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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/13/2018 3:01:35 AM

Capt. Harlock

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quote:

Lastly, I don't think it's the airframes themselves that are the problem. I think it is the slow pace of air ops prior to you taking the game.

I humbly suggest there is one other factor: CR has taken the "Northern Route", which has its advantages, but doesn't interfere with Japan's access to the Southern Resorce Area. Given that in this scenario, Japanese ASW is more effective, and the USN submarine arm correspondingly less so, I would expect that the Japanese economy is turning out fighters (and other war material) at a much greater rate than is typical.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/14/2018 5:47:09 AM

Lokasenna

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I don't think access to the SRA impacts the ability to build first-rate aircraft hardly at all. At the margins yes, but those circumstances weren't going to be at play here unless CR stalls out in the coming 6 months.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 6:52:54 AM

CaptBeefheart

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Those P-51Hs, P-47Ns and P-80s can't come soon enough, although I think you're getting the P-47N.

One random thought: Could the occasional B-29 night raid on manpower in big cities (Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, etc.) have a positive effect in forcing him to spread out his fighters?

Cheers,
CB

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 7:10:07 AM

Barb

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No single wonder weapon will crush the Japanese air (or so it seems). Instead try for "Mixed Arms" - that is the winning team. Use ground, air and naval forces to obtain the greatest possible effect on enemy air. Sure it wont be easy given the number of airfields Japan has available in the area, but by clever use of your mixed arms, you can at keep him at distance. Ops losses works both ways :)

Try to take out his Naval power - that way you will have superiority not only in Ground firepower, but also freedom on the seas. Then can you combine all three forces on his air (Although it could be costly to achieve).

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 4:22:27 PM

Lokasenna

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I also think you need to be taking the odd, scattershot attempt at night bombing.

Send 50 B-29s here one night. Two nights later, send 50 to another spot. Then the very next night, send 100 to 2 spots. Etc. Be unpredictable about it. Maybe chance the odd daylight raid (at higher altitude) but at a lower value target that's less likely to have 200 fighters over it - yet still might give you a few dozen VPs towards AV and slightly impinge his industry (particularly fighters/engines, which he may burn supply repairing).

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 10:35:02 PM

Canoerebel

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Thanks, Gents.

I've tried all kinds of bombing missions - high, low, day, night, specific target, manpower, large, small. Erik has his fighters and AA well deployed. As a result, the missions cost me more than they do him. So I changed my strategy a while back.

I feel sure that I'm better off waiting until I have big airfields close to his industrial centers (Kushiro will be a major step in that direction). If, in taking those big airfields, Erik's fighter strength is attritioned, all the better. In the long run, I think I'll score more net points by waiting for better circumstances than trying to shoehorn in results at the moment.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 10:43:24 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro D-Day: A key turn opens with DS steaming boldly and directly through enemy controlled straits and waters to a coastal hex west of Kushiro. The amphibious TFs are steaming separately at full speed for the beach head, escorted by some combat TFs, minesweepers, and ASW TFs. I've chosen speed over security. If Erik guesses right and sends in his combat TFs, things could get ugly.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 10:45:31 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro D-Day: With so many Allied TFs approaching a key enemy base, Allied TFs begin bumping into a lot of enemy ships. These are mostly riff-raff like ML, ACM and barges, but some good APDs, SSX and SS are mixed in.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 10:47:43 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro D-Day: Erik sends reinforcements to the Allied-controlled non-base hex west of Kushiro. Allied TFs like this one intercepts his APDs, but some (as here) only after they have unloaded their troops.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 10:49:46 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro: Many Allied TFs encounter SSX. No mini-subs score hits and about a half-dozen are sunk.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 10:52:11 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro D-Day: Five or six enemy subs intercept Allied TFs, sinking one DE. Two or three enemy subs take heavy damage.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 10:54:13 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro: Allied bombardment TF scores poorly at the major enemy airfield of Bihoro. This suppression mission is a failure, but the secondary objective of slowing ground movement may have succeeded.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 10:56:07 PM

BBfanboy

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So now you are going for Auto-Victory by sinking mini-subs? Genius!

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 10:56:25 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro D-Day: The heart of the matter is to successfully land a major army at Kushiro in good enough condition to take the base within a reasonable amount of time. The landings go superbly - an estimated 10% disablements, which is minimal given prep ranging from the 40s to the 70s.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 10:59:23 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro: Whether Erik can wrest control of this hex from me in time to open the rail to Kushiro may be a key battle. Here, Allied DDs eliminate one good fast transport TF before it can unload.

Tomorrow, two armored units will come ashore (their transports are already in the hex) to help in the battle. I'll probably have 2EB and maybe 4EB target the enemy unit here and possibly my guys will attack.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 11:01:07 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro D-Day: A sight like this one would be the waving of a red flag in John IIIs face. Erik may feel the same way.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 11:03:16 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro: Allied sweeps of Bihoro do very well, clearing the airspace before the bombers come in.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 11:05:00 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro D-Day: Many enemy strikes target the hex where Death Star is posted - mostly good fighters sweeping, but occasionally escorted bombers or unescorted bombers. Some of the big sweeps included Erik's finest fighters (Ki-83, Frank-r), but Allied CAP performs well.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 11:06:48 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro D-Day: Usually sweeping enemy fighters clean up against Hellcats, but here the Navy fighters hold their own against Erik's best.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 11:08:41 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro: Bombers do a pretty good job suppressing Bihoro's big airfield.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 11:10:59 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro D-Day: Auto-bombardment by enemy units is counterproductive, as usual. Enemy AVs drop during the attack, enough to give me some hope for the coming battle. The roster of Allied units shown in the box is only partial. There are many more units present. The box aint big enough to show them all.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 11:13:30 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro D-Day: Just before that ground combat, Allied BB TF performed well in bombarding Kushiro.

The Allied TF remained in hex with a big replenishment (AE) TF. I know it can replenish, but it will use 1000 ops points to do so. I don't know, therefore, whether the TF can bombard again or even move out of the hex to join DS (if I elect to seek safety).

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 11:15:33 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro D-Day: The lay of the land at day's end.

It was really a spectacular day for the Allies - not decisive, no awesome victory, but seeing this massive undertaking unfold properly.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 11:20:33 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro D-Day: Every Allied unit came ashore in terrific shape. General deliberate attack tomorrow, with paratroops to come in from Wakkanai and Toyohara.

The enemy has two divisions and other stuff totaling about 1700 AV. They'll have 2x terrain and good forts (6?). The Allies may have a prep advantage and should have a huge firepower advantage - lots of armor and arty, the Japanese don't have any.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 11:28:49 PM

Canoerebel

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A complex day to understand, a complex day tomorrow to plan for, and 12,000 points of information to take into consideration. Some decisions are easy, some are hard.

1. The Allied Army is in such good condition that it will attack tomorrow.
2. The Navy will remain close by, to guard against surface raiders and to (hopefully) deal with the enemy air forces. But where to position DS is a real booger bear. After a lot of thought, I've narrowed it to two possibilities, but even those are complex.
3. As noted above, the bombardment TF at Kushiro can replenish, but I don't know if it then has enough ops points to bombard or to join DS for security. I don't know what I'm going to do about that.
4. There are so many key targets for the Allied air force: (1) suppressing enemy airfields, especially Bihoro, Kushiro, Kunashiri and Shikotan. The first is probably the most important. (2) targeting enemy ground units to kick them from Move mode to Combat mode, slowing their advances into the key non-base hexes. (3) Sweeping enemy fighters over Allied units in those non-base hexes, and posting my own LRCAP there to deal with enemy bombers. There are a dozen high-priority missions, but I can probably only afford to focus on four to six.
5. I've already made the decision to pour in reinforcements. A goodly part of 5th Marine Div. came ashore perfectly in the non-base hex NE of Kushiro, so why not "flood the zone" with everything I have? Keeping Erik from controling those non-base hexes may be the key to victory here.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/15/2018 11:32:29 PM

Canoerebel

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2/8/45

Kushiro D-Day: If 5th Marine Div. can land in none-base hex with no disablements and minimal fatigue and disruption, why bother landing additional troops at Kushiro?

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/16/2018 4:47:29 AM

Capt. Harlock

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quote:

Just before that ground combat, Allied BB TF performed well in bombarding Kushiro.

Apparently larger numbers of 14-inch do better than lesser numbers of 15-inch.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/16/2018 11:29:37 AM

HansBolter

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I have found when sitting in a bombardment hex with the AE replenishment TF that bombardments every day are not viable unless you are rotating multiple TFs.
Even then, the ops point limits can prevent the AE TF from being able to fully replenish multiple TF on a daily basis.

A single bombardment TF has to spend the next turn replenishing and on the turn after can bombard again.

< Message edited by HansBolter -- 10/16/2018 11:32:05 AM >

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/16/2018 3:56:11 PM

Canoerebel

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Hey, Hans, thanks very much for posting that info. Not knowing for certain had tied me I knots. I didn't have a good feel for how to plan that part of the turn, which is a key part. Now I know.

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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 10/16/2018 7:06:26 PM

Canoerebel

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I may be spending more time on this turn than any I've ever had. The turn is important, but it's not necessarily the most important ever. It's just that there are massive numbers of variables. If I make a call it requires 10,000 clicks. If I change my mind....

I'm playing with a hypothesis - not relying upon it but studying it. In most recent advances by Death Star, strike aircraft have been at limited range. In this instance, they're set to zero (the chance of an overwhelming CAP-trap debacle are far greater than a carrier battle). DS hasn't reacted when I've limited strike range, making me wonder if carriers won't react if doing so still won't bring them within range of launching a strike. But it seems to much to expect that the designers would have thought that deeply into strike mechanics, so I'm a bit skeptical. And I'm not sure there's been a time when a reaction has been possible. Right now, and enemy carrier TF is 10 hexes from DS, so Erik might be trying to coax one.

I've been playing under the assumption that DS can (and probably will have to) withstand at least one all-out, mega air strike. In the current turn, Erik lost 400 aircraft (I lost 200), which might've dampened his enthusiasm. But he may be trying for that reaction, hoping for an overwhelming attack. I think I'm going to keep DS in place, or move it one hex (to just SW of Kushiro) to allow more supplies to unload. Pucker time.

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