I think this concept got muddled in a YG’s post on Naval Bases, so I’m going to try to clarify it here instead.
Naval Bases - Operating Radius for Surface Ships … ie, anything other than a submarine.
Historical Purpose of Naval Bases
Ships, especially fleets of ships in combat, were maintenance nightmares! They required prodigious amounts of fuel, ammunition and spare parts. There were a million systems and sub-systems that could break down. Also, WWII era ships had HUGE crews that required food, medical attention and endless other logistical needs. For these reasons, ships needed to operate from established bases of operation. A&A already has ships. A&A already has Naval Bases. However, the OOB rules do nothing to make one go hand-in-hand with the other.
I think Naval Bases are simulated very poorly. Without changing the way ships move and without changing game balance, Naval Bases can become much more relevant and historically accurate part of the game. Naval Bases … dating all the way back to Greek times … were for one and one purpose only: EXTEND THE OPERATING RANGE OF YOUR NAVAL FLEETS.
Proposed Rule is as Follows
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Naval Bases emit an “Operating Radius” of 3 spaces starting with the sea-zone that surrounds, or is adjacent to, the Naval Base. “Operating Radius” is the extent of the range a Naval Base has to service all of the friendly surface ships using it as a base of operations.
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Surface Ships may START their turn inside an “Operating Radius”, but may END their turn outside an “Operating Radius”. This is a subtle, but important detail
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If a surface ship STARTS their turn outside of the Operating Radius, it should attempt to get back inside the Operating Radius of a Friendly Operational Naval Base.
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If, when starting from OUTSIDE an Operating Radius, movement fails to end inside of an Operating Radius, ship’s movement is reduced to 1 instead of the usual 2 spaces for that turn. Otherwise, a ship may use it’s full 2 movement spaces if the result returns the ship back inside of a Friendly Operational Naval Base’s “Operating Radius”.
Analysis
Japan
Please take a minute and look at your G40 maps with the “Operating Radius” rule in mind. Now look at the “Caroline Islands”. The game correctly has a Japanese Naval Base there. This base links mainland Japan to the South Pacific. Japan can now operate her fleets freely in this area. With this base, Japan can attack New Guinea and threaten Australia.
If you take away the Japanese base, you greatly reduce the “Operating Radius” of the Imperial Japanese Navy
USA
Look at the States. They have a Naval Base in the Philippines. This base historically allowed US Fleets to operate freely in the West Pacific. This is why Japan took that base from the States. Without it, the United States had to instead operate from bases in Australia and slowly (and costly) work their way back into the Philippines 3 years later!
Strategic Impact
The game still plays the same. Boats still move 3 spaces when launching from a Naval Base and 2 spaces for regular movement. But look at how much more realistic this simple change makes the game! Now, Naval Bases are IMPORTANT. If you capture an enemy’s Naval Base, you are effectively putting their Navy out of range of certain parts of the world. Now, all of the sudden, the islands in the Pacific aren’t simply 0 IPC curiosities that can basically be ignored. They are IMPORTANT scraps of land necessary for extending your reach and zone of control.
