Malta is impregnable? (Full Version)

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GiveWarAchance -> Malta is impregnable? (1/3/2021 9:29:44 AM)

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.



Marcinos1985 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (1/3/2021 10:43:25 AM)

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.



GiveWarAchance -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (1/3/2021 12:58:15 PM)

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.



EarlyDoors -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (1/3/2021 4:46:19 PM)

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



GiveWarAchance -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (1/3/2021 10:03:59 PM)

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.



Elessar2 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (1/3/2021 11:17:04 PM)

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).



GiveWarAchance -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (1/4/2021 12:50:10 AM)

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.



eriador08 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (1/4/2021 8:21:18 AM)

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.



havoc1371 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (1/4/2021 2:48:04 PM)

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.



ElvisJJonesRambo -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (1/4/2021 9:39:25 PM)

Got mixed success on going for Malta



GiveWarAchance -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (1/4/2021 10:25:52 PM)

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.



Captjohn757 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (1/5/2021 3:02:08 AM)

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.




Tanaka -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (1/5/2021 3:19:19 AM)


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?



GiveWarAchance -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (1/5/2021 4:18:33 AM)

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.



Captjohn757 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (1/5/2021 9:14:36 PM)

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.



Alcibiades73 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (5/5/2021 11:26:04 PM)

I am going to try this soon...



Alcibiades73 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (5/14/2021 1:56:18 PM)

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.



Epekepe -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (5/14/2021 2:21:04 PM)

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.



Illiniwek80 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (5/14/2021 3:15:24 PM)

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.



Alcibiades73 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (5/14/2021 4:00:05 PM)


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.



Alcibiades73 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (5/14/2021 4:02:16 PM)


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?



Epekepe -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (5/14/2021 4:12:35 PM)


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

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






Alcibiades73 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (5/14/2021 4:46:53 PM)


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.



Epekepe -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (5/14/2021 5:26:48 PM)

Bad weather maybe?



Alcibiades73 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (5/14/2021 5:51:17 PM)


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...



Epekepe -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (5/14/2021 6:29:06 PM)

Or maybe Malta was not empty?



Alcibiades73 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (5/14/2021 7:25:46 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Epekepe

Or maybe Malta was not empty?


It definitely was ;(



Illiniwek80 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (5/14/2021 7:29:13 PM)

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.



Alcibiades73 -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (5/14/2021 7:39:49 PM)


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! ;)



Platoonist -> RE: Malta is impregnable? (5/15/2021 2:36:54 AM)

You could always try adding artillery to the mix. [:D]

[image]local://upfiles/9147/E2ACF50CA46A4CA19EE2CBC2F61D4E21.jpg[/image]



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