reiver Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 France has just fallen and I thought hey with the French Navy out of play lets deploy German surface units to the French Atlantic bases for a spot of surface raiding. I deployed 4 air fleets into N France to cover the inverse Channel Dash and merrily sent Gneisnau and Scharnhorst around Denmark. OK so what happens the RAF Bomber unit picks them up around Wilhemshaven - ouch! followed by the entire Home Fleet descending from Scapa Flow for the kill. It would have been cool if it had worked. Anyway in future I will retain my 2 cruiser units in the Baltic to take out the Soviet fleet. I have also taken to hiding my U-boats and avoiding action until after France capitulates and there are less Naval units hunting. Any advice/experiences on best things to do with the German Navy would be gratefully received. As a historical footnote about the Channel Dash, when Scharnhorst, Gneisnau and Prinz Eugen sailed at speed from Brest to Wilhemshaven under a Lufwaffe umbrella. The British had anticipated such a move by the Germans but had made the contigency plans so secret that when the Germans made their move no one new what the plan was. My grandfather was on a mine sweeper in the Channel on that day and remembers having an argument with a fellow sailor about the identity of the bloody big warships steaming by in the distance - "there German" "dont be soft there ours". Fortunately for Grandpa his skipper took nothing to do with trying to intefere with the Germans. Ironically Grandfather was Petty Officer on The Duke Of York (a battleship) at the Battle of North Cape when Scharnhorst went down with her colours flying and very few survivors. During the Channel Dash itself a squadron of Swordfish bi-plane torpedo bombers attacked with much bravery ( a VC being awarded to the flight leader)and little effect. Mines on the final approach to safety did more damage to German Naval units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.J. von Arnim Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Hi Reiver, as I also experienced this a few times to happen I decided to let them where they are and later use them against the 2 russian ships. Then (around 1943) you can try it again - by this time the germans should be a bit more experienced and hopefully the british ships reduced due to your Luftwaffe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzgndr Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Scharnhorst, Gneisnau and Prinz Eugen sailed at speed ... under a Lufwaffe umbrella You really need that Luftwaffe umbrella, to intercept bomber attacks and counter-attack and British naval activity. Once France falls and you've got your entire Luftwaffe in the area and you've had a chance to reinforce losses, that's the time to make a move if you want your German fleet in the Atlantic. It's almost a dare to the UK player. Come out and maybe inflict some damage, but take some serious hits in return. Is it worth the cost? Is it worth worrying about German fleets in the Atlantic later? The Battle of the Atlantic could then go two ways. Germany could gain an upper hand with additional U-boat builds. Or, UK can maintain an edge and force the German fleets back to French ports - where they then become vulnerable to long-range bombers. And it's none too easy for them to then return to the Baltic. So the Germans end up taking a risk. Is that worth it? It all depends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curry Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 In my view you need to save those German ships for the Russian invasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sombra Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Well there is a tale told by german sailors of sea monsters living outside the baltic sea. Their prove is, that nearly always the german ships disappear and never come back if they leave the baltic sea. Seriously, the german fleets in the baltic serves quite a lot of purposes: Sheltering an invasion in Norway and Sweden (even taking some shots at the swedish defenders), taking care of the rusian fleet. Afterwards they are protecting Norway and Sweden, Denmark against a "Allied" aggression though you don´t have to commit to many ground forces. Other purposes are always a gamble: for example protecting a sea lion, trying to get the edge in the Atlantik (better to wait for italien fleet if you want to try this) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill101 Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 The Kriegsmarine can be just as useful in the Baltic after the 2 Russian Cruisers have been sunk. This is because their presence will help prevent the allies from carrying out any ambitious moves of their own into Scandinavia and the Baltic. I have used German ships effectively (ok, sometimes they've died doing it!) to stop allied landings in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. If you send them through the channel to France then you might regret it later, and by then it might not be possible to send them back again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 There are two schools of thought. Reinforce the Italian Navy and build U-boats off the Coast of France to kill a D-Day or remain there to Protect Sweden. Usually the latter is easiest and more practical for the 2 German Cruisers and Sub. They can destroy both Russian destroyers fairly easy and then can counter any move against Scandanavia. Although a Super Axis Fleet off France with Air Support is a prospect that frightens most Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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