What is the use of capturing the Suez Canal as Axis?

[STVDI]

I understand that ships will have to go around the whole Africa, but does this affect something?
The fleet will sail a little longer, Is it all?

 

[GSP Jr]

I understand that ships will have to go around the whole Africa, but does this affect something?
The fleet will sail a little longer, Is it all?

More chance to get at convoys with sub & raiders also.

 

[3ishop]

Would say yeah generally making it longer for the Allies to move goods, supplies and units around and easier for you to move units around. Makes it easier to send raiders out in to the Indian ocean which also helps spread out allied counters.

 

[cursorhiker]

It also gives you easy access to the Middle East, which features a decent amount of oil (something you need desperately); it opens up convoy raiding around the Gulf and Indian Ocean, is half of the equation for sealing of the Mediterranean entirely, can screw up British supply lines in Africa, makes holding Egypt very easy (a defensive line around Khartoum is quite hard to break with the terrible infrastructure there), and even potentially opens up trade with Japan.

 

[fallgelb22061940]

You capture Gibraltar and British and French Mediterranean fleets are locked from getting out

 

[KubiG37]

You capture Gibraltar and British and French Mediterranean fleets are locked from getting out

Usually the American, Canadian, Australian (subs), and Mexican fleets too!
Time to begin the 'exercises' of naval bombers.

 

[SophieX]

After you sunk the enemy-fleets, the Med-sea "belongs" to you and you supply lines Europe-Africa will not be raided.

 

[Kryndude]

What happens in these two scenarios?

1. Capture Suez and all islands in the Mediterranean, then capture Gibraltar while English fleet is based there.
2. Capture Suez and Gibraltar, trap English fleet inside the Med, and then capture rest of the islands in it.

Is the fleet destroyed or does it escape outside?

 

[Harin]

What happens in these two scenarios?

1. Capture Suez and all islands in the Mediterranean, then capture Gibraltar while English fleet is based there.
2. Capture Suez and Gibraltar, trap English fleet inside the Med, and then capture rest of the islands in it.

Is the fleet destroyed or does it escape outside?

I keep NAVs flying non-stop in the Med, because it is so effective there. All the sea zones can be put in good range and it is like shooting fish in a barrel. Even so, the AI seems to insist on keeping a strong naval presence in the Med until the bitter end. The UK Med fleet behaves like it has been given a stand-at-all-cost order and dies a few ships at a time. When the US joins the war, it sends a very large carrier/battleship fleet to the Med. It usually stays until it is destroyed.

In the last game I played as Germany, I took the Suez canal first, then Gibraltar. When I took Gibraltar I received NAV combat reports from the Med side of Gibraltar, but none from the Atlantic side of Gibraltar. I was flying a lot of NAVs, so it appears the Allied ships in Gibraltar fled into the Med instead of trying to escape to the Atlantic.

This may have happened since I did not bother with taking Malta, Crete, or Cyprus. I am just guessing here, but maybe the AI tends to retreat its Med fleets toward Malta, or other bases, instead of realizing its strategic position and just escape the Med altogether.

 

[SophieX]

A "Gibraltar fleet" has a problem because when it want to escape into the Atlantic, it has to go at first into the Med. Because the port leads into the Med. So if there are no other ports in the Med, where this fleet can go to; you should discover that fleet in the West-Med-sea-region

 

[Tachya]

I understand that ships will have to go around the whole Africa, but does this affect something?
The fleet will sail a little longer, Is it all?

It's a significant detour. Since there isn't an infinite number of ships, if your merchant ships suddenly take twice as long to deliver their payload, your transport capacity has effectively been cut by half.

I'm not sure if it actually has that effect in HOI4, but if not, it should.

 

[Kryndude]

So if there are no other ports in the Med, where this fleet can go to; you should discover that fleet in the West-Med-sea-region

So I assume ships can survive without a base then? Was thinking if I could "overrun" them.

 

[George Parr]

Surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet: it allows you to supply Italian East Africa until a land-connection has been created. Provided it is still around, of course.

 

[Fulmen]

What is the use of capturing the Suez Canal as Axis?

Denying it to the Allies.

 

[marcelo r. r.]

Traditionally in Hoi series, UK AI is scripted to invade all mediterrenean key points from suez.

If u close suez, u dont have to bother to allies tring invade italy mainland.

The worst scenario to me, inst a big invasion, but allies overstack tons of troops on choke points like greece or sicily, where to expel them u need assign a big force+air superiority. Overstack on choke points is another "traditional" issue with AI.

 

[halvorni]

It's a significant detour. Since there isn't an infinite number of ships, if your merchant ships suddenly take twice as long to deliver their payload, your transport capacity has effectively been cut by half.

I'm not sure if it actually has that effect in HOI4, but if not, it should.

Good question. I think someone discussed this on another thread, but can't remember where.

So - is distance a factor in convoy capacity?

 

[Harin]

Good question. I think someone discussed this on another thread, but can't remember where.

So - is distance a factor in convoy capacity?

When I look at imports, I see that it appears to take more convoys to get the same amount of resource, the farther away the exporting country is. So distance is a factor in that regard.

That said, I am not sure if the number of convoys goes up, if they have to travel around Africa, instead of through the Med. If it does not, it surely should, since you need that amount of resources every day. There should be enough convoys along the route to cover one day's movement along the entire route. Any part of the route that cannot be covered by a convoy within one day means there is a day your country did not receive raw material.

 

[Simon_9732495]

Both Suez and Gibraltar don't let trade pass if controlled by enemy. In Gibraltar submarines can pass in Suez nothing.

If Axis conquer Suez, Italy can trade with countries like Siam again.

Italy before Suez: 9 Rubber from Germany.
Italy afer Suez: 9 Rubber from German, 7 from Siam, 5 from Brazil, 3 from Ethiopa, 3 from Liberia, 1 from Portugal

 

[sekelsenmat]

Both Suez and Gibraltar don't let trade pass if controlled by enemy. In Gibraltar submarines can pass in Suez nothing.

If Axis conquer Suez, Italy can trade with countries like Siam again.

Italy before Suez: 9 Rubber from Germany.
Italy afer Suez: 9 Rubber from German, 7 from Siam, 5 from Brazil, 3 from Ethiopa, 3 from Liberia, 1 from Portugal

Unfortunately in the game you can import oil from Iran/Iraq by land. It should be impossible without a pipeline, which still today doesn't exist.

If this route was blocked, then Suez would be the key for the axis to access Iraq/Iran oil, and would be as strategically important as it was in real life.

 

[pheonicia]

It significantly shrinks the amount of land you have to defend from the allies. Instead of the entire Mediterranean coast of europe, it's just 4 provinces in egypt, and another 4 in Morocco. This theoretically frees up a huge number of troops to do literally anything else more useful to win the war.