• 2024 '22 '21 '19 '15 '14

    I think submarines are causing way more confusion to rules/gameplay then they are worth.

    My first reaction to the new rule, is that it just seems to make submarines an even more marginal unit than they were before. The inability to take hits on submarines that are part of a fleet (from attacking enemy air), makes airpower even more significant than it was in Revised, since now you can just trade fighters for capital ships.

    For submarines to be relevant to the gameplay, they should really be designed to inflict economic damage. As a combat unit they’re pretty underwhelming.


  • From an tactic point of view this rule is better, if we consider it together with the new transport status.
    Surface fleets and submarines did not operate togheter during ww2. So having the sub (and the TRNs) as cannon fodder for surface battle is not historically correct, is not tactically correct and even from a gaming point of view it hampered war on the seas.

    In this game the real backbone of the fleet is the DD, that should be built in good numbers.

    It is true that a fleet with AC and submarines as cannon fodder could suffer grievous losses to air power… but also a fleet with a lone DD if attacked by a bunch of subs (that cost 6 i.e 4 IPC less than a fighter) could be wiped away leaving fighters (immune to subs fire…) to look for a place for landing.

    So I agree that it is possible to use air power for trading with capital ships (right what happens in the real war, the aircraft pilots are trained to attack valuable target not useless TRN or SUBS… imagine the battle of Midway and USA Dauntless pilots sunking four submarine instead of four AC…) but also subs may be used for trading with any kind of target that is not an aircraft, i.e. DD, CA, AC and BB. I see a paper-scissors-stone pattern in that.


  • I guess in the end, it will create different opportunities. 
    You may not want to send a DD into the battle in order to focus on more important capital ships.


  • I havent bought the game my self jet, but if this rule is unclear it is extremly stupid.

    Lets say Japan has 2 carriers with 4 fighters on board and US attacks that fleet with 3 submarines!

    1. Neither of the 4 fighters onboard the carriers can strike the submarines since there is no destroyers presents, only the 2 carriers may defend them selfs. And only the carriers may be taken as cassulties. The subs get opening fire.

    2. The fighters cannot ATTACK, but they can defend???

    3. The submarines can submerge before the battle begins, and nothing happens.

    4. Fighters submerge after their first opening shots…


    I think its number 1 which definitivly is most fun. It makes having a destroyer deadly important
    when it comes to defending a fleet.


  • All evidence points to number one being the correct  :wink:

  • Official Q&A

    @Greand:

    1. Neither of the 4 fighters onboard the carriers can strike the submarines since there is no destroyers presents, only the 2 carriers may defend them selfs. And only the carriers may be taken as cassulties. The subs get opening fire.

    Correct.

    @Greand:

    1. The fighters cannot ATTACK, but they can defend???

    Incorrect.  They can do neither.

    @Greand:

    1. The submarines can submerge before the battle begins, and nothing happens.

    Correct.

    @Greand:

    1. Fighters submerge after their first opening shots…

    Incorrect.  Fighters can’t submerge.  :-P  Subs can submerge or fire - they can’t do both in the same combat round.


  • Rules for the DD state that a fig can attack if it is present. 
    It does not say that Fig can not defend.

    Fig either defend or option #1 above is correct.

  • Official Q&A

    Air unit hits, whether attacking or defending, cannot be assigned to subs unless there is a destroyer friendly to the air units in the battle.  This is not exactly clear in the rules, but it will be in the FAQ.


  • Ahh. so in naval battles with air and subs, air units must be rolled seperately from naval units? This isnt in the rules either, but a logical conclusion from this thread. How else so you know what are air unit hits or not. On the converse, a DD present allows air to hit subs, but not vice versa. So if a DD is present, then subs must now roll seperately from other naval units. Well, i guess they are the only unit that defends at 1, so this is a mute point on defense, but on offense, it an annoyance. This is complicated!!


  • When i play this with my borther for the first time, I can see an arguement ensue when i try to explain all of this to him, and it is not clearly stated in the rulebook. ahh well!!


  • @AxisOfEvil:

    Ahh. so in naval battles with air and subs, air units must be rolled seperately from naval units? This isnt in the rules either, but a logical conclusion from this thread. How else so you know what are air unit hits or not. On the converse, a DD present allows air to hit subs, but not vice versa. So if a DD is present, then subs must now roll seperately from other naval units. Well, i guess they are the only unit that defends at 1, so this is a mute point on defense, but on offense, it an annoyance. This is complicated!!

    -) if no DD is present, subs anyway hit during surprise strike, so then you roll for them seperately anyway.
    -) if a DD is present, you just need to remember how many hits you had with subs. as the amount of sub hits equals the amount of naval units you have to pick as casualties.
    -) if there are air units, but NO DD, you have to roll air units seperately, so you know how many surface warships are subject to be removed from the game.


  • Since when did the submerge feature become manditory? This sounds like a house rule waiting to happen. I think this rule is so confusing to people b/c the defender has never NOT had the option to use a piece as fodder.

  • Official Q&A

    Submerging is not mandatory.  Air unit hits simply cannot be assigned to subs unless there is a destroyer.  This works in exactly the same way as the rule that sub hits can’t be applied to air units, except there’s a condition attached (the destroyer).  Sea units can still hit subs if there is no destroyer, unless the sub chooses to submerge.


  • the air vs sub rules are starting to make more sense since subs do not have control of a sea zone.  I just wish it was pointed out in the rules more clearly.

    ie fig could clear out the surface ships to allow TR to pass safely to another sz even though subs are there.

  • Official Q&A

    @jeffdestroyer:

    the air vs sub rules are starting to make more sense since subs do not have control of a sea zone.  I just wish it was pointed out in the rules more clearly.

    Me, too!


  • ok so if UK planes attack German Baltic fleet which contains both subs and destroyers…can the German player take the sub as a hit? I suspect the answer is now no?

    and its no unless UK brings in a destroyer of their own right>?

  • Official Q&A

    @Imperious:

    ok so if UK planes attack German Baltic fleet which contains both subs and destroyers…can the German player take the sub as a hit? I suspect the answer is now no?

    and its no unless UK brings in a destroyer of their own right>?

    You are correct.


  • I got a question regarding this rule.

    In my last game, the us player attacked my jap fleet.

    I had 3 transports, 1 cruiser, 1 battleship, 2 carriers and 4 fighters.
    He had 4 subs, 2 destoyers, 1 battleship, 1 fighter and 1 carrier.

    My fighters could only hit his surface ships, while my other ships were hitting his subs.

    So what remained was that i had 4 fighters left vs 3 of his subs.
    I also had 3 transports. So my question is: do you sink the transports and land the fighters at the island? Or do the transports remain and the subs have to submerge? We decided to sink the transports and land the fighters, but there was alot of discussion about this.

  • Official Q&A

    You played it correctly.  The subs couldn’t hit the fighters, and the fighters couldn’t hit the subs without a destroyer.  The subs weren’t forced to submerge, since they couldn’t be hit.  This left the transports defenseless.


  • This left the transports defenseless.

    meaning that the transports all die? So if he retreated before he faced a situation where all he had was fighters…he could have saved his 3 transports by a retreat of his other naval units?

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