Now, extra German planes in the mid-game can be a good investment against a balanced, slow KGF if Allies don’t have excess escorts. They already defend where they are almost like 2 more inf (6 IPC), also threaten 1-2 fleets that will need extra escorts, and swap easier on land. Combined with the Japanese fleet coming throught the Med, they can paralyze the Allied moves sandwiched between each of them.
But, that’s not ships, but anti-ship build…
Why should I build in the Baltic?
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Let us also not forget that when Germany attacks the allied fleet she has to kill off the Russians, the British and the Americans…that’s at least twice the fleet on defense then can attack at any given time.
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Except that the Russians consist of ONE SUB. And the Americans are 2 TRN and 1 DST intially. Not much of a “fleet”.
And on attack Germany gets to add extra FIGs and a BOM to the mix, more than negating those 4 units.
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Yea, well, it was more like 2 DD, 1 BB, 6 Trans, 1 Sub from the get go, he stayed well out of range for 2 rounds to keep from having that problem. By turn 4 it was 2 BBs and 2 ACs added onto that and more transports.
So no, there wasn’t a bat’s chance in hades my puny 5 plane, 1 bomber, 1 carrier, 1 destroyer, 1 transport, 2 submarine fleet was going to get a shot and killing his fleet. My best chance was to get decent to better then decent dice defending against part of it. If I remember correctly, I got slightly worse then decent dice.
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Hhhmmm, sounds like you were not aggressive enough.
You gave him FOUR TURNS to build up and consolidate his fleets, instead of going after the pieces before they could form up.
And don;t say you could not reach. In 4 turns the Baltic Fleet can sail as far as jNew Zealand, and I know he did not stage his Allied fleets THAT far away.
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No, they were in Sea Zone 9 and Sea Zone 2 until he combined them on R3 and then attacked, I think, on R4.
At that point, I was getting my typical dice nad fighting to keep Russia from walking into Berlin unchallenged…couldn’t reall afford to loose 5 fighters and a bomber to reduce him to a damaged battleship.
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And you never staged your baltic Fleet forward to SZ6? Putting the staging in SZ2 in range? Or mvoes to SZ7 to threaten African landings and threaten both SZ2 and SZ9?
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Let’s pretend I put the fleet in SZ 6.
Now I have 1 BB, 2 DD, 6 Transports, 1 AC and 2 Figs in SZ 2 and 2 SS, 1 AC, 2 Fig, 1 TRN, 1 DD in Sea Zone 6.
How is this better off? Now I cannot use infantry in Germany to hit Karelia/Finland immediately. now I cannot use carrier based fighters in Ukraine or Belorussia or Archangelsk and return them to the carrier. Now I cannot use infantry from W. Europe to hit E. Europe or Karelia. AND I still cannot attack the combined Allied fleet, waiting for them to attack me.
I’d rather wait in SZ 5 where I am much more flexible then SZ 6 where i’m nothing but a waiting target.
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And sitting there you ar eunable to prevent an Allied fleet build up.
Which is better, shutting down UK and US shuck for a few turns, or 1 move slower getting German INF to Karelia?
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I prefer getting sitting in SZ 5 to be more flexible since putting my fleet in SZ 6 has no bearing on the Allied fleet build up. At best it forces them to build in SZ 8 instead of SZ 3 and that prevents allied landings in FIN/NOR until Englands done making fleet, then they build in SZ 12 and land in Africa.
Meanwhile, 40% of my airforce is out of range of the Russian front.
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That is what tanks are for.
and if SZ6 is not working, move to 7.
The point is, if you cede control of the Atlantic by just sitting in the baltic, then you probably ARE wating your money on a Baltic AC.
Build your fleet, then eitehr use it to take out a few units, prevent early landings in Norway and Africa.
But if you are just using it to be just a guardian of Germany and Eastern coasts (which is an acceptible use of that fleet), then don;t complain about the Allies building their fleets up outside your range. If you go purely defensive with the Baltic Fleet, that is what the allies are going to do. And when they are done, your fleet is sunk. That is jsut th way it works.
So…
Either use teh fleet to protect Germany and Eastern while you drive hard on Russia with all you’ve got and deal with the Allied landing swhen they start, or use that fleet and challenge the Atlantic with naval and air.But don’t complain because the Allies see which way you are going and adjust their strat accordingly.
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