I've got the Australia Star (xAP) sitting lame in the water 3 hexes from Cooktown after a lucky torpedo shot. She's carrying my priceless 1st US Amphib HQ. She's got a speed of 0 and she didn't move this turn. Her floatation damage is at 95. I know she's done for, the poor girl, but I need to save the Amphib HQ. I managed to get an ASW patrol of 4 SCs to her last turn and the xAP Neptuna will merge with the TF this coming night.
I don't know of any way to transfer troops between transports while at sea, and I know towing is not implemented. So is there anything I can do other than pray...? All my plans for the SW Pacific (including an imminent counter-invasion of Port Moresby) will suffer greatly if the Star takes my Amphib HQ with her to the bottom...
When it sinks, you should be able to pick up somebody which just may allow you to reconstruct the HQ. I know a lot of maybes and shoulds.
I have had something similar happen. I recovered a fair number of survivors since I had used several ships to spread out the load, and had several escort vessels. Do you have any more ships you can add to the TF asap ?
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This advice is a little late for 1st Amphib but I always load units on at least two ships (except Air Groups for which this isn't possible) so a lucky shot doesn't take out the entire unit. That can be a little inefficient but the ship will either fill up with supplies which you may be able to use, or if going from one small port to another (where you dont' have a lot of supplies to load) it will speed loading, (I think)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: briny_norman
I've got the Australia Star (xAP) sitting lame in the water 3 hexes from Cooktown after a lucky torpedo shot. She's carrying my priceless 1st US Amphib HQ. She's got a speed of 0 and she didn't move this turn. Her floatation damage is at 95. I know she's done for, the poor girl, but I need to save the Amphib HQ. I managed to get an ASW patrol of 4 SCs to her last turn and the xAP Neptuna will merge with the TF this coming night.
I don't know of any way to transfer troops between transports while at sea, and I know towing is not implemented. So is there anything I can do other than pray...? All my plans for the SW Pacific (including an imminent counter-invasion of Port Moresby) will suffer greatly if the Star takes my Amphib HQ with her to the bottom...
I'd:
1. Switch her over to Escort TF function and send her to the nearest port-she should move SOME every turn. Auto disband in port may help upon arrival. 2. Merge a number of other escort vessels into her TF to pick up (pending) survivors of the sinking. I don't know if SCs will be sufficient. Do you have any DDs or CLs nearby? 3. Get the balance of the escort to port ASAP.
Honestly, I'm not sure what happens then or what the load parameters are on DDs picking up survivors, which they did IRL with aplomb.
Other ships in the TF will pick up some squads from the water, but I think they go back to the pool not to creating a fragment of the lost unit. So I think the HQ is gone. I actually read the manual!
However many HQ units respawn. Check the reinforcement track a turn or 2 after the sinking. It might be there.
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An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile- hoping it will eat him last - Winston Churchill
Other ships in the TF will pick up some squads from the water, but I think they go back to the pool not to creating a fragment of the lost unit. So I think the HQ is gone. I actually read the manual!
However many HQ units respawn. Check the reinforcement track a turn or 2 after the sinking. It might be there.
When one of my transports sank the surviors were picked up by a destroyer in the same TF and still kept their unit designation.
Thanks for all the good advice. The Australia Star is now one hex closer to Cooktown in an Escort TF with a couple of cruisers and 6 DDs joining the party this night. Floatition damage is still 95, so she's holding together. Just two more hexes...
And I'll never go the 1-ship-1-unit road again. Stupid, lazy mistake. And there was another oversight. I had loaded the Amph HQ into the xAP to merge it with an invasion TF, but set it to follow the invasion TF instead. I thought the escorts of the big TF would protect her, but they obviously didn't, as the Japanese sub got to her - by attacking on the surface! Well, you live to learn. And I just got smarter .
One more turn, one hex closer to Cooktown and one more to go. The Australian Star is not giving up...!
But, alas, temporary floatation devices failed during the night and her floatation damage rose to 99. Things are not looking good. Still, only one more hex to go - she just might make it.
And she's got an impressive following now. Apart from the contingent of crusiers and DDs, she now has the AP William Ward Burrows and the xAP President Filmore at her side, watching over her, as well as Neptune and 3 xAKs. If she goes under, there should be a good chance of saving the Amph HQ.
But no talk of failure now - she's gonna make it. She's got a difficult night ahead of her, that's for sure, but she'll pull through. I'm sure of it. Just one more hex...
< Message edited by briny_norman -- 9/16/2009 10:26:39 AM >
Other ships in the TF will pick up some squads from the water, but I think they go back to the pool not to creating a fragment of the lost unit. So I think the HQ is gone. I actually read the manual!
However many HQ units respawn. Check the reinforcement track a turn or 2 after the sinking. It might be there.
I evacuated ABDA HQ out of Batavia on 3 xAK's, destined for Darwin. They were hit by a CV TF south of Tjilitjap and two were sunk, with the third badly damaged. I managed to get the damaged ship into Tjilitjap before it sank, and the ABDA remnant appeared at the base. I already had part of the HQ at Darwin from a previous TF, and when I sneaked an AK to Tjilitjap and evacuated the remnant they recombined just fine at Darwin.
When one of my transports sank the surviors were picked up by a destroyer in the same TF and still kept their unit designation.
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Joined: 11/6/2008 From: England Status: offline
quote:
ORIGINAL: briny_norman
All my plans for the SW Pacific (including an imminent counter-invasion of Port Moresby) will suffer greatly if the Star takes my Amphib HQ with her to the bottom...
Is that an Amphib CORPS HQ or a Amphib FORCE HQ ???
Radio Cooktown to the Australian Star can you read me?............... Australian Star?
Please respond, Australian Star?!
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Joined: 4/30/2009 From: Grand Forks, ND Status: offline
I happened to be reading the manual last night. I came up to the section 8.4.3 I think around page 196. It addresses the picking up of survivors by using fast transport cabable ships. I think your going to okay.
I almost had the same thing happen with a naval base support unit that not only had air support, but 100 points of naval base support. That would have been a huge loss.
I had to throw a couple of sacrificial lambs to the wolves to save that naval base support unit. Needless to say those lambs were slaughtered.
Sometimes you don't have enough ships in the right time and place to do what you want when you want and you take a risk and cut corners to get things done.
Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Thats what makes this game so damm fun and addicting.
*Always escort a ship that you don't want a sub to hit (mistake #1)
*Never put a LCU all on one ship (mistake #2)
This is also why I will almost NEVER transport planes via ship if I can avoid it; too much risk of losing the whole unit
At least air groups form again after some delay.
I usually put the minimum two ships that transport a unit into different convoys. As a big airstrike or running into a surface combat group still means serious risk for a LCU.
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Joined: 6/16/2002 From: Danville, IL Status: offline
She will sink before she makes it. I have had several ships in stock sink one hex out almost as if to taunt me for trying to save them and daring to hope that they would make it. The cruel sea always wins in the end.
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