Matrix Games Forums

I am struggling with many parts of SC as I learn the game.
In this case some help with naval battle may prevent my entire fleet from being wiped out.

In the Med as Italians (Axis).
1) Attacked by a couple of British CV's. Send the attacked ship back to port.
2) Use SS seen to scout on my next turn (hunt mode) and bump into CV. Cannot fire upon it.
3) Purposely being aggressive, to try and learn, I send the BB in next to the CV to hopefully fire upon it.
4) British DD and CA materialize as enemy contacts - I am surrounded and fired upon by the CA.
5) I cannot return fire on anyone?

I am now stuck and not sure why I cannot fire to at least do some damage before retreating?
The BB can move two hexs away. There is a ZOC hex next to the CA, so clearly not going there. There are also several hatched hexes (not sure of the colour) otherwise of the DD and CA that appear no go (not that I would).

What is happening?
Is retreating the only option when overmatched/surrounded?

Hi Zerradio,

Recon is king if you can pull it off before sending in troops for the kill.
If your sub still had some movement points left, you could have sent it south to reveal the CA and DD before moving the BB in to attack.

Also, it is better to recon with subs in silent mode, if you are able to. From the manual"

Silent mode allows Subs to pass through enemy naval formations and Convoy routes with a good chance of not being detected, but it reduces their normal speed to 2/3 and they cannot Cruise in this mode. Subs that are attacked while running in Silent mode, will have their potential losses reduced by 50%. They will also have the effectiveness of their defensive return fire reduced by 50%, with no hits possible against attacking aircraft. Note: Subs in Port that are in Silent Mode will not benefit from being in Silent Mode if attacked. Nor will they be hidden from enemy spotting like they would if at sea. However, if a Sub is attacked while in Port, the damage it receives is automatically halved. The Sub’s Silent mode represents movement beneath the surface where Subs can pass through any enemy units unless they end their move next to one, or they pass through a hex occupied by an enemy Destroyer. If they do encounter an enemy Destroyer while in Silent mode then they have a 50% chance of being discovered by that Destroyer. If they are discovered then their turn will immediately end with a Surprise Encounter.

There is also this: Naval units that have engaged in combat as a result of the surprise will have their remaining Action Points divided by 2. which can explain why your sub couldn't fire on the CV it bumped into.

C

Thank you!
Big help for the future. Taking notes.

By the way, I have read through the manual and have taken to trying to find specific passages again when I encounter issues in the game (which makes for some slogging through games). But there is a big difference between reading something previously unseen and then encountering it in the heat of battle.

Thanks again.