[JMHawkins]

That's a great question. There actually is a high price for not defending bases you already own. The demo probably doesn't demonstrate (demo?) this well enough, but Combat Efficiency plays a big role in the game. The farther you sail from a base, and the smaller that base is, the bigger the CE penalty your task forces suffer. So if, for example, Japan creates a gorilla fleet at Truk and uses it to go smash the Allies at Fiji, the Allied player can launch a raid at a relatively undefended Truk and smash the base. If it's damaged badly enough to drop below Major size, then the Japanese CVs, BBs, and BCs won't be able to base there any longer (at least not until it is rebuilt, which can takes months). If that gorilla fleet is now sailing all the way from the Home Islands, it will be maybe two-thirds, or even only one-half as effective in the South Pacific as it was sailing from nearby Truk.

Also, the victory condition require functional bases. Damaged bases don't provide oil, sea lanes interdiction, or strategic bombing. For example, for the Allies to win by strategic bombing, they need to accumulate 25 strategic bombing points. There are six bases that can contribute, with each controlled, functional base contributing 1 point per turn. But it's not enough to control the base, it has to be functional and enemy raids can render the base non-functional.

It's almost impossible for the Allies to win controlling only one or two of these bases, so if the Allies just hunker down with a gorilla fleet defending Iwo Jima, Japan will probably win. If the Allies send a gorilla fleet off to capture Okinawa and leave Iwo lightly defended, the Japanese can raid the base and knock it out so it won't contribute bombing points until it can be rebuilt (which takes time and convoys, both of which are precious to the Allies at the end as they race to win before public opinion deserts them).

So, there is a penalty for not dividing your fleet to cover different missions. On the other hand, anyone who's read Mahan knows there's also a penalty to pay for dividing your fleet - you invite defeat in detail. This was actually a big debate wihtin the US Navy during (and leading up to) WWII. There were those in the Mahan camp who insisted the fleet shouldn't be divided, and those who insisted the various bases had to be defended, even if it meant dividing the fleet.

You face the same strategic problem playing WPP...

-John Hawkins
KE Studios