Trade convoys being raided , :: Hearts of Iron IV General Discussions

Bandit17

Mar 22, 2019 @ 1:39pm

Stop trading with countries that you cannot protect the sea lanes from.

You can also control which sea lanes your fleet and trade routes go through by selecting sea territory and clicking on green arrow to the right of your UI.

#1

gyzbug

Mar 22, 2019 @ 2:05pm

Even though it says trade convoys, it also applies to supply convoys. So having troops in Africa that can only be supplied by sea leads more convoys around England being sunk by aircraft and submarine or destroyer patrols. Resource trading as well as sending or receiving lend leasing also puts more convoys to sea to be sunk.

To slow the loss add as much air cover with naval bombers and fighters to repeal enemy ships as well as hunt mines. Best way is to patrol with convoy escort missions or better yet take the enemies islands like Malta to deny their extra air coverage and port access to harass your convoys. Finally conquer any nation near your sea zones or avoid using them as even escorted convoys can be sunk easily as naval and air losses to sink convoys will not cause a loss of war score. You can suffer air attack from quite the range by upgraded Tactical Bombers so anything remotely near your zones can cause problems, especially if you play as Japan later.

Last edited by gyzbug; Mar 22, 2019 @ 2:16pm

#2

RadRipRepRepublicRebelTrooper has Hearts of Iron IV

Mar 22, 2019 @ 2:16pm

Originally posted by Bandit17:
Stop trading with countries that you cannot protect the sea lanes from.

You can also control which sea lanes your fleet and trade routes go through by selecting sea territory and clicking on green arrow to the right of your UI. [/quoteNot trading with anyone across seas,, as i have managed to acquire all resources by land. i have portugal, spain, dutch east indies, parts of south america,, france, belgium,denmark,yugoslavia,north africa, british malaya, and half of poland..
I realised my convoys were being sunk, so thought by not trading overseas it would stop..

#3

RadRipRepRepublicRebelTrooper has Hearts of Iron IV

Mar 22, 2019 @ 2:20pm

Originally posted by gyzbug:
Even though it says trade convoys, it also applies to supply convoys. So having troops in Africa that can only be supplied by sea leads more convoys around England being sunk by aircraft and submarine or destroyer patrols. Resource trading as well as sending or receiving lend leasing also puts more convoys to sea to be sunk.

To slow the loss add as much air cover with naval bombers and fighters to repeal enemy ships as well as hunt mines. Best way is to patrol with convoy escort missions or better yet take the enemies islands like Malta to deny their extra air coverage and port access to harass your convoys. Finally conquer any nation near your sea zones or avoid using them as even escorted convoys can be sunk easily as naval and air losses to sink convoys will not cause a loss of war score. You can suffer air attack from quite the range by upgraded Tactical Bombers so anything remotely near your zones can cause problems, especially if you play as Japan later.

Hmm so having troops in africa and Asia,, seems to be why my convoys are being sunk then. Im at 38% war support, its been drastically falling.. I dont have the naval bombers or navy to prevent this..

btw i dont have man the guns yet,, so i dont have ,mines... So does this hinder me.

#4

Bandit17

Mar 22, 2019 @ 2:23pm

Can you conquer the Balkans, Turkey and then the Middle East? This will give you a safer means of transport and open up the Iraqi and Iranian oil fields.

#5

gyzbug

Mar 22, 2019 @ 2:42pm

Originally posted by RadRipRepRepublicRebelTrooper:
Originally posted by gyzbug:
...

btw i dont have man the guns yet,, so i dont have ,mines... So does this hinder me.

It actually helps you since you don't have to added loses from mines as well. Mainly just 100 Naval bombers with range upgrades as well as 100 fighters or heavy fighters as cover will drastically reduce losses while adding more to the enemy. Aircraft are produced daily vs ships monthly to yearly production or subs weekly.

If you notice manpower dropping a lot without major combat it is also from convoy losses. Each convoy lost can hold a few hundred men for reinforcements. When they are sunk more are sent and it starts a spiral effect after a while.

Last edited by gyzbug; Mar 22, 2019 @ 2:43pm

#6

RadRipRepRepublicRebelTrooper has Hearts of Iron IV

Mar 22, 2019 @ 3:05pm

Originally posted by Bandit17:
Can you conquer the Balkans, Turkey and then the Middle East? This will give you a safer means of transport and open up the Iraqi and Iranian oil fields.

Not sure if i can,, before my war support is really low, i now have to avoid draft dodging with PP.. Though, invading bulgaria and turkey,, then take saudi arabia,, and the raj might help... but not sure if i can do it in time..

#7

RadRipRepRepublicRebelTrooper has Hearts of Iron IV

Mar 22, 2019 @ 3:15pm

Originally posted by gyzbug:
Originally posted by RadRipRepRepublicRebelTrooper:

It actually helps you since you don't have to added loses from mines as well. Mainly just 100 Naval bombers with range upgrades as well as 100 fighters or heavy fighters as cover will drastically reduce losses while adding more to the enemy. Aircraft are produced daily vs ships monthly to yearly production or subs weekly.

If you notice manpower dropping a lot without major combat it is also from convoy losses. Each convoy lost can hold a few hundred men for reinforcements. When they are sunk more are sent and it starts a spiral effect after a while.

OOh so can now lose manpower from convoys.. so lets see ive lost 300 convoys,,lol...100min on each,, thats 30,000...

Thought i was having the best game yet,, just i didnt spend time on convoy defence.. Where would i station these naval bombers and fighters,, spain,, or the english channel.. The sinkings mostly happen around the uk,,

Maybe ill have to start a new game,, though i dont see how convoy sinkings can reduce the overall war support of a country like germany,, Ive only been at full war since september 1940,and its january 141 now.

So next time my priorities will be taking out bulgaria and turkey,, down to the raj... I guess the game penalises you, if you start the game taking out dutch east indies and having troopes ready in north africa once war comes around.

What about ships to escort convoys,, how many in a taskforce,, in each region, I seem to have problems assigning number of ships to each region,, for some reason since the new changes. If i want to assign one task force to a region and another else where they both come up in both regions..

thanks for ur help guys

Last edited by RadRipRepRepublicRebelTrooper; Mar 22, 2019 @ 3:15pm

#8

Bored Peon has Hearts of Iron IV

Mar 22, 2019 @ 3:39pm

Originally posted by RadRipRepRepublicRebelTrooper:
btw i dont have man the guns yet,, so i dont have ,mines... So does this hinder me.

Mines do not protect convoys. They only slow down enemy fleets and inflict a naval invasion penalty.

Convoy escorts use like 2-6 light cruisers and 6-12 destroyers depending on the danger level of the route.

Last edited by Bored Peon; Mar 22, 2019 @ 3:40pm

#9

gyzbug

Mar 22, 2019 @ 4:31pm

The best convoy defense is avoiding the need for convoy defense. Examples include taking islands in areas you cant ensure protection of. As Germany, if you take over France avoid claiming Indochina, Madagascar, Africa, Pacific Islands, or Central America areas unless you can protect those sea areas. Avoid leaving Norway as a Naval area and instead ally or take over Sweden and Denmark for a land route.

Also make sure the is enough land infrastructure to avoid the need for convoys as well.

Not sure of exact numbers without Man the Guns since ships stats are a huge change in terms of combat ability and speed. But as an example I would recommend:
1 Strike Force per major power you are fighting, so two if fighting UK and USA.
- Basic formation of 4 Carriers, 8 Battleships, and 24 Light Cruisers
1 Raider group with as many subs as you feel alright with. Manpower and Fuel limit here.
- Tier 3 Subs with tech upgrades and naval EXP are fine when limited by chromium
1-2 Invasion Escort groups for keeping invasion forces safe and provide shore bombardment.
- 4-8 Heavy Cruisers and 12-24 Destroyers, heavy for cheap support and destroyers for subs.
- 8 Heavy Cruisers only for MtG since you can equip them for all roles.
Rest of naval admiral slots for destroyers on patrol duty to hunt subs and spot.
-20-24 Destroyers, Tier 3 with tech and EXP upgrades are fine if limited by chromium.

Air coverage of 100 Bombers and 100 Fighters per zone will bleed enemy ships and limit loses as well as increase yours. Also upgrading radar to cover all the zones allows for faster and bigger responses.

#10

RadRipRepRepublicRebelTrooper has Hearts of Iron IV

Mar 24, 2019 @ 4:41am

Originally posted by Bored Peon:
Originally posted by RadRipRepRepublicRebelTrooper:
btw i dont have man the guns yet,, so i dont have ,mines... So does this hinder me.

Mines do not protect convoys. They only slow down enemy fleets and inflict a naval invasion penalty.

Convoy escorts use like 2-6 light cruisers and 6-12 destroyers depending on the danger level of the route.

is that 2 light cruisers and 612 destroyers per region... Regardless everytime i tried it,, a big UK fleet obliterates my navies..

#11

RadRipRepRepublicRebelTrooper has Hearts of Iron IV

Mar 24, 2019 @ 4:52am

Originally posted by gyzbug:
The best convoy defense is avoiding the need for convoy defense. Examples include taking islands in areas you cant ensure protection of. As Germany, if you take over France avoid claiming Indochina, Madagascar, Africa, Pacific Islands, or Central America areas unless you can protect those sea areas. Avoid leaving Norway as a Naval area and instead ally or take over Sweden and Denmark for a land route.

Also make sure the is enough land infrastructure to avoid the need for convoys as well.

Not sure of exact numbers without Man the Guns since ships stats are a huge change in terms of combat ability and speed. But as an example I would recommend:
1 Strike Force per major power you are fighting, so two if fighting UK and USA.
- Basic formation of 4 Carriers, 8 Battleships, and 24 Light Cruisers
1 Raider group with as many subs as you feel alright with. Manpower and Fuel limit here.
- Tier 3 Subs with tech upgrades and naval EXP are fine when limited by chromium
1-2 Invasion Escort groups for keeping invasion forces safe and provide shore bombardment.
- 4-8 Heavy Cruisers and 12-24 Destroyers, heavy for cheap support and destroyers for subs.
- 8 Heavy Cruisers only for MtG since you can equip them for all roles.
Rest of naval admiral slots for destroyers on patrol duty to hunt subs and spot.
-20-24 Destroyers, Tier 3 with tech and EXP upgrades are fine if limited by chromium.

Air coverage of 100 Bombers and 100 Fighters per zone will bleed enemy ships and limit loses as well as increase yours. Also upgrading radar to cover all the zones allows for faster and bigger responses.

Is it best to satellite dutch east indies you think,, because most times i like taking it over.. That usually happens around mid 193 for me. But i usually have an army there, waiting jump into british malaya and borneo.

Ill see if i can take some islands over,, and put naval bombers and radar on the islands.

I dont usually take over Norway,, are you saying i should,, ?,, By war time, sweden has a nice amount of factories,, so i usually do take over sweden for the extra tungsten, even though i have portugal. It helps because im still running free economy..

Wooo,, looks like my tank production is gonna take a hit with those 2 strike forces.. And how on earth will i cope with the fuel.. How much do you reccommend storing..and building upto. I had 2million storage,,
Thanks for the help,,,

Whats your early strategy for germany may i ask..?

#12

Mikey

Mar 24, 2019 @ 5:04am

gyzbug. You don't suffer manpower losses from convoys sunk unless you have deployed units in those convoys.
Reinforcements do not count towards manpower lost as they are tied to the supply system ie ships sunk reduces supplies which reduces recovery time of the unit

#13

Bored Peon has Hearts of Iron IV

Mar 24, 2019 @ 9:00am

Originally posted by RadRipRepRepublicRebelTrooper:
Originally posted by Bored Peon:

Mines do not protect convoys. They only slow down enemy fleets and inflict a naval invasion penalty.

Convoy escorts use like 2-6 light cruisers and 6-12 destroyers depending on the danger level of the route.

is that 2 light cruisers and 612 destroyers per region... Regardless everytime i tried it,, a big UK fleet obliterates my navies..

Nah, just one or two fleets liek that is good. Just target as many sea zones you can the route is in.

As for big enemy fleets, set the engagement risk lower.

#14

RadRipRepRepublicRebelTrooper has Hearts of Iron IV

Mar 25, 2019 @ 11:08am

Originally posted by Mikey:
gyzbug. You don't suffer manpower losses from convoys sunk unless you have deployed units in those convoys.
Reinforcements do not count towards manpower lost as they are tied to the supply system ie ships sunk reduces supplies which reduces recovery time of the unit

Is it true or not,, maybe its a hidden value, that u lose manpower through trade convoys

#15

Hearts of Iron IV

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