Best strategy for the German navy

[Hartmann301]

It is the one place I'm always doing crappy. Love to hear some strategy suggestions?

[Boonierat1972]

Resist the temptation of taking out your ships to sea, unless your going for Sea Lion, for which you should have said yes to going on with the CV production.

The game I'm playing right now I try to play it as historically as possible, using the U-Boots only (although I might try taking out the Bismark during the 1941 winter to raid the North Atlantic).

My first impression is that german U-Boots seem much tougher than they were in SC2, haven't lost a single one yet.

[Goodmongo]

Don't send out any ships till after the fall of France. Heck, sometimes I wait till I get those massive reinforcements before doing anything.

When I do venture forth I send out subs as a picket line. As i sop enemy units I concentrate on sinking that unit. I pullback and set up more sub pickets. If too many ships are damaged I retreat all ships till all are repaired. I usually sink 1-3 enemy ships per venture and I rarely lose any ships as subs are great at diving and survive.

In the Med I wait till going after Malta where I have 4 or more bombers in Sicily. The UK Med fleet shows up and the bombers and Italian BB's make short work. Again pullback if you take damage and repair.

I have yet to lose the naval war and in all games so far I've sunk every allied ship in the game.

[Hartmann]

Against the AI, I tend to ahistorically boost the German navy as much as possible to eventually get the upper hand in the Atlantic and maybe do Sealion. I go Z-Plan (Carrier), but don't buy new big ships (that's too costly!), only U-boats. However everyone gets upgraded.

Regarding strategy, I do the same others do - only venture out once France has fallen. I try to really do damage to the Allied convoy system. With my big ships I lurk around Denmark, within reach of my ports and with air support and try to sink single Royal Navy ships as often as possible.

I also try to upgrade the Italian Regia Marina too and buy the Aquilea, but there's not enough money for further ships. Here too I try to whittle down the Royal Navy in the Med until I can get Malta.

[ILCK]

See I venture out early. I want to hit the UK where it hurts early game to stop them from being able to research build and dominate Italy in NA. Takes a lot of micromanaging to keep them alive - I miss PacWar's computer controlled sub options.

The surface fleet, I will usually hide a CC and CA in north Norway so that once it falls I can use them to raid the UK - USSR lines. The rest of the surface fleet hammers the Russian Baltic fleet and supports operations in the Baltic States.

[James Taylor]

Hide both Axis fleets until Spain either falls or joins. Together and teched the Axis combined navy can give the Allies a run for their money in the Atlantic.

In the mean time, take out as many Allied naval vessels as possible with maritime and tactical bombers.

[itkotw2000]

As others have said, I too tend to keep the German navy (subs included) in the Baltic at least until France falls, usually longer. I don't boost the German navy much, but I do buy a few more destroyers and some maritime bombers. In most of 1941, I only leave the Baltic to pick off Allied ships that try to raid my convoys from Norway (the short route, I always change the convoy route). But after I pick off a ship, I hide back in the Baltic. Once my destroyers and maritime bombers arrive (and pretty much all of the ships that are in the production pipeline from the beginning), I send the German fleet out.

I start by making a picket line near Norway's coast with my subs, but far enough away from England so their planes cant interfere and their ships cant strike and go back to port. Due west of Trondhiem is my usual spot. I don't raid the Russian convoy route just yet. I form the picket line of subs (silent mode) running east/west (not north/south), either side by side or a hex apart. While the subs form a line away from the coast I hide the rest of the fleet closer to shore (but close enough to easily support the subs) and wait... The AI ALWAYS figures out that your subs are in the area on the next turn, even if you aren't raiding the convoy. They will send a destroyer out and it will run into your line of subs. They will send every destroyer they have in the area, expect to get hit with 4-6 destroyers. Because your sub are in silent mode and spread-out the destroyers will tend to bump into random subs while they are trying to travel to the first one. Then they try to gang up on the second one and hit a third. This chain reaction of random encounters will cause light damage over many subs instead of getting one or two sunk.

On the next turn your main capital ships strike at the destroyers. Even destroyers can be hard to kill, so you wont be able to get them all. I would surround the few destroyers you cant kill with your capital ships. While your capital ships are busy, your subs have two options. One - the subs can be used to pick off the few remaining destroyers, as long as the losses aren't too high, it can be useful to get those ships sunk. Option two - your subs fall back TOWARD England 3 or 4 hexes forming another picket line between your surface fleet and the probable direction of the incoming British fleet. This picket line of subs does two things, it protects your surface fleet by intercepting incoming enemy capital ships and it intercepts the retreating destroyers. The destroyers will run home, but run into your subs. Any incoming capital ships wont be able to deal with your subs, so it will buy your surface fleet time.

If things really go wrong, like the British throw their whole fleet at your surface fleet, your sub picket line will buy your main fleet time to run and hide back in the Baltic or at least get closer to Germany. If the whole enemy fleet is thrown at me I will try to destroy the remaining destroyers (this protects my subs in the near future) and retreat my surface ships toward Germany, while staying near the coast of Norway. I will send one sub ahead of in my line of retreat to scout and I will use my other subs to create a screen for my fleet while they run home (usually my subs are between my fleet and England if their fleet hasn't been spotted). As you get nearer to German waters you can strike at their surface fleet if they push their attack. In a single turn (movement points permitting) find one or two of their heaviest ships (BB or CV) and strike at them with every thing you have and sink them. Then, in the same turn, run to a safe zone (after this last ditch attack make sure your ships end their turn in German ports or in the Baltic). I try to make sure my fleet ALWAYS has a clear route back to German waters and I never retreat northward (I only go north in life or death situations). If a few of my ships get "stuck" in northern ports in Norway, I send my subs fleet to rescue them. Since I just destroyed most of their destroyers, the enemy can't deal with my subs even if they wanted to (they might have one or two destroyers left, but one or two is not that dangerous).

My German fleet always uses this cat and mouse type attack. Lure destroyers with subs, attack destroyers to lure main fleet, attack main fleet, and RUN! The German CV and shore based maritime bombers help to pick off the ships with one or two strength left (I like to put the bombers in Norway on the coastal towns or in Demark to cover my retreating fleet).

After you have destroyed all of their destroyers and some of their heavier ships, your fleet can do what ever it wants.