Malta is impregnable?

Matrix Games Forums

Forums Register Login Photo Gallery Member List Search Calendars FAQ

My Profile Inbox Address Book My Subscription My Forums Log Out

Malta is impregnable?

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Strategic Command Series >> Strategic Command WWII: World at War >> Malta is impregnable?

Page: [1] 2 next > >>

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

Malta is impregnable? - 1/3/2021 9:29:44 AM

GiveWarAchance

Posts: 389
Joined: 2/11/2015
Status: offline

I have been trying to get rid of that AA on Malta using the entire Italian navy, airplanes, an artillery on Sicily and multiple landing craft with a ring of ships around the harbor. Battleships lose 2 hitpoints when trying to bombard the AA but the gun is immune to 16 inch shells and it just tells me the UK lose 1 MPP which is useless cause I actually want to bombard the AA gun but I think it is impossible to damage it. The landing craft cost $57 dollars to deploy but do nothing against the AA and I have to bring the craft back to unload cause they can't land and attack without empty hex to embark onto. The only thing I can think of is to use a dozen bombers all at once to scrape down the AA. Isn't there a more sensible way? My bombers are desperately trying to reduce Leningrad defenders which is hard cause only occasionally does the weather allow their use. In real life, that combination would just make the crew surrender like in Operation Corkscrew which made the whole garrison of 12,000 on Pantelleria surrender without a shot fired by them.

Post #: 1

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 1/3/2021 10:43:25 AM

Marcinos1985

Posts: 430
Joined: 1/22/2020
Status: offline

Malta is not that hard to take, albeit costly. Do following things:
1. Bring a lot of planes, 2 meds and 3 tacs preferably plus 1 para. In spring-summer 1940 they already should be at disposal.
2. Start bombing with meds, to reduce morale and entrenchement. Then send tacs.
3. Finally, send BB's to attack Malta and reduce its supply. UK will not be able to reinforce fully.
4. Repeat, usually 2-3 times, and AA gun is gone. Jump in with para to empty city.

You may also place an artillery in Syracuse, to speed up the process significantly, but you have to buy one beforehand.
Forget sea invasion, you would need several amphibs with good tech.
On the other hand, going for it in 1941 seems a little late, especially if Eastern Front is in action.

_____________________________

WaW ELO Tournament
3 Tips to improve your game now

(in reply to GiveWarAchance)

Post #: 2

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 1/3/2021 12:58:15 PM

GiveWarAchance

Posts: 389
Joined: 2/11/2015
Status: offline

Thanks Marcinos. Paratrooper and bomber combo sounds good. It's not 1941 which is good, but now is 1946 which is bad. I'm basically finishing a mop up of the area. I guess I will have to ship the bombers to Italy from Eastern Front.

(in reply to Marcinos1985)

Post #: 3

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 1/3/2021 4:46:19 PM

EarlyDoors

Posts: 548
Joined: 12/16/2018
From: uk
Status: offline

Dont forget to position 3 ships adjacent to the 2 ports so that each is reduced by 1 per turn. This lowers the supply of the AA preventing morale from recovering after each attack

_____________________________

18-17 PBEM++
-----------
Honours the game
-----------
http://scwaw-rankings.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com

(in reply to GiveWarAchance)

Post #: 4

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 1/3/2021 10:03:59 PM

GiveWarAchance

Posts: 389
Joined: 2/11/2015
Status: offline

Early, I wasn't sure so I have about 6 to 8 ships surrounding at as the battleships rotate back to repair after taking a peck at the town. The AA gun seems not to repair but is extremely difficult to scratch a hitpoint off. I even have a heavy Italian artillery on Sicily taking a peck at it every turn. I had problems with Rhodes Island too and had to give up on it cause I landed infantry there but they were dying from starvation and were unable to wear out the defending unit enough to win so I evacuated. I only was able to take Crete cause I could land infantry on both sides of the defenders and wear them down before ours starved to death.

(in reply to EarlyDoors)

Post #: 5

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 1/3/2021 11:17:04 PM

Elessar2

Posts: 883
Joined: 11/30/2016
Status: offline

You also need to have at least 2 ships next to the port to pork its supply level (along with bombarding it first if you wish).

(in reply to GiveWarAchance)

Post #: 6

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 1/4/2021 12:50:10 AM

GiveWarAchance

Posts: 389
Joined: 2/11/2015
Status: offline

So you veteran players can actually remove the Malta menace before 1941? Doesn't the enormous Royal Navy sink your fledgling Italian navy? I am only trying in 1946 cause both ends of the Med are safely in Axis control and the struggle in France and against Japan is monopolizing enemy fleet availability so the ruthless British navy can't sink my fragile Italian ships.

(in reply to Elessar2)

Post #: 7

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 1/4/2021 8:21:18 AM

eriador08

Posts: 106
Joined: 5/25/2017
Status: offline

The presence of large Luftwaffe formations, maybe even one or two maritime bombers should scare the Royal Navy and keep them away, if they do not want to risk some sunken battleships and carriers.

(in reply to GiveWarAchance)

Post #: 8

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 1/4/2021 2:48:04 PM

havoc1371

Posts: 212
Joined: 12/5/2017
Status: offline

Air alone takes a while. Bring your best German HQ down to support the air and boost their performance; you can take it in just a few turns. Make sure you have two fighters to draw off the AA response. One FJ ready to drop in as soon as the AA is destroyed. Down side is weather can cause serious delay in doing this, so whether you can reduce it depends totally on luck with the weather, as does everything else in the game.

(in reply to eriador08)

Post #: 9

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 1/4/2021 9:39:25 PM

ElvisJJonesRambo

Posts: 1345
Joined: 2/6/2019
Status: offline

Got mixed success on going for Malta

(in reply to havoc1371)

Post #: 10

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 1/4/2021 10:25:52 PM

GiveWarAchance

Posts: 389
Joined: 2/11/2015
Status: offline

okay thanks. Sounds like air power solves all problems. That evil AA gun will be shaded from the sun by a cloud of bombs next campaign.
I found that maritime bombers are very tempting to build but take away from the precious few dollars needed for putting boots on the ground.

(in reply to ElvisJJonesRambo)

Post #: 11

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 1/5/2021 3:02:08 AM

Captjohn757

Posts: 101
Joined: 1/7/2017
Status: offline

GiveWarAchance:

There are some good suggestions for taking down fortress Malta. Perhaps I can add a couple more that may come in handy:

--- Upgrade tactical bombers with ground attack weaponry as soon as practical (this is a pretty solid long-term investment anyway).
--- Place a couple of fighters in "ground" mode and attack with these first; this will cause the AA unit to expend its two anti-air points and leave the tac bombers to operate with relative impunity or at least reduced chance of damage.

Ideally, with these tactics and those offered by other players, Malta should fall in pretty short order --- one really doesn't want to see a long, drawn out battle in the middle of the Med when the aircraft will be needed elsewhere.

By the way, those maritime bombers, especially equipped with naval weaponry, can be effective at disrupting/destroying Allied ships in the Channel. Once in a while you catch a break with rain in Great Britain and clear skies over the continent --- ideal for creating havoc for the Crown.

(in reply to GiveWarAchance)

Post #: 12

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 1/5/2021 3:19:19 AM

Tanaka

Posts: 4378
Joined: 4/8/2003
From: USA
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Captjohn757

GiveWarAchance:

There are some good suggestions for taking down fortress Malta. Perhaps I can add a couple more that may come in handy:

--- Upgrade tactical bombers with ground attack weaponry as soon as practical (this is a pretty solid long-term investment anyway).
--- Place a couple of fighters in "ground" mode and attack with these first; this will cause the AA unit to expend its two anti-air points and leave the tac bombers to operate with relative impunity or at least reduced chance of damage.

Ideally, with these tactics and those offered by other players, Malta should fall in pretty short order --- one really doesn't want to see a long, drawn out battle in the middle of the Med when the aircraft will be needed elsewhere.

By the way, those maritime bombers, especially equipped with naval weaponry, can be effective at disrupting/destroying Allied ships in the Channel. Once in a while you catch a break with rain in Great Britain and clear skies over the continent --- ideal for creating havoc for the Crown.

Nice trick with the fighters. Curious why put them in ground mode?

_____________________________

(in reply to Captjohn757)

Post #: 13

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 1/5/2021 4:18:33 AM

GiveWarAchance

Posts: 389
Joined: 2/11/2015
Status: offline

thanks Captjohn, I actually was doing those tips already but good to hear maritime bombers are useful. I only made one of those later on to go on Sicily and it was too late to see action with the Med already secured.

(in reply to Tanaka)

Post #: 14

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 1/5/2021 9:14:36 PM

Captjohn757

Posts: 101
Joined: 1/7/2017
Status: offline

Tanaka:
I put the fighters in ground mode only for the feeble purpose that they might not be discovered by some stray carrier passing by and subsequently pounced upon. Ground mode supposedly keeps their presence more "secret", but I'm not really sure about that. In any event, they have no striking power against ground targets, and one can only hope that they, by some miracle, take a point off the AA unit. Fighters usually incur some damage in attacks, so I'm only trying to keep them somewhat healthy until Malta falls.

(in reply to Tanaka)

Post #: 15

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 5/5/2021 11:26:04 PM

Alcibiades73

Posts: 346
Joined: 5/4/2021
Status: offline

I am going to try this soon...

(in reply to Captjohn757)

Post #: 16

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 5/14/2021 1:56:18 PM

Alcibiades73

Posts: 346
Joined: 5/4/2021
Status: offline

So I tried this, and it did work - but I am not sure what I got out of it. In fact, given the investment and the yield, this gambit - even though successful - may have cost me the game. First, because of really bad weather luck, I had to sit my air elements around for multiple turns. Second, the paratrooper drop no longer seems to work on a 1-hex isoland; so I had to build an amphibious force. In total, I think it took me 6-7 turns? This delayed Barbarossa greatly, and I suspect may have been the difference between my Russian advance grounding to a halt in early 1943.

But even if I had perfect weather - and did not waste time recruiting paratroopers - it would have likely taken me 3-4 months still. Is this delay worth it? The other issue is that Afrika Korps arrives too late to save the Italians anyways - especially because they spawn in Southern Germany.

(in reply to Alcibiades73)

Post #: 17

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 5/14/2021 2:21:04 PM

Epekepe

Posts: 89
Joined: 3/24/2020
Status: offline

Paratroop landing works if you are in range,prepared, there is good weather and free space to land.

The whole Axis campaign is about how fast you are. To take Malta, you probably need to start moving those units when war in France isn't over yet. Artillery unit in Southern Italy to bombard Malta would also help a lot. Is it worth it to take Malta? I'm not so sure, usually I skip that attack.

The other issue with Afrika Korps arriving too late:
You might need to send other troops in North Africa earlier, that's what i do if i want to be active in there.

< Message edited by Epekepe -- 5/14/2021 2:32:28 PM >

(in reply to Alcibiades73)

Post #: 18

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 5/14/2021 3:15:24 PM

Illiniwek80

Posts: 56
Joined: 2/18/2021
Status: offline

Probably frowned upon, but after determining that weather was ALWAYS AGAINST ME after grounding my entire air force for 6 months, I always turn it off now. Now I take MAlta, then go for Tunisia real quick then Algeria then Spain decides they want to marry me. Also, send two panzer corps and an infantry to Libya immediately after the fall of France. Send Afrika Corps to Yugo then either into Russia or Turkey if you are really feeling froggy. THEN, the icing on the cake, the Turkey force unites with the force that just rolled up through Iraq and invades lightly-defended Caucasus and backdoors into Stalingrad. This has resulted in a hell of an exciting, pressure-filled game for me. Turn up the difficulty, as it will likely make the game too easy.

< Message edited by Illiniwek80 -- 5/14/2021 3:41:38 PM >

(in reply to Epekepe)

Post #: 19

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 5/14/2021 4:00:05 PM

Alcibiades73

Posts: 346
Joined: 5/4/2021
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Epekepe

Paratroop landing works if you are in range,prepared, there is good weather and free space to land.

Hmm, but I jumped from Syracuse - literally 2 hexes away?

quote:

ORIGINAL: Epekepe

The whole Axis campaign is about how fast you are.

You are absolutely right; that's one of the main lessons I learned from my first playthrough. Speed kills, as the saying goes. But I am not sure I can adequately adjust, as I come from more turn-based squad or RPG game background - where you try to grind to invincible groups first and only then start bashing heads! ;)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Epekepe
To take Malta, you probably need to start moving those units when war in France isn't over yet. Artillery unit in Southern Italy to bombard Malta would also help a lot. Is it worth it to take Malta? I'm not so sure, usually I skip that attack.

People keep saying it is a must if you want a successful North African campaign, so I made it a priority. I did have an artillery unit in Syracuse, too. It was the weather and paratroopers unable to land that messed me up.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Epekepe

The other issue with Afrika Korps arriving too late:
You might need to send other troops in North Africa earlier, that's what i do if i want to be active in there.

Yup; I will do that next time.

(in reply to Epekepe)

Post #: 20

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 5/14/2021 4:02:16 PM

Alcibiades73

Posts: 346
Joined: 5/4/2021
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Illiniwek80

Probably frowned upon, but after determining that weather was ALWAYS AGAINST ME after grounding my entire air force for 6 months, I always turn it off now. Now I take MAlta, then go for Tunisia real quick then Algeria then Spain decides they want to marry me. Also, send two panzer corps and an infantry to Libya immediately after the fall of France. Send Afrika Corps to Yugo then either into Russia or Turkey if you are really feeling froggy. THEN, the icing on the cake, the Turkey force unites with the force that just rolled up through Iraq and invades lightly-defended Caucasus and backdoors into Stalingrad. This has resulted in a hell of an exciting, pressure-filled game for me. Turn up the difficulty, as it will likely make the game too easy.

Turning off the weather - or re-loading turns - seem a bit too gamey and unrealistic for me. So I'd be opposed to them.

I will definitely explore the Turkish route though. Do you invade Turkey? It seems to me that hoping Turkey to join the Axis seems unreliable. And if you attack Turkey, are there diplomatic consequences elsewhere?

(in reply to Illiniwek80)

Post #: 21

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 5/14/2021 4:12:35 PM

Epekepe

Posts: 89
Joined: 3/24/2020
Status: offline

Hmm, but I jumped from Syracuse - literally 2 hexes away?

What happened, did you see paratrooper unit flying in Malta?

(in reply to Alcibiades73)

Post #: 22

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 5/14/2021 4:46:53 PM

Alcibiades73

Posts: 346
Joined: 5/4/2021
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Epekepe

Hmm, but I jumped from Syracuse - literally 2 hexes away?

What happened, did you see paratrooper unit flying in Malta?

Malta hex was marked as un-jumpable with some sort of symbol.

(in reply to Epekepe)

Post #: 23

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 5/14/2021 5:26:48 PM

Epekepe

Posts: 89
Joined: 3/24/2020
Status: offline

Bad weather maybe?

(in reply to Alcibiades73)

Post #: 24

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 5/14/2021 5:51:17 PM

Alcibiades73

Posts: 346
Joined: 5/4/2021
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Epekepe

Bad weather maybe?

Hmm, it could've been. But I couldn't do it for two turns in a row, so I assumed it doesn't work...

(in reply to Epekepe)

Post #: 25

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 5/14/2021 6:29:06 PM

Epekepe

Posts: 89
Joined: 3/24/2020
Status: offline

Or maybe Malta was not empty?

(in reply to Alcibiades73)

Post #: 26

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 5/14/2021 7:25:46 PM

Alcibiades73

Posts: 346
Joined: 5/4/2021
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Epekepe

Or maybe Malta was not empty?

It definitely was ;(

(in reply to Epekepe)

Post #: 27

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 5/14/2021 7:29:13 PM

Illiniwek80

Posts: 56
Joined: 2/18/2021
Status: offline

quote:

Turning off the weather - or re-loading turns - seem a bit too gamey and unrealistic for me. So I'd be opposed to them.

I would have thought so too, but weather grounding your entire air force for months at a time is more gamey and unrealistic. So, I rationalize it by assuming that natural combat results takes into account weather sufficiently.

(in reply to Alcibiades73)

Post #: 28

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 5/14/2021 7:39:49 PM

Alcibiades73

Posts: 346
Joined: 5/4/2021
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Illiniwek80

quote:

Turning off the weather - or re-loading turns - seem a bit too gamey and unrealistic for me. So I'd be opposed to them.

I would have thought so too, but weather grounding your entire air force for months at a time is more gamey and unrealistic. So, I rationalize it by assuming that natural combat results takes into account weather sufficiently.

A good point! ;)

(in reply to Illiniwek80)

Post #: 29

RE: Malta is impregnable? - 5/15/2021 2:36:54 AM

Platoonist