Escaping Transports

[mcaryf]

I would be pleased if someone could explain to me what I might be doing wrong.

It is 1942 and the Allies have done their usual trick of landing in Morocco. I had previously had some success in taking out Allied CV's etc so they have chosen to place 11 unescorted transports in the sea area to the West of Gibraltar which I own. They have landed 14 or so units with some arty and planes but no supplies (I think they are intending to use some that are in the Azores?). My airforce in Gib destroyed their planes. I then sent out my subs to destroy Allied transports in the 3 sea areas bordering the area with the 11 transports so these areas were then empty. I then slipped 3 Italian warships through Gib (to avoid Op Fire from Morocco) passed the 11 transports and into the three empty sea areas. Thus I have completely surrounded the 11 transports with sea areas filled with warships that have not yet fought. Finally I send a fourth warship in amongst the 11 transports sinking one of them. The remainder then happily retreat to Scotland passing right through a sea area with one of my warships in it.

Can someone please explain if this is WAD or a bug or a trap that I can make work if I do it differently.

mike

[Agema]

I suspect it reflects the fact that even if the transports scattered, it's unlikely they could all be caught - they'd represent loads more ships than could be caught with all the sea available to manoeuver in, unlike on land where a pocket of troops is doomed. In the same way when navies fight, some ships may not take part, and so on. It might also reflect the relatively abstract nature of transports; a fleet represents a number of ships as an operational unit, but a transport more represents a supply route where ships go back and forth across the whole potential length of the supply route.

[toddtreadway]

I think the ship retreat rules were revised in the first patch, and that as long as there is a port the ships could get to with their movement rating (and regardless of the presence of enemy ships) those ships with retreat there if they are surrounded. Not totally sure about this, but I think that is the way it works.

[JanSorensen]

Aye

Its just too easy surround on the sea so using the same retreat rules as on land would be far too harsh.

[mcaryf]

Oh well that is a pity - I was rather offended at the Allies insolence in leaving stacks of transports unguarded under the guns of my BB's! Rather a-historic when you consider the state the Admiralty got into when it thought Tirpitz might catch up with PQ17!

Mike

[mcaryf]

One further thought.

I notice that the transports have used a lot of their movement allowance in fleeing back to port in Scotland. Will this be lost for their next turn? This could make it worth my spending my BB movement point/supply cost as effectively those transports cannot come back again!

Mike

[Joel Billings]

They will get their MP's back at the start of their next turn.

[toddtreadway]

I do like the idea of retreating ships using supplies and having their movement reduced for the next turn.

[MarcelJV]

This happens to all allied ships only. For Axis or Soviets the ships would have been destroyed, not sure why this is the rule but it is. I assume it is to protect the allied fleet on the West Coast and Hawai from capture/destruction when taking the land areas. You will have to sink them next time the hard way.

[von_Schmidt]

ORIGINAL: MarcelJV

This happens to all allied ships only. For Axis or Soviets the ships would have been destroyed, not sure why this is the rule but it is. I assume it is to protect the allied fleet on the West Coast and Hawai from capture/destruction when taking the land areas. You will have to sink them next time the hard way.

I'm pretty sure that the rule is the same for all sides. It's just that the Soviets and Japanese usually have less nearby ports left to move their trapped units to.

I have seen Japanese carriers fleeing Tokyo and ending up in India!

The 'damaged' ships routine leads to some interesting results as well. It rather surprised me to see a Soviet HF moving to Vladivostock...
Must have been a b*tch to drag that BB across the tundra.

-von Schmidt