BICE 8 Manual v.1.0

Edition 1.
Installing BlackICE may seem daunting at first, but provided you follow the directions here, you should have a relatively
easy time with it.
Step 1:
After you have downloaded BlackICE, copy the installer to the same directory that as the hoi3game.exe and hoi3_tfh.exe
files in it. Generally speaing, this will be somewhere like:
d:\games\Hearts of Iron 3 or c:\games\steam\steamapps\common\Hearts of Iron 3
Step 2:
Install Podcat's LAA (Large Address Aware) version of the HOI3 .exe file with BlackICE. This will solve a great many issues
with the game crashing as it will take advantage of the larger amounts of memory that newer computers can use. Podcat's
LAA .exe file can be found in the following Tech Support thread on the PI forum
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?612732-MEGATHREAD-***Hearts-of-Iron-3-Known-issues-fixes-
workarounds-etc.***-MEGATHREAD
Overwrite the original hoi3_tfh.exe file with it.
Step 3:
Run the installer. Do Not Change ANYTHING unless you know what you are doing, just hit next until you see finish. Click on
finish.
Upgrading From Previous Versions
In order to ensure that there are no file conflicts, and that you end up with the correct checksum for the release you are
installing, it is highly important that you manually uninstall the previous version of BlackICE then install the new version
fresh.
Installation tips
Do not install HOI3 in C:\PROGRAM FILES, install it elsewhere!
Section 1 - Difficulty settings

At the start game menu a player can choose the Hoi3 difficulty settings. The mod is tested using the Normal settings.
Once BICE has loaded a player will have the BICE difficulty decision which will allow options to give more or less economic
benefits to his nation. The mod is tested using the Normal settings here as well.
The player will also be able to choose options for the AI controlled major nations, as well as the Allied minors like Canada
and Australia. These options tend to grant further economic penalties or bonus. These will stack with the earlier difficulty
options. The mod is tested using normal for the AI nations.
All the difficulty settings will combine. So you can choose hard HOI3 and easy BICE and then easy AI nation settings. The
HOI3 settings primarily affect the economy and the HOI3 settings affect combat modifiers. They might have an effect in the
exe as well. The BICE settings are also economic with some combat modifiers thrown in for good measure. The difficult
options here also set flags which can prevent certain events from triggering (such as some AI OOBs) the AI nation difficulty
allows you to boost or reduce the various AI nations which will either be your ally or enemy. So Germany can make Japan
normal and Italy stronger, Soviets weak, and the USA strong, for example. These settings are also primarily economic.
Using these functions, a player can set different challenges for different types of campaign.
There is also the multiplayer setting, with a specific set of modifiers meant only for multiplayer games. It is not advised to
play BICE in singleplayer with the multiplayer setting.
WARNING Black ICE is not for the faint hearted. If you have no experience with Hearts of Iron III, it is strongly
recommended you play vanilla first to get a feel of the mechanics of the game, or BICE can be a little overwhelming. If your
only experience with HOI3 is with vanilla, you may feel as if you are playing a whole new game; BICE adds and changes so
many things. Do not expect to win a campaign on the first try. There may be many terms discussed in this guide you do not
understand but fear not, as the forums are full of friendly and helpful people who will be happy to help get the most out
of the game and the mod.
Section 2 - Events
National Focus Options
Each year if a nation has enough supplies (250 for minor nations, 1500 for major nations) a National Focus can be chosen.
The options include the ability to create certain new buildings in certain provinces.
Depending on the nation there are options to create tank factories, armament factories, aircraft factories, shipyards, or a
mix of all of the above.
There are also options to create manufacturing plants, Heavy Industry, research centres, hospitals and rail terminus
buildings.
Choosing an army focus for example will create armament factories in a number of core provinces.
The exact amount of armament factories will vary depending on the IC in the Industrial zone* province and the nations
Total IC.
The more industrial zones with level 10 IC and the higher your total IC count the more factories will be built that year ( to a
max of 10 factories)
*StrategIC resources also work the same way as Industrial zones for the purpose of factory placement.
Armament Factories ~
10IC in province/ 650 total IC
9IC in province / 400 total IC
3IC in province /
2IC in province /
1IC in province /
This means that any nation with at least 1 IC in an Industrial Zone (or other strategIC resource) province will be able to
create an armaments factory. As the amount of IC in provinces is developed further more factories can be created
depending also on how much total IC that nation has.
This same method is applied to tank factories and aircraft factories/ shipyards (with airbases and ports replacing the
province IC).
To build more buildings you will need to expand the Industrial Zone province IC sizes and total IC (or in the case of air
factories and shipyards, the size of airbases and naval bases).
The build times of units will tend to rise each year depending on tech increases. Factories can help to negate this build time
increase.
Buildings
Tank factories
- Reduces build time of all armor units by 0.7% per level of building.
Armament factories
- Reduces build time of all non-armor land units by 0.7% per level of building.
Aircraft factories
- Reduces build time of all air units by 0.5% per level of building.
Ship yards
- Reduces build time of all naval units by 1% per level of building.
Manufacturing plants
- Increases supply production by 2% per level of building.
Research labs
- Increases research efficiency by 5% per level of building.
Police centres
- Reduces Revolt risk in province by 5% per level of building. Surrounding provinces are reduced by 50% of that
building level.
Railway terminus
- Increases supply throughput by 1% per level of building.
Hospitals
- Increases casualty trickleback by 0.5% per level of building.
Urban centres
- Increases province manpower levels by 0.5% per level of building.
Heavy IC
- Increases province IC by 25% per level of building.
Steel refineries
- Increases province metal output by 25% per level of building.
Coal mines
- Increases province energy output by 25% per level of building.
Rares extraction centres
- Increases province rare materials output by 25% per level of building.
Oil wells
- Increases province crude oil output by 25% per level of building.
Oil refineries
- Increases oil to fuel conversion by 0.25% per level of building.
Questions and Answers
Q- Building up the special buildings only help in a province where the item exists? Like an oil rig in a province with
oil? What about the oil refinery? If that's the case, would it make sense to only allow buildings to be able to be built in
the province where they would help?l, Oil wells with oil, rare extraction with rare materials. The Oil refinery
building helps convert oil to fuel and doesnt need a resource in the province.
Section 3 Technologies
Each unit has a number of golden techs which are required to advance the model level of the unit. More on this in a
future edition
Section 4 - Units
8.0 Unit and Divisions Guide
LAND UNITS
TRANSPORT UNITS
Horse Transport - basic transport unit

Combined Arms Group - NONE
Pros:
low supply consumption
no fuel requirement
high rough terrain movement bonuses (mountains, marshes, jungle)
Cons:
slow
Light Vehicle Transport - very mobile and light transport unit

Combined Arms Group - MOBILE
Pros:
Can be paradropped
fast (7 kph)
good terrain movement bonuses
Cons:
requires fuel
Truck Transport - full scale motorized transport unit

Pros:
fast (7 kph)
very good terrain movement bonuses for easier terrain types
good softness (75%)
Cons:
high supply and fuel consumption
Half-track Transport - heavy duty transport unit

Pros:
very fast (9 kph)
very good terrain movement bonuses for easier terrain types
very good softness (50%)
Cons:
very high supply and fuel consumption
lower terrain movement bonuses for rough terrain
MAIN BRIGADES
Combined Arms Group - A special case of combat brigade. Theyre only available via events and will disappear after a
few months but its also the only combat brigade that unlocks the Combined Arms bonus - no need for division HQs. There
are only few events giving those and mostly for Germany - Kampfgruppen. There are few for USA and Italy. Use em while
youve got em!
Pros:
very good combat stats
high fort attack
good terrain modifiers
unlocks CA
fast
Cons:
temporary
Infantry Unit Types
Infantry - most common WWII era type of unit. Good for all around fighting.
Combined Arms Group - INFANTRY
Available as support brigade (Infantry Battalion).
Available in SS and Guards variants.
Pros:
cheap and easy to build
good all round combat stats (Soft Attack, terrain attack/defence, toughness and defensiveness)
Cons:
slow (3.6 kph - default speed)
high softness (100%)
Light Infantry - as name says it lighter version of above unit, stripped from all heavy equipment
Pros:
fast (4.5 kph - default speed)
good rough terrain stats for attack and defence
cheaper and faster to build than normal Infantry
Cons:
lower strength and defensiveness makes them more prone to shattering
Elite Light Infantry - much stronger than Infantry and Light Infantry. This unit is mix of Marines,
Mountain Infantry and Motorized Infantry.
Available only for Italy, France and Japan.

Also available as ELINF Battalion
Pros:
Can be paradropped (for ELINF battalion)
low softness (70%)
good terrain bonuses for marshes, jungle
good fort attack
fast (5.6 kph - default speed)
low Manpower cost
Cons:
requires fuel
high IC cost
very long build time
extremely high Officer cost
Semi-Motorized Infantry - larval stage of Motorized Infantry. Good if you want something faster
than Infantry and Light Infantry but cant afford Motorized Infantry.
Pros:
fast (5 kph - default speed) with higher maximum speed than Elite Light Infantry
Cons:
slightly weaker terrain stats than Infantry
high MP cost
Motorized Infantry - fully motorized infantry brigade. Strong, fast, expensive.

Available as support brigade (Motorized Infantry Battalion).

Available in SS and Guards variants.
Pros:
very fast (6 kph - default speed)
good terrain bonuses for easier terrain - plains and desert
low softness (60%)
Cons:
expensive and slow to build
big rough terrain penalties - mountains, marshes, jungle
high fuel consumption
Mechanised Infantry - heaviest and strongest available infantry unit in game.

Available as support brigade (Mechanised Infantry Battalion)

Available in SS and Guards variants
Pros:
fastest infantry in game (7 kph - default speed)
strongest infantry in game in terms of combat stats
very low softness (34%)
good desert and plains attack
very good fort attack
Cons:
very expensive and slow to build
extremely high officers cost
very high rough terrain penalties - mountains, marshes, jungle mostly
available in 1941
Cavalry old school horse mounted infantry. Close to useless for anything except anti partisan
duty, or encirclements.
Available in Guards and SS variants
Pros:
faster than infantry units (5.5 kph default speed)
cheaper and much faster to build than other infantry units
very good plains and desert attack
good suppression
Cons:
relatively high officers cost comparing to overall unit strength
very low combat stats
Militia - poor countries infantry, or volunteer fanatics.

Available in Fascist and Communist variants.
Pros:
cheap and fast to build
the best urban defence in game
very high mountains, marsh and jungle defence
very low supply consumption
very low officer cost
high (Communist) and very high (Fascist) suppression
Cons:
very low combat stats
weak at attacking
very slow
Special Forces
Mountain Infantry - as the name states, designed, trained and equipped for fighting in
mountains.
Combined Arms Group - SPECIAL FORCES
Also available in SS variant
Pros:
the best attack/defence stats for woods, forests, hills and mountains
faster than Infantry (4.33 kph)
Cons:
more expensive than Infantry and Light Infantry
requires substantial Leadership investment to show its full potential
slightly weaker than Infantry when it comes to combat stats and strength
Paratroopers - first available airborne main brigade.

Also available in SS and Guards variants.
Pros:
can be paradropped, obviously
faster than infantry (4.5 kph default speed)
highest toughness from all non-motorized infantry units
very high organisation
Cons:
very low strength
relatively expensive and slow to build
high officers cost
Airlanding Infantry - bigger and heavier version of paratroopers.

Pros:
you guessed it, they can be paradropped
higher combat stats than Paratroopers
similar cost to Infantry
Cons:
very difficult to transport (high weight) which will require more transport planes to move around
available in 1941
Ski Infantry - made for fighting in arctic terrain.

Available in SS variant.
Pros:
only unit in game without crippling arctic penalties
cheaper than infantry
Cons:
much lower combat stats than other infantry units
terrible strength/manpower ratio
Marines - naval invasion specialists. Best unit for that job.

Pros:
high amphibious attack bonus
better than infantry in toughness and defensiveness
very high jungle and marsh attack/defence
lower softness (80%)
Cons:
very high officer cost
requires fuel
needs lots of research to unlock
Naval Infantry - weaker more available version of Marines made mostly for less naval oriented
countries.
Pros:
cheaper than infantry and marines
good jungle modifiers and decent amphibious attack
Cons:
weaker than infantry in terms of combat stats
terrible strength/manpower ratio
Special Forces/Commando - elite formations trained to fight in every type of terrain, weather
and capable of fighting against much larger enemy formations.
Available in SS variant.
Pros:
Can be paradropped
high bonuses stats for all types of terrain
best manpower to stats ratio in game
extremely high fort and amphibious attack bonuses
very low supplies consumption
low softness (50%)
very fast (9 kph default speed)
high combat stats - mostly soft attack, defensiveness and toughness
very low MP cost
Cons:
requires fuel
Armored Unit Types
Light Armor Brigade - standard early war armored unit. Stuarts, Panzer IIs, T70s.
Combined Arms Group - ARMORED
Also available as support brigade (Light Armor Attachment)
Pros:
fastest main brigade in game (5 kph base speed with much higher potential)
huge terrain bonuses for hills, plains and desert
low softness (20%)
Cons:
very high terrain penalties for mountains, arctic, jungle and river
weak compared to other tank units
high officer cost (standard for tank units)
high build cost
Armor Brigade - main unit for all tank forces around the world. Shermans, Panthers, T34s.
Also available as support brigade (Armor Attachment)

Also available in SS and Guards variants
Pros:
good terrain stats for plains, hills and desert
great stats/MP ratio
good armourb
low softness (10%)
decent speed (4 kph with higher potential speed)
Cons:
very high fuel usage and high supply consumption
very high terrain penalties for marsh, mountains, jungle, river and amphibious attack
high officer cost (standard for tank units)
high build cost
Heavy Armor Battalion - Tigers, IS2s, Pershings. Heavy, slow and powerful.
Available only as an attachment

Also available in SS and Guards variants
Pros:
high armor value
good piercing
great fort attack
very good stats/MP ratio
relatively short build time
low MP cost
Cons:
very high IC cost
very high attack penalties for most types of terrain
much slower than other armored units
Infantry Tank - armored unit designed as support for infantry units.

Available only as attachment
Pros:
very high SA
high armor value in first years of the war
relatively short build time
low softness (10%)
good terrain bonuses for plains, desert and fort
Cons:
very high fuel usage and high supply consumption
very high terrain penalties for marsh, mountains, jungle, river and amphibious attack
low officer cost (for tank units standards)
high build cost
Super Heavy Armor - heaviest available unit in game the Maus.

Available only as attachment
Literally a fortress on tracks. Close to impenetrable armour, incredibly high attack stats, but very slow, very high
fuel consumption, and takes an age to build.
Special Purpose Armor - created for use with Paratroopers, Airlanding Infantry and naval
invasions.
Available only as an attachment
Pros:
Can be paradropped
great amphibious attack bonus
Cons:o
bad stats/cost ratio
expensive and long to build
high officer cost
Other (unassigned) Unit Types
Garrison - unit good at one job only - defending and stalling.

Combined Arms Group - NO CATEGORY
Also available as attachment (Garrison Detachment)
Pros:
very high defensiveness
very fast and cheap to build
decent suppression
Cons:
terrible at anything else than defending
very slow
bad stats/MP ratio
HQ Defence Attachment - as name states, unit made for OOB HQs - corps, army etc.
Combined Arms Group INFANTRY
Pros:
high defensiveness
good speed (5 kph default speed)
Cons:
high officer cost (higher than Infantry Brigade)
requires fuel
weak combat stats
SUPPORT BRIGADES
Mixed Support Brigade - treat this as mix of AT, AA, Eng and Rec.Cav.
Combined Arms Group - SUPPORT
Available also in SS variant.
Pros:
very good terrain attack and movement bonuses
good softness (70%)
high defensiveness
Cons:
high supply consumption for a support brigade
doesnt quite match the stats of dedicated AA/AT etc brigades when combined
Motorized Support Brigade - similar to above but closer to mix of AT, AA, Eng and Mot.Rec/AC
Pros:
good softness (60%)
good fort attack bonus
Cons:
very high supply consumption for a support brigade
Armored Support Brigade - mix of TD, SP AA, Arm.Eng and AC

Pros:
very good piercing value
good combat stats
very good toughness
low softness (20%)
good terrain bonuses for movement and attack in plains, hills, desert and against forts
Cons:
extremely high officer cost
Airborne Mixed Support - old Airborne Artillery. Now mix of said unit, AT and Mot.Rec.
Pros:
Can indeed be paradropped
good softness (60%)
good combat stats
very good terrain movement and decent attack bonuses
Cons:
high IC cost and long build time
high officer cost
Artillery the queen of the battlefield. In 8.0 it has been rebalanced: no more high soft attack.
Instead, it gives terrain attack/defence bonuses.
Combined Arms Group - ARTILLERY
Pros:
good terrain attack/defence bonuses
fast (6 kph default speed)
Cons:
weaker than Medium Artillery
high officer cost
Medium Artillery - bigger brother of Artillery Brigade.

Pros:
very good terrain attack/defence bonuses
fast (4,5 kph default speed with lots of tech increasing it)
more expensive than Artillery but still can be described as cheap
Cons:
requires fuel
high officer cost
high combat width
Heavy Artillery - heaviest artillery unit with actual movement ability.

Pros:
great terrain attack/defence bonuses
great fort attack
Cons:
slow (3 kph default speed)
high officer cost
high combat width
Rocket Artillery - all Rocket Artillery units (both!) give soft attack - not terrain attack/defence
bonuses.
Available also in SS and Guards variants.
Pros:
very cheap and fast to build
decent soft attack
lowest officer cost from all artillery brigades
lowest MP cost from all artillery brigades
Cons:
requires extra LS investment to unlock
terrain penalties
Pack Artillery - artillery created for fighting in mountains, woods, forests and hills.
Pros:
great attack/defence bonuses for terrain listed above
very low combat width
Cons:
high officer cost
slow to build
requires some research to show its true strength
Self-Propelled Artillery - Artillery that is moving on its own!

Pros:
it moves. Fast. (5 kph default speed)
very good terrain attack/defence bonuses
low softness (20%)
Cons:
very expensive to build
high officers cost
high combat width
high MP cost
Self-Propelled Rocket Artillery - Rocket Artillery that is copying SP Art.

Available also in SS and Guards variant.
Pros:
high soft attack
low softness (20%)
lower combat width than SP Art
cheap and fast to build comparing to SP Art
Cons:
high officers cost
requires extra LS investment to unlock
terrain penalties
only becomes available in 1942
Railway Artillery - huge guns. Gustav, Dora etc.

Available only via events!
Pros:
highest possible fort attack
very high urban attack
Cons:
forced to strategic redeploy
useless at defence
Anti-Tank - standard weapon against enemy armored vehicles

Combined Arms Group - DIRECT FIRE
Pros:
good piercing value
good hard attack
good softness (60%)
low officer cost
Cons:
not good at anything else than piercing/HA
Heavy Anti-Tank - bigger and better version of Anti-Tank

Pros:
very good piercing value
very good hard attack
more expensive than AT but still can be considered cheap and fast to build
good softness (70%)
Cons:
not good at anything else than piercing/HA
requires fuel
available in 1942
Anti-Air - shoots down enemy aircraft, or other things you point it at.
Pros:
very high Air Attack
low officer cost
good softness (70%)
Cons:
cant pierce heavier tanks
Heavy Anti-Air - must have brigade in most cases.

Pros:
King of piercing. Have a tank you need pierced? Heavy anti-air.
Decent other combat stats
Cons:
requires fuel
not great at anything else than piercing and air defence
Tank Destroyer - very mobile anti-tank gun. Stug III, GMC M3.
Pros:
very fast (5 kph default speed with lots of techs increasing it)
good combat stats
very good stats/cost ratio
low softness (20%)
Cons:
high officer cost
Medium Tank Destroyer - less mobile, but more powerful class of tank destroyers. Marders,
Hetzers, SU-85s, M10s, M18s, Archers, Comets, M36s, Jagdpanzers.
Pros:
very high hard attack
good combat stats
very good stats/cost ratio
low softness (10%)
Cons:
expensive
high officer cost
very high fuel consumption
Heavy Tank Destroyer - heaviest available unit designed for dealing with enemy heavy armor.
Jagdtigers, SU-100s, T28s.
Pros:
highest hard attack in game
great piercing value
very high armour value
Cons:
very expensive
high supply and very high fuel consumption
extremely slow (2 kph default speed)
Assault Gun - almost perfect support brigade for infantry units. Stug III ausf. E, SU-76, Churchill
AVRE.
Pros:
good soft attack
high armor value, defensiveness and toughness
low softness (10%)
good stats/cost ratio
Cons:
high officer cost
Heavy Assault Gun - AG on steroids. Lots of steroids. Sturmtiger, ISU-152.

Pros:
extremely high armor value
extremely high soft attack
great combat stats
great stats/MP ratio
very high fort attack
Cons:
very high fuel and high supply consumption
expensive to build
high officer cost
slow (2 kph base speed)
Self-Propelled Anti-Air - same as in other cases - gun attached to vehicle.

Pros:
very good piercing
fast (6,67 kph default speed)
low softness (20%)
good combat stats
Cons:
expensive
low defensiveness and toughness
Recon Cavalry - very old school recon unit.

Combined Arms Group - RECON
Pros:
as every recon unit gives great terrain bonuses
high suppression
Cons:
slowest of all recon units
Motorcycle Recon - more modern recon unit

Pros:
extremely fast (10 kph default speed)
extremely low supply consumption
low softness (50%)
good suppression
Cons:
requires fuel
Armored Car - armored recon unit

Pros:
extremely fast (5 kph default speed with very high potential)
very good toughness
very good air attack
decent armor
low softness (42%)
good suppression
Cons:
most expensive recon unit
Engineer - experts at rivers crossing, fort attacking, dealing with all kind of static obstacles
Combined Arms Group - ASSAULT
Pros:
good river attack
good terrain bonuses
low softness (60%)
Cons:
high officer cost
low toughness
Armoured Engineer - engineers equipped with heavy specialised vehICles

Combined Arms Group - ASSAULT
Pros:
good river attack
good terrain bonuses
very high toughness and defensiveness
Cons:
SD - German unit with one job in mind - suppression

Pros:
very high suppression
low MP cost
Cons:
requires fuel
NKVD - Soviet suppression unit

Pros:
highest suppression in game
very fast (8 kph default speed)
low softness (55%)
Cons:
requires fuel
relatively high build cost
MP - standard military police

Pros:
good suppression
Cons:
requires fuel
Conscripts - available only via events. Untrained people with rifles. Sometimes, just untrained
people with no weapons.
Pros:
free
high strength
Cons:
very weak combat stats
AIR UNITS
Interceptor - air combat workhorse.
Pros:
very good air defence and air attack
low supply and fuel consumption
Cons:
short range
Fighter-Bomber - basically its an interceptor with small ground attacking ability. A BF109 with
a bomb attached to it, for example.
Pros:
good air combat stats
long range
fast
night attack bonus (50%)
Cons:
more expensive than INT
weaker than INT at air combat without Fighter/Bomber to Interceptor conversion tech
Twin Engine Fighter - a heavy fighter with decent air combat stats
Pros:
very high night attack bonus (150%)
good ground attack stats
very long range
Cons:
lower air combat stats than INT and FTR
expensive to build
Rocket Interceptor an interceptor with a rocket engine. No surprises here.
Pros:
extremely fast
Cons:
uses Rocket Practical
low air combat stats for something that supposed to be for intercepting
expensive
requires lots of research to unlock
short range
high supply consumption
Jet Fighter - early models of modern fighters
Pros:
very fast
long range
very good air combat stats
Cons:
extremely expensive and very long build time
high supply consumption
requires huge LS investment to unlock and keep on par with classic INT
Close Air Support - a single engine plane for ground support
Pros:
best hard attack of all air units
good soft attack
great stats/cost ratio
Cons:
low range
slow
Light Bomber - a twin engine plane designed for ground support
Pros:
high soft attack
decent hard attack
good range
Cons:
Medium Bomber simply a bigger version of Light Bomber
Pros:
high soft attack
decent hard attack
long range
Cons:
most expensive ground support unit
Heavy Bomber - 4 engine bombers designed for strategic bombing
Pros:
very high strategic attack
very long range
Cons:
slow
Jet Bomber - more modern variant of bombers combining strengths of all three types
Pros:
high soft attack (lower than Light and Medium Bomber though)
very long range
very fast
Cons:
very high supply consumption
requires huge LS investment to unlock and keep on par with classic bombers
extremely expensive and slow to build
Naval Bomber - a bomber with one purpose: sinking enemy ships
Pros:
high sea attack
very high surface detection
very long range
Cons:
expensive
high fuel and supply consumption
Flying Boat - its main task is spotting enemy ships and scouting
Pros:
very high surface detection
very long range
Cons:
low sea attack
expensive
Carrier Air Group - mix of fighters, dive bombers and torpedo bombers operating from a carrier
or based on land
Pros:
very good sea attack
good air combat stats
good ground attack
long range
Cons:
very expensive to build
requires lots of LS to show its full potential
Transport Plane - not much to explain here, transports paratroops and can be used to air supply
units that are out of supply
Pros:
decent range
cheapest air transport unit available
shares practical with light and medium bombers
Cons:
low range
smallest transport capacity of all transport air units
Heavy Transport Plane - 4 engine version of the standard transport plane
Pros:
very high transport capacity
long range
Cons:
very high build cost and time
uses heavy plane practical
high fuel and supply consumption
Assault Glider - big gliders designed for transporting troops and equipment
Pros:
very high transport capacity
Cons:
low range
very slow
uses heavy plane practical
very high fuel consumption
V1 - flying bomb
Pros:
high strategic attack
Cons:
can be easily intercepted
very short range
V2 - first strategic rocket
Pros:
high strategic attack
extremely fast
Cons:
short range
NAVAL UNITS
Carriers
Carrier (CV) - queen of the seas!
Pros:
fast
2 Carrier Air Groups
very long attack range
very long range
Cons:
very expensive to build (+2 CAG)
requires much higher LS investment than other naval units
Super Carrier (SCV) - bigger and more powerful carrier
Pros:
3 Carrier Air Groups
extremely high range
Cons:
extremely expensive and slow to build
slower than CV
extremely high officer cost
Light Carrier (CVL) - small carrier, usually early pre-war construction
Pros:
cheap comparing to normal CV
Cons:
slow
only 1 CAG
Escort Carrier (CVE) - Carrier designed for Anti-Submarine Warfare and convoy protection
Pros:
very high submarine detection
high submarine attack
much cheaper than other CV variants
Cons:
fragile
slow
0 CAG
Capitals
Battleship (BB) - heavily armored, huge guns, beautiful, deadly
Pros:
very resilient
high sea and convoy attack
good sea attack range
Cons:
relatively slow
expensive
Super Heavy Battleship (SBB) - much bigger version of standard BB
Pros:
extremely resilient
very high sea and convoy attack
very good sea attack range
Cons:
very expensive
high officer cost
slower than BB
Battlecruiser (BC) - something between CA and BB
Pros:
fast
high convoy attack
decent sea attack
much cheaper than BB
Cons:
most fragile capital ship
Pocket Battleship (PBB) - very small battleship. Not exactly pocket sized
Pros:
very fast
cheap
decent combat stats
Cons:
weaker than BC
Screens
Heavy Cruiser (CA) - heaviest screen available
Pros:
very fast
decent combat stats for a screen
Cons:
not as useful or cost efficient as CL or AA-CL
Light Cruiser (CL) - by default used as escort for CV fleets
Pros:
fast
cheap
Cons:
weak sea defence
Anti-Air Cruiser (AACL) - modified CL with focus on air attack

Pros:
fast
high air attack
cheap
decent submarine attack
Cons:
low sea defence
requires additional tech to unlock
Destroyer (DD) - queen of escort ships
Pros:
very fast
cheap
very good submarine attack and detection
Cons:
dies like flies
short range
te (DE) - ship good only for ASW
Pros:
very high submarine attack
high submarine detection
very cheap
extremely cost officer cost
Cons:
short range
weak at anything except ASW
dies even quicker than DD
Torpedo Boat (TB) - fast moving small ships armed with few torpedo launchers
Pros:
very fast
very cheap
Cons:
very fragile
low sea attack
very short range
Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) - faster and smaller ships focused on torpedo attack
Pros:
fastest naval unit
very low visibility
almost free
with almost no officer cost
Cons:
very short range
very fragile
low sea attack
Submarines
Long Range Submarine (LSS) - ocean submarines with extreme range
Pros:
great convoy attack
very long range
low visibility
Cons:
only becomes available late in game
high officer cost
Submarine (SS) - not much to explain here
Pros:
great convoy attack
low visibility
Cons:
can be considered expensive
Coastal Submarine (CSS) - smaller sub designed for short range convoy hunting
Pros:
decent convoy attack
cheaper than SS
Cons:
bad stats/cost ratio
short range
Midget Submarine (MSS) - miniature subs with very small crew
Pros:
high sea attack
very low visibility
very cheap
Cons:
very short range
very slow
extremely fragile
Nuclear Submarine - good luck with playing that long
Pros:
it is nuclear submarine
Cons:
very expensive
only available very very late
Transports
Passenger Ship (LINER) - ship only for transporting troops from port to port.
IT CANT BE USED TO DO NAVAL INVASIONS!!!
Pros:
good transport capacity
Cons:
no combat value
quite expensive
IT CANT BE USED TO DO NAVAL INVASIONS!!!
Landing Craft (LC) - unit designed for sole purpose of doing naval invasions
Pros:
CAN BE USED FOR NAVAL INVASIONS
quite cheap
available early
Cons:
easy to sink
Assault Ship (AS) - more specialised ship for naval invasions
Pros:
better invasion speed than LC
Cons:
easy to sink
only available in 1942
Auxiliary Vessels and Long Range Auxiliary Vessels - available only via events, confiscated
merchant ships
Pros:
available instantly after starting the war
Cons:
extremely fragile
low transport capacity
low invasion speed
Misc
Seaplane Tender (ST) small ship with floatplane, used for scouting
Pros:
Good for scouting, spotting ships
Can normally escape combat without dying
Cons:
Doesnt offer much to combat
Convoy Raider - available only via events, merchant ship equipped with few guns designed for
hunting enemy merchant ships
Pros:
very low visibility
despite low stats quite good at convoy raiding
free
very long range
Cons:
easy to sink if they can be caught
DIVISION SETUPS
Infantry
Classic (default) setup:

Infantry Brigade
Artillery
Anti-Tank
Recon Cavalry
Engineer
HQ
Horses (for Axis/Russia), Trucks (Allies)
Anti-Air
Good for almost everything, cheap, with short build time and doesnt need fuel. Its main flaw is that it isnt great at anything.
For more difficult tasks like mountain combat, jungle or breakthroughs it will always be better to use units more suited for
those jobs. 100% softness also doesnt make using them easier especially in late war era (1944+): they wont last long
against armoured formations or heavy air attack.
Heavy Infantry:
Infantry Brigade
Medium Artillery
Anti-Tank (upgraded to Heavy Anti-Tank when available)
Armored Car
Engineer
HQ
Trucks
Heavy Anti-Air
As the name says - heavy variant with brigades using fuel. This is main weakness of this division since most players expect
their infantry to be easy to supply. Its also more expensive to build than default divisions. But in return we get much better
combat stats, best in game piercing and very good terrain bonuses.
Light Infantry:
Light Infantry Brigade
Pack Artillery
Anti-Tank
Armoured Car
Engineer
HQ
Light Transport
Heavy Anti-Air
This is setup made with one thing in mind - to get relatively cheap infantry division with best possible terrain bonuses and
also decent fighting capabilities. At first it may look weird but it works great in combat. LINF lowers build cost and supply
consumption while AC+H.AA+AT give mix of Hard Attack, Toughness and Piercing values. Light Transport will unlock
Mobile CA bonus.
As with all Inf. Divisions main problem is high softness and in this case lower than usual strength (6000 vs 9000 for
normal Inf.). And because heavier units and mobile transport it requires fuel.
Mobile Infantry
Elite Light Infantry Division:

Elite Light Infantry Brigade
Anti-Tank
Artillery or Medium Artillery or Pack Art (if lots of battles in mountains are planned)
Motorcycle Recon
Engineer
Light Transport
HQ
Heavy Anti-Air
This setup is a nice compromise between speed and firepower. Cost is debatable thing here since ELINF brigade is from
expensive category. In return we get division that has low supply consumption and very good terrain stats for both combat
and movement.
Semi-Motorized Infantry:
Semi-Motorized Infantry Brigade
Medium Artillery
Anti-Tank (upgrade to Heavy Anti-Tank when available)
Armoured Car
Engineer
Light Transport
HQ
Heavy Anti-Air
Think of it as a more mobile Heavy Infantry division. It is more expensive though and will consume more fuel and supplies
but at some point will be almost twice as fast as normal infantry divisions. It still has good terrain modifiers and combat
stats. With added later Heavy AA it is capable of fighting against almost everything. Still, it has very high softness which
will make it vulnerable to enemy attack. Whats making this division tempting is its much lower build cost than Motorized
Infantry.
Motorized Infantry Division:

Motorized Infantry Brigade
Medium Artillery
Tank Destroyer
Armored Car
Light Armor Attachment or Armor Attachment
Trucks
HQ
Heavy Anti-Air
With this division there is small problem. Its fast and powerful but lacks piercing. To solve that problem add Heavy AA (or
AT) but this will slow down the whole division. Difference in speed wont be huge but its there. This is something that
everyone needs to decide for himself, based on the enemy they are fighting.
Overall this setup is strong, but also will suffer in more difficult terrain. As always mobile units dont do well in
mountains, marshes or jungle. Still it has high combat stats which make fighting in such terrain possible.
As always such strong unit will cost us lots of supplies and fuel which might a problem in low infrastructure countries.
Moreover, this setup has very high CA bonus thanks to covering almost all possible slots.
Motorized Infantry Division - cheap

Medium Artillery
Anti-Tank (later upgraded to Heavy AT)
Motorcycle Recon
Engineer
Light Transport
HQ
Heavy Anti-Air
Mot.Inf. division for countries with smaller IC or if player wants more, quickly. It has lower combat stats than previous
setup but its much easier to supply and has better terrain stats thanks to Engineers. Of course it will be also slower. In this
case adding Heavy AA isnt a question but a necessity, because this division will need every SA or HA point it can get in
addition to the obvious piercing bonus.
Motorized Infantry Division - speed focus

Tank Destroyer
Light Armor Attachment
Armored Car
Trucks (when available upgrade to Half-tracks)
HQ
Only 4 combat brigades to maximize terrain movement bonuses. All brigades here have minimum speed of 7kph so this
division will be very fast. But this comes at a huge price. No attack/defence bonuses from artillery and no engineers make it
much weaker in combat than previous setups. It also lacks piercing. But if speed is needed it is the second best setup.
Mechanised Infantry Division - generic:

Mechanised Infantry Brigade
Self-Propelled Artillery
Tank Destroyer (later upgraded to Medium TD)
Heavy Anti-Air
Armoured Engineers
Armor Attachment
Half-Tracks
HQ
Mechanised Infantry is available in 1941 so Superior Firepower (1940) should already be unlocked. Same goes for
Armoured Engineers.
Mech.Inf divisions are very expensive, consume lots of fuel and supplies, but are one of the most powerful divisions in
game. One of the main weaknesses of those divisions is terrible performance in rough terrain. To balance this out in less
demanding places like plains, hills or desert this division will be next to unstoppable.
Mechanised Infantry Division - Fort Buster Setup
Mechanised Infantry Brigade
Heavy Armor
Heavy Artillery
Armoured Engineers
Special Forces (Commando)
Battle Commander
Armored Support Brigade
Half-Tracks
This isnt best thing there is for attacking forts but it will be enough to deal with most fortified places in game - low level
mud/snow, random forts scattered across the map etc. Unfortunately it has even worse terrain penalties than previous setup
(despite using Heavy Art which gives bigger bonuses), but thanks to very strong brigades it still has great combat stats which
make it very dangerous in every situation.
Armor
Light Armor Division - standard

Light Armor Brigade
Motorized Infantry Attachment
Artillery
Anti-Tank or Tank Destroyer
Motorcycle Recon
Light Transport
HQ
Typical pre-war setup for tank division. It has relatively good combat stats and its faster than most of units of that era. Even
during war when more powerful divisions are commonly used it still retains some of its strengths like good speed and decent
firepower. Another plus of this division are good terrain stats. Thanks to its use of lighter equipment it has lower penalties
for terrain like mountains or jungle.
Light Armor Divisions - exploitation/speed focus

Light Armor Brigade
Motorized Infantry Attachment (later upgraded to Mechanized Infantry Attachment)
Tank Destroyer
Armored Car
Trucks (later upgraded to Half-Tracks)
HQ
Earlier I mentioned faster division than exploitation based Mot.Inf. This is it. With 1941 techs it can go more than 10 kph in
plains. Its not good at front line combat - only 4 brigades, LARM, no artillery, but its purpose isnt to fight. It can outrun
everything, overrun any retreating unit and quickly be deployed across a large area. Still its not advised to use them against
huge stack of enemy troops or proper tank divisions.
Tank Division - with upgrades

Armor Brigade
Motorized Infantry Attachment (upgr. to Mech.Inf.Att.)
Tank Destroyer (upgr. to Medium TD)
Medium Artillery (upgr. to Self Propelled Art.)
Engineers (upgr. to Armoured Eng.)
Trucks (upgr. to Half-Tracks)
HQ
Heavy Anti-Air (upgr. to Self Propelled AA)
From the day it is available it will be one of the strongest setups possible. What makes it even better is that every part of this
division has some stronger version unlocked later in game. Even more amazing is that despite using heavier equipment it
will get faster and faster. Terrain bonuses also arent bad thanks to Medium Art (SP Art) and Engineers (Arm.Eng). Still,
combat effectiveness in marshes or mountains will be very low. As always for strong unit this division will consume huge
amount of fuel and supplies.
Specialised Forces
Paratrooper Division
Paratroopers
Paratroopers (eventually replaced with Airlanding Infantry Brigade)
Motorcycle Recon
Light Transport
HQ
Airborne Mixed Support Brigade
Amphibious Armor Brigade
Specialised divisions are great at one particular job but most of them suffers from same problem: most of useful brigades is
unavailable pre-war. Thats why this division looks like this. Before war we have only Paratroopers and Mot.Recon to create
those divisions. Later, with better techs we get access to new brigades that will make this division stronger and more combat
capable. There is side effect of course: more equipment will make division much heavier and harder to carry using a small
amount of transport planes. It will also increase fuel and supply consumption which sometimes may be huge problem for
division fighting almost always behind enemy lines be sure to use a leader with appropriate traits (this goes for all
divisions, but especially airborne).
Once you have Superior Firepower, and if you can afford it, you can add in a Commando brigade to make these bad boys
really capable.
Mountain Division - default setup

Mountain Infantry
Pack Artillery
Anti-Tank
Recon Cavalry
Engineer
Horse Transport
HQ
Its similar to Inf. division - as simple as possible, available early and good at its job. This division has low supply
consumption. Main and obvious strength of this division is ability to fight in mountains. It also has great bonuses for hills,
woods and forests combat and movement. Its slightly more expensive and time consuming to build than standard Inf.
division. Also it requires quite big leadership investment but in return we get divisions that in the aforementioned terrain will
easily defeat standard Inf. division and lighter mobile divisions. Once Superior Firepower is researched you can add in Light
Infantry for more front line capabilities at low cost.
Mountain Division - alternate setup

Mountain Infantry
Pack Artillery
Anti-Tank
Armored Car
Engineer
Light Transport
HQ
Heavy Anti-Air
Heavier setup, more expensive and also consuming some fuel. Not much, but it should be listed. Main difference is adding
AC and Light Transport. Those two units will give division more punch (extra CA bonus from Light Transp. and better
combat stats from AC) but will increase supply consumption and whole divisions will require fuel to move. Terrain stats will
stay roughly the same so we dont lose much and we get stronger division in return. Once Superior Firepower is available
adding Heavy AA will give this division Piercing Value high enough to fight with any division there is.
Marines/Naval Infantry
Marines (or Naval Infantry if Marines arent available)
Pack Artillery
Anti-Tank
Engineer
Light Transport
HQ
Amphibious Armor
Special Forces (Commando)
Same problem as with Paratrooper Division - 2 very good additions are unavailable in the first few years. Even without them
this division is quite good thanks to Marines being a very strong unit with good terrain stats for terrain like jungle or
marshes. It is of course much weaker if we dont have Marines and we are forced to use Naval Infantry. This setup supply
needs are very low and unless Amphibious Armor is used it doesnt require fuel. Big boost for this division are Commandos
with their great terrain bonuses and combat stats. In full setup this unit will perform very well at both naval invasions and
fighting on front lines.
Questions and Answers if you have a question, suggest it in the thread, and we will add
it here!
Q- What artillery to use for armor and Motorised infantry? Artillery or Medium Artillery? Should I go with trucks
or light trucks ?
A- Artillery is best for faster units, medium artillery is more powerful but slower.
Q- What if I add a truck or light vehicle / halftrack to my regular infantry - ENG - ART - AT?
A - Infantry with trucks/ light vehicles etc will be faster than horses (and have mobile CA bonus), however, they
will also require more supplies, and fuel. They will also be somewhat more expensive to build and maintain.
Q- Will Heavy Artillery with horses be able to move?
A- Horses will move Heavy Artillery very slowly. Poor things, having to lug those big guns around!
Q- Do Corps/Armies HQs need trucks/L-trucks for moving?
Q arms, but AT gives the same 5% slot and brings 9 Hard attack to the table and costs a lot less. My understanding
was that artillery historically caused 80-90% of the soft casualties. But now it is only contributing about 12% of the
Soft attack of a HQ+inf+Art div. Is there a hidden factor I am missing?
A - Artillery provides large terrain attack and defence bonuses - depending on the terrain and whether the type
of artillery. The exception is rocket artillery which provides soft attack but not so much in the way of terrain
bonuses. So it basically provides a big support to any attacking or defending units, and is not so useful on its
own. (it caused around 75% of casualties, incidentally).
Q- I have a problem with a British doomstack (around 60 ships) navy landing troops in Norway. I attacked them with
well balanced fleets and good admirals. Lost most of my Destroyers and Light Cruiser and Bismarck, Tirpitz and
Gneisenau were close to sinking. I even dominated the air and hit their CAG's pretty hard with my landbased CAG
and Int. Did I do something wrong? Is there a trick I have to use?
A- The best defence against doomstacks is, unfortunately, a bigger doomstack. Otherwise keep them under
observation and avoid crossing paths with them. This is generally easy to do as the doomstacks tend to occur
if the AI is rebasing its fleet or supporting an invasion. Wait for its mission to finish and the fleet to return
to port. Usually the AI will then split the doomstack up and you can deal with the smaller groups as normal.
If said doomstack is occurring in a multiplayer game, proceed to slap your opponent for being a douchebag.
Credits
Edition 1.0
Panzeroo
Oumajgad
Edited by Das Gleiche

BICE 8 Manual v.1.0

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Edition 1.

d:\games\Hearts of Iron 3 or c:\games\steam\steamapps\common\Hearts of Iron 3

Overwrite the original hoi3_tfh.exe file with it.

Upgrading From Previous Versions

Do not install HOI3 in C:\PROGRAM FILES, install it elsewhere!

Section 1 - Difficulty settings

10IC in province/ 650 total IC

9IC in province / 400 total IC

8IC in province / 300 total IC

7IC in province / 200 total IC

6IC in province / 150 total IC

5IC in province / 100 total IC

4IC in province / 50 total IC

- Reduces build time of all naval units by 1% per level of building.

- Increases research efficiency by 5% per level of building.

- Increases supply throughput by 1% per level of building.

- Increases casualty trickleback by 0.5% per level of building.

- Increases province manpower levels by 0.5% per level of building.

- Increases province IC by 25% per level of building.

- Increases province metal output by 25% per level of building.

- Increases province energy output by 25% per level of building.

Rares extraction centres

- Increases province rare materials output by 25% per level of building.

- Increases province crude oil output by 25% per level of building.

- Increases oil to fuel conversion by 0.25% per level of building.

Questions and Answers

Horse Transport - basic transport unit

Light Vehicle Transport - very mobile and light transport unit

Truck Transport - full scale motorized transport unit

Half-track Transport - heavy duty transport unit

Infantry Unit Types

Available only for Italy, France and Japan.

Motorized Infantry - fully motorized infantry brigade. Strong, fast, expensive.

Available as support brigade (Motorized Infantry Battalion).

Mechanised Infantry - heaviest and strongest available infantry unit in game.

Available as support brigade (Mechanised Infantry Battalion)

Available in Guards and SS variants

Militia - poor countries infantry, or volunteer fanatics.

Available in Fascist and Communist variants.

Also available in SS variant

Paratroopers - first available airborne main brigade.

Also available in SS and Guards variants.

Airlanding Infantry - bigger and heavier version of paratroopers.

Ski Infantry - made for fighting in arctic terrain.

Marines - naval invasion specialists. Best unit for that job.

Armored Unit Types

Also available as support brigade (Light Armor Attachment)

Also available as support brigade (Armor Attachment)

Available only as an attachment

Infantry Tank - armored unit designed as support for infantry units.

Available only as attachment

Super Heavy Armor - heaviest available unit in game the Maus.

Available only as attachment

Available only as an attachment

Other (unassigned) Unit Types

Garrison - unit good at one job only - defending and stalling.

Also available as attachment (Garrison Detachment)

Available also in SS variant.

Available also in SS variant.

Armored Support Brigade - mix of TD, SP AA, Arm.Eng and AC

Available also in SS variant.

Available also in SS variant.

Medium Artillery - bigger brother of Artillery Brigade.

Available also in SS variant.