How to get my PTs and HDMLs to engage CV TF?

[Sarganto]

Dear fellow admirals,

in my current game against the AI as the allies, I have successfully set up a PT base at Billiton (the island between Palembang and Borneo)

The Japanese AI, in all its wisdom, has decided to send a single CV with 4 destroyers through the strait at Billiton. In the last turn, I got one PT and one HDML task force to engage, one set to PT boat TF and the other to ASW combat. But BOTH of them evaded combat and disengaged without even firing a single torpedo! Imagine my frustration.

Is there something I can do to get them to actually fire their torpedos and not evade combat?

[JanSako]

First thought - check the leader of the PT squadron. Low aggressivity makes him more likely to abort the torp run.
Other than that, positioning rolls, being spotted far out & probably other things may make the squadron turn back. I would think 2-3 PT's running into a properly escorted warship would probably think twice about engaging if they are spotted from far away. Remember your PT torps only fire at 2k!

Other:
- Your HDML's are ordered to go look for subs, they will try to disengage any surface TF. Don't know what type these are, but most don't have the speed to catch a CV...
- It 'feels' like having more PT's in a TF makes it more likely that they will try to engage a warship-only TF. You are better off using them to harass invasion forces with smaller PT TF's, like 4-5 PT's at the most.

IMO the best way of using PT's is to:
- Frustrate landings - an Amph task force will often just turn back to go home even without a single hit landed - the message will say 'TFXXX returns to port after surface combat'
- Hit & run against landings - they will try to dash in & fire torps at the unloading troopships/xAK's more often than not.

Open water intercepts are not so great IMO. The PT's would still squish a lone merchie, of course!

[WEXF]

Another possible solution is to make sure the "Threat Tolerance" is set to absolute rather than "normal" "low" or "high".
In many engagements Japanese TF containing CV will try to disengage asap even if the only ship encountered is a small patrol boat or even a cargo ship. Is that what happened?
WEXF

[Dgsbdy]

I'm still trying to grasp the intricacies of the game, but I get lucky sometimes. Early on you get your PI PT squadrons commanded by very aggressive leaders, and try to base them forward of Manila where there is fuel. I have had some incredible results in casualties to ships of the landing force (all for naught in the end ). Out of of Eastern Java, I had some PT's stationed in Balikpapan and managed to put a torp into the CVL Ryūjō and kept it apparently out of the fight for a long time. But I had a USN 6 boat group take out about 13000 casualties and a large group of vehicles in the hundreds sinking landing ships in NW Philippines in one mission . Was a moonless night and pure luck, I could not understand what I did right. I replayed the saved turn for fun and could never duplicate it. If you get the aggressive commander, the weather, and a night engagement it seems you can slow things down for the Japanese. But yes, even if they just spray a convoy with machine gun fire they pack up and try to avoid. Even Japanese Destroyer Captain Hara mentioned in his book the Japanese gave too much "fear" to torpedo boats. His later IJN DD Shigure destroyed three and was in the squadron that hit Kennedy's PT 109. They thought it was two PT's, but it was the two split halves of PT 109 burning . During the prelude to the battle of the Philippines Sea after he had left command of Shigure , Shigure allegedly took out three more PTs on the way there in the straits, and that's from US sources. But hard to swallow losing a capital warship to a ply wood hull with four torpedoes and enough heavy machine guns to smother the decks of almost anything, and so small you couldn't see it until it was in range. Once you found it,....Then your AA could take them out with ease. They rarely had the speed you see in the movies.




.

[BBfanboy]

Yes, the dark phase of the moon is important to getting close to the enemy. And early on, the Japanese lack of radar helps the Allied boats.

As for AC or CVE TFs, their TF type includes an automatic "avoid surface combat" reaction whenever they bump into an enemy TF - even a lonely xAKL!

HDMLs are too slow to get into good attack position without a very lucky die roll. And then they don't have much firepower that could hurt any of those warships in the TF. They are best used for ASW or scaring off an unescorted invasion TF. EDIT: Or bait for TBs to attack!