Big Mistake - Convoys

[Beruldsen]

Playing as the CP I thought I'd take my repaired Battleship and subs and set out to destroy convoys in the North Atlantic ... which I did. BIG MISTAKE ... it apparently pissed off the Americans and now by May 1917 I have Americans units all over the place ... just when France was about to collapse.

[Falke]

Not really a mistake, it is a tradeoff. You cripple the UK economy which benefits you for while,but therefore face the US earlier.
You need 3-4 Subs for this to be worthwhile.That way you can also intecept enough US troops in transports.

[BYU 14]

My mistake was taking out the German Navy, now I am struggling to hold on in France near the end of 1915 and facing the possiblity that America may never come to the aid of the entente. [:@]

[Ichirou989]

Falke is quite right; if you plan on going heavily into sinking the allies convoys, then you need to be prepared to sink the inevitable American troop transports that will be coming. I found that it worked well, though it cost me in other areas due to having to devote extra resources to the navy.

[Beruldsen]

In my next game that's what I did. I took out the convoys and many of the American transports ... actually a pretty good strategy. I used Cruisers instead of subs ... they seem to have more killing power.

[wodin]

Wasn't America drawn in due to the famous telegram asking Mexico to attack, plus America had loaned lots of money to the Entente aswell as submarine warfare. So I take it in game it's solely about the submarines whether America will join in?

Also how does the game deal with Americas build up? Historically it wouldn't have been until 1919 when they had enough troops in France to really make a difference and thats two years more or less after they joined the conflict. So I'd expect the game to simulate this slow build up of forces over two years.

[Myrddraal]

America's entry can be sped up via convoy attacks. We don't simulate the Zimmerman telegram or the debt (although the importance of the Zimmermann telegram is debatable).

The build of America's forces happens quite naturally within the game mechanics. The USA starts with vast manpower and significant PP income, but it has a relatively low transport capacity, and a relatively small army. The first US army units can embark relatively quickly, but in order to effectively contribute to the war, there is a period of mobilisation which includes a significant expense on enough transport capacity to ship your armies (once they are ready) across the Atlantic.