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Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific as the Allies

 
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Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific as th... - 1/26/2022 7:37:45 PM   
the1henson

 

Posts: 47
Joined: 12/6/2013
Status: offline 		I’ve been a lurker here for well over a decade, inspired beyond belief by the epic AARs we’ve seen here. My new opponent this time around, a cheerful and motivated Finn, is also a long-time lurker and a similarly experienced grognard who has like me been playing off and on since the WITP days. He let me know he’s comfortable with me sharing my side of the campaign we’re starting together.

We assure each other we’re in this for the long haul. I hope that is the case because this guy seems fun. I’m leading the Allies this game, and he will be the Japanese aggressor.

As you can probably deduce from the title, we’re trying out LargeSlowTarget’s (LST) excellent Bottlenecks in the Pacific mod. We’ve agreed to Scenario 61 with the simplified Japanese production. I suspect that will limit his capabilities somewhat… we shall see.

My capabilities as the Allies are significantly hobbled at the start in this mod. For those new to it, this is a heavily altered DBB-C scenario that LST has carefully designed to slow down the war’s pace and to prevent massive and unrealistic buildups of tiny islands in the early war. He has accomplished that by creating shipping, supply, and production bottlenecks all over the place – I keep discovering more the longer I look at things. The mod is really brilliant in several respects, and I’m excited to take it for a spin.

It also has fun easter eggs like this: Open any of the three scenarios and look up an outrigger-class LB ship named “Sailor’s Delight.” Most of the other fun little additions are more for historical flair than for fun, and the attention to detail is commendable. He’s also added civilians in the line of fire, with the intent that the allied player evacuates them. I will try…

Let’s start the planning. Industry first (for the allies?? Yeah…).
Post #: 1
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 1/26/2022 7:44:08 PM   
Axe1999


Posts: 145
Joined: 2/14/2021
Status: offline 		Nice to see more people on the Bottlenecks kick, I played a lot of scenarios but this one is the one I enjoyed most. Good luck with the match

(in reply to the1henson)
Post #: 2
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 1/26/2022 7:54:54 PM   
ReadyR

 

Posts: 91
Joined: 5/17/2015
From: Ottawa, Canada
Status: offline 		Enjoy your game! I am having great fun. I am in Jan 1944 in a PBEM. I handled things badly early game against a very good Japanese opponent and am just now starting to move forward. The supply bottlenecks are really serious in India, Burma, N. Australia and of course China. Be sure you read about port expansion, even inland, to help with that.

(in reply to the1henson)
Post #: 3
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 1/26/2022 7:57:13 PM   
Wirraway_Ace


Posts: 1400
Joined: 10/8/2007
From: Austin / Brisbane
Status: offline 		This sounds like a great mod, particularly for those who like a more historical feel.

Good luck!

(in reply to ReadyR)
Post #: 4
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 1/26/2022 8:42:30 PM   
the1henson

 

Posts: 47
Joined: 12/6/2013
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Axe1999

Nice to see more people on the Bottlenecks kick, I played a lot of scenarios but this one is the one I enjoyed most. Good luck with the match


Your AAR is one I follow with interest.

(in reply to Axe1999)
Post #: 5
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 1/26/2022 8:44:24 PM   
the1henson

 

Posts: 47
Joined: 12/6/2013
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: ReadyR

Enjoy your game! I am having great fun. I am in Jan 1944 in a PBEM. I handled things badly early game against a very good Japanese opponent and am just now starting to move forward. The supply bottlenecks are really serious in India, Burma, N. Australia and of course China. Be sure you read about port expansion, even inland, to help with that.


Thanks for the tip. I'm worried about supply just to fix the disabled light industry. Haven't even started to think about where and how I will move the supply once they start to produce it in useable quantity.

(in reply to ReadyR)
Post #: 6
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 1/26/2022 8:49:04 PM   
Axe1999


Posts: 145
Joined: 2/14/2021
Status: offline 		Nice to know Im not writing it just for me :)

Have to take a few months break soon unfortunately... Building is still a bit too fast for my liking, but a lot of stuff is hardcoded.

Only thing I would like for the mod is a nice historical AI script, I started working on one but the sheer amount of research that I need to do to learn how to script effectively and my free time made me abandon it for the time being.

(in reply to the1henson)
Post #: 7
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 1/26/2022 9:10:39 PM   
the1henson

 

Posts: 47
Joined: 12/6/2013
Status: offline 		A few things are different in this mod. First, ONLY the LI facilities generate supply. Also, the repair costs of industry are changed as follows: 5k supply per shipyard point, 3k per repair shipyard point, 2k per HI/Oil/Refinery point, and 500 per LI/Resource point. All of the industrial inputs - > outputs are below:

Resource -> 25 Res
Oil -> 25 Oil
12 Oil -> Refinery -> 10 Fuel
2 Fuel/25 Res -> HI -> 2 HI pts
20 Res -> LI -> 2 Supply

Now take a look at this production screen, specifically the “Disabled Prod” row. Holy smokes! More than 2/3 of my light industry is disabled! The same applies to HI, Refineries, Oil, and Resources. As it stands, when you include the automatic daily supply in some of the CONUS cities, my current total daily supply production hovers around 70k per day spread across the map. This is compared with supply generation of about 100k/day in scenario 1. Much of the early supplies will have to go toward repairing the disabled industry (at least 30k/day based on 1pt/facility/day). Add all this to the fact that neither refineries nor HI factories create supply, and I have to make a plan to fix this before I make any real moves.

How fun is it that the allied player must think this much about production right away?

It does seem to me that once the industry reaches a certain level of repair, then the U.S. economy may be stronger than it is in other scenarios. I haven’t done the math on this, it’s just a rectal reach estimate. But the point is that it may take a long time to get to that point.

I’m currently making 516,275 resources and need only 187,240 to keep up with current LI needs. I will also need 111,225 (plus some fuel) to keep up with HI, for a total resource need in 1941 of 298,465 – a theoretical surplus at the start. That said, napkin calculations imply that CONUS resource production may not meet local demand. I may need to ship in resources from elsewhere – I’ll watch and react as needed. If all LI is repaired, then I will need to produce about 600K resources to keep them all running, plus the HI needs.

I don’t think I need that much though, at least not yet. Current max resource production is ~970K, and we will lose some of that in 1942, so I should repair, at most, enough LI/HI to consume altogether about 950K resources. Current HI needs are solely for airframes. I’ll dig into future needs a bit later, but right now the HI production far outstrips the need – 8898 HI produced with only 1026 HI currently needed. I may not need to repair any HI at all, but time will tell once I start building 4E’s on map.

All that said, I can safely repair probably 18-23k LI points at start, and I won't have to worry about resources for a while (if at all).

As far as I can tell all the broken resource centers are in the US and Australia. It would cost about 10.3Mil supply to fix all the broken resource facilities (holy cow). I doubt I will have to go that far. It would cost about that to fix the broken LI (about 10.3Mil), but I only really want maybe half of those. Also, only 1 pt/day can be repaired at each facility. There are only about 80 disabled facilities - some are large, some are small. Obviously, the daily supply cost of repairs will dwindle as the smaller ones are made whole, but the larger facilities on the East Coast will take years to repair (by design - these are meant to be late war production).

I’ll start by turning off repair of everything, and then repair only LI in the US and Australia until I start to feel a resource pinch (stockpile is near a million). At that point, I can turn on resource repair at a ratio to be calculated later. The wild card is HI. I will need to watch HI generation (and the fuel feeding it) to make sure I’m building all the on-map toys I will need to supplement the replacement rate, especially 4E bombers. I will also watch China and India - if there's supply available to quickly fix those little facilities, I will do so.

Anyone knowledgeable want to let me know where I’m screwing up here? I'm leaving refineries and the repair shipyards alone for now, because I think current fuel and repair production are sufficient for 1942.

Whoops. Already caught one error. Each LI point is producing 2 supply, not the 1 I calculated, so I edited the numbers to fix my math error.




Attachment (1)

< Message edited by the1henson -- 1/27/2022 3:26:13 AM >

(in reply to the1henson)
Post #: 8
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 1/26/2022 10:11:30 PM   
frontsoldaten

 

Posts: 2
Joined: 5/28/2020
From: 215, 48
Status: offline 		Long time forum lurker as well. Looking forward to this AAR as well, Bottlenecks is by far my favorite way to Play WITP and its great to see so many AAR's showcasing this excellent mod.

(in reply to the1henson)
Post #: 9
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 1/27/2022 12:45:10 AM   
the1henson

 

Posts: 47
Joined: 12/6/2013
Status: offline 		We went through a few days of tweaking pwhexe.dat files until we were both playing with the same deck of cards. The time change between us didn't help any. Hint for anyone starting a game - LST recently updated the install files, so make sure you're working off of the newest pwhexe and not the one from April 2020. There are also a few database changes to fix airframes set to 0 durability that are important for the Japanese player.

We're playing historical first turn. He's got my initial turn flip and will be working on his first turn for a few days. I encouraged him to take all the time he needs. That first turn as Japan is a lot to manage, and needs to be done right or we both end up with a sad game.

Here are the game settings:
quote:

-REALISM-

FOW=ON
Advanced Weather=ON
Allied Damage Control=ON
PDU=ON
Historical 1st turn=ON
Reliable USN torps=OFF
Dec 7 surprise=OFF
Realistic R&D=ON
No unit withdrawals=OFF
Reinforcements=FIXED

-GAME OPTIONS-

Auto sub ops=OFF
Turn cycle: 1


For those unaware, this scenario starts with the Pearl Harbor attack already completed and the historical damage baked in. KB is somewhere NW of Hawaii, and the question becomes, where will it go?

For the first few turns, I use the excuse of "roleplaying" to take a few turns getting organized. Lots of cats to herd into place, though LST has thoughtfully started a lot of convoys moving towards logical assembly ports. The Japanese player's decisions set the pace and really do need to be reacted to, within certain parameters.

High-level plans: Out west, I will make an attempt to stand in Burma unless it looks like he's moving too quickly there - don't want to get trapped. The same goes for PM. This scenario starts with 0 PPs banked, earning at a rate of 100/day. If I have time I will try to get the Australians out of Singapore and send them to PM, but it all comes down to timing and my opponent's aggressiveness. In the Pacific I will methodically reinforce islands radiating down from Hawaii towards Fiji and, if I get to it before he does, Noumea. I don't intend to give that island away, but I also can't outrun my supply. To the North I will make plans to reinforce the Aleutians, but that's a lower priority until I'm certain I can supply them. I will try to set up a submarine base at Midway with the same caveat - can it be adequately supplied and protected?

As for the more immediate defense of PI, DEI, and Malaya, that will depend on where he appears to be hitting with his invasions.

I will also try to reinforce Port Blair. It may not be possible, but Betties in the Andamans are a PITA.

Just waiting at this point, and becoming more familiar with the changes LST has made. They're legion, they're thoughtful, and most of them are the kind of smack-your-head ideas that make you wonder, "why didn't anyone think of that before?"

(in reply to frontsoldaten)
Post #: 10
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 1/27/2022 2:15:07 AM   
BBfanboy


Posts: 18046
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
Status: offline 		AFAIK, LI needs 15 resources to make one point of supply in the stock game, not the 10 resources for one supply you are showing for the mod. Are you saying there is a place to change that in the editor? I always thought it was hard wired in the untouchable game .exe file.

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

(in reply to the1henson)
Post #: 11
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 1/27/2022 3:12:15 AM   
the1henson

 

Posts: 47
Joined: 12/6/2013
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

AFAIK, LI needs 15 resources to make one point of supply in the stock game, not the 10 resources for one supply you are showing for the mod. Are you saying there is a place to change that in the editor? I always thought it was hard wired in the untouchable game .exe file.


I thought the same. LST figured it out.

When I was digging around the editor to figure this scenario out, I happened to come across this. Open the devices tab and you'll get this set of boxes over to the right. The values are global, not tied to any particular device.

He didn't just change the input/output values, but he also changed the amount of supply required to repair one point of each. I'm not 100% certain on this one, but it seems to correspond with the Load Cost field of the Oil, Resources, etc. devices in the editor (slots 518-528).

He killed production of supply from refineries and HI, and changed LI to require 20 resources in for 2 supply out.






Attachment (1)

(in reply to BBfanboy)
Post #: 12
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 1/27/2022 12:41:28 PM   
BBfanboy


Posts: 18046
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
Status: offline 		Thanks! That stuff I had seen before but didn't want to mess with in case it caused issues with running the game. Wish I was young enough to get into serious modding, but I can hardly remember what I need to do for the base game!




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

(in reply to the1henson)
Post #: 13
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 1/27/2022 9:54:26 PM   
LargeSlowTarget


Posts: 4443
Joined: 9/23/2000
From: Hessen, Germany - now living in France
Status: offline 		I'm honored and delighted to see another PBEM with my mod. Thanks for all the praise, hope you enjoy the journey.

Speaking of delight, that outrigger easter egg unfortunately lost some of its pun with the enforced-forum-rules-retirement of my good ol' sigpic, but the regulars will know. You may have noticed the accurate device values ;-)

Your industry repair strategy is sound, you should repair supply-generating LI first, resources later - but it is probably a good idea to ship excess resources from places like Australia, India, the Caribean and South America (ex-Falklands base) to the UK and CONUS (which will keep "excess" shipping occupied and simulates the scores of merchant ships which made trips into the PO / IO area and out again, but which have no withdrawal/return dates in the game). When supply generation has grown, you should add repairs to refineries and oil centers (the bottleneck at start will be tankers, not fuel production), and finally the very supply expensive repair yards (will delay attaining their full capacity, but that seems more realistic - those facilities don't grow overnight).

The supply demand for industry repairs and engine factories is indeed governed by the load costs of the various industry and engine devices ("0" means the standard 1000 supplies cost).


quote:

ORIGINAL: Axe1999
Only thing I would like for the mod is a nice historical AI script, I started working on one but the sheer amount of research that I need to do to learn how to script effectively and my free time made me abandon it for the time being.


That is exactly why I have elected not to provide AI scripts - it is an art I have not dared to try my hand at.

_____________________________

AE Mod "Bottlenecks" UPDATED 01/2022

(in reply to BBfanboy)
Post #: 14
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 1/30/2022 7:56:35 PM   
the1henson

 

Posts: 47
Joined: 12/6/2013
Status: offline 		And we're on! Received the first turn this morning and spent a few hours clicking... and clicking...

Ran the replay and, uh, it was weird. Nothing happened. That's a quirk of this mod - all of the historical day one combat and damage is baked in because it's actually a Sunday night start, not Sunday morning (12/7).

To that end, two battleships were sunk in Pearl Harbor, and the others have the damage detailed below. Force Z is fully intact, as are Marblehead, Houston, and Boise. All, along with the Dutch Navy, are being hustled to undisclosed locations for the time being.

Also lost at Pearl Harbor were SO MANY CATALINAS. Each patrol squadron there is lucky if there's even one aircraft undamaged. It's tragic. Time to fire poor Admiral Kimmel as the scapegoat for this mess.

Most of the turn was just executing industrial plans; setting up defenses in Luzon, Malaya, and Burma; moving shipping hither and yon, and preparing to evacuate civilians. There are civilians scattered throughout the DEI, New Guinea, and the Solomons, and I see some arriving to the PI as "reinforcements" this week - yay! I'm playing the mod as intended, so those civilians and nurses will need to be shipped to safety, as will be the Asiatic Fleet HQs (there are two, including one for subs) and some other assorted useful and unrestricted units I'd like to save. I also set up one unusual airstrike as an experiment. We'll see how that goes; I haven't playtested it and I don't have high hopes, but it may at least make him react to me.

Light on detail this turn because not much happened. Later turns should be more interesting. No airstrikes or invasions. The only combat was between a PC and some old warships near Shanghai.

Pearl Harbor's repair docks below:






Attachment (1)

(in reply to LargeSlowTarget)
Post #: 15
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 1/31/2022 7:47:19 PM   
the1henson

 

Posts: 47
Joined: 12/6/2013
Status: offline 		8 December 1941

Lost:
Batan Island (uncontested)
Makin Island (uncontested)

South China Sea

Had a series of close-range night skirmishes east of Hong Kong with HMS Thracian and a couple of Japanese patrol vessels. Inconclusive.

Also some submarine activity - lots of torpedoes launched against various IJN vessels (including the Natori, a CL), but only one hit against an AK carrying some type of land unit.
quote:

Sub attack near Aparri at 83,72

Japanese Ships
xAK Azumasan Maru, Torpedo hits 1
TB Kamo

Allied Ships
SS S-36~

Japanese ground losses:
6 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


China

Lots of Japanese bombing of seemingly random targets, and some effective bombing of the Hong Kong air facilities with 41 runway hits. I also launched an ineffective raid against Hankow. Those bombers will rest today.
quote:

Afternoon Air attack on Hankow, at 85,50

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate-Setsu x 24

Allied aircraft
A-29A Hudson x 3
DB-3M x 6
SB-III x 6

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
A-29A Hudson: 3 damaged
SB-III: 2 damaged

Runway hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x A-29A Hudson bombing from 11000 feet *
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 lb GP Bomb
3 x SB-III bombing from 11000 feet *
Airfield Attack: 2 x 2x100 kg GP Bombs


Philippines

No invasions this turn.

Several air raids against Iba and Clark Field where I traded 4 P-40s and 1 P-35 for 8 zeroes and 8 netties, about half due to flak at Clark. Minor runway damage to both bases.

Launched a B-17 raid against Babeldaob (Koror in this mod) for little effect. The bombers are still in good shape but will rest anyway.

Malaya

No invasions, but lots of activity north of Kota Bharu. I launched an ineffective night bombing raid against Kota Bharu (only 2 Hudsons actually flew). I didn't really expect much from that move. He reciprocated in the daytime by bombing northern airbases around Georgetown that were already empty of aircraft.

Overall a quiet first full day of the war. I've started mining some points on the map that he will have to hit, hoping to force him to slow down even more than this mod requires us to. The more I disrupt early, the less he can accomplish, and the easier it is for me to move when I have the resources built to move to offense. The US and Australia are starting to wake up, specifically air units, ASW patrols, and the training program. I role play the US in particular being a bit stunned and behind the curve for a week or so, at least.

LST has all new arrivals at the Eastern US base set to automagically strat move to San Francisco, which is thoughtful. Less clicking is always welcome. Putting destinations to units as they arrive, and starting work on a PP/buyout plan. I will also need to fix some leadership issues. I already fixed Force Z.

(in reply to the1henson)
Post #: 16
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 2/1/2022 5:55:54 PM   
the1henson

 

Posts: 47
Joined: 12/6/2013
Status: offline 		8 December 1941

Landings:
Aparri
Vigan

Lost:
Tarawa (uncontested)

Central Pacific
Three CLs and attendant DDs bombarded Wake Island for minor damage. Landing soon to come?
Also had a submarine snooped by “Japanese Aircraft” northwest of Johnson Island. It’s too far from the Marshalls to be that, so either it’s my own patrol, a submarine-launched float plane, or the Kido Butai is headed south.
Tarawa was taken.

China
A couple of land units on the move south of Nanchang, but no contact.
More random bombing throughout China, to no discernable purpose. Maybe he’s training units, or maybe he’s just leaving air units on generic settings. The combatants include some of the large naval air units on Formosa. At least they’re not hammering Luzon as hard as they could. Using Zeroes to escort over China instead of sweeping Clark feels like a win for me.

Speaking of that…

Philippines
Invasions in the north of Luzon, at Aparri and Vigan. Also some bombing of Clark and a large seaplane attack on a TF south of Manila. No fighters intercepted and they tore up a few small AKs.
quote:

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Manila at 79,77


Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 4,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
E13A1 Jake-Suitei x 12

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
xAK Fatshan, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAK Hanyang, Bomb hits 1
xAK Hai Lee, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x E13A1 Jake-Suitei bombing from 1000 feet
Naval Attack: 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb


East of Luzon I had a bunch of small TFs with the larger AKs that were trying to make it to Hawaii. I say “had” because they ran into a bunch of cruisers who dogged them all night. It is what it is – poor civilians. One of those confirmed what I already knew from the seaplane attack:

quote:

Day Time Surface Combat, near Legaspi at 85,82, Range 17,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CVL Ryujo
CS Mizuho
CS Chitose
DD Shiokaze

Allied Ships
xAK Tantalus
xAK Yu Sang
xAK Capillo

Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions: 30,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 17,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 17,000 yards
Both TF attempt to withdraw!
Range increases to 17,000 yards...
Both Task Forces evade combat

Myoko, Haguro, Nachi, Jintsu, and a bunch of DDs are all in that area as well.

Malaya
I’ve sent some recon to view what’s happening north of Kota Bharu. I mean, I’m pretty sure I know, but the level of activity implies he’s not coming for Mersing. That won’t keep me from mining it anyway.

I set some more ASW patrols around the backfield as his subs are starting to annoy. Other than that, just more organizing, consolidating, and waiting to see where he hits. He seems to be playing it pretty historically.

(in reply to the1henson)
Post #: 17
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 2/1/2022 6:32:38 PM   
JanSako

 

Posts: 47
Joined: 1/16/2022
Status: offline 		It is nice to see the allied point of view/thinking in this scenario! (I am playing JAP with the same mod, about 6 weeks ahead of you)

I decided to walk all the length of the Malayan peninsula because:

a.) I can't stop Force Z from attacking the landings in Mersing & if I park BB's there then TB's from Singapore can reach. By the time Singers is fully suppressed the Allied player executed full sir Robin anyway.
b.) I don't mind to tempt my opponent to try to reinforce or resupply Singapore, it just means more units trapped for me to kill.
c.) not enough air support (in time) for both Kota Bharu & Mersing & also keep South China sea covered.

That said, the airfields at Luzon should be suppressed, obviously. (My) Ryujo still ate a couple of torps from Catalinas (hint) because I just did not have enough bombers to do for both Clark & Manila... + the allied flak gets real nasty there so there is that.

(in reply to the1henson)
Post #: 18
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 2/1/2022 8:22:19 PM   
the1henson

 

Posts: 47
Joined: 12/6/2013
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: JanSako

It is nice to see the allied point of view/thinking in this scenario! (I am playing JAP with the same mod, about 6 weeks ahead of you)

I decided to walk all the length of the Malayan peninsula because:

a.) I can't stop Force Z from attacking the landings in Mersing & if I park BB's there then TB's from Singapore can reach. By the time Singers is fully suppressed the Allied player executed full sir Robin anyway.
b.) I don't mind to tempt my opponent to try to reinforce or resupply Singapore, it just means more units trapped for me to kill.
c.) not enough air support (in time) for both Kota Bharu & Mersing & also keep South China sea covered.



Good insights. You’re probably correct that landing in Mersing is foolish if Force Z is still fully intact. Hadn’t considered those points.

I’m trying to save the HQs and what base using a I can in Manila, so I’m unlikely to be using Catalinas that way. They’re my best eyes north of the DEI for the time being, and I’d like to keep them operating. I am using the B-17s semi aggressively out of Mindanao, but they’re likely to move soon, once they’re repaired up.

(in reply to JanSako)
Post #: 19
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 2/3/2022 9:43:18 PM   
the1henson

 

Posts: 47
Joined: 12/6/2013
Status: offline 		9-13 December 1941

A multiple-turn update today. I’ve been at a symposium on naval combat systems this week and needed to at least pretend to pay attention.

Landings:

Wake
Guam
Kuching
Legaspi
Miri

Lost:

Vigan
Miri
Legaspi (uncontested)

Central Pacific

I found the Kido Butai when they plastered Wake Is with a couple hundred bombers, and then a submarine torpedoed Akagi south of Wake – hit, but no explosion. My opponent implied he received a nice scare from it. I need to get with BUORD about this.

Guam and Wake remain defiantly free.

China

Quiet here other than Hong Kong, which is still kicking. He’s reduced the forts a couple of times, but his last assault was still 1-3. I’m consolidating a few chunks of the Chinese army in important spots, and laying groundwork for an effective defense of Sian.

Philippines

He’s landed in force in northern Luzon, and also landed at Legaspi. I’ve seen multiple intel hits that he has units planning for Medan. No other landings in the PI so far. I’m starting the Great Migration into the peninsula now that most of the evacuation of non-combatants and interesting units in Manila is complete. Dugout Doug is still there, with some newly-converted MLs waiting to carry him away. I may just let him stay. Truman, Roosevelt, and Nimitz will all thank me.

I’ve moved the B-17s and the P-40s south. The P-40s are in Mindanao for now to help deal with the mini-KB.
He torpedoed that big 20K ARD east of Palawan. It has 40flt damage and dropping, and is moving toward Java at 3kts. I’d like to save it if I can, but two light carriers and the seaplane carriers are making a lot of noise east of Mindanao, headed south/southwest. I fear he’s about to move mini-KB into the Celebes Sea, where about a dozen subs await, along with a chunk of my surface forces and a ton of evacuees.

DEI

Lots of organizing and evacuating. Search arcs are set everywhere and overlapping. I expect an invasion at Davao soon so I moved the Catalinas to Borneo for now, covering the Celebes Sea. He landed at Kuching and Miri, and captured the latter. Kuching has held out for three turns.

I caught a whiff that the Kuching invasion was coming, so I sent Force Z north from their undisclosed location to see if I could catch them. I did, but it was after they unloaded. In the words of my opponent, this TF commander is the luckiest man in the war.

quote:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Kuching at 58,88, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Sendai, Shell hits 3, heavy fires
DD Isonami
DD Uranami
DD Shikinami
DD Ayanami
DD Hakaze
xAP Kobe Maru

Allied Ships
BB Prince of Wales
BC Repulse
CL Danae~
CL Dragon~, Shell hits 1
CL Durban~, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
DD Vampire
DD Tenedos
DD Electra
DD Express


Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions and 35% moonlight: 11,000 yards
Range closes to 19,000 yards...
Range closes to 17,000 yards...
Range closes to 15,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 15,000 yards
Range closes to 13,000 yards...
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 11,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 11,000 yards
BB Prince of Wales engages CL Sendai at 11,000 yards
BB Prince of Wales engages DD Hakaze at 11,000 yards
CL Durban~ engages CL Sendai at 11,000 yards
BB Prince of Wales engages DD Shikinami at 11,000 yards
CL Sendai engages CL Danae~ at 11,000 yards
DD Hakaze engages DD Electra at 11,000 yards
CL Sendai engages BB Prince of Wales at 11,000 yards
DD Hakaze engages DD Express at 11,000 yards
DD Ayanami engages DD Express at 11,000 yards
CL Sendai engages CL Dragon~ at 11,000 yards
DD Uranami engages DD Vampire at 11,000 yards
DD Hakaze engages DD Express at 11,000 yards
DD Electra engages DD Ayanami at 11,000 yards
DD Ayanami engages DD Vampire at 11,000 yards
CL Dragon~ engages CL Sendai at 11,000 yards
BC Repulse engages DD Ayanami at 11,000 yards
DD Electra engages DD Ayanami at 11,000 yards
DD Express engages DD Shikinami at 11,000 yards
DD Uranami engages DD Electra at 11,000 yards
DD Isonami engages DD Electra at 11,000 yards
DD Isonami engages DD Electra at 11,000 yards
DD Shikinami engages DD Tenedos at 11,000 yards
DD Hakaze engages DD Vampire at 11,000 yards
Range closes to 9,000 yards
BB Prince of Wales engages CL Sendai at 9,000 yards
DD Hakaze engages DD Express at 9,000 yards
DD Ayanami engages DD Vampire at 9,000 yards
CL Sendai engages CL Dragon~ at 9,000 yards
DD Uranami engages DD Vampire at 9,000 yards
DD Express engages DD Isonami at 9,000 yards
DD Shikinami engages DD Electra at 9,000 yards
DD Isonami engages DD Tenedos at 9,000 yards
DD Uranami engages DD Vampire at 9,000 yards
Range increases to 12,000 yards
BB Prince of Wales engages CL Sendai at 12,000 yards
CL Sendai engages BC Repulse at 12,000 yards
CL Sendai engages CL Durban~ at 12,000 yards
DD Shikinami engages DD Tenedos at 12,000 yards
DD Express engages DD Uranami at 12,000 yards
DD Tenedos engages DD Isonami at 12,000 yards
Japanese Task Force Manages to Escape
Task forces break off...


I also sent two destroyers who happened to be in the area to hit Kudat after he landed. They landed some hits, but nothing impressive.

quote:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Kudat at 69,86, Range 7,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
E Shimushu, Shell hits 6, on fire
SC Ch-9
xAK Hakonesan Maru, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
xAK Hakubasan Maru, Shell hits 3

Allied Ships
DD John D Ford~
DD Pope~


Malaya

DISASTER!!

I was trying to evac northern Malaya and didn’t notice he snuck a tank unit across the border. Caught two brigades in stat mode and they both surrendered the day before they would have strat moved south to combine with their division. I knew this was a risk, but lesson learned. Bombing to keep his moving land units in combat mode didn’t buy enough time this game.

quote:

Ground combat at Jitra / Alor Setar (49,73)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 1686 troops, 2 guns, 69 vehicles, Assault Value = 55

Defending force 4242 troops, 20 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 181

Japanese adjusted assault: 48

Allied adjusted defense: 21

Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Jitra / Alor Setar !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), op mode(-), preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker: op mode(-), shock(+), leaders(-)

Japanese ground losses:
25 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
5344 casualties reported
Squads: 243 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 228 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 32 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 29 (29 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 2

Assaulting units:
5ID 5th Recon Regiment

Defending units:
11ID 6th Indian Brigade
11ID 15th Indian Brigade


Early war is supposed to be frustrating for the allies, but losing 2/3 of a division in northwestern Malaya was not fun. I’m still working on reinforcing Port Blair – I know I can’t keep it if he really wants it, but I will contest it because it’s the gateway to his control of that part of the map. A bit north, near Rangoon, the Burmese division will recombine tomorrow. That area has been quiet, which is allowing me to reinforce Rangoon. I will keep pouring AV into that area to keep it. Same with Port Moresby. If I keep one of those two locations, I’ll be happy. If I keep both, it makes the rest of the war much easier.

Industrial repair has fixed about 200 LI so far. Resource and Supply pools are trending upwards. I think turning off repair of everything but LI was wise.

The first fuel convoy out of the US leaves today, and three of the BBs at Pearl Harbor will soon move to west coast shipyards for repair and for the January upgrades. Making plans for the free land units in San Francisco. The difficulty isn’t finding units with which to reinforce. The challenge is deciding where to expend the shipping and supplies to get it done first. This mod was aptly named.



< Message edited by the1henson -- 2/3/2022 10:04:27 PM >

(in reply to the1henson)
Post #: 20
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 2/5/2022 7:13:00 PM   
the1henson

 

Posts: 47
Joined: 12/6/2013
Status: offline 		15 December 1941
Landings:
Jolo
Davao

Lost:
Victoria Point
Kuching
Davao

Central Pacific

Guam and Wake remain free.

China

Continued bombardments at HK. It looks like he’s moving units from Canton to help out. I may look for a way to take advantage of that. If I cause enough trouble there, he may keep the 38th IJA division in China for a while, which would work to my benefit.

Philippines

The big ARD ran into a large group of BBs, CAs, and escorts. RIP ARD Dewey

He landed with over 100AV at Jolo after unleashing a massive shore bombardment. I think he’s been having problems with some of his landings (Guam, Wake, HK, Kuching) and wanted some insurance. None needed, the garrison was tiny and he overwhelmed them immediately.

Min-KB is headed east, probably to re-arm. I need to find a way to take advantage of that.

Evacuation of the air from Luzon continues.

DEI

Not much to report. The B-17s are operating here now, but not to much effect.

Lots of sub activity. He’s parked what seems like most of his submarine fleet in the Java Sea, wreaking havoc on civilian evacuation efforts but not accomplishing much of any real military value. He did completely obliterate a lone sampan with a torpedo, which was an entertaining bit of overkill. Interestingly, his Thai submarines are some of the most successful. I also just found an RTN destroyer at Jolo.

I caught a signal intel whiff of an aggressive invasion site that’s a bit off the beaten path, so I’m trying to set up a warm welcome. I may not have time.

I’ve moved my air away from the southwestern tip of Borneo. Kuching fell, and Singkawang can’t be supplied effectively once he’s really settled in there. I did send a couple of Dutch air raids to Kuching, which unsurprisingly accomplished nothing.

Malaya
With the loss of most of a division here, forward defense is implausible. We’re in a full Sir Robin, and using the RAF to slow down his units as much as possible. There was a small battle on the line of advance from Kota Bharu where we successfully held off most of the 18th IJA division.

quote:

Ground combat at 51,76 (near Kota Bharu)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 2854 troops, 66 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 286

Defending force 4280 troops, 45 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 169

Japanese adjusted assault: 89

Allied adjusted defense: 49

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(-), fatigue(-), morale(-)
experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
106 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 17 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
216 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 22 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Assaulting units:
18ID 56th Infantry Regiment
18ID 114th Infantry Regiment
18ID 22nd Recon Regiment
18ID 18th Mountain Gun Regiment

Defending units:
FMSV~ Brigade
9ID 8th Indian Brigade
3rd ISF~ Base Force



I’ve started prepping for defensive moves in CENTPAC and SOPAC in earnest. More on that later. Also organizing a defense of the Aleutians.

A large British division arrives in Cape Town in about a week. A load of fast transports are on their way to meet them there. Where they go will depend on the situation in Burma.


(in reply to the1henson)
Post #: 21
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 2/7/2022 1:40:38 AM   
the1henson

 

Posts: 47
Joined: 12/6/2013
Status: offline 		16 December 1941

Not much happened this turn, though subs were extremely active for both sides. There were landings at Mauban and at Ocean Island, the latter of which fell to the 51st Naval Gd.

Wake stood fast, but he landed a second unit (a full Naval Gd and SLNF are there now) and it should fall tomorrow.

Hong Kong fended off another deliberate attack, as did a scratch force of one 9ID brigade and an attached local brigade in northern Malaya. Singapore's forts went up another notch.

Mini-KB has left to the east, possibly to re-arm. Can he rearm torpedoes at Babeldaob? The main body KB has disappeared again south of Wake. Not sure if he's headed to DEI or towards New Guinea. Submarines are trying to find that out.

(in reply to the1henson)
Post #: 22
RE: Bottlenecked Lurkers - Bottlenecks in the Pacific a... - 2/10/2022 9:09:44 AM   
Tanaka


Posts: 4378
Joined: 4/8/2003
From: USA
Status: offline 		Nice to see another AAR using this mod. The more I read about it the more I lean towards using it in my next PBEM. There is just so much more to learn though which is scary haha. Keep up the great narrative of what this mod does differently. Enjoying it!

< Message edited by Tanaka -- 2/10/2022 9:18:04 AM >

_____________________________


(in reply to the1henson)
Post #: 23
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