Using CA's

[Daedalus]

I have found that in using the Russian side and working at over running the Japanese using the fast CA's in raiding shipping and keeping the Japanese fleet busy, I can hold my own in the war.

Anyone else doing this?
I keep my BB's back and repaired to only bring out when I have the odds more in my favor. One cannot go out and fight the newer Japanese ships head on till the fleet gets here from Russia. Is anyone else doing this or do you have better ideas on how to keep there main fleet busy while one goes and sinks cargo shipping!
I think what I am asking is for other Ideas to try as it makes for a lot of great fun working toward other outcomes in the sim.
So far I have managed to beet the computer playing the Russians, I use the Russian fleet as it is the hardest to win with. At least that seem the way it is to me.

[Bullethead]

Up in the sticky strategy thread, there's a pretty good discussion of what the best uses are for the various Russian ships.

For my part, I agree with you that the BBs shouldn't face Togo until 2PacRon arrives, although some players have pulled off surprising upsets with just the PA fleet early in the war. I believe KGB once posted up such a report, complete with screenshots. But even though I avoid early fleet actions, I've recently started keeping my PA BBs busy with safer but important duties. My overall strategy is like this:

Vlad ACs: Stay in the Sea of Japan. They get some merchants but mostly they fight a war of attrition against the smaller IJN warships in the area. The run from IJN ACs but fight everything else, and if things get boring they slip down to the Tsushima Straits at night and kill off a dozen or so TBs :devious:. Most of the IJN warships in the Sea of Japan seem to concentrate on the Russian ACs, so by keeping the ACs at 1 end and my raiders at the other, life is easier for the raiders and gets easier all the time as IJN warships die.

Small PCs (Novik, Boyarin): These ships are fast, which allows them to operate alone, but they're too weak to operate off the Korean coast--they don't have the ammo to kill enough marus per trip to make this worthwhile. So I move them to Vlad and keep them hunting neutrals in the Sea of Japan (well away from where the ACs are). Their range is too short for them to get to Vlad by themselves, but if a big PC goes with them as far Tsushima, they can make it the rest of the way by themselves.

Big PCs (Askold, Varyag, Bogatyr): These are my main maru killers, so I keep them off the Korean coast where all marus have to go eventually. They also operate in the Tsushima area, where there are a lot of neutrals and a few more marus. These ships all have to be based at PA.

Auxiliary Cruisers: These ships are too weak to be very effective against marus, and are too slow to go anywhere with serious opposition. Their only real asset is very long range. So I base them both at Vlad and keep them hunting neutrals off the east coast of Japan, using La Perouse coming and going. They get so many neutrals in this area that they are, by far, my most effective raiders, and can probably win the war by themselves if they live long enough, even without getting marus.

"Port Arthur Yacht Club" (Clippers, GBs, TGBs, etc.):Those that can lay mines stay in PA and keep its minefield topped up. The others act as lookouts in the Wei-Hai-Wei / Elliot Islands / Dalny area to keep an eye on the blockade. They do pretty well taking out the weak IJN blockade scouts (unarmored cruisers, auxiliary cruisers, lone TBs, etc.) but take heavy attrition from the more powerful IJN blockaders. Basically, they have a hard, unsung war, but provide very useful service.

PA Minelayers: These ships make life as difficult for the IJN as possible around PA. They keep PA itself, plus Wei-Hai-Wei, Elliott Islands, and Dalny maxed out on mines. The mines don't do much good at the strategic level, but they do cause some losses in tactical battles in the area. The mines add spice to the blockade-busting battles :).

PA BBs and big, slow PCs: The primary purpose of these ships is beating up on the IJN blockade of PA. They never go further from home than Wei-Hai-Wei / Elliott Islands / Dalny, and only go that far when it looks like Togo's far away. They mostly go out at night to catch targets at close range, and over time wear down the IJN's mobile forces. This makes life much easier for raiders and MLs going in and out of PA.