Sea Lion 40 and the weather

[kanniethexen]

I'm at the moment doing Sea Lion 40 on colonel level. Apart from the Royal Navy and the RAF the weather is also a big influence in this battle. So I have a question to all you experts. How many rainy days can you have and still capable to win a decisive victory?

[BiteNibbleChomp]

I'm at the moment doing Sea Lion 40 on colonel level. Apart from the Royal Navy and the RAF the weather is also a big influence in this battle. So I have a question to all you experts. How many rainy days can you have and still capable to win a decisive victory?

I have made it with 3 rainy days - turn 3, 4 and 9. Any more than 4 and you will struggle (make sure 1 and 2 are sunny though!)

- BNC

[kanniethexen]

I have made it with 3 rainy days - turn 3, 4 and 9. Any more than 4 and you will struggle (make sure 1 and 2 are sunny though!)

- BNC

And there you have it: on day 2 I was already standing in the pouring rain.... I have also had this battle where it already rained on day 1. I don't think that is realistic. The Germans on several occasions postponed their attack because of bad weather forcasts. In PG day 1 was always clear. That should be standard in PzC.

[shawkhan2]

Bad weather, strangely enough, can also work in your favor.
Your paratroops can still fly for instance, and the British cannot bomb your fleets, although their radar stations still work just fine for their fleet to intercept.

[kanniethexen]

Bad weather, strangely enough, can also work in your favor.
Your paratroops can still fly for instance, and the British cannot bomb your fleets, although their radar stations still work just fine for their fleet to intercept.

Yes, indeed. You can fly your fighters next to an enemy airfield and hope there is an enemy aircraft on it. When it isn't raining the next turn, you can attack that plane and fly away. You don't have to be afraid of the AA stationed there.

[braccada]

That's a good point I never thought about that kind of ambush. The AA gun will provide defensive fire though. And do not fear the rain in Sealion. In addition to the mentioned points you can close in on targets without getting spotted. This avoids artillery bombardment and it is very easy to lure defenders into an attack in rainy weather. Of course you should have plenty of defensive artillery ready. This actually makes attacking London easier.

And since a decisive victory is possible on Guderian with 5 less turns, you can make it on regular difficulty levels with almost unlimited amounts of rain Worst case in my opinion is cloudy weather, because it does not provide cover, but leaves your bombers ineffective.

[kanniethexen]

That's a good point I never thought about that kind of ambush. The AA gun will provide defensive fire though. And do not fear the rain in Sealion. In addition to the mentioned points you can close in on targets without getting spotted. This avoids artillery bombardment and it is very easy to lure defenders into an attack in rainy weather. Of course you should have plenty of defensive artillery ready. This actually makes attacking London easier.

And since a decisive victory is possible on Guderian with 5 less turns, you can make it on regular difficulty levels with almost unlimited amounts of rain Worst case in my opinion is cloudy weather, because it does not provide cover, but leaves your bombers ineffective.

I didn't noticed the AA gun working. Just to make it clear: On a rain day I move all of my fighters next to an enemy airfield and move all of my bombers on places where I suspect a British naval unit (near Southampton is a popular spot). Of course I won't see anything because of the rain. If the following turn it is not raining anymore I will hopefully see an enemy fighter on the airfield and attack it. When that airfield is out of the spotting range of a radar the enemy fighter doesn't have the initiative bonus. But does the AA next to the airfield help him? I do notice I suffer AA from bombing a naval unit when an AA is next to that naval unit.

I had 7 turns with cloudy weather. and that wasn't helping fighting the Royal Navy

[braccada]

I am not sure if AA guns help in fighter versus fighter battles. I assumed they would and the rain is no factor anymore on that turn. But maybe thats only for air to ground action.

[kanniethexen]

The next time it happens I will watch more closely, then we know for sure.

[ThvN]

AA guns don't help during air-to-air battles, I'm sure most pilots don't like their battles made more exciting by friendly AA taking shots at everything that moves . Of course if you leave any planes within AA range after attacking something, the AI has a nice target for its AA guns in its turn.

Your tactic to move planes during rainy weather is fine, it is especially sneaky with air transports (paratroopers) because there is no way to attack them before they are dropped. For bombers, if you find something bombable underneath the next turn (without AA/air cover) you can bomb it and move away before the AI can move any help closer.

BTW, during Sealion '40, the probability each turn of cloudy weather is 40%, rain 10%, and clear for the remaining 50%. Cloudy weather affects air-ground battles; planes that attack ground targets and AA guns only use half their strength when attacking, so they won't do a lot of damage.

[kanniethexen]

Thanks for the explaining. It's a hit and run tactic I use so no AA shots for my fighters.

[braccada]

Thanks as well. Have to try that one.