Conducting Amphibious Landings in CWOL

CWOL offers players the ability to load land units into transport groups, sail them across water, and land them. Doing so requires players to coordinate their actions in both ROTD and WISC. This page explains how to conduct an amphibious landing in both modules.

The first step is to procure sufficient transports. Transport groups are rated by capacity, from 1,000 to 20,000. The amount of capacity required depends on the number and strength of the land units to be transported. Infantry units take up one capacity space per man of strength; cavalry takes up 3 spaces per man; artillery takes up 2 spaces per man. An infantry or cavalry unit with an attached battery counts 100 men as artillerists. For example, an infantry brigade of 2500 men and no batteries takes up 2500 capacity, but a brigade of 2500 men and 1 battery takes up 2600 capacity; 100 artillerists take 200 capacity, and 2400 infantry take 2400. Similarly, a cavalry brigade of 1200 men and no battery takes up 3600 capacity, but one of 1200 men and a battery takes up 1100*3 + 100*2 = 3500 capacity. An artillery brigade of 300 men and 3 batteries takes up 600 capacity. Army HQs take up 250 space, corps HQs take up 500 capacity plus 20 for each supply carried. Example: A landing force of 4 brigades of infantry with 2000 men each, 1 brigade of cavalry with 900 men, 1 brigade of artillery with 400 men and 4 batteries, and a CQ carrying 8 supplies requires 4*2000 + 3*900 + 2*400 + 500 + 8*20 = 8,000 + 2700 + 800 + 500 + 160 = 12,160 transport capacity to carry it. This can be provided by a single transport group with 12,160 or greater capacity, or by multiple groups whose total capacity is 12,160 or greater. If multiple groups are used, each transport group must have enough capacity to carry the units assigned to it. In the example, to load two infantry brigades and the cavalry brigade on one transport would require 6,700 capacity, and to load the other two infantry brigades, the artillery, and the CQ on another would require 5,460 capacity. If two transports groups are in the same location and tactical location, you can transfer capacity between them freely. If you had one transport group of 7,500 capacity and another of 5,000 capacity, you could move them together, then transfer 500 capacity from the first group to the second in order to load the units.

The second step is to move the transports to the right place to load the units. If the units are in the strategic square of a city which is also an ocean port on the ROTD map, then if no enemy unit is present in the strategic square, the transport may be in either the harbor of the port or the coastal waters to which the port is attached. If there is an enemy unit present, then if the units are in the city tactical square, the transport must be in the harbor, and if the units are not in the city tactical square, the transport must be in the coastal waters. If the units are not in the city, but in a strategic square on the coast of the same sea area that the port is on, then the transports must be in the coastal waters of the port on the ROTD map. If the transport is in a river strategic square (including river ports) then the unit must be in a tactical square adjacent to the river bank, or if no enemy unit is present in the strategic square, it can be in any tactical square. Units in strategic squares with hill or mountain terrain may not load. There is an Excel map available showing where transports must be to load troops from any particular ROTD square, and a text list of all coastal squares in ROTD and the matching sea areas, which you should consult any time you load troops. Example. To load troops from I3-X2 (the port city of Beaufort SC) the transport must be in Savannah coastal waters or the harbor of Beaufort on the WISC map (depending on where the units are and whether any enemy units are in I3-X2). To load troops from I4-X1 or I2-X4, the transport must be in the coastal waters of Savannah. To load troops from I0-X7, the transports must be in Brunswick coastal waters.

The third step is to load the units onto the transports. Both the units and the transports must send orders to do this. The transports must send an order to load units, and must list each unit that is loading on the transports. If the transport is loading more than one unit, then separate the unit IDs with spaces (not commas). The units must send an order with the ship ID of the transport group (eg, US1TR) as the first and only square of strategic movement. Both the unit and the transport must send orders; this is to ensure that the loading does not take place unless both the unit command and the transport commander want it done. This is necessary because neutral and even hostile units may be loaded onto transports. If only one of the two sends the order, the loading will not take place. If the transport group is in an ally-controlled harbor, the loading is completed in the initial amphibious phase and the transport group can move normally. If the transport group is anywhere else, the loading is not completed until the final amphibious phase, and neither the unit nor the transport group can do anything else on the turn of loading.

The fourth step is to sail the transports to the right place to unload the units. The rules for location are exactly the same as they are for loading locations. To unload in a port city tac square on the ROTD map, the transport must be in the harbor, or if no enemy units are in the port city strategic square, the transport can be in the attached coastal waters. To unload into a port city strategic square but not its tac square, the transport must be in the coastal waters, of if no enemy unit is in the port city strategic square, the transport can be in the harbor. To unload into a strategic square other than the port city the transport must be in the correct coastal waters. Units may not unload into strategic squares with hill or mountain terrain. The Excel map and text list show the relevant sea area for each GITM square.

The fifth step is to unload the units from the transports. Both the units and the transports must send orders. The transports must send orders to unload units, listing each unit being unloaded, separated by spaces if there are more than one. The unit must send an order with the ROTD strategic square, or name of the off-map port, into which it wants to unload as its first strategic move, and the tactical square it wants to land in as its entry square.
If the transport group is in an ally-controlled harbor (ocean or river) and the unit is moving to the port city tactical square, then the unloading is completed in the initial amphibious phase and the units and transports can move normally. Otherwise, the unloading is not completed until the final amphibious phase; the transport cannot do anything else on the turn of unloading, and the landing unit may only move in tactical phase 5. If the unit instead lands at an off-map port (Ship Island or Dry Tortugas) then the unit will move into garrison at that port, which may result in either combat or capture of the port under the appropriate circumstances. No other order is needed, or effective.

It is also possible to load and unload supplies from transports. A transport that is in the harbor of a port may unload supplies directly into the port city in ROTD , up to the number of supplies that it can carry. It may move on the same turn that it does so. To unload supplies into a port, a transport in a harbor need only order to unload the desired number of supplies; they will be automatically deposited into the city.
A transport that is in a port (harbor or coastal waters) can also unload supplies to a CQ; this type of unloading is limited to 1 supply per 500 capacity of the transport group (example: a transport with 4000 capacity can unload 8 supplies per turn into a CQ). The transport must not have move orders, and the CQ must not have strategic movement orders; if one or both do, then the supply load/unload is cancelled and the movement orders are used. To unload supplies, the CQ must be in a position from which it could board the transport. To unload supplies into a CQ, the transport issues an order to unload the number of supplies it wishes to unload, and the CQ lists the transport as its supply source in its orders. For example, if CS1TR with 5000 capacity was in Pensacola coastal waters, and BR2CQ was at F5-Y5, then CS1TR would issue an order to unload 10 supplies, and CS1CQ would issue an order to draw 10 supplies with CS1TR as its supply source.
Maintained by Stephen Schmidt. Last updated 12-9-15.