Battlestations: Midway/Battle of the Java Sea

Primary Objectives
 * Destroy the USS Houston
 * The Naichi must survive

This mission is extremely tough, but is similar to Strike on the Monster. However, instead of them coming to you, chances are you're going to them. The Allies come in five waves, each consisting of, in most cases, a light cruiser (heavy cruisers are the biggest opponents you'll see - battleships don't appear here, thankfully) and two destroyers sailing escort.

The Naichi
Before starting though, there are some things you should know about the Naichi.
 * Never, EVER, let your enemies behind you. The Naichi is a Tone-class heavy cruiser, and is the only class in the game with no rear armament whatsoever.
 * Unlike the American light cruisers, the Naichi carries torpedoes. Use them.
 * Ties in with the first point: Always try and go broadside with the enemy. Look at the way the guns are positioned:
 * Starting from the bow, gun #1 is at deck level.
 * Gun #2 is elevated above gun #1.
 * Guns #3 and #4, however, are at deck level, and cannot fire over gun #2.

The Naichi, therefore, has a firing arc of about 270 degrees, only 40 in which all four cannons may fire on a single target.

Waves of Cruisers
Your group consists of the Naichi and two Fubuki destroyers on escort. The first wave of Allied ships come in from the northwest, so sail and intercept them. However, take a lesson from the History Channel - when the Japanese attacked, they would form a column, allowing all ships in the formation to fire broadsides at the enemy. Therefore, the first thing you should do is open the Formations menu and arrange your ships so they are in a sharp column, with the enemy coming in from the side.

Switch to your destroyers and allow them to use torpedoes against the enemy ships. It forces the enemy on the defencive early and they cause a lot of hurt if they hit. Besides, nothing is worse than going down with all your torpedoes on board.

Conversely, the enemy destroyers will attempt to torpedo you. Set all personnel on all ships to water repair and avoid the torpedoes to the best of your ability. Use the tactical map at maximum zoom to easily avoid the torpedoes. Depending on how quickly you sink their destroyers, you should encounter only one wave of torpedoes.

Shell the enemy destroyers quickly and send them to the bottom in order to have all your ships hit the cruiser. Additionally hit the cruisers when they are heading directly towards you. Not only is elevation easier here, but the enemy ship can only fire her forward guns.

What's next is easily said, but can be only done with extreme skill on the waves - you must repeat this for all the subsequent waves of cruisers, until the Houston appears.

The Houston appears in the final wave, and by now you are probably hurting. There is no real winning strategy here - only good seamanship. The Houston has escorts, but given how there are no hidden objectives, you might as well target and sink the Houston and end the mission as soon as possible.