Skyfire7631
Posts: 223
Joined: 7/6/2001 From: Toulouse, France Status: offline
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Hi, I'm playing scenario 17, as allies, it's February 43, and I'm trying to invade Shortland. Well, I got slaughtered :D, but mostly for bad reasons, IMHO. Here's what happened on first try : I bombed the airfields of Rabaul and Shortland during two weeks before the invasion, and made 4 bombardment missions to Shortland. The two airfields are now closed for repairs (the AI still manages to have a dozen of fighters do their CAP thing over Rabaul from time to time, but that's all). With the bombers, I also systematically sent a PRS air group. So, I look at Shortland, and what do I see ? Only 3 infantry units, 3 CD units, and 3 engineers units. Great, this will be a piece of cake ! :) I load a huge transport TF from Noumea with infantry, engineers, HQs, base forces, and tanks, and I send it to Shortland with, in support, a carrier TF and two surface combat TFs (1 BB, 3 CA, 3 CL, 2DD in each). And here we go. ****, I forgot mine sweepers ! :( Result : almost all my transports are either damaged or sunk, but I nevertheless manage to have a good of number of troops on shore. Here comes the first land battle : but ... but ... there are not 3 infantry units in Shortland, but at least 10. ****, needless to say, I got my a** kicked bad ;) OK, so I reload my end of January saved game, and try again. This time, I load my transport TF with only infantry and tanks, and one HQ and one engineers in support. And I send in Shortland a Mine Warfare TF with 2 DMS and 2 MSW, supported my 2 surface combat TFs. These 3 TFs will stay in Shortland for 4 days before the invasion. During these 4 days, a surface combat happens, where I sink 4 japanese CA, and loose 1 CA, and have a CL and a DD badly damaged. But I'm puzzled : the mine fields don't seem to be detected or sweeped .... ???? Indeed, they are not : when my transport TF comes in, the results are the same as before, all my transport ships are badly damaged or sunk ! :( I manage to have almost as many troops as the AI in Shortland, but I don't think I'll be able to take the base with that, and since I've almost no transports left ... I'm stuck. OK, with this said, here are the questions/remarks I have : - It would be a very very good thing if we could have more information about troops/bases at a given place. I mean, after two weeks of bombing and recon, I surely know a lot about Shortland and its troops. One idea that comes to my mind is that we should be able to click on an enemy base, and have a display similar to our bases, with orders disabled, and information more or less accurate based on the detection level of the bases/troops. Please, please, it would really help in planning invasions. - What happened with those **** mines ? Why my Mine Warfare TF did not detect and clean them ? And why were they not detected by either my recons or my previous bombardment missions ? - I don't understand why my transport TF of 24 ships, with a transport capacity of 47000, which I ordered to load with 14 troops for a total of 46000 capacity, ended up in a 35 or so ships TF (the computer automatically added lots of APD, and some LCI/LST) with a capacity of 65000. Note : I used the "Load only troops" order. I'm really interested in hearing your opinions about all this. Regards.
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