Trouble with Rebaul

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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> Trouble with Rebaul

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Trouble with Rebaul - 4/23/2017 12:01:55 AM

Ridinroun

Posts: 36
Joined: 8/29/2013
Status: offline

Need suggestions to deal with Rebaul. The aircraft coming out of there have a very far reach which is really hurting me. My attempts to reduce their air strength has been minimal. I had 40 bombers at Shortlands and they were reduced to a handful in 5 days of missions.

Post #: 1

RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/23/2017 12:50:12 AM

Alpha77

Posts: 2116
Joined: 9/24/2010
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You Allied ? Vs AI ? What scen ? How many fighters at Shortl, which types ? exp and mor values ? game date ? airfield sizes ?

OP: First Hello to you and cool you like the game, sorry I was unfriendly.

< Message edited by Alpha77 -- 4/23/2017 10:38:59 AM >

(in reply to Ridinroun)

Post #: 2

RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/23/2017 8:37:58 AM

Leandros

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Joined: 3/5/2015
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Ridinroun

Need suggestions to deal with Rebaul. The aircraft coming out of there have a very far reach which is really hurting me. My attempts to reduce their air strength has been minimal. I had 40 bombers at Shortlands and they were reduced to a handful in 5 days of missions.

To what purpose did y use your bombers - to attack the airfields of Rabaul?

Fred

< Message edited by Leandros -- 4/23/2017 8:38:36 AM >

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RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/23/2017 9:01:38 AM

Yaab

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From: Poland
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Oh, Rabaul? I use the Beach Boys strategy and get around it.

< Message edited by Yaab -- 4/23/2017 9:04:05 AM >

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RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/23/2017 9:09:04 AM

Leandros

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Yaab

Oh, Rabaul? I use the Beach Boys strategy and get around it.

Yeah....not going around can give you "bad vibrations"....Like Alpha77 has experienced.

Fred

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RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/23/2017 9:16:12 AM

Zorch

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Leandros

quote:

ORIGINAL: Yaab

Oh, Rabaul? I use the Beach Boys strategy and get around it.

Yeah....not going around can give you "bad vibrations"....Like Alpha77 has experienced.

Fred

Wouldn't it Be Nice if Surfin' USA was all Fun, Fun, Fun and didn't have Heroes and Villains?

(in reply to Leandros)

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RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/23/2017 10:37:44 AM

Alpha77

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Joined: 9/24/2010
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Leandros, you mean I was not friendly enough to the OP,yeah this is possible, sometimes if you play tomuch military games you become a bit military in tone. However we I need these infos to give better advise to situation of the OP.

If is PBM the problem may be different to vs. the AI....

(in reply to Zorch)

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RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/23/2017 11:02:01 AM

Yaab

Posts: 4552
Joined: 11/8/2011
From: Poland
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Rabaul airfield is hard to close completely. Go around it, hug the New Guinea coast and liberate the bases there. Many bases there like Nadzab can be developed to host big airfields .

(in reply to Ridinroun)

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RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/23/2017 11:17:54 AM

Yaab

Posts: 4552
Joined: 11/8/2011
From: Poland
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BTW, the Rabaul hex has active volcanoes on AA duty.

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RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/23/2017 11:18:53 AM

Alpha77

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Kavieng and Manus too (can have bigger facilities) !

(in reply to Yaab)

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RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/23/2017 2:02:03 PM

kbfchicago

Posts: 359
Joined: 10/17/2009
From: NC, USA
Status: offline

For any target always good to run sweeps for a few turns first to knock down fighter cover. Then bring in the bombers. Keep at +10k feet to avoid smaller flak. Fly with 10% rest. Use bombers within standard vs extended range. Rest all if weather is bad/every 4-6 missions. You can excelerate damage with shore bombardment. Watch for mines if you do. As said earlier...this specific target is best by passed unless left lightly defended.

And...if you have the extra aircraft overfill the sqdns (you can up to 4 addition airframes) and max out your pilots to lower fatigue on both men and machines.

< Message edited by kbfchicago -- 4/23/2017 2:05:43 PM >

(in reply to Ridinroun)

Post #: 11

RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/23/2017 2:55:19 PM

Leandros

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Joined: 3/5/2015
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Alpha77

Leandros, you mean I was not friendly enough to the OP,yeah this is possible, sometimes if you play tomuch military games you become a bit military in tone. However we I need these infos to give better advise to situation of the OP.

If is PBM the problem may be different to vs. the AI....

The little I have played, my experience is that it is often better to have the enemy come to you,
rather than to attack him. If you are going to bomb him out of his airfields you need a proper
escort. Even with that he shall shoot down many more of your bombers than y can destroy on the
ground. If he comes to you, your fighters can turn it around.

My best proposition is a naval bombardment. It has a tendency to prioritize enemy airfields.
The larger the ship, the better it is. Of course, this creates other problems for you,
such as extricating your bombardment task force without too much damage to it. You need to
calculate the distance from the starting point of the attack so that it gets so far away after
the attack that your fighters can cover its withdrawal with a long-range CAP. That is, if he
is covering the withdrawal with a naval search. Otherwise, he won't know where you are. Such
an occasion calls for "full speed" all the way.

Fred

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RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/23/2017 3:13:40 PM

MakeeLearn

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Try what they did in WW2:

Night missions, come in low at 2-3000 ft.

As one B17 pilot said about a night raid on Rabaul:

" The results were fantastic. I [Murphy] had hit a 15,000-ton transport. McCullar hit a cargo ship, 7,000 tons, setting it on fire; Sogaard hit a destroyer.... At 2,000 feet, we just couldn't miss!"

< Message edited by MakeeLearn -- 4/23/2017 3:32:16 PM >

(in reply to Leandros)

Post #: 13

RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/23/2017 10:58:37 PM

Leandros

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Joined: 3/5/2015
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quote:

ORIGINAL: MakeeLearn

Try what they did in WW2:

Night missions, come in low at 2-3000 ft.

As one B17 pilot said about a night raid on Rabaul:

" The results were fantastic. I [Murphy] had hit a 15,000-ton transport. McCullar hit a cargo ship, 7,000 tons, setting it on fire; Sogaard hit a destroyer.... At 2,000 feet, we just couldn't miss!"

Problem is - these ships aren't what's troubling him.

Fred

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Post #: 14

RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/23/2017 11:24:58 PM

MakeeLearn

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Joined: 9/11/2016
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Leandros

quote:

ORIGINAL: MakeeLearn

Try what they did in WW2:

Night missions, come in low at 2-3000 ft.

As one B17 pilot said about a night raid on Rabaul:

" The results were fantastic. I [Murphy] had hit a 15,000-ton transport. McCullar hit a cargo ship, 7,000 tons, setting it on fire; Sogaard hit a destroyer.... At 2,000 feet, we just couldn't miss!"

Problem is - these ships aren't what's troubling him.

Fred

That's OK it's a open party...

"Rabaul- At both medium (5,000- to 9,000-foot) and low (250-foot) altitudes, the heavies hit the town, the airfields, and shipping in the harbor."

"Accomplish bombing at the lowest altitudes consistent with the type and amount of hostile anti-aircraft and fighter defenses .... In many cases it will be found that the losses from a single medium altitude mission will be less than the cumulative losses from the numerous high altitude missions required to produce comparative results."

Also try multiple low and medium altitude night missions together, and hitting the airfield and either ground and/or shipping.

(in reply to Leandros)

Post #: 15

RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/24/2017 1:44:01 AM

Ridinroun

Posts: 36
Joined: 8/29/2013
Status: offline

Thanks for the replies. I'm playing allies vs ai in full campaign. I have no intention of invading Rebaul. I just need to do something about the number of aircraft there. They cover a large area. They even hit shipping west of Port Moresby. This time around I occupy Shortlands and this seems to have an effect on things. I have nearly 60 fighters there and the japs are losing a lot of aircraft attacking everyday. Maybe I should leave things as they are for now.

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Post #: 16

RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/24/2017 10:31:23 AM

Encircled

Posts: 2024
Joined: 12/30/2010
From: Northern England
Status: offline

Depending on house rules, but if they are not any, then heavy 4E night bombing will make it useless to him over time.

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Post #: 17

RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/24/2017 7:54:15 PM

Macclan5

Posts: 1065
Joined: 3/24/2016
From: Toronto Canada
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ridinroun

Thanks for the replies. I'm playing allies vs ai in full campaign. I have no intention of invading Rebaul. I just need to do something about the number of aircraft there. They cover a large area. They even hit shipping west of Port Moresby. This time around I occupy Shortlands and this seems to have an effect on things. I have nearly 60 fighters there and the japs are losing a lot of aircraft attacking everyday. Maybe I should leave things as they are for now.

Welcome to the game and forums....

And Admiral Ridinroun ...thus welcome to the hard tactical choices of the Allies during 1942 / 1943.

Rabul is a tough nut to crack and is equally tough to just suppress.

Some experienced Admirals above have given you very good advice but a few other tips....

1) Be patient - hardest thing to learn in this game.

2) Establish strong Airfield bases with plenty of support (USAAF and RAAF Engineers) in Port Moresby, Guadalcanal, Shortlands (perhaps), etc etc etc, eventually encircling Rabul was the effective strategy of the real life Allied Command.

3) Get your CAP (s) up - engage Japan in a war of attrition. With sufficient fighter CAP up and running (nearby bases) perform "Sweep attacks" for example. Perhaps you can get some 'long legged P38's to support such missions'.

4) At some risk - but with Carrier Task Force support and land based Fighters on CAP protection - get your Surface Combat ships (BB, CA, CL and DD) to bombard the base multiple times to destroy the airfield and supplies.

5) Try to interdict any naval convoys resupplying Rabul.

There are probably countless recommendations. There are many many choices and consequences in this game.

Many choices come from the history of the actual war so the 5 points above are hardly an exclusive recipe for success.

However the key thread in all of it is - get "force - and projection of force" forward.

Good luck

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RE: Trouble with Rebaul - 4/25/2017 2:07:37 AM

CaptBeefheart

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Joined: 7/4/2003
From: Seoul, Korea
Status: offline

Hit Rabaul with shore bombardments from Shortlands. Test the waters with DD TFs, then try CL and/or CA TFs if the shore defense isn't putting too many holes in your ships. Make sure Shortlands has enough CAP for protection and AKEs/AEs (and/or Naval Support) for replenishment. Once Rabaul's airfield is pretty well damaged, then start getting some 2E or 4E bombers on it.

Cheers,
CC

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(in reply to Macclan5)

Post #: 19