Slitherine

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ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

Anyway i think i can draw the first assumption from what i've seen here.... Japanese defences, even when so dense and brutal, can be broken and penetrated by our fighters. What i need now is to figure out how to avoid the coordination problem...i need my sweeps to arrive togheder and before the bombers. And i need my bombers to remain togheder

B29s are still grouping....won't throw them away before i can manage to get a decent punch

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ORIGINAL: JohnDillworth

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It's not the bombers...it's the fighter coordination that bothers me....

I don't know when but you eventually get 75 plane P-51 and maybe P-47 squadrons. That should help but it looks like you are muddling through just fine. I'm a bit surprised at the low fighter losses actually. But I guess the escorts are doing their job. Keeping the fighters off the bombers. BTW, those operational losses you see on bombers include ones that are hit by flak, make it home, but the plane is a write off. At least you get to keep the crew.

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Don't know how many i've lost today....the turn hasn't come yet...but i bet another good run.... i cannot go on a lot like that, you know...losses are pretty even for the high allied production rates of 44....

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however i cannot use my 4Es to close his AFs...simply too many of them around

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ORIGINAL: JohnDillworth

Curious as to you sub deployment.  Looks like most of them are in the Northern part of the HI.  As he is probably bringing in tons of troops to the Southern ports of the HI whay not station most of them there?  Should be able to pick off some tankers too.  Don't hear much about your subs, how are they doing?

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ORIGINAL: JohnDillworth

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Don't know how many i've lost today....the turn hasn't come yet...but i bet another good run.... i cannot go on a lot like that, you know...losses are pretty even for the high allied production rates of 44....

How are your 2EB pools? Are they in range for airfield suppression? If not Korea might be an option for putting lots of stuff in range. I guess if you go for Korea any further invasions of the HI's go on hold for quite a bit

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ORIGINAL: krupp_88mm

i think your right about invading honshu, the bombing campaign will just keep him distracted awhile and force him on defense while you amass the largest possible amphibious landing whit the full support of all your air assets and your CV fleet and bombardment, i think you can bring so much firepower to bear and soften up that point across the channel any defense will crumble, then you go across with one massive stack, and work your way forward gaining some closer airbases as you go, he can try to counter attack, but as long as you have your ground forces accross and keep your CVs alive theres nothing he can do, although it will be tempting for him to cut your men off like you said, you jsut have to have your air prepared for that move

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ORIGINAL: princep01

Ser Greyjoy....why the long face and worried countenance? You look like you lost your best friend....and of course, since that is me, I'm standing right here. What seems to be plaguing your spirits at this happy time? Did one of the girls bite you? Did that idiot Dance with Me Whatever come calling for your head. What is it?

Those what? Those bombers? You lost how many? Oh, not to worry, it is May of 44 and you are thrashing those LYBs all over the place. Why cry over a few lost bombers. You killed how many? That's a lot of fighters and you bombed his factories to little tiny bits and pieces. Stop fretting like an 8th grade schoolgirl who just got dumped by her first "true love". Geez, you're starting to depress me....and you do remember how I get when depressed, no?

There; that's more like it. Go help the boys repair some of the damaged 4Es and I'm sure you'll feel a lot better. I think you'll be even happier when you look that turn over carefully and see how you tweaked the LYB's noses and count all those fighters you smushed. Just listen to General Nemo and a few other trusted leiutenants and I'm sure you'll have the buggers on their knees by Christmas. Now run along. I've going to have dinner with an old friend (evil smile).

princep Bolton

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ORIGINAL: Nemo121

GJ, given the A2A combat algorithm the Ki-83 has to square off vs P-=47s and P-51s before it can even get at the bombers. THere it will die in droves as do all twin-engined fighters. It shouldn't since the combat algorithm should have a zerstoerer toggle to let you designate certain groups as seeking to avoid contact with fighters and ONLY go after the bombers - just as happened in real life - but the game model is the way the game model is.

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ORIGINAL: Nemo121

As to the bombers. YOu are looking at the wrong loss rate since you aren't taking into the account the planes Rader will not produce in the future thanks to that bombing. You MUST factor that in to Japanese losses to figure out a true loss ratio. He might shoot down 50 bombers for 50 fighters. You then say that's a 1:1 loss ratio and strategic bombing doesn't work. On the other hand if you knock out 100 airframe points of fighter production then over the next 6 months he will fail to produce an additional 600 fighters. So, over 6 months those 50 bombers you have lost the use of will cost Rader the use of 650 fighters. Suddenly that looks like a bargain. It is also the reason why strategic bombing does more than fighter sweeps. Fighter sweeps kill on the day, strategic bombing removes divisions and squadrons from the enemy's ORBAT for months to come.

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ORIGINAL: Nemo121

Also, your losses are high... Of course they are you took your 4Es and you smashed them into the most heavily defended enemy bases possible. What did you expect would happen? What happened to hitting lightly defended bases first for easy wins in order to build your strategy gradually? Honestly, you could have attacked one of the satellite bases and faced 1/3rd of the fighters and taken less than a third of the losses and still destroyed fighter airframe production.

Don't look on the strategy as being the issue here. The issue is that, by your own reckoning, you flew 400 bombers into the middle of 1500 defending fighters. What did you think was going to happen? The fighter pilots were all going to take the day off? Of course not

You attacked into strength and you paid the price for it. Of course you don't HAVE to attack into such strength every time. If losses are getting you down maybe you should try picking off the easy targets FIRST instead of charging right into the line of 50 machineguns head-on?

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A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths but a statistic.

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ORIGINAL: cwDeici

So, how many fighters and bombers do Rader and Greyjoy have, roughly, in total?

Thanks for any answers!

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ORIGINAL: Nemo121

I'll paraphrase Stalin to you,

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A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths but a statistic.

As a Soviet I'd say that right now is the time to spend your men and materiel in order to achieve strategically decisive goals. If it costs you 10,000 pilots then so be it.

You are, now, at that point in time where you can trade a short period of higher operational tempo and losses for a much, much longer period of lower operational tempo and losses per unit time but, overall, higher losses.


Basically you are in the situation of Montgomery in 1944 in North-Western Europe where he simply couldn't sustain high losses per unit time but COULD sustain much higher losses spread over a long period such that losses per unit time were less. This is the logistical necessity which drove the disagreement between focused thrust vs broad front advances --- and not that egomania crap bad researchers always reach for as an easy answer.


Bottom line: Those pilots aren't your friends. They are assets to be expended in the achievement of worthwhile goals. Hell, even if they were all your friends it'd still be your job to send them to their deaths in order to achieve national policy objectives.

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ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Look at the four bases in NE Honshu as a 'killing field' for your troops and air force. The quality of your armor in those two clear terrain hexes will allow you to bleed his forces, regardless if he sends 2000 AV to each hex to face you. Your 2e bombers will be very effective there.

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ORIGINAL: krupp_88mm

shouldnt japan run out of fighter pilots before the allies? especially with the waves after waves of planes hes been sending to their deaths.. or am i missing something

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despite the high rate of production, is too high to be kept).

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ORIGINAL: khyberbill

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despite the high rate of production, is too high to be kept).

There is a high rate of production for the P47s, but only for a few (6?) months. Then you have to wait for the P51 production to kick in for a credible replacement. I would be careful with the P47s. ymmv