Questions about naval mines

[grenadier98]

Hi there, just started a new 1914 campaign as the central powers and I have some questions regarding naval mines:

1) The manual tells, that every major nation can lay up to two mines and two more for each level of naval warfare. That seems not to be true. The Russians can lay two mines with 0 naval technology. The Austrians and the French can lay just one, and the Germans having naval warfare 1 can lay three. So something is off there.

2) I had some engagements with the Austrians in late 1914 south of Italy and layed a mine in the enemies path towards one of my ships. In the enemies turn, I saw an armoured crusier or battlecruiser sailing right beside it without triggering it. I know that the manual says that there is a chance that you don't trigger the mine, but honestly I don't believe this as I have never seen a mine not going off when I sailed into it, even with subs on silent mode, which should only have a 10% chance of triggering the mine.
Is the manual really up to date or was there a change in any of the patches?

3) How did the enemy crusier pulled this of? I'm 100% certain that he didn't revela it with aerial recon first.

4) So now that the enemy knows of the Austrian mine, do the Austrians have lost there ability forever to lay mines? Getting naval warfare with them is really not a priority.
I know that I have chance of triggering my own mine by sailing through it, but regarding the overall naval situation in the mediterranean this doesn't look like a wise plan.

[mdsmall]

Hi - most of your questions are covered in section 5.6.7 on Naval Mines in the manual. It is up to date with the exception you have noted of the build limits. All majors now start with a base build limit of 1 mine, except for Russia which starts with 2 (presumably because Russia starts with 1 mine already deployed on the map). Since the UK and Germany start at level 1 in Naval Warfare, they each can build an extra two mines for a build limit of 3.

Mines only have a 50% chance of exploding if an enemy surface ship moves through them or adjacent to previously unseen minefield. Once a minefield has been spotted, the only way it can be removed is by having surface ships move through it - either your ships or the enemy's. So, yes, if the Austro-Hungarian mine has been spotted, it remains there for the rest of the game, unless the enemy is forced to move through it or you choose to clear it by moving one of your ships back and forth through it until it blows up. This is a rather unpalatable tactic but sometimes necessary if you decide you really need that mine somewhere else.

[grenadier98]

Thanks, for your reply. It seems that this Russian "special" mine in the gulf of finland was the source of my suspicion. It's also this mine which always goes off. You have restored my confidence in the manual. Didn't want to sound harsh, I like the game a lot and even more than both of the WW 2 games.

[Bavre]

About point 2 I see 2 possibilities:

The Italian peninsula "sees" some of its adjacent sea hexes (can be checked in a hotseat vs yourself), maybe yours was one of them.

Or the opponent first scouted with a silent sub that you could not see and it discovered the mine without triggering it.

[grenadier98]

The Italian peninsula "sees" some of its adjacent sea hexes (can be checked in a hotseat vs yourself), maybe yours was one of them.

I know, made this mistake before in several Central Powers games and layed a mine directly at the shore and wondered why it never went off, until I played the Entente and saw that this hex can be seen. But this mine was directly on the French-Serbian convoy route several hexes away frome any land mass.

Or the opponent first scouted with a silent sub that you could not see and it discovered the mine without triggering it.

Well that must be true, because I'm pretty sure that it wasn't aerial recon. Thanks, didn't thought about French and British subs.

The real damage to Entente ships in the Mediterrenean in this playthrough is done by Austrian Subs. They sink more convoys than the Germans in the north.