GAME MANUAL - Steam

HEARTS OF IRON DARKEST HOURthat a flotilla has sunk. Clickon this button to view yourship’s log of recorded kills.Attach Brigade Button: Thiscan only be done on ships thatsupport naval brigades and isused to attach naval brigades.Once attached, naval brigadescannot be detached.Disband Button: Clickthis button to disband theflotilla and recoup someof its manpower.Fleet DetailsThe Fleet Details informationpanel is almostidentical to the one usedfor field commands, withonly two major differencesthat should be pointed outhere:Base and Range: Justbelow the orders box, youwill see the usual supplyicon (a small circle) butbelow this you will nowsee the current navalbase assignment andeffective mission range ofthe fleet. A fleet maynever be further awayfrom its assigned navalbase than its missionrange value, thus limiting theoverall distances it may travelunless rebasing.Primary Statistics: The mainstatistics shown for eachflotilla are also different. Fromleft to right they are the SeaAttack, Convoy Attack, SubAttack, Shore Bombardment,Air Attack, Sea Defence andAir Defence values.LeadershipJust as with land forces, asuitable officer should beassigned to lead each of yourfleets. The number of flotillashe can command withoutoverstacking penalty dependson his rank, with the possibleranks being Rear Admiral(who can control 6 flotillas),Vice Admiral (12 flotillas),Admiral (18 flotillas) andGrand Admiral (30 flotillas).In naval combat, both sidesare treated as “attackers” andsince the battle takes place ina single sea zone, there is no“envelopment” or “multipleangle” consideration. Thehighest ranking officer on eachside will determine themaximum number of flotillasthat may participate beforeoverstacking penalties apply,but individual officers’ abilitieswill still be used for determiningskill and trait benefits.Just as in land combat, thesebenefits are forfeited if anofficer is personally overstacked,even if the totalcombined force is within themost senior officer’s stackinglimit. Note that there is nonaval equivalent of an HQ.Leader TraitsNaval officers sometimespossess a trait that willenhance the abilities of eachflotilla in the fleet they areassigned to command. Thisadvantage is lost if the officeris currently assigned tocommand more flotillasthan his rank allows.Sea Wolf: This officer is asuperb submarine tactician.Every submarine in a fleet hecommands will be muchharder to spot and will gainadditional attack bonuses.Note that the fleet can be ofmixed classes, but onlysubmarines will benefit fromhis special bonuses.Blockade-Runner: Thiscommander is particularlyadept at avoiding combatwhen he wishes, particularlywith enemy subs. Of course,he will have a hard time“hiding” a capital ship, but histransports and screenscan often slip past a submarinepack undetected.Superior Tactician: A leaderwith this trait excels at navalmanoeuvring tactics. Hisflotillas will enjoy combatbonuses to both their attackand their defence values.Spotter: This officer has anuncanny ability to predict thelocation of the enemy,increasing the detectioncapabilities of all flotillas underhis command.Ports andNaval BasesMany coastal provinces havea port, but only a few of thesewill be full-blown naval baseswith the ability to outfit andprovision naval vessels. Eachfleet must be assigned to aspecific naval base - a largeport with appropriate facilities -which will ferry supplies andfuel to the fleet when it isengaged in a mission, and towhich a fleet must return to berepaired after combat orrefitted with the latest technologicaladvances. A simpleport appears on the main mapas a small vessel icon, while anaval base is a larger versionof the same icon. The icon willbe blue if there is at least onevessel currently located in theharbour, or grey if there arecurrently no vessels locatedthere.Any number of flotillas,including allied vessels, maybe assigned to the same naval130