GAME MANUAL - Steam

HEARTS OF IRON DARKEST HOURa few convoys to do this andmay find it easier to set up afew larger depots somewhereclose, possibly Hawaii,Midway or Wake Island, andthen have smaller convoysship goods from there to thevarious forward naval basesyou are using in the theatre.Remember that allies mayoccasionally rebase theirvessels to your naval portfacilities and that they will beexpecting you to meet theirprovisioning needs.The mission range valueprohibits you from ordering afleet to perform duties beyondits maximum range; however,it will allow you to move yourfleets within that rangerestriction even if you are outof supplies and oil, theassumption being that a bareminimum of food and fuel canbe scrounged to keep themmoving.Operating without thefull availability of supplies andfuel will greatly reduce yourmovement speed and willvery quickly cause your fleetto become disorganised.Engaging enemy vesselswhen you are operating inunder-supplied conditions is avery good way to suffer rapiddefeat and lose a lot of ships.DeployingFlotillas fromthe Force PoolDeployment of flotillas is donein the same way that landdivisions are deployed, exceptthat the allowable locationswill be limited to provinceswith naval bases. You mayattach a flotilla to an existingfleet or deploy it to a suitableprovince’s naval base. Thenewly deployed flotilla will usethe base assignment of thefleet to which it has beenadded, or the base to whichyou have directly deployed it.Warning: Naval vesselscannot use strategicredeployment to move to adifferent theatre of operations,so choose yourdeployment locationcarefully if you wish toavoid being forced to sailhalf-way around the world tomove into position.AttachingCarrier AirGroupsCarrier Air Groups representan air wing that has bothfighter and torpedo planecapabilities and is able tobase itself on an aircraftcarrier. These are effectivelytreated as a “naval brigade”and are attached in exactly thesame way that land brigadesare attached to divisions. ACAG may only be attached toan aircraft carrier and a carriermay only act as a base for oneCAG at a time. Without aCAG, a carrier effectivelyloses its military value. SinceCAGs are aircraft, a carrier’seffectiveness is also greatlyhampered by adverseweather conditions.Reinforcement,Upgrading andObsolescenceAs mentioned above, a fleetmay be resupplied during itsmissions, but must return to itsassigned naval baseand remain there for a while ifyou wish to repair any damagethat your flotillas have sustainedand to upgrade to anynew technologies. Thisrequires an appropriate allocationof IC to time, as well asreinforcements and upgrades,respectively. The amount oftime required to completethese tasks depends on thesize of the base and on thenumber of flotillas that arebased there, even if some ofthem aren’t in port at themoment.New technologies will begin tomake improved ship designsavailable, and unlike landunits, your existing navalvessels cannot be upgraded.You may wish to keep anobsolescent flotilla in activeservice for a while, particularlyif it is highly experienced. Youmay also decide to mothball(disband) it to recoup some ofthe manpower for yournational pool and free upresources for newer, moreadvanced vessels. CAGs andother naval brigades aretreated as an air force unit forupgrade purposes, and areable to be fully upgraded,given enough time andresources.Selecting andCombiningFlotillasFlotillas are assembled intoand removed from fleets in thesame way that land forces aremanaged, but you should takeparticular care to ensure thatyou include at least onescreening vessel for eachcapital ship in a fleet to avoidincurring combat penalties.The variety of options forselecting fleets is virtuallyidentical as well, except thatthe listing of all national fleetsis accessed through the NavalForces Hot Button. When youclick on the button, the displayin the information panel willchange to provide a completelisting of all naval bases thatcurrently belong to yournation. You will see twonumbers beside the base’sname, representing the basesize and its current operationalsize. Below each base’sname, you will see a list of thefleets that are currentlyassigned to use this as theirhome port, as well as theirsize and a graphic representationof their current strengthand organisation. Justbecause a fleet is listed under132