Last of the Dutch Stragglers

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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> War In The Pacific - Struggle Against Japan 1941 - 1945 >> After Action Reports >> Last of the Dutch Stragglers

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Last of the Dutch Stragglers - 9/7/2007 12:17:13 AM

Dive Bomber1

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June 12, 1942 � AuTiger had some DDs off hunting subs near New Caledonia again this turn, and they sent yet another of my subs back to port with damage, albeit not as much as usual. Interestingly enough, AuTiger is no longer sending his ASW forces out from Dutch Harbor to hunt the Japanese subs that have once again appeared in that part of the Aleutians. Of course, he has other worries in that region.

My latest fast invasion TF dropped off its troops at Ogliuga Island (just west of Adak) this turn. Surprisingly, there were no mines. There was also no opposition so my NLF will take that base next turn. The first bombardment TF that was supposed to hit Adak stood off this turn and so should hit it next turn. The second, bigger and slower bombardment TF is catching up and should hit the following day. AuTiger can't have many doubts now about my activities in the Aleutians, but he will be even more convinced when some crack Divisions start to land at his main bases.

But AuTiger isn't ignoring my other activities either. B-17s flew from Darwin against the TFs at Koepang this turn. Unluckily for AuTiger, and fortunately for me, the 4Es went after the cruiser squadron that was refuelling in port instead of the transport TF that was unloading supplies. Between the long distance, the Oscars on CAP, the flak from the ships, and the nice thick armor on the top of the Japanese cruisers, the B-17s accomplished nothing except to incur lots of damage and even suffer an operational loss. So my ships continue to perform their duties well. But for now I am pulling them all out as I set up another supporting base a little further back.

In China AuTiger moved his P-40s to Ichang, but I wasn't attacking there so it was for naught. My planes did attack a number of places, and then I moved them around again to different bases and different targets for next turn. AuTiger also sent out a few 2Es against my ground troops in China and Burma, but they didn't do much. I am starting to get my troops organized in China, and now that I am examining things more carefully I am realizing what a total mess I made of my forces there. It's a good thing that AuTiger is staying back while I am busy, because I am currently weak enough that a concerted advance by the Chinese would cause me all sort of problems.

Finally, what I believe is the last Dutch straggler in the DEI made it out of the jungle to Samarinda this turn. Unfortunately for it, and conveniently for me, I left a good SNLF unit in Samarinda which ought to get rid of the straggler once and for all next turn. It's only too bad that my division in China isn't able to move like these stragglers moved. I would really love to hear a self-consistent explanation of what is different between the two situations.

(in reply to Historiker)

Post #: 211

The DEI is Finally Clear - 9/8/2007 6:40:13 AM

Dive Bomber1

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June 13, 1942 - My first bombardment TF hit Adak Island this turn and destroyed some Dauntlesses on the ground. Maybe those were the Dauntlesses that my sub saw a ways back when I pulled back that surface combat TF. In any event, the second, bigger bombardment TF is due to hit next turn, so we'll see what they catch on the ground.

My patrol planes and ship-borne float planes spotted more ships in the region. There may be a couple of PTs at Atka to the east of Adak, and there are a number of ships around Dutch Harbor. I've now got three subs circling Dutch Harbor, two of which have Glens, so I ought to get an even better idea of what is going on.

A transport TF reached Kiska this turn and will unload a base force next turn, so I moved in some long range patrol planes and a Daitai of Zeros. This will start to worry AuTiger even more as he sees the Air Balance start to change in the region. BTW - the airfields at Paramushiro Jima reached level 3 this turn, so that makes it an even better base for Bettys and Nells.

Speaking of bases, my troops captured Ogliuga Island this turn. It also has a level 1 airfield, so I may move a base force into there too. But if I capture Atka without much damage I will get a level 2 air base, which will take priority for air support units.

In any event, another big bombardment TF left Paramushiro Jima for Adak Island, and to provide general support for further "mischief". I also assembled a sizable Air Combat TF which will head for the waters just north or Ogliuga. I expect AuTiger to try to interfere with my expansion in the Aleutians with some surface forces, and I hope to catch them from the air, although the weather has been anything but conducive to air operations. But then, I can't really complain, because the lousy weather has covered my invasion and bombardment TFs from the Allied LBA.

Elsewhere, a few of my bombers in China flew to hit various Chinese units, and AuTiger sent a large number of B-17s to hit the airfields at Wuhan. But there was nothing much around except for some recon planes, so the attack didn't accomplish much. This is buying me the time to continue to rationalize the distribution of my forces in China, and I'm quite happy to continue doing that as long as AuTiger allows me to do so without interference.

Otherwise, things were quiet, with the exception of my SNLF unit in Samarinda capturing that last Dutch straggler base force. So the DEI is finally clear of "pests".

(in reply to Dive Bomber1)

Post #: 212

Surprise in the Aleutians - 9/9/2007 2:22:39 AM

Dive Bomber1

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June 14, 1942 - Things started out well for AuTiger this turn. His PT squadron at Atka Island reacted to my bombardment TF that was going in to hit Adak and achieved surprise. Things looked even better for the USN when four out of the five PTs launched torpedoes against the Japanese ships. But then Lady Luck turned against the Yanks as all four torpedoes missed and the PTs were only able to achieve a couple of machine gun hits on the BBs and DDs, which caused no damage.

The two task forces then broke off and my ships continued in to hit Adak very nicely before sailing off into the dark. But there was one final price for the US forces to pay for their attempt to be "heroes" - while the PTs were wasting their opportunity in the dark at Adak, my fast transport TF landed its troops at Atka without interference.

So, unless AuTiger can transfer some troops to Atka next turn my troops will capture it and remove all safe havens for US ships in the Western Aleutians. Just in case AuTiger is trying to fly in troops (and I suspect that he has been trying this at Adak), I moved some Zeros into Ogliuga to provide LR CAP over Atka and also set one of the Zero Daitais at Kiska to fly LR CAP over Adak. I also flew more Zeros into Adak to provide air cover in case AuTiger is able to bring some long range bombers into Dutch Harbor - I am using Kiska as my forward staging-point for task forces.

I also flew more patrol planes forward including a unit into Ogliuga. It appears that AuTiger has very little in the way of forces in the Aleutians, and certainly not enough to stop my initial charge. And I will be landing some even bigger "surprises" in the next couple of turns. I wonder if AuTiger will start to rush forces to Alaska or continue with his plans elsewhere. I bet that he doesn't believe that I will continue on with my long-time "threats" to invade the US.

Elsewhere, there were the usual light bomber attacks in China from both sides. AuTiger sent a number of Chinese LCUs across the river to the west of Ichang to attack my trapped Division, but the Chinese units were "punished" by the river-crossing Shock Attack and will spend some time licking their wounds. This has opened up the way for me to start a counter-attack so I ordered more of my good Divisions to march back into the field between Wuhan, Ichang and Changsha. I also, as usual, ordered various air units to attack different targets in China again.

In Burma the Brit 2Es continued to harass some of my forward infantry units, but because there are so many targets AuTiger hasn't been able to focus on any single location. There was a bit of very "relatively" good news in the region as two out of my three retiring Brigades that are on the Rangoon coastal road came another hex closer to getting out of the jungle. Considering the number of troops that have moved along that road in both directions over the past 6 game months there ought to be a 6-lane highway of hard-pressed dirt, but unfortunately, the Game hasn't been programmed to look at things that way. Oh well, eventually I'll get those troops out of there.

And I am not forgetting my other "obligations" as I am positioning surface combat TFs to do more raids into other regions, just to keep AuTiger a bit edgy. I don't know if he is "counting" Japanese Divisions, but I've got eight of them that have been out of sight (but not out of mind) for quite some time, and I want AuTiger to keep looking over his shoulder for some time yet.

(in reply to Dive Bomber1)

Post #: 213

RE: Surprise in the Aleutians - 9/9/2007 2:48:56 AM

ctangus

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quote:

Considering the number of troops that have moved along that road in both directions over the past 6 game months there ought to be a 6-lane highway of hard-pressed dirt

Considering the location, it might more likely be 4-feet deep mud by now...

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dive Bomber1

I bet that he doesn't believe that I will continue on with my long-time "threats" to invade the US.

Boy, are you really plan to do this? Can I play you sometime?

Joking aside, I think you're ordering the IJA to commit seppuku but in a perverse way I'd like to see you pull it off. It'll be entertaining at the very least.

Where are you planning the initial landings? How much supply do you think you can land in the initial lift?

(in reply to Dive Bomber1)

Post #: 214

RE: Surprise in the Aleutians - 9/9/2007 3:26:10 AM

Dive Bomber1

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quote:

Boy, are you really plan to do this? Can I play you sometime? Joking aside, I think you're ordering the IJA to commit seppuku but in a perverse way I'd like to see you pull it off. It'll be entertaining at the very least.

Well, as we've seen from so many of the other long-running AARs, the Allies eventually come back to punish the Japanese anyway, even when the Japanese player has taken places like India, Hawaii, Australia, and so on. So why not try to cut off the "snake at the source"?

I plan to work my way along the Pacific Coast, from West to East and then from North to South.

What I am hoping is that AuTiger won't take me seriously and will commit his good forces to counterattacks in the South Pacific. (That's why I'm using NLFs at this point so that he underestimates the extent of my intent.)

Will it work? Probably not unless AuTiger makes some really dumb mistakes, which he hasn't done since the first couple of times we started the game. But it will still be interesting. And if I do get troops down to the Golden Gate you can bet that AuTiger won't be spending time on "feints" in other areas...

BTW - much of my plan is predicated upon AuTiger's overall strategy in the early part of the game. He really likes to move out units and create "super" strongholds. It has worked well as a strategy so far and has essentially prevented me from extending very much beyond the historical expansion. But it also means that the Allied bases that are "behind the Front" are much weaker than historically. And it is a looooooong way back to the West Coast from the South Pacific. The longer AuTiger waits to take me seriously, the harder it will be for him to get back into position to stop me.

At least, that's my theory...

Also, I'm counting upon AuTiger remembering all of my other very light nuisance attacks upon his flanks... We'll see what happens!

Thanks for the comments -

(in reply to ctangus)

Post #: 215

Sudden Troops Increases (again) - 9/10/2007 3:19:59 AM

Dive Bomber1

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June 15, 1942 - I'm a very unhappy camper at this moment. All of a sudden there are 15K+ troops on Adak Island, when there were only a couple of thousand the day before. AuTiger is "teleporting" troops again, just as he has consistently done in China, Burma and India.

Sure, I realize that the Game allows the players to do this, and both sides have plenty of transport planes, as well as bombers and patrol planes that can be used as troop transports. But something seems fundamentally wrong with this model. I am very certain that if the US could do this in 1942 it would have done it and not sent troops via multi-month-long ship voyages.

Once again I've been caught trying to play this game in a semi-historical manner - I've been dutifully sending my troops via ship everywhere and saving air transports for the occasional paratroop drop and sending in supplies. It bothers me to play "star wars" with this game - maybe I just shouldn't play pbem.

Anyway, venting aside, my various TFs spent time clearing mines at Kiska as my ships regrouped. AuTiger now has his PTs at Adak so I am sending in several CL/DD surface combat TFs to try to clear them out. I also have a couple more bombardment TFs moving in to hit the base. Now that I'm trying to defeat a Division worth of troops it will take more effort, so I've also redirected my other two invasion TFs to hit Adak too, along with the initial TF. So I will bring three divisions to the battle. I wonder if AuTiger has any "shame" or if he will empty all of his troops in the Eastern Pacific and West Coast to stop me.

BTW - if you are wondering, I did have Zeros on LR CAP over Adak this turn, but I suspect that they didn't fly because of the weather. My LR CAP did fly over Atka and my NLF there captured the base.

The weather being clearer than usual, my carrier planes flew this turn and hit the airfields at Adak. There were some Kittyhawks on CAP but my planes got through to hit the airfields fairly hard and destroy both Kittyhawks and more SBDs on the ground. I'm sending my CVs further along towards Dutch Harbor because AuTiger has a number of TFs sitting around there. Come to think of it, AuTiger must have had his bombers on transport duty because none flew against my CVs despite the clear weather, and there is an Air Balance of something like +300 for the Allies at Dutch Harbor.

Elsewhere, things were relatively quiet in China. Some light Japanese bombers hit the odd Chinese unit in the field and massed B-17s hit the resources at Wuhan. I still have my troops marching around. I have no intention of flying them around and forming dozens of LCU fragments like AuTiger does - every time he does that we start to see an increase in "bad" commanders and inconsistencies in the Allied Combat Replay.

Nothing much is happening elsewhere - I guess that AuTiger is too busy flying everything that isn't nailed to the ground back to the East.

(in reply to Dive Bomber1)

Post #: 216

RE: Sudden Troops Increases (again) - 9/10/2007 4:23:01 AM

ny59giants

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As an Allied player, I can say that we have plenty of transport planes.

If he is also using his heavy bombers to transport, then he can lift in a high amount of troops p.d.q. (pretty damn quick).

The weather in Alaska will be very unpredictable, even in summer. Thus, do not plan your advance expecting weather to be good enough to use your air power on a regular basis. It will have to be done by using small TF's of various types. Good luck!!

_____________________________

(in reply to Dive Bomber1)

Post #: 217

RE: Sudden Troops Increases (again) - 9/10/2007 4:39:25 AM

Dive Bomber1

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quote:

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

As an Allied player, I can say that we have plenty of transport planes.� If he is also using his heavy bombers to transport, then he can lift in a high amount of troops p.d.q. (pretty damn quick).�� The weather in Alaska will be very unpredictable, even in summer. Thus, do not plan your advance expecting weather to be good enough to use your air power on a regular basis. It will have to be done by using small TF's of various types. Good luck!!

When AuTiger starts to whine again about Combat Replay discrepancies I am not going to be at all sympathetic - every time he goes into full "teleport" mode he leaves LCU fragments all over the place, we get each other's air squadron leaders as task force leaders, and his version of the Combat Replay becomes sci-fi.

Your comment about the weather makes me realize why it took AuTiger so long to get those troops into place - the earlier bad weather stopped his transports from flying too.

What I have learned from this is that the next time I start a game I am not going to try at all to play it "historically" but instead will use the first turn "teleport" function to land troops at all the South Pacific Islands so that I can cut off air transport of massive amounts of Allied troops.

It shouldn't be this way, but that's what the Game allows, and I see no reason that I should handicap myself.

Thanks for the comments -

(in reply to ny59giants)

Post #: 218

RE: Sudden Troops Increases (again) - 9/10/2007 4:47:08 AM

princep01

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Dive, rather than "teleporting" troops into Adak, is it possible that your intel concerning what was at Adak a turn ago was the culprit? Intel is far from exact in the game, especially for the Japanese. This is as it should be.

I suppose that airlifting troops could have been part of it, but I seriously doubt it is possible to airlift sufficient troops to go from 2-3K to 15K troops in one turn, particularly at this remote area of the world. I don't know, as I don't read his AAR. However, I sense a case of barking up the wrong tree here.

(in reply to Dive Bomber1)

Post #: 219

RE: Sudden Troops Increases (again) - 9/10/2007 4:56:04 AM

Dive Bomber1

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quote:

ORIGINAL: princep01

Dive, rather than "teleporting" troops into Adak, is it possible that your intel concerning what was at Adak a turn ago was the culprit?� Intel is far from exact in the game, especially for the Japanese.� This is as it should be.

I suppose that airlifting troops�could have been�part of it, but I seriously doubt�it is�possible to airlift sufficient troops to�go from�2-3K to 15K troops in one turn, particularly at this remote area of the world.� I don't know, as I don't read his AAR.� However, I sense a case of barking up the wrong tree here.

He moved a couple of Divisions by air into Changsha within a few days during that siege. He moved 6 Chinese Divisions into Akyab within a week or so at the begging of that siege. Another of my opponents in another game moved 10 LCUs into Mandalay by air within a couple of weeks - so anything seems possible.

Sure, the air transports leave the big equipement behind, but in this game, quantities of fresh troops is what counts the most.

(in reply to princep01)

Post #: 220

RE: Sudden Troops Increases (again) - 9/10/2007 4:56:37 AM

ny59giants

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I had Intel telling me the South Sea Det was at Rabaul while it was actually landing at PM.

quote:

What I have learned from this is that the next time I start a game I am not going to try at all to play it "historically" but instead will use the first turn "teleport" function to land troops at all the South Pacific Islands so that I can cut off air transport of massive amounts of Allied troops.

This is called a "Lunacy" game and you need to be careful about picking your opponent.

_____________________________

(in reply to princep01)

Post #: 221

RE: Sudden Troops Increases (again) - 9/10/2007 5:12:41 AM

Dive Bomber1

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quote:

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

I had Intel telling me the South Sea Det was at Rabaul while it was actually landing at PM.

quote:

What I have learned from this is that the next time I start a game I am not going to try at all to play it "historically" but instead will use the first turn "teleport" function to land troops at all the South Pacific Islands so that I can cut off air transport of massive amounts of Allied troops.

This is called a "Lunacy" game and you need to be careful about picking your opponent.

I would be interested in reading suggestions as to good ways to counter the massive air transport of combat troops.

Sure, LR CAP can help, but I have already witnessed the combined effect of having 10's of thousands of troops flown thousands of miles into Changsha while my LR CAP bases were pulverized by attacks by 100's of 4E bombers.

It appears to me that the only way to prevent long range transport of massive quantities of troops is by preventing the movement of transport planes over long distances.

Taking the "historical" approach to capturing the DEI allows way too much time for the Allied player to fly transports and bombers to Asia. Leaving the outer bases in Allied hands in the South Pacific allows the Allied player to fly transports and bombers from the West Coast to Australia and back in a week or so. By leaving a squadron on each way station island troops can be transported in the same manner.

It seems to me that the only answer is to go after the South Pacific in preference to everything else in order to force the Allied player to use ships for plane and troop transport.

So, if anyone has any good ideas, I definitely would like to read them.

(in reply to ny59giants)

Post #: 222

Back to the war - 9/11/2007 12:02:49 AM

Dive Bomber1

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June 16, 1942 � AuTiger and I sent each other a few unhappy emails over night regarding my accusations of him "teleporting" troops. AuTiger did acknowledge that he had used air transport to move troops to threatened positions in Burma, India, China and the DEI, but stated that he did not do that elsewhere. He also clarified an earlier statement that he had sent to me that had said that he had flown two units into Changsha during the siege � he had flown three units into Chungking instead. In light of AuTiger's statements I sent him an apology for assuming that just because he had flown troops to threatened bases in Burma, India, China and DEI, he must be doing the same thing now elsewhere.

So the battles continued in the Game instead of in Outlook Express. Japanese minesweepers continued to sweep mines at Kiska and a Japanese bombardment TF hit Adak hard. The US PTs were not at Adak to "greet" the incoming bombardment TF. Instead they were out to sea to the north of Adak as AuTiger attempted to intercept my CV TF as he has done in the past. But my CV TF was further to the East. It will be interesting to see where AuTiger sends those PTs since he can't get fresh torpedoes for them at Adak, nor likely at Dutch Harbor either. If they do go back to Adak I ought to have one or two Surface Combat TFs waiting for them next turn.

AuTiger pulled his remaining ships out of the Dutch Harbor area, with the escorts running over and hammering one of my subs quite hard. So in the absence of any naval targets my carrier air units hammered the airfields at Dutch Harbor, destroying a number of planes on the ground and in the air. I am sending the CV TF back to port now until more targets appear.

Elsewhere, AuTiger has started up his war of manoeuvre in China again. A number of Chinese units have left the bases in the southwest to tie up my troops along the railroad. I expect him to try to kick my units out of position and maybe try another siege of Canton. This will give my local air units a good chance to improve their skills against ground targets and so I moved all of my small second string air units back into multiple bases and set them against multiple targets. My assumption is that AuTiger won't split his air units and will only send his 4Es against one air base at a time and his CAP against another target.

Another Chinese unit crossed the river against my trapped Division, so I started to move some of my rested Divisions against the lone Chinese unit in the blocking position. Most of my LCU relocation efforts are still going well with the exception of one Brigade that doesn't want to recombine at Nanking. So I ordered the two pieces to move to another base in the hopes that this will re-set the database.

The only other significant action was a group of Liberators that hit the air fields at Mandalay. They caused some damage, but suffered a fair amount of damage themselves, so it is a fair trade from my p.o.v.

(in reply to Dive Bomber1)

Post #: 223

RE: Back to the war - 9/11/2007 12:14:46 AM

ny59giants

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quote:

AuTiger pulled his remaining ships out of the Dutch Harbor area, with the escorts running over and hammering one of my subs quite hard. So in the absence of any naval targets my carrier air units hammered the airfields at Dutch Harbor, destroying a number of planes on the ground and in the air. I am sending the CV TF back to port now until more targets appear.

I know there is a difference between stock maps and AB's map, but Umnak Islands has a much larger AF than Dutch Harbor.

_____________________________

(in reply to Dive Bomber1)

Post #: 224

RE: Back to the war - 9/11/2007 12:19:25 AM

Dive Bomber1

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quote:

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

quote:

AuTiger pulled his remaining ships out of the Dutch Harbor area, with the escorts running over and hammering one of my subs quite hard. So in the absence of any naval targets my carrier air units hammered the airfields at Dutch Harbor, destroying a number of planes on the ground and in the air. I am sending the CV TF back to port now until more targets appear.

I know there is a difference between stock maps and AB's map, but Umnak Islands has a much larger AF than Dutch Harbor.

That may be - I haven't checked closely because the "Air" symbol has only been showing up at Dutch Harbor. However, from the recent position of some transport TFs I suspect that AuTiger has landed some troops at Umnak too. My job now is to grab Umnak before he can build it too much.

Thanks for the info -

(in reply to ny59giants)

Post #: 225

RE: Back to the war - 9/11/2007 1:26:26 AM

ny59giants

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If your not using WitP Decoder, I would strongly suggest using Bodhi's Utility to help you keep track of things. It gives you info on bases and their potentials, plus you can see some patterns that your opponent may have developed.

_____________________________

(in reply to Dive Bomber1)

Post #: 226

RE: Sudden Troops Increases (again) - 9/11/2007 5:16:28 AM

ctangus

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Dive Bomber1

I would be interested in reading suggestions as to good ways to counter the massive air transport of combat troops.

LRCAP can make it costly, reduce its effectiveness and let you know for sure if it's happening or not. But the only sure way to stop it is to close the airfield.

Did you two agree to some sort of house-rule on air transport? I personally don't have a problem with it (from either side) but there's no doubt that it's more efficient in WITP than it was IRL.

A trivia note: I was reading up on the Aleutians campaign recently. The first mass airlift in US history happened there when there was a perceived threat to Nome shortly after Midway. 2300 troops were airlifted in about 2 days. (I'm glad my WITP transports do better than that!

)

(in reply to Dive Bomber1)

Post #: 227

RE: Sudden Troops Increases (again) - 9/11/2007 1:08:55 PM

Dive Bomber1

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quote:

LRCAP can make it costly, reduce its effectiveness and let you know for sure if it's happening or not. But the only sure way to stop it is to close the airfield.

Troops can't be transported in if the runways are closed? That means 100% damage?

That's a tough job to do with Sonias or Sallys...

Thanks -

(in reply to ctangus)

Post #: 228

Ambush in the North Pacific - 9/12/2007 12:40:31 AM

Dive Bomber1

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June 17, 1942 � While my minesweepers continued to sweep mines from the waters around Kiska, the US PTs came back to Adak to find the waiting "arms" of one of my DD "Hunter" TFs. The PTs were surprised and it only too two rounds of action to sink all five without a single shot being fired back at my ships. Afterwards my bombardment TF came in without disturbance and hammered the defenders of Adak.

The first and main invasion TF ought to land at Adak next turn. I've got yet another bombardment TF set to hit the base as well as a surface combat TF scheduled to arrive to provide some detailed naval cover. I've also ordered Zeros to fly LR CAP over the base and my local CV TF has its orders to sail back and hit anything that moves. I don't believe that AuTiger is planning any sort of counter-strike, but I don't want to leave anything up to chance.

Speaking of leaving things to "chance", the little NLF that had sailed for weeks towards Nome finally arrived to find that the base wasn't empty after all. AuTiger had left the base force and RCT in place. To compound the problem, I had forgotten to set the TF to "Remain on Station", so I couldn't even order the troops back onto the ships. I expect that AuTiger will kick those poor buggers out next turn, but just in case he doesn't I have ordered the ships back to Nome to try to rescue any survivors.

The funny thing about this is that this mishap may well give AuTiger a false sense of security since the only Japanese troops he has seen in the Aleutians so far are NLFs (and the likely presence of base forces due to the presence of aircraft). Of course, once the Division starts to land at Adak next turn the game will be "up", but I'll take all the confusion that I can get for now.

All of the other action was in the CBI theatre. As I expected, AuTiger sent his B-17s against the airfields at Canton. I didn't have a lot of planes there and the few Oscars at the base harassed the B-17s enough to minimize the effect of their attack. Only one out of the three small Sonia groups at the base was damaged badly enough to have to be sent away for Repair � the others had their orders reconfirmed for next time.

AuTiger also brought P-40s into Wuchow where they intercepted and hammered another incoming Daitai of Sonias. But that was what I was expecting, and over the rest of China my planes flew and attacked Chinese troops and bases. At this time I'll accept the reality of occasional air losses in order to maintain some level of pressure in the region.

Chinese troops also attacked on the ground in several places. The attack on my isolated Division failed with the Chinese taking heavy losses. In the meanwhile my other units continue along their way to try to provide a break-out path. Another Chinese attack on a lone, small infantry unit along the railroad succeeded in defeating that unit, but since AuTiger didn't try to isolate my unit ahead of time, my unit retired and is being sent to recover in a coastal base. I have been replacing my combat units in the Chinese coastal bases with "tired" combat units. Soon enough AuTiger will be faced with much stronger and much more rested troops than he has for a long time.

There were also British air attacks on some of my troops in Burma, but those attacks didn't matter since my troops are retiring anyway. It will be a while before they can all get out of the jungle, but other than giving the Brit airmen more experience, it isn't affecting the situation there at all. In the meanwhile I have been slowly building up my bases in the region and have brought in engineers and base forces into most. The next time I bring some planes into Burma I will have plenty of bases in which to put them.

< Message edited by Dive Bomber1 -- 9/13/2007 12:05:34 AM >

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Post #: 229

Blasted at either end of the map - 9/13/2007 12:04:04 AM

Dive Bomber1

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June 18, 1942 � This wasn't a very good turn for me as AuTiger's preparations and forces showed their strength quite well in a number of areas. First off, the Fast Transport TF that I sent to Efate dropped off its supplies this time, but one of the DDs in it hit two mines and sank. AuTiger must have laid a lot of mines there.

Then during the daylight hours AuTiger's LBA at Derby found and hammered my cruiser TF off to the northwest of Broome. Despite the distance 86 B-17s and 34 Hudsons flew and hit almost every ship in the TF, including hitting the Mogami 21 times and sinking one DD. Of course, it helped that the Hudsons were flying at 1000 feet and the B-17s were at 6000 feet. With the capabilities of the Allied LBA the Allied player doesn't need to bother with his CVs.

Speaking of the Allied CVs, I have a strong suspicion that they may well be sitting in port at Noumea because the Air Balance there has skyrocketed up to over 1700! When AuTiger had 100+ B-17s there in the past the Air Balance wasn't a third of that number. So with 135 bombers in Derby and the rest of the Australian air bases showing high Air Balances of their own, it doesn't seem logical that AuTiger has found yet another several hundred LBA planes to load into Noumea, particularly since the Air Balance in the Hawaiian Islands is still quite high. So I'm guessing that I am seeing the effect of having several hundred carrier planes in place in addition to LBA and CAP.

So AuTiger is likely planning some offensive operations in the South Pacific fairly soon. Which also means that he isn't taking my Northern Adventure very seriously. That may change this turn once AuTiger sees division landing at Adak, but one never knows. In any event, I don't have much to lose in that region and I intend to remove Fragments from my forward units to rebuild, just like AuTiger has done constantly for the past 7 game-months. What's good for the goose�etc.

As far as the Aleutians go, AuTiger's troops at Nome wiped out the remainders of that misbegotten NLF invasion so I ordered my empty transports to make the long, lonely trip home. I had a good Brigade on its way to Nome, but I redirected it to join the efforts at Adak. I want to make certain to crush Adak and I can always go after Nome at some later date. BTW � there are two RCTs, one BF and one FA at Adak. They don't appear to be at full strength after the bombardments. Oh yes, and my carrier planes hit the airfields again too, so I shouldn't have to worry about air interference next turn.

BTW II � in another odd situation, my troops at Adak started to land at the end of the turn instead of during the night. And my bombardment TF did its bombardment at the end of the turn too. I have no idea why. The end result was that the Shore Guns got to shoot in daylight instead of night time, which improves their aim.

Finally, yet another unit in China refused to give me the option to recombine it this turn. I'll leave the three pieces together for another turn to see if that "resets" things. The other unit that was being "fussy" will be together in another base next turn. I'll see then if it gives me the "recombine" button or not. Inconsistencies like this are the bane of this Game. Other of my units have recombined without any problem, so I have no idea what is wrong here.

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Post #: 230

RE: Blasted at either end of the map - 9/13/2007 1:22:27 AM

princep01

Posts: 943
Joined: 8/7/2006
From: Texas
Status: offline

Dive, about recombining units. I have had a US Inf. Division at a base for a month and cannot get the recombine button to appear. There are more than 50K supply at the base, but it does not have an HQ, nor is it in range of any HQ. I am suspicious that an HQ is needed to get these guys to combine. They have never taken losses and, as best I can tell, they are at full strength. So, if you figure this one out, I'd sure like to know the secret to getting that recombine button to appear.

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Post #: 231

RE: Blasted at either end of the map - 9/13/2007 2:02:23 PM

Dive Bomber1

Posts: 670
Joined: 10/30/2006
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quote:

ORIGINAL: princep01

Dive, about recombining units.� I have had a US Inf. Division at a base for a month and cannot get the recombine button to appear.� There are more than 50K supply at the base, but it does not have an HQ, nor is it in range of any HQ.� I am suspicious that an HQ is needed to get these guys to combine.� They have never taken losses and, as best I can tell, they are at full strength.� So, if you figure this one out, I'd sure like to know the secret to getting that recombine button to appear.

I've got HQs around the units which won't recombine and that hasn't appeared to make a difference. I suspect that it is yet another problem with the Database not refreshing itself. If I find a change I'll let you know.

Thanks -

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Post #: 232

RE: Blasted at either end of the map - 9/13/2007 3:34:33 PM

ny59giants

Posts: 9869
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Possible solutions to your recombine problems (these are just educated guesses).

First, make sure the LCU's you want to re-combine have a Corp and/or Command HQ at that base be the same as the unit you want to recombine.
Second, is the base itself assigned to the same command??
Third, I don't have any idea.....

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Post #: 233

RE: Blasted at either end of the map - 9/14/2007 12:00:12 AM

Dive Bomber1

Posts: 670
Joined: 10/30/2006
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quote:

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Possible solutions to your recombine problems (these are just educated guesses).�
First, make sure the LCU's you want to re-combine have a Corp and/or Command HQ at that base be the same as the unit you want to recombine.
Second, is the base itself assigned to the same command??
Third, I don't have any idea.....

All of my divided units are under China Command and in bases under China Command. Oddly enough, the units which recombined didn't have HQs with them, while the units which didn't recombine did have HQs with them...

Go figure...

My guess is that this is similar to those situations when LCUs refuse to move to a particular hex because the Game "thinks" that the LCU is moving from one enemy zoc into another enemy zoc, and yet the LCU isn't near any enemy zocs at all. The only thing that fixes that is to move the LCU to an entirely different location and hope that the Database resets itself, which is what usually happens, eventually...

Thanks for the idea -

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Post #: 234

RE: Blasted at either end of the map - 9/14/2007 5:18:19 AM

Redd

Posts: 203
Joined: 7/22/2005
From: Livermore,CA.
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I have had this problem myself, and it is due to the fact that one or two of the sub-units had upgraded their a-t or artillery. They must all have the exact same to&e to recombine. I expect that later in the war this could happen when the infantry upgrades, only you won't be able to tell because they both have the same name.

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Post #: 235

RE: Blasted at either end of the map - 9/14/2007 1:05:17 PM

Dive Bomber1

Posts: 670
Joined: 10/30/2006
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Redd

I have had this problem myself, and it is due to the fact that one or two of the sub-units� had upgraded their a-t or artillery. They must all�have the exact same to&e to recombine. I expect that later in the war this could happen when the infantry upgrades, only you won't be able to tell because they both have the same name.

That sounds reasonable and quite consistent with other similar things in the Game. Once I have a chance to play the turns I'll check the sub-units carefully to see if this has happened to me too.

If you are correct, and what you say sounds quite reasonable, this is yet another "detail" to have to remember in this Game, and yet another reason to not split up anything!

Many thanks for the info!!!

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Post #: 236

RE: Blasted at either end of the map - 9/14/2007 1:53:39 PM

ny59giants

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I'll use this one as my third possibility.

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Post #: 237

RE: Blasted at either end of the map - 9/14/2007 7:40:35 PM

Redd

Posts: 203
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From: Livermore,CA.
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Post #: 238

Don't Divide LCUs! - 9/15/2007 2:23:15 AM

Dive Bomber1

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June 19, 1942 � Things continued to go "less than optimally" for me this turn as my attacks ran into strong Allied responses. More troops landed at Adak against heavy shore fire and plenty of mines. Fortunately my bombardment TF hit the beaches hard to balance things off a bit. My light bombardment TF hit Umnak this turn and was pounded by plenty of shore guns there too, so it appears that any further progress in the Central Aleutians will be quite costly.

AuTiger is preparing to up-the-cost for me significantly as USN combat TFs showed up around Dutch Harbor. One TF ran over and hit a sub and the other was spotted by patrol planes. AuTiger is sending in these TFs despite the presence of my CVs � I guess that he is willing to trade older surface combat ships for my invasion fleets and is betting upon the weather helping him out too.

The Weather did "smile" upon the US forces this turn as my CVs were socked-in but some US 2E bombers from Dutch Harbor hit my transports around Adak. I continue to be astounded at the overwhelming effect that the Allied LBA has upon the play of the Game. What particularly surprises me is that Japanese CAP is so ineffectual against Allied LBA, even historically bad bombers such as Hudsons. All Allied bombers fight their way through flak and CAP as if they were 1945-model B-25s.

If there is anything one aspect of this Game that I can point to as causing me the most losses and general problems, it is the Allied LBA, particularly how it performs in an anti-shipping role. Even ignoring the 4Es, the Allied LBA is much too strong for the Japanese Air Defenses. AuTiger has been able up-until-now to hide his surface combat and air combat ships far away from Japanese air power and depend quite reliably on his LBA to consistently cause massively costly losses for the Japanese, regardless of how much CAP is present. Even the best Japanese fighter units are totally ineffectual against any sort of Allied LBA.

I actually know what the answer is for the Japanese player - that is to use the KB to "destroy" Allied air bases prior to sending other task forces into the region. But that "bothers my soul", because on a gut level I want to use the KB to attack enemy ships, not as a "portable" LBA. Oh well, in my newer games I guess that I will have to ignore Allied ships and go after air bases exclusively if I want to have any hope of succeeding.

In any event, next turn I expect one or more USN combat TFs to arrive at Adak. While I do have one of my bigger combat TFs present to protect my landing forces, my better TFs are more than a day's travel away. Therefore, I expect that the USN will break up my invasion and likely cause me heavy losses, even among my combat ships. I am trying to position my CVs where they should be able to catch the US ships after the battle, but the odds are heavily in the favour of the USN getting a break from the weather again.

Elsewhere, various Japanese light attack planes harassed various targets in China, but the results were barely worth the effort and only continue because AuTiger isn't actively hunting down my second-string air units. The Asian 4Es bombed the resources at Rangoon again this turn and suffered some losses thanks to bad weather. On the ground AuTiger continued to move out most of his troops from his bases in Southwest China and kicked my units out of the crossroads north of Canton this turn. AuTiger has moved a lot of fighters into Wuchow so I presume that he is setting them on LR CAP over his troops in order to try to catch incoming "soft targets" such as Sonias. I also expect that AuTiger will attempt another siege of Canton, but I do have a fair number of units already there and more on their way as part of my efforts to reorganize my land forces in China.

BTW � the issue of recombination of divided LCUs remains undefined in this particular pbem. One split-up Brigade which wouldn't recombine did have differences in its anti-tank guns, but another Division that had all three units exactly the same wouldn't recombine either. So I have no idea of what is going on, other than to know that I shouldn't split units in the future.

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Post #: 239

RE: Don't Divide LCUs! - 9/15/2007 3:39:00 AM

ny59giants

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I'm playing CHS and the American LBA carry 500lbers as normal load out except the A29 Hudsons (they carry 250lb, but have extended range of 15 hexes). I think the LB carry varrious amounts of those bombs and once they get above a certain level of experience, they get a die roll to see if they get the "big boys" - 2000lb.

Plus, the B-25/26 have a good durability factor that makes it hard for your non-cannon equiped fighters to shoot down on a regular basis.

I am a month behind you in my PBEM CHS game and I have found that most Japanese bombers lack a heavy enough punch to do much to bases, even when I don't have many engineers there. Unless a significant amount of the Heavies are used, the damage is minimal.

If you allow him to use his B-17/24s on naval attack below 10k, you will be in big trouble very soon.

My B-17's set at 11k (House Rule) just put a few 1000lb into a few CL's off the coast of PM. Get inside that minimal range and Allied LBA, especially heavies is very dangerous. I start getting B-24's in 6/42 and any AF within normal range will be shut down very quickly until the Tony/Jack come out. For your game, you will have a short down swing in a2a combat until your second generation fighters start producing.

Don't forget, attrition is the friend of the Allies, not the Japanese.

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