J_von_B

I do, But there is no reason not to up the ante a little.

Bonus info for the destroyer jocks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destroyer_Squadron_23 (click the links and read what the individual DD did)

Now we are cooking. islands are the equivalent of Wellington's reverse slope tactics, especially as you mention the DD and I would add the MTB. But the bushwack tactic only works when the BB or CC drivers do not use their spotter planes. My argument - based on practical knowledge - is that Islands are yum yum for navies which specialise in littoral warfare whereas blue water navies like USN are scared shitless when they do not have at least a 50 nm radius around their main body. So again temper and taste combined with design settles the matter. USN DD need to go above tier VI before they match the IJN when it comes to TP range, but they have better guns, which favours the bushwack style. Blue water ops with short range torps require superiority in numbers and weather on your side - a couple of Atlantas can help tip the balance, but generally a short range on the main armament makes for equally short lives in a hostile environment. IOW islands help giving the DD drivers a fair deal. But if you are NOT a DD man, then they just suck.

I was looking forward to a lecture Alfred Thayer Mahan style and it just turned out to be yet another "God you are dumb because I am so great!" statement.

They tend to forget that this is a game? You know; fun and relaxation.

If we upgrade this arcade game to a real naval warfare simulation, BBs would not loiter around islands wthout undisputed air superiority. WWII reduced the BB to a floating sideshow once the CV really got into the game. The island congested maps are actually best suited for one of the classes of vessels which are ruled out that is the MTB. No OTC would go near a archipelago style area other than to provide shore bombardment and to play back stop for landing craft and freighters in an amphibious op. Check up on the Guadalcanal campaign; it featured a number of vicious NIGHT battles where IJN taskforces of CC and DD type vessels tried to tear holes in the American supply lines - but we do not have night battles (yet) - they did not attack in daylight because the USN had complete air superiority. Islands are fun for small ship hit and run ops, but no place for BBs. If the maps with islands were bigger then I would be perfectly happy. There are issues which apply to sound naval doctrine which a number of players ignore: your ship's tactical diameter (turning radius in landlubber lingo) being one of the most importan ones. So carreeining down a narrow strait without forward spotting is a good way to get killed - provided the opponent uses his assets as they should. Hence, even the best planning cannot beat pure bloody luck. As for the Ocean map, I like it because it is a no frill fire, maneouver and (dare I say) communications exercise. But if you assume that your team is telepathic and hurtle on without calling neither intentions nor targets you will get creamed. Come to think of it it applies to all maps. Hiding behind terrain features or in blind sectors is perfectly good military doctrine - Wellington won most of his battles this way - but it also has its downsides, which again can be downplayed using team communication. Ultimately it all boils down to temper and taste.