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In one of my multi-player games I am getting torn apart by u-boats. I lose between 6-15 merchants each turn. I've seen fleet combats where 2 subs sank 6 merchants and 2 escorts with no losses.
In another game as the Germans I am doing decent damage, but not that much. So I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong with how I'm handling them.

What I do currently is max out escorts in the zones being attacked and put out aircraft and CV/DD ships to add to the sub killer %. But as far as I can tell, if this makes any difference, it's completely eclipsed by the random number generator.

My opponent mentioned that things get better with '42 escort tech, but I ran a simulated hotseat game for a few dozen turns and I really didn't notice any difference (The game I'm referring to just hit '42 and I didn't invest heavily in escort tech).

So I'm at a loss here. It doesn't seem like there is more I can do to stop these things. I have 5 recon/detection air units out there with '42 tech and I can only really have a chance of killing a sub if I catch them in port (I've managed to kill one so far). Them adding to the sub-killer % doesn't seem to improve my chances of causing damage much in practice.

Lastly: Anyone know the formula for convoy attack losses? Really curious to know it so I can see what's most effective.

make sure you have max escorts in the contested lanes(10).

i found it FAR better to have heavy escorts in one lane than to split them amongst multiple lanes.

tech most certainly does matter. you might not see an immediate boost(i have a theory it takes a turn anyway) but it does matter. if his uboat tech is ahead of you (say you had 41 escort vs 42 subs, and now you have just achieved parity) you likely wont see huge results, but you will see better results).

i am NOT good at the BOA. In my last ill fated game, my axis opponent was spending far less and i think inflicting far more. but keeping up on tech and massing escorts is a good start.

strategic placement of long range anti sub assets(heavy bombers with ASW) also can give you shots at subs OR force your opponent to detour around your aircraft. expensive and takes a long time. but it helps.

finally, and it is likely too late, you need to build a ton of ship yards early as the allies. this allows you to replace losses-likely MM, but also escorts and DD later on. ship yards are cheap, but take a LONG time. so this is a must if there is ANY chance the axis might go subs(and there is always a chance)

these are basic tips from a below average player-others might be able to help you more.

if you want to see how badly i got mauled in the BOA my absurdly lengthy AAR is on the AAR section. you can just skip 95% of it and read the BOA sections(though it took me awhile to split it up like that)

best of luck!

Hello,

Subs best in groups of 3, sending 2 is a bit risky, and 1 very risky. And that they remain on the convoy lane with 1 unspent action point, so they are more effective than if they spend all the action points, this is important.

You have to look at the number of submarines that the axis has, there are games in which they get only 3, or 6 submarines, and others 12, or even 15. Depending on this, you will have to spend more or less on anti-submarine warfare and MM.

In technology, always at the top in escorts, and in detection get at least the one from 1940.

Build many escorts, you have to get more than 40, to be able to protect 4 convoy routes at the same time, and replace losses.

The MM costs to leave, so running out of MM is very dangerous, since it does not give you time to recover them. Have a margin of about 80 MM unused, when between the USSR at war you need 50 MM UK and 100 US more, how much with that.

Shipyards, get between 5-15 for the UK, and between 10-20 for the US.

Build strategic bombing with detection technology. They protect routes, +2 to the hunter, and can directly attack submarines. With 2 enough, one in Iceland, and another in Gibraltar or Canada.

Send DD and CV to protect the routes, you have to stagger them to protect a larger range, the fleets protect with a range of 24 hexes, so every 48 hexes you have to have a protection fleet.

I hope these tips help you, good luck!

Building MMs and escorts early is very key to holding them off. You always have to assume the enemy is going to rush 10-12 uboats. Historically the Germans didn't have 10-12 counters on the map till 1943.

I don't build shipyards, I just build lots of MMs and Escorts. I build just enough land units to hold off the Axis invasion and protect the middle east. Your job is defense till the US is in the war.

Some players like to build this massive army then wonder why they are suffering at sea. You simple can't. Your job is to delay the Axis not beat them in 1939-1941. You could try a big BEF strategy to slow them down in France but it might cost you later.

The game is a balancing act of knowing what to build when and how much. For me preparing for the worst is the best possible solution for the UK. Also if the Axis pump out 12 subs early their 1941 Barb will not be as strong.

Some Germans go for the 1941 all out strategy not building subs.

Key thing is to protect the UK in the early years.

Another tactic is building 1-2 strat bombers for bombing. This will force the Axis to build AA and air sups. You will expend less than they will. But building none of them means they can dump all their production into Russia.

I tried to make WarPlan a game of deep strategy instead of just clicking buttons.