I did not quote the naval combat section because it refers to the process used in the land combat section for combat resolution. As DarthMaximus implies, the rulebook states the following under naval combat.
The attacker rolls 1 die for each attacking unit. Just as in the Land Combat Sequence, resolve all conflict in Column 1, then Column 2 and so on.
@C_F:
I see laststrikes point, because that is what the rules say, but three things come to mind.
- Nobody plays that way
I am not so sure about that. The two major on-line play by e-mail internet clubs (IAAPA and AAMC) both have these rules.
http://pub120.ezboard.com/fiaapaopenforumbbsqasregarding2ndediaapaexistingrules.showMessage?topicID=148.topic
http://pub1.ezboard.com/ftheofficersclubrules.showMessage?topicID=621.topic
Just because the people on this thread do not play by the exact rules does not mean that the other members of the A&A community do not. As I said before, as long as everyone plays by the same rule, you are okay.
@C_F:
2. The PC game doesn’t work that way
The CD game is not pure A&A. It has many, many bugs. This is one of them. Please do not use Hasbro’s attempt at making A&A an excuse for not following the rules. Of course if you want to play the game on the CD, you do not have a choice unless you edit after the battle.
@C_F:
3. I don’t think the guys who wrote the rules intended that to be the interpretation.
I think it reads pretty straight forward in the rules. You are of course allowed to think what you want. But you have to remember, that this game is not always based on what makes sense. There are many rules that do not follow logic or historical accuracy. This is one of them.
Laststrike, I am not sure I agree with you. So you are saying if both the sub and transport hits you will say, oh the transport hit my transport so the sub hit is wasted as it can’t hit the plane. I don’t buy that.
This is what the rules say. Please re-read the rule I quoted above. It says that you start with column 1, then roll column 2, etc. For the Baltic example, the transport is in column 1 and the sub is in column 2. Thus, if you are following the rules, first you roll the transport, if it hits, the attacker would remove a piece (most likely the attacking transport). Then the defending sub would roll.
Sure, if you attack a lone carrier with 2 fighters on it with say 3 subs and all 3 hit, obviously you can only apply 1 hit. But if I had 1 fighter in the attack as well and scored 4 hits, you honestly expect to say “Well, the fighter hits the carrier so your 3 sub hits are wasted” and have the attacker say “Oh well, so I scored 4 hits and you only take 1 off”. As the attacker I would not stand for that ‘rule interpretation’.
In you air craft carrier example, you applied the rule completely backwards. Just like in the Baltic example, subs are in category 2 and fighters are in category 3. Thus, you would roll the subs first and the fighter second. So in your example, the attacker would score two hits against the defender.
Perhaps I am in the minority on this one but you and I both know what is fair. If you roll 2 hits you should do 2 hits if possible.
What is fair, is that both players agree to play the game with the same rules. If they agree to play strictly by what is written in the rules, then the above rule applies.
The real reason you go in with 1 transport is if you are attacking the lone german sub further south, if you don’t do a 1 sub on 1 sub then you really should attack the baltic fleet with that sub and 1 ftr and keep the transport to put in with the brits.
This is a matter of opinion. I’ll play my strategy and you play your’s. :D
@cystic:
The defender chooses his hits, and the smart defender shoots with his subs first so that they are not shooting at “nothing” (i.e. planes).
Sorry, but this is incorrect. The rulebook clearly states:
1. Put all units on the battle board…
2. AA gun fires…
3. Attacker fires. The attacker rolls 1 die for each attacking unit. Notice the battle board is divided into 4 columns. Resolve combat in Column 1 first, then Column 2 and so on. For example, if Column I had 4 infantry, you would roll 4 dice to fire. Infantry attack at a die roll of “1,” so each roll of “1” would be a hit. Please Note: if you had more units than dice, roll 12 dice first to determine any hits, then reroll as many dice as needed for the remaining units in the column. Each time a hit is scored, the defender must choose one of his or her units as a casualty and must move it below the casualty line in the same column on the battle board. These casualties are not out of the game yet. They will be able to counterattack because combat in Axis & Allies is considered simultaneous.
4. De fender fires. The defender rolls 1 die for each defending unit (casualties included) and resolves combat, as the attacker did above. In this counterattack, any of the attacker’s units that are hit are immediately removed from the battle board and placed back in the tray. They are immediate casualties because they have already fired. Of course, the attacker always chooses which units will be casualties!
5. Remove all casualties…
This is why many players will attack the Baltic on Russia 1 with a transport and one or two fighters. There is absolutely no risk of loosing a fighter on any round of combat as long as the attacking transport is present. This is because even if the defender rolls two hits (both the transport and sub hit), the defender can only allocate one hit to the attacker (the defending transport has to fire first).
This is a fairly black and white rule. In all practicality, most people will roll all of the defending dice at one time. However, the attacker and defender must always be aware of these types of situations when rolling this way so they do not have to take more casualties than the rules require.