bomber "buy the farm" in one shot, than it must be Rambo's grandfather. :)

[sherminator1]

There is no way to figure this out and people have gone round and round about it. The truth is that it is just too abstract of a game to know for sure.
i agree completely

[IBKsax44]

Remember, these pieces are all relative. According to how the rules are laid out one Japanese tank is the same as one German tank. Since we all know that's a load of crap it stands to reason that a Japanese "tank" is probably a lot more tanks than a German "tank" to bring their combat effectiveness into equilibrium. This is why the Soviet Union, clearly the leader in the "let's throw waves of bodies at our enemies" strategy, won't necessarily have the most Infantry units on the table.

[sherminator1]

hmm that is interesting

[admiral_yamoto]

so for the countries with wrost tech, a single guy is worth more people, and in a country with better tech, its less guys but theyre better because they have better guns???

[2nd_Panzer]

Rule of thumb, the cheaper the units are, the more units are grouped.

Battleships are most expensive and considered as a single unit. A fighter unit actually has more fighters than a bomber unit has bombers. A tank division has more tanks than infantry has infantry.

It is ironic that the cheaper you go the more units in theory you are gaining but that is how it goes.

[MrWeasely]

Great Britian had on the order of 12 battleships operational during all phases of WWII. Italy had 3-7. Germany had 0-4. The americans had 0-14, the Japanese had 12+. Therefore a battleship piece is clearly more than one battleship. I'd say a battleship piece represents 2-5 battleships, 2-5 cruisers, and several escort destroyers, with the numbers fluctuating depending on quality. E.g. the Pearl Harbor vets that start on the west coast are more numerous than a battleship that the US produces later (which is probably N. Carolina, Iowa, or even Montana class).

The U.S. ended the war with about 100 aircraft carriers. Granted, most of them were escort carriers, but there were at least a dozen heavy carriers.

This is a smashing web site about this kind of stuff:
http://www.combinedfleet.com/kaigun.htm

[sking500]

The pieces represent nothing physical. They're simply an amount of force proportional to the expenditure which, in turn, is relative to the economic system of A&A.

If the pieces were meant to represent a specific amount of troops/equipment, American infantry would take two "hits" to kill since American divisions/corps were (in general) much larger than their European counterparts, and the troops were comparably as effective (better firepower but marginally lower quality than Germans/Brits). Assuming the American fighter represents a squadron of P-51's, American fighters would have a range of 6. Japanese tanks would have an attack/defense of 1/2, and American tanks would have an attack/defense of 2/2 (sorry but the Shermans couldn't hold a candle to the Panthers/Tigers). Russian tanks would start off at a 2/2, but eventually progress to a 3/2, and Russian artillery would cost 3, but only attack at a 1 (but still modify an Infantry attack).

[Da Black Gobo]

I have always looked on the pieces to represent battle groups. A battleship represent the main ship and the huge escort of other ships and sub screens that went with it. A task force with 1 or 2 battleships in it. Same with Aircraftcarriers. Destroyers represent a swarm of those ships dedicated to the task of seeking out sub packs. A sub unit represent not one ship but a wolf pack of subs. Tanks represent not just tanks but, battle groups of tanks with infantry support. Infantry represents just that, regiments or divisions of infantry with lt. tank support and infantry guns. Artillery are batteries of main guns, while planes represent large flight groups of the type of plane needed for that theatre of operation.

Sean