simpler questions

[Centuur]

In Barbarossa, the convoy system isn't that important at all. Especially when playing without oil, you don't gave to change anything in the preliminary production phase. That in itself isn't surprising. Usually all resources will simply go to factories and there will not be any attacks on naval units in the Baltic or Black Sea which are returning to base.

When playing other scenario's or with the oil rules, the production planning becomes far more important. When transporting resources overseas one might get into naval combat situations between the preliminary and final production planning, convoy chains might get broken. And you need to check which oil resources you are going to use for reorganisation to make sure you are not using any which have to be burned in your factories.

[Orm]

If you do not play with the oil option(s) then oil is just the same as any other resource. Its only use is for production.

[wobbleguts]

ORIGINAL: Centuur

In Barbarossa, the convoy system isn't that important at all. Especially when playing without oil, you don't gave to change anything in the preliminary production phase. That in itself isn't surprising. Usually all resources will simply go to factories and there will not be any attacks on naval units in the Baltic or Black Sea which are returning to base.

When playing other scenario's or with the oil rules, the production planning becomes far more important. When transporting resources overseas one might get into naval combat situations between the preliminary and final production planning, convoy chains might get broken. And you need to check which oil resources you are going to use for reorganisation to make sure you are not using any which have to be burned in your factories.

Thankyou. I realised convoys etc are not important in this scenario early on, but kept one in the Baltic sea anyway because it felt right and I know Germany got stuff from Sweden.. I was confused about why I had a prelim production phase, followed by a stay at sea phase and then followed by a final production phase. I thought the stay at sea phase was about returning combat vessels to base, not convoys and resources. Makes more sense now and I won't ask anymore question about these phases until it becomes important. Except for one - Is the stay at sea phase about convoys only? And another one that is probably v stupid - do you have to return a convoy to a port to land the resources? I'm thinking if you have a convoy chain that would get v complicated.

[Angeldust2]

No, the Stay-at-Sea phase is for all units currently in seaboxes to decide, if they either stay or have to return in the immediately following Return-to-Base phase. So you decide during SaS for CONV, SCS, SUB and air units.

No, you do not have to return CONV in order to land convoyed ressources. Your gut feeling does not let you down, as you guessed, convoy chain is enough.

[wobbleguts]

Thanks, still have questions about this but will leave them for now.

[Courtenay]

The reason that there are the two phases is that one does one's planning. Then both sides return ships to base or keep them at sea. Every ship can return to base; most have the choice of staying at sea. (Non-convoys in the zero box, units carrying cargo, and neutral major power's non-convoys must stay at sea.) It is theoretically possible for ships returning to base to be intercepted and cause a naval combat in a sea area, which causes one or both sides to lose convoy points in that area, wrecking one's production. I say "theoretically" because while it a legal possibility, it almost never happens. Units returning to base are at a disadvantage in fighting, so people try to make sure that units can return to base without triggering an interception.