Where the heck are Germany's vaunted U-Boats?


  • Caps lock off please :lol:

    Problem is, after you build the subs, they are quickly destroyed by British and American Airforce. And also, keep in mind the 2 subs Germany starts off with actually represents quite a few subs, maybe 50. When allies cracked the german naval code, they were able to reduce Germany’s subs to mostly fodder for it’s transport fleet.


    “History is just a set of lies agreed upon”

    • Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte

    “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference”

    • Robert Frost

    [ This Message was edited by: Yanny on 2002-02-08 05:56 ]


  • sorry about the caps, I agree that it isn’t a sound strategy, it’s not something I would do, but if there were any place to build subs, the med would be it.

    As far as how many subs the German’s had, I believe hundreds, in the begining of the war up to about 1942. They were most effective against allied shipping until late in the war starting around 1943, when the British cracked the German code. After that, many German submarines were destroyed by British destroyers which by then were escorting most shipping vessels. It’s been awhile since I studied history(several years ago), but I think how it was.


  • Canadian Corvettes were the mad sub hunters


  • A kinship to reality is always loved when simulating (as in this game) but some level of reality has to be sacrificed, such as the japanese’ ability to push westward, german subs, etc. in order to make it a playable game. There’s very little in the way of german subs but it was probably neccesary in order to work out the naval strategical problems during game creation.


  • The only way for a sub force to survive British planes are to come up with new rules regarding Subs.


  • I’ve found U-boats pretty hopeless. They are cheap and are a tempting way to try and tackle the ridiculous and relentless building of the Allied Transport armada in the North Sea (that huge bridge across the Norway and W.Europe undermines every game I play!).

    My U-boats however seem to be wiped out by the RAF before they’ve undone the packaging from their shiny new torpedo tubes! What use are subs? When to buy them? Where to deploy them?


  • Actual I think that Subs, could be alllow to have a dice roll (success 1-3) to submerge before a airforce only strike!

    This would give them a little more play value!

    Jondifool


  • That’s one solution which occured to me - or perhaps you could roll for intiative - sub requiring a ‘4’ to dive first. Another fix would be to limit the massive transporter bridging possibilities by either making transporters harder to aquire, or else unable to unload and load in the same round. Otherwise you have virtually no chance of sinking a fully laden tranny. Transporters play too big a role.


  • Germany is not a fleet builder. They have to take our russia first, and in the meantime, they should build a complex in egypt. the fleet is kind of useless. by the time an attack for GB is ready, germany will have the aircraft to detsroy GB’s fleet, and then build up.

    but then again, germany is my worst country!


  • Subs in AAE have a much higher survivability rate. Because to attack a sub, a destroyer must be present.

    If there were Destroyers in AA, Germany might actually see a large sub fleet.

    Also, the game starts in Spring 1942. By then, many German subs were destroyed.


  • germany’s sub fleet hit its peak in 43.


  • I think I like the idea of subs rolling to submerge against aircraft can be pretty niffty. Do you have to roll once or for each aircraft present?


  • isnt there a 3rd edition rule book that has submerging subs? If aircraft alone attack subs they have only one round of combat. So, after all the aircraft have attacked the remaining subs submerge and remain in the
    same sea zone, like AAE.


  • In the AandA 3rd edition, subs cannot submerge but may flee instead. In AAE subs cannot flee but can submerge.


  • if you are winning in africa and the middle east you can build a sub fleet in the meditranion,the RAF has no place to land.


  • The RAF can land in the Urkaine or the Middle East if they need to.


  • This kind of gets off the subject but why doesnt Germany have any U-boats in the Atlantic right next to Eastern U.S.A.? That was a major role in the atlantic campaign!
    Now the U.S. can wonder the Atlantic without trouble!


  • I think that the sub off French West Africa is suppose to represent the threat of a German attack on Eastern USA since it can reach it in one turn and sink that US transport if you want. However, by adding extra units for starting placement you might be distracting too much from the game. Do you really think that USA had one transport fleet in 1942?


  • The sub off of europe can reach the us in one turn? I feel stupid now. but why build subs when fighters are so much better? They can be used to sink the british fleet, or attack the sovies. subs are a waste of money for the germans. Actually, any naval presence for the germans is a waste of money. they should be spending it for the assault on USSR


  • Except for the additional transport(s) or carrier for Germany, I agree. Land units are a much wiser investment.

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