Slitherine

quote:

ORIGINAL: witpqs

If he gets a good look at the TF's then KB might react and seek to trap them against the 'edge of the world' [I always knew the world was flat!] in the Indian ocean Left of Java.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Nomad

Here is the real pain - often the unit will indicate that it is moving West and then when it does move, it decides that the closest way is East and moves that way.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Nomad

Then again, what happens if an LCU has travelled 59 miles and get attacked during the turn? Will it change direction? ARGHHHHH.

Sorry General, but I have no idea how to fix your problem. Maybe move them east and attack?

quote:

ORIGINAL: hades1001

This mod works well simulating the small amount of aircrafts may break through the cap by a term called "leakage"

however, there is no way that a horde of bombers can break through the cap without much escorts.

small number may made 1 or 2 hits with luck, there is no major damage can be achieved.

another issue is, what's the range did set all your bombers?

my KB will stay at least 5 hex away to avoid the torpedo bombers. Your B25 and 4E doesn't have much chance to make a coordinated stirke.
They will be demolished one wave after another. AND, withing the safe distance the zeros on carriers may even can sweep your base, kill most of your green hand wildcats and whatever other caps. Thus I don't think it is wise to keep your cvs in Eniwetok.

This is classical technic in STOCK GAME. But we still need more examples to prove this theory in Scen 160. Just remind you, hope you good luck.

PS.
I'm now deploying the first turn against trollelite.

As swift as wind;
As calm as wood;
Invasion like flames;
Defense like rocks.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bogo Mil

Let's look at the strategic situation now: The Japanese have very strong economy with all those Indian bases. They can afford to accelerate many of their ships and will outproduce the Allies big time with aircraft. Since you have PDU on, these will be all the best models. And they have still enough to build large stockpiles of everything for late war use.

If I was the Japanese, I would not activate Russia now. Why should I? Russia is a tempting option if you don't have all these Indian ressource centers, but now?

I would shut the Chinese down: Kill as many LCUs as possible and build a short front which is easy to maintain. Maybe the line Liuchow-Changsha, maybe Kweiyang-Changsha. That's exactly what Trollelite is doing now. Then I would release as many troops as possible for the defense in the east.

If he thinks like I do, Port Moresby is in grave danger. If he takes it (and maybe Thursday Island, too),  he has a very good defensive  position in New Guinea with almost no Allied LBA around. The Torres Strait would be completely closed and thus the DEI would be save as well.


I really dont't think you can win the war in the Central Pacific. Today you don't have the CVs, and tomorrow this area will be heavily defended. Japan outproduces you and has PDU on, so you will probably never be able to do many big operations with only CV support. Now you don't have the CVs, later your navy pilots and hellcat production will be limited. I have read PzB's AAR - he defeated the Navy Air Force even without PDU. He sucessfully defended both the Marianas and Iwo Shima. You NEED the LBA support everywhere, and thus you should avoid to go anywhere without supporting bases nearby.
 
Thus I want to advertise an operation in New Guinea again. It is the best area for an offensive with heavy LBA support later. And - more important now - it is a defensive manoeuvre which giveses you bases supporting PM. Don't waste any units in "diversions". Everything you place in bases within Japanese LBA range and outside Allied LBA range is doomed for little to no gain. An operation against Timor might be possible if he really activates the Russians, but if he doesn't - there is nothing to win. Recently I counted hexes: Amboina is 10 hexes away from both Darwin and Kendari. Thus it can not be supported and it can not threaten Kendari with escorted strikes (Even the P38 has only 9 hexes extended range), thus it would be both doomed and useless - no go, whatever happens elsewhere.


By the way, if you use CV task forces again: You should always use at least one BB in every TF. More is better. Try to raise the AAA rating of these TFs as high as possible. A strong Alliied flak can be devastating to these fragile Japanese planes, even before proximity fuses arrive.

quote:

ORIGINAL: 1275psi
What in the world is the difference between your troops this game(chinese ones) and the supermen you have in our game

quote:

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner
Your analysis is right Bogo.

quote:


Americal Division is already enrouted towards New Guinea from PH, along with some base forces and Eng...
Let's see if we can start back...

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bogo Mil

quote:

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner
Your analysis is right Bogo.

I'm glad to hear that.

quote:


Americal Division is already enrouted towards New Guinea from PH, along with some base forces and Eng...
Let's see if we can start back...

I would not go farther to the north than Lae, now. You don't have carriers, and you don't know Trollelite's plans. I think it is important to build some good airbases in the south first.

You should be able to build that little dot between of Cooktown and Thursday Island (I forgot it's name), too. Australian engineers can do that, you don't have to pay PPs and it helps in the defense of the Torres Strait.
You might build Merauke and Thursday Island as well, but you don't have retreat paths there, so this is a bit more risky.

Some weeks ago you had the plan to grab the Solomones back with a small company or so. How is that going?

quote:

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner

So it's pointless to try to stop the Japs...? Better to sir robin untill Hellcats come out?...i don't like that option too...

He always seems a step beyond me...every move of mine becomes a boomerang:

However...look at the situation in China...the pocket is now closed...and we have the whole Chinese army trapped!!!.....China is lost. Point.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Nemo121

He will have a few attack birds on KB but really what you've just seen is excellent tactical and operational subjugation to the strategic and national policy level objectives.

His national policy objective is to take DEI, India, China and then, probably, Oz whilst holding the US Navy and aerial forces at a distance.

Strategically therefore he has sought to cripple a portion of the US fleet at PH whilst waiting for an opportunity to cripple the carriers in follow-on operations during the same period of time as his army and minor naval forces clear India/DEI etc. He will then swing east and establish a defensive line somewhere in the Pacific ( a line in which none of his bases can be reached by your P-38s or P-51s when you get them so that any reduction of his bases will have to be by unescorted bombers --- very, very costly.)

Strategically his goal was NOT to kill transports and troops here. He identified the critical weakness of the US fleet as being its lack of CVs and identified his own critical weakness as being a long-term lack of CVs. As such his real mission was to kill the  enemy CVs whilst protecting his own.


So, operationally after watching that long, slow and utterly predictable advance ( no offence Hoepner but a less well prepared slashing attack at a critical weakness would have served you better ) he conspired to fight an operationally defensive battle at a point and time of his choosing within the strategic US offensive ( kinda like Lee did in 1862 in most places ) and further loaded the dice in favour of his CV's survival by tactically cramming more fighters onto his decks at the expense of strike groups.


Its all very manoeuvrist and actually quite Soviet... I'd be really interested to know just how much Tukhachevsky Trollelite has read. He definitely does min/max and exploit the game loopholes BUT I'd wager that he would play a mean game of chess too ( where min/maxing and loopholes are non-existent). Let's not forget that he's not one-dimensional in terms of ability. Min/maxing doesn't mean he can't analyse a situation and come up with an appropriate doctrinal response ( albeit that I imagine his doctrine is much more slanted towards Soviet doctrine than western doctrine ).

Since I'm going to be playing him soon ( I'm holding off on the turn until his Praktikums are done ) I don't think its appropriate to be giving shedloads of advice etc BUT I think that if you look at what he did from a Soviet doctrinal perspective his behaviour is actually highly understandable and reasonable and the clear subjugation of each level of warfare ( the tactical to the operational, the operational to the strategic and the strategic to the national policy objective level ) is clear and undeniable.