naval power – protection

the most important part of a nation’s power in axis and allies is the naval power. without naval power, three nations are forced to build factories to place units onto the mainland. in addition, the transports used to move troops are defenseless. this means naval power is divided between transports, and ships. so the question is what to build in terms of a navy. Russia is the only power that can get by without a navy. the reason is that a navy is only useful if you have one already, otherwise it can be destroyed easily. 5 ships are harder to sink than 1 ship. so the question is what to build. first, you need ships to protect your transports, and after y0u have a defensive force, you need at least three transports for your troops. my preferred unit to build is the battleship, because of the 4 power, and it takes two hits to destroy it. another possible combination for 20 IPC’s is a cruiser and destroyer. submarines are not useful for defense, because they can’t attack aircraft. it would be embarrassing if you had 20 transports destroyed by one fighter because the only protection was 50 subs. subs are good for attacking an opponents fleet however.