edit
finish

---
title: Naval_Primer
---
::: mw-parser-output
[Template:Anthology](/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Anthology&action=edit&redlink=1 "Template:Anthology (page does not exist)"){.new}
Reflecting its historical roots, land warfare is the most important
aspect of [HoI2](/wiki/HoI2 "HoI2") : both [air
combat](/wiki/Effective_Use_of_Airpower "Effective Use of Airpower") and
naval combat have more limited roles. Naval power is most important for
nations that require naval supremacy in order to achieve their land
warfare objectives:
[Japan](/wiki/Japan_strategy "Japan strategy"){.mw-redirect} and the
[USA](/wiki/US_Strategy "US Strategy"){.mw-redirect} .

::: {#toc .toc aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading" role="navigation"}
::: {.toctitle dir="ltr" lang="en"}
## Contents {#mw-toc-heading}

[ ]{.toctogglespan}
:::

-   [[ 1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Naval Strategy ]{.toctext}](#Naval_Strategy)
    -   [[ 1.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Projection or Defence
        ]{.toctext}](#Projection_or_Defence)
        -   [[ 1.1.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Force Projection
            ]{.toctext}](#Force_Projection)
        -   [[ 1.1.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Home Defence
            ]{.toctext}](#Home_Defence)
    -   [[ 1.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Starting Navies
        ]{.toctext}](#Starting_Navies)
    -   [[ 1.3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Naval Research
        ]{.toctext}](#Naval_Research)
-   [[ 2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Ship Strengths & Weaknesses
    ]{.toctext}](#Ship_Strengths_.26_Weaknesses)
    -   [[ 2.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Capital Ships
        ]{.toctext}](#Capital_Ships)
        -   [[ 2.1.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Carriers (CV): (aka *Kings of the
            Sea* )
            ]{.toctext}](#Carriers_.28CV.29:_.28aka_Kings_of_the_Sea.29)
        -   [[ 2.1.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Light Carriers (CVL): (aka *Carrier
            Killers* )
            ]{.toctext}](#Light_Carriers_.28CVL.29:_.28aka_Carrier_Killers.29)
        -   [[ 2.1.3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Battleships (BB): (aka *Queens of
            the Sea* )
            ]{.toctext}](#Battleships_.28BB.29:_.28aka_Queens_of_the_Sea.29)
        -   [[ 2.1.4 ]{.tocnumber} [ Battle Cruisers (BC): (aka *Scrap
            Metal* )
            ]{.toctext}](#Battle_Cruisers_.28BC.29:_.28aka_Scrap_Metal.29)
        -   [[ 2.1.5 ]{.tocnumber} [ Heavy cruisers (CA): (aka *Poor
            Man\'s Battleship* )
            ]{.toctext}](#Heavy_cruisers_.28CA.29:_.28aka_Poor_Man.27s_Battleship.29)
        -   [[ 2.1.6 ]{.tocnumber} [ Submarines (SS): (aka *Silent
            Killers* )
            ]{.toctext}](#Submarines_.28SS.29:_.28aka_Silent_Killers.29)
    -   [[ 2.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Screens ]{.toctext}](#Screens)
        -   [[ 2.2.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Light cruisers (CL)
            ]{.toctext}](#Light_cruisers_.28CL.29)
        -   [[ 2.2.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Destroyers (DD)
            ]{.toctext}](#Destroyers_.28DD.29)
-   [[ 3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Task Forces ]{.toctext}](#Task_Forces)
    -   [[ 3.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Carrier Task Force (CTF)
        ]{.toctext}](#Carrier_Task_Force_.28CTF.29)
        -   [[ 3.1.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ CTF Composition
            ]{.toctext}](#CTF_Composition)
    -   [[ 3.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Surface Action Group (SAG)
        ]{.toctext}](#Surface_Action_Group_.28SAG.29)
        -   [[ 3.2.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Fleet Composition
            ]{.toctext}](#Fleet_Composition)
        -   [[ 3.2.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Zerg Fleets
            ]{.toctext}](#Zerg_Fleets)
            -   [[ 3.2.2.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ The Original Cruizerg Fleet
                ]{.toctext}](#The_Original_Cruizerg_Fleet)
            -   [[ 3.2.2.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ DD Zerg Fleet
                ]{.toctext}](#DD_Zerg_Fleet)
            -   [[ 3.2.2.3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Cruizerg Fleets for Doomsday
                ]{.toctext}](#Cruizerg_Fleets_for_Doomsday)
                -   [[ 3.2.2.3.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Early-Game Composition
                    ]{.toctext}](#Early-Game_Composition)
                -   [[ 3.2.2.3.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Late-Game Composition
                    ]{.toctext}](#Late-Game_Composition)
        -   [[ 3.2.3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Hybrid Fleet Composition
            ]{.toctext}](#Hybrid_Fleet_Composition)
    -   [[ 3.3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Marine Amphibious Force (MAF)
        ]{.toctext}](#Marine_Amphibious_Force_.28MAF.29)
        -   [[ 3.3.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ MAF Fleet Composition
            ]{.toctext}](#MAF_Fleet_Composition)
    -   [[ 3.4 ]{.tocnumber} [ Anti-Submarine Warfare Group (ASW Group)
        ]{.toctext}](#Anti-Submarine_Warfare_Group_.28ASW_Group.29)
        -   [[ 3.4.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ ASW Fleet Composition
            ]{.toctext}](#ASW_Fleet_Composition)
    -   [[ 3.5 ]{.tocnumber} [ Submarine Wolfpack
        ]{.toctext}](#Submarine_Wolfpack)
        -   [[ 3.5.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Convoy Raiding
            ]{.toctext}](#Convoy_Raiding)
        -   [[ 3.5.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Doomsday and Armageddon
            ]{.toctext}](#Doomsday_and_Armageddon)
-   [[ 4 ]{.tocnumber} [ Tactics ]{.toctext}](#Tactics)
    -   [[ 4.1 ]{.tocnumber} [ Positioning ]{.toctext}](#Positioning)
    -   [[ 4.2 ]{.tocnumber} [ Combat Range ]{.toctext}](#Combat_Range)
    -   [[ 4.3 ]{.tocnumber} [ Leadership ]{.toctext}](#Leadership)
    -   [[ 4.4 ]{.tocnumber} [ Stacking ]{.toctext}](#Stacking)
    -   [[ 4.5 ]{.tocnumber} [ After-action ]{.toctext}](#After-action)
:::

## [ Naval Strategy ]{#Naval_Strategy .mw-headline}

Selecting an appropriate naval strategy from the beginning of the game,
and consistently following that strategy throughout the game, is
essential. Navies take an extraordinarily large amount of industry and
time ( [IC days](/wiki/IC_days "IC days") ) to build and cannot upgrade
(except for naval brigades added in \[Armageddon\]), thus changing
directions on a whim is not possible.

### [ Projection or Defence ]{#Projection_or_Defence .mw-headline}

#### [ Force Projection ]{#Force_Projection .mw-headline}

The USA and Japan are the two major powers that require a Navy in order
to project force around the world. Both nations have significant
advantages in producing the most advanced and powerful navies in the
world. The projection of force means the ability to move land forces at
will, and this requires complete naval supremacy.

#### [ Home Defence ]{#Home_Defence .mw-headline}

The [UK](/wiki/UK_strategy "UK strategy"){.mw-redirect} ,
[Italy](/wiki/Italy_strategy "Italy strategy"){.mw-redirect} , and
[Germany](/wiki/Germany_Strategy_Guide "Germany Strategy Guide") all
require a Navy for the primary role of defending their territories.
Although the UK begins with a powerful Navy, both Germany and Italy
begin with relatively weak navies. While force projection requires naval
supremacy in order to safely transport troops, the key component to home
defence is a guerilla warfare style of naval interdiction. Germany has
the ability to personify this strategy through the use of submarine
warfare. Ultimately, however, guerilla strategy can never be successful
in the long term without supporting conventional forces.

### [ Starting Navies ]{#Starting_Navies .mw-headline}

Each strategy guide will go into more depth regarding how to handle
starting navies. As a general rule, the player should first reorganize
all navies into appropriate fleet groups (see
[below](/wiki/Naval_Primer#Task_Forces "Naval Primer") ). Once
accomplished, three basic methods are often suggested:

-   Retain navy: Use existing navy for limited roles according to fleet
    composition (see below).
-   Disband early models: This saves a small amount of supplies.
    Generally this is only suggested for smaller ships (like DD), and
    almost never for Battleships and Carriers.
-   Trade early models: Exchange naval vessels with allies in exchange
    for supplies and resources.

### [ Naval Research ]{#Naval_Research .mw-headline}

-   Research naval vessels as early as possible due to the long build
    time required.
-   Quantity is more important than quality: It is far better to have
    four 1938 Battleships, than two 1941 Battleships.
-   [Carriers](/wiki/CV "CV"){.mw-redirect} are a special unit due to
    the carrier air group: these will upgrade as technology advances.
    The carrier level is far less important in combat than the level of
    the CAG.
-   Naval doctrines are very important for effective combat. For more
    information see [Naval
    Doctrine](/wiki/Naval_Doctrine "Naval Doctrine") .
-   Only the United States has the capability to research every naval
    technology, and even then they won\'t get them in time to be ready
    for hostilities.
-   See the [Research](/wiki/Research "Research") guide for general
    research advice.

## [ ]{#Ship_Strengths_&_Weaknesses} [ Ship Strengths & Weaknesses ]{#Ship_Strengths_.26_Weaknesses .mw-headline}

### [ Capital Ships ]{#Capital_Ships .mw-headline}

#### [ ]{#Carriers_(CV):_(aka_Kings_of_the_Sea)} [ Carriers (CV): (aka *Kings of the Sea* ) ]{#Carriers_.28CV.29:_.28aka_Kings_of_the_Sea.29 .mw-headline}

Strengths:

-   Excellent combat effectiveness in long-range naval engagements
-   Good visibility and sea detection
-   Carrier Air Groups (CAGs) can be upgraded

Weaknesses:

-   Poor combat effectiveness in short-range engagements
-   Expensive to build and repair
-   Strong carriers come late in the game (1942)

#### [ ]{#Light_Carriers_(CVL):_(aka_Carrier_Killers)} [ Light Carriers (CVL): (aka *Carrier Killers* ) ]{#Light_Carriers_.28CVL.29:_.28aka_Carrier_Killers.29 .mw-headline}

Strengths:

-   Excellent in visibility and detection
-   Imperative ides for surface fleets (less so in the 1.3beta
    Armageddon patch)
-   Good air defense and submarine defense

Weaknesses:

-   No real combat capabilities

#### [ ]{#Battleships_(BB):_(aka_Queens_of_the_Sea)} [ Battleships (BB): (aka *Queens of the Sea* ) ]{#Battleships_.28BB.29:_.28aka_Queens_of_the_Sea.29 .mw-headline}

Strengths:

-   Most powerful surface vessel in close combat
-   Most powerful shore bombardment

Weaknesses:

-   Poor visibility, sea detection, and sub detection
-   Expensive to build and repair

#### [ ]{#Battle_Cruisers_(BC):_(aka_Scrap_Metal)} [ Battle Cruisers (BC): (aka *Scrap Metal* ) ]{#Battle_Cruisers_.28BC.29:_.28aka_Scrap_Metal.29 .mw-headline}

Strengths:

-   Average combat effectiveness
-   Slightly stronger and tougher than heavy cruisers

Weaknesses:

-   Poor visibility, sea detection, and sub detection
-   Expensive to build and repair

#### [ ]{#Heavy_cruisers_(CA):_(aka_Poor_Man's_Battleship)} [ Heavy cruisers (CA): (aka *Poor Man\'s Battleship* ) ]{#Heavy_cruisers_.28CA.29:_.28aka_Poor_Man.27s_Battleship.29 .mw-headline}

Strengths:

-   Most cost-effective capital surface vessel for close combat
-   Most cost-effective shore bombardment

Weaknesses:

-   Decent visibility, sea detection, and sub detection

#### [ ]{#Submarines_(SS):_(aka_Silent_Killers)} [ Submarines (SS): (aka *Silent Killers* ) ]{#Submarines_.28SS.29:_.28aka_Silent_Killers.29 .mw-headline}

Strengths:

-   In ARMA: cost effective combat unit in wolfpack sizes (preferably 30
    pack)
-   In HoI2: good combat capabilities
-   Excellent convoy raiding capabilities
-   Cheap to build and research, poor man\'s navy

Weaknesses:

-   In DD: extremely poor combat capabilities
-   Late-game ASW is deadly for submarines (1.3beta Armagddon patch
    only)

### [ Screens ]{#Screens .mw-headline}

#### [ ]{#Light_cruisers_(CL)} [ Light cruisers (CL) ]{#Light_cruisers_.28CL.29 .mw-headline}

Strengths:

-   Decent combat effectiveness, toughest screen
-   Good [Combat Range](/wiki/Combat_Range "Combat Range") , can support
    Heavy Cruisers in combat

Weaknesses:

-   Relatively expensive to build and repair for a screen
-   Doomsday: sub attack is much lower than for DD

#### [ ]{#Destroyers_(DD)} [ Destroyers (DD) ]{#Destroyers_.28DD.29 .mw-headline}

Strengths:

-   Most cost-effective screen
-   Excellent sub detection and attack

Weaknesses:

-   Short combat range

## [ Task Forces ]{#Task_Forces .mw-headline}

### [ ]{#Carrier_Task_Force_(CTF)} [ [Carrier Task Force](/wiki/Carrier_Task_Force "Carrier Task Force") (CTF) ]{#Carrier_Task_Force_.28CTF.29 .mw-headline}

The **Carrier Task Force** (CTF) is quite different to the [Surface
Action Group](/wiki/Surface_Action_Group "Surface Action Group") (SAG).
The CTF relies on driving its enemy from the area rather than killing
its enemy. When properly used, a CTF is the most potent surface
combatant group in the game.

#### [ CTF Composition ]{#CTF_Composition .mw-headline}

A strong composition for a CTF, considering a fleet size of 18, is as
follows:

-   6 CVs depending on the level of enemy resistance expected
-   2 CVLs as damage soaks against surface ships in bad weather
-   10 DDs to provide screens for the capitals, defence against subs and
    enemy air

Some players advocate using CAs instead of CVLs as damage soaks. For
HoI2, this was the ideal soaking ship, as the CVL didn\'t exist. For
Doomsday and Armageddon, however, a CVL is better suited, as it has a
far better detection/visibility ratio than a CA.

### [ ]{#Surface_Action_Group_(SAG)} [ [Surface Action Group](/wiki/Surface_Action_Group "Surface Action Group") (SAG) ]{#Surface_Action_Group_.28SAG.29 .mw-headline}

The **Surface Action Group** is quite different to the [Carrier Task
Force](/wiki/Carrier_Task_Force "Carrier Task Force") (CTF). The SAG
relies on killing its enemy, rather than driving it from the area. A SAG
is a task force of surface ships whose primary duty is to attack and
sink other surface ships. It relies on *Gun Ships* to do direct damage
to the Strength of other ships. A SAG also excels in its secondary duty
of providing Shore Bombardment support to friendly land units fighting
in coastal areas.

#### [ Fleet Composition ]{#Fleet_Composition .mw-headline}

Considering a fleet composition of 18 ships, the strongest SAG is as
follows. This model can be followed with less powerful SAGs, by
replacing the SHBBs with BBs for a still potent force. Using BBs is more
cost effective, since 3 BBs can be built for every 2 SHBBs. Finally,
Heavy Cruisers (CA) can be used, for a cheap, yet still reasonably
strong SAG.

-   6 [Super Heavy Battleships](/wiki/Battleship "Battleship") (SHBB)
    (or normal Battleships)
-   2 [Light Carriers](/wiki/Escort_Carrier "Escort Carrier") (CVL)
-   10 [Destroyers](/wiki/Destroyer "Destroyer") (DD)

#### [ Zerg Fleets ]{#Zerg_Fleets .mw-headline}

Zerg fleets are considered a
[gamey](/wiki/Gamey_tactics "Gamey tactics") exploit of the flawed naval
combat engine. This exploit was tested and made popular by [Blue
Emu](/wiki/index.php?title=User:Blue_Emu&action=edit&redlink=1 "User:Blue Emu (page does not exist)"){.new}
, and features a fleet that uses a single [Combat
Range](/wiki/Combat_Range "Combat Range") as a way of ensuring as many
guns as possible are brought to bear on the opposing fleet. Zerg fleets
are based on the simple fact that the naval model means that the more
ships in combat, the more damage can be done. The Zerg fleet is feasible
only if it can close in on its preferred range. Before the Armageddon
1.3beta patch, this was possible due to the amazing strength of the
light carriers which ensure closing to within range of the shortest
range capital vessel in the fleet. With the Armageddon 1.3beta patch,
CVLs still help in closing the range, but no longer magically do so.
Having up-to-date doctrines and good leadership and positioning is now
impervious for a zerg fleet. Zerg fleets have two basic forms. The
original form is less gamey, while the DD zerg is widely considered an
exploit.

##### [ The Original Cruizerg Fleet ]{#The_Original_Cruizerg_Fleet .mw-headline}

-   5 (1938) Heavy Cruisers (CA)
-   2 Light Carriers (CVL)
-   11 (1938) Light Cruisers with fire control (CL-FC)

For a total of 18 Ships.

This Cruizerg is effective because the light cruiser screen vessels,
when equipped with fire control, have the exact same firing range as the
heavy cruisers. A typical BB SAG would have only the Battleships in
firing range, while all other naval vessels would simply absorb damage
but not otherwise participate in the battle. Thus, when the Cruizerg
meets a BB SAG, the Cruizerg is actually more powerful, not to mention
[twice as efficient in IC
cost](http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9092898&postcount=9){.external
.text rel="nofollow"} .

##### [ DD Zerg Fleet ]{#DD_Zerg_Fleet .mw-headline}

A zerg fleet based on destroyers is an example of hopelessly [gamey
tactics](/wiki/Gamey_tactics "Gamey tactics") , but is certainly an
effective killing machine. Usually, plain DD-fleets can close in to 5km
range by the second hour of battle.

-   60 - 90 DD

##### [ Cruizerg Fleets for Doomsday ]{#Cruizerg_Fleets_for_Doomsday .mw-headline}

Doomsday lacks naval brigades, so one has to use obsolete vessels to
make the strategy work. There are two setups, one involving either all
CA-IIs and CL-IVs or a mix of CA-IIs and CA-IIIs, the second consisting
of all CA-IIIs and CL-VIs. Note that at least one of the CAs needs to be
of one level *lower* than the CLs, so that their range is identical.
CVLs are necessary as well, to ensure the fleet will close with CTFs. In
Doomsday, CVLs can still magically close the combat range to their
preferred range. This was rectified with the Armageddon 1.3beta patch.

###### [ Early-Game Composition ]{#Early-Game_Composition .mw-headline}

-   2 CA-II (Absolutely necessary for the strategy to work to allow
    CL-IV to be in range since the CVL will go to the lowest ranged
    capital ship)
-   4 CA-III (CA-II will work here as well)
-   2 CVL
-   10 CL-IV

###### [ Late-Game Composition ]{#Late-Game_Composition .mw-headline}

-   6 CA-III
-   2 CVL
-   10 CL-VI

#### [ Hybrid Fleet Composition ]{#Hybrid_Fleet_Composition .mw-headline}

If you want something with the shore bombardment power of the SAG and
battle prowess superior to the the cruizerg, look no further. I\'ve
taken down other human players using cruizerg fleets with this, but it
can still be taken down by destroyer zerg fleets.

-   4 BB-VII-FX (SHBB)
-   2 BB-III (no FX, important\*)
-   2 CVL
-   10 CL-IV-FC(2)

\'\* BB-III and CL-IV-FC (with an upgraded FC) both have a range of 34,
if you put a FX on the BB-III\'s, the light cruisers will not be able to
fire on the enemy. This is not an issue when putting FC\'s on the
SHBB\'s since they will be firing as soon as they are in range and pack
a much bigger punch.

For later naval warfare:

-   4 BB-IX-FX (SHBB2)
-   2 BB)IV (no FX, same reason as above)
-   2 CVL
-   10 CL-VI-FC(2)

The engagement range here is 36 and has better firepower.

### [ ]{#Marine_Amphibious_Force_(MAF)} [ [Marine Amphibious Force](/wiki/Marine_Amphibious_Force "Marine Amphibious Force") (MAF) ]{#Marine_Amphibious_Force_.28MAF.29 .mw-headline}

A **Marine Amphibious Force** is a limited [Surface Action
Group](/wiki/Surface_Action_Group "Surface Action Group") (SAG) with
[Transports](/wiki/Transport "Transport") (TP) attached to it for the
purpose of ferrying troops and executing amphibious assaults. Shore
bombardment will automatically occur during an amphibious assault by all
capable ships in an adjacent sea zone.

**[Amphibious assault](/wiki/Amphibious_assault "Amphibious assault")
mission:** This must be issued when the fleet is already located in its
home port. Otherwise, it will likely result in the entire fleet
returning to its home port. Alternatively, troops can simply disembark
from the transports and attack. This only works for games up to
Armageddon 1.2. For the Armageddon 1.3beta patch, disembarking from
transports into enemy territory is no longer possible. Leaving
transports in the region is important for early assaults, in the event
of defeat or retreat, troops can retreat to the transports.

#### [ MAF Fleet Composition ]{#MAF_Fleet_Composition .mw-headline}

Three philosophies are debated, currently.

1.  *TP-only fleets* : This playstyle argues that TPs should be left in
    TP-only fleets. The reason is that TP-only fleets have a optimal
    [combat
    range](/wiki/index.php?title=Naval_primer&action=edit&redlink=1 "Naval primer (page does not exist)"){.new}
    of 450+km and then flee. Adding even a single warship will decrease
    this and let the TPs participate in combat, where they can only
    lose.
2.  *CV-protection* : Followers of this idea argue that adding a CV to
    the fleet will put the fleet at a distance to all surface fleets
    that do not contain carriers, thus protecting the TPs better than if
    they are sent out alone.
3.  *Surface fleet* : This is the \"old-school\" version of a MAF:
    combine your TPs with a sufficiently strong SAG to defend the
    transports.

### [ ]{#Anti-Submarine_Warfare_Group_(ASW_Group)} [ [Anti-Submarine Warfare Group](/wiki/Anti-Submarine_Warfare_Group "Anti-Submarine Warfare Group") (ASW Group) ]{#Anti-Submarine_Warfare_Group_.28ASW_Group.29 .mw-headline}

An **Anti-Submarine Warfare Group** is a group of ships whose role is to
hunt and sink enemy [subs](/wiki/Submarine "Submarine") . Since the
primary anti-sub vessel is the DD, this is the core of any ASW group. An
escort carrier is also very deadly for subs. In HoI2 and ARMA, ASW
fleets are quite useful, while in Doomsday, the ASW fleet was largely
ineffective. The Armageddon 1.3beta patch has solved all remaining bugs
with the ASW mission order, and it will now work as intended. Especially
late-game, it is very deadly.

#### [ ASW Fleet Composition ]{#ASW_Fleet_Composition .mw-headline}

Best is smaller numbers for increased range:

-   2 CVLs
-   2 CLs
-   4 DDs (possibly with ASW naval brigade)

### [ Submarine [Wolfpack](/wiki/Wolfpack "Wolfpack") ]{#Submarine_Wolfpack .mw-headline}

Any group of [submarines](/wiki/Submarine "Submarine") that includes no
surface ships forms a **wolfpack** . Large groups are good for naval
combat in HoI2 and ARMA, but considered ahistorical and gamey.

#### [ Convoy Raiding ]{#Convoy_Raiding .mw-headline}

When using submarines to create pickets, Subs should be positioned on
the high seas, as far as possible from enemy Air and Naval bases, in
order to force the enemy to come out and fight the player\'s subs under
conditions that give the enemy no advantage (no Air support, no Air
spotting, no quick reaction from supporting forces in a nearby Port).

The other requirement for Sub-fleet positioning is that together they
must form a complete blockade-cordon, cutting the enemy capital from all
possible convoy destinations. The AI will automatically shift the route
of a Convoy that has suffered U-Boat or Air attack\... but this won\'t
help it at all as long as *all possible* Convoy-routes are covered by
subs.

#### [ Doomsday and Armageddon ]{#Doomsday_and_Armageddon .mw-headline}

In Doomsday, submarines were significantly reduced in power, so much so
that many players called them worthless. In an infamous thread on the
Paradox forums (Blue Emu\'s [Are Submarines
Worthless](http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?t=264824){.external
.text rel="nofollow"} ), it is shown that a German wolfpack strategy can
be highly devastating to English supply convoys, effectively destroying
their ability to fight overseas. With a 63 Uboat fleet (1938 model),
Blue Emu tallied the following losses for the UK in 1939:

September : 227 Convoys, 27 Escorts\
October : 149 Convoys, 33 Escorts\
November : 117 Convoys, 13 Escorts\
December : 161 Convoys, 26 Escorts\

This accounted for nearly half of the British convoy fleet in the first
four months of war. While England\'s home supply stockpile was not
affected due to pre-war build up, their armies overseas (North Africa,
India, and South East Asia) were rendered out of supply. This means
relatively easy victories for Italy and Japan. Further, trade
efficiencies drastically suffered:

Trade with Norway, Sweden and Latvia is 100%.\
Trade with the USA, Mexico, Chile and Panama is 57.9%.\
Trade with Saudi Arabia is 51.8%.\
Trade with Yugoslavia is 51.1%.\
Trade with China is 26.0%\

Beginning with Armageddon 1.2, players have reported large success in
using large sub stacks against surface ships, especially in the early
war years.

## [ Tactics ]{#Tactics .mw-headline}

[Template:Anthology](/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Anthology&action=edit&redlink=1 "Template:Anthology (page does not exist)"){.new}

### [ Positioning ]{#Positioning .mw-headline}

**Positioning** is the term for how the game handles the starting
conditions of a sea battle. This section is based on some gross
simplifications, because positioning is quite complex, far too much so
for a number-crunching examination of it. Instead this part of the guide
focuses on tendencies observed from actual game experience with the goal
of illustrating just the factors within your control that you need to
pay attention to, and their actual effects on naval combat and the
tactics you should use in dealing with it.

**Basic facts:**

-   The higher your fleet\'s positioning, the more chance that your
    ships will begin the battle in position to fire on the enemy and the
    greater chance that your shorter ranged screening ships will be in
    position to help defend the heavies;
-   The lower your positioning, the more chance you will have to spend
    one or more rounds maneuvering before any of your ships can even
    shoot at anything, and the less chance your screen will be in
    position to defend your more valuable capital ships.
-   When there is no real positioning advantage, the opposing fleets
    will tend to begin the engagement separated by a distance
    approximately equal to the range of the longest-ranged ship in the
    entire engagement and both sides\' screens will be slightly out of
    position but not badly so.

**What affects Positioning**

-   Suprise

Having surprise on your side increases your positioning and lowers your
enemy\'s, which will adjust that starting distance towards the range of
the longest ranged ship in your own fleet and put the enemy\'s screens
further out of position allowing you to concentrate fire on the more
valuable enemy targets.

-   Fleet Composition

That said, when dealing with a 30-ship fleet heavy with BBs, don\'t
waste time trying to tweak your fleet composition to improve your chance
of surprise. You have no chance anyway, so instead gear your composition
to best deal with the inevitably poor positioning it will have to endure
most of the time. Generally this means including extra scorts who can
absorb damage for your heavies and provide extra air defence.

-   Leadership

Leadership also plays a role in positioning, with higher leadership
values and certain traits imparting bonuses to positioning, but these
are eclipsed by fleet composition and surprise. I cover these further on
in the leadership section.

Like HoI 1, surprise and positioning are affected by yours and your
enemy\'s detection and visibility values. The higher your detection and
the lower your visibility, the more likely it is that the surprise
equation will work in your favor and give you advantageous positioning.
So obviously the main trick to improving that situation is to include a
few subs in your important task forces, since they have decent detection
and VERY low to practically no visibility. A secondary tip is to not
include more line ships than are needed for the mission, since every
surface ship you add increases your fleet\'s total visibility. The only
exception is the CV, which has a correspondingly high detection value to
offset its high visibility, and thus does not really net you a
disadvantage when it comes to surprise. No other line ship has a
sufficiently high detection rating to offset its visibility, not even
the CA.

Positioning is also where capital and screening vessels come into play,
not to be confused with the terms line, principal or escort. For
purposes of positioning, the game divides surface combatant ships into
two classes: capital ships and screening vessels. CLs and DDs are the
only ships which count as screening vessels. All other surface
ombatants, from CAs on up, are considered capital ships. The game
applies a positioning penalty to a fleet if the number of screening
vessels is not equal to or greater than the number of capital ships.
This is to simulate the handicap such a fleet will suffer due to its
lack of picket ships to perform early detection and combat support.
Transports and subs, since they are not surface combatants, do not count
in any way in this regard. They neither help nor hurt your fleet\'s
capital ship to screening vessel ratio. So when considering fleet
composition, first figure out what mix of surface combatants you need to
do the mission, then make sure there are not more capital ships than
screening vessels, and last add whatever subs or TPs you need involved
in the mission.

### [ Combat Range ]{#Combat_Range .mw-headline}

Combat range is a factor in determining
[positioning](/wiki/Positioning "Positioning") . Each fleet has an
optimum combat range it wants to achieve when entering combat, and if it
achieves surprise it will have a good chance that its positioning will
be high enough to start the battle at that range. For example, Transport
Fleets will have their goal to escape, so their optimum range is 450 km.
If this range is achieved, the transports will be able to retreat
without taking damage. Meanwhile, a CTF needs to be in range for its
planes to strike, and yet out of range of capital ship heavy guns.
Finally, a SAG needs to close distance as much as possible in order to
unleash all its firepower.

Given no surprise on either side, imagine a 15-ship CTF entering battle
against a 30-ship BB SAG, with both fleets led by comparable leaders and
composed of medium tech vessels. Since neither side is advantaged by
surprise, the longest ranged ship on either side will tend to set the
initial engagement distance. That will of course be the CVs whose combat
range will likely be around 180km at medium tech. The next longest
ranged ship is the Super Battleship, which has a range of approximately
40km. That means the BBs will have to close the distance by about 140km
before they can even shoot back, all the while being bombed by the enemy
planes. In HoI2, CVs ruled the seas for this reason, with the only
exception of night battles and bad weather. Starting in Doomsday,
however, balance was restored: with the introduction of light carriers,
it became possible for an SAG with CVLs to close distance.

**Combat Range** in Naval battles has an optimal value. This value is
believed to be calculated as described below

-   [CV](/wiki/CV "CV"){.mw-redirect} is the highest class in
    calculating optimal range.
-   [Capital Ship](/wiki/Capital_Ship "Capital Ship") or
    [CVL](/wiki/CVL "CVL"){.mw-redirect} is the second highest class in
    calculating optimal range.
-   [Screen Ship](/wiki/Screen_Ship "Screen Ship") is the lowest class
    in calulating optimal range.
-   **Unique class\'s**
    -   [Submarine](/wiki/Submarine "Submarine") ONLY fleets will
        attempt to be at 90% of the maximum range of the shortest range
        submarine
    -   [Transport](/wiki/Transport "Transport") ONLY fleets will
        attempt to be at 450+ km and then flee.

**Optimal Range** will always be **90%** of the **maximum** range of the
**shortest** range of the **highest** ship class.

i.e. If you have two [Capital Ship](/wiki/Capital_Ship "Capital Ship")
\'s in a fleet. One with a range of 30 and the other with a range of 28,
the optimal range will be 90% of 28.

*NOTE* , Range of a lower class is ignored. If you have a [Capital
Ship](/wiki/Capital_Ship "Capital Ship") in a fleet with a range of 28
and the rest of the fleet is [Screen
Ship](/wiki/Screen_Ship "Screen Ship") \'s with ranges of 32 the optimal
range will be 90% of the range of the [Capital
Ship](/wiki/Capital_Ship "Capital Ship") (i.e. 90% of 28) The range of
the [Screen Ship](/wiki/Screen_Ship "Screen Ship") \'s is ignored.

### [ Leadership ]{#Leadership .mw-headline}

Leadership has three main affects on your naval operations as do leader
traits, and these can be very critical so care should be taken to
consider all of these when assigning leaders.

-   *Command limit* \-- a leader\'s rank determines how many ships he
    may simultaneously command without suffering command penalties. This
    works pretty much like land combat command limits except that the
    number of units allowed is different per rank level, ranging from 6
    to 30 instead of from 1 to 12. Also,
    [HQs](/wiki/HQ "HQ"){.mw-redirect} have no effect on naval command,
    so there is no naval equivalent of the HQ unit\'s \"doubling\"
    effect on command limits as seen in land combat. When a leader ends
    up in a position where he has more ships under his command than his
    command limit allows, all ships beyond the limit get no benefits
    from his leadership traits and suffer a 25% penalty to their
    effectiveness to boot. Finally, just like land combat, one leader
    must command *all* the friendly forces in a particular battle, even
    if they come from multiple fleets, or even from different allied
    nationalities.

```{=html}

```
-   -   **Transports & Large Fleets:** Unlike HoI 1, there is no free
        ride for Transports. Every
        [TP](/wiki/index.php?title=TP&action=edit&redlink=1 "TP (page does not exist)"){.new}
        in the fleet counts against the command limit of the fleet\'s
        leader. There is a loophole here, though. Since the game engine
        ranks all combat vessels ahead of TPs when it arranges them for
        effectiveness calculation, the TPs will be the first ones to get
        the \"over command limit\" penalty of 25% and lose the leader\'s
        bonuses. And since the TPs aren\'t fighting in the battle
        anyway, this means your combatants can get away without the
        penalty as long as their total number not counting the number of
        TPs is within the leader\'s limit. Thus, a fleet of 30
        combatants plus 30 TPs led by a Grand Admiral (command limit 30)
        would suffer no penalty to its combat effectiveness from
        leadership once engaged. There is a catch, of course: those TPs
        would not benefit from such traits as Spotter or Blockade Runner
        and would severely handicap the fleet\'s positioning value as a
        result, plus non-TPs ships over the limit would still increase
        the stacking penalty for *all* ships in the group (see
        [stacking](/wiki/Naval_Primer#stacking "Naval Primer") , below);
        so you don\'t want to play fast and loose with the command
        limit. Finally, large task forces are very likely to be
        surprised, and thus suffer positioning penalties.

Also, leader traits aside, a task force that large would be pretty much
impossible *not* to surprise, so would constantly be at the short end of
the positioning stick. Bottom line: if you don\'t *need* to exceed the
command limit of a leader for some overriding reason, then don\'t.
Remember also that just like land combat, units suffering the penalty
are likely to break early due to org losses and force the entire fleet
to retreat early as a result. And don\'t forget that,

-   *Leadership skill and positioning* \-- The higher a leader\'s skill
    rating, the better chance his force will enjoy better positioning at
    the start of a battle. This effect is eclipsed, however, by
    detection and visibility. For example, a skill 5 leader commanding a
    fleet of [BBs](/wiki/BB "BB"){.mw-redirect} will still be
    disadvantaged in positioning when encountering a skill 1 leader
    commanding a couple of [CVs](/wiki/CV "CV"){.mw-redirect} and
    [DDs](/wiki/DD "DD") . Fleet composition is far more important in
    that regard. But don\'t ignore it, either!

```{=html}

```
-   *Leadership skill and combat effectiveness* \-- this functions just
    like land combat. The higher the leader\'s skill, the more effective
    his ships will be in combat once engaged. Again, however, this is
    often eclipsed by positioning. The same skill 5 leader commanding a
    fleet of BBs will not get full use of his effectiveness bonus when a
    skill 1 leader commanding a CTF engages him from a range of 200
    miles, because his ships won\'t be able to shoot back anyway. They
    will, however, enjoy a better chance to defend themselves from the
    air attacks while they move into range of, or retreat from, the CTF.
    So leader skill is still important, but by itself won\'t save you
    from bad fleet composition.

```{=html}

```
-   *Leader traits* \-- Because surprise is now handled pretty much the
    same for everyone as simply a component of positioning, the leader
    traits are now more universally useful. In HoI 1 the Spotter and
    Blockade Runner traits were most effective for CTFs and MAFs, for
    example, but are now useful to any fleet that has a need to improve
    its positioning value. So just evaluate your fleet\'s mission and
    composition, and then assign the leader with the skill and traits
    that best augment its ability to carry out that mission. There is a
    basic principle of warfare: always support strength, never support
    weakness. In this context that means don\'t bother assigning a
    Blockade Runner to command a force with pitiful positioning values.
    His strength is wasted there because it will never overcome the
    positioning deficit caused by the fleet\'s composition. If a fleet
    is composed in such a way that it is going to suffer from a severe
    positioning handicap, assign a leader with skill and traits that
    will improve its ability to cope with that positioning handicap,
    like Expert Tactician. If the fleet is marginal on positioning but
    is on a mission where it requires good positioning to ensure
    success, like ASW or interdiction missions, then assign a leader
    with Spotter and/or Blockade Runner traits to give it that
    positioning boost it needs.

### [ Stacking ]{#Stacking .mw-headline}

This is the only area in which TPs get a free ride. Stacking penalties,
not to be confused with command limits, apply to any naval force in
involved in combat that contains more than 2 non-transport vessels. The
penalty takes the form of -1% effectiveness for each non-TP ship beyond
the first two. This penalty is applied to the *entire fleet* . So a
fleet with 10 combat surface ships, 2 subs and 18 transports would
suffer a 10% effectiveness hit when engaged in combat (12 non-TP vessels
minus the first two as freebies = 10). However, that fleet would suffer
no command penalty as long as it was led by a Grand Admiral since the
total number of vessels was not greater than his command limit of 30. On
the other hand, a force composed of 30 combatant vessels would suffer a
28% stacking penalty, in addition to any command penalty that would
result if it was led a leader of lower rank than Grand Admiral. Like
command limits, the stacking penalty takes into account all friendly
forces present in the battle as one total, even if they come from
several different fleets, or even from different allied nationalities.

### [ After-action ]{#After-action .mw-headline}

Once a battle is over it is time to take a look at your forces involved
in the fight to see if further orders are needed. Usually one of three
things will be the logical next step:

1.  If your ships took significant damage or org losses, return them to
    port. Ships at sea do not repair, and ships in port reorg more
    quickly. Be sure the port has capacity at the moment, though. A
    10-capacity port that already has 12 damaged ships in it is going to
    greatly slow the rate of all ship repairs done there if you go and
    add another 12 damaged ships to its workload. Ships do *not* need to
    return to the port they are based at to repair, so just give them a
    move order to somewhere else nearby that has decent free port
    capacity. On a side note: port capacity is not terribly important in
    deciding where to base your ships, unless you want to be able to
    leave them in automatic mode executing the same order for a very
    long time and periodically returning to port on their own when they
    need to. Port capacity really only affects repair and reorg rates,
    not supply ability. For example, a port with a capacity of four
    could be used as the home base for 3 fleets totalling 45 ships, but
    as long as only four damaged ships were present in port at a given
    moment they would be repairing at full speed.
2.  If the enemy retreated and you have a combat-ready formation
    present, pursue the enemy. An arrow will appear on the enemy
    fleet\'s icon showing which way it is retreating, so give your
    combat group a move order in that same direction. If your ships are
    fast enough they will arrive before the enemy reaches that seazone,
    or at least before he can leave it, and you can pound him again.
    Lather, rinse, repeat.
3.  If you don\'t need to repair and you need your ships to continue
    what they were doing before the combat happened, then do nothing.
    They will automatically continue executing their previous orders.
:::