Slitherine

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ORIGINAL: rustysi

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And I have still not had any luck getting the Zeros from Lae to do a strafe attack on Port Moresby.

Lae is a level one airfield. In short, no offensive missions may be carried out from a level one airfield.

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ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

You can also have the bombardment TF set to "Remain On Station" and then change them back to bombardment again for the next turn. I do this sometimes because they do not always use almost all of their ammo when they otherwise would. They will try to keep a couple of loads for enemy ships. The reason for the "No Escorts Bombard" is to save their ammo for anti-aircraft fire. Evven DDs on a bombardment mission with no obvious damage to the enemy units or facilities is useful.

Keep at least one unit on the ground bombarding the enemy, if not all of them. This will keep the enemies fatigue and disruption up so they will not have a chance for a beer.

You can also use Fast Transports for your Japanese cruisers and destroyers and carry units and/or supplies. You could even use these to take bases like Buna if they are relatively undefended. Then they become Surface Combat Task Forces with a full load of ammo.

Try to keep your air strikes going in at the same altitude otherwise they may not coordinate. Think of Torpedo 8 at Midway attacking with such a great fighter escort!

If you set your dive bombers to attack at 15k feet, they will probably level bomb.

The enemy CAP, especially if they have radar, will usually be able to climb above your attacking forces then dive. This is because the escorts are staying with the bombers as well as the warning of the raid with the RADAR seeing the raid coming in. With enough warning, the enemy CAP can also be augmented by additional fighters that take off from the carriers.

Try using the Claudes at 5k or 6k feet, both as anti-torpedo plane CAP as well as anti-search plane CAP. In the grand campaign, I do this in the DEI against the Commonwealth biplane torpedo planes with good results.

I have seen 18 and 25 pounders shooting at the invasion force, the 40mm Bofors is especially good at that!

Try two or three DDs on a surface mission with aggression set to "LOW." Especially on those dark and/or stormy nights, this way they can get close and launch torpedoes, then leave. If the enemy has non-surface combat ships there, those could be hurting. Think if you did this and torpedoed an enemy carrier so it could not launch aircraft the next day when each side launches airstrikes against each other. Lead with DDs like this, then have your heavier ships come in next.

You could also break up your Betty unit into smaller sizes and have one section at night set to bomb PM as well as Naval Search.

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ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

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ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

You can also have the bombardment TF set to "Remain On Station" and then change them back to bombardment again for the next turn. I do this sometimes because they do not always use almost all of their ammo when they otherwise would. They will try to keep a couple of loads for enemy ships. The reason for the "No Escorts Bombard" is to save their ammo for anti-aircraft fire. Evven DDs on a bombardment mission with no obvious damage to the enemy units or facilities is useful.

Keep at least one unit on the ground bombarding the enemy, if not all of them. This will keep the enemies fatigue and disruption up so they will not have a chance for a beer.

You can also use Fast Transports for your Japanese cruisers and destroyers and carry units and/or supplies. You could even use these to take bases like Buna if they are relatively undefended. Then they become Surface Combat Task Forces with a full load of ammo.

Try to keep your air strikes going in at the same altitude otherwise they may not coordinate. Think of Torpedo 8 at Midway attacking with such a great fighter escort!

If you set your dive bombers to attack at 15k feet, they will probably level bomb.

The enemy CAP, especially if they have radar, will usually be able to climb above your attacking forces then dive. This is because the escorts are staying with the bombers as well as the warning of the raid with the RADAR seeing the raid coming in. With enough warning, the enemy CAP can also be augmented by additional fighters that take off from the carriers.

Try using the Claudes at 5k or 6k feet, both as anti-torpedo plane CAP as well as anti-search plane CAP. In the grand campaign, I do this in the DEI against the Commonwealth biplane torpedo planes with good results.

I have seen 18 and 25 pounders shooting at the invasion force, the 40mm Bofors is especially good at that!

Try two or three DDs on a surface mission with aggression set to "LOW." Especially on those dark and/or stormy nights, this way they can get close and launch torpedoes, then leave. If the enemy has non-surface combat ships there, those could be hurting. Think if you did this and torpedoed an enemy carrier so it could not launch aircraft the next day when each side launches airstrikes against each other. Lead with DDs like this, then have your heavier ships come in next.

You could also break up your Betty unit into smaller sizes and have one section at night set to bomb PM as well as Naval Search.

That's damned sneaky advice, Joe, but if I'm going to be the Jap devil I could use tricks like that. Which leads me into a whole new area of enquiry. How do you guys time this sort of thing, getting the raid to go in at night time? Are you suggesting this as a tactic to use on the USN CVs in the Coral Sea scenario? Since those CVs have cruisers with them, I can't see how I could get close enough to launch torpedoes with the CAs or the planes getting me.

I am going to give this scenario another shot before I move on to Guadalcanal. I've yet to get attacks with the Bettys on the USN CV group with Bettys. Twice I have had them raid in daylight, escort did not show up and they got mauled. I hear forumites speak of the Bettys with reverent fear, but I'm not seeing it. Which means I am not doing something right. My dream attack is Bettys doing torpedo runs on the carriers with a heavy Zero escort from the land bases. Then after they are mauled using the CVs to finish them off.

Back to the drawing board. And as always, fellows, much appreciation for the advice. I've not yet done any night ops, other than with those short range float planes which don't do much or see much because the USN stays out of their range. I'm going to try my luck with some night raids with the Bettys. What's the best weapon for them to use? I am assuming torpedoes for night raids.

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ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

Same deal for the Luftwaffe. Started the war with some very experienced pilots, some with Spanish Civil War experience; Japan had combat experience from China. Then they got involved in war with several industrial giants. Skill and technology can keep you going for a while, but eventually numbers have a quality of their own. In the case of the U.S. they eventually had the numbers, the skill and the quality, also very vital, the fuel. I'm currently rereading Prange's "At Dawn We Slept" about 250 pages in. The IJN are making their plans for PH if the diplomacy failed. Quite a few of their senior officers, government and diplomats knew the industrial potential of the U.S. and her Allies. They foresaw that they would eventually be fighting US, Commonwealth, Dutch and Soviets; yet still decided on war. In retrospect we shake our heads, but we were not there at the time and we were not Japanese, a culture that had not known defeat for what, 2000 years or so, it was said?

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ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

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ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

Same deal for the Luftwaffe. Started the war with some very experienced pilots, some with Spanish Civil War experience; Japan had combat experience from China. Then they got involved in war with several industrial giants. Skill and technology can keep you going for a while, but eventually numbers have a quality of their own. In the case of the U.S. they eventually had the numbers, the skill and the quality, also very vital, the fuel. I'm currently rereading Prange's "At Dawn We Slept" about 250 pages in. The IJN are making their plans for PH if the diplomacy failed. Quite a few of their senior officers, government and diplomats knew the industrial potential of the U.S. and her Allies. They foresaw that they would eventually be fighting US, Commonwealth, Dutch and Soviets; yet still decided on war. In retrospect we shake our heads, but we were not there at the time and we were not Japanese, a culture that had not known defeat for what, 2000 years or so, it was said?

The Japanese definitely thought of themselves as a superior race (much as white peoples did for their race) and in so doing they underestimated the fighting spirit of their opponents. The whole Banzai charge idea was about causing a frightened enemy to break and run. It didn't work so well when grim Marines stuck to their guns.

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I've yet to get attacks with the Bettys on the USN CV group with Bettys. Twice I have had them raid in daylight, escort did not show up and they got mauled. I hear forumites speak of the Bettys with reverent fear, but I'm not seeing it. Which means I am not doing something right. My dream attack is Bettys doing torpedo runs on the carriers with a heavy Zero escort from the land bases.

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ORIGINAL: RhinoDad

A problem facing the Japanese was trying to get a population who less than 80 years before were samurai wearing armor and fighting with swords into a modern military

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ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

That is why it is advised that a new player does not go into the Grand Campaign right away.

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ORIGINAL: Ambassador

Détection level matters in combat performance, from ground combat to bombardment (both naval and aerial). It matters a lot.

Sinking both CV and taking the base is a very good result. Congrats !

LRCAP is useful, but beware fatigue (both of the pilots and of the planes). This is not something to conduct lightly, be careful on longer scenarios, or you might end up losing many planes to Ops losses.

Performance of bombers is affected by the CAP and flak they face. A single obsolete plane on CAP and a peashooter as sole AA weapon are far better than nothing.

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ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

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ORIGINAL: Ambassador

Détection level matters in combat performance, from ground combat to bombardment (both naval and aerial). It matters a lot.

Sinking both CV and taking the base is a very good result. Congrats !

LRCAP is useful, but beware fatigue (both of the pilots and of the planes). This is not something to conduct lightly, be careful on longer scenarios, or you might end up losing many planes to Ops losses.

Performance of bombers is affected by the CAP and flak they face. A single obsolete plane on CAP and a peashooter as sole AA weapon are far better than nothing.

Oh, yeah! I had a snoop around and found one Zero unit with a fatigue rating of 84! Then I looked at every air unit and realized this is something to which I must pay attention. I then stood down several units. I even pulled my carriers back one day to give the boys a rest.

I've never played a game where such details mattered. Most of the time you push around cardboard counters or pixelated entities, without considering that those things are made up of "real" people. This is a detail I shall be sure to attend in long games.

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ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Bettys and Nells are torpedo planes and thus are not restricted to carrying to the size 4 airbase.

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but there is also a PLANE fatigue that plays into ops losses a lot.

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ORIGINAL: rustysi

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ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Bettys and Nells are torpedo planes and thus are not restricted to carrying to the size 4 airbase.

Absolutely False. Dude, please do your checks before you respond.

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ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

I know that; I should've used emoticons to convey that it wasn't a serious post.

I wonder about policies with respect to splitting up close relations in combat units. In WWI the British deployed "pals" battalions, units of men drafted or volunteered from local areas. On one hand it facilitated very close bonds that boosted morale but at the same time made the effects of large casualties more demoralizing both at the front and at home as the casualty lists were published.

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ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

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ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

Sorry, I'm still left wondering about those shore guns in the Coral Sea scenario. Has anybody figured out a way to pull their teeth with what is available in the scenario? I lose at least four ships from the landing force to those shore guns every time I play this scenario. In this game I lost a transport, with its cargo of supplies and/or troops, plus the number of men who drown during the unloading process. I guess the Japanese are not as good at swimming when laden with gear as the USMC?

And I have still not had any luck getting the Zeros from Lae to do a strafe attack on Port Moresby. I set the mission to ground attack, target PM and set the altitude to 100' and still nothing happens. I am wondering what I am doing wrong. I've only been attempting this for the purpose of getting to see what it does in a scenario before I try it in a campaign.

With drop tanks, Zeros can sweep or LRCAP up to 14 hexes. Strafing is ineffective against troops with forts and you will lose a lot of aircraft to light AA. Your Zero pilots are probably not well trained in strafing anyway. IRL the Japanese landed their troops down the coast between Milne Bay and PM. Aircraft from PM took out most of their supply ships so they could never make much progress up the coast. You can drop troops at a coastal hex (at least you could when the game came out) but the losses are something like 50%. It seems your only real choice is to put those CAs in the Amphib TF to suppress the CD unit.

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ORIGINAL: fcooke

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ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

I know that; I should've used emoticons to convey that it wasn't a serious post.

I wonder about policies with respect to splitting up close relations in combat units. In WWI the British deployed "pals" battalions, units of men drafted or volunteered from local areas. On one hand it facilitated very close bonds that boosted morale but at the same time made the effects of large casualties more demoralizing both at the front and at home as the casualty lists were published.

The USN did have a policy of splitting up brothers. The 5 Sullivans petitioned, obviously with success, to serve on the same ship. That one of them survived was lucky but probably in ratio with the overall survival rate of the men on the ship. It was estimated that about 100 men made it into the water. Due to some bungling the rescue operations were delayed and I think only 10 men eventually were rescued.