Bait?

[OldBoney]

I read somewhere that the CAW AI doesn’t know how to bait. Well here’s what happened to me. I was playing Coral Sea as the allies (random section was on so I don’t know which variant). I had my carriers lurking in some weather just south of the tip of New Guinea. Search has plotted several light & capital TGs but I’m biding my time. Then a TG with 2 carriers with several escorts is sighted. I wait for a couple of more sightings to come in – two carriers with a good fix on position so I launch.

My first surprise was finding the two carriers were Soryu and Hiryu but I proceeded to hit them hard, sinking one putting the other one out of action. The second surprise was a strike on my carriers delivered by a three carrier TG (Shokaku, Zuikaku & Hiyo) that was trailing the first by about a hundred miles. I managed to get off a strike from one carrier, but it was too little & too late. I quickly lost three first line carriers and then the surface ships were systematically hunted down. When night fell the survivors headed for Australia and I had the consolation of knowing the score could have been worse.

Maybe this was random chance but it looked like a baited trap to me. Of course my 3 Carriers (Lexington, Yorktown & Wasp) were badly outnumbered and IJN’s Hosho was still out there somewhere. Best thing I could have done would have been to avoid the carrier TGs and pick off support units. Of course I didn’t know what I was up against till I learned the hard way (just like the real world).

[decaro]

This has never happened to me, though I wouldn't mind if it did. Then again, I've never played thru all the new variant Coral Sea scenarios, though the AI should be the same from scenario to scenario.

Then again ...