Slitherine

quote:

ORIGINAL: dekwik

You're doing a great job GJ. Just the advice you're getting alone is enough to make a head spin. But it doesn't stop me from adding to it

Diego Garcia is a really crucial base. Losing that base alone might be enough to get Rader to fall back from India, at least the western portions. OK you can argue you want him deployed too far forward but that's a bit weak. you want the HI out of his hands too.

Diego is one of the few bases where you can say Japan would be thrilled to keep it for ever. There's always the knowledge for Japan that troops can be bypassed and left to rot, so keeping most bases is (eventually) a mixed blessing, as we see in the Solomons. But Diego is forever astride your supply lines. It's a base you can't bypass so you may as well resign yourself to the losses implicit in taking it. The more force you deploy in taking it the less you will lose.

On the positve side, it's one of the few places where Japan *might* be tempted to engage your CVs with the KB outside massive LBA cover. The time when Rader would do that anywhere else passed 6 months ago. In another 12 months, Rader will be avoiding your CVs the plague even with LBA cover because Japan benefits later from the "fleet in being" threat just as much as the allies do early in the war. Maybe you keep playing down DG as another op-sec exercise "

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Obviously i don't have any perfect clue about his dispositions in SRA/DEI...but the intel tells me, for ex, that he has the 61st Division at Coconut Island, 2 divisions at Timor, along with 1 Eng Regiment and 1 Air HQ...at Menado he has massed 2 divisions, 1 Army HQ and several artillery units...this just to give you an idea of what he's able to mass...the conquest of China had opened a can of worms... probably, by now, the less defended is SUmatra...but again, to get there, i'd need Diego...and Diego is guarded by 30,000 men, an Army HQ, and Air HQ and a guard regiment for sure...if i had to bet i'd say that at least another regiment is based there... can i take it? yes, for sure... but it will take time...and by the time i get rid of Diego he could have redeployed his KBs and his LBAs to the SRA/DEI...waiting for me...

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ORIGINAL: princep01

Ahhhh, there you are, Reek.Stop cowering in that dark corner and lend an ear (while you still have them).

Of late, many pearls of wisdom have been rained upon you by the griseled veterans of mortal combat in the Pacific. And, indeed several of these missives have been to the point and accurate in my estimation. Nonetheless, not all agree, so it is encumbent upon you to develop your plan and execute it in your own eloquent style. Shall it be the rapier, the long sword or the brutal cutlass that you adopt in future games? Much will be determined by what you come away with from this game. The important thing is to try some of these suggestions and observe the results by your own hand. There you will find the golden fleece of wisdom in applicating the game mechanics and learning the best ways to employ your own dogs of war.

In all truth, Reek, you will probably not prevail in this game. Never fear. I shall allow you another chance with a new foe. The loss of China and India and all their industrial and mineral wealth is probably too much to overcome. However, you have shown a game spirit (something I'd like to see more of around here, you know). Keep up the pressure and learn with each passing turn new tricks for future use.

One last note. I would use those ace filled squadrons only on CAP over friendly bases until Rader halts the mass raids and sweeps. First, they will tend to wreck a lot of enemy planes and, if shot down, there is a good chance they will survive to fly yet again.

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ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

We need to be very careful about putting pressure on GJ here. Any player - even moreso a fairly new one - is going to get a bit of the "willies" when told he is way behind schedule, especially when the opinions are coming from players of the quality who are posting here. Unless he's some kind of prodigy, he's gonig to experience that knot in the stomach that signals, "Hey, the experts are telling me I'm behind. I better get moving and fast!"

Players who act under pressure are going to make mistakes. Multiply that exponentially for relatively new players.

Everybody will agree that GJ has come very far since he started this game. His growth as a player will continue. I believe he has a good grasp on the situation and will be best served moving at his own pace. I also beleive the Allies are growing so strong that GJ, by the judicious use of his forces (especially carriers and fast BBs) will grow more certain of himself, and act increasingly boldly, as he progresses into 1944.

I would agree with the others if rader wasn't throwing ground units, ships, and aircraft into the campaign on a massive scale. GJ is doing an admirable job of defeating rader. I have said many times before the 1943 (Scenario One) and 1944 (Scenario Two) is the Year of Attrition in AE. As '43 has gone on, GJ has exerted more and more pressure, and rader has responded by pushing back; and thus GJ is making good progress while learning much more about how to do things in AE.

Therefore, I urge GJ not to get antsy in reaction to posts here by excellent players. Their advice would hold much more water for an experience player, not one who is now cutting his teeth on the complexities of offensive warfare.

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ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

quote:

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

We need to be very careful about putting pressure on GJ here. Any player - even moreso a fairly new one - is going to get a bit of the "willies" when told he is way behind schedule, especially when the opinions are coming from players of the quality who are posting here. Unless he's some kind of prodigy, he's gonig to experience that knot in the stomach that signals, "Hey, the experts are telling me I'm behind. I better get moving and fast!"

Players who act under pressure are going to make mistakes. Multiply that exponentially for relatively new players.

Everybody will agree that GJ has come very far since he started this game. His growth as a player will continue. I believe he has a good grasp on the situation and will be best served moving at his own pace. I also beleive the Allies are growing so strong that GJ, by the judicious use of his forces (especially carriers and fast BBs) will grow more certain of himself, and act increasingly boldly, as he progresses into 1944.

I would agree with the others if rader wasn't throwing ground units, ships, and aircraft into the campaign on a massive scale. GJ is doing an admirable job of defeating rader. I have said many times before the 1943 (Scenario One) and 1944 (Scenario Two) is the Year of Attrition in AE. As '43 has gone on, GJ has exerted more and more pressure, and rader has responded by pushing back; and thus GJ is making good progress while learning much more about how to do things in AE.

Therefore, I urge GJ not to get antsy in reaction to posts here by excellent players. Their advice would hold much more water for an experience player, not one who is now cutting his teeth on the complexities of offensive warfare.

Perhaps this discussion would be better served in the main forum. But that would give rader valuable insights.

It's not for me to opine whether GJ is better than he used to be; opinions on that are clear in this AAR. The more interesting issues, for me, deal with Nemo's points vis a vis the national objectives a situation such as GJ's presents in a Scenario 2 game where India is in Japanese hands. In two major AARed games now--yours with QB and this one--we have seen that India can represent more than an attractive setting for auto-vic. If the Japanese player chooses he can treat India as an economic engine. If he chooses to pay the garrison price he can source HI from there which exponentially increases his force mix elsewhere.

Ruminating on this last night I was reminded of the "Perpetual Fur Farm" of legend and lore. In this fanciful economic construct, only three commodities exist: rats, minks, and wheat. Rats are eaten by the minks. The minks are killed for their fur, which is sold. The mink carcasses are eaten by the rats. A small injection of wheat is inserted each cycle to feed the rats and make up for the energy loss of the fur leaving the closed system. In this game, rader seemingly produces aircraft for the main purpose of "disposing" of pilots which would otherwise consume HI in the pilot pool. This HI savings allows him to build ever more aircraft, with a "wheat" injection of HI from India. If his low-grade pilots in his increasingly R&D-sophisticated aircraft kill Allied planes, great. GJ owns no Fur Farm; his aircraft are finite. If they don't, still good, since the incessant combat at good Allied loss ratios makes GJ think he's accomplishing something when in fact he is giving rader the one thing he can't manufacture--time.

Attrition warfare is fine as far as it goes, but it's never an end in itself. As was preached at me in my first week at OCS, and what history teaches, is that warships exist solely to influence events ashore. SOLELY. Salamis, Trafalgar, Midway--all major historic naval battles were significant only insofar as they allowed flexibility to operate the land forces concerned. GJ can sink a bunch of IJN ships, but, outside of VPs which are not a factor here to either player, unless he has plans for how to use that freedom to move against the territorial interests of the Japanese those victories will be hollow.

He needs a plan for 1944-46 which extends farther than "break stuff." That's what Nemo is saying, and I don't think it's a revelation nor should it add pressure to his game.

I have urged him to at least re-examine his entire effort on the left third of the map. He is tying down some of the best fighting forces on the map marching and counter-marching on the Road to Multan (and no, it's not a Bob Hope film.) He justifies this by saying he's tying down significant Japanese foces in India. Given what Nemo proposes is rader's posture toward India, and which I hereby dub the Fur Farm Maneuver, I think rader is satisfied with this crude, de facto, modus vivendi. GJ is giving away a HUGE portion of his toolbox. As I said, I've urged him to reconsider, even to the point of abandonning Karachi in order to create an invisible flying wedge off-map available to complicate rader's life immeasurably. He has rejected that course. This is fine, as it's, as always, his game.

But the fact remains that he needs a better macro plan than he has currently shown in the Solomons if he wants to win. If he just wants to learn how to move the pieces around then his present course is sufficient.

quote:

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

My view is that all those LCUs that i keep in India are forcing Rader to keep those 500k men there...imagine how could he garrison the DEI /PI /Mariannas with all those men...


If i start to move troops out of India Rader will simply move his troops out in a proportional manner...and i surely have not the transport capabilities to bring out of Karachi anything more than a couple of divisions at the same time... This will slow down the whole process or reposition a whole new army...not to talk about the problems related with the ships that would need to be moved out of the SOPAC...time is running fast, as you say, and i cannot keep on changing plans over and over...Now i'm massing forces in Perth area...with preparation points etc etc...it would be mad to change everything again and assembly a new amphibious force for another massive operation starting from CT... in the Solomons i still need transport ships in order to keep on advancing...

Thanks!

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I've studied the map for 2 hours this morning... an invasion of Sumatra passing by the way Obvert just pointed out seems doable, provided that i bring with my all my CV/CVL/CVE fleet.
The point, imho, is that once the surprise is broken (let's say at least 4 days before the landings) i need to hurry up and take at least 3 mutual supporting bases...
Ok, let's say i do it cause those 3 bases on the western coast of Sumatra are lightly defended (consider that, a part from the Intel, i won't have any clue about what he has there...)
...so i've taken those three bases...

...Rader will be moving lots of stuff to the theatre...but then? My communication lines will be non-existent...i'll have to rely only on what i brought there... If i was Rader i wouldn't bother much...i'll simply flood the area with Nells/Betties/Frances and some 1000 LBA fighters (in one week he can easily transfer those numbers (in India he has 400 fighters for example)...he could simply halt my advance and keep my comm lines shut (the KB will have an easy job doing that under the LBA umbrella...)

quote:

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy
Our landing fleet stopped at Tulagi to refuel and, during a clear night, hordes of Betties came to claim their blood... our night fighters are present in decent number but are aboslutely useless, even if composed of crack fighter pilots.......luckly my ships aren't hit...but i need to find a countermove for his night naval attacks...a counter move that WORKS

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ORIGINAL: Jzanes

quote:

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy
Our landing fleet stopped at Tulagi to refuel and, during a clear night, hordes of Betties came to claim their blood... our night fighters are present in decent number but are aboslutely useless, even if composed of crack fighter pilots.......luckly my ships aren't hit...but i need to find a countermove for his night naval attacks...a counter move that WORKS

Try sending a couple hundred night heavy bombers vs. his main airfields for a couple days and I bet he'll ask for a night bombing house rule real quick. at least that's how it worked out in our game.

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ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

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ORIGINAL: Jzanes

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ORIGINAL: GreyJoy
Our landing fleet stopped at Tulagi to refuel and, during a clear night, hordes of Betties came to claim their blood... our night fighters are present in decent number but are aboslutely useless, even if composed of crack fighter pilots.......luckly my ships aren't hit...but i need to find a countermove for his night naval attacks...a counter move that WORKS

Try sending a couple hundred night heavy bombers vs. his main airfields for a couple days and I bet he'll ask for a night bombing house rule real quick. at least that's how it worked out in our game.

we already have it since the game start... number of night bombers flying = moon percentage /2

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ORIGINAL: ADB123

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ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

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ORIGINAL: Jzanes

quote:

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy
Our landing fleet stopped at Tulagi to refuel and, during a clear night, hordes of Betties came to claim their blood... our night fighters are present in decent number but are aboslutely useless, even if composed of crack fighter pilots.......luckly my ships aren't hit...but i need to find a countermove for his night naval attacks...a counter move that WORKS

Try sending a couple hundred night heavy bombers vs. his main airfields for a couple days and I bet he'll ask for a night bombing house rule real quick. at least that's how it worked out in our game.

we already have it since the game start... number of night bombers flying = moon percentage /2

Did you follow-up with 35 4Es sent at night to one of his Air Fields?

quote:

Yes, i tried several times during the match...i'd say that results were usually poor...if i odered to 50 4Es (only when the moon was up tp 100%...so once in a month) to strike at night only half of them would actually take off...and, finding always his nightfighters, my bombers achieved almost nothing...and usually suffered severe Op losses...
I then decided to stick with daylight bombing...

quote:

ORIGINAL: LoBaron

Rader is doing this wrong. He is fighting his defense over foreign territory against
obviousely better pilots and planes on equal numbers which doesn´t achieve anything
besides increasing the pilot quality gap.
And he does it for weeks already.

This may happen when you fight alone against 100 brains.
I don´t want to lessen your achievements GreyJoy, but am I the only one who thinks that
there is a bit too much help from top notch players around to stil call this
"The power of inexperience"?

Art by the amazing Dixie

quote:

ORIGINAL: LoBaron


This may happen when you fight alone against 100 brains.
I don´t want to lessen your achievements GreyJoy, but am I the only one who thinks that
there is a bit too much help from top notch players around to stil call this
"The power of inexperience"?

quote:

ORIGINAL: goodboyladdie

quote:

ORIGINAL: LoBaron

Rader is doing this wrong. He is fighting his defense over foreign territory against
obviousely better pilots and planes on equal numbers which doesn´t achieve anything
besides increasing the pilot quality gap.
And he does it for weeks already.

This may happen when you fight alone against 100 brains.
I don´t want to lessen your achievements GreyJoy, but am I the only one who thinks that
there is a bit too much help from top notch players around to stil call this
"The power of inexperience"?

I think this is a little unfair. The AAR was named a long time ago, after all. Greyjoy has learned a lot of lessons the hard way, but learn them he has. Any experience he now has has been hard won. Most of the advice he is given is taken in, weighed up and then disregarded as he makes his decisions based on the reality of his situation. I'd go as far to say the enormous amount of often conflicting advice as experienced players argue and counter argue is often not helpful to Greyjoy and he steers his own path.