RE: Trouble??? (Full Version)

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John 3rd -> RE: Trouble??? (1/15/2009 10:29:14 PM)

This is my thinking as well but other people know the game mechanics far better then me.  It is the reason why I listed strengths and weaknesses for both aircraft.

Am waiting on a turn from Dan so I might do another update.

Probably should do one for our 2x2 as well!




John 3rd -> Gumma: Round Four (1/15/2009 10:54:39 PM)

June 25, 1944
Gumma, Japan

The Americans have stayed away from this production center for almost three weeks before the alarm sounds for the impending triple strike.  It is the 'normal' attack of P-38 and 4EB from Iwo Jima, a 4EB attack from Sakhalin, and then the high-altitude strike of B-29 from Sakhalin.  The interesting news is that there aren't very many 4EB from iwo Jima.  Have the Americans sacrificed their bomber strength in return for more fighters?  Perhaps this is the case--only time will tell as to that.

Regardless, the pilots climb into their Fighters and take to the sky.  This is a very balanced force now.  There are equal numbers of Tony, George, Jack, and Tojo fighters.  In short order nearly 120 Fighters are at their assigned altitudes.

Attack One
From Iwo Jima comes 39 P-38 and 39 Liberators.  They are furiously set upon by the Japanese Fighters.  While the P-38s are from the AVG--they have taken so many losses that their skill appears to be falling off.  By falling off this simply means for every one P-38 that falls so does a Japanese fighter.  Still--it is heartening to see nearly 20 P-38 fall in exchange for 22 Japanese planes.  Fully 92 Fighters remain to attack the Liberator crews.  Despite the attacks, only 5 B-24 fall bt nearly ALL the rest are damaged in one way or another.  The bombardiers aim for the Fighter Industry again but only score 4 hits on a Tojo factory.

Attack Two
To the surprise of nearly every pilot, the second strike of 55 Liberators comes into the area with NO ESCORT!  Just over 100 Fighters rise to attack.  Two Fighters fall in exchange for 7 bombers and 33 more damaged.  These planes target an inactive Helen Factory and place 11 bombs on the target.

Attack Three
The final attack comes with 94 B-29 cruising at 33,000 Ft.  Nearly 70 Fighters rise to that altitude while 20 Tony pilots wait below.  The big bombers placidily accept their damage as they drop their bombs on a Frank factory causing some damage (11 hits).  For that return the Jpaanese exact a blood price of 5 B-29 and 39 more are damaged.  Two Fighters fall during the attack.


Totals
The Japanese lose 30 Fighters (21 pilots) in exchange for 19 P-38, 12 Liberators, and 5 B-29.  There are 26 Factory hits from the combined strikes.  The Judges have to conclude that Round Four is a draw between sides.  The Japanese are now 2-1-1 in the Battle of the Skies of Gumma.




modrow -> RE: Trouble??? (1/15/2009 11:15:28 PM)

Hi John,

re. Shinden vs. Reppu: If I recall correctly from PzBs AAR, once Shinden arrived he gave his opponent a real bad time - thus I'll second Q-Ball - go for Shinden.

Good to see that even though AI stole part of your success your attack on Iwo has positive effects. Let's hope they last a while. I am convinced your plans in China will also help a bit. Finally, if you manage to increase the number of planes on CAP, you will hurt the heavies notably more...

Thus all in all, I think you are on a good way to make strategic bombing more difficult. I hope Dan will see the need to invade the home islands after all...

Regards

Hartwig



John 3rd -> An Angry God (1/15/2009 11:53:45 PM)

Combat Report
June 28, 1944

Singapore
All I have to say in thick Austrian accent is "CROM!"

I do not even want to describe this in narration. Screenshot:



[image]local://upfiles/18041/BD12E8E9CC2B4EB68C223E5CE09F0BD3.jpg[/image]



Q-Ball -> RE: An Angry God (1/16/2009 12:11:06 AM)

That air result is about what I get from Big-B I'm afraid. I understand most of your pilots are sub-70 exp, it was about 1 to 1 in numbers, and his aircraft were way better than yours. Franks may have done somewhat better, but even there you can expect losses.

I use only 70+ exp pilots in front line, and right now I am fighting to keep Singapore open. I have been successful, but only by having over 125 Franks on CAP. Even then, we are taking heavy losses. I have lost over 500 planes in the last 2 days over Malaya. (took 2 RN BB's with them though, plus a whole bunch of transports)



Nemo121 -> RE: Trouble??? (1/16/2009 12:35:08 AM)

Shinden for anti-bomber and anti-fighter work. Those cannon will ensure that instead of a few kills and lots of damages you'll get lots of kills and few damages.

Reppu is good for high-altitude kamikaze work. Those 2 x 250Kg bombs will do a good job of hurting enemy shipping if the kami hits.



GordoNZ -> RE: Trouble??? (1/16/2009 7:52:55 AM)

You do need both. Reppus can go on your carriers and make your carriers far superior to what they are now. Almost as good as Hellcats and takes apart Wildcats, gets beaten against the USAAF. Shinden point defense excellent against all comers, eats Hellcats for breakfast.[:D]

This is testing in Stock only not sure of mods



castor troy -> RE: Trouble??? (1/16/2009 8:10:43 AM)

Looking forward to Shindens in June 44 is a good sign of the Japanese being already very desperate! [;)] Still a year to go until the Shinden and it will be the worst for the Japanese compared to the years before...



Mistmatz -> RE: Trouble??? (1/16/2009 2:33:06 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: castor troy

Looking forward to Shindens in June 44 is a good sign of the Japanese being already very desperate! [;)] Still a year to go until the Shinden and it will be the worst for the Japanese compared to the years before...



Isn't he a nice guy with all that cheering up... [;)]



John 3rd -> RE: Trouble??? (1/16/2009 3:57:19 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Mistmatz


quote:

ORIGINAL: castor troy

Looking forward to Shindens in June 44 is a good sign of the Japanese being already very desperate! [;)] Still a year to go until the Shinden and it will be the worst for the Japanese compared to the years before...



Isn't he a nice guy with all that cheering up... [;)]


Yes--He has always been a font of optimism, love, and support! [:D]

I will completing the June 30th-July 1st turn this morning and will then do an Economic ad as as Theatre-wide report. The thing will be massive and hands are hurting just thinking of the typing I will be doing.



FeurerKrieg -> RE: Trouble??? (1/16/2009 5:18:56 PM)

Hi John -

Do you guys have any set game end conditions already? Or are you just playing until the Allies get the points to trigger an "official" game end?



castor troy -> RE: Trouble??? (1/16/2009 5:46:51 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: John 3rd


quote:

ORIGINAL: Mistmatz


quote:

ORIGINAL: castor troy

Looking forward to Shindens in June 44 is a good sign of the Japanese being already very desperate! [;)] Still a year to go until the Shinden and it will be the worst for the Japanese compared to the years before...



Isn't he a nice guy with all that cheering up... [;)]


Yes--He has always been a font of optimism, love, and support! [:D]

I will completing the June 30th-July 1st turn this morning and will then do an Economic ad as as Theatre-wide report. The thing will be massive and hands are hurting just thinking of the typing I will be doing.




[;)]



John 3rd -> July 1. 1944 Production/VP Report (1/16/2009 8:09:33 PM)

June 1, 1944
Victory Points and Economic Summary

Victory Points:

Score
Japan    54,226  (Up 517 Points)
Allies   54,229  (Up 3,977 Points)
 
Strategic Losses  6,844 (Up 2,192)

For the fourth month in a row I GAIN victory points.  It seems like a small victory to me. Fully 66% of Dan’s point gain comes in the area of strategic losses.
 
The slugfest in Malaya settled into a stalemate.  This is only an illusion, however, as he has 30 units in Georgetown that can sweep my forces from the peninsula whenever he wants.  I pulled another 100,000 men out of Saigon and Singapore so they can live to fight another day.  Have probably pulled in excess of 500,000 troops from these theatres in the last three months.    

The capture of Paramushiro Jima, Amchitka, and La Foa were the main areas of ground action.  Landings at Wake have also riveted Japan’s attention.
 
Two major Japanese Operations occurred with the supply line strike east of Wake and the mis-carried attack on Iwo Jima.

Ships Sunk
Japan   885—8,964 VP (up 244)—I lost 35 ships during June.  Considering the heavy fighting in Malaya and my withdrawal from Saigon/Singapore, I continue to expect this to be far worse.  These were my losses:  13 AP, 8 AK, 2 TK, 1 DD, 3 MSW, 4 PG, 3 AG,  and 1 SS.   

The MSW and PC were nearly all sunk by SS demonstrated the degree of fighting between my ASW TF and enemy Subs. 
 
Major Japanese Vessels Sunk to Date---CV Junyo, Hiyo, Hiryu, and Katsuragi, BB Fuso, Yamashiro, Mutsu, Nagato, Musashi, and Yamato, BC Kirishima, Haruna, and Kongo, 6 CA , 14 CL, 107 DD, and 46 SS.
 
Allies    1,307---14,518 VP (up 431)---Dan also lost a respectable 61 ships for the month of June.  Exact Losses are:  31 AK, 2 DE, 3 LCT, 10 LCI, 8 LST, 1 AP, 1 MSW, 2 TK, 1 DD, CVE Corregidor, and 5 SS (Ronquil, Robato, Hawkbill, Templat, and Barb)

Major Allied Vessels Sunk---CVs Enterprise, Lexington, Hornet, Wasp and Intrepid, CVL Langley, 6 CVE, BBs Colorado, West Virginia, Idaho, Tennessee, Arizona, Prince of Wales, Alabama, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Mississippi, BC Renown, 15 CA, 9 CL, 99 DD, and 63 SS.  

ASW Attacks for May:
ASW Task Force:  29 (up 15)
ASW Land-Based Air:  19 (up 11)  

These are attacks that scored damage on an Allied SS.
 
Manchukuo Garrison---8,499---Down 123---(8,000 Needed)
Political Points---5,110
 
Units Transferred: 
I shifted to China Command 3 Aviation Regiments to strengthen my AF support.  

There are ten identified Hv AA Regiments moving to Pusan for transition to Japan.  I will but them out in July as well as another Infantry Division to move to the Eastern DEI area.
 
Industrial Report
Supply              1,425,928--Down 129,431
Fuel                  1,261,197—Down 91,920
Manpower       748 (1,243275)—Down 96,248
Heavy Industry 14,303 (277,726)—HI Down 149 and surplus DOWN 5,621
Resources        14,416 (1,829,498)—Lost 649 Resource Centers---Strategic Bombing…
Oil                    2,263 (690,093)—Down 61 Oil Centers but surplus is up 364,950

The Americans continue hitting the wrong target within my economy:  Resources.  Strategic Bombing does damage but it isn’t anything I can live without yet.  Dan is creaming my Resources but my surplus is this area only fell about 19,000 over the previous month.  Fuel is pretty good considering I hauled almost 300,000 out to Palau, Saipan, Manila, and Cebu.  Oil has come back up due to my heavy use of Tankers moving fuel to the locations I just mentioned.   

I was losing about 2,000 HI a day right off my surplus but thanks to Tracker I have managed to achieve an balance.  Several Naval Shipyards, Merchant Shipyards, and Repair Yards were partially closed starting June 1st.  I’ll do the same with my vehicle production this month.
 
Shipyards
Naval             1,253 (8,253)—Lost 53 yard points to Strategic Bombing.
Merchant          981 (10,886)—Massive increase in stockpile.  
Repair            1,475—Down 45 to Strategic Bombing

ALL merchant shipping except anything with less then 100 days to go has been stopped.  I have left ASW Forces on to be completed and they are coming out at pretty good speed.   There is NO Repair Yard safe from Strategic Bombing and I don’t know what to do about that.

Carriers           
Kasagi (60 Days--Normal)
Aso     (125 Days--Accel)
Ikoma   (185 Days)  
Ibuki   (83 Days--Accel)
 
CL Sakawa (63 Days—Accel)  

Have decided to bring Kasagi, Ibuki, Sakawa, and 5 DD in on the SAME day.  It’ll be a ready-made TF that will immediately leave port, evade detection, and head for safer waters.

Weapons
Armament        778 (1,260)-Nice increase of 26 to the industry.
Vehicles        179 (18,635)

Armament plants increasing in Manchuria and Korea.  I had 4 new Inf Div and 5 Brigades come in during June as well as having about 30 units refitting in Java and the DEI area.  
Vehicles are in great shape and I will shut down some of my vehicle plants to conserve HI.
 
Aircraft
Engines             2,014 (down 214)
Assembly        1,769+(38-Rd)

My engines dropped a bunch of points due to bombing and shifting ALL my Kawasaki plants to Nakajima..  

Assembly increased 22 and Research plummeted due to MISTER Frank, Peggy, and Randy starting production this month.  I shifted a number of factories into researching J7W Shinden so Research will start to rise again over time.
 
Engine Production
Mitsubishi         637(63)—Need 724—959 in Pool
Nakajima          1,297(284)—Need 1,495---1,515 in Pool
Kawasaki          000---Need 12---130 in Pool
Aichi              80---Need 85---145 in Pool
 
Big changes in the engine area with those new planes coming online.  SHOULD have enough stockpiled as Nakajima expand.
 
Plane Production
Fighters            Planes/Month (in Pool)
A6M2              0 (138)
A6M3              0 (0)
A6M3a             0 (174)
Oscar             0 (0)
Oscar IIa         0 (14)
Tojo              267 (10)---will shift anytime into Frank Factories.
Tony              0 (40)
Jack              156 (256)
A6M5c             31 (207)
A6M5              111 (583)
Oscar III         60 (10)
Ki-61 Tony       0 (156)
N1K1 George  79 (79)
Frank 1a          307                  I month early (Thank Gawd)
Frank 1c          0-Rd (12/44)
A6M8              0-Rd (06/45)
J7W-Shinde        0-Rd (08/45)   

Naval fighters stay in pretty good shape because I am producing three main models.   

The Army side finally fixes itself with Frank coming online.  As soon as the Tojo autoconvert then I will be producing nearly 600 planes a month.  Tony and Tojo will move to training units and everything else will fight in Frank.
 
 
Bombers
Betty              0 (176)
Betty 2            40 (249)
Frances            104 (149)
Sally              0 (57)
Helen              41 (167)
Lily               40 (40)
Nick-a             0 (24)
Nick-b             0 (0)
Val                0 (380)
Kate               0 (146)
Judy               85 (231)
Jill               0 (232)
Grace              127 (32)                       Started production last month!  
Randy              Lily plants will convert.
Peggy              124                              3 months early.
Betty 2e           38-Rd (10/44)

My Bombers look excellent as Peggy, Grace, and Randy enter service.

Recon/Float
Emily                26 (1)
Alf                  16 (23)
Pete                 0  (99)
Pete A              0  (7)
Rufe                 11 (97)
Glen                 0 (28)
Dinah                0 (0)
Irving-R             24 (63)
Irving-S             23 (28)
Jake                 12 (14)
Babs                 0 (0)
Dinah-3              52 (10)
C6N Myrt             24 (107)

I restarted Alf and Jake production.  Emily expanding slowly to help with numerous losses.  Myrts are coming in and that helps too…

Transports
Tina                14 (0)
Sally               0 (0)
Topsy               28 (7)
Mavis-L             0 (0)
Tabby              0 (15)

Transports did not get heavy losses this month so I have been refilling the units as quickly as I can.  Am using about 100 Transports to help Wake.  
 
 



n01487477 -> RE: July 1. 1944 Production/VP Report (1/16/2009 10:40:52 PM)

Hey John ...

  • Naval and Ship Yard Production spiked this month, which tells me that you 'halted' a lot of ships, but didn't turn off the shipyard... you should be looking at Yard points & ship points needed to find a happy medium.. I know you say you are going to do this, but you said that last month too so I thought I'd pipe up this time.

    - as you may well know 8&10K surplus for both is pretty good, but use it up ~ gotta have '29 mentality of using everything off the carcass. Either ride down these points until you get almost to Zero (so have a deficit) or just turn off all the shipYards for a two or three turns, so that you save the HI, the ships are still built, and the Points are reduced ...

    Also remember the av. AK = 10 durability and will take 100 days to build. so 100*10 = 1000 points...
    Hope you don't mind a quick hijack ...


  • Very concerned about the Armament production ... unless you want all those units coming in at 25% I'd halt reinforcements to all until these units appear. It is easier to get a full strength unit on arrival than waiting 6 months for it to fill out.

    Sorry if you already have instituted these changes / thought about ...
    Damian

    [image]local://upfiles/19798/F707F39096134BC6ACE5B6E800326FFC.jpg[/image]



    • John 3rd -> RE: Trouble??? (1/17/2009 12:12:01 AM)


    quote:

    ORIGINAL: Feurer Krieg

    Hi John -

    Do you guys have any set game end conditions already? Or are you just playing until the Allies get the points to trigger an "official" game end?


    Dan is playing for points and he finally passed me on the July 1st turn. I, personally, don't care. I am fighting to survive/win.

    Have been pretty despondent today. My life situation magnifies whenever things go wrong (or right) with the game. I am strongly considering self-revoking my Probation and going back before the Judge for some form of 6-24 month Sentence that could range from Suspended Sentence to Work Release to County Jail. I'll make that decision by the end of January.

    The stress is pretty high. My wife is having real issues with my two sons and since I am not allowed to be with (INSANE BULLSHI*) I would prefer jail to the current situation. All my opponents and former opponents are aware of the choices before me and I thought I should throw them out onto the AAR so everyone understands if this simply stops.



    John 3rd -> Ranting and Raving (1/17/2009 12:28:47 AM)

    Damian--Thanks for the advice.  NEVER feel like you should hold back!

    I will shutdown some yards over the next turn or two and burn-up those points.  Cannot believe that I am actually looking forward to a CV and CVL being completed in early-August!  Crazy where you think on it but it is fun. 

    As mentioned above it was a rough day. 

    I got Dan's morning turn and watched him butcher my air left and right and then panicked when I saw two raids hit Shanghai's Port.  It is one of the three Repair Yards I am using for Warships.  I had 115 Fighters (Good Quality 65-75 Range) protecting the base but they did JACK CRAP.  Down went 33 Fighters for only 9 Fighters, 1 B-24 and 1 B-29.  CV Soryu (which was at 99 Sys during the Sakhalin Invasion) went from Sys 32 to 50--2 Bombs--and CVE Unyo went from 23 Sys to 99 Sys--5 bombs--.

    Was so disgusted that I didn't do another turn until just a few minutes ago.  I asked Dan HOW did he know to hit this place?  There has not been ONE Recon flight over the target---NONE!!! 

    I wrote the following:

    -----Original Message-----
    From: John Cochran <jrc_3@msn.com>
    To: ropersfive@aol.com
    Sent: Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:08 pm
    Subject: July 1944

    .ExternalClass #EC_AOLMsgPart_3_276f4bb9-1abc-432d-a7b4-50524c3295b1 .EC_hmmessage P {padding:0px;} .ExternalClass #EC_AOLMsgPart_3_276f4bb9-1abc-432d-a7b4-50524c3295b1 body.EC_hmmessage {font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana;}

    I wanted to get into a discussion regarding the very good points you brought up in the below note but I am so hopping mad right it is better that I don't.  HOW do you KNOW things without doing any Recon over a target???  Gawd I hate the AI within this game.

    I'm venting due to frustration.

    Also when I copy a successful tactic of yours I get it handed to me!   Ugggggg...

    Headed over to see dad, will be calmer, and will write something cogent and perhaps insightful (maybe).


    His response was:

    Looking through the combat report I gather you're speaking of my bombing raid at Shanghai.

    I figured long ago that you would harbor ships there, so I waited and checked the port periodically and lo-and-behold cursor intel indicated there was a CV in port.  I wasn't sure it was accurate, but I thought it worth a shot as it was a likely place.Looing through the combat report I gather you're speaking of my bombing raid at Shanghai.

    The fearsome reality is that there are NO PORTS safe for me to repair my warships.  NONE!  I have the Fleet disbanded at Soerabaja right now (July 2nd).  It is the safest location in that no Escort can protect his B-29s from Australia.  I have 150 Fighters based there and now all of the KB's Zeros are set on 70% CAP Range ZERO.  If he wants to hit my Fleet after flying through 500 Fighters then please do so.

    How do players do this when they enter into the endgame of the war?  Is that a rhetorical question? 

    ANY advice would be helpful.

    Sorry for the Ranting but I had to vent to someone other then my Cat--Anakin.







    2ndACR -> RE: Ranting and Raving (1/17/2009 12:57:43 AM)

    That blasted airfield and anchor symbol gives everything away. Might not tell you exactly what ship is there, but it makes it a target with free intel. Sooner or later, you will get a ship count and possibly what ship is there.



    Cuttlefish -> RE: Ranting and Raving (1/17/2009 1:15:09 AM)

    quote:

    ORIGINAL: John 3rd

    The fearsome reality is that there are NO PORTS safe for me to repair my warships.  NONE!  I have the Fleet disbanded at Soerabaja right now (July 2nd).  It is the safest location in that no Escort can protect his B-29s from Australia.  I have 150 Fighters based there and now all of the KB's Zeros are set on 70% CAP Range ZERO.  If he wants to hit my Fleet after flying through 500 Fighters then please do so.

    How do players do this when they enter into the endgame of the war?  Is that a rhetorical question? 

    ANY advice would be helpful.


    There comes a point in every game for Japan when there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Even if there are bases outside the range of his land-based aircraft his carrier forces will end up cruising up and down your coasts blasting ports at will.

    Usually by the time this happens, though, your fleet has pretty much been expended so it really doesn't matter all that much. You are in an unfortunate position, with bombers within reach of most or all of the Home Islands while you are still trying to contest control of the seas.

    You might try sending some ARs to places like Port Arthur and then sneaking some ships up there for repair. Soerabaja seems like a pretty good bet. Any large port that is not currently under air threat will do in a pinch - I've used Manila for this too.

    Good luck!



    n01487477 -> RE: Ranting and Raving (1/17/2009 1:54:33 AM)

    John ... the icon free recon issue is the biggest gripe I have with the game... talk about giving the Allies a HUGE leg up on intel... as if they don;t get enough!

    I thought at one stage there was an icon set that hid this stuff ... but both of you would need to use it anyway ... (But I'm not sure)

    Good Luck
    Damian



    Nemo121 -> RE: Ranting and Raving (1/17/2009 2:01:08 AM)

    Forward planning is the key.... In my game vs 2nd ACR which is in May 1942 I am only expanding repair yards/factories etc at about 6 locations in the Home Islands so that when 1944 comes around I can minimise the number of bases I have to cover in order to maintain an effective military threat.

    Obviously if you only have to protect 6 bases instead of 12 you get to have twice the number of fighters over each base with all sorts of non-linear benefits which derive as CAP numbers increase.



    2ndACR -> RE: Ranting and Raving (1/17/2009 2:39:15 AM)

    Free intel for about 2 years from now. LOL



    John 3rd -> RE: Ranting and Raving (1/17/2009 3:02:32 AM)

    Thanks Guys.  I appreciate similar feelings and thoughts on one of my pet peaves of the game.  Is this addressed in AE? 

    I have about a month of update to do since all I've been doing is focusing on major Operations.  My hands hurt from the Combat Report I need to write.  Will post in a bit.




    Nemo121 -> RE: Ranting and Raving (1/17/2009 8:35:25 AM)

    LOL 2nd ACR --- Make good use of that intel. For right now though I think you're just a smidgeon too far from the Home Islands to be able to take advantage of that info ;-)


    John, obiously the post above is all about the need for forward planning in this game and it is too late in your game for that sort of planning to have a major impact. I think all you can do is :

    a) maximise your defence over your bases or
    b) retake those bases the B-29s etc are operating from.



    String -> RE: Ranting and Raving (1/17/2009 8:43:19 AM)

    Well to be quite honest, there aren't many ports with repair yards and Shanghai is a pretty obvious target.



    T Rav -> RE: Ranting and Raving (1/17/2009 6:55:28 PM)

    John 3rd,

    I tend to be a lurker rather than a writer but I'll step in here if I may.

    I just finished an exercise at my base where I was the DO (2nd in charge). We'd just been hit by missiles, so there were blown out windows (simulated) a screaming casualty (actor) and we weren't sure if there were chemical munitions as well as the conventional hits we took. I took action by keeping everyone down except the two I sent to help the screamer. Then I heard the call to evacuate the building by the commander. I thought that was stupid to go out in the open when there may be a chemical environment between our building and our bunker. It turned out that our building was on fire but the evaluator never said that, he had just said that the windows were blown out. My actions would have been different if I had a burning building about to kill all my airmen rather than just some broken glass.

    The reason I tell you that is that we Air Force guys are always told to fight the enemy rather than the exercise. What that means is, any simulation, no matter how good, will never meet the reality of war. Its hard to do that. However I just work around it and assume that it is fog and friction and I don't know everything that is really going on in the current battle.

    Now to WITP. The US and Commonwealth SIGINT efforts against Japan were very sucessful. However that info doesn't show up in the game very well. I tend to see some rear area unit that I don't care about is located at a base that is nowhere near the front or my operational areas. Thanks for the info, but so what. Therefore, I interpret the the airfield and base icon issue as a variation of the SIGINT that was available to the top commanders in the Pacific. They then use that intel to position their forces to hit the enemy. There are plenty of operational successes in the Pacific that were derived from that sort of cheating by those sneaky SIGINTers.

    There only a few threads that I actively follow and yours is one of them. I admire your ability to keep your forces viable up to this point. The true guts of a Japanese player is not in the beginning, but at the very end when the Allies are knocking at the door.

    Keep up the fire,
    T Rav



    John 3rd -> RE: Ranting and Raving (1/17/2009 10:43:58 PM)

    Comments like these keep up my morale!

    I've been waiting for Hibiki to experience a Port Attack by B-29s in CF's AAR but it hasn't happened yet.

    T Rav--Where are you stationed?






    T Rav -> RE: Ranting and Raving (1/18/2009 1:38:49 AM)

    John 3rd,

    Stationed in Northern Cali at Beale AFB.  I am a mission planner for the U-2.  Your opponent, Cuttlefish and Cap Mandrake are the other threads I follow.  You guys write well and are a pleasure to read.

    Best Regards,
    T Rav



    John 3rd -> Combat Report for ALL of June 1944 (1/18/2009 8:17:12 PM)

    Combat Report
    June 1-July 3, 1944  

    I have focused the AAR over the month of June and into early-July on Operations Gumbatte (Supply Line Raid) and Shimakaze (Iwo Strike), preparation for Operation Harukaze (China Air Strikes), and the battle over the skies of Japan.  I do believe that there are other areas where the war is occurring so let me fill in and go around the horn region-by-region:  

    North Pacific
    Amchitka Dan lands here, takes the base, and is finishing off the garrison right now.  Should be noted that I only had two small Base Force and part of the 9th Inf Brigade.  They have held on against 2 American Inf Div and 2 RCT for over 3 weeks.  

    This leaves only Dutch Harbor and Cold Harbor for Japanese bases up north.  

    Central Pacific
    This area has been well detailed through the AAR.  I will recap just as an overview.   
    Gumbatte
    The beginning of the month saw the landing at Wake and the Japanese strike into the supply lines between Wake and Pearl Harbor as well as Wake and Midway.  Nearly 50 ships are sunk during this operation for the loss of less then 10 aircraft total.  It was outstanding…  

    Wake
    After a furious landing here, the Americans have pulled all shipping away from the atoll for nearly two weeks of time.  I am wagering he has withdrawn to Eniwetok because the Americans have concentrated most of their CVs at Iwo Jima or protecting convoys going from Midway to Iwo.  

    Not believing my luck, I move 4 small 2,500 AK to wake where they unload ALL 10,000 supply without any interference!  My supply had dropped as low as 3,000 but with 100 Transport Planes flying from Marcus and these AK, supply has climbed to nearly 15,000.  The garrison strength has been climbing as well.   

    Wonder if I should try a Deliberate Attack?  Anyone have a thought on that?  

    Marcus
    There are the Transports flying out of here as well as 18 Emily and 54 Frances.  My Frances are set for Naval Search 50% and the rest to Naval Attack.  They do pick-and-choose pretty well.  A strike of 20 Frances NAILS a TK convoy near the end of June and hit 4 TK with 2-3 Torps each.  Two of those TK sink.  They were fully laden and it was a good attack.  

    The Marshalls
    There are a good amount of Emily and some Frances flying out of Kwajalein and Wotje.  

    South Pacific
    New Caledonia
    The Americans and their Allies actually begin their counter-offensive FINALLY here!  CV Ticonderoga, 1-2 CVL, and a couple of CVE cover the landing at La Foa.  This is a smart, cautious landing; however, I have NOTHING at Noumea!  Part of an Army HQ and a small Base Force reside there behind Sz-9 Forts.  They have an Assault Strength of—get this—ONE!  Koumac is stronger with 3 SNLF and a Base Force.  Forts 9 and AS about 150.  

    Lunga
    I am concentrating my defense here.  There are 72 Army Fighters, 81 Frances, and some recon present.  The defense of this base is strong with it being around 550.  The 12th Inf Brigade provides the strength of the garrison.  

    Interestingly I have CVL Hosho, 4 CVE, and 10 DD present.  All ships are fully fueled and there are a group of AOs (30,000 Fuel) currently unloading.  Supply is near 20,000 for plane upgrades.   

    The Americans have no idea of the naval presence at Lunga.  I have some ideas for counterpunching here…  

    Rabaul
    The only other strongpoint in the SE Pacific is Rabaul.  Its AS sits around 300 with Sz-9 Forts and decent supply/fuel.  

    Eastern DEI
    I am redeploying two full-strength Infantry Divisions from the Philippines to hold the islands throughout the area.  Recently pulled Engineers from Singapore are moving into Bali and Lombok to aid in quickly building up the Forts.  

    Timor has been very low on supply and several TF have been able to move in a unload without too much interference.   

    Java
    The amount of pure combat power deployed here is pretty impressive.  Most of the units pulled from Singapore are at either Batavia or Soerabaja.  They have rebuilt at a pretty fast clip.  Example:  1st and 3rd TK Div are at Soer and have climbed from about 20-33% strength to over 75% during the month.  

    I have spread around the full strength units to garrison all the towns as well as start Fort construction.  Aviation Regiments now reside in the towns near Soerabaja where I have unloaded some of my Carrier-Based Planes.  

    The ENTIRE Kaigun (except for units at Lunga) is disbanded at Soerabaja.  A total of 12 CVs, 15 CA/CL, and 42 DD are getting worked on.  The Port is Sz-9, 4 AR present, and the Repair Yard is at 104.  I’ve already seen about 20 DDs upgrade as well as cruisers and several of my CVs.  Figure two weeks for this work to be done.  

    To protect this force, I set all the Zeros at CAP 70%, Range O, and have 2 Sentai of Army Fighters there to add punch.  The 9th Fighter Sentai (EXP:  77) is the first to convert to FRANK on July 3rd!!!  

    DECOY PLANNING: 
    Just to make the Allies nervous I order both Parachute Regiments, a Cavalry Regiment, and a Base Force to begin preparation for Port Blair.  Perhaps his Intel will catch this and make him nervous…  

    Malaya
    Singapore
    The destruction of the Singapore air defenses herald the opening of the endgame in Malaya.  Dan continues to pound the Port instead of nailing shipping.  A TF is currently unloading 20,000 supply right now.  Singapore has 24,000 supply prior to this convoy arriving.  

    Taiping  
    The Allies FINALLY move into the hex July 1st.  The force is fearsome.  Assault Strength is an initial 3,400 versus my meager 760.  The first attack is made on the 3rd with a 3-1 result dropping Forts to 6.  Should hold for one more attack then I will fallback to Kuala Lumphur.  

    East Coast Forces
    With the imminent fall of Taiping, I order the retreat of the 3 Inf Brigades back to Kuala Lumphur top aide in the defense.  

    Planning:
    1. Hold Kuala Lumphur for as long as possible.
    2. Hold at Malacca for a bit longer.
    3. Fallback to Johore Bharu with my combined army and fight until kicked back into Singapore for my final stand.
    4. The final units to be pulled out of Singapore shall be a pair of beat-up Brigades and an Inf Div.  They will be redeployed to Palembang, Miri, and Brunei.

      Until Dan finds out the Kaigun is at Soerabaja I have an opportunity to make a solid punch if opportunity presents itself.  

    West DEI
    Palembang
    STILL no major attacks here.  The Allies can crush this base whenever they want.  Currently have a TF of AK loading resources and a big TF of AO/TK loading oil too.  ANYTHING I Pull out from here is a bonus.  Course I have been saying that for 3 months.

    Brunei and Miri
    TF currently loading here as well.

    China
    Operation Harukaze has been initiated and is doing rather well:  
    June 30th—Henchow is struck by 161 Fighters and 249 Bombers.  The AF is plastered to 50%.  I lose 33 Fighters and 2 Bombers in exchange for 5 P-38 and 5 Liberators.  

    July 1st and 2nd—Changsha get crushed two days in a row by a larger Strike Force.  150 Fighters and 300 Bombers attack both days.  I lose 31 Fighters and 1 Bomber for 28 Fighters and 10 B-29.  The AF is knocked about to 75% Damage.  

    I pull my planes back to Mukden and Okinawa to rest and refill their complements.  

    Recon shows on July 3rd that the plan has worked.  No strikes have been flown from these bases for 4 days and 2 72-Plane Fighter units move in to the damaged bases.  These fighters are needed elsewhere and pulling them to China is great.  

    While these attacks are happening I also have 150 Fighters attack Yenen over all 4 days for training.  The goal is to keep up the pressure while I have fighters training.  

    There are Dinah flying everywhere doing recon over all the Chinese bases.  The next target will be Chungking.  I will move planes into range on the 5th and strike on the 6th.  

    Home Islands
    The Strategic Bombardment hasn’t done much over the last week or so.  I think Dan has cut his bombers by 50% at Iwo Jima to make room for Fighters.  If this is the case then my Iwo Strike was VERY successful.  

    Northern Japan is defenseless before the damned American P-38 Sweeps so they are hitting Resources pretty hard.  It is the wrong target but I am not going to help Dan’s moves.  

    Supply---The moment all my factories opened up Frank production, I took a massive supply hit throughout the islands!  No base has 20,000+ ANYWHERE!  Prior to the 1st of I had 3 cities over 20,000 so I could convert Fighters over to different models.  This could be a real problem fast!  

    FRANKS:  The order of conversion and CAP use is the following:
    1. Soerabaja
    2. Gumma
    3. Tokyo  

    Redeployment:
    I manage to pull 9 units out of Hokkaido during June.  I regain the uses of: 3 Air Flotilla HQ, 2 Engineering Regiments, an Inf Brig, and 3 Aviation Regiments.  It is not until nearly the end of this operation that Dan realizes something is up and sends his Liberators after my AK/AP.  I lose few ships for a bunch of useful units to help with the Home Island defense.  

    As described earlier, I am pulling AA Regiments out of Manchuria and China as fast as they come available.  The 3rd of July sees me lift 2 AA Regiments from Pusan for deployment to Nagoya.  

    DECOY PLANNING:  There are 2 Infantry Divisions and 2 Inf Brigades in Japan planning for Tori Shima.  Hope this makes Dan nervous since I pounded TS for 10 solid days with Fighters and Bombers.  This has served to train-up 4 Sentai of Fighters from about 50 to nearly 65!  Nice…  

    Operational Thinking:  
    I have two major Operational Thoughts right now:

    1.  China—How terrible would it be for me to start my own Strategic Bombing Campaign in China?  Dan is using the Chinese AF for his B-29 and this—to me—opens up the whole country for attack.  Those bombers require HUGE amounts of supply.  I can have nearly 700 bombers (in addition to Harusame’s planes) flying in and hitting wherever I want at any time.  Operation Harusame will continue to attack the AF in China.  

    2.  SE Pacific—I could nail that CV TF operating down around New Caledonia with the Kaigun.  I’ve already positioned enough fuel to take of the Fleet when it arrives at Lunga.  This Operation could not occur until I have my CVs and Fleet repaired and upgraded.   The thought of sinking an Essex and 2 CVL holds REAL appeal!  

    Wow.  This was a long update and my hands now hurt from all the typing.  

    EDIT: I had to totally re-space this entire damned entry. I HATE that! Cannot make tables, cannot copy and paste without all sorts of spacing/format errors, etc...



    John 3rd -> Western DEI Map (1/18/2009 8:34:55 PM)

    Malaya:



    [image]local://upfiles/18041/E8597D75AF474B9890103C3522A87B2C.jpg[/image]



    John 3rd -> East DEI Map (1/18/2009 8:40:47 PM)

    The other half:



    [image]local://upfiles/18041/D2395601D2E74C8585A11E798B66FFC3.jpg[/image]



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