Deactivate Barracks

Activated barracks and naval bases consume food / oil. Damaged level 1 not, but damaged levels 2 and 3 yes. The same applies to naval bases. Deactivated consume nothing.

Where to click to activate / deactivate:

>> not damaged:

>> not damaged and damaged levels 2 and 3:

>> the same for naval bases...

In addition to producing infantry units, an activated barracks increases manpower production in the province where the barracks is located, but it also costs additional food:

L1 barracks . . . . . +10% manpower . . . . . . . -200 tons of food daily

L2 barracks . . . . . +30% manpower . . . . . . . -700 tons of food daily

L3 barracks . . . . . +50% manpower . . . . . . -1,200 tons of food daily

Deactivating barracks reduces food consumption, but eliminates the manpower production bonus.

Likewise, in addition to producing naval units, an activated naval base increases resource production in the province where the base is located, but it also costs additional oil:

L1 naval base . . . . . . +5.0% resource production . . . . . . -50 tons of oil daily

L2 naval base . . . . . +17.5% resource production . . . . . -150 tons of oil daily

L3 naval base . . . . . +30.0% resource production . . . . . -250 tons of oil daily

Deactivating naval bases reduces oil consumption, but also eliminates the resource production bonus.

And I will add in here that the ONLY time a naval base really pays for itself is when it is on an oil producing CORE province. In that case you can leave the naval base active and it will produce more oil than it consumes.

I'm using my naval bases to boost my core provinces with food production as well. Because I use militia for garrisoning and defence, my oil consumption is actually decently controlled. Food production is the real problem, because you MUST conquer a very high number of provinces (as pointed out in another recent thread). So I am using oil in a level 3 naval base to boost food, because that is really going negative.

@MartinB: Something to think about . . .

Conventional infantry, motorized infantry and mechanized infantry units consume food at about twice the daily rate of most non-infantry (45 to 50 tons). Yes, militia consumes about half the food of other infantry units (50 tons), but as discussed elsewhere, militia has significant limitations, especially on offense. Militia also require the same number of men to create a new unit as conventional infantry, and more than motorized and mechanized infantry. Commando units also consume 50 tons of food daily, they require less manpower to create, and they are significantly stronger than all other infantry units in almost all situations. If you're still producing militia in the middle and late game, you may want to re-think that.

Also, don't use naval bases to boost food production in your core resource provinces until those same provinces are fully improved with L3 infrastructure first, and L5 industrial complexes second. Naval bases are the most costly and least efficient way to increase resource production, and should be undertaken for that purpose after infrastructure and industrial complexes are fully built out. Of course, if you need a naval base for the production of naval units, it probably makes sense to locate it in a resource province if you can.

MontanaBB wrote:

1. Yes, militia consumes about half the food of other infantry units (50 tons), but as discussed elsewhere, militia has significant limitations, especially on offense.

2. Militia also require the same number of men to create a new unit as conventional infantry, and more than motorized and mechanized infantry.

3. Commando units also consume 50 tons of food daily, they require less manpower to create, and they are significantly stronger than all other infantry units in almost all situations. If you're still producing militia in the middle and late game, you may want to re-think that.

4. Also, don't use naval bases to boost food production in your core resource provinces until those same provinces are fully improved with L3 infrastructure first, and L5 industrial complexes second.

1. The basic concept is that of using different units for different purposes. Yes, militia are lousy for offensive operations, which is why I do not use them for this. I use them for garrisoning, either to keep provinces from rebelling (while I build fortifications), or to hold defensive spots (because if you are defending a strategic position with an AT gun, that gun is going to last a hell of a lot longer if you throw in a couple of cheap and nasty militia to absorb damage). Using militia frees up my more expensive units to actually go on the offensive. So, if conquering Argentina, a few militia keep conquered cities from rebelling, while my crack troops move on to take more land. This maximises the utility of my more expensive units. I think of it as similar to using my Waffen-SS divisions to take land, and then moving in a bunch of old men on bicycles to garrison the place. My Waffen-SS divisions are best used as spearheads for an invasion, not to lounge around the Champs-Elysees (or the Panama Canal) smoking cigarettes.

2. Manpower is hardly a problem once you conquer a couple of countries. If I have not conquered any other countries yet, then I would not be building militia, because I would not need to garrison anything. If I am building militia, it is because I am already in a situation where manpower is no longer a limiting factor, because I have a whole lot of provinces that I need to garrison. The basic concept is that if I have a whole bunch of non-core provinces using up my Food and Goods to produce money and manpower that I do not really need, then I want to use units that cost very little Goods to produce and very little Food to maintain to garrison those provinces. Leaving large swathes of territory unprotected is unwise, unless you are playing against noobs or the AI, because an experienced player will just land a couple of armoured cars there, and within a few hours you will no longer have to worry about protecting those provinces because they will not belong to you any longer.

3. I only use commando units judiciously. Basically, as a spearhead for an invasion. If I am trying to conquer Bolivia, and my commando units have to be recruited in London or Berlin, the time it takes them to get to the front makes using them an unnecessary drain on resources. I want units that are using up my Food at the decisive point, not in a convoy crossing the Atlantic.

4. Of course not. In the early game, the naval bases in my core provinces would be building a fleet to win command of the sea anyway. By the mid-game, my core provinces producing food would all have level three infrastructure, and would be rapidly building up my industry into the higher levels.

I think the basic idea is that you build different units for different purposes. You don't just build battleships, because if you do, your fleet will be wiped out by a sub-spammer. In the same way, you want a balance of other units. Some for garrisoning, some for your armoured spearheads, some for air defence for your airbases, and so on and so forth. To anyone who says that you do not need to leave ANY units to garrison your territories, I say try playing against an experienced bugger who will drop a few motorised units in your provinces while you are offline sleeping, or working, or playing pattycake with your wife/girlfriend/friend with benefits.