Ambassador
Posts: 1674
Joined: 1/11/2008
From: Brussels, Belgium
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Well, I just started again a few weeks ago, after a false start six months ago, so it's all fresh in my mind. And yes, I got humbled by the AI six months ago...
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ORIGINAL: rogue
Well after a few false starts and having played the Guadalcanal campaign a couple of times, I am finally going to play the real game (stock) I am on day one and have a few questions.
1. What do I do??? I know the historical facts, but its hard to decide how aggressive I should be or if I should just let the Japs expand and wait until later 1942 before starting the island hopping stuff. But which islands should I look at building up since I know the Japs are probably going to take them?
Don't be too aggressive. There are islands you will lose. I tried, twice, to reinforce Rabaul, but not enough, not fast enough, and I'm in the process of losing it a second time. Wake is also lost - you can only manage to save the cadre of the units from there, with airlift from Midway.
I myself find confortable to build Midway (very easy, as it's close to PH), Johnson, Palmyra, Canton. I tried to go to Baker, but it really is too close to IJN's bases in the Marshalls. Suva, Noumea, Pago-Pago are all a must-build too, to secure the seaway between SF & Australia. It's far enough from the japanese invasion forces that you have no problem building them - as newbies, we simply can't build bases/invasion forces as fast as veterans can, with their greater experience.
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2. How do I resupply inland bases? I understand resupplying islands, but not bases inside China. How do I get them supplies?
It's been said to move HQs. You should also stop all indiscriminate building, and carefully select the kind of improvements you want to make to your bases - every base building done consumes supplies, and it's hard to get in China. So, better concentrate on fortresses for a while (you don't need many big airfields at start), in the most dangerously exposed front-line bases.
Also, ponder the usefulness of giving flight orders to your air units : they consume supply, and bombing enemy units without any land combat planned soon should only be used as training.
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3. How long before I can transport guys out of the Phillipines? I know they are doomed, but I want to save as many as possible.
Keep your PPs for a while: when units are badly disrupted/disabled/reduced, they cost much less. I got to transfer some units from USAFFE to SWPac HQ for less than 10 PP apiece, while on the first day they all cost at least 5, 10, 20 times as much.
By the way, you'd rather check the replacement rates of philippine troops before picking the survivors. You only get 21 PA rifle, 7 PS rifle and 7 PS cavalry squads per month. That's just enough to barely reconstitute one PA Division, one PS RCT and one PS cavalry rgt per year. So, save the PS RCTs and the lone PS cavalry, and only two or three PA div, as you would not have the time to reconstitute more of them before the end of the war (determine yourself the replacement on/off for each unit, to focus on reconstituting one unit at a time). Saving more than that is a waste of PPs.
So, don't pull units immediately. Wait. Use your early PPs for whole dutch units, while you wait for the USAFFE units to be much reduced. Pull back progressively to Manilla, and only swith units to another HQ when their cost is really low. Same goes for air units : wait until they have much less aircrafts to transfer them (4 PP/aircraft doesn't appear to be much, but 12 AC mean your whole PP Allowance for a day). Do not replace the losses !
Same goes for dutch troops - if you can save full regiments, fine (they cost more, but you have more time to slow the japanese down). But with their replacement rate (7/month too, IIRC), saving the cadres of more than three regiments (for example) is useless.
By the way, don't use too many ships, they'll be vulnerable to Betty/Nell onslaught. As soon as the Kuching/Brunei/Jolo bases fall, every ship going and coming from the Philippines, Borneo, Java, Sumatra is a a great risk. Use the dutch fighters to provide LRCAP to convoys, try to suppress Jolo airfield with bombers from Tarakan and B-17 from USAFFE. If possible, use airlifts to evacuate units, or subs to evac cadres. Patrol planes may transport troops too, don't forget that.
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4. How much falling back am I looking at before I can fully stop the Japs?
As said by veterans, it depends on your personal wishes for the game. Some things may be done, even more or less historically.
For example, I've evacuated the whole Malaya by moving all the LCUs to the north, rather than Singapore. If done in an organized manner, you can be in Tavoy in less than three weeks, storming the lone japanese units on your way, while the other divisions are stuck in Malaya. I even took Bangkok , mostly in the hope of delaying the IJA to get the time to fortify Moulmein and Rahaeng. Not only can you save twelve useful brigades by doing so, and the numerous support units (notably three very big ISF base forces), giving you much more troops to defend Burma (it at least doubles the OOB), but you also deprive the IJA/N of useful airfields, keeping Rangoon's port open longer, and supply & reinforcement coming in. In my first try, I pulled back to Singapore (not fast enough), but by mid-December the Betty & Nells were pounding my shipping near Rangoon, and further when they got Tavoy : sending unescorted convoys to Chandpur & Diamond Harbor became a hazard.
Otherwise, don't hope too much from dutch and philippine troops. Their XP/morale is too low. I got a PA Div really beaten by elements from the 2nd Parachute Rgt (it got split in at least three different islands, far apart) !
The various dutch garrison batallions are simply too small to resist on their own, even against lone SNLF/NLF/Naval guard units. A fighting retreat, moving my dutch fighters and bombers to the front lines, is the best I can do. Keeping Java might be tempting, and doable, but it's the AI, and I guess it'd hurt it too much if you deprive it from the DEI's oil. For now (early january), I've managed to pull back most of the dutch units, one at a time, keeping enough PPs for some USAFFE units from time to time, when the occasion presents itself (such as when a unit is bloodily pushed back - check their state and PP cost every time they fight).
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Things I've done so far:
1. Started sending subs around the Philipines to mess with the Jap Task Forces.
Only use the S-class subs : all other american subs are nearly worthless due to the high dud-rate of their torpedoes. S-class, dutch and british subs are the only useful ones in early war.
Use the others as minelayers and transports (for the evacuation of USAFFE's cadres). Once the IJA starts sieging Manilla, keep the subs in the port to be ready to load the last cadres and flee.
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2. Placed all my aircraft on the West Coast to training.
Yeah, good thing. Some of the squadrons belong to unrestricted commands, so you may start moving them to forward bases.
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3. Evacuated my BB, BC and surface ships out of Singapore to Samatra to keep them alive.
I grouped them with dutch, australian and american surface combattants, and used that big SAG to great effect in the Celebes Sea, intercepting several attacks to Davao and Jolo, sinking some AK/APs. You only have to steam away, full flank, when Jolo falls (or any other base close enough to arm Betty/Nells with torpedoes).
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4. Placed treatened bases on build fortifications to help them out a bit.
Good, but some won't have the time to build a single level of forts before being attacked. Or, worse, will deplete their supply without even finishing.
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5. Started moving troops around to the big bases and moving them away from more remote areas.
Australia Command troops may be moved by the railroads to provide additional defenses of northern Australia. Doing an evacuation of the DEI brings a risk of japanese attack on OZ, so better safe than sorry.
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I know this is a lot, but the full game uses things that the smaller scenerios do not. I have no real clue how to conduct land warfare or do I have any idea how to use the industry. I will appreciate any info you can provide!
As the US, industry is not too important : you'll get more supply/fuel from "out-of-map production" than from industry proper. The only places where industry matters a bit are Australia and China - both have to be supplied by outer sources as much as possible. During the evacuation of the DEI, use tankers to move as much Oil as possible to Oz, before moving fuel.
For China, I already explained above what to do to minimize supply consumption.
Land warfare is quite complicated. Just remember three great assets :
- hotkey "w"
- hotkey "1"
- hotkey "r"
The former gives you the "ownership" of hexes - it's of prime importance for tracing the supply lines, and checking the movements possible. The two latter respectively give you the terrain type and the presence/absence of rail/road/trail ; this will help you determine the travel times.
Regarding the conduct of land warfare, there're only two areas where it matters : China and Burma/Siam. In the PI and the DEI/SRA, you'll mostly be pulling back.
In Burma, you should build forts in Moulmein and Rahaeng (first defensive line) and Mandalay (final defensive line). Cross-country fighting/movements are not important there, due to the jungle, so it'll mostly be around bases and rail/roadways. Try a stand at the first line, but if one stronghold is on the verge of falling, pull back to Mandalay - leave no unit in Rangoon. It is possible to make another defensive line in Bangkok/Tavoy, depending on how long you may be there to fortify, but I would certainly not stay there too long.
In China however, the terrain is much more open. There, you can learn the land warfare, using the cheap chinese troops. You should check their XP/morale values - those that have a low XP, group them and send them in contact with IJA troops, setting them to "bombard" ; their XP will gradually improve, until it's above 55. For my part, I won't engage in any large-scale operation until most of my chinese corps are at that level.
But then, I'm planning every operation in a series of steps :
- prep all units that will be involved in the attack, up until 100% ; don't forget the HQ and support units
- use recon missions on all bases involved, and look into the Intel reports of several weeks back, to get the most precise picture of the enemy's OOB (WitP' Utility is very useful)
- send a few divided divisions/corps on the enemy's rear, through the "wilds", several weeks before the attack ; their mission is to cut/disrupt supply with their zones of control, and possibly to trick the enemy into sending combat units restore their supply lines - combat is not to be engaged, or is to be disengaged as soon as possible
- transfer some air units from Southeast Asia to help bomb japanese positions and provide air cover
- send a few corps to nearby bases, especially if those bases are in urban terrain ; their mission is only to fix japanese units, to avoid the reinforcement of the principal target
- move your principal corps to the principal target, ensuring on the way there that you get the "ownership" of all neighbouring hexes
- then the battle may start, against an isolated enemy - don't be too rash, using deliberate and shock attacks should only be done from time to time. Land combat in WitP is much like medieval siege warfare : you try to reduce the fortifications and let the supply deplete before launching all-out assaults.
Ensure that each objective helps you for the next fight. For example, my first operation will be against Nanchang - because it helps isolate Wuhan ; the second operation will the be the base to the NE of Wuhan ; only then will I move to Wuhan.
But, the priority in China is to get a solid defensive line first.
All this coming from a relatively new player, you're fully entitled to disregard this post if you find better advice from other players...
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Finally Playing the Grand Campaign! - 
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