Countering invasions with fleets

[Dalwin]

I see a number of players often expressing frustration with their inability to stop invasions using their fleets, so I wanted to point out a few specifics on how this works. Unfortunately this knowledge will not help the AI better defend itself.

The first thing to realize is that naval supremacy to launch the invasion only has to be achieved once, for a single hour. Once that invasion has been triggered, it is good to go, forever. You may have a large defensive fleet in position, but if the invasion left some distant port days ago, your fleet will do absolutely nothing. In fact that same invasion will be able to keep cycling against the same target since the initial clearance also serves to allow the 2nd, 3rd and 17th attempts to be launched.

Second, if you actually want to destroy the invading units at sea, you have to put some ships on convoy interception duty. The method I prefer is to have my main fleet on patrol and also have a small squadron of 5 subs or destroyers set to intercept convoys. This can even be used successfully to intercept some of the '39 invasions that the Allies launch in the Baltic. However, if three invasion forces are passing through the zone at once, you will only ever intercept one of them regardless of how many interception squadrons you have assigned.

These points reinforce how badly flawed some of the naval mechanics currently are, but even so, it is still better to be able to play effectively within the existing system than not.

 

[Dalwin]

I suppose that I should also have pointed out that adding almost any kind of aircraft to the defense is helpful. Only strategic bombers and transports would not contribute in some way.

Planes will give you a better naval supremacy score so it is harder for new invasions to be launched. Having air superiority will improve your chances of finding the invasion fleets. NAV/CAS/TAC will make it easier to sink what ships you do find. Lastly, friendly fighters are good for countering enemy carrier based planes if they should commit CVs to the area in question.

 

[CharlieFox]

The first thing to realize is that naval supremacy to launch the invasion only has to be achieved once, for a single hour. Once that invasion has been triggered, it is good to go, forever. You may have a large defensive fleet in position, but if the invasion left some distant port days ago, your fleet will do absolutely nothing. In fact that same invasion will be able to keep cycling against the same target since the initial clearance also serves to allow the 2nd, 3rd and 17th attempts to be launched.

I know Devs have a lot of stuff to work on, but is baffling that this has not been fixed yet...

Also I think the game could benefit from more flexible naval missions. A fleet on patrol should still be able to find and attack convoys and invasion forces even if not as eficiently as a fleet set specifically to raid convoys. Likewise, a fleet on patrol should try to help a convoy under attack if they happen to be close the convoy.

 

[C-Breeze]

These points reinforce how badly flawed some of the naval mechanics currently are, but even so, it is still better to be able to play effectively within the existing system than not.

I just hope we reach a point where we look back at these flaws and laugh 'cause they're finally sorted. Fingers crossed we get there.

 

[rcbricker33]

Nice thread Dalwin. I believe that for many people the issue for stopping the invasions can be handled with garrisons and proper fleet modes. Most of the threads I have seen are solved when explaining to player that their main fleet in the region should be on patrol and a secondary fleet (subs/DDs) should be there also but set to convoy raiding. Adding aircraft is a major boon to detection/interception.

Also from the other side, note that only one invasion can be stopped per sea zone (all available naval units gang up in the first battle). So to get around this, send more than one invasion through the sea zone. This is a bit tricky in some areas given that only one invasion can originate from each port.

 

[elitesix]

Great tips. The only thing I do differently is that I often have a major fleet convoy raiding two sea zones, instead of one, since both Italy and Japan basically have 2-3 sea zones from which allies can invade to their respective mainlands. Kind of hard to split it up, but I'll test it out more.

It does seem that even intercepting the convoys in 1.3.3 once the amphibious assault has begun does nothing/very little though, at least the one time I noticed where the AI intercepted my invasion flight after it started assaulting the beaches (described in sterrius's naval combat thread).

Maybe 1.3.3 has more undocumented changes, because I had dozens of AI invasions launched against mainland italy in a 1.3.2 SP game despite hundreds of fighters and naval bombers in the sea region. Given this and my singular 1.3.3 experience, can anyone verify that catching an invasion fleet prior to landing, full stops the invasion or at least result in reliably large losses of naval transports - because so far, in my experience, the answer seems to be a strong no?

 

[Dalwin]

Great tips. The only thing I do differently is that I often have a major fleet convoy raiding two sea zones, instead of one, since both Italy and Japan basically have 2-3 sea zones from which allies can invade to their respective mainlands. Kind of hard to split it up, but I'll test it out more.

It does seem that even intercepting the convoys in 1.3.3 once the amphibious assault has begun does nothing/very little though, at least the one time I noticed where the AI intercepted my invasion flight after it started assaulting the beaches (described in sterrius's naval combat thread).

Maybe 1.3.3 has more undocumented changes, because I had dozens of AI invasions launched against mainland italy in a 1.3.2 SP game despite hundreds of fighters and naval bombers in the sea region. Given this and my singular 1.3.3 experience, can anyone verify that catching an invasion fleet prior to landing, full stops the invasion or at least result in reliably large losses of naval transports - because so far, in my experience, the answer seems to be a strong no?

You are quite right that multiple layers of interception against convoys is more effective, both in countering invasions and in general. Whether or not that is a viable approach depends on which nation you are playing. Germany or Russia cannot really do this to protect the Baltic. England cannot really do this to protect the Channel.