Kickstarter Update 1: Naval Operations and 15% Funded!

Update 1: Naval Operations and 15% Funded!

April 21, 2016

Introducing Mahan's Corner

Greetings Captains;

First things first: you are clearly the finest and most dashing Captains of '39, and you've conquered 15% of the goal in record time!

Now, let's lay our guns for the next milestone. Kindly tune your circuits to 7910J and let your friends and enemies know about this Campaign. We'll need all hands on deck if we're going to win!

Now that we're properly situated, let's discuss the essentials of Naval Operations in Victory Belles. I suppose I will have to save my lecture on Cardinal Fleuri's policies for another time.

Victory at sea demands coherent strategy, logistics and local flexibility for greatest success. Belles allows you to make the most of these elements to deliver your Nation's goals, secure the navigation of the seas, and maybe, just maybe, save the world. We'll take an example and show 3 moves on the map, and what might happen, rng dependent.

Bering Sea Region, 0400

When you sortie into an Operation, you have a fixed point of entry, an overall goal, and a time limit. In today's example, our flotilla has been dispatched to locate and sink a Morgana terror fleet, somewhere in the Bering Sea. We've been given a day before our fleet will be compelled to withdraw. In this example, we've entered the operational area in the south-east, at about 4am local time.

Immediately, we are confronted with two routes forward: one, taking us to the American harbor at Dutch Harbor, and the other, towards Adak island. There is also an unknown node to the east, which we could scout to reveal another path, optional objectives, enemies, or resources.

The floatplanes over each node indicate that these can be scouted. Scouting takes a number of hours, depending on the map size, and so we have a choice: we can advance without scouting, or patrol our entry until our scouts return.

Because we've brought along the Lady Lexington, we have plenty of scouts, so we're going to have a look at what's at Adak island, what's east, and we're going to steam to Dutch Harbor blind. Our risk is likely pretty low, and we don't want to lose time.

Dutch Harbor is empty, but could be made into a major base

The time is now 8:00am, local. We're at Dutch Harbor, which, although friendly, doesn't have any land-based support for us. Since we're American, we could have invested in this base. It's resource intensive, but it gives us access to land-based aircraft and guns, helps us scout, can pin enemy movement, and can repair some damage at the cost of time.

If you plan to be operating in a Region long term, it's usually a good idea to establish at least one base- you can keep using it over and over. Well...as long as you protect it. Other nations can build up bases if they have a strong enough diplomatic channels.

Our scouts revealed that to the east, there's empty seas. The node is color-coded green because we haven't sailed there. At Adak island, though, our scouts have revealed the presence of a Morgana fleet. Additionally, we can move forward, into the Morgana mists by the Pribilof Islands, and scout another node in Bristol Bay.

If we steam west, we can engage the Morgana in surface combat. Since the Lexington is with us, we can launch an air strike if we prefer. Launching an air strike will cause some damage to the Morgana fleet, and likely incur some losses in our strike group. It will also leave Lexington near useless in battle as her planes are all away! (Well...she does have 8" guns in '39!)

Since those enemies aren't the Battleship group we're looking for, we're going to conserve our strength and steam north, into the mists. We'll also scout Bristol Bay, in case we find something interesting there.

On the threshold of the mists. Do we plunge in, or try to scout?

It's now noon, and we're on the edge of the mists. Our scouts to the east have revealed a resource node- if we want to take the time, we can sail there to collect whatever they've found. We've also discovered 3 additional routes, all leading into the mists.

The scout planes are color-coded red because scouting in the clammy miasma is more difficult than usual. For the same reasons, our carrier strikes may be impaired.

The time and weather are also important factors. If you enter a node when it's dark, you'll be fighting a night battle. Likewise, if you enter an area with heavy seas, you better have good sailors. The only weather we're facing in this example are the mists, but they can reduce engagement range, which could be good or bad, depending on your Fleet's composition.

Whatever we're going to do, we'd better do it quick, as time is turning against us...

These are the kinds of challenges a Captain faces when facing the Morgana. The results of your strategy may improve the situation in Alaska, enhance the power of your Nation, or leave your Belles at the bottom of the ocean.

See you next time, Captains!

Sincerely, USS Mahan