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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> After Action Reports >> RE: April 28th, 1942

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RE: April 28th, 1942 - 3/15/2014 8:21:55 PM

Spidery

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A6M5 gets my vote. A nice durability increase.

The diminishing returns is more a matter of when researching a model without benefit of a line of models (e.g., Ki-83), and I would put the point at more like 4 or 5 factories. The diminishing returns is because the time to repair is fixed so the reduction in time is capped. With an already mended R&D factory in a line there is no problem with putting all the factories you can on it, as long as you manage the last month to avoid wasted effort (such as advancing it on the 29th of the month).

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Post #: 361

RE: April 28th, 1942 - 3/15/2014 9:14:25 PM

FeurerKrieg

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If I recall, from reading a different R&D thread, michaelm posted that you could get either 1, 2 or 3 R&D points per turn. The way the random numbers were written, it was something like with 1x30 factory you will always get 1 point per turn. With 2x30 factories, there is chance you will get a 2nd point. But then after that you have to have something like 10x30 factories to have just a chance to get the 3rd point per turn. That being said, each additional x30 factory gives you a better chance to get the 2nd point, but it is not assured. In other words, 2x30 factories do not research twice as fast as 1x30.

I'll see if I can find that thread again.

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Post #: 362

RE: April 28th, 1942 - 3/16/2014 7:48:38 AM

FeurerKrieg

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Here's the thread -

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2825013&mpage=1&key=

Upon rereading, I think maybe I was wrong. Multiple size 30 factories should keep speeding things up in a linear fashion. I'm going to do a little tracking of the R&D amounts for my planes over the next couple turns just to make sure.

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Post #: 363

RE: April 28th, 1942 - 3/16/2014 8:12:00 AM

FeurerKrieg

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Okay, just checked and Spidery is right. Every 30(0) factory is definitely adding a point to R&D.

Tomorrow I'll do some math to see exactly how I want to line up these factories now that I have 4-6 factories fully repaired in some of the lines.

Time for another spreadsheet. :)

< Message edited by Feurer Krieg -- 3/16/2014 9:12:16 AM >

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Post #: 364

RE: April 28th, 1942 - 3/17/2014 1:53:42 AM

FeurerKrieg

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Okay! Here it is - the R&D matix for the A6M series given five available 30(0) factories and a current game date of May 2, 1942. What would you do?

I'm thinking now maybe I should skip the A6M5 altogether and go straight for the A6M5c. Hellcats are available in April 43, and the first Essex arrives in late May, the 2nd one in July. If I can get the A6M5c in May, then I should have at least 2-3 of my CV's outfitted with A6M5c's by the time I would encounter a pair of Essexs.

This one is an easier analysis since all the engines are available. As soon as I start to get more finished R&D factories, like for the Oscars and Tonys I'll do this again, but some of those may be more complex due to engines that also have to be accelerated to take advantage of the plane.

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RE: April 28th, 1942 - 3/17/2014 2:12:56 PM

offenseman

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It is hard for me to spend much on RnD for that series since none of them are worth much once the Hellcat is widely in service and numerical superiority is at least equal for the Allies. I suppose I am rather fatalistic about CV and IJN fighter survivability after the A6M5 arrives (Hellcat arrival around that time). Later models seem to have a minor improvement in exchange for a decline in the only thing the Zero really has going for it, Range and Maneuverability. Over the A6M5, the B model gains one firepower point in exchange for less speed and maneuverability. The C model loses even more speed and maneuverability and a big decrease in range in order to gain armor and 4 firepower points. Of course opinions will vary but a case can be made to stop that series with A6M5 until very late war when the A7M2 arrives.

Indeed given the common role of the IJN CVs in late 43 and after, a good argument could probably be made to mix the A6M5 series with the A6M3a on board to use as long range escorts for the nicely ranged TBs Japan can employ by then. I have a pet theory (no testing) that high maneuverability rating helps escorts survive and bombers get through.

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Post #: 366

RE: April 28th, 1942 - 3/17/2014 5:44:00 PM

castor troy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Feurer Krieg

Okay! Here it is - the R&D matix for the A6M series given five available 30(0) factories and a current game date of May 2, 1942. What would you do?

I'm thinking now maybe I should skip the A6M5 altogether and go straight for the A6M5c. Hellcats are available in April 43, and the first Essex arrives in late May, the 2nd one in July. If I can get the A6M5c in May, then I should have at least 2-3 of my CV's outfitted with A6M5c's by the time I would encounter a pair of Essexs.

This one is an easier analysis since all the engines are available. As soon as I start to get more finished R&D factories, like for the Oscars and Tonys I'll do this again, but some of those may be more complex due to engines that also have to be accelerated to take advantage of the plane.

the question is why would you really want the A6m5c? Only because of the higher gun value? I don't know if you are playing a mod or stock and I am not sure Babes got the same aircraft stats for the Zeke as stock,
but in Babes the A6m5c is only superior in gun value and it got armor. But the drawback is that it is nearly as slow as the A6M2. And carrier based aircraft usually fight carrier based aircraft, 1E fighters and
1E bombers that is. A gun value 12 against these works just fine and then I would preferre the A6m5 that isn't 40mph slower than the Hellcat but only 20. And when it comes down to armor on carrier based fighters
I don't give as much about it as for land based aircraft as carrier based aircraft are mostly one shot weapons as soon as they meet opposition. Then the fighter either get's through Cap and returns or is shot down
by the Cap anyway, no matter if armor or not.

The only Zero model I'd take would be the A6m8 but that is some time in 45 IIRC and by then you should go for the Sam.

edit: silly me, just saw you are playing a Babes campaign. Now my question, do you use the new aircraft stats or are you still using the released stats that are equal with stock? With the new stats, going for the
Tony would be a horrible choice, all should be focused on the Tojo in my oppinion. Then Frank and later on (if you really reach that stage) there are these Ki-83, Ki-94... monsters (if I have the models right, I'm
better using the codenames as I usually screw up the numbers). IJN would be the George all the way through from 43 on for land based fighter units and the Sam for the carriers but I think you need 8x30 factories
and the engine bonus to get the Sam at a time you can still use it to good effect so realistically spoken, you will be stuck with the Zero and then I will just use the A6m5 all the way through until either the
A6m8 or the Sam. And if I really reach that timeframe it will be 100% the Sam.

< Message edited by castor troy -- 3/17/2014 6:50:04 PM >

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Post #: 367

RE: April 28th, 1942 - 3/17/2014 6:41:10 PM

FeurerKrieg

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Thanks for the input guys.

I suppose I'm so used to seeing my bullets bounce off the Allied planes that the step up in gun power seems like it would be more useful. I was also biased by real life - from what I've read most regard the A6M5c as the best of the series.

If speed and maneuver is more important, and if using the A6M3a is sufficient, then that would seem to say I should just go for the A6M8 straight away. It has 29 maneuver compared to the A6M5c's 24, and I believe decent speed to boot.

Since I could get the A6M8 late in 43, I'd just have to be careful to not lose my carriers in 43. I'd still have some A6M5's in the spring to get through the summer.

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Post #: 368

RE: April 28th, 1942 - 3/17/2014 6:45:52 PM

FeurerKrieg

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Hi Castor - just saw your edit. I do have have some R&D already on Tony none of it is repaired fully yet. I think the last Tony in the line uses a Mitsubishi engine and isn't too bad looking but I haven't looked much since the stats were updated. I do recall the Mitsubishi engine version had a good service rating as well.

Anyway, the Tojo is my planned main Army fights until those late war models are available. I currently have 5x30(0) cranking away on the Tojo-C.

And to answer your questions - yes, I am using the new aircraft states that were released at the end of last year. Maybe I should post the sheet with the stats of the A6M line for those who aren't using this mod. I'll do that when I get home from work today.

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RE: April 28th, 1942 - 3/17/2014 11:15:23 PM

obvert

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Based on experience I like the A6M5c quite a lot. It's tough to bring down and gets the bombers through, but is tough as CAP also.

The A6M5 is all you really need though, as it's better durability and decent all around stats and range make it a good stop-gap until the Sam. My advice would be to get the Sam more quickly. If you can get that plane by 10-12/44 then forget about eh A6M8. If you can't, then go for that one and use the other types as they become available.

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RE: April 28th, 1942 - 3/18/2014 12:51:36 AM

FeurerKrieg

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The problem with the Sam is that it is not on any early upgrade path. I do have a factory repairing for Sam, but it may be another year until it is fixed.

If I can get the Sam in 44 then I'll be happy. In the meantime, given that you have used both, obvert, would you rather have the A6M5 in Oct 42, the A6M5c in May 43, or the A6M8 in Sep 43?

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RE: April 28th, 1942 - 3/18/2014 2:55:21 AM

FeurerKrieg

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Here's the stats on the A6M line. Sam is of course better, but as I mentioned above, it isn't a sure thing that I can get it before 1944.

I'll get to Army fighters another day.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Feurer Krieg -- 3/18/2014 3:58:21 AM >

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Post #: 372

April 29th, 1942 - 3/22/2014 6:51:43 AM

FeurerKrieg

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April 29th, 1942

India/Burma
Near Colombo we get a sub hit from our newly arrived ASW Sallys.

Farther out to sea, northwest of Addu atoll, Bettys hit and sink the AMC Pansy. Certainly a dangerous area to be sailing around.

Bettys hit from fairly long range

DEI
Memboro is occupied and with that the Flores Chain is fully secure.

Philippines
The Allies occupy the base of Surigao on Mindanao. This had flipped to Japan a while back. We didn't have anything there, so not big loss on this flip back.

Pacific
The level 4 airfield is put to use asap by the USAAF as six B-17Es attack our amphib force at Nadi. Thankfully they all miss, and our Zeros are able to bring two of them down.

On the ground, our troops attack Nadi and easily capture the base from the Nandi Base Force. We also destroy six P-40E Warhawks on the ground. Two of our divisions pursue, so they will arrive at Suva tomorrow and try an attack to see what we are up against.

No more SBD attacks in that area, and our troops ships probably only need one more day to finish unloading. Most of our transports and surface ships will be out of range by tomorrow, but we will continue to CAP the few that remain. Meanwhile, our carriers will maintain a slow pace towards Pago Pago to see if we can get some easy targets there. We did bring down three more Catalinas at Nadi and over our carriers today.

China
The Chinese do not attack at Shaoyang today, so we get another day of reprieve.
East of Nanning one Chinese Corp arrives which I doubt is enough to dislodge our tanks. If he pulls another unit from Nanning, I think it will be weak enough that we could take it in a river crossing from the west, thus trapping his two units between our tanks in the woods, and infantry at Nanning.

Submarines
At Pago Pago, after having several subs hanging around near the base, I decide to send one of our medium range subs into the shallow water and see what we can get. I-168 is the drawer of the short straw, and makes the trip count!

I-168 first attacks the xAK Cardross on the surface, putting 3 torpedoes into the ship, sinking it. But I-168 wasn't done yet, as it then, while still on the surface, attacked xAK Colac hitting with the deck gun once and three more torpedoes also sinking that ship. John said via email that those ships had an escort so I-168's feat is even more impressive. Colac did hit I-168 with its deck gun, so I-168 will leave the shallows and another medium range sub will move in to see if they can do as well as I-168 did.

Nice double attack by I-168

Other
Both Kaifeng and Wenchow hit airfield size 4 and both will stop there.

Also, 3rd Ku S-1/C attains carrier trained status on Taiyo.

< Message edited by Feurer Krieg -- 3/22/2014 7:54:52 AM >

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RE: April 29th, 1942 - 3/28/2014 7:56:08 PM

LargeSlowTarget

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Nice AAR! Well structured, restraint but ample screenies and battle reports, interesting strategy, very instructive almost scientific approach - subscribed!

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Post #: 374

RE: April 29th, 1942 - 3/28/2014 8:09:32 PM

FeurerKrieg

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It's an honor to have you LST. Aren't you a plank holder?

To LST and other subscribers - sorry for the lack of updates this week. John and I have been hammering out turns before I go on vacation for about 10 days. When I get back I'll get back to my updates. Things are cruising along, and I'll definitely need to start talking through some more R&D issues since I am getting some more factories that are finished repairing.

Although I am at work and therefore can't post the Tony stats, I am currently thinking that the 4 R&D factories I have on the Tony line will be moved up to the first Tony -100 model that uses the Mitsubishi engine and thus has a service level of 1. The stats seem to look good compared to other 1943 fighters. Anyone disagree with the idea of bringing the Tony 100 forward to 1943?

< Message edited by Feurer Krieg -- 3/28/2014 9:10:51 PM >

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April 30th, 1942 - 4/16/2014 5:10:26 AM

FeurerKrieg

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April 30th, 1942

India/Burma
We manage to get three hits on enemy subs near Colombo, hopefully that will send some home.

DEI
Near Sumatra, the dot island of Enggano is occupied.

Farther south, we capture Tockangbesi-eilanden.

Pacific
At Nadi, S-44 attacks one of our DMS ships at two different times, missing on both tries.

The air attacks continue, as 14 P-40E's sweep Nadi. We don't lose any planes an take down one P-40E. Next 5 SBD's escorted by 14 P-39D's attack. We take down a couple of the bombers, but one manages to hit one of our xAP ships, causing about 99 casualties.

China
We continue to keep the air attacks going on Shaoyang. It seems to help as the Chinese attack there today and only get 1:3 odds despite their 2:1 superior numbers. No fort reduction so I'm feeling good here for the moment.

To see if we were strong enough to attack the reduced stack east of Ichang we attack there. But the attack does badly with only 1:7 results and we take nearly 5,000 casualties to only 300 Chinese. Yuck! Our troops will go ahead and retreat back to the heavier forts and clear terrain farther east.

Submarines
I-169 moves in on Pago Pago and also has some success. First, I-169 finds AVP Swan and hits the ship with a torpedo, apparently sinking the ship. Later, after avoiding and ASW attack from AVD Ballard, the captain finds AG Antares and hits with a torpedo. After coming back to check on AG Antares, the sub finds the ship still afloat and puts another torpedo into the AG for good measure, sinking the ship.

Nearby, I-7 spots some PT boats and thankfully doesn't waste a torpedo on one.

Other
3rd Ku S-1/B attains carrier trained status on Unyo

Paramushiro Jima's airfield is finished up as it hits size 4 today.

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Post #: 376

April 1942 Summary - 4/28/2014 4:23:18 AM

FeurerKrieg

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Sorry for the lull. John has been sending me turns daily so it hasn't left me as much time to do posts here. We was out of town this weekend though, so here is the April summary and hopefully I'll get some more updates soon. Game time now is May 16.

April 1942
Another month comes to an end, and it was another lively one.

The rate of base captures continues to slow, largely due to the nearling of our stated expansion goals. The big captures of the month include Colombo and Trincomalee, freeing up several division to head over to Burma and India. Also important was the capture of Noumea and Suva. This month we capture 50 bases, compared to 54 last month.

Lots of naval battles on both sides of the map. Shokaku lost her battle with the sea when an Allied sub put one hole too many in her side. As we neared the capture of Ceylon, our combination of submarines, land based air and our own surface forces were able to sink several British warships. We did lose CL Sendai and CA Mogami in the process however. In the Pacific, our carriers successfully enaged and sank the three remaining large US carriers Yorktown, Enterprise and Lexington. We did lose the light carrier Zuiho in the process, but that battle has ensured us some operational freedom in the Pacific for several more months. This should allow us to take Pago Pago and Canton Island before settling in for the defense.

Nearly all the dot bases in the DEI have been secured and several bases now have aviation support in place to help provide LBA LRCAP coverage of our ships when the time comes to hit northern Australia.

China has been slowly improving, although it is still a close run thing. The incursion behind Changsha seems to have some degree of permanance now and soon we will have lots of artillery support as the heavy artillery from Bataan moves into frontline positions.

The initial assault on Burma has gone well and we will continue to slowly take the area on the cheap while the bulk of our forces move towards Calcutta.

Some numbers for April -
Bases captured: 50
VP Ratio Apr 1: 2.191:1 (Japan)
VP Ratio May 1: 2.729:1 (Japan)
Air losses: 326 Japan, 438 Allies
Ships lost - Allies: 39 Ships, 777 Points
Ships lost - Japan: 30 Ships, 771 Points

Capital Ships lost (entire war):
Allies
CV Enterprise
CV Indomitable
CV Lexington
CV Saratoga
CV Yorktown
BB Prince of Wales
BB Resolution
BB Ramillies
BB Revenge
BB Royal Sovereign
BC Repulse
CA Australia
CA Canberra
CA Chester
CA Chicago
CA Cornwall
CA Dorsetshire
CA Exeter
CA Indianapolis
CA Northampton
CA Pensacola
CA San Francisco
CL Achilles
CL Adelaide
CL Caledon
CL Ceres
CL Colombo
CL Danae
CL De Ruyter
CL Dragon
CL Enterprise
CL Hobart
CL Java
CL Leander
CL Marblehead
CL Mauritius
CL Perth

Japan
CV Shokaku
CVL Zuiho
CA Mogami
CL Sendai
CL Kashii
CL Kashima

No subs were lost in April. I-165 is still in the lead, but I-4 is trying to catch up with 6 ships on her kill board.

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May 1st, 1942 - 5/3/2014 4:08:32 AM

FeurerKrieg

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May 1st, 1942

India/Burma
Some Blenheims night strike Colombo to no effect.

The ship AP Leonard Wood strikes one of our mines at Diego Garcia.

Northeast of Rangoon, the enemy Railway RAF Battalion, presumably expecting our paratroopers to be pushovers, attacks but only gets 1:7 odds against our 2nd Raiding Regiment.

Southeast of Chittagong, the 1st Somerset LI Battalion and 36th Indian Battalion are now present against our 56th/B Division. Our boys try a deliberate attack but only get 1:2 odds. The defenders are showing fatigue and experience negatives, but even with that our 56th/B will have to wait for reinforcements.

DEI
The dot base of Molu is occupied today.

Zuikaku Vals on shore duty at Sabang get a hit on an enemy submarine.

Pacific
ASW planes at Port Moresby get two hits on enemy subs.

Northeast of Pago Pago, I-6 spots enemy ships fleeing our daunting submarine attacks of the past couple days. I-6 takes a shot at AR Vestal, but misses. Also spotted are an AVD, AMc, AE and AG. Looks like Pago Pago was well equipped to help restock the US Navy. Hopefully the ground troops aren't as well stocked.

We launch a deliberate attack at Suva and get 1:3 odds against level 3 forts. We manage to drop the forts to 2, so that is a good sign. However, our disruption is up a bit. I'll wait until the 28th Division arrives before attacking again. That should be in three days. I don't want to wear down the 8th and 21st too much since I'll need them for Pago Pago and/or Austrialia. With the amphib bonus gone, I'm sure the difficulty level will go up dramatically.

View of the Fiji area

China
Bombing continues at Shaoyang to good effect. Clear terrain sure makes a difference. Today our 62 Sallys inflict 505 casualties. The Chinese again attack and get 1:6 results, although casualties are about even. The attackers are showing a disruption negative modifier so hopefully the main part of the threat has passed.

At Ichang proper, the enemy shock attacks and get 113:1 odds against our lone brigade. Our troops retreat to the northeast and will march to safety to rest and recover.

The Chinese try to capitalize on our dismal attack in the woods east of Ichang yesterday. The terrain helps us enough though, and the result is 1:2. Our troops will use the likely pause in attacking to move to places more secure to the southeast.

Other
Shikuka goes up a notch to port size 5, so in the near future I will reconfigure my CS Convoys running from Niigata to Shikuka.

3rd Ku S-1/A attains carrier trained status on Kaga, which is always good.

The first of the month sees several ships go into refit.
DD Kuroshio beginning refit in shipyard at Singapore
DD Oyashio beginning refit in shipyard at Singapore
DD Natsushio beginning refit in shipyard at Singapore
DD Tokitsukaze beginning refit in shipyard at Singapore
DD Hamakaze beginning refit in shipyard at Singapore
DD Arashi beginning refit in shipyard at Singapore
DD Tanikaze beginning refit in shipyard at Singapore
E Kunashiri beginning refit at Georgetown

< Message edited by Feurer Krieg -- 5/3/2014 5:08:50 AM >

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Post #: 378

May 2nd, 1942 - 5/3/2014 5:25:12 AM

FeurerKrieg

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May 2nd, 1942

India/Burma
Another night attack at Colombo produces nothing more than a damaged Blenheim.

To slow down the movement of the enemy LCU at Taung Gyi, we attack with Anns. However, the Allies are ready with some CAP. 13 Buffaloes and 5 H81-A3s engage our escort of 22 Oscar B models. We lose two Oscars, but a H81 goes down as well. The Ann's get through without losses.

DEI
Near Denpasar, SS S-39 attacks one of our xAK's and has not just one working torpedo, but two hit for a change. Our ship sinks, thankfully empty.

Philippines
Having landed on Roxas yesterday, our troops occupy the base today.

Pacific
We get two more ASW hits from the Sallys at Port Moresby.

Hoping for more targets at Pago Pago, our carrier airplanes move into position for a long range attack. Expecting only soft targets, we leave the torpedoes on the carriers and fly all bombs. 58 Zero escorts plow through the 9 P-39D's on CAP, shooting down 7 of them. We find two xAP, one xAK and one AM. The Vals with their long range 60kg bombs get a handful of hits, including two on the xAP Mariposa. xAK Agwimonte and the AM Vireo both get some of the bigger 250kg bombs from the Kates and both will likely sink. xAP Mariposa will likely survive having been hit with only two small bombs.

Naval attack at Pago Pago

China
More air attacks on Shaoyang continue to knock out Chinese troops. The cavalry gets closer to relieving Shaoyang as the area southwest of Changsha is cleared out with a solid attack that gets 16:1 odds and bounces two Chinese corps back into Changsha with about 4,000 men less than they started. These troops will now move across the river to try and take Siangtang - again - and hopefully for good this time.

Shaoyang/Changsha area

To the west, we have some success as well, as the rested 104th Division, Yokosuka 4th SNLF and 23r Army HQ return to Nanning in a shock attack across the river. Since the our armor in the woods east of Nanning had drawn away some of the infantry, the attack finds only one third of a Chinese Corp in place. Our troops easily win this fight with a 11:1 result. The unit is forced to retreat northeast since our tanks lie to the east blocking the path to Liuchow. Simultaneously, the Chinese attack our tanks in the wood and although they get 1:1 odds, that isn't enough to clear the hex. We lose 3 tanks, with 31 disabled, but take out 1300 Chinese troops. The 104th and 23rd HQ will move east to provide support to the armor if it can hold for a couple more days.

Nanning area

Submarines
At Pago Pago, I-174 finds AG Kaula and proceeds to hit with a torpedo and four rounds of deck gun fire. The ship is reported sunk.

Not content with one kill, the I-174 also finds xAP Poelau Laut and puts one torpedo into that large target as well. No report on sinking, and it looks like a large ship, so it may make it somewhere.

Other
Pilot Hiramoto H. is reported as having been found.

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Post #: 379

May 3rd, 1942 - 5/8/2014 3:52:45 AM

FeurerKrieg

Posts: 3397
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From: Denver, CO
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May 3rd, 1942

India/Burma
We sweep Mandalay today and our Oscar B models take out a H81 and a Buffalo, while losing one of their own.

DEI
8 Hudsons from Darwin attack the couple xAKLs we have unloading a IJNAF support unit at Damar. No hits are scored.

Philippines
We unload troops at San Jose, and take a lot more casualties than usual. Clearly we are going to miss the amphib bonus. From here on, we'll have to be very careful about ampib attacks.

Pacific
East of New Caledonia the dot base of Anatom is occupied.

We score 11 Val hits on PT boats at Pago Pago during air search phases, presumably most of those hits will sink their targets.

Our SNLF Coy traveling by barges captures Torres Islands today.

China
Hong Kong hits port size 9 today. Since CV Soryu is there, once the shipyards have taken care of the major float damage, the size 9 port should take the system damage down pretty fast in pier side mode.

We continue bombing Shaoyang with good results. About 600 enemy casualties today.

The Chinese again attack our tanks east of Nanning and again get 1:1 results. Our infantry support should arrive tomorrow, so I believe the threat here is done.

Other
An old sinking report shows up today, xAKL Lyemun is reported to have been sunk near Utan Melintang on Dec 18, 1941

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(in reply to FeurerKrieg)

Post #: 380

May 4th, 1942 - 5/8/2014 4:18:23 AM

FeurerKrieg

Posts: 3397
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From: Denver, CO
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May 4th, 1942

India/Burma
We sweep Mandalay again, but all aerial opposition has left the field. On the ground, the Allies try to counter attack our troops and do poorly, getting only a 1:7 result.

DEI
We get a sub hit from a Val at Sabang.

The Hudsons attack our ships at Damar and again miss. We also capture the base today.

Philippines
San Jose is occupied after our landing yesterday. Our Sallys from Manila hit Iloilo and do about 150 casualties. We now have troops closing in from both directions on Iloilo.

Pacific
Some of our Vals and Kates spot a big AV at Pago Pago and go in for an attack. 32x P-39D and 14x P-40E are on CAP. Our 79 Zero escorts do pretty well and we only lose 1 Val. Unfortunately we only hit AV Tangier with one bomb.

With all three divisions in place, we launch a Deliberate attack on Suva today. We get 1:1 (250:197) results, and drop forts to 1. Casualties are slightly in favor of the Allies, but generally even. With a 4:1 advantage in troops, this base should fall soon.

China
We switch our bombing to Siangtan today since there are troops moving west to Shaoyang and casualties are good there at about 400. At Shoayang, the Chinese try an attack but only get 1:3 odds. They lose 2400 troops to our 800.

We start bombing Liuchow, both because it is in the clear and we get good casualties, but also to slow down any Chinese troops making a move west to try and bounce us back into Nanning.

The Chinese try a shock attack here, east of Nanning, but our 104th Division and 23rd Army HQ have arrived and manage to hold the line at 1:1 odds. The Chinese take 2000 casualties to our 700 and that was with the 104th in Move mode. The Chinese are showing both disruption and supply negatives so any further attacks will probably not do much better.

Photobucket doesn't seem to be working today, so here is a picture of the Mandalay attack, with my apologies for not being centered or placed in the correct position.

Attachment (1)

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(in reply to FeurerKrieg)

Post #: 381

RE: May 4th, 1942 - 5/9/2014 6:42:15 PM

traskott

Posts: 1546
Joined: 6/23/2008
From: Valladolid, Spain
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I can't understand the tactic of the allied player: Those attacks at Colombo, and now at Mandalay are free xp and a victory for the japanese player ALWAYS. If he wouldn't have attacked at Colombo, 6th AUS and 18th UK would be still holding the base....

(in reply to FeurerKrieg)

Post #: 382

RE: May 4th, 1942 - 5/9/2014 6:52:17 PM

FeurerKrieg

Posts: 3397
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From: Denver, CO
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In John's defense, I think he only expected my para unit to be there since yesterday his intel would have only shown 1 unit present. My brigade arrived the same day he attacked. I tend to do this when I can - have one unit enter before others in the hope of catching an Allied counterattack with bad odds. Of course sometimes it backfires, but so far I've had good luck with this approach.

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Post #: 383

May 5th, 1942 - 5/10/2014 3:47:16 AM

FeurerKrieg

Posts: 3397
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From: Denver, CO
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May 5th, 1942

India/Burma
I think John forgot to change orders at Mandalay as the troops there launch another deliberate attack. Our Paratroopers had left to the southwest, but out Infantry Regiment is still enough to get 1:7 results and take out about 200 Allies soldiers.

At Rangoon, we have the 65th Bge, 21st Bge and the 14th Tank Regiment which should be enough to continue to hold. The Allies bombard there today and we take no losses, although the enemy loses 2 squads to disablement.

DEI
6 B-17D's hit Dili and do a bit of damage to the airfield.

Pacific
17x B-17E's attack Terapo but do not do any damage to our troops in the jungle there.

Enemy sub S-47 misses on of our cargo ships near Nadi.

China
We send a brigade across the river into Tienshui so that we can close that hex side and not need to garrison it anymore. Our unit gets wreaked, but surprisingly the results are only 1:3 and we drop enemy forts to zero. The enemy troops there are definitely out of supply.

At Ichang, a couple units continue to chase our 57th Bge away from the backfield. The unit will march out of the woods and eventually go to Sining or Lanchow to cover the garrison duty while it rebuilds.

Submarines
Just west of Diego Garcia, I-159 pots the AP Leonard Wood that we hit a couple days back. I-159 put two more fish into the big troop ship and it is reported sunk.

A juicy target it hit

Other
DD Hatsukaze beginning refit in shipyard at Soerabaja

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Post #: 384

May 6th, 1942 - 5/10/2014 4:30:33 AM

FeurerKrieg

Posts: 3397
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From: Denver, CO
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May 6th, 1942

India/Burma
Forgot to mention it yesterday, but we had 3 hits on enemy submarines here. None today though.

DEI
B-17 hit Dili again, doing little damage. Might move some Tojo's here.

Pacific
Mare' Island, east of Noumea is occupied today.

We put some Zeros and Oscars on CAP over Terapo and the B-17's are indeed back. We lose a Zero, and although we damage five B-17's we don't bring any down today.

A big day in the Pacific as we attack at Suva and get a 2:1 result, capturing the base. 12,500 US and New Zealand troops are added to IJN POW camps. Four Artillery units were wiped out at well. We will rest briefly and then the 8th Division will head to Pago Pago, while one of the other two division will start to trip to Australia and the other will stay at Suva in case the 8th needs help taking Pago Pago.

Suva is captured!

Our SNLF Coy captures Vanau Lava today.

At New Guinea, Australians in the jungle attack and get a 1:173 result, so clearly they are not a threat at this point.

China
A big day for us in China too, as our relief force crosses the river into Siangtan in a replay of the move we pulled off a couple weeks back. Today's crossing does equally well as we get a 5:1 result and recapture Siangtan. Casualties are 2400 Japan to 4900 Chinese. One of the routed units was a strong Chinese Division, so that is one less in top fighting form.

We now have a much more firm hold on Siantan and Shaoyang both. With all the engineers in these divisions, we should be able to crank the forts up to level 3 in a couple weeks, which should help defend against any big crossings from Changsha. The one thing that we'll have to watch out for is some of the freed up enemy troops coming down from Ichang.

It might take some time to setup, but once our artillery gets here, we may be able to finally make a serious attempt at Hengyang.

Farther north at Tienshui, the Chinese attack, probably thinking yesterday's shock attack had my troops in a bad way. They only get a 1:10 result and lose about twice as many casualties as we do (4000 to our 2000).

And in one little (planned) setback, a Chinese Corp captures Kwangchowan, but we don't lose anything since we airlifted out troops out of there over the past few days.

Submarines
About four hexes north west of Christmas Island, I-10 stumbles across CL Nashville and CL Leander. Although a Glen sub, the skipper doesn't skip the opportunity to do some damage and manages to put a torpedo into the CL Nashville. Probably not enough to sink the ship.

Unexpected encounter

Other
The biggest ship the world has yet known is put into operational action today. The Battleship Yamato prepares to sail to the south Pacific.

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Post #: 385

May 7th, 1942 - 5/10/2014 4:53:42 AM

FeurerKrieg

Posts: 3397
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From: Denver, CO
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May 7th, 1942
A bit quiet today except in China.

India/Burma
Four Blenheim IV's attack our troops outside Chittagong, but our Zeros bring down all four bombers.

Pacific
B-17E's again hit Terapo, and today we manage to bring one of them down.

Our carriers are slowly moving east to conserve fuel, but they will take a crack at some shipping that seems to be at Canton Island soon.

China
All our bombers hit Shaoyang today and we inflict about 700 enemy casualties. The Chinese attack us at Shaoyang, and although they outnumber us roughly 3:1 (68,000 to 26,000), the air attacks, lack of supplies and forts all cause the Chinese to only get a 1:3 result. We take a decent amount of casualties (1,700) but the Chinese take a fair amount also (2,400).

The Chinese try another attack east of Nanning today but it again fails at 1:3 and casualties are very lopsided, about 12:1 in our favor. Our stack from the east has moved onto Liuchow, so I expect these Chinese in the woods to retreat, in which case we may have enough to send the three tank units north on the road towards Tuyun and Kweiyang, further reducing the flow of supplies to Liuchow.

In the far north, our troops catch up to the enemy troops we routed from Sining and attack again, further weakening them. Since we had an armor unit on the road, these enemy troops are bounced out into a mountain hex with no roads, so it should take a while before they make it back out.

China situation

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Post #: 386

May 8th, 1942 - 5/11/2014 4:21:32 AM

FeurerKrieg

Posts: 3397
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From: Denver, CO
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May 8th, 1942

India/Burma
A Sally at Colombo gets a hit on an enemy sub.

The 55th Division arrived at Rangoon today. The 48th Should arrive tomorrow and then we will try an attack.

DEI
5x B-17D 's hit Dili today and our 8 Tojos are there to greet them. Two of the B-17's do not return home.

Philippines
With some assistance from our Sallys, several of our Naval Guard and SNLF units attack at Iloilo today and take the base easily with 127:1 odds. 3,400 troops of the 61st PA Inf Division are captured. Up next is Cebu. Unfortunately we have to land right into opposition there. We have a few more units coming from Tokyo, but it will probably be another week before we can capture that base.

Pacific
The Yasawa Islands, just north of Nadi, are occupied today. There are four more bases within 2 hexes of Suva, so hopefully they will all flip for free over the next few days.

Our carriers launch a strike at Canton Island today. CL Trenton is hit with 13 bombs and 1 torpedo, so it is probably a goner. AVP Heron takes a torpedo and goes down. DD Mugford gets a couple bombs and although on fire, will probably recover. Two large xAPs both take lots of bombs and a couple torpedoes so they are likely sunk. Those two are the xAP Matsonia and xAP Hong Kheng.

We will linger, but any remaining Allied ships will probably head east and we don't have the fuel to head any farther east.

Opportunity strike at Canton

China
Five H81-A3s are on CAP over Liuchow today. We lose an Oscar, but no bomber casualties are taken.

The Chinese again attack at Shaoyang, this time doing even worse as our relief force arrives from Siangtang. They get 1:15 results and lose about 2,700 troops to our 800. They still outnumber us 2:1, but if their supplies get low and with air support we might have enough to counterattack soon.

They also attack east of Nanning again. 1:17 odds there. We take zero loss while they lose 1,322. I'm surprised they haven't already decide to either stand and defend or head east to Liuchow. They do outnumber us 3:1, but they are low on supply and high on fatigue.

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(in reply to FeurerKrieg)

Post #: 387

May 9th, 1942 - 5/11/2014 4:47:25 AM

FeurerKrieg

Posts: 3397
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From: Denver, CO
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May 9th, 1942

India/Burma
We get one hit on an enemy sub near Colombo today.

Across the water from Ceylon, Madras goes up to size 9. Recon says there are about 50,000 troops there along with lots of airplanes.

The 3rd Yokosuka SNLF (paras) and 124th Inf Regiment attack at Meiktila today, capturing the base and forcing the 13th Burma Rifles back to Taung Gyi, which is where it came from.

48th Division is in place at Rangoon, so we will try a DA tomorrow and see how it goes.

DEI
Our SNLF coy occupies the dot base of Kai-eilanden.

North of Sabang, we get two hits on enemy subs.

Of the west coast of Sumatra, another SNLF unit clean up crew captures Pagai-eilanden.

Pacific
Suva's airbase goes to size 5 today. It only needed a bit more work so I figured what the heck. We'll switch to forts up to level three next. Also, our minesweepers arrive there today to start clearing the place out so we can load up for Pago Pago. 121 mines are cleared today.

We launch a small port attack on Canton just in case any ships disbanded into port. We kill a couple P-39Ds in the air, but find nothing in port.

China
Amazingly, the Chinese try another attack at Shaoyang, this time only getting 1:18 odds. They take 2,800 casualties to our 900.

Other
With all the hits on enemy subs lately, several have been showing up on the sunk ships list. Of course it is tough to tell how accurate that is. Today we get this: Previous report of sinking of SS Trusty incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service.

But on the bright side: xAK Cape Fairweather is reported to have been sunk near Gorontalo on Dec 13, 1941

And finally, Aircraft Ki-44-IIc Tojo advances R&D

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Post #: 388

RE: April 23nd, 1942 - 5/11/2014 2:18:47 PM

PaxMondo

Posts: 9750
Joined: 6/6/2008
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quote:

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Regardless of what side I play, the American warships become a lot more effective in multiple roles once the big 10/42 refits are done.

And I just learned that there is a hard coded improvement for all allied ships in '43 representing their improvements in targetting and fusing. That explains so many results that I have seen through the years ...

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Post #: 389

RE: April 28th, 1942 - 5/11/2014 2:30:11 PM

PaxMondo

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Feurer Krieg

I have an R&D decision to make. Wanted to see if anyone has opinions.

I currently have 2x30 factories cranking away on the A6M5, 1x30 on the A6M3a, and I just had two A6M3 factories get repaired up to their full 30. I'm inclined to leave one of the A6M3's in place and let it roll into production so I have some land based, defense oriented A6M3's around in Burma/India until the A6M3a shows up and then I'll convert that to production and shift the A6M3a RD factory to something else.

I have 2x30 on the A6M5 since that plane is a pretty good improvement over the A6M3a.

My question is what should I do with the other A6M3 factory? I can put it on any of the following (normal arrival - date earliest arrival with 1 factory):
A6M3a (12/42)
A6M5 (4/43)
A6M5b (6/44)
A6M5c (10/44)- (3/44)
A6M8 (8/45) - (12/44)

I already have 2 on the A6M5 and from I've read, there are some declining returns after the first factory or two on any model. But I could still put it there and it might help get the A6M5 out a bit sooner.

A6M3a arrives too soon to get much benefit from another factory, so that one is out.

A6M5b is not so much better than A6M5, and it doesn't have armor anyway, so I say that one is out.

A6M5c has armor and 5 guns, so to me that seems like a noticeable jump. Maybe put it here. I estimate with the R&D it would arrive in March of 1944, maybe even late 43 with the addition of the A6M3a R&D factory later this year.

A6M8 is like A6M5c, but with +5 maneuver. Being the farthest out, I can also get the most benefit from the R&D on it. However, it would still come pretty late, in December of 1944. I can also put just the one A6M3a R&D factory on the A6M8 later this year, and it will still arrive around Feb of 45.

So I'm thinking A6M5c is the way to go, since March of 44 I may still have carriers and be fighting. Maybe that would be the case in December of 1944 too, but certainly it is less likely given how strong the Allies are in early 44.

What do you all think?

Sorry for the late on this, and prolly too late, but here are my thoughts anyway. I tend to produce the 3a and the 5c. The rest, meh, not so much. The 3a has the best range and the armament has maxxed out for the A6M series. The 5c gets armor. I tend to view all the models after the 3a as just minor variations of a very slow theme. They are all too slow against the allied fighters and I hardly see any difference in performance after the 3a. I mean 340, 350; meh, its all too slow. Could just be me, but that's my take.

With PDU ON, for me it is all about George. I get all of my LBA groups to George ASAP. You can choose Jack, to me they are the same thing. My CV groups have to wait until SAM. I try not to over think this too much.

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Pax

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Post #: 390