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RE: Allied vs. Jap AI - 11/28/2009 2:41:55 PM   
Andy Mac

 

Posts: 15222
Joined: 5/12/2004
From: Alexandria, Scotland
Status: offline 		Come on I need the v AI AAR's to help me make the Ai sneakier get with it real life piffle !!!!]


(in reply to freeboy)
Post #: 181
RE: Allied vs. Jap AI - 12/8/2009 4:28:18 PM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline 		AAR Covers the Period from Feb. 23rd to March 3rd

Sorry about the whopping delay since the last AAR...that pesky thing called life. The good news is that most of the pesky things are done, and my motivation to jump into the game has returned. So onward.

One Bad Thing About Long Periods Away From Game

You don't know what the heck you had planned, where anything is and in general end up rather lost. I spent the better part of two hours trying to remember where everything was and what I had planned - only to then wonder why! Of course, that did lead to a good thing...

One Benefit About Long Periods Away From Game

It gives you a fresh set of eyes. You look at your assets differently. You see the map differently. And you see strategies you might have missed. And you find combat units in places where they don't belong.

In particular, I started to wonder why I had two highly valuable Naval Base Forces located on dinky islands (Christmas Island, Pago Pago) that were 3000 miles behind the front! So a TF was dispatched to pick up these troops.

Additionally, I had entertained the idea of storming Rabaul - bypassing Shortland Islands - as Rabaul was lightly defended if intelligence was correct. But then I wondered why I would want to tie up 2+ divisions, use most of my AKA's and AP's, and deal with the hassle of resupplying a base I had zero use for. This of course then made my wonder why I was contemplating an invasion of Shortland Islands - as the invasion would be even more useless than assaulting Rabaul. The result - the invasion of shortland has been cancelled, and the two Marine Divisions in the Southern Pacific are being recalled to Pearl Harbor. Both Marine Divisions, along with some armor and Field Artillery Units, have been slated for the invasion of Saipan.

Those Pesky Ship Upgrades

It ALWAYS happens this way. Even in stock. Unfortunately, when it happens in this game, it is a bit more heartbreaking since the Allies have so few AP's to begin with. I had just loaded up the invasion force for Wotje Island and had plenty of ships left over. Since I had a "long, slow, target" of LST's enroute to Pearl after the invasion of Maleolap, I left the unused ships in Pearl Harbor, awaiting their arrival. The plan was that once they arrived I'd embark the invasion force for Kwajalein. But as the turn ended, I saw to my dismay all the AP to APA ship upgrade messages. So much for the invasion of Kwajalein for the next month - as Pearl Harbor is now "stacked" with 300,00 tons of shipping in the repair yard. ETA for the repair of all the AP's (which converted to APA's) is 20 days. True, the upgrade had to be done. But it would have been nice to have done it on my timeline!! One of those annoying problems that happens when you're away from the game for a while.

Wotje Next

Despite the fiasco of the Kwajalein invasion plan, I did get off the Wotje invasion force. Three Bombardment TF's of two BB's each have been working over Wotje the past few turns and will continue to do so until the assault forces arrive in 1-2 weeks. With some luck, the Wotje Fortress will be greatly reduced - those shore guns have the real potential to wreck havoc on the Marine Regiment that is slated to storm ashore.

General Strategy Remains Unchanged

The general strategy formulated months and months ago, however, remains unchanged. The goal is to mop up every single atoll in the Marshall's and then take Wake Island (mid-summer operation). With that done, the Allies will have a clear shot to the Marianna's - the "jewels" of the Pacific. Tentative date still remains in the fall of 1943, the exact timing dependent on the arrival of more aircraft for my beat up air squadrons, more carriers, and, above all, more AP's, LST's and AK's.

Counting the two Marine Divisions slated to be removed from the South Pacific, I'll have around 10-12 divisions slated for the invasions of the Mariana's, plus tons of armor, field artillery units and combat engineer units. All units participating in the invasion will have 100 prep points.

I still have zero intelligence what the AI has in the Marianna's. Worse...I just realized that the Allied reconnaissance air units don't have the range to check (even from Enwietok, once the Allies take it). As such, I'm either going to have to raid the Mariannas with carriers to try to get some so-so intelligence, or simply "sail in blind." With the IJN pretty much vaporized, sailing in blind isn't quite the risk it might otherwise be. However, it would be nice to know which island was most heavily defended - and thus avoid it during the initial assault.

The best way to assault the Mariannas is to take the most lightly defended island first, set up an air base, and rule the skies above - while sailing in your BB's regularly to knock them down a few notches in strength. Once one base has been taken, taking the rest of the islands is relatively easy (except in stock, where the AI always stacked 3000 AV on Saipan). As such, it makes sense to take the weakest base first - instead of getting hung up for weeks at a time beating your head against the strongest base while NOT having a friendly base nearby to put in for fuel and aircraft replacements. Naval air power "gets you in the door" of the Mariannas. But land based air keeps you there.

Tentatively...depending on intelligence...I'd like to take Guam and Rota during the first assault wave. Then take Tinian. Then take Saipan, which I suspect (but can't prove) is the most heavily defended. But it's entirely possible I'll take Tinian and Rota first, then Guam, then Saipan (if my hunch about the AI defending Saipan the most is correct).

The South Pacific

Once I pull back the two Marine Divisions from the South Pacific, I will have essentially abandoned the area. All islands the Allies have conquered will remain garrisoned, of course - usually one infantry regiment, a field artillery regiment, 6 level fortifications and LOTS of air power. Lunga and Noumea will also retain some armor. Basically, the destruction of the IJN's aircraft carriers has allowed me to more lightly garrison rear islands than I would otherwise be able to do. As such, I'm just keeping a light land garrison - and will defend the islands through the use of air power and naval power.

Burma

Ah...the wonderful silence of the Sitzkreig. Japan is too strong, despite the mauling it took at Cox's Bazaar and Imphal, to consider marching overland right now. Maybe in another 6-9 months an overland operation will be doable. But, until then, I'm enjoying the 'boredom' found in Burma.

China

Not much more exciting. The kamikaze Japanese units continue to beat themselves up, although they are fewer in number since so many units have been destroyed. China has begun a very, very tentative march toward Canton. Intelligence shows the town is completely empty - intelligence I don't entirely believe. However, if Canton IS empty, it's too juicy of a target to ignore.

So I have a 600 AV unit, fully supplied and relatively well trained, marching toward Canton. If it encounters resistance, it will retreat. If not, it will set up shop in Canton and will be reinforced. I'll also send down some units from other Chinese cities to further reinforce.

Elsewhere in China, not much is going on. Another sitzkreig has set-in - always a good thing for the Allies in China.

(in reply to Andy Mac)
Post #: 182
RE: Allied vs. Jap AI - 12/8/2009 5:34:15 PM   
traskott


Posts: 1546
Joined: 6/23/2008
From: Valladolid, Spain
Status: offline 		Great update, interesting to say al least.

(in reply to jimh009)
Post #: 183
RE: Allied vs. Jap AI - 12/9/2009 10:32:10 AM   
Galahad78

 

Posts: 386
Joined: 9/28/2009
Status: offline 		Glad to see you back again mate!  Hope everything is OK.

With the bit of experience I already acquired I will enjoy more your fantastic AAR.

quote:

All islands the Allies have conquered will remain garrisoned, of course - usually one infantry regiment, a field artillery regiment, 6 level fortifications and LOTS of air power. Lunga and Noumea will also retain some armor.


Good to know, I'm planning to start Guadalcanal scenario (after getting marginal victories in Coral Sea and Aleutians ) and already got lost with the tons of LCUs you have available at scenario start

(in reply to traskott)
Post #: 184
Easy Invasion of Wotje - 12/11/2009 3:37:33 PM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline 		AAR Covers the Period 3/4/43 - 3/13/43

Wotje

Well, that was easy. After the multi-week bombardment by the BB's, the Marines essentially walked on to Wotje. Not a single shore gun fired. About the only mistake I made was that I accidentally unloaded the base elements along with the invasion elements. The result? 17K men on an island meant to hold 6K. Because of this, it's going to be a bit messy and somewhat slower reloading the invasion elements back on to their transports for the long ride back to Pearl Harbor.

Atoll Hopping

I swear, cleaning up the Gilberts and Marshall Islands seems to take forever. I think this has been going on for four months now - and I still have five islands left to take (Wake, Enwietok, Kwajalein, Roi-Namur and Allignelap (sp?). I might also take Jaluit Island, just on general principle. Of course, that still leaves Ponape Island, too - although I'm not in a big rush to take it.

The reason the atoll hopping seems so ungodly slow is due to "distance" and being forced to base all invasions out of Pearl Harbor. The process goes like this :

1. Load the troops at Pearl
2. Spend two weeks sailing to the island
3. Invade Island after a few more days of bombardment.
4. Reload everything, which is slower than at Pearl
5. Spend two weeks sailing back to Pearl
6. Rinse and repeat

If the Allies had more AP's/APA's and AK's at this point in the game, it obviously would be easier.

Additionally, the need for 100 Prep Points for a clean atoll invasion also greatly slows things down.

Gone are the days of just being able to base everything out of Tarawa. :(

Some Logistical Tips for Allied Atoll Hopping

I mentioned in another post the "ideal invasion" and, so far, that is working splendidly. 100 PP's is crucial, too. However, here's a logistical tips for players trying to figure out how to keep up a steady tempo (slow as it may be), in the Marshall's and Gilberts.

1. Do NOT take your entire battle fleet back home to Pearl and where-ever else you base it out of. Instead, keep the battle fleet (CV's, BB's and everything else needed to beat back the Japanese Navy) based at Tarawa and then later Mili. Keeping your fleet based at either Tarawa and then Mili saves a ton of wear and tear on your ships, plus it allows the Allies to guard these otherwise indefensible atolls.

2. So, how do you keep the "fleet resupplied?" It's actually quite simple. Here's what you need to do. Gather up 3-4 repelnishment TF's that contain AKE's, AE's, AO's and three replenishment CVE's. Back in the USA, put together 2 tanker TF's. Also put together 2 Amphibious TF's of xAK's, full of 50,000 or so of supply and about 10-15 xAK's. Yes, these xAK's are painfully slow to unload. But it won't matter. What counts is the "number" of ships, not how much you're actually carrying. Sail all these TF's to Tarawa or Mili. Do NOT unload them.

The purpose of the Tanker TF's is to refuel your replenishment TF's. You accomplish this simply enough - just have the replenishment TF be in the same coastal/island hex as the tanker TF's. Then hit "replenish." Additionally, your battle fleet will also draw fuel off the Tanker TF's, too.

You'll be amazed by how quickly the fuel on these tanker TF's go down! The reason to bring two tanker TF's is because fuel is drawn off these TF's in strange and mysterious ways. Some ships remain nearly full, others go to empty so quickly you'd think they sprung a leak.

Once about half the tankers are empty or nearly empty, gather them up into their own TF and send them back to Pearl or the States for more fuel. At the same time, create another tanker TF back in the USA and send them on their way to Tarawa or Mili.

Also, do NOT forget your AKE's. Have a few AKE's in their own small task force's. This allows them to "dock" at these tiny ports. You can then load supplies on them from the port. By doing this, you can now resupply your BB's and other surface combat vessels with ammo. This is no small thing, either - as your BB's will chew through a lot of ammo as they bombard each one of these atolls.

3. Why Tarawa or Mili for your Base? Simple. they are the only two islands that allow for 30K troops. At both Tarawa and Mili, you want to have a Naval Base Force with 100 Naval Support - allowing for quicker unloading of supply (from that amphibious TF full of those xAK's).

4. What to do with those Amphibious TF's full of those xAK's. Unload them, partially, at both Tarawa and Mili. However, do NOT unload them fully. Instead, as you invade each island in the Marshall's/Gilberts, sail this task force up and begin to unload it. Unloading is painfully slow, but that's ok. You don't want to offload the entire supply. Instead, you just want to offload about 10% or so from each ship. By doing this, it cuts down on the number of AK's you need to drag along in the invasion fleet from Pearl (thus freeing up the AK's for more important tasks). Once the Amphibious TF full of xAK's starts to run low in supply, send it back to Pearl or the States - while simultaneously sending out another fully loaded one.

Anyways, that's how I've done the logistics in the Gilberts and Marshalls, and it's worked out very, very well. I've never even come close to running out of fuel or supply for my ships. And by "parking the fleet" in Tarawa and then Mili, I've protected these otherwise indefensible islands while saving lots of wear and tear on my ships.

India Offensive Shaping Up

I've begun the process of starting the first Allied offensives in India. First stop...Cox's Bazaar, followed by Akyab. This campaign won't be starting for months, but I have the units charged with this task now planning for the invasion. Units from all over India are now being shipped to Chittagong, where the invasion will be based out of.

The general strategy I'm following is to clear out and then build up large air bases at both Cox Bazaar and Akyab. I'm also hoping (very much) that by taking Akyab the Japanese Army will want to come out "and play." I'll easily be able to keep both these bases supplied - both by overland (from Chittagong) and by sea (if needed).

If the Japanese come out and play, and once the British/Indians get a few more troops (a lot of armor soon arrives in the theatre), I'll then launch an overland offensive toward Mandalay from Imphal, with perhaps a secondary offensive coming from Cox Bazaar. Akyab will just be there as an anchor spot so as to prevent the British troops from being out flanked. And obviously, Akyab makes a great air base, too.

My hope is that I can destroy 1-2 Japanese divisions in battles in/around Cox Bazaar and Akyab. If this happens, it will greatly assist the invasion from Imphal later in 1943. However, even if the Japanese are smart and don't come out to play, Akyab and Cox Bazaar still make much-needed air bases and offer some future offensive plans of their own.

Only time will tell.

South Pacific

I've begun consolidating forces in this area. I realized I was awfully spread out, diluting what was important. I've evacuated Christmas Island, Efate and soon Pago Pago and Baker Island. These forces will then be moved up further toward the front, providing more garrison strength for my primary front bases, which are Port Moresby, Milne Bay, Rossell Island, Munda/Lunga, Tarawa, Mili and now Wotje. A second line of bases behind this includes Noumea, Ndeni, Luganville and Canton. I'll likely soon be evacuating Canton Island, though - and greatly weakening Ndeni and Luganville - just keeping enough there to prevent an easy walk-on.

I've also moved a few more naval forces down into the South Pacific, giving McCarthur's Navy a little boost. McCarthur's Navy will be based at Lunga, allowing me to cover the entire South Pacific area. The reason for the enhancement in Mccarthur's Navy is because once the battle for the Marianas starts shaping up, my CV's will be too far away to provide any help in the event the Japanese try a surprise invasion somewhere in the South Pacific. Once i get a few more CVE's, I plan on sending them down to the South Pacific, too.

Elsewhere

The Australian 9th division just off loaded at Perth, and will soon be hitting the rails for Sydney. I haven't figured out what to do with this unit yet. Most likely I'll keep it in Sydney as a reserve - either for a 1944 offensive somewhere in the South Pacific or I just might task it for something up in/around the Mariannas. We'll see.

Allies Soon Getting AP's and xAP's Back

The March upgrade probably put 50%+ of Allied AP's and xAP's into the shipyard for 20 days. As a result, I haven't been able to move too many troops around. I have troops in Noumea, Lunga, Luganville, Ndeni, Canton Island, Sydney, Colombo and a few other places all needing transport to "somewhere else" - mainly Pearl Harbor or India. But for now, they've been stranded - which kind of sucks!

< Message edited by jimh009 -- 12/11/2009 3:43:06 PM >

(in reply to Andy Mac)
Post #: 185
RE: Allied vs. Jap AI - 12/11/2009 3:43:54 PM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Galahad78

Glad to see you back again mate!  Hope everything is OK.

With the bit of experience I already acquired I will enjoy more your fantastic AAR.

quote:

All islands the Allies have conquered will remain garrisoned, of course - usually one infantry regiment, a field artillery regiment, 6 level fortifications and LOTS of air power. Lunga and Noumea will also retain some armor.


Good to know, I'm planning to start Guadalcanal scenario (after getting marginal victories in Coral Sea and Aleutians ) and already got lost with the tons of LCUs you have available at scenario start



Hi Galahad,

Yeah, things are going well. House hunting is done for the moment, too.

When you planning on starting a full fledged campaign game? When you do, plan on getting REALLY lost with all those LCU's! :)

(in reply to Galahad78)
Post #: 186
Wake Island Invasion Successful - 12/12/2009 8:33:56 PM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline 		This AAR covers the period from 3/14/43 to 4/9/43

The tempo, slow as it might be, is beginning to pick up. A bunch of British LSI(L)'s have arrived in Pearl Harbor, providing a welcome supplement to Allied APA's and AP's. Additionally, most AP's have been upgraded to APA's. This is allowing the Allies to launch two large attacks - about one every 2-3 weeks.

Wake Island

Despite my worse fears, Wake Island fell quite easily. The shore guns took out a LST and caused some general disruption. But troop loss (an Army Infantry Regiment and Army Tank Battallion) was minimal. To be safe, I had drug along a 2nd Army Infantry Regiment and kept it in floating reserve in the event it was needed.

With Wake Island now in Allied hands, three more islands remain to be taken in order to "clear the way" to the Mariannas. The First one is...

Roi-Namur

The invasion force, loaded primarily in LST and British LSI(L's), is on the way. The island seems well defended, so 3 tank battalions (1 in reserve), have been included. Additional forces are a Marine Raider, Marine Regiment and Field Artillery Regiment. I'm hoping that a week of bombardment (from BB's out of Wotje) plus air attacks from CV's (also out of Wotje), wills often everything up, allowing for an easy invasion. We'll see.

Invasion should be in 10 days or so. Once that is taken, all that remains is Kwajalein and Enwietok.

Other Stuff

The First Marine Division has arrived in PH after a two week transit from Noumea. About to load up the 2nd Marine Division (currently in Lunga) and also drag it to PH. Both units will be the spearhead for the invasion of Saipan.

China

China is beginning to get interesting. As I sort of expected, the Japanese have plenty in/around Canton, so the unit I sent there is about to end up retreating back to Kukong.

On the other hand, a strong Chinese force is driving on Wuchow. It's quite possible this force might be strong enough to oust the weak Japanese force there. We'll see.

India

British and Indian forces are marching on Cox's Bazaar. It's weakly defended and should fall quickly and easily. Akyab will be more of a battle. Once Cox Bazaar is secured and a large airfield built, more forces will be marched into Cox Bazaar and then on their way toward Akyab. Japanese forces in Akyab seem fairly strong, with lots of AFV's. I'm taking this particular battle "slow," as the Allies have plenty of time and I don't want to have any "nasty surprises." I also want to give time for Allied airpower to ground down Japanese land forces, too.

(in reply to Andy Mac)
Post #: 187
Roi-Namur Falls & Situation Maps - 12/13/2009 4:02:07 AM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline 		AAR Covers the period 4/10/43 - 4/23/43

General Situation

I just updated to Patch #2. SWEET! Thank you Matrix Games for brining back the feature to allow you to have all planes in a "hex" have the same mission with the touch of a button. It was very annoying that AE pre-patch #2 didn't allow that, and I was totally dreading having to cycle through all CV TF's in a few months one by one, which would take forevcer. I also love the search arc's and movement arc's. Also cool is the low-supply indicators. I'm seeing lots of red "!" in China. :)

Posts after this one show several maps of specific theatres. In particular, I've begun to develop the general strategy and thrust for the conquest of Burma by the UK and Indian Forces way, way later in 1943.

Allied forces are going through some long-awaited upgrades. Two allied CV's hadn't been upgraded since mid-1942, so they are in port, along with their escorts which were also badly in need of upgrades. Once finished, this CV force will head to Roi-Namur - where another two carrier CV TF will be returned to Pearl Harbor to allow for upgrades. Assuming all goes well, the six allied CV's and all their escorts will be fully upgraded and repaired within three months.

Roi-Namur and Central Pacific

In a simple invasion - helped by a week of bombardment - the strong garrison at Roi-Namur (next to Kwajalein) fell. This base will serve as the "primary base" for the Allies in the Central Pacific due to it's central location.

The invasion force for Kwajalein Island is enroute and should arrive within a week.

And in a few more days, the Allies should have enough forces to load up the Enwietok invasion force.

What this means is that within a month (late May, perhaps early June at the latest), the Allies will hold all major Central Pacific islands the Allies want. Two bases will remain to be taken at the Allies leisure - Jaluit Island and Ailinglaplap. The Allies technically don't really need to take these two bases. But I plan to take it on "general principle" and to entirely eliminate the possibility of the Japanese "snooping" on Allied troop movements in the Central Pacific. Removing all Japanese bases in the Central Pacific turns this region into an Allied lake. Considering the vast bulk of ships that will soon be traversing this area enroute to the Mariannas, an Allied lake is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Marianas Operation

Most units that will be participating in the Marianas operation have been identified and have 50-100 PP's. By the time the operation kicks into gear, all untis will have 100 PP's. I still have a number of LCU's that need to be moved from the South Pacific and Tarawa back to PH. But other than that, most units slated to hit the beach in the Marianas are now in PH, training.

The order of the invasion looks like this :
1. Guam & Rota in initial invasion.
2. Tinian in second invasion. (about 2-4 weeks after Guam invasion)
3. Saipan in third invasion (about 1-2 months after Guam invasion).

The reason for the delays between the three invasions is the need to swing the APA's back to Pearl Harbor for some units. While I hope to speed things up a bit by dumping all Tinian and Saipan invasion elements off at Guam using ordinary xAP's once Guam is secured, I'm not 100% positive that strategy will work or, for that matter, is worth the hassle. So I'm planning for any eventuality.

India

See post after this one for map and information about India.

China

Chinese forces have taken Wuchow! And Chinese forces are holding all other cities and areas the Japanese are trying to take. This has been greatly helped by the old AI bug that suicided Japanese units against dug in Chinese forces turn after turn after turn. The AI is no longer doing that, but the damage has been done. At least 3-4 Japanese full strength, high-quality divisions were eliminated in their suicide charges. Those divisions are a "killer" in terms of losing offensive power, although Japanese forces are still way too strong for China to boot out. Only reason Wuchow fell was because two of the "suicide units" that Japan lost attacked Kweilin from Wuchow. Once these units were lost, Wuchow became wide open essentially.

Map of China






Attachment (1)

(in reply to jimh009)
Post #: 188
General Strategy for the Allied Invasion of Burma - 12/13/2009 4:13:56 AM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline 		Allied Plans for the Invasion of Burma

The painful failure by the Japanese to take Imphal, where it lost three high quality divisions, not only slammed the door shut on Japanese expansion plans in Burma in 1942 - it also opens up some possibilities in Burma for the Allies in later 1943 and throughout 1944.

The Allies have just taken Cox Bazaar and soon will be marching down the road to Akyab. Assuming plans remain the same as outlined in the map, the Allies will spend 2-3 months building up the airfields at Akyab and Cox Bazaar and waiting for more land reinforcements - especially all the armor that starts finding it's way into this region in mid-1943.

Then, later in 1943, the Allies will launch a three pronged offensive. It will start out with the drive (4) to take Myitkiyna with forces coming from Kohima. The reason I'm starting here is so British forces that later attack directly from Imphal (5) and (6) never have to worry about being out-flanked. Additionally, by taking the entire front, it will help secure the Allied supply line.

The general principle is to essentially merge these three British attack columns into one at Shebow. Forces in Akyab and Cox Bazaar will remain where they are - perhaps advancing a hex or two outside of town, but no more. There purpose is to do nothing more than "pin" the Japanese down while at the same time preventing any sort of suprise Japanese counter-attack that might flank the Allied offensive.

The time line for this adventure is at least 6 months, and most likely a year. It's going to take a lot of time to shuffle all the troops around, wait for the PP's, and then march everything through the woods in a coordinated fashion.

Why the Land March Instead of Naval Invasions?

The lack of a Navy, primarily. The British simply don't have anywhere near enough naval forces (CV's in particular, but also troop transports) to hop along the Burma coast toward Rangoon. The only way this could be done would be to swing at least 2-4 US CV's over to the Indian Ocean, along with a significant number of troop transports. With all the active operations planned for the Mariannas and beyond, "loaning" the British US carriers or troop transports is a big "NO".

Just like in the real war, the lack of naval forces condemns the British to slogging through the jungle. True, it's slow. However, there is one benefit. It's relatively safe. There is no worries about suddenly losing your invasion fleet to a hoarde of Betties. Or having some bad luck storming ashore outside of Rangoon.

Map of India






Attachment (1)

(in reply to jimh009)
Post #: 189
Central Pacific Map & Situation in April 1943 - 12/13/2009 4:16:05 AM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline 		Nothing much to add here that wasn't said in earlier post. But here's a map of the key areas of the Central Pacific. Wake, just off-map, has already been taken, as have all islands to the South.






Attachment (1)

(in reply to Andy Mac)
Post #: 190
South Pacific Situation Map - 12/13/2009 4:19:19 AM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline 		Very quiet in this region. The Allies have moved all heavy land forces out of this area to Pearl Harbor, where those forces will participate in the Mariannas operations. The Japanese seem to have little interest here, either.

Rabaul is admittedly tempting. Intelligence shows less than 10K troops. Assuming the Allies have enough PP's to free up some Australian units (the 9th Australian in particular) and have some free APA's and LST's, it's possible the Allies will invade Rabaul sometime in 1944 - mainly for the VP's.

Beyond Rabaul, however, I see little need for the Allies to take any other base in this part of the world.

Map of the South Pacific






Attachment (1)

(in reply to Andy Mac)
Post #: 191
Central Pacific Region Secured - 12/15/2009 12:19:55 AM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline 		AAR Covers the Period April 4/24/43 to 5/16/43

Well, due to the "domain name problem" Matrix Games had this weekend, I wasn't able to post. So...I played a few more turns. Hence, this three week AAR.

Central Pacific

Kwajalein and Enwietok are both secured - leaving only Jaluit (invasion force loaded) and Angilitap (more on general principle than a need to take the place) as Japanese occupied hexes in the Central Pacific.

China

Things have settled down to the classic China sitzkreig. Ever since I did the upgrade to Patch #2, I've noticed a difference in how units are supplied. Prior to the patch, only a handful of units ever really had supply. Instead, the cities themselves retained the bulk of the supply. With the new patch, the supply from the cities I've noticed has been "spread out" to various units. This has greatly helped the fighting power of the Chinese Army, as few units now have "zero" supply. While most Chinese units are still below the required supply levels, at least gone are the days of 0 supply, too.

India & Burma

Forces are a few days away from Akyab, which should fall easily. I've begun the slow process of moving forces up to Kohima for "Phase 3" of the re-conquest of Burma (see map of India in previous post for general strategy). I anticipate 2-3 divisions, plus lots of armor and artillery, will be slogging through the woods toward Myklitna. Another 2-3 divisions, plus supporting units, will also start slogging through the jungle from Imphal simultaneously - hopefully limiting the ability of the Japanese to reinforce Myklitna.

Ship Upgrades

The Allies currently have seven CV's (Essex just arrived), divided into three 2 CV TF's. The Yorktown/Wasp group just completed a long-overdue upgrade process, and received the first carrier Hellcats, too. This TF is now moving up to Kwajalein. Once it arrives, the Enterprise/Lexington group is headed back to Pearl for their upgrades. Two of the four BB TF's are also headed back to the states for their upgrades, too. This leaves the US Navy a bit thin - thinner than I would like.

However, this still leaves 4 CV's and two BB TF's (4 BB's total) in the Central Pacific, which should be enough to guard the region until the Mariannas operation kicks off.

South Pacific

Most of the reshuffling of forces based here to "other places" has been completed. Only some units at Ndeni need to be moved to someplace else (probably Makin), where they will sit until they are again moved to the Mariannas once all the islands there are secured.

Aircraft

I haven't properly kept up with all the aircraft reinforcements the Allies receive. As such, I had two dozen air units in the states and pearl harbor sitting there doing nothing - not even training. Similarily, I also failed to expand the pilots to the maximum for each aircraft unit. I rectified that problem a week ago, but it's going to be several months before all these air units reach full training potential. Fortunately, the Allies have plenty of other air units with either high experience or which have been training for over a year - so there is no shortage of quality air units to base in the Mariannas.

Once I realized I forgot to expand the number of pilots for each air unit, I then laboriously went through every unit in the game. I also expanded the pilots attached to each naval air unit, too.

I'm just glad I picked up this problem before anything bad could happen.

Allied Submarine Campaign

Ever since February 1943, the Allied submarine campaign has really begun to bite the Japanese. Some turns have seen contact with 10+ TF's, leading to several sinking's and damaged ships each day. It's now rare indeed to go a turn where at least one Japanese ship isn't sunk by Allied submarines. Tankers in particular are starting to be sunk at an alarming rate by the Allies. I'd estimate that the Allies are sinking/heavily damaging one tanker every 2-3 days now.

Oddly, 50% of the ship sinking's are occurring in the waters between Saipan and Tokyo. I think the reason for this is because virtually all Allied submarines have to pass through these waters on their way to their assigned patrol zones. This is leading to a high concentration of submarines in a small area of water - hence the high sinking's for this region.

The other interesting thing is that most of the ships being sunk are in escorted TF's. While it's pretty rare of see a strongly escorted TF (due to lack of escorts available for Japan), at least the AI is sending what escorts it does have out with the convoy's.

All Allied submarines are currently based out of Colombo, Sydney or Pearl Harbor. Once the Mariannas (Guam in particular) have been secured, Allied submarine operations currently in Sydney and PH will be based out of Guam instead. This is going to drastically expand the loiter time for Allied submarines in key choke areas. The result should be a dramatic increase in Japanese ships sunk.

Japanese Submarines

I honestly don't know where the hell Japanese submarines are. One or two still hang out along the West Coast, and occasionally one gets sunk. On occasion one of the rare Allied supply task forces in the South Pacific also stumbles across one, too. However, I have yet to see a single Japanese submarine in the entire Central Pacific area the past six months - despite the fact that the entire Allied fleet has been based here! It seems the Japanese AI is unable to "react" to the changing Allied strategy.

Yet, I have lots of naval search in the South Pacific, and I see few Japanese submarines there, either.

And other than a solitary sub that camps out around Colombo, the Indian Ocean seems free to Japanese submarines, too.

Anyways, I'm quite curious to know what the Japanese AI is doing with all their submarines. The Allies have only sunk like 15 of them so far, so the Japanese submarine force should be very large by this point in the game. But so far...nothing.

Countering Japanese Submarines

One of the primary reasons the Allied player wants to secure Enwietok, Kwajalein, Wotje and Wake Island prior to the Mariannas is to counter the Japanese submarine threat that can develop between the Mariannas and Pearl Harbor.

Once the Allies have the Mariannas, a non-stop procession of ships will be going back and forth. By having these four islands, the Allies can put up a good blanket of naval search and ASW assets, as well as have ASW patrols based from these islands.

Additionally, by opening up this "big space" of water, it becomes more difficult for the Japanese player to "guess" where the main Allied supply route is. If the Allied player hasn't taken Wake Island, the "corridor" between the Mariannas and Pearl Harbor is unacceptably small, in my opinion.

(in reply to jimh009)
Post #: 192
Preparation for the Mariannas, China & India - 12/17/2009 5:45:08 AM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline 		AAR Covers the Period 5/16/43 to 6/24/43

Well, this AAR covers over a month. This period was quite slow, activity wise - and the next two months aren't likely to be any more exciting, either.

During this period, a parade of Allied ships have been going in and out of port, going through many long-overdue upgrades. The June upgrades of most Allied shipping has also occurred, resulting in many overcrowded ship yards. However, the result of all this will be fully upgraded ships that will be ready for the Marianas invasion.

The Marianas Invasion

Virtually everything the Allies have been doing the past month has been tailored to the Marianas invasion and beyond. It's a big operation, and requires lots of organization and thought to how you want to do it. It's not just the actual invasion that's a challenge, but what comes after it.

Fortunately, the Allies now have good intelligence about Japanese forces in the Marianas. Using some PB4Y Liberator bombers based at Enwietok and Wake Island, the Allies have determined that the Japanese forces are not strong at all in Rota or Tinian (12K or less forces in Tinian, 5K or less in Rota). Guam is much stronger, having around 200 bombers and 40,000 troops. Saipan is still a bit of an unknown, but I'm estimating 40K troops there, too.

Due to this intelligence, Tinian will be the first target of the invasion, immediately followed by Rota. Guam will be third. Saipan will be last.

Pulling together all the forces for the invasion is a challenge. Already, the Allies have been loading tanker and supply amphibious forces with fuel/supply. These TF's are now enroute to Wotje, where they will "sit" until the time of the actual invasion.

The Allies will have a formidable fleet to deal with the expected bomber hoarde (estimates put Japanese bombers at over 500 aircraft in the Marianas, plus more in Truk). The Allies will have 10 CV's, 3 CVL's, 6 CVE's, plus 5 replenishment CVE's, 7 BB's, and everything else. Allied naval airgroups are converting now to the Hellcats, which should hopefully make mince-meat of the Japanese bombers. That said, it will not surprise me at all if an Allied Carrier or two gets damaged in this operation.

Land Invasion Forces for Tinian and Rota

Three divisions, two US Naval base forces, numerous engineer units, AA units, 3 armor units and much more will partake in the Tinian invasion.

For Rota, 1 Marine Division, several infantry regiments, 3 armor units, two US Naval base forces and everything else are slated for Rota.

The reason for two US Naval base forces for each base is simple - decrease the unload/load time for the follow on forces that will be based here.

The follow-on forces will sail with the invasion force. The follow on forces are slated for combat to take Guam and Saipan. Once Tinian and Rota have been secured, these forces will be unloaded and allowed to rest. Then, a month later, the invasion of Guam and then Saipan will begin. Since the forces will be one island away, the invasion of Guam and Saipan should progress quickly as there will be no "long sail" back and forth between the Marianas and Pearl Harbor. It is all these follow on forces - and the naval forces needed to move everything - that is really making organization of this a challenge.

China

The Chinese are kicking butt! Well, at least in/around Canton/Kukong. The Japanese land forces have really been slaughtered in combat here. And one of the absolute worse fears for the Japanese - highly trained Chinese land units - is beginning to happen. I have four full-strength Chinese Corps now with experience levels in the mid-50's. They are steamrolling over the weaker Japanese units that stand in their way.

For the fun of it - and due to previous losses by the japanese trying to take Kweilin and Liuchow - I've marched this strong Chinese force right into Canton. The Japanese forces here are weak, but do have a 5 level fortification. The Chinese did a deliberate assault and nearly had 1-1 odds. Another Corps level unit is heading to Canton, and I'm hoping this will push the odds to 1-1, allowing the fortification levels to be knocked down each turn.

Unless something changes, or the supply situation takes a turn for the worse (always a possibility), it's distinctively possible that the Chinese just might take Canton by the end of the summer.

Elsewhere in China, absolutely nothing else is happening.

India

This theatre has become quite exciting recently. The Allies took Akyab, and immediately, the Japanese air force started to pounce. The Japanese have very, very strong air forces in Burma - stationed at six+ bases. These air bases all ganged up on Akyab and basically made mince-meat of the three full-strength Hurricane squadrons that were moved in there. The Japanese then turned their attention to the Allied air forces in Cox's Bazaar and made mince-meat of the Hurricanes there, too.

Worse, the Allies have no way to "hit back." None of the Allied fighters have the range to escort bombers - and sending bombers into Burma unescorted is a recipe for disaster.

Because of the devastation of the British Hurricane Squadrons (5 units taken to nearly zero and all pools depleted), the Allies have begun to move 5 squadrons of F4's, P-40E's and P-40K's from the West Coast and Pearl Harbor. But they won't arrive for a month.

As a result, the Japanese air force has superiority in Burma right now. The only place they can't seem to crack is Imphal, probably because Imphal lies out of the range of several Japanese bases.

The Japanese are taking advantage of their superiority and bombing the airbase and port in Akyab every turn. However, they are paying a price for this, as three AA units have been moved into Akyab. The high level bombers due little to no damage. The low level bombers do inflict some damage, but they pay a price - usually 3-6 low level Japanese bombers are show down every turn - and a dozen more are damaged.

Preparation for the Invasion of Burma

While the Japanese air force has been nuking the air bases at Cox'x Bazaar and Akyab, the Allies have been moving LCU's from Akyab and Cox over to Imphal and Jorhat for Phase II and Phase III. As the previous map of the Burma invasion plans showed, the Allies will first march over from Jorhat to Myitkiyna. Appx 2-3 divisions plus armor and artillery will be involved in this march. Meanwhile, 3+ divisions, armor and artillery will begin marching from Imphal toward Shebow. These forces will then converge in Shebow itself, before marching on Mandalay.

I suspect this operation will begin at about the same time the Marianas invasion will begin - September or October of 1943. Due to the long march through the woods, though, the invasion of Burma is going to be a slow, slow affair.

Japanese Submarines

In the last AAR, I complained that I hadn't discovered the Japanese submarines in a while. I shouldn't have said anything - as all of a sudden they are popping up here and there. They nearly sunk the CA Canberra outside of Sydney, sunk a DD outside of PH, sunk an xAP with troops outside of Colombo, and been taking lots of shots at ships along the West Coast.

While the Japanese submarines are getting a few licks in, they damage doesn't even compare to what the Allied submarines are doing.

Allies Submarines

Devastating is the word to best describe the damage Allied subs are causing to Japanese shipping, especially their tanker forces. 5 ships on average each turn are being sunk, and more damaged. I had one turn where 10 ships went down, including a CL, DD and Two SC's. The damage has been so extensive I've begun to wonder how many tankers the Japanese actually have now.

The Yamato

Is now history. In the biggest battle of the AAR, the BB Yamato was spotted hanging out around Rabaul. Torpedo bombers and Dive bombers in Munda took some shots at it, but did little more than ruin the paint job.

So, I took a chance and sent in the BB Task Force I had stationed at Lunga for just this contingency. I wasn't wild about doing this - as I fully expected the Allied BB's (Idaho and Mississippi) to get their ass kicked since these BB's were so old and had the smaller 14 inch guns. Still, the Allies had more CA's and CL's then the Japanese and had a high detection level. I thought it just might be possible to catch the Japanese by surprise. And, of course, having the Yamato running around Allied bases is never a good thing - so something had to be done.

Well...the Allied BB's kicked butt. I read the combat report - the very aggressive Allied commander "Crossed the T". Yet, rather weirdly, the BB's themselves weren't responsible for sinking the Yamato. That honor went to the CL Raleigh, which put two torpedoes into her. Even better, the Idaho was undamaged during the battle, and the Mississippi only sustained 13 sys damage and no other damage - so both BB's will be ready for the Marianas invasion.

Allied ARD

The Allied received the ARD a month or two back in Seattle. I was very hesitant to move it out of Seattle, though - due to the Japanese submarines that hang around Victoria. Considering the ARD travels at 5 knots - and covers two hexes a day - it's a very vulnerable target, to say the least. Yet, it wasn't doing the Allies any good sitting in Seattle. So, I put together a huge escort force - and had that followed by an ASW force - and sent it on to Pearl Harbor. So far, it's halfway there with no sub contacts. Hopefully it makes it all the way, since if it sinks, that's 60 victory points for the Japanese!

Eventually, once the Marianas are fully secured and some "space" around the Marianas also secured (thus taking the islands out of naval bomber range), I'll move the ARD to Guam. But that is likely to not happen until well into 1944. I might move the ARD out to Kwejalein and have it function as a "halfway house", but am unsure of that, since I think the ARD would be vulnerable sitting in such a small port.

(in reply to jimh009)
Post #: 193
TURKEY TROTS TO WATER GG FROM CINCPAC ACTION COM THIRD ... - 12/17/2009 6:07:41 AM   
Fishbed

 

Posts: 1822
Joined: 11/21/2005
From: Beijing, China - Paris, France
Status: offline 		Jim, change the title of your posts. Minutes ago everyone coud read "Preparation for the Mariannas, China & India" on the top forum headline...

Edit: oops didn't see it was against the IA, nevermind...

< Message edited by Fishbed -- 12/17/2009 6:09:15 AM >

_____________________________


(in reply to jimh009)
Post #: 194
RE: TURKEY TROTS TO WATER GG FROM CINCPAC ACTION COM TH... - 12/17/2009 2:47:01 PM   
Galahad78

 

Posts: 386
Joined: 9/28/2009
Status: offline 		Hi there Jim, nice update, thanks!

Just some thoughts (born from my total rookiness):

· is it not risky to bypass bases such as Rabaul, etc. leaving only "light" garrisons at South Pac area?

· I see that jap subs weren't almost a problem but, how is your ASW performing with the few contacts you get?

· do you micromanage supply/fuel/troop TFs to get optimal loading times with port sizes, etc.?

Nice shot from CL Raleigh, in the games I played this ship is always little more than a floating bullseye guess I'm doing something wrong

(in reply to Fishbed)
Post #: 195
Ramblings on CV's and Strategy - 12/17/2009 7:29:33 PM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Galahad78

Hi there Jim, nice update, thanks!

Just some thoughts (born from my total rookiness):

· is it not risky to bypass bases such as Rabaul, etc. leaving only "light" garrisons at South Pac area?

· I see that jap subs weren't almost a problem but, how is your ASW performing with the few contacts you get?

· do you micromanage supply/fuel/troop TFs to get optimal loading times with port sizes, etc.?

Nice shot from CL Raleigh, in the games I played this ship is always little more than a floating bullseye guess I'm doing something wrong



Bypassing the South Pacific area

The Allies haven't bypassed the South Pacific area as much as they have secured what is needed. The only reason to fight with the Japanese in the South Pacific to begin with is to secure the supply line to Australia. The Allies can secure the Australian supply line by taking Munda, Lunga, Milne Bay and Port Moresby - as well as having forces on Luganville and Noumea.

Once these bases are secured, and the IJN has been subdued, there is no threat to Australia - at least from this theater.

The Allies then have a choice once the supply line to Australia is secured - continue pushing further in the South Pacific or start operations in the Central Pacific - or both. I've chosen to concentrate all forces in the Central Pacific in order to speed the push through the islands and toward the Marianas.

Of course, all of this is made possible by the sinking of the bulk of the Japanese carriers. What the IJN has left - surface forces - can be dealt with by a few BB's and land based air I have kept in the South Pacific. US CV's - and all the ships that go with them - aren't needed.

If the Japanese KB was still running around, believe me, the focus would still be on the South Pacific and securing all the islands between Pearl Harbor and Australia.

The Importance of CV's

Your question brings up another point. My play style probably differs from most gamers on this site in that I'm highly conservative - damn near paranoid, in fact - in how I use CV's (whether Allied of Japanese). Unless one of "my rules" are triggered, in fact, my Carriers are generally left in port.

I've long thought that many players over-use their CV's and don't fully grasp the importance of them. To me, sending CV's off on "raids" deep into enemy territory is a high-risk/low-reward scenario in all but that rarest of circumstances (like Dec. 7th). "Nuking" some hapless merchant vessels and destroying an air base or two is small gain to the potential of loss should "something go wrong" in the raid.

In particular, I don't think many new players to the game recognize the long-term strategic disaster that happens if one-side comes out on the losing end of a big carrier battle. Similarly, I don't think many players realize how the initiative - and thus the entire game's strategy - subtly and sometimes not-so-subtly shifts through the simple loss of a few CV's.

How Losing CV's Hurt

Losing CV's is more than just lost VP's. Or the lost ability to sink enemy ships. Instead, losing CV's can completely shift the entire strategy in the Pacific. Let me give a few examples.

If the Allies come out on the losing end of a big carrier clash with the Japanese, and lose three carriers and the Japanese lose none (as is often the case as seen in other AAR's), the Allies have essentially lost the initiative to the Japanese for ALL of 1942 and at least through the middle of 1943.

What this means is that the Allies will not only lack the ability to prevent the Japanese from "laying claim" to a spot on the map and calling it their own, but also will NOT have the strength to retake and hold the lost territory except for distant bases that lie far outside of the Japanese defensive perimeter like Midway/Aleutians/etc...

Let's take Guadalcanal as a real life example. What would have happened if the Battle of Midway had the opposite results? What if the three Allied CV's were sunk instead of the four Japanese CV's? If that result had happened, the Allies would never have been able to invade Guadalcanal in August of 1942. The lack of naval airpower would have doomed the invasion. And even if the Marines managed to make it ashore, the Japanese - due to their naval superiority - would have been able to cut off all supplies to Guadalcanal as well as be able to reinforce Japanese units on Guadalcanal at their leisure and without worry of US naval interference.

I bring this point up to highlight how the loss of a few carriers can entirely shift the strategy in the Pacific. Without carriers, the US never could have embarked on the Guadalcanal invasion (and all the subsequent operations that followed in the South Pacific). With Carriers - and because the Japanese Navy had suffered such a catastrophic defeat at Midway - the US was able to do it...barely.

What It Means in the Game

In this particular game, the decimation of Japanese carriers has greatly expanded the range of opportunities for the Allies. With the loss of Japanese CV's, the Allies no longer have to worry about a large naval and invasion force storming Port Moresby, Lunga or Noumea. Land based air and the surface forces I have in this region should be able to deal with whatever the Japanese decide to throw at the Allies here.

But let's say the Japanese score a victory. Instead of the Yamato being sunk, let's say the Allied BB's were trashed. And then the entire IJN appeared and invaded Lunga (they would need 2+ divisions to do it, as fort level is 9!). Well...so what? Exactly what would Japan accomplish by taking Lunga, Munda, Milne Bay or even Port Moresby now? Absolutely nothing. The war has shifted beyond this theater. Any forces the Japanese commit to the South Pacific now are just "wasted forces" that will not be available for where the war is now going - the Marianas, Luzon and vicinity.

Thus, if the Japanese want to commit 2+ divisions to retake Lunga, all the more power to them. Their Navy will be further damaged doing so, and whatever land forces stumble a shore will essentially be trapped there. And the same scenario holds for other bases in the South Pacific, too. And the Allies, should the desire arise, can always take these bases back later in the game so as to avoid any VP consequences.

As I mentioned back in the May/June 1942's AAR's, the loss of the Japanese CV's totally changed the strategy I'm using. Initially, my plan had been to simply hold the line from Port Moresby > Lunga > Canton Island...while having enough forces in reserve to retake those bases should Japan take them (if Japan had committed their entire Navy to taking Port Moresby, I wouldn't have challenged them. Instead, I would have waited until the right time - when the IJN was elsewhere - and then retook the place). But the loss of the Japanese CV's opened up the Allied horizons considerably.

Jim's Rules for Using Carriers

I only bring out my Carriers - whether Allied or Japanese - to do one of the following:

1. Where my force is numerically superior, I'll bring them out in order to prevent the enemy from conquering new territory.
2. Where my force is numerically superior, I'll bring out the CV's in order to expand my own territory.

Following these rules - boring as they are - goes a long ways towards keeping a players CV's floating.

This does NOT mean that the Allied player needs to sit around until 1943 until the US Navy is "larger" than the IJN. Instead, it means on a tactical level that the Allied player NEVER commits their carriers to a battle where the IJN has superiority in CV's and air units. Or, to put it another way, the player only commits their CV's where there is a very, very high probability of success and a very, very low probability of failure.

This also does NOT mean that the Allied player will never engage defenseless Japanese ships on occasion (and vice versa). As this AAR demonstrates, there is PLENTY of opportunities for a players CV's to pounce on defenseless ships. The difference is that this arises during the pursuit of one of the two above rules - NOT by sending the CV's out on a big raid into enemy controlled territory. Thus, in this game the Allies have sunk plenty of Japanese ships in the South/Central Pacific during the course of operations to take/hold/secure the bases at Lunga/Milne Bay/Munda/Canton Island.

OK. Enough Strategy! Other Stuff You Asked About

lol, sorry about the rambling post to what were some simple questions. What happens when I'm bored on a blah winter day!

Micromanaging Supply - Anyways, in regards to micromanaging supply for port sizes and the like - I'd say I partially manage that. Thus, I won't send a huge convoy of ships to a size 1/2 port anymore - as it's next to impossible to unload it unless the base has a ton of naval support. On the other hand, I don't micromanage things to a fine detail either. If something takes a few extra days to unload supply/fuel/troops at a "friendly base," then so be it. The only thing I absolutely do micromanage is the offloading of troops/supply during invasions. In other words, I don't use xAK's or xAP's for invasion forces (although I might have to use some xAP's for the Marianas).

Bypassing Rabaul - well, the stuff above should have answered that. But the loss of the IJN has made Rabaul and vicinity a "non-issue." The war has shifted entirely away from this theater. Any damage the Japanese can do now in this area is minimal at best.

Allied ASW - Has been tolerable, but certainly far from superior. I have many ASW patrols (mainly SC's) on duty along the West coast and around Pearl Harbor. They do from time to time make contact, but they rarely sink anything. However, they seem effective in keeping the Japanese submarines "underwater", "detected," and not shooting at Allies ships. That said, when Japanese submarines do engage an escorted Allied task force (either combat TF or supply TF), the Allied ASW often does sink the Japanese submarine now. Before - prior to 1943 - that wasn't happening. Instead, what happened was that the Japanese submarine sunk the Allied ship and then slunk away without damage.

(in reply to Galahad78)
Post #: 196
Chinese Forces Capture Canton - 12/19/2009 12:36:39 AM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline 		AAR Covers the Period 6/25/43 to 7/12/43

Not much happening - just lots of groundwork being laid.

The Allies are licking their chops. Within the next two weeks, the Allies receive 3 CV's and 2 CVL's as reinforcements. How nice it is that AE gives you the Essex class Yorktown/Lexington/Hornet/Wasp - even if you don't lose the originals. I hated that about stock WiTP - the Allied player never received these reinforcement carriers if the Allies didn't have any of their original carriers sunk.

China

Following the first assault on Canton, two weeks ago I moved in two more full strength Chinese Corps and one artillery unit. Over the next two weeks, using deliberate attacks, the Chinese slowly ground down the Japanese behind their 5 level fortifications in Canton. The Chinese greatly outnumbered the Japanese, but the Japanese armor and fortifications made a huge difference in the combat modifier.

Yet, China managed to do it - taking very light casualties, too (all at 1-1 odds). All ten attacks caused more casualties to the Japanese than the Chinese. And the final assault that captured Canton caused a rout - 10K casualties to 150 for China.

For the immediate future, the Allies will be sitting still in China, letting supplies grow a little bit and letting the five corps units in Canton time to rest (they have sky high fatigue and disruption after two weeks of constant attacks).

After that, most likely these five corps units will hunt down a now partially surrounded Japanese force one hex north of Canton - and then move on to Nanning, where the Japanese have been laying seige to the city since the beginning of the game.

These five Chinese corps are approaching 60 experience level now - so for a change - China has a few army units that can do a stand up fight with the Japanese.

Marianas Preparation

Preparation continues. Anticipated "load up" time is late August. I pushed the date up because there is little to be gained by waiting any longer, as the Allies don't receive in any ship reinforcements in the fall of 1943 that are a "must have."

Four large tanker TF's are either parked or enroute to Wotje, where they will sit. Five amphibious supply TF's are also in route to Wotje, too. All these TF's will join the main fleet as it approaches the Marianas.

The Allies will have 10 CV's, 5 CVE's (combat), 7 CVE's (replenishment) and 3 CVL's for the invasion. The only semi-weak link for the Allies will be in BB's. Each CV TF will have it's own fast-battleship. Thus, only four older BB's will be available for bombardment and dealing with whatever Japanese surface TF's might be running around. However, considering the 6 Japanese BB's that have been sunk, I'm not to terribly worried about a powerful Japanese surface force contesting the landings.

The only other bummer about doing the invasion so early in the war is that the Allies don't have an Amphibious HQ nor do they have a AGC ship to load it. That ship and HQ goes a long ways toward helping coordinate Allied forces during landings, reducing losses.

Thankfully, Tinian and Rota are still weakly defended. I anticipate no meaningful land resistance. The only real wild card - and it's a big one - is whether the 400+ bombers and 200+ fighters Japan has based in the Marianas (and likely more are in the area that can be moved to the Marianas) are able to penetrate the CAP/Flak of the Allied fleet.

Japanese land based air is the reason that I'm attacking Rota/Tinian first. It's crucial to capture these airfields and get Allied land based fighters flying from them immediately. I have several P-38G and P-40K fighter squadrons (with drop tanks) in the Marshall Islands on "standby". They'll be flown into the Marianas as soon as an airfield has been captured and is serviceable. This will help provide immediate fighter protection for the massive Allied fleet.

Landing Forces Finalized

The Allies will be landing 3 divisions (plus armor and artillery) on Tinian and 2 divisions (armor and artillery) at Rota for the first wave. All invasion forces will be unloaded, hopefully, using APA's/AP's/AKA's/AK's/LST's. However, I might be forced to use some xAP's for some of the ground troops going on. Not a lot of them (as the Allies will have 40 APA's and plenty of AKA's), but some. Most likely, I'll use the xAP's for landing the engineer units and one army regiment for each island.

Follow-on forces, loaded in xAP's and xAK's, will be at least five divisions, tons of armor and artillery, and all the base/support units needed to take Pagan, Saipan and Guam.

Pearl Harbor - Where's the Harbor?

Currently, 800 ships are at in Pearl Harbor! And another 100 are on the way. There's so many ships, you can't see the water. I'll soon start thinning out the ships. The first to go are the newly updated CV TF's and CVE TF's, followed by the support vessels, then followed by the land follow-on forces (loaded in xAP's), and then finally, the assault forces will be loaded up (in APA's/Ak's/LST's). All in all, total load time for everything is likely to take nearly two weeks (worse case).

India Plans Being Finalized

Only a few more units need to be moved into position in India. Once that's done, all will be ready for the invasion of Burma. The invasion of Burma likely will start at the same time the Marianas operation starts (late August?). One reason for the delay - I'm waiting for four allied fighter squadrons shipped from the West coast to reach India (which will take 40-45 days).

The other reason for the delay is that by starting the attack at the same time of the Marianas invasion, the Japanese AI might be less inclined to start shuffling troops/aircraft around the globe.

(in reply to jimh009)
Post #: 197
The Marianas Invasion is About to Begin - 12/19/2009 10:48:42 AM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline 		AAR Covers the Period 7/13/43 to 7/30/43


This post will cover the Marianas operation. The two posts following this one will detail India attack plans, which are finalized, and the surprising turn of events in China.

Marianas Preparation

The date for the Marianas operation keeps getting moved up. The assault forces will soon begin loading in Pearl Harbor. The last of the Allied carrier reinforcements are slated to arrive in PH within 10 or so days. Once these carriers arrive, everything will be ready to set sail.

Guam Follow-On Forces

The Guam follow-on forces have all been loaded in preparation for the Marianas. These forces won't be assaulting Guam right away, as they are loaded on xAP's and xAK's. Instead, they'll be offloaded at Tinian/Rota/Saipan once those islands are secured - then reloaded on APA's and AKA's after a few days rest. The forces for Guam consist of 5 divisions + artillery/armor/support units.

Truthfully, I have no idea if this plan for Guam will work. What I'm trying to do is to avoid the "long sail" back to Pearl Harbor to pick the Guam units up, then the long sail back to the Marianas for the invasion itself. By dragging the Guam forces along, I'm hoping to take Guam at least a month earlier than would otherwise be possible. The plan is to simply unload these forces on Tinian, let them rest a few turns, then reload them on all the APA's/AKA's/LST's that are already there - and empty - having dropped off the assault forces for the other islands.

The goal here is to try to secure all four islands in the Marianas in less than a month.

My only worry about the Guam follow-on forces is that they'll unload/reload slower than expected, or that some unexpected organizational nightmare might arise in trying to keep track of all these land units and ships floating around the Marianas.

Supply/Support TF's

All supply/fuel TF's are now parked at Wotje or enroute to Wake Island. These TF's will join up with the assault TF's once they are loaded. More than 500,000 fuel points and 500,00 supply points are floating around in the Pacific right now - all destined to keep the fleet fueled up and the LCU's in supply in what is going to be a long - but yet hopefully quick - operation to secure the Marianas.

Three Simultaneous Assaults in the Marianas

After examining available naval units, I believe the Allies will be have enough assault naval craft to pull-off assaulting Saipan/Tinian and Rota simultaneously. Some xAP's (mainly those with large troop carrying capacity and little cargo capacity) will have to be used. But, the vast majority of assault forces will be landing in APA's/AK's/LSI(L)'s/AKA's/LST's. The LST's are the real life saver - as they can carry all the armor, artillery, and the cargo for all the assault forces. The AK's will carry the base forces and support units. The AKA's will carry yet more assault forces cargo. For those not familiar with LSI(L), they are the British equivalent of the APA. The US stole them from the British early in the war and will NOT be giving them back.

The Rota Invasion

Rota is the first island to be targeted. Rota currently has a size 2 port and size 3 airfield.

Forces include 1 Marine Division, 2 Armor Units, 2 Artillery Units, 1 infantry regiment, 2 Raider/Parachute units, plus a gaggle of support units and 2 Naval Base Forces (with their 200 Naval Support). Rota is barely defended, so victory should be quick. My hope is to capture this island in two turns and then fly in two squadrons of P-38G's from Enwietok to provide some much needed land based air cover for the fleet. Having Rota secured will also allow me to park all TF's and thus allow them to rearm and refuel. This is very important since I expect Allied CV's and Surface TF's to be "on station" in the Marianas for the next three months at a minimum.

The Tinian Invasion

A day or two after Rota - or perhaps simultaneously - the assault on Tinian will begin. Similar to Rota, Tinian is lightly defended, as intel shows no more than 12K troops. Currently, Tinian has a size 4 airfield and size 1 port.

Forces storming ashore include three divisions, three armor units, three field artillery regiments, a huge amount of support/engineering units, three naval base forces (for 300 naval support).

Also sailing to Rota is a transport TF carrying aircraft. These aircraft, plus more flown in from Enwietok/Kwajalein, will provide yet more land based fighter protection for the fleet.

The Saipan Invasion

Initially this invasion was slated to happen later, as I didn't think there would be enough assault naval craft. But alas, it seems there should be enough. Saipan is well defended - probably 40K troops that approach 1000 AV. Saipan has a size two port and size four airfield.

Assault forces include Two Marine Divisions, an Australian Division and Two US Army Divisions. Most of these will land in APA's or LSI(L's) [borrowed from the British], but some will have to wade ashore from troop carrying xAP's. All cargo will be offloaded from normal assault naval vessels, not xAK's. Additionally, four+ armor units and four+ artillery units will also be part of the assault.

This assault force is probably overkill, but better safe than sorry.

The Allied Fleet

While I can't say for certain, I suspect the fleet size participating in this invasion will approach 700+ ships. Currently 200+ ships are stationed at Wake Island and Wotje, and 700 more are in Pearl Harbor. Not everything in PH will head to the Marianas, but a good chunk of it will.

Five CV TF's (2 CV's in each TF, with three TF's having a CVL, too) along with two combat CVE TF's (each TF has 3 CVE's), will be tasked with providing the air cover for the operation - at least until land based air can take the air battle over. Seven replenishment CVE's are stocked with replacement aircraft - so hopefully I can keep the main fleet carriers full of aircraft.

Potential Losses

Despite this huge armada of ships and the decimation of the Japanese Navy, I still expect to take losses. I will not be surprised at all if 1-3 Allied CV's are knocked out of action or sunk in this operation. The Marianas have more than 400+ bombers (with undoubtedly hundreds more an easy flight away) - and my guess is that most are Betty's. As these Japanese planes have had a year+ to train, the pilots will be skilled, and will likely be escorted by highly trained Zero pilots. Although I hope the CAP/AA blanket from the Allied task forces will deal with most of the bombers, I think it's inevitable that at least some bombers will break through. One reason I put a fast BB in each CV TF is to act as "bomb bait." With some luck, some of the bombs/torpedoes dropped will head toward the BB's instead of the CV's.

I'm not at all worried about land losses for the assaults on Rota and Tinian - the Allies have overwhelming numbers.

Saipan, however, is likely to be a far more difficult nut to crack. First off, since not all the troops in the Saipan assault will unload from APA's, the unloading process will be a bit slower than I'd like. This will lead to higher losses from shore bombardment and the like.

And secondly, I strongly suspect Saipan has the "best quality" Japanese divisions - all dug in with 6 level fortifications.

Because of this, the best Allied land units available are leading the assault on Saipan (1st and 2nd Marine divisions and the 7th Australian Division). These forces will be landed from APA's. All three of these divisions have 90+ experience. With some luck, the high experience and 100 PP's (along with all the armor and artillery units) should off-set some of the Japanese advantages. The other two US Army divisions are sort of the wildcard. Their experience isn't nearly as high, and since at least some of the forces will be offloaded from xAP's, well...anything can happen.

(in reply to jimh009)
Post #: 198
RE: The Marianas Invasion is About to Begin - 12/19/2009 10:59:52 AM   
Andy Mac

 

Posts: 15222
Joined: 5/12/2004
From: Alexandria, Scotland
Status: offline 		Jim can you send me a save please ? I want to take a look at the japanese side to see how the AI has done

a.mcphie@btinternet.com

(in reply to jimh009)
Post #: 199
Burma Invasion Plans - 12/19/2009 11:11:09 AM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline 		The plans for the invasion of Burma have more or less been finalized. The map of the plans is shown below. I anticipate the plan being set into motion sometime within the next 3-5 weeks.

The plan will develop in "five stages." And the plan involves five different prongs of attack.

The first stage will be the march of about 1400 AV from Jorhat to Myitkiyna. The goal is to secure the flank by destroying the weak Japanese forces there as well as to set up 1-2 air bases.

The second stage will involve the march from Imphal to the hex highlighted by the arrow in the map. The march will occur at the same time the march to Myitkiyna takes place. I'm hoping that the march of this force - which will be at least 1000 AV - will prevent the Japanese from reinforcing Myitkiyna. And with some luck, I just might trap the forces in Myitkiyna, too.

The third stage involves around 1700 AV and is the strongest of this five prong attack. These units first march along the road to Kalemyo from Imphal, and then slog through the jungle to the hex just outside of Shebow. The goal is to time everything so that this force busts out of the jungle at about the same time the forces from Stage 1 and Stage 2 are approaching Shebow, too. Whether or not I can accomplish such a "neat" sense of timing, well, who knows. But it does seem nice in theory.

The fourth stage will happen if the first three stages actually work - and all the forces are in supply (something I'm a bit worried about). Assuming all goes well, around 1000 AV from Cox Bazaar will start the very slow march toward Mandalay.

The fifth stage will happen almost immediately after that.

The Goal of the Plan

As can be seen on the map, this is a VERY broad frontal attack - spanning the entire distance from Akyab to Jorhat. The goal is to converge all these forces in one central location (Mandalay and vicinity).

The reason I'm trying this is to secure the supply lines. By launching a broad frontal attack like this, my hope is that a bountiful amount of supply will flow. Just as importantly, such a broad frontal attack will make it impossible for the Japanese to flank or cut-off the Allied land units. Any attempt by the Japanese to isolate the Allies most likely will result in the Japanese being surrounded, due to the huge number of Allied units involved. Finally, the broad frontal attack should hopefully pin Japanese units in their current positions - preventing the Japanese from quickly reinforcing any particular place.

Well...that's the theory. Time will tell if the plan actually works.


(in reply to jimh009)
Post #: 200
Map of India - 12/19/2009 11:12:04 AM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline 		Map of Burma Invasion Plans






Attachment (1)

(in reply to jimh009)
Post #: 201
RE: The Marianas Invasion is About to Begin - 12/19/2009 11:13:16 AM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Andy Mac

Jim can you send me a save please ? I want to take a look at the japanese side to see how the AI has done

a.mcphie@btinternet.com


Sure, will do. Let's see if I remember how. :)

(in reply to Andy Mac)
Post #: 202
RE: The Marianas Invasion is About to Begin - 12/19/2009 11:19:22 AM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Andy Mac

Jim can you send me a save please ? I want to take a look at the japanese side to see how the AI has done

a.mcphie@btinternet.com


Sent. Let me know if I sent you the right file.

(in reply to Andy Mac)
Post #: 203
Surprising Events in China - 12/19/2009 11:33:55 AM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline 		The China Situation

Well...who would have thought? Chinese forces are sitting outside the gates to Hong Kong? But that's exactly what has happened. The Chinese forces completely destroyed all the Japanese forces in/around Canton. Just a few more Jap forces need to be hunted down and killed.

After that? Hmm...not sure. I'll admit, Hong Kong IS tempting. But the Japanese can reinforce that so easily - or retake it so easily - I'm not sure it's worth the trouble. Additionally, the shock attack across the strait won't do the Chinese forces any favors, either. The way China can win a land combat with Japan is through grinding deliberate attacks. At first, the attacks don't do much. But after a few of these attacks, the Japanese casualties start rising quickly.

Most likely, once these isolated Japanese forces are eliminated, I'll send several corps units up to Nanning to end the seige there (and hopefully trap/destroy) the 30K Japanese troops there.

China and Supply

The supply situation in China is weird right now. The only reason the Chinese are running a bit wild now is because a few units are finding full supply. What's weird is that no other unit in China has fully supply (and at least half are at or near 0 supply) - only the units running around Kukong and Canton are gaining full supply. I truthfully do not know how or why these units are finding supply and other units in China are not. But oh well, I won't complain. Without the supply, none of these attacks could have happened.

Japanese Nightmare Come to Life

The Japanese have lots of potential nightmares in this game, but one not often thought about is what happens when very large Chinese Corps land units get to 60+ experience level. With that experience level, these huge Chinese Corps - if fully supplied and if they have some artillery with them - can really run roughshod over the Japanese units if they aren't dug in and have lots of armor/artillery of their own.

And pity the poor Japanese unit that tries a shock attack against these Chinese Corps. It's happened twice, and both times the Japanese unit took stratospheric casualties (and, of course the next turn the Chinese attacked back - shattering the Japanese unit).

Fortunately for the Japanese, AE is way different than stock. Back in stock WiTP, it was easy - if painful - to develop the ENTIRE Chinese Army to an experience level of 70+, with some units have 90+ - without ANY outside help from the Allies. Needless to say, the Japanese Army in China didn't last too long against that. Every game I ever played against the Japanese AI (which, in all fairness, played China very poorly) in stock WiTP had the entire Japanese Army in China being eliminated by no later than early 1944! In one memorable game against the AI, the US even borrowed a few Chinese Units for the invasion of Formosa - with the Chinese units embarking on the transports at Hong Kong!

With all the supply issues the Chinese have in this game, I don't expect anything like that to happen here. But I'll admit it IS fun having at least a few over-strength Chinese Corps that can do a standup fight with the Japanese and come out on the winning side on occasion.

Additionally, I also think the AI is paying right now for having withdrawn some units from China for use "elsewhere." But that's just a guess - I'm not sure if the AI has actually withdrawn units. But - considering how empty this the southern part of China is of Japanese units, I do wonder.






Attachment (1)

(in reply to jimh009)
Post #: 204
RE: Surprising Events in China - 12/19/2009 12:21:21 PM   
Andy Mac

 

Posts: 15222
Joined: 5/12/2004
From: Alexandria, Scotland
Status: offline 		Ai doesnt pull China units out opther than 38th Div

(in reply to jimh009)
Post #: 205
RE: Surprising Events in China - 12/19/2009 1:33:23 PM   
Nemo121


Posts: 5821
Joined: 2/6/2004
Status: offline 		Do you actually have a schwerpunkt? It seems that many of those Burmese thrusts are woefully weak. Of course this is against the AI so probably the weakness won't matter. Against an experienced player though I think you might find they'd commit a blocking force against the main thrust ( jungle and forts would combine to mean that a force of 1,000 AV could comfortably hold the 3,500 AV thrust ) before combining against the other thrusts and defeating them in series and in detail - potentially even with surroundings given the adverse force correlation which would prevail vs the last 2 thrusts.

(in reply to Andy Mac)
Post #: 206
RE: Surprising Events in China - 12/19/2009 11:18:03 PM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Nemo121

Do you actually have a schwerpunkt? It seems that many of those Burmese thrusts are woefully weak. Of course this is against the AI so probably the weakness won't matter. Against an experienced player though I think you might find they'd commit a blocking force against the main thrust ( jungle and forts would combine to mean that a force of 1,000 AV could comfortably hold the 3,500 AV thrust ) before combining against the other thrusts and defeating them in series and in detail - potentially even with surroundings given the adverse force correlation which would prevail vs the last 2 thrusts.


Thrust #4 and #5 are weak...but they aren't really intended to combat anyone. Just shrink the battlefield and hopefully pin the Japanese units in place. If all works well, these two thrusts will combine with the main one.

Thrusts #1-#3 will combine into one outside of Shebow...so it will be a substantial force.

The reason this strategy has unfolded is due to Japanese failure earlier in the war in Burma. Three high quality divisions were completely eliminated (2 at Imphal, 1 at Chittagong). If the Japanese still had these divisions available, most likely I wouldn't be contemplating an invasion of Burma at all - for the very reasons you stated.

But without those three divisions, plus the armor units that were lost, it really opens up the door to Burma. Japan simply doesn't have enough forces to block the entire axis of advance through the jungle. If it attempts to do so, the Allies can simply march around and isolate the units - while still being strong enough to prevent successful Japanese attacks.

I know from Intel that the Japanese aren't anywhere in the jungle. Instead, they are holding in Mandalay and vicinity. So the Japanese making a stand in the jungle really isn't an issue.

The big question is whether the Allies will be able to a) supply this whole Army marching through the jungle and, b) whether the Allies can knock the Japanese out of Mandalay/Shebow, as these units are likely very, very dug-in.

(in reply to Nemo121)
Post #: 207
RE: Ramblings on CV's and Strategy - 12/22/2009 7:29:08 AM   
Galahad78

 

Posts: 386
Joined: 9/28/2009
Status: offline
quote:



[Lots of interesting stuff]



Thanks for the heads-up, for a newbie like me this kind of strategic stuff is priceless!

By the way, I like the way you're planning the logistic for Guam forces. As you say, if there is no strange problems regarding low unload rates because of port sizes, etc., that will save you a lot of time and wear and tear in your vessels.

Are the invasions already underway?

(in reply to jimh009)
Post #: 208
RE: Ramblings on CV's and Strategy - 1/4/2010 2:24:25 PM   
Oehm

 

Posts: 2
Joined: 4/16/2009
From: Bavaria (Germany)
Status: offline 		Also thanks for this great AAR! It's my first game with the AE and you help me to prevent many mistakes!!
Best wishes for 2010 and that the AAR will be continued for a long, long time

(in reply to Galahad78)
Post #: 209
Saipan, Rota and Tinian Secured - 1/5/2010 12:04:00 PM   
jimh009

 

Posts: 368
Joined: 5/15/2005
Status: offline 		This AAR Covers 7/31/43 to 9/6/43

Sorry for the delay. But between doing lots in the game and Christmas travels, I never got around to posting the latest AAR. So...here it is.

Marianas Invasion

The invasion of Rota, Tinian and Saipan went off far, far better than I could have hoped. As intel showed, Rota and Tinian were lightly defended. In two days, Allied assault forces took the islands - allowing for a staging base for everything else and allowing Allied CV's and other vessels the ability to refuel/rearm while on station.

Saipan fell a week after Tinian and Rota were secured (Tinian was invaded one day after Rota). All in all, the invasion to secure these three islands - and allowing two days for bombardment - took only 10 days.

Saipan, much to my surprise, fell easily. For whatever reason, the AI didn't really garrison it. There were a lot of support units there, but not much in the way of infantry. But it really didn't matter, since the Allies had 5+ divisions, 4+ armor units, 3+ combat engineer units, and 4+ field artillery regiments. Combined with days and days of bombardment, the Jap forces on Saipan never had a chance. When the Allies invaded, the Japanese units were so badly disrupted that their combat defensive factor had dropped to less than 20 (they had around 300 AV there, give or take).

Guam

All that is left is Guam. After offloading all the units that are to participate in the Guam invasion at Rota (big mistake...Rota has a stacking limit of 60K men. I should have done this on Tinian instead!), I've begun reloading the units on APA's and LST's. 4 divisions are now loaded, along with two armor and one field artillery regiment. Just need to load up the support units and a few smaller combat units an everything will be ready.

Unlike the other islands, Guam is well defended. Intel shows the 21st division and a whole gaggle of other Japanese LCU's. So, invading Guam won't be the cake walk the other three islands were. That said, due to the daily bombardment by BB's and carrier aircraft, I suspect the disruption level of Japanese units on Guam will be very high - so I still anticipate taking the island relatively easily.

The offloading of all the units on Rota - despite the stacking problem - went off without a hitch. The "plan" to transport these units to Guam in xAP's, offload them, then reload them on APA's has worked to perfection. Due to having 300 Naval Support on Rota, all these units offloaded within a few turns. By dragging all these units to Rota, instead of keeping them at Pearl, I've saved a good 30+ days in the overall time line.

Air and Naval Resistance at the Marianas Plus Organization of Attack

There was no naval resistance at the Marianas at all, due to the decimated IJN. It's helpful that I invaded the Marianas so early. If I had waited until mid 1944 as was done historically, the japanese would have had quite a few more carriers (new ones) that they could have used to resist - however meager the resistance might have been. In any event, the lack of naval resistance was no surprise.

But what was a surprise was the total domination of the skies by the Allies. The Japanese had hundreds of planes on Guam, Tinian and Saipan each - figure a total of at least 700 planes. I was really expecting to take some losses to these planes, as I expected they had very high experience levels. But alas, my strategy worked - leading to basically another "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot." Only a handful of bombs ever were dropped, and those that were hit nothing except for a lone hit on a BB that caused slight damage (wasn't a BB slightly damaged by a bomb hit the real-life Turkey Shoot?). The Hellcats simply chewed up everything and anything the Japanese sent.

To avoid potential damage to all the transports and supply ships, the strategy utilized to thin down the Japanese air attacks was to send all CV's out in front - well out in front - of the main invasion forces. I kept the main invasion forces, under cover of two CVE task forces - about 12 hexes away. Meanwhile, I sent in the CV's and one replenishment group with replenishment CVE's and parked them two hexes away from Tinian. I was hoping that the CV's would draw all the interest of the Japanese bombers, and they did. Additionally, I also did NOT have my aircraft attack any airfields during the first two days. Instead, I had everything on defensive CAP and kept all the carrier bombers on "naval attack" only. The goal simply was to either defeat the Japanese in air-to-air combat or having them get chewed up in the flak. Or to put it another way, I didn't want to reduce/dilute my fighter protection by sending out half of the fighters on raids against Japanese airfields - at least not at first.

Beginning on the third day, I moved in the rest of the invasion force to the same hex that the carriers were in - no small task considering there was nearly 70 TF's that I had to move one by one!! On this day I also started attacking the Japanese airfields in the Marianas. Due to the two days prior losses in air to air combat, resistance by Japanese fighters was negligible and Allies losses were light.

On the fifth day, I moved the three bombardment BB's into Rota and bombed Rota's ground units. The CVE task forces also moved in to Rota, reinforced by some LRCAP from the fleet carriers - which remained two hexes away. The BB's did their thing for two days, then the invasion forces moved in.

A day later, I repeated the process at Tinian - moving in the BB's for bombardment while covered by the two CVE task forces, followed by the invasion.

Saipan was a bit different. I waited until everything was secure on Rota and Tinian and had some land based air over each island. Then I moved in everything to Saipan, bombarded for several days, flew every carrier bomber against the ground units for several days, then invaded. Losses were virtually non-existent. Only one ship (unfortunately, an APA), was knocked out by the shore guns - although several others were banged up pretty good.

Keeping Supplied

The strategy of dragging along about 25 TK's to replenish the replenishment groups worked splendidly. Allied CV's have been on station for more than a month now, but are still able to draw fuel from fully fueled replenishment groups. Remember, the trick to keep your replenishment TF's fully replenished is to have a tanker TF's parked (does not need to be docked) in a friendly base hex. Then hit the replenishment button on the replenishment TF and presto, you're fully fueled. And don't forget the keep your AKE's and AE's fully stocked with supplies, too - as the Allied BB's will draw down the supplies quickly if you do lots of bombardment.

Setting Up the Supply Network

A new supply network will soon be setup. Allies will begin running routine convoys between Pearl Harbor and Saipan/Guam. I specifically pulled out the faster moving xAK's for this - speeds of 14 knots or greater. With 100 Naval Support at both Saipan and Guam, these supply groups should unload quickly - especially since these supply TF's will be amphibious TF's.

Also will be running between Pearl Harbor and Guam/Saipan will be several tanker TF's - sized appropriately for the port. Remember, all the naval support in the world doesn't help you unload tankers any faster. To unload tankers, they really need to be docked! For this reason, I'll likely be keeping a tanker TF stocked with fuel anchored at all times in Guam. It's purpose will be to provide continuous refueling for the replenishment groups that I have there. When it runs low on fuel, another one from LA will head out. Really, I'm unloading fuel on Guam and Saipan more for all the transport ships that will come and go, as well as the submarines that will soon be based there. A size 5 port is just too small to be actively used to keep the huge allied fleet fully refueled. For pure "fleet use," (the CV and BB TF's), most likely all fuel will continue to come from replenishment groups that will always be parked at Guam/Saipan (and which are then resupplied by the tanker TF's).

What's Next?

Pagan. This island is the one lone island that can still do some damage via air attacks on the fleet that is based in the Marianas. The Japanese have it very well defended - more so than Tinian and Rota, oddly enough. However, I need to invade Guam first, then move the land combat units slated for Pagan out to Guam. There the land forces that will invade Pagan will be unloaded, then reloaded on APA's and LST's. This will likely take a month or so.

As you can see, most likely I'll be basing virtually all APA's and LST's in the Marianas from now on. Land forces from the USA and Pearl Harbor that will needed for future invasions will first be moved to Guam and Saipan via xAP's. the 100+ Naval Support makes unloading these forces quite simple and relatively quick. Then they'll be reloaded on the APA's and LST's for the actual invasions. This saves an immense amount of time (LST's are horribly slow!) and lots of wear and tear on the invasion ships, too. To help keep things organized, I'll likely be utilizing both Guam and Saipan as bases for future invasions...but I suppose it's possible I might use Guam exclusively at some point.

After Pagan, I've targeted Iwo Jima, Ulithi, Woleai and a few other bases in that general area. Now that the Marianas are almost secure, I need to "broaden the wedge" in the Japanese defense perimeter as well as to allow for complete and unhindered control of the air and waters around the Marianas.

Other Stuff

The Indians and British are slogging through the jungle - they have a long ways to go, but are getting there, ever so slowly. Suspect it will be at least another month before anything exciting happens in Burma. However, the Brits are beginning to wrest control of the skies back from the Japanese. I guess the war of attrition the past few months has taken it's toll on Japanese aircraft/pilots - as the results are becoming more one-sided for the Allies now (at the beginning of the Burma Air Blitz by the Japanese a few months ago, they were really cleaning the Brits clock).


(in reply to Oehm)
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