bruticus
05-28-2009, 07:17 PM
Total game time was 9/1939 to ~9/1942, but it seemed like the victory really occured during the last 6 months of playing.
Playing USN vs IT in the Med, in the first year's annual report, FDR slapped my wrist for "very poor performance." During this first year the action consisted mainly of sporadic surface engagements. I saw several IT battle (both surface and carrier) groups that looked competent, but rarely engaged in any meaningful action. Both sides lost a few cruisers and ~dozen escorts and merchies. Air action was negligible; in fact, my air assets (land and naval) managed only a handful of missions, while IT land-based aircraft took a few swipes at my ships (but never attacked my bases) and I saw no evidence of carrier-based aircraft.
In the second year annual report, I was told "you have performed capably. We have confidence in your abilities." I was finally receiving allotments of competent, effective a/c (TBM1, SBD-6, and the Hellcat even appeared on my list of "possible to produce" types)
In this year, my subs took a heavy toll of IT shipping for almost no loss. Similarly, I started seeing IT carriers and merchies waltzing around nearly unescorted, and several times an IT surface fleet sailed straight at my AdvPort, ignoring damage from surface, sub, and aerial engagements alike, and just kept going straight until every ship had been sunk or crippled.
At the start of 1942 I decided to invade Cagliari as the first step to taking Palermo. I loaded up 10K amphib troops and full supplies, attached the Iowa and every surface asset available...and it was a pushover. Cagliari was UNdefended! I captured 33 RPs, 10 fighters (which appeared, next turn, ready for my use!) and a bunch of ships (which were listed as captured but never appeared as available for my use). The following turn I ordered all the infantry back onto the ships, returned them to Gibraltar, and (using MUCH smaller convoy groups over the space of several weeks) replaced them with a handful of infantry.
In the following couple months, enemy activity virtually stopped. The IT player didn't even attempt to hurt the ships involved in shuffling my troops around.
A couple months after that, I was informed that I'd achieved a stunning victory over the enemy and my efforts were greatly rewarded.
I won, but it felt kind of hollow. Throughout the game, I noticed that the Italian commander built escorts, subs, and merchies almost to the exclusion of CAs or larger. He built 3 or 4 escort carriers and maybe 10 CA/CL, but no more of them and nothing bigger. In the final months, he was up to "Ship Class mid-20s" on a couple types of escorts, and I sank dozens of them just in the months of 1942. A mob would appear somewhere in the Med, heading one way or another on missions I could not discern, and I'd sally out with the Iowa and a bunch of cruisers and sink 70-100% of them. The final battle was often
"Iowa + 5 CA/CL + 20 DD" vs "2 DD."
It seems like the AI commander never cancels a fleet's original mission regardless of losses, choosing instead to split off damaged ships but keep the original group going, regardless of losses suffered, right to the last ship. I'd fight a fleet that started as 4-6 cruisers and appropriate escorts, sink or cripple a few ships, sink a few of the survivors a few hours or days later, and so on, while the enemy fleet seemed to just wander around with no instinct for self preservation.
The majority of damage I suffered in surface battle was inflicted by the VV which, for almost the entire war, sailed around unaccompanied and unescorted, inflicting serious damage on any of my fleets that did not include the Iowa or at least 4 cruisers. Even fleets consisting of 2 or 3 CAs and 15 destroyers were helpless against this one ship. It seemed particularly adept at catching groups of DEs on minelaying missions and sinking every one of them, regardless of the time of the battle or the initial battle range. Often it fought at night at ranges starting at 10K yards, yet my DE/DDs inevitable chose to run straight away and get annihilated by gunfire rather than closer for a torpedo attack. My subs torpedoed it multiple times (4 times in one action alone for "moderate damage), and it would reappear (again, solo) 1-2 months later.
DjB
Playing USN vs IT in the Med, in the first year's annual report, FDR slapped my wrist for "very poor performance." During this first year the action consisted mainly of sporadic surface engagements. I saw several IT battle (both surface and carrier) groups that looked competent, but rarely engaged in any meaningful action. Both sides lost a few cruisers and ~dozen escorts and merchies. Air action was negligible; in fact, my air assets (land and naval) managed only a handful of missions, while IT land-based aircraft took a few swipes at my ships (but never attacked my bases) and I saw no evidence of carrier-based aircraft.
In the second year annual report, I was told "you have performed capably. We have confidence in your abilities." I was finally receiving allotments of competent, effective a/c (TBM1, SBD-6, and the Hellcat even appeared on my list of "possible to produce" types)
In this year, my subs took a heavy toll of IT shipping for almost no loss. Similarly, I started seeing IT carriers and merchies waltzing around nearly unescorted, and several times an IT surface fleet sailed straight at my AdvPort, ignoring damage from surface, sub, and aerial engagements alike, and just kept going straight until every ship had been sunk or crippled.
At the start of 1942 I decided to invade Cagliari as the first step to taking Palermo. I loaded up 10K amphib troops and full supplies, attached the Iowa and every surface asset available...and it was a pushover. Cagliari was UNdefended! I captured 33 RPs, 10 fighters (which appeared, next turn, ready for my use!) and a bunch of ships (which were listed as captured but never appeared as available for my use). The following turn I ordered all the infantry back onto the ships, returned them to Gibraltar, and (using MUCH smaller convoy groups over the space of several weeks) replaced them with a handful of infantry.
In the following couple months, enemy activity virtually stopped. The IT player didn't even attempt to hurt the ships involved in shuffling my troops around.
A couple months after that, I was informed that I'd achieved a stunning victory over the enemy and my efforts were greatly rewarded.
I won, but it felt kind of hollow. Throughout the game, I noticed that the Italian commander built escorts, subs, and merchies almost to the exclusion of CAs or larger. He built 3 or 4 escort carriers and maybe 10 CA/CL, but no more of them and nothing bigger. In the final months, he was up to "Ship Class mid-20s" on a couple types of escorts, and I sank dozens of them just in the months of 1942. A mob would appear somewhere in the Med, heading one way or another on missions I could not discern, and I'd sally out with the Iowa and a bunch of cruisers and sink 70-100% of them. The final battle was often
"Iowa + 5 CA/CL + 20 DD" vs "2 DD."
It seems like the AI commander never cancels a fleet's original mission regardless of losses, choosing instead to split off damaged ships but keep the original group going, regardless of losses suffered, right to the last ship. I'd fight a fleet that started as 4-6 cruisers and appropriate escorts, sink or cripple a few ships, sink a few of the survivors a few hours or days later, and so on, while the enemy fleet seemed to just wander around with no instinct for self preservation.
The majority of damage I suffered in surface battle was inflicted by the VV which, for almost the entire war, sailed around unaccompanied and unescorted, inflicting serious damage on any of my fleets that did not include the Iowa or at least 4 cruisers. Even fleets consisting of 2 or 3 CAs and 15 destroyers were helpless against this one ship. It seemed particularly adept at catching groups of DEs on minelaying missions and sinking every one of them, regardless of the time of the battle or the initial battle range. Often it fought at night at ranges starting at 10K yards, yet my DE/DDs inevitable chose to run straight away and get annihilated by gunfire rather than closer for a torpedo attack. My subs torpedoed it multiple times (4 times in one action alone for "moderate damage), and it would reappear (again, solo) 1-2 months later.
DjB