good going, but i regret that naval warfare doesnt play big role in HoI2. Enemys (or yours) fleet is destroyed too quickly and usualy there are just few battles.
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Have you planned any Marine units to be produced? That way, you could post about some land war without losing the leading idea of Naval AAR... in addition to the actual naval battles, few landings in here and there - supported with the devastating firepower of your battle ships - could make a good show, methinks!
In any case - keep up the good work!
In any case - keep up the good work!
Have you planned on building any superheavies? I love those (not because they are good but because of the sheer coolness 
)
)
Arilou said:Have you planned on building any superheavies? I love those (not because they are good but because of the sheer coolness
A little off the topic of this AAR, but I certainly plan for the Royal Navy to have SuperHeavy's in her fleet in my AAR
TheLand,
Just a note to say great work! I love the detailed elements, and your extensive knowledge of the situations.
I'm keeping track, if slowly.
Rensslaer
Just a note to say great work! I love the detailed elements, and your extensive knowledge of the situations.
I'm keeping track, if slowly.
Rensslaer
I don't think you need to worry, Renss. At best, TheLand seems to be taking an extended break.
Vann
Vann
i get the feeling this AAR is dead. shame really its reads pretty good, if a little one dimensional,but i guess that was the point, yes?
later, caff
later, caff
caffran said:
Indeed. Basically it's less satisfying than I'd hoped, mainly because 9 out of 10 battles are a walkover for the RN, and I'm running out of ways to describe "one of their ships sunk, they ran away, we chased them, one of their ships sank, they ran away".
I suppose it brings home to me exactly how the limitations on naval combat in HOI2 are more sever than those on land combat.
Anyway, thanks for all the encouragement. I might come back to the idea at some time - maybe with a naval combat mod, as someone has suggested - and with a more restrained use of air power.
Oh, OK. You've persuaded me to keep going ;-) And I'm bored with Victoria atm.
Naval Strategy & Shipbuilding: The New Challenge
By summer 1940, Britain faced a challenge greater than ever. War would last for years into the future, with no end in sight.
Germany's navy might be defeated - but the German nation was as strong as ever. Intelligence agents reported a new programme of Kriegsmarine building, and just one German battleship let loose coudl inflict massive damage onto unprotected convoys.
Italy's navy, while suffering to superior firepower, coudl be controlled - but might be a thorn in Britain's side for some time.
And the great threat, bigger than the German and Italian navies combined - lurked threateningly in the Far East. Intelligence estimates suggested a Japanese battlefleet of 10 capital ships and 8 fleet carriers. What's more, the Japanese Yamato-class were rumoured to e the greatest naval monstrosities known to mankind. mounting 18-inch guns and with two feet of armour plate. Japan's hostile intent had been clearly signalled by their seizure of French bases in Indochina, from which submarines and aircraft could operate.
British naval plans called for the RN to be able to engage all enemy fleets, everywhere in the world, with decisive strength. Retaining a decisive margin in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean required every modern ship the RN had: during the heat of the Mediterranean battles, the Ceylon station was led by HMS Warspite and HMS Malaya - both veterans of Jutland. The contingency plan called for the despatch of the Mediterranean Reserve Fleet, of Rodney, Barham, Valiant and Hood, while a decisive victory was sought to free up more modern ships for an extended East Asian campaign.
Clearly, the ageing ships would not be enough: it was hoped an encounter with modern Japanese vessels might buy time, or their presence might deter Japanese invasion forces from approaching Singapore. The defence of Hong Kong was felt to be hopless without a large battlefleet to ensure supply.
Answers needed to be found. And quickly.
However, the progress of the war suggested solutions. Yamato followed the philosophy of battleships since HMS Dreadnought, and indeed since Henry V's Mary Rose - more guns on a larger, safer, vessel, regardless of cost. But the lessons of the Second War so far showed a change of tactics might be beneficial. The RN had defeated superior ships, like Bismarck and Tirpitz - not through broadside-on-broadside engagments, but through superior maneuver, integration of arms, and aggressive spirit.
Furthermore, the balance between gunnery and armour had changed. Even a massive armour plate could not guarantee to resist a relatively light 14" round; and while a battle of even numbers would be won by the bigger guns, there was no need for the RN to let numbers be equal.This was particularly true in the Atlantic, where it would be relatively easy for the RN to achieve numerical superiority. The new classes of ship the RN commissioned bore these new facts in mind.
Firstly, to enable the final replacement of the Revenge-class, four more battleships were laid down. Their armament would be a relatively light 9x16" rifle layout - the same weight of fire as the Nelson-class of the early 1930s. Their secondary armament, initially planned as 8x2 5.25" guns, quickly evolved into a mixture of 5.25" turrets and 4" QF AA guns, together with a sizeable number of rapid-firing pom-pms for air defence. Their armour would be at 15" all round, to provide even protection against aircraft attack. They would also have exceptional cruising range. These ships would form the core of the battlefleet in whichever theatre the threat was greatest - the first British ships to be designed with the Pacific in mind.
Secondly, for security, a new type of 'battleship-hunter' was developed: a battle-cruiser type designed to intercept enemy capital ship raiders. Acting alone, it would shadow a Bismarck-type vessel, while being strong enough that if the prey turned to fight it could expect to come away mortally wounded. In pairs, the new class could engage another Bismarck and sink her. The design, named the Inflexible-class, bore 6x16" guns in two forward turrets, and had an exxceptional top speed of 35 knots.
And thirdly, to match the Japanese modern carrier navy, an assortment of carriers was ordered: four additional Illustrious-class vessels. However strong the Fleet Air Arm's pilots, they were still flying from converted battlecruisers or even liners, and their full potential would never be achieved with carrriers too small for modern aricraft and too small to carry a long mission's supplies.
(to be continued with developments in cruiser design ;-) )
Naval Strategy & Shipbuilding: The New Challenge
By summer 1940, Britain faced a challenge greater than ever. War would last for years into the future, with no end in sight.
Germany's navy might be defeated - but the German nation was as strong as ever. Intelligence agents reported a new programme of Kriegsmarine building, and just one German battleship let loose coudl inflict massive damage onto unprotected convoys.
Italy's navy, while suffering to superior firepower, coudl be controlled - but might be a thorn in Britain's side for some time.
And the great threat, bigger than the German and Italian navies combined - lurked threateningly in the Far East. Intelligence estimates suggested a Japanese battlefleet of 10 capital ships and 8 fleet carriers. What's more, the Japanese Yamato-class were rumoured to e the greatest naval monstrosities known to mankind. mounting 18-inch guns and with two feet of armour plate. Japan's hostile intent had been clearly signalled by their seizure of French bases in Indochina, from which submarines and aircraft could operate.
British naval plans called for the RN to be able to engage all enemy fleets, everywhere in the world, with decisive strength. Retaining a decisive margin in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean required every modern ship the RN had: during the heat of the Mediterranean battles, the Ceylon station was led by HMS Warspite and HMS Malaya - both veterans of Jutland. The contingency plan called for the despatch of the Mediterranean Reserve Fleet, of Rodney, Barham, Valiant and Hood, while a decisive victory was sought to free up more modern ships for an extended East Asian campaign.
Clearly, the ageing ships would not be enough: it was hoped an encounter with modern Japanese vessels might buy time, or their presence might deter Japanese invasion forces from approaching Singapore. The defence of Hong Kong was felt to be hopless without a large battlefleet to ensure supply.
Answers needed to be found. And quickly.
However, the progress of the war suggested solutions. Yamato followed the philosophy of battleships since HMS Dreadnought, and indeed since Henry V's Mary Rose - more guns on a larger, safer, vessel, regardless of cost. But the lessons of the Second War so far showed a change of tactics might be beneficial. The RN had defeated superior ships, like Bismarck and Tirpitz - not through broadside-on-broadside engagments, but through superior maneuver, integration of arms, and aggressive spirit.
Furthermore, the balance between gunnery and armour had changed. Even a massive armour plate could not guarantee to resist a relatively light 14" round; and while a battle of even numbers would be won by the bigger guns, there was no need for the RN to let numbers be equal.This was particularly true in the Atlantic, where it would be relatively easy for the RN to achieve numerical superiority. The new classes of ship the RN commissioned bore these new facts in mind.
Firstly, to enable the final replacement of the Revenge-class, four more battleships were laid down. Their armament would be a relatively light 9x16" rifle layout - the same weight of fire as the Nelson-class of the early 1930s. Their secondary armament, initially planned as 8x2 5.25" guns, quickly evolved into a mixture of 5.25" turrets and 4" QF AA guns, together with a sizeable number of rapid-firing pom-pms for air defence. Their armour would be at 15" all round, to provide even protection against aircraft attack. They would also have exceptional cruising range. These ships would form the core of the battlefleet in whichever theatre the threat was greatest - the first British ships to be designed with the Pacific in mind.
Secondly, for security, a new type of 'battleship-hunter' was developed: a battle-cruiser type designed to intercept enemy capital ship raiders. Acting alone, it would shadow a Bismarck-type vessel, while being strong enough that if the prey turned to fight it could expect to come away mortally wounded. In pairs, the new class could engage another Bismarck and sink her. The design, named the Inflexible-class, bore 6x16" guns in two forward turrets, and had an exxceptional top speed of 35 knots.
And thirdly, to match the Japanese modern carrier navy, an assortment of carriers was ordered: four additional Illustrious-class vessels. However strong the Fleet Air Arm's pilots, they were still flying from converted battlecruisers or even liners, and their full potential would never be achieved with carrriers too small for modern aricraft and too small to carry a long mission's supplies.
(to be continued with developments in cruiser design ;-) )
I see that you use naval bombers togetfer with your grey ships and you have good results, well done TheLand, well done
Great to see you back at this, TheLand!
Though I wouldn't mind seeing your version of a Victoria AAR sometime, too!
I wonder if you wouldn't mind stopping by the HOI Scen & Mods section to give some advice on how to mod an early superbattleship...
Interesting idea, on the Battleship Hunter... is there any real history to that?
Rensslaer
Though I wouldn't mind seeing your version of a Victoria AAR sometime, too!
I wonder if you wouldn't mind stopping by the HOI Scen & Mods section to give some advice on how to mod an early superbattleship...
Interesting idea, on the Battleship Hunter... is there any real history to that?
Rensslaer
Rensslaer said:
They are inspired by the historically planned G3 battlecruisers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G3_battlecruiser - however the idea of designing a BC for a 'Bismarck-hunting' role is intended as plausible fantasy.
Thanks for updating! Viky can get a little boring - so whenever it does... another update please!