Slitherine

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ORIGINAL: JocMeister

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ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Those figher figures have to be radically skewed by FOW. No Japanese player puts the KB in harm's way with minimal fighter protection. The fact that Lowpe is experienced makes that all but a certainty. He's probably got 250 or more fighters available.

I don´t think they are that much off actually! But he knows he is pretty safe from Allied bombers as long as he stays away from Sydney. Biggest AF in range is Brisbane at level 4.

I guess if I´m right he will pull back to Rabaul next turn.

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ORIGINAL: Hermit
Is your guess regarding fighters available based upon the KB initial loadout minus your count of kills? If not, what numbers are you using?

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ORIGINAL: JocMeister

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SOPAC
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KB vanish outside Allied Navsearch. Subs will pull back to Sydney to replenish and then set up a scouting perimeter between the Solomons and Santa Cruz.

I wonder what this was about? Just a try to grab VPs? Or an aborted invasion attempt? That big SCTF just vanished. A major Allied setback is that moving all those ships around really burned into my fuel reserves. Noumea is dried up as is Suva. NZ is down to 22k and OZ 150k. More is coming in but its at least 3 weeks out. I have to be very careful here.

Have a lot of smaller ships that can be drained though but I consider that the last step.

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India
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Hurricanes just wrecked Jeffs Oscars flying LRCAP over Asanol. Sadly though my bombers set to fly supply in never flew for some unknown reason!
Tomorrow I will have to rely on two relatively untrained P40 squadrons for sweep as the Hurris and the P38s need to recover FAT.

No supply flowed to my stack which is still showing red. So no attack ordered and it looks like Jeff is trying to reinforce from Rajshashi (sp?). Looks like another division. I can order up about 1500 AV from Calcutta but they are untrained Indian units which I rather keep on the defensive for now. Some of them are just 35/35.

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ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Is it the hexside control that's working against you here? Do you control just the one hexside? If so, supply has to move through it. If that's the case, supply that otherwise reach that hexside might first be traveling through other hexes that are taking it. Just a thought. And, whenever you have units in a hex, make sure you control enough hexsides to ensure you have viable paths of retreat. Don't get yourself into a box canyon. (I'm sure you know all this, but "just in case....")

Watching your game is very much fun. I think you're doing a fine job. I think you're going to witness a transformation in Allied power in about two months. In July 1942, the Allies are pretty much outclassed everywhere in a big land battle on a continent (whether that be Oz or India or, in weird cases, North America). But by September and October of '42, enough reinforcements have arrived that the you can sense the weight of power shifting.

So don't succumb to the urge to feel like you have to do something now. Don't take unnecessary or large risks. Let the power shift to you. You have time and territory to work with. I like what you're doing.

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ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
At small bases, supply does not come every day, only once or twice a week - so it can look like supply is not flowing at all and then suddenly it arrives and you wonder why it took so long! I am not sure about supply flow in the field, but I suspect it moves in waves as well.

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ORIGINAL: poodlebrain
New Caledonia has got to be his target for his actions to make any game winning sense. I'd send the subs to patrol west of New Caledonia in a manner that they could also act as scouts for any approaching invasion force. I'd do what is possible to get some PTs and DDs to Noumea to use for economy of force operations out of Noumea. They can cause any surface escorts to use OPs points and provide hard to hit targets for KB naval strikes. Any naval strikes will divert KB air from supporting an invasion of New Caledonia. Ideally, I'd like to have the Allied CVs E/SE of Noumea within range of striking any Japanese amphibious landing at Noumea or La Foa, and a SCTF able to keep the KB on its toes and limit the KBs ability to support an amphibious assault. Basically the same advice I had for the WC although on a smaller scale.

Could you give an update of the forces you have devoted to defending New Caledonia?

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Japan doesn't know that your troops are low quality, and leaving Calcutta relatively undefended is not too much of a risk since he can't possibly make an amphibious assault against Calcutta with any chance of success given the forces he has available. You can use the Indian units for a show of force if you move them east and threaten to cut off his lines of communication to Burma. He will have to take the threat seriously, and it will force him to alter his plans. The worst case scenario from your perspective is that he focuses his air power against your troops on the open. You will suffer some casualties, but you can always withdraw back to Calcutta. Meanwhile you air power will be able to conduct operations where you really do want to conduct your offensive operations.

IRL I hate back seat drivers, but I am so envious of you in the circumstances of this game that I can't help myself from wanting to get my ideas for the game on the record. I want to apologize to you, and any readers, for any distractions I may be causing to your strategies. Maybe I should ask for a game save and take a request to the Opponents Wanted board to play this on my own. Does anyone think this would be better way to offer alternative strategies for games in progress?

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9/48th/A Division is planning for an attack on Prince Rupert.

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ORIGINAL: JocMeister

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ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

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ORIGINAL: witpqs

Thanks guys!

So its reasonable to expect the 1st wave to come ashore on the 1st day which would be followed up by the rest in about 3 days (if no hiccups occur)? Add naval detection and movement of about 6 hexes/day and I could possibly have as much as 4-5 days from detection to the first IDs are landed. In 6-8 days he could have landed everything he needs.

Should give me plenty of time to react accordingly.

Since I´m home from work I´ll look into the WC defense tomorrow. Going to read up on Japanese shipping too. Can´t find any AKVs in the starting OOB. Assume Japan can convert some shipping into AKVs? How about Navsupport? Does Japan get any "boat and shore" units like the allies do in DBB?

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Thanks guys! So its reasonable to expect the 1st wave to come ashore on the 1st day which would be followed up by the rest in about 3 days (if no hiccups occur)? Add naval detection and movement of about 6 hexes/day and I could possibly have as much as 4-5 days from detection to the first IDs are landed. In 6-8 days he could have landed everything he needs. Should give me plenty of time to react accordingly. Since I´m home from work I´ll look into the WC defense tomorrow. Going to read up on Japanese shipping too. Can´t find any AKVs in the starting OOB. Assume Japan can convert some shipping into AKVs? How about Navsupport? Does Japan get any "boat and shore" units like the allies do in DBB?

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ORIGINAL: JocMeister

PS, No need to apologize for making suggestion. I more then welcome ANY ideas and suggestions. The discussions following AARs are the reason I love to do them. So keep them coming!

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ORIGINAL: Commander Cody

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ORIGINAL: JocMeister

PS, No need to apologize for making suggestion. I more then welcome ANY ideas and suggestions. The discussions following AARs are the reason I love to do them. So keep them coming!

I've got all kinds of suggestions for you, but I'll keep it to whiskey since I'm reading the other AAR.

Cheers,
CC

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ORIGINAL: tiemanj
I know I'm a little late to this party, and this may have been answered already... but naval support squads can drastically increase the unloading rate. If he puts them on an amphib (I always do), he can unload the bulk of the xAKs / xAPs the next day. Also (for my invasion at least), the support squads unload last, so all the combat power is on the ground first.
I wouldn't plan on a long exposure time. Another thing to add to the calculation is that it will take you a minimum of 4 days to respond to an attack - and 6 if he takes the base. 1 day to move there (minimum), 3 days to unpack, 2 days to march over good roads to the adjacent base if you don't want to risk unpacking in a hot hex.

As to shipping, he can boost his effective shipping by only packing up the combat elements of units for the first wave and leaving support squads back (Pearl, Coal Harbor, Kodiak, whatever). He can always bring them in the second wave (or even fly them in). I'm not sure of the Japanese OOB, but for the American one, using this method, you can effectively double the combat power you can land on D Day.

Overall, I like the idea of keeping powerful units in a strat mode reserve to quickly deploy where they are needed. But there are limitations to CONOPs. If he goes in fast and reckless (and I don't mean that in a bad way) he can upset your timetables.

Alfred has always said the game is about strategic movement (and least I think that is what he says). I would argue it is about time. Time from detection to destination, time to unload, time to move, time to unpack, time to set up the next layer of defense. Fall behind anywhere, and the next one is incrementally harder.

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ORIGINAL: Commander Cody

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I think a NORPAC invasion is getting more and more unlikely by the minute. Going by SIGINT his IDs are packing up and leaving one by one. Probably for India!

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But he will still have to unload the NavSupport before he can benefit from them. I have zero experience with Japan (or doing amphib landings from xAP/xAPs for that matter. All my experience is based on APA/AKA landings. And (as you well know by now) its not always that easy to get everything unloaded on the first turn. Would be pretty amazed if Japan could unload as fast using xAP/xAKs. Then again as Loka says if the Japanese IDs are that much lighter...

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ORIGINAL: Commander Cody

Well, he's been able to procure some pretty obscure American craft beer, so why not some Templeton?

EDIT: I live pretty close to an American base, and my chums who look out for me have yet to spot this fine tipple there.

Cheers,
CC

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ORIGINAL: JocMeister

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ORIGINAL: Commander Cody

Sadly that one seems like its out of reach for me!

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ORIGINAL: tiemanj

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But he will still have to unload the NavSupport before he can benefit from them. I have zero experience with Japan (or doing amphib landings from xAP/xAPs for that matter. All my experience is based on APA/AKA landings. And (as you well know by now) its not always that easy to get everything unloaded on the first turn. Would be pretty amazed if Japan could unload as fast using xAP/xAKs. Then again as Loka says if the Japanese IDs are that much lighter...

Yes, but if he prioritizes the Nav Support (I'm not saying he will, I'm saying he can, and I do) by putting them on the few dedicated amphibs he has (Loki says he has I think 4 LSDs or something like that), he can get the Nav support landed in phase 1... then they help for every phase after that. If he lands after the night naval movement phase, he gets 3 unload phases on D day, then 4 on D+1. His transports will be empty of all by supply and maybe a few support squads.

I'll be able to confirm in a few days how quick, but in my past invasions (with support and follow on troops largely on xAPs and xAKs) I'd have them entirely unloaded (save perhaps a dozen support squads on damaged ships and supply) on D+2 (and then only because some stuff wouldn't start unloading until that day). And this includes, arty, support, motorized support, engineers, radars, aviation support, supply, and all the misc junk you need at a base once you take it.

Oh, and perhaps even more importantly, this works far better as the allies then it ever can as Japan. Infinite supply, xAKs, plenty of nav support squads, 1000s of bombers hitting the beaches and all that.

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ORIGINAL: poodlebrain

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I think a NORPAC invasion is getting more and more unlikely by the minute. Going by SIGINT his IDs are packing up and leaving one by one. Probably for India!

That might make sense if you think your opponent is playing to win over the long haul. I don't think redeployment to India makes much sense if he is trying for an automatic victory in 1942.