What kind of manual(s) should we ask for?

[Grapeshot Bob]

ORIGINAL: Froonp

Here is my take at 3.4.4 Deploying Naval Units for the Players Manual.


Naval unit’s deployment in MWiF is an art in itself. Naval units normally sail just twice during a turn, once to reach the patrol area, once to return to safe the haven of a port (unless they are reorganized and can sail again). They can fight virtually an unlimited number of naval battles against enemy ships, but kind of air units can only “act” once in regards to sea to land operations (shore bombardment, loading, unloading troops, air missions).

Task Forces’ composition
The first thing to master to have an edge at sea is the Task Forces’ composition. Normally you assemble Task Forces for special tasks, as their name means, but there are important characteristics of Task Forces that can enter in the decision too, which are :
• Speed & Range. Try to gather ships with comparable speeds. It is easier to plan their moves thereafter. The best is to have fleet(s) of ships that have a speed of 6, fleet(s) of ships that have a speed of 5, and fleet(s) of ships that have a speed of 4. Ships with lower speeds usually are useless in fleets, and are used in convoy escort duties. You’ll gather / arrange your various fleets depending on your needs from turn to turn, but having stable Task Forces across some game turns will help you assess your own forces, and help you organize yourself.
• Number of ships (Target Size). 4, 7, 11, 16, 22, 29. These are the maximum sizes of each row of the Naval Combat Chart. Having 8 ships is worse than having 7 ships, because for only 1 extra ship you are representing a significant larger target size. My experience is that 7 or 11 ships were the best sizes for medium sized Task Forces. Above 11 ships, you generally don’t bother anymore for your target size.
• Air to Air strength. If you can, evaluate the air-to-air strength of the enemy in the sea area you will operate, and build a Task Force that have, with or without land-based air units, the right air-to-air strength. Superior if you need that, or at least comparable If you don’t need to be superior. My experience is that I always try to reach +2 in provisional air to-air strength when I am in situation of air superiority. I may need more, and I’ll use more in that case, but that’s a general rule of thumb to try to evaluate what I need to send. Avoid massing too much unneeded forces in the same task force, they will be missed elsewhere.

Other important characteristics :
• Air to sea factors. You need to have some, obviously, otherwise you lack teeth.
• Surface combat factors. Same, but you will use it much less often. You may never use that for all the game.
• Shore bombardment factors. If it is a shore bombardment fleet, you need to evaluate how much shore bombardment you need for your upcoming invasions, or land combat, and also for the probable enemy counter attack.
• AA strength. When in doubt between two ships, take the one with the most AA.
• If possible, include a weak / cheap / non important ship in your Task Force for a cheap first loss.

Personally, I like to have many medium sized Task Forces, which I arrange and re-arrange within themselves from turn to turn depending on my needs, as if they were modules. I rarely change the composition of those medium sized Task Forces, except when better ships arrive or when I have losses.

Sorties
You need to plan your sorties carefully. Remember that if you sail your “big fleet” somewhere for example, this will also mean that your “big fleet” won’t be somewhere else, so the enemy could take advantage of where you’re not to do something nasty to you. Where you are not, can be more important than where you are.

You should always analyse the situation both by asking yourself where you need to strike the enemy to pursue your global strategy, but also where the enemy could strike you to pursue his own global strategy, even if his global strategy is only to make your life a misery conquering him.

You can also analyse the situation seeking what you might be able to do with your fleets that would oblige your enemy to do something you want him to do with his fleets, that would benefit him less than if he had done something else. Some kind of distraction mission.

Having analysed the situation, you will sail the fleets you need in order to accomplish the tasks that your global strategy needs, and you will also cover the places where you think your enemy could harm you (now that you have moved your ships somewhere) with other (reserve) fleets, or rather land based air units (that can be quite dissuasive by themselves). These cover fleets can either be sailed into the possibly threatened places for immediate defence, or simply held in reserve in a port, able to jump on the enemy after he will have moved.

When you are on the “reacting side” of the naval war (it is your enemy that has the strategic initiative, and you only react most of the time), you need to analyse the enemy’s fleet placements and try to understand his strategic goals. Then see if you can counter them by sailing in the same sea area and seek battle, or if you can counter them by sailing somewhere else, or if it is preferable to sail somewhere else again to take advantage of the enemy being absent from there to achieve some of your own goals, or simply not sail at all.

Land-based air units
Land-based air units are everything at sea. They literally rule the seas. There is nothing that fleets not accompanied with their own air power (CVs) can do in places where Land-based air units abound, so they should not even try. Remember the Repulse & Prince of Wales and the Bismarck for example, and never trust your AA to repel the enemy land-based bombers, even if sometimes AA can make miracles.

As a naval power that seeks to “gain ground” at sea, you should always first aim at gaining new airbases (islands with ports are the most preferable when there is no continent nearby) to base your Land-based air units to contest the enemy’s Land-based air units (unless there are none, but in that case there is nothing to difficult to do to “gain ground”), to contest the sea area.

Deploying Land-based air units at sea obeys the same general rules as deploying the fleets at sea, because air units at sea are treated about the same way as ships : They patrol the 5 sea boxes, and stay at sea for all the turn, or many turns maybe. A difference is that they can’t generally patrol sea areas that are not very near their base, contrarily to ships that can patrol very far way from their bases (example, air units in Pearl Harbor will be able to patrol the 3 adjacent sea areas without problems, but not more far, while naval units in Pearl Harbor will be able to patrol sea areas as far as the China Sea).

Convoy escort duties
The Sea Box Sections to cover with escorting ships are :
• Section 0 : always, because the convoys are here. Normal escort size : 2-3 ships to reach 4-6 ASW points. Air unit if possible, to deny 4 surprise points to the enemy.
• Section 4 : desirable, because this is from this section that the raiders & SUBs will be found and hurt. Normal escort size : 2-3 ships to reach 4-6 ASW points. Air unit if possible, to better find the enemy.
• Section 1 : if possible, because the ships that sail here will be sailing in section 0 during the first impulse of the next turn, and will be the only defence of the convoys if you play second.

The minimum escort size would be 1-2 ship where there is a very little chance of enemy raiding, 2-3 ships in places with some chances of enemy raiding, and 3+ ships or more in places with large chances of enemy raiding. Air units are very desirable in section 0 (remember they can often come here using a naval interception move, to spare air missions), and section 4.

At the end of the turn the ships in Sea Box Section 1 move down to the Sea Box Section 0, the ships in Sea Box Section 4 move down to the Sea Box Section 3 and the ships in Sea Box Section 0 return to base (except CP and ASW that stay here). During the first naval action that follows, you should move the ships that are in the Sea Box Section 3 to the Sea Box Section 1 and the ships that rebased home last turn to the Sea Box Section 4 (cruisers).

For example, for the CW during most of the Battle of the Atlantic (end 40 / early 43)
• Places with large chances of enemy raiding would be the Bay of Biscay (very high chances here), the Faeroes, the North Atlantic and the Cape St Vincent.
• Places with some chances of enemy raiding would be those sea areas that are just away from those cited above.
• Places with very little chance of enemy raiding would be the rest of the sea areas that the Euro Axis could reach.

Also, try to arrange to have spare ships to replace some losses, and especially spare convoy points to replace the convoy losses. Having reorganization power near the port where you have returned to base your aborted ships can be good to help replace the losses.

Raiding the enemy
SUBs
SUB raiding major powers are Germany & Italy (combined most of the time), Japan and the USA. The CW in a much lesser extends. They follow the same rules, that are :
• SUBs need to be numerous to achieve something durable. As much as 10-15 SUBs on a theatre is a respectable quantity that will achieve havoc in your enemy convoy lines. 5-10 SUBs on a theatre is a fair number that you can aim at reaching easily, that will give you good results, and less than 5 is nearly harmless.
• Have a steady BP rate of SUB construction / repairs to keep up the number.
• Avoid daring too much. There are sea areas that are death traps for the SUBs, these are the ones where there is fine weather and plenty of LBA available to cover section 4. Be wary of sudden weather changes.
• Don’t hesitate to sortie on bad weather. Storm & blizzard reduces the chances of scoring, but also reduces the enemy’s chances against you.
• Search often, possibly each impulse. You can vary the major power that is initiating the searches in a sea area. Italy can initiate for Germany, the CW for the USA or vice versa, just plan this from the start by mixing your SUBs as much as you can with allied major power’s SUBs.

Raiders
Raiders are less efficient as SUBs, and more at risk because they can’t choose to avoid combat as SUBs can.
• Strike where the enemy aren’t. If possible, strike where it is not escorted, far away from possible warships that could come hunting you.
• Spread up as much as possible so that the enemy spreads up seeking you.
• Abort combat if the place becomes too hot. There is no loss of pride saving a ship.
• Don’t risk precious powerful warships in raiding (Personally I’m very cautious with the Mogami and the Baltimore classes, that I prefer not to waste raiding as they are much more useful at fleet tasks, Mogami for their very good surface and defence factors, Baltimore for their high AA factor.
• Try varying the places where you hunt to keep the enemy on his toes, and to spread out his defence as much as possible.

General useful trickeries
You have to know a number of tricks on the MWiF oceans :
• Have fleets (or just SUBs) placed on the enemy’s way back from the Sea Area where you intend to fight him, so that you can try and intercept the damaged & aborted ships at an advantage. This looks like a stab in the back, but no one ever said that war at sea had to be fair.
• In the same idea, stay at sea at the end of the turn to intercept enemy ships that return to base across a sea area where you’re strong and in high sea box section. Obviously, this is even better when you’re the non phasing player, as you’ll know the decision of the phasing player whether to stay or not in each sea area.
• Stay at sea at the end of the turn to avoid having to take a naval action next turn (when you are busy with land campaigns) to sail your ships again. This is at the cost of lowering the efficiency of all those ships, but it may be better than to have to sail them again at the expense of a precious land action.

Safe Haven
• When basing important ships in a port, try to choose ports that have a back door. These are ports with more than 1 sea area adjacent. Ports adjacent to 3 sea areas are the most preferred. This ensures better supply, and a back door to flee in case of threat.
• Never have your important fleets based in port without land forces. This is too easy for your opponent to just invade here, and worse, to have his fleet intercept your fleeing fleet in case of success.
• Be careful that the ports where you place important fleets are in supply from multiple paths, because being out of supply in a port is the worst a fleet can suffer (except being sunk) as it becomes harmless.
• When an important and defenceless ship return to base in a port (either by accident or by need), consider returning to base a couple of warships with comparable speed & range in the same port to escort her when this ship will leaves that port next turn. It is entirely possible that enemy warships will blockade that port, and having 2-3 escorts with her will allow her to sail with some protection with only 1 naval move.
• When you return to base in a port, check that there is no immediate Port Attack threat in the vicinity. Take into account the possible reinforcements that the enemy might have at the beginning of next turn, and the disrupted air units that could be reorganized, or simply threatening next turn if they move first.

Reorganisation
Reorganization, for naval units, is less interesting than for air or land units, first because you can’t reorganize ships at sea, and second because naval units tend to have to work as Task Forces to be useful. There is usually no point in reorganising only 1-2 ships.

What would be better needed is to reorganize whole fleets or reorganise ships at sea, and those are only possible with the old version of the naval Offensive Chit.

But there interesting cases :
• Reorganizing sea lift (AMPH, TRS) after it has unloaded its cargo in a port. Only possible with cases 1, 5 and 6 below, where the sea lift ends its move in a port. This enable the sea lift to be used again, either to flee an endangered port, or to relocate to a port where there is a need to transport something out, or simply to immediately transport something else, or the three at the same time.
• Reorganizing aborted convoy escorts, or convoy points, so that they can sail again to fill in some holes caused by enemy raiding.
• Reorganizing key naval units that either got aborted during a previous combat at sea, or just arrived (disorganized) from the homeland as reinforcements, into a port that is near the warzone, with the goal of either sailing that ship as soon as possible in a key sea area where you need it or simply to sail it somewhere else.

Port Attacks
Ports attack can be deadly, but they are more often quite harmless. The real thing is that surprise port attacks are deadly, but regular port attacks are not that deadly.

Three reasons why Port Attacks are more often are quite harmless are :
• The ships in the port are in section 3 or 5, and the attacking planes are in section 3 if they are LBA, or section 4 at best if they come from the sea (counting as 5 if the CVP have sufficient range). So the initial surprise is more in favour of the defender and it all will depend on the search rolls. If the enemy rolls 3-4 less than you on the search rolls, he will cancel the combat. Your air unit will be disorganized for nothing.
• The Port Attack only has 1 round, thus no second chance.
• Half of the time, sunk ships won’t be really sunk, only bottomed (if playing that optional rule), much decreasing your attack efficiency because instead of having dispatched a naval unit, you only have rendered it useless for 5 6 turns, 3-4 for a TRS / AMPH.

Surprise Port Attacks on the other hand are nearly always very deadly, because the ships port struck are considered to have 0 surprise points, so the surprise points of the attacking force can be quite high. 15 max if the enemy rolls a 10 for the search roll and you are in section 4 counting as 5 because of CVP that have good range, and 15 surprise points is really huge as they allow you for example to increase your Naval Combat Chart 6 rows and select a target, which means that you will choose the 3 first targets in a row).

Bottom line is :
• When you have a Port Attack opportunity, don’t jump on it blindly, but analyse carefully the chances of success versus the air units that you won’t be able to use for something else later (except fight at sea).
• And more importantly, when you are threatened by a Port Attack, don’t hastily order your fleet out, because the enemy might benefit better from battling you at sea (unlimited combat rounds at sea, versus only 1 combat round in the port) than in your port. The enemy might only be baiting you to sortie. If you can leave from a back door (with ports that have more than one sea area adjacent) you can do that to end the threat, but this might be exactly be what the enemy is trying to make you do, so that he is free in turn to do something else.

Invasions
• When planning invasions, plan all your fleets with the necessary resources that your invasion combat will need (mainly air support & shore bombardment), but also plan enough resources for an eventual enemy’s counter attack as this is the moment when you’re the most vulnerable. Eventually, think in advance to spare 1 air mission to rebase a fighter air unit to the island you will just have conquered, to protect it against enemy air units that could help counterattacks.
• When (strategically) reacting to the enemy, try to always keep a counter invasion force that could be able to counter invade a place that the enemy just have invaded. The reason is that the enemy is often the most vulnerable just after having invaded, as his air units might be depleted, his shore bombardment might be depleted too, his land units may be disrupted, etc…

Transport Duties
You need to know all the ways to transport and unload units here & there. They are :

[here I have a diagram I had made to help people grasp all the sea transport concepts -- included at the bottom of this post]

Case 1 is the classic Port to port naval move. Very useful as the transported unit arrives without disorganizing and is ready for action.
Case 3 is loading by stopping its move in the sea area.
Cases 4 & 5 are loading by moving through a port. This is very important to master those ways. Case 4 is during a return to base naval move.

Supporting production
Carrier Planes
Carrier Planes will suffer a lot from air to sea combats. Air-to-air combat in itself is very damaging, and anti-air should not be underestimated, it destroys a lot of CVP, more than air-to-air combat sometimes.
To cope with those losses, you must, as a naval country, have a regular output of CVP from your factories. 1-2 per turn for the CW & Japan, and more for the USA, it can be 3-5 per turn. This regular output will also be necessary to keep the CV filled with the best CVP, even when the CV size is lowering each year and new better CVP can fit onto the CVs. Lacking this output, you will find yourself with empty or undermanned CVs, and this will mean that your CVs are becoming useless. There is no interest in having 20 CVs, If some of them are empty and some are undermanned. Better in that case to have only 15 CV.

Damaged ships
You should repair your best damaged ships quickly. It is cheaper & quicker to repair a ship than to have a new ship built, even if a better one. Neglecting to repair ships can lead to severe lack of warships later in the war when all those damaged ships will add up in a large miss of warships.
You should always repair the AMPH & TRS, except the worst one (3 movers) when you don’t need them.

Building a fleet
As the USA particularly, and also for Japan, your fleet is not ready to fight WW2 at game start. You should decide of what you need and have your build plan made up from day 1 so that you have what you think you need to win the battles that will allow you to gain the ground.

Holy crap, Dude!


Mark

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Bob,

This is why players find WIF interesting. It is not a "beer and pretzels" game where you just push pieces around on a map and invoke strange dieties to help with your die rolls.

Somewhere I said that a player makes 10,000+ decisions in a game of WIF, Global War Scenraio. I probably understated that by a lot, since if you play the Allied side you have to make about 625 decisions concerning action choice alone. There are easily 200 units on the Allied side in a typical turn, so that comes out to 120,000 opportunities to move a unit.

[Anendrue]

Ah heck, my brain is only good for a billion moves a game. Oh well, it's warrantied against manufacturers defects. So any mistake I make is God's fault. So don't blame me for a bad game.  [;)]

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Here is my rewrite of Patrice submission for section 3.4.2. I moved some of this (e.g., the tables) out of 3.4.3 so it doesn't appear twice.
===
3.4.2 Action Choice

Action choices are a central part of the MWIF game system. Your action choices can easily determine whether you win or lose. There are about 125 impulses per side for the whole 1939 to 1945 game (which is an average of 3.5 impulses per side per turn). Since there are 3 Axis major powers and 5 Allied, you will need to choose an action type somewhere between 375 to 625 times. Clearly that is solid justification for reading this section carefully.

Here is an overview of the five action types, with their activity limits:
∙ Air action - unlimited air missions, but no land moves, no land attacks, and no naval moves.
∙ Combined action - a lot of air missions (3 to 7, China excepted), some land moves (2 to 6), a few land attacks (1 to 3), and a few naval moves (1 to 3). This is a little bit of everything.
∙ Land action - some air missions (1 to 4), unlimited land moves, unlimited land attacks, but no naval moves.
∙ Naval action - some air missions (1 to 3), unlimited naval moves, but no land moves and no land attacks.
∙ Pass action - no air missions, no land moves, no land attacks, no naval moves, and no naval attacks.

Your action choice also has an important effect on reorganization; reorganization is cheaper for units that match the action type. For example, it costs the normal amount of reorganization points to reorganize air units if you chose an air action, otherwise it is twice the normal cost.

The action types chosen most often are: land, naval, and combined. The air action is infrequently used, and the pass action is only used when you are desperate for the turn to end (the Allies in the first half of the war, and the Axis late in the war). With a pass action you basically conduct no military operations, in return for the benefit that the turn is slightly more likely to end.

Generally, the land powers (Germany, USSR) use a lot of land actions, some combined actions, a few naval actions, and a few air actions. They typically only use an air action as an opening for a large scale offensive, or when they have nothing else to do and want to rebase a lot of planes. The naval powers (USA, CW, and Japan) commonly take 1 naval action per turn, and a lot of combined actions. Land actions and air actions are chosen less often by the naval major powers. Italy is similar to the naval powers. However, Italy’s naval fleet never grows real large, so they can get by without having to take a naval action roughly half the time. China uses land actions almost exclusively, with a pass action being their second most frequent choice.

Scheduling
You need to decide the types of actions that you’ll need throughout the entire turn (that depends on your operational and strategic goals for the turn). Many experienced players consider the action choice the most important decision of an impulse. Choosing wisely requires you to have a good idea of the units you want to move during the rest of the turn, not just for the current impulse. Then you have to match your current action choice to your planned moves in the current impulse, taking into account the expected number of impulses for the turn, the current weather, and the weather forecast. The weather forecast is dictated by the modifier to the weather dice, and can also be learned in advance using intelligence. The expected number of impulses per turn is discussed below.

For example, if you want to conduct a large scale summer offensive, it might be a good idea to take an air action in your first impulse (summer means good flying weather). That way you can use your air force widely and without restrictions. Ground strikes are an attractive air mission in this situation since they soften up the enemy for future impulses. To some, it might look like a wasted impulse in a major land offensive, because there will be no land moves or land attacks. But it can pay off big during the next impulse, providing the enemy doesn’t have the reorganization capacity to immediately undo the results of your ground strikes.

As another example, if you are playing a naval power (USA, CW, or Japan), you will be obliged to choose at least one naval action almost every turn. This could be to: cover your convoys routes (CW & USA), carry units overseas, position units to conduct invasions, or defend against your enemy’s probes and attacks. For the CW, a naval action is generally chosen as the first impulse, to ensure convoy protection for the entire turn, but it may be delayed depending on the weather, or omitted for a turn under exceptional circumstances.

Number of impulses statistics based on 8 actual games
The uncertainty of when the turn will end adds more pressure for you to make your action choices correctly. Here are some statistics from Patrice Forno, accumulated over 8 completed 1939 to 1945 games. That is 48 Jan/Feb game turns, 48 Mar/Apr game turns, and so forth. This comes out to an average of 125 impulses per side (3.5 per side, per turn) for an entire 1939 to 1945 game.

Code: Select all

 	Average, maximum, and minimum impulses per side, per game turn:
 ∙	Jan/Feb	2.5 	4 	1
 ∙	Mar/Apr 	2.9	5 & 4	1
 ∙	May/Jun	4.2	7 & 6	2 & 1
 ∙	Jul/Aug	4.7 	8 & 7	3 & 2
 ∙	Sep/Oct	3.5 	5	2 & 1
 ∙	Nov/Dec	2.9	5	1
 

To translate this table, over-the-board experience has shown that a Jul/Aug game turn will have an average of 4.7 impulses for each side (say 5 for the side that moves first, and 4 for the second side), with a maximum of 8 impulses for the first side, 7 impulses for the second side, and a minimum of 3 impulses for the first side and 2 impulses for the second side.

Note that:
∙ The minima and maxima sometimes occurred only once over 8 games (48 game turns).
∙ The larger of the maxima is for the side that moved first. The second side may have one impulse less.
∙ The larger of the minima is for the side that moved first. The second side may have one impulse less.
∙ During the winter, you may only get one impulse in a turn even if you go first!

Dispersion
One thing that is easy to do wrong with action choices is to choose a combined action too often. You need to realize that you will do fewer things by choosing 3 combined actions in a row, versus choosing one of the actions with unlimited moves in each of the 3 impulses. Combined actions are a dispersion of military power for mediocre results. Focused action choices (air, naval, and land) enable a concentration of military power.

For instance, with the CW, 3 combined actions give you 6 naval moves, 15 air missions, 9 land moves, 3 land attacks and 3 rail moves. If you had done 1 naval, 1 air, and 1 land action, you would have had an unlimited number of naval moves, an unlimited number of air missions, an unlimited number of land moves, an unlimited number of land attacks, and 6 rail moves (rail moves are limited whatever your action choice). Given that the CW almost always has more than 50 naval units on the board, and dozens of air units by the middle of the war, 3 combined actions reduces the CW naval to virtual impotence.

The difference is timing and scheduling. You will choose a combined action if you think that you can’t wait for a future land action to move land units, that you need to move them now, or that you can’t wait for a future air action to move air units, etc…

But when choosing a combined action you should always ask yourself : “Do I really need to simultaneously move all branches of service this impulse? Can’t some of them wait for next impulse?” Unavoidably, you’ll choose combined actions a lot, the main reason for that choice is the relatively higher number of air missions available. And players fly a lot of air missions in MWIF.
Offensive Chits

You can have extraordinary versions of the regular action choices by expending an offensive chit.

The benefits of expending an offensive chit depend on which action you take:

∙ Land action - allows you to fight 1-3 land battles at much higher odds than you would normally have had.

∙ Air action - allows you to bomb a whole area of the frontline (4-8 hexes across) with a much higher efficiency than you would have had. You’ll need a strong fighter force to protect your bombers, because air-to-air combats are not affected by air offensive chits.

∙ Combined action - allows you to have unlimited air, unlimited land moves, unlimited land attacks, and unlimited naval actions. You can do everything at the same time. This is a very powerful choice when you want to conduct numerous invasions in the same impulse (e.g., when Japan declares war on the US and/or the CW). That’s because you can make naval moves during the naval movement phase, positioning your invasion forces with supporting shore bombardment units, and then make unlimited land attacks (invasions) during the invasion phase.

∙ Naval action - depending on the option you choose, allows for better efficiency at sea. The old version allows you to reorganize a lot of ships to use them again. The newer version improves the success of your search rolls in a few selected sea areas.

Maybe more importantly, expending an offensive chit during a land/naval/air action allows for cheaper (halved) reorganization costs for units reorganized by the HQ designated to receive the offensive chits benefits. In practice, this lets you reorganize a lot of units for use later in the turn.

Offensive chits are expensive to build and therefore are few and far between. Germany begins the game with two of them, Japan with one. Germany is likely to build more (1 to 3) during the course of the war, while Japan usually only builds 1 more. The USSR begins the game with 1. The USSR can generally build 2 to 4 offensive chits per year from 1942 to the end. The CW generally manage to build 2 offensive chits per year from 1942 to the end of the war, maybe less in 1942 and maybe more in 1944 and 1945.

The USA can build a lot of offensive chits beginning in 1943 and increasingly more year after year. It is not uncommon to have the USA use 1 offensive chit per impulse for each impulse of the May/Jun and Jul/Aug 1945 turns. Nor is it uncommon for them to build 2 offensive chits per turn in May/Jun and Jul/Aug of 1944, and maybe another spare one or two in Sep/Oct and Nov/Dec 1944. Much of the power of the USA comes from the offensive chits that they are able to build, unlike the other major powers. The USA army is not very strong, nor very numerous. But it is sufficient and has enough armor to hurt the enemy, and by exploiting offensive chits it has the power to crack and destroy very strong Axis positions.

Teaming
When choosing action types, you need to work as a team with other major powers on your side. Teaming works best when the major powers on the team cooperate. The major powers able to do that are:
∙ the Western Allies, (the CW, the USA and Free France), famous for their sledgehammer attack of: Air action (with offensive chit) by one major power and Land action (with offensive chit) by second major power, and
∙ the Euro Axis (Italy and Germany).

Euro Axis
Germany is a strong land power, and a moderate sea power. Italy has good units for use at sea (usually no carriers though), with mediocre units for use on land. A good scheme for conducting the Battle of the Atlantic with the Euro Axis, is to have Germany deploy its SUBs early in the turn, with either a naval action, or a combined action (all SUBs leaving the same port counts as 1 naval move even if they sail into different sea areas). Meanwhile Italy does something else. Germany can initiate searches and fight naval battles using its SUBs in the impulse that they put to sea. In the following impulse, Italy chooses either a combined or a naval action to move its SUBs to join the German ones. Then Italy can perform searches and naval combats, with the German SUBs participating in each naval battle started by the Italian SUBs. Italy can do that each subsequent impulse, initiating new searches and fighting new combats alongside the Germans. This frees Germany to focus exclusively on the land war - while Italy keeps the pressure on in the Atlantic, wrecking havoc with Euro Axis U-boats..

CW & USA (Western Allies)
The USA is a decent land power, with extraordinarily strong naval and air units. The CW are a moderate land power, with extraordinarily strong naval and air units. One good teaming arrangement is to have one of them choose a naval action while the other chooses a land action. This allows all the naval units of the former to move, load land units belonging to the other, and then have all the land units unload, invade, move, and attack without restrictions. This team should be backed up from the mid-game to the end by the Free French that can choose a naval, a land, or an air action, whichever best complements the actions taken by the CW and the USA.

Another second teaming arrangement, that both the Euro Axis and the Western Allies use, is for one member of the team to choose an air action while the other chooses a land action. This allows for unlimited air strikes on the enemy (plus lots of reorganization for future air use), while the other member of the team has unlimited land moves and attacks. It’s similar in effect to a combined action using an offensive chit. While Italy and Germany can employ this tactic against the USSR, it is most often used by the Western Allies late in the war, who concurrently expend 2 offensive chits, and are thereby able to punch big holes in the most powerful German defenses.

Disturb the enemy’s plans
You should try to force the enemy to choose an action choice that he does not want to choose. MWiF is a game against the clock, more than against the other side, so making the enemy waste impulses doing something other than what he planned is good for your side.

For example, try to force Germany to choose a combined (or naval or air) action when they are conducting a land war in Russia. This delay can help save Russia from being conquered.

Or, as the Axis, force the Western Allies to choose a naval action when they would like to choose a combined action. Choosing a naval instead might delay their planned land moves/attacks. This isn’t too hard to do, just sink a few more convoys than what they were ready to lose for example. Both the CW and the USA really hate to see their convoy pipelines malfunctioning.

Initiative and moving first
In MWIF, both sides are not guarantied to get the same number of impulses in a turn. Roughly half the time the side that moves first will get an additional impulse. That is, it is the phasing side in both the first and last impulses of the turn. That is pretty bad news for the other side. Even more devastating is when you get to move in the last impulse in one turn and then move first in the following turn. Oh the joy of moving twice in a row, without your opponent having a chance to react in between! This is especially powerful if you have reinforcements arrive between the 2 turns. But regardless of whether or not you have new troops to put into action, all your disorganized units will have been reorganized and ready to go. When conducting land offensives, the result is that often enemy units will have been left in awkward positions because of the combat results from the previous turn. Then you can exploit their vulnerabilities with the full strength of your air and land forces.

So, beside action choices, choosing who plays first is crucial. Playing first gives you a chance for an extra impulse. However, the more often you do not go first, the better the odds become of you being able to choose whether you go first or second. Playing first has a tendency to push the initiative toward the other side on the initiative track. When the initiative track favors one side, that side has better odds of winning the initiative die roll. And winning the initiative enables you to decide who moves first. For example, when Germany chooses a Barbarossa 1941 strategy, they want to move first in May/Jun and Jul/Aug 1941. To have the best chance of this happening, they like for the Allies to move first for the 3 preceding turns (Nov/Dec 1940, Jan/Feb, and Mar/Apr 1941).

Betting on the turn ending
The more impulses you play during a turn, the more likely the turn is to end. This is shown in great detail in the following table based on a simulation of 100,000 years of WIF game turns (author unknown).

Simulated probability distributions for impulses per turn

Code: Select all

 Prob. of turn ending after impulse	Jan/Feb	Mar/Apr	May/Jun	Jul/Aug	Sep/Oct	Nov/Dec
 3	5.60%	2.50%			0.10%	2.60%
 4	23.40%	11.80%	<0.1%	<0.1%	3.70%	12.70%
 5	32.80%	24.90%	3.50%	0.50%	13.40%	24.50%
 6	24.30%	27.10%	7.80%	0.80%	20.60%	25.10%
 7	9.90%	18.80%	16.50%	10.80%	22.60%	18.10%
 8	3.00%	9.90%	20.90%	18.30%	18.50%	10.30%
 9	0.70%	3.50%	20.00%	21.10%	11.70%	4.50%
 10	0.20%	1.20%	15.10%	19.70%	5.80%	1.60%
 11	<0.1%	0.30%	9.30%	14.60%	2.50%	0.50%
 12	<0.1%	<0.1%	4.70%	8.50%	0.90%	0.10%
 13	 	 	1.50%	3.90%	0.20%	<0.1%
 14	 	 	0.50%	1.40%	<0.1%	 
 15			<0.1%	0.30%		
 16+				<0.1%		
 						
 Expected # of impulses:	5.2	6	8.7	9.5	7.2	6
 						
 Prob. of an odd number of impulses	49.10%	50.10%	50.90%	51.20%	50.50%	50.20%
 						
 Prob. of an even number of impulses	50.90%	49.90%	49.10%	48.80%	49.50%	49.80%
 

When it is late in the turn, you can try gambling. Gambling here is betting that the turn will end with the current impulse. If you feel lucky, you can make moves and/or attacks that at any other time you would consider too risky.

Consider the situation where in Russia a city is besieged on 2 or 3 hexsides by enemy units. A dangerous gamble for the defender is to have one of the city’s weaker defending units move out of the city, hoping for the turn to end. The city will have fewer than its maximum defenders, but if the turn ends, a stronger reinforcing unit will be able to take its place. The risk is that if the turn does not end, the city is easier for the enemy to capture.

Another ploy is to attack enemy convoy pipelines late in a turn, hoping for the turn to end so that the enemy has no opportunity to send reinforcing convoys to re-establish his convoy pipeline (needed for supply and production). A dangerous variant on this, is to not attack convoys in a chosen sea area for the entire turn, hoping the enemy will leave them with a minimal number of convoys. Then you attack them late in the turn when every lost convoy diminishes your opponent’s production.

Obviously, the end of the turn provides an opportunity for “quasi-desperate attacks” - ones that have a high risk of disorganizing your units. Usually disorganizing your units is bad news since that means they are immobile for the rest of the turn and very vulnerable to counter-attacks. But once the turn is over, they all get reorganized during the final reorganization phase. As the barker says: “Step right up, take a chance, win a prize!”

[Anendrue]

I am not a rules expert, but the manual is looking awesome.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: abj9562

I am not a rules expert, but the manual is looking awesome.

Thanks. That is my minimum threshold for acceptable.[:D]

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Almost halfway done on section 3.4 Important Decisions. Here is where we stand presently:

3.4 Important Decisions
3.4.1 Setting Up Units
3.4.2 Action Choice - DONE (Patrice)
3.4.3 Committing Air Units - DONE (Patrice)
3.4.4 Deploying Naval Units - Received (Patrice), being edited.
3.4.5 Using HQs and Armor - Received (Mike & Christopher), in edit queue.
3.4.6 Air Combat
3.4.7 Naval Combat
3.4.8 Land Combat
3.4.9 Reorganization
3.4.10 Production - DONE (Christopher & Patrice)
3.4.11 International Relationships

That leaves 6 sections remaining. I could write these myself, but I begrudge the time away from working on the code. If anyone would like to impart their wisdom to new players on any of these subjects, please post (or send to me at SHokanson@HawaiianTel.net) a write-up.

I encourage new contributors, partly so the advice is less of a monologue. In my experience, a diversity of experts provides richer material.

[paulderynck]

I'll take a shot at Naval Combat Steve.

[Orm]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets


• Broken Down Pool - This pool contains corps/army and division sized land units. When a player breaks a corps/army sized unit into divisions, the corps/army sized unit is placed in the broken down pool. They are not available for production. If the player decides to reform divisions into a corps/army, he is restricted to choosing from among the corps units in the broken down pool. Divisions that are destroyed during combat go into the broken down pool. The player can choose to reform divisions in the broken down pool into corps/army sized units. Should he decide to do so, the corps/army unit goes into the force pool and the divisions are removed from the game.

I would have thought that the original divisions (part of WiFFE counters) would go back to the force pool rather than be removed from the game. This also forbids 2 of the original divisions that has been built into reforming to a corps. As an example I have on some ocations built one para division and one mot division and then reformed them into a para corps.

-orm

[peskpesk]

ORIGINAL: Orm

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets


• Broken Down Pool - This pool contains corps/army and division sized land units. When a player breaks a corps/army sized unit into divisions, the corps/army sized unit is placed in the broken down pool. They are not available for production. If the player decides to reform divisions into a corps/army, he is restricted to choosing from among the corps units in the broken down pool. Divisions that are destroyed during combat go into the broken down pool. The player can choose to reform divisions in the broken down pool into corps/army sized units. Should he decide to do so, the corps/army unit goes into the force pool and the divisions are removed from the game.

I would have thought that the original divisions (part of WiFFE counters) would go back to the force pool rather than be removed from the game. This also forbids 2 of the original divisions that has been built into reforming to a corps. As an example I have on some ocations built one para division and one mot division and then reformed them into a para corps.

-orm

I agree, the original divisions in the game should not be subject to limitations of the Broken Down Pool if possible. They should be able to be build time after time again (after being destroyed during combat).

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

I'll take a shot at Naval Combat Steve.

Thanks.[:)]

You can assume the readers have already read section 3.4.4 (posted by Patrice above in this thread).

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Orm

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets


• Broken Down Pool - This pool contains corps/army and division sized land units. When a player breaks a corps/army sized unit into divisions, the corps/army sized unit is placed in the broken down pool. They are not available for production. If the player decides to reform divisions into a corps/army, he is restricted to choosing from among the corps units in the broken down pool. Divisions that are destroyed during combat go into the broken down pool. The player can choose to reform divisions in the broken down pool into corps/army sized units. Should he decide to do so, the corps/army unit goes into the force pool and the divisions are removed from the game.

I would have thought that the original divisions (part of WiFFE counters) would go back to the force pool rather than be removed from the game. This also forbids 2 of the original divisions that has been built into reforming to a corps. As an example I have on some ocations built one para division and one mot division and then reformed them into a para corps.

-orm

If the player is not using the optional rule for unlimited divisions, then there is no broken down pool and the rules follow RAW/RAC.

But if that optional rule is in use, I want to prevent the player from exploiting the rule. For example, you could:
(1) build two countersheet divisions (that's fine, no problem, countersheet divisions are the only divisions that ever appear in the force pool),
(2) then you break down a corps into two anonymous units (generated by MWIF),
(3) then you reform a corps using one of each type of division,
(4) and do that a second time.
(5) If the countersheet divisions go back into the force pool, then you can rebuild them, ending up with 2 corps/armies and 2 divisions on the map.

I have to think this through a little more at the detail level, but the basic concern of my logic is valid (I believe).

[peskpesk]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: Orm

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets


• Broken Down Pool - This pool contains corps/army and division sized land units. When a player breaks a corps/army sized unit into divisions, the corps/army sized unit is placed in the broken down pool. They are not available for production. If the player decides to reform divisions into a corps/army, he is restricted to choosing from among the corps units in the broken down pool. Divisions that are destroyed during combat go into the broken down pool. The player can choose to reform divisions in the broken down pool into corps/army sized units. Should he decide to do so, the corps/army unit goes into the force pool and the divisions are removed from the game.

I would have thought that the original divisions (part of WiFFE counters) would go back to the force pool rather than be removed from the game. This also forbids 2 of the original divisions that has been built into reforming to a corps. As an example I have on some ocations built one para division and one mot division and then reformed them into a para corps.

-orm

If the player is not using the optional rule for unlimited divisions, then there is no broken down pool and the rules follow RAW/RAC.

But if that optional rule is in use, I want to prevent the player from exploiting the rule. For example, you could:
(1) build two countersheet divisions (that's fine, no problem, countersheet divisions are the only divisions that ever appear in the force pool),
(2) then you break down a corps into two anonymous units (generated by MWIF),
(3) then you reform a corps using one of each type of division,
(4) and do that a second time.
(5) If the countersheet divisions go back into the force pool, then you can rebuild them, ending up with 2 corps/armies and 2 divisions on the map.

I have to think this through a little more at the detail level, but the basic concern of my logic is valid (I believe).

Can’t a simple fix be that the countersheet divisions division can’t be used to reform a corps unless the other division used is also a countersheet division? This way it’s not possible to do the exploit you described to get more corps and armies. This allows the RAW/RAC original rule to apply for the countersheet divisions; they can be able to be build time after time again (after being destroyed during combat).

[Shannon V. OKeets]

To quote Gone with the Wind:
"I can't think about this now. I'll think about it tomorrow."

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Here is my rewrite of Patrice's text. [Paul, you might want to reference some of this when writing about naval combat tactics.]
===
3.4.4 Deploying Naval Units

In MWIF naval unit deployment is an art unto itself. Naval units normally sail twice during a turn, once to reach a patrol area and a second time to return to the safety of a port. On rare occasions, they can be reorganized in port and sally forth a second time in the same turn. While at sea/on patrol, they can fight in a virtually unlimited number of naval battles. However, they can only perform one sea to land operation: shore bombardment, loading/unloading troops, and air missions over land. Once they perform a land-to-sea operation, or act as an interception unit or to initiate combat, they become disorganized. Being disorganized at sea does not impede the ability of naval units to engage in combat at sea. It just stops them from doing the ancillary tasks just listed.

Task Forces’ Composition
The first thing you need to master in order to have an edge at sea is the composition of your task forces. The basic principle is to assemble task forces for specific tasks, as their name implies. Be aware that there are important characteristics to take into consideration when deciding the composition of each task force:

• Speed and Range. Try to gather ships with comparable speeds (i.e., movement points) and range. It is easier to plan their moves thereafter. Best is to have fleet(s) of ships that have a speeds of 6, 5, and 4. Warships with lower speeds than 4 are usually useless for any task other than serving as convoy escorts. Typically, you gather/arrange your fleets depending on your needs for each turn. Despite that, establishing some task forces that remain the same from turn to turn can be a big help in reassessing your forces each turn, and in general assist you in getting/keeping your navy organized.

• Number of ships (target size). The magic numbers are: 4, 7, 11, 16, 22, 29. These are the maximum sizes of each row of the Naval Combat Result Table. Having 8 ships is worse than having 7 ships, because the 1 extra ship significantly increases your target size (i.e., it moves down one row on the naval combat results table. 7 or 11 ships are the best sizes for medium sized Task Forces. Above 11 ships, players generally don’t consider their target size (a.k.a., task force profile) a major concern - it’s big and it’s bad (in both senses of the word).

• Air-to-Air strength. If you can, evaluate the air-to-air strength of the enemy in the sea area where your task force will operate. Then build a task force that has, supplemented by your nearby land-based air units, the right air-to-air strength. Superior air-to-air is best, if you need that, or at a minimum have comparable air-to-air strength. Try to reach +2 in estimated air-to-air strength if you have overall air superiority in the theater of operations. You may want/need more, and use more in that case; but +2 is a good rule of thumb. Avoid massing unnecessary forces in one task force; if you do so, they are likely to be missed elsewhere.

• Air-to-Sea factors. You need to have some air-to-sea factors in each task force, obviously, otherwise your task force will lack teeth (and gumming your way through armor plate is unproductive).

• Surface combat factors. Same as air-to-sea factors, but you will use it much less often. It not unheard of for players to never engage in surface combat for an entire WIF game!

• Shore bombardment factors. For a shore bombardment fleet (i.e., intended to provide assistance to land attacks in coastal hexes), you need to evaluate how much shore bombardment you need for your upcoming invasion(s), and/or land combat. Don’t forget to include some extra shore bombardment capability to help defend against enemy counterattacks on any newly formed (and very vulnerable) beachheads.

• Anti-Aircraft strength. When in doubt between two ships, take the one with the most AA. Never depend on AA to defend against air-to-sea attacks. AA is so unreliable that it does not even serve as a deterrent! Naval units are very expensive to repair and take even more time and resources to rebuild from scratch.

If possible, include a weak/cheap/non-important ship in your task force to take the first loss in combat.

Sorties
You need to plan your naval sorties carefully. Remember that once you sail your “big fleet” to sea area X, your “big fleet” can’t go to anywhere else that turn. The enemy could take advantage of where it isn’t, and do something nasty. In naval operations, where you aren’t can be more important than where you are. It is common practice for a major power (e.g., Italy) to keep its largest fleet in port the whole turn, simply waiting for the enemy to commit their naval forces. Once the enemy has chosen where to place their naval forces, you can then: (1) attack the one(s) of your choosing, (2) avoid them entirely, or (3) conduct other important naval moves, such as invasions or the transport of crucial reinforcements overseas.

Analyze the naval position by asking yourself where you need to strike the enemy to pursue your global strategy, and where the enemy could strike you, even if his objective is merely to make your life a misery while you are conquering him.

When you are on the “reacting side” of the naval war (your enemy that has the strategic initiative, and most of the time you can only react to what he does), you need to analyze the enemy’s fleet placements to figure out his strategic goals. Explore what you might be able to do with your navy that would force your enemy to do what you want him to do with his navy. For instance, force him to deal with minor distractions rather than working to achieve his major goals for the turn. One way to do this is to present problems for an enemy major power that requires him to move both land and naval units. That requires him to take a Combined action instead of a Naval action - thereby preventing him from moving all his naval units simultaneously.

Land-based air units
Land-based air units are crucial at sea. They literally rule the seas. In places where land-based air units abound, there’s not much that fleets, unaccompanied by aircraft carriers, can do. They should not even try. Remember the history of the Repulse & Prince of Wales and the Bismarck, (the Bismarck was effectively disabled by a single aircraft dropping a single torpedo and damaging its rudder).

As a naval power that seeks to “gain ground” at sea, you should aim first at gaining new airbases for your land-based air units (islands with ports are preferred if there is no continent nearby). Then your land-based air units can contest control of sea areas with the enemy’s land-based air units.

Deploying land-based air units at sea obeys the same general rules as deploying the fleets at sea. That’s because air units at sea are treated pretty much the same as ships: they patrol using sea box sections, stay at sea the entire turn, and can optionally remain at sea for multiple turns. One difference is that they generally can’t patrol remote sea areas, while ships can patrol sea areas very far away from their home ports. For example, air units in Pearl Harbor are able to patrol the 3 adjacent sea areas, but not much more, while naval units in Pearl Harbor are able to patrol sea areas as far away as the China Sea.

Convoy escort duties
When trying to protect your convoys, the sea box sections to cover with escorts are:

• Section 0: Always, because that’s where the convoys are. Normal escort size is 2 or 3 ships (i.e., 4 to 6 ASW points). Add an air unit if possible, to deny 4 surprise points to the enemy.

• Section 4: Desirable, because it is by performing searches from this section that enemy raiders and submarines can be found and punished. Normal escort size is 2 or 3 ships. Add an air unit if possible, to improve your odds of finding enemy units.

• Section 1: If possible, because the ships that patrol in this section box can stay at sea between turns, which moves them into section 0 for the first impulse of the next turn. Any escorts you have in section 0 (other than ASW units) are forced to return to base between turns. Without some escorts in section 1, which move to section 0 between turns, your convoys might be unprotected and very vulnerable to enemy attacks in the first impulse of the following turn. That is definitely true if you do not move first in the next turn, and it can also be true if you are unable/do not want to take a Naval action during your first impulse.

The minimum escort size is 1 or 2 ships when there is a very little chance of enemy attacks, 2 or 3 ships in places with some chance of enemy attacks, and 4 or more ships in places where the enemy is certain to be capable of attacking. Air units are very desirable in sections 0 and 4 (remember they can move into those sections during the naval air support subphase of a naval combat, thereby preserving your air missions).

For example, for the CW during most of the Battle of the Atlantic (from the end of 1940 through early 1943):
• Has at high risk of enemy attacks in the Bay of Biscay (very high), the Faeroes, the North Atlantic, and the Cape St Vincent.

• Has at moderate risk of enemy attacks in the sea areas adjacent to those cited above.

• Has at low risk of enemy attacks in the other sea areas the Euro Axis can reach.

This proposed system for protecting your convoys includes, at the end of the turn, having ships in section 1 move down to section 0, ships in section 4 move down to section 3, and ships in section 0 return to base (except convoys and ASW may remain in section 0 indefinitely). Without any undue pressure to hurry, during a naval action taken in each turn, you move: (a) ships in section 3 to section 1 and (b) ships that rebased home last turn out to section 4.

It is quite important to have spare ships to replace escort losses, and extra convoy points, especially, to replace convoy losses. Having reorganization power near the port to which you return aborted ships can help reinforce sea areas weakened by enemy attacks.

Attacking enemy convoys
Major powers that use submarines to attack convoys are Germany and Italy (working together most of the time), Japan, and the USA. The CW makes use of submarines to a much lesser extent. All these major powers follow the same rules:
• Submarines need to be numerous to succeed. As many as 10 to 15 subs in a theatre is a respectable quantity that will wreak havoc on enemy convoy lines. 5 to 10 subs in a theatre is a fair number that you can reach rather easily and that will produce decent results. Having less than 5 is pretty much pointless.

• Maintain a steady expenditure of BPs on submarine construction/repairs to sustain your wolfpacks.

• Avoid daring too much. There are sea areas that are death traps for the subs: where there is fine weather and plenty of land based air units available to cover section 4. Be wary of sudden weather changes.

• Don’t hesitate to attack in bad weather. Storm and blizzard reduces your chances of hitting the convoys, but also reduces the enemy’s chances of hitting your subs.

• Search often, possibly each impulse. You can vary the major power that is initiating the searches in a sea area. Italy can initiate combats for German subs and the CW for US subs (or vice versa). You need to plan this from the start, by placing subs from major power allies into the same sea area.

Surface raiders are less efficient than subs, and more at risk because they can’t choose to avoid combat like subs can. With care, they can be productive if you follow these rules:
• Strike where the enemy is very vulnerable. If possible, strike convoys that are not escorted, far away from possible warships that can come out to extract revenge.

• Spread your raiders out as much as possible so enemy fleets chasing you have to spread out too.

• Abort from a naval combat, or even before one occurs, if a sea area becomes too hot. There is no loss of pride in saving ships.

• Don’t risk your powerful warships as raiders.

• Try varying the places where you hunt, to keep the enemy on his toes, and to spread out his defensive assets as much as possible.

Generally useful tricks
You need to know a number of tricks when sailing on the MWIF oceans:

• Have fleets (or just subs) placed in the way of the enemy units’ return to base. This lets you try and intercept his damaged and aborted ships with an advantage. “Kick ‘em when they’re down!”

• Similarly, stay at sea at the end of the turn to intercept enemy ships that return to base by traversing a sea area where you’re strong and in a high sea box section. Obviously, this is even better when you’re the non-phasing player, as you’ll know in which sea areas the phasing player decided to stay.

• Stay at sea at the end of the turn to avoid having to take a naval action next turn (e.g., when you are busy with land campaigns). This is at the cost of lowering the efficiency of all your ships by dropping them down one sea box section, but it may be better than to have to sail them out again next turn and forego a precious land action.

Safe Haven
When choosing a port for important ships, try to select ports adjacent to two or more sea areas. Ports adjacent to 3 sea areas are best. This ensures better supply, and multiple exits if you’re threatened. Being out of supply in a port is a terrible fate for a fleet, because it becomes harmless.

Always have important fleets based in a port which contains land units. Otherwise you run the risk of your opponent invading the port hex forcing you to rebase, or even worse, having his fleet intercept your fleet if you are forced to rebase.

When an important and defenseless ship (e.g., an AMPH or a carrier without carrier air units) returns to base, consider having a couple of warships of comparable speed and range accompany it. That way the warships can act as escorts when your precious ship leaves port in the next turn. It is entirely possible that enemy warships will blockade the port, and having 2 or 3 escorts with her will allow her to sail with some protection at the cost of only 1 naval move.

When you return to base, check that there is no immediate port attack threat to the port. Take into account: (1) possible reinforcements the enemy might receive and have available for port attacks at the beginning of the next turn, if your opponent moves first, and (2) disrupted air units that could be reorganized in the current turn.

Production Needs
In order to have sufficient naval units for operations, you have to produce replacements, implement repairs, and in some cases, build additional new units. Here are common naval needs:

• Carrier air units suffer a lot of losses in air-to-sea combats. Air-to-air combat in itself is very damaging, and anti-air can not be completely ignored. Anti-aircraft fire can destroy a lot of carrier air units, more than air-to-air combat sometimes. To cope with these losses, you must produce a steady stream of carrier air units from your factories: 1 or 2 per turn for the CW and Japan. For the USA, it can be 3 to 5 per turn. This regular output is necessary to keep your carriers loaded with the best carrier air units. Without this output, you’ll find yourself with empty or undermanned carriers; that is, ineffective carriers. There is no purpose in building 20 carriers, if some of them are empty and others are carrying obsolete carrier air units. It is better to build 15 carriers equipped with the best carrier air units available.

• Damaged ships, especially your best units, should be repaired quickly. It is much cheaper and quicker to repair a ship than to build a new one. Neglecting to repair ships can lead to a dearth of warships later in the war while your repair pool sits full of damaged (and idle) ships. You should always repair AMPH and TRS units, except possibly the worst ones (3 MPs) on those rare occasions that you don’t need every possible sea lift unit.

• Building a fleet is a priority (possibly the highest priority) for the USA and also vital for Japan’s success. The fleets of these two major powers are not ready to fight WWII in 1939. You should decide what you need to fulfill your strategic plan and have your build plan laid out on turn #1.

Reorganization
Reorganization, for naval units, is less interesting than for air or land units, primarily because you can’t reorganize ships at sea, and secondly because naval units tend to need to work as groups/in a task force to be useful. There is usually no point in reorganizing only 1 or 2 ships.

What is greatly beneficial is to reorganize whole fleets or to reorganize ships while they are at sea, and those actions are only possible with the old version of the Naval Offensive Chit (an optional rule in MWIF).

But there are a few interesting reorganization opportunities even when not using that optional rule:
• Reorganize sea lift units (i.e., AMPH, TRS) after they have unloaded cargo in a port. This is only possible when the sea lift unit ends its move in a port (as shown in cases 1, 5, and 6 below). This enables the sea lift unit to move a second time in the turn, either to flee from an endangered port, or to relocate to a port where it can load a unit that’s needed somewhere else.

• Reorganize aborted convoy escorts, or convoy points, so that they can sail again to fill in holes caused by enemy raids.

• Reorganize key naval units that either were aborted during a previous combat at sea, or just arrived (disorganized) in a war zone as reinforcements. The goal is to have these units either put to sea as soon as possible in a key sea area, or to simply have them continue their journey to a far-off destination.

Port Attacks
Ports attack can be deadly, but they are more often harmless. The crucial point is that port attacks on surprised major powers are deadly, but other port attacks are not.

Here are three reasons why port attacks are often harmless:
• Ships in port are considered to be in a sea box section 3 or 5, while the attacking planes are in section 3 (if they are land based aircraft), or at best section 4 (if they come from the sea). So naval combat surprise odds favor the defender; the attacker has to roll better than the defender to gain any surprise points. If the defender’s search die roll is 3 or 4 less than the attacker’s, the defender can simply avoid the combat. Then your attacking air unit(s) will be disorganized for the rest of the turn with zero effect on the enemy.

• A port attack has only 1 round; there are no additional rounds in which to inflict more damage on the enemy ships.

• Half the time, sunk ships won’t be really sunk, only bottomed (if playing that optional rule). This decreases your attack efficiency because instead of having destroyed a naval unit, you will have only damaged it, and it will be back in action in 5 or 6 turns, (even faster for TRS/AMPH - 3 or 4 turns).

Port attacks on surprised major powers, on the other hand, are nearly always deadly, because the port attacked ships always receive 0 surprise points. The net surprise points for the attacking force can be quite high; 15 is the maximum. 15 surprise points is really huge, as that allows you to increase your Naval Combat Results row by 6 rows and select which target takes a loss. As the attacker you would normally get to choose the 1st and 3rd targets. Using surprise points to select the 2nd target enables you to select the first 3 targets. That is, those which suffer the 3 most damaging results.

The bottom line on port attacks is:
• When you have a port attack opportunity, don’t jump on it blindly, but analyze carefully the chances of success versus the air units that you won’t be able to use for something else (except fight at sea).

• More importantly, when you are threatened by a port attack, don’t hastily order your fleet out to sea to avoid it. Your opponent might prefer fighting you at sea (e.g., unlimited combat rounds at sea, versus only 1 combat round in a port attack).

Invasions
When planning invasions, create task forces with all the necessary resources to support the invasion (mainly air support and shore bombardment). Don’t neglect providing additional resources to thwart an enemy counterattack. If invading an island, plan on saving an air mission to rebase a fighter air unit to the conquered island, to protect against counterattacking enemy air units.

When (strategically) reacting to the enemy, try to always provide a counter-invasion force that can invade a hex the enemy has just successfully invaded. The reason for this is that the enemy is often most vulnerable just after having invaded: his air resources depleted, his shore bombardment depleted, his land units disorganized, etcetera.

Transport Duties
You need to learn, and know well, all the ways to load, transport, and unload units. The diagrams below present the alternatives as 6 cases.

• Case 1 is the classic port to port naval move. This can be very useful as the transported unit arrives without disorganizing and is ready for action in subsequent air and land phases.

• Case 2 shows a transported unit being loaded in a port and taken out to sea. It then unloads while the transport remains at sea.

• Case 3 shows stopping the transport’s move in a sea area and then loading the unit from a coastal hex while the transport remains at sea.

• Cases 4 & 5 are loading by moving through a port. Don’t forget these possibilities, for both yourself and your opponent.

• Case 6 is simply bringing a transported unit into port during a return to base naval move.

[paulderynck]

Some suggestions:
 
About air-to-air and air-to-sea components in task forces, I would make a point that this is when considering a task force with CVs involved, whereas currently it almost imples you shouldn't bother if you lack these. The point is made that you shouldn't go somewhere in the face of enemy land based air if you have none, but I think the implication that you can't use a force lacking CVs against either a similar enemy force or against subs should be corrected.
 
I'd list the magic numbers for Surface and AA values.
 
On re-org, I'd point our that re-orging CVs is especially effective since this will also re-org their air component and this benefit is even exaggerated moreso when you are allowed two CVPs per CV.
 
On Transport Duties, I'd point out that you can "chain" Case 1 with multiple Case 4s (ending in ports) and finally a Case 3 - to get a land unit a long way across the world and into an invasion position.
 
Sorry if I didn't read the initial input from Patrice thoroughly enough to have made these suggestions earlier, but now I'm preparing the naval combat portion and applied a finer comb.
 
 

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

Some suggestions:

About air-to-air and air-to-sea components in task forces, I would make a point that this is when considering a task force with CVs involved, whereas currently it almost imples you shouldn't bother if you lack these. The point is made that you shouldn't go somewhere in the face of enemy land based air if you have none, but I think the implication that you can't use a force lacking CVs against either a similar enemy force or against subs should be corrected.

I'd list the magic numbers for Surface and AA values.

On re-org, I'd point our that re-orging CVs is especially effective since this will also re-org their air component and this benefit is even exaggerated moreso when you are allowed two CVPs per CV.

On Transport Duties, I'd point out that you can "chain" Case 1 with multiple Case 4s (ending in ports) and finally a Case 3 - to get a land unit a long way across the world and into an invasion position.

Sorry if I didn't read the initial input from Patrice thoroughly enough to have made these suggestions earlier, but now I'm preparing the naval combat portion and applied a finer comb.

All are very good points. Thanks.

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets
Here is my rewrite of Patrice's text. [Paul, you might want to reference some of this when writing about naval combat tactics.]

I like your rewrite. Thanks !

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

Some suggestions:

About air-to-air and air-to-sea components in task forces, I would make a point that this is when considering a task force with CVs involved, whereas currently it almost imples you shouldn't bother if you lack these. The point is made that you shouldn't go somewhere in the face of enemy land based air if you have none, but I think the implication that you can't use a force lacking CVs against either a similar enemy force or against subs should be corrected.

I'd list the magic numbers for Surface and AA values.

On re-org, I'd point our that re-orging CVs is especially effective since this will also re-org their air component and this benefit is even exaggerated moreso when you are allowed two CVPs per CV.

On Transport Duties, I'd point out that you can "chain" Case 1 with multiple Case 4s (ending in ports) and finally a Case 3 - to get a land unit a long way across the world and into an invasion position.

Sorry if I didn't read the initial input from Patrice thoroughly enough to have made these suggestions earlier, but now I'm preparing the naval combat portion and applied a finer comb.

All are very good points. Thanks.

I agree, especially with "chain transporting" and reorg of CVs, to which I gave an insight without naming them.

On the other hand, I don't think that the magic numbers for surface & AA are that usefull. I for one never check them. I only check that I am not just under the next level.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Froonp

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

Some suggestions:

About air-to-air and air-to-sea components in task forces, I would make a point that this is when considering a task force with CVs involved, whereas currently it almost imples you shouldn't bother if you lack these. The point is made that you shouldn't go somewhere in the face of enemy land based air if you have none, but I think the implication that you can't use a force lacking CVs against either a similar enemy force or against subs should be corrected.

I'd list the magic numbers for Surface and AA values.

On re-org, I'd point our that re-orging CVs is especially effective since this will also re-org their air component and this benefit is even exaggerated moreso when you are allowed two CVPs per CV.

On Transport Duties, I'd point out that you can "chain" Case 1 with multiple Case 4s (ending in ports) and finally a Case 3 - to get a land unit a long way across the world and into an invasion position.

Sorry if I didn't read the initial input from Patrice thoroughly enough to have made these suggestions earlier, but now I'm preparing the naval combat portion and applied a finer comb.

All are very good points. Thanks.

I agree, especially with "chain transporting" and reorg of CVs, to which I gave an insight without naming them.

On the other hand, I don't think that the magic numbers for surface & AA are that usefull. I for one never check them. I only check that I am not just under the next level.

Patrice,

You are right about not adding the additional magic numbers to this section.

They need to be explained, but they are more appropriately described in the naval combat section Paul is writing. I see the naval combat section as focusing on tactics, while the section you wrote has mostly operational advice. there will undoubtedly be overlap, but I would prefer to avoid redundancy unless it's needed for clarity and/or continuity.