Thanks for the answer. About how large of a fleet would be required to 'damage' a base? It seems like almost every base includes aircraft after it's infancy stage and those seem to be sufficient to discourage cruiser raids. Is there any way to force a 'night action' or something so that surface ships can bombard without being exposed to air? I believe this was a key aspect in the naval battles off Guadalcanal (the Japanese would come in at night and retire before air power could hit them - usually...).
The other issue is that it appears that fleets almost always fight? How effective is 'withdraw'? Is it guaranteed? Do you suffer pursuit? It doesnt really seem possible to send some cruisers or fast BBs to hit a base if the enemy has carriers or land based air there.
Anyways, looking forward to the game. Are we still on track for the 16th? If it was pre-ordered, would that mean shipping on the 16th or arriving on the 16th? Anything trying to ship on the 16th might not make it through the clogged mail system in time to play for the early holidays and I'd really like to play this one before next year.
Thanks again and I look forward to any reply!