RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A)

RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (Full Version)

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Cribtop -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/7/2011 4:31:11 AM)
Sqz: I think I need to study the map more often. I had no idea Lanchow had 91 Oil! We will have to consider an offensive, probably of the "take Sian and cut the Commies off" variety. Sulu: I think CF is suffering a bit from "I'm used to playing Japan" syndrome in China. As Japan, you form big armies and stomp the ants. Sometimes it's hard to think like the ant when you're used to playing the elephant. However, look at the map again. I have used some of the smaller NCPC LCUs to form a battle line of sorts protecting conquered territories. Costs me a bit in garrison duty, but prevents infiltration. This is balanced by my phase 2 intentions, which don't require spending a lot of PPs. The plan is to use the PPs to buy out Kwantung LCUs to make up for the assault strength left in the line.

SuluSea -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/7/2011 2:25:37 PM)
I understand Cuttlefish's delemma it's not easy making the mental transition when you are so used to playing just one side exclusively. Food for thought when phase three kicks off assuming Sian goes to plan. Unless Cuttlefish has reinforced the far north (Urumchi and points nearby)the troops up that way don't have AT guns for the most part a little bit of armored say 2 to 3 if you can spare and some small infantry units can go a long way. The bulk of your forces should be focused on the Lanchow area as it's good defensive terrain and he probably has some decent units in and around. Make sure you cover with recon and a few extra base forces for captured bases for your big push, his units out in the bush will try and harass and get on your supply paths. Assuming they are some of his better starting AV units s/se of Yenan the longer he waits to move the better off you are. I'm a master of the obvious. [;)]The Japanese players that attack Yenan before Sian are only pushing LCUs to more valuable areas.

Nemo121 -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/7/2011 2:53:34 PM)
quote: I understand Cuttlefish's delemma it's not easy making the mental transition when you are so used to playing just one side exclusively. Aye, that's why this whole AFB/JFB thing is such a problem. It isn't just that people argue for the wrong sorts of "fixes" if they only ever see one side of the problem but also that they begin inculcating one particular viewpoint in themselves. They then, after several games, often can be found on the forum stating, "I just can't get the Japanese/Allies". What has happened is they have gotten used to adopting a blinkered view which applies to a particular situation and thus can no longer apply the much simpler basics of strategy which are applicable in all situations. It is like a chess player who only ever plays white... They learn only white openings and thus miss out on learning a lot of the basics of strategy which might underpin slightly different approaches.

Cribtop -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/7/2011 11:15:32 PM)
Feb 6, 1942 Great discussion, gents. I'm sure if I played Allies after all this JFB living I'd be confused too! Subs No contacts other than our search planes harassing the enemy in the DEI. Interestingly, the USN subs have either vacated the Formosa Straits or gotten a whole lot better at hiding as we still have 3 ASW TFs and a bunch of Anns hunting. 4th Fleet A bit of a snafu here. We invade Canton Island, unloading in all three phases and suffering almost no damage from enemy gunfire. This is good because we forgot Canton is an atoll (inexcusable mistake). Worse, CF has an arty unit and two base forces present. They are non-combat but still muster 8 adjusted AS vs our 9 off a raw AS of 56:11 in our favor. Odds 1:1, forts dropped to 2 (!), casualties a painful 26(1) vs 488(0). The SNLF is in bad shape with a lot of disablements. We have plenty of supply and support and will unload more supply, but daily bombardments may be enough to keep our troops from recovering. We will probably bring in reinforcements as killing 3 enemy LCUs and probably capturing a lot of stores (looks like CF is building this base up) would be nice. We are trying to figure a way to induce a counterinvasion in a manner that would allow an ambush. However, our CVs are a ways off and TB isn't built up yet and can't house Nettys. We could divert the Taiyo raiders to the neighborhood, however. Hmmm. SE Fleet Building the bases while awaiting 20th Division and the mid February slew of Naval Guard units. PM forts hit level 3 and we have mines and a mini sub in place with ACMs on the way. 14th Army Tagbilaran invaded. 16th Army We are ready to launch the Dili invasion and plot a hopefully clever course through sub infested waters. Koepang invasion will RV at Manado tomorrow and ship out thereafter. Indes Fleet will cover the Koepang TF, Celebes Sea Sqdn the Dili TF. MKB should form within 72 hours and will provide distant cover to both, as will scads of LBA from Ambon and Kendari. We will then move immediately into Phase 2 of Operation SM. DA Tanjoengselor takes the base, odds 3:1, casualties 213(41) vs 24(0), 2 LCUs retreat into the jungle. Banggi invaded. 25th Army 4 ships are spotted moving SW near Sabang, one ID'd as a CL. A TF ID'd as 6 PGs spotted at Sabang. CF recons Georgetown. What is he up to? Cribtop Intel estimates he is looking for a raiding target to try to disturb our LoC or take out a big airbase like Alor Star. We have precautions against these moves but wonder if he is gearing up for a more substantial offensive. This would go against his play style to date, but it makes some sense to try now as we just took Johore Bahru and he will assume (correctly) that most of our troops are focused on Singapore. Still, given our control of the air and sea near southern Malaya, and the LBA and even CVs we could bring to bear, Cribtop HQ almost hopes the enemy tries something. It could be a marvelous way to suck his fleet into a losing battle against Nettys and MKB if he attacks, while we can easily sea supply the Singapore army via Mersing. For now, we just put a regiment at Johore in strat mode as a local reserve and will await events. Tioman Island is occupied. Also, we twice hear sinking sounds during the turn. Hmmm. Survivors of Darwin trying to make a new home port? British BBs? Who knows, but whatever is sinking is green, which is fine by us. 15th Army Aerial recon shows a movement arrow over the enemy stack at Rangoon. Is CF trying a last minute evacuation? Is Viper Force moving somewhere it can be more useful? Either way, we DA the city again tomorrow. China IJA LCUs enter the Nanyang hex and turn the last green hexides red. The city is officially isolated. BA tomorrow to determine raw AS.

Cribtop -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/7/2011 11:25:45 PM)
February 7, 1942 The enemy's situation goes from bad to worse in North China. Reader input sought! See below... Subs Our clever pathing for Operation DK has worked so far as we dodge the Dutch sub cordon between Manado and Kendari with the Dili TF, KBL and Celebes Sea Sqdn. We vector numerous subs to Canton Island to watch for enemy reinforcement TFs and/or to pull fragments if it comes to that. 4th Fleet Cribtop HQ has identified an SNLF at Jaluit that will probably be used to finish Canton. The Baker invasion TF is 2 days out and that small LCU could also reinforce. Taiyo will also pay a visit. The CVE has both Vals and Kates aboard and we may be able to snooker CF into believing part of KB went East even if we accomplish nothing else. The enemy BA today, as feared, disables another SNLF squad. Looks like we will need help if we want Canton. SE Fleet No change. 14th Army Tagbilaran falls. We suspect the Clark/Bataan garrision is starting to get hungry, but will continue to wait it out. 16th Army Pickets move out to cover Operation DK as the fleets move toward the invasion beaches. Banggi falls. Noemfoor invaded. 25th Army We moved the four full divisions present at Johore B. over the causeway into Singers. The big units do better than the little guys, such as indepedent regiments, tanks and artillery. These smaller LCUs will move into the beachhead next minus the nasty shock attack. The attack itself goes remarkably well. Forts dropped from 3 to 2, odds 1:1, casualties 2479(125) vs 6857(34) with one enemy LCU destroyed. We kill a lot more squads and end the day with 3 Divisions in the 90% combat effective range and one at about 70%. We have at least 450 more AS, including armor, yet to bring to the party. Singapore's days appear numbered, with 38 LCUs in the bag and no sign of either reinforcement or evacuation. Nells out of Chumphon attack 2 UK DDs and 3 xAKs doing something at Sabang. We are disappointed that thunderstorms in the hex limit us to a single torp hit and two dud strikes. What IS the enemy doing with all this nosing around? We will watch closely. 15th Army DA Rangoon confirms Viper Force has left and obtains a satisfying 1:1, dropping forts to 1 and achieving a substantially better adjusted AS ratio than the first attack. Casualties 516(19) vs 1910(7). Two of our LCUs are a little war weary but all should still be able to attack again in a few days. Rangoon will fall as soon as forts drop to 0, which could even be the next attack. We recon Akyab and find no one home. 1st Raiding Regt will go in tomorrow. China With attacks on Rangoon and Singers and evidence of the enemy brewing something up in the Malay Peninsula, you'd think this turn had enough action. Think again. First, BA Nanyang shows raw AS at 2806 to 2420 in our favor. The BA actually inflicts 148 casualties and kills 3 squads. A sign of supply difficulties already? MUCH more interestingly, Cuttlefish tries a DA by his stack just SE of Sian. Given the rough/wooded terrain bonuses, this is ill advised. Perhaps a sign of fear over Nanyang's plight? No matter the motivation, the attack is a thorough disaster for the KMT. Odds 1:7, casualties 6572(173) vs 1341(5). Banzai! [&o] This opens very positive options for us in North China. Raw AS before the attack near Sian was 2100 vs 1783 in the enemy's favor. Adjusted AS in the fight was 1026 vs 7709 in our favor. The enemy units are probably unhappy, but they haven't been retreated. They suffer 666 disabled squads in addition to the 173 killed outright. This is relevant in China as it is difficult to get the supply needed for the KMT units to recover these disablements. Here is the question, readers: Do you think we have enough combat power to counterattack and push this big stack into Sian? If so, the city is doomed. We will BA tomorrow to determine a revised raw AS but would like your thoughts. The tough terrain that so aided us today will hurt us if we become the aggressor. One plan immediately comes to mind. We happen to have a lot of reinforcements that were destined for a South China offensive. CF now has a trapped army and a wrecked army in North China. The floodgates are in serious danger of opening. His last significant forces are at Changsha and Ichang, separated from the action by a decent wall of dug in Japanese troops. However, he may feel he has no choice but to try to relieve Nanyang. We are thinking of hiding our reserves and enticing his armies onto the plains, at which point we pounce and get Ichang and/or Changsha in the bargain (or at least southern China for free as he would then have to evacuate those bases to cover the more vital Changsha, IMHO). Meanwhile Nanyang starves anyway and the enemy army there still dies. Alternatively, CF may try an attack in South China, but he will have to shift from Ichang and Changsha to do so, and we will be watching. Thoughts welcome. This is a good problem to have but we want to take full advantage. [sm=comp16.gif]

ny59giants -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/8/2011 1:17:51 AM)
Siege warfare - be very careful when you attack both Singapore and Clark Field with anything besides a full or recombined infantry division. Using brigades or just the infantry regiments will very quickly leave you with that unit combat ineffective following just one day when the 'dice gods' are not on your side. [:-] I've had and my current opponent both had the 65th Brigade totally trashed at Clark. He told me it was down to 2 AV. [X(]

Cribtop -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/8/2011 2:27:39 AM)
Agreed. That's why we only sent the full divisions over the channel into Singers. The smaller units should be able to enter the hex without a shock attack now.

Canoerebel -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/8/2011 2:51:59 AM)
Attack! The defeated, disrupted Chinese army at Sian is vulnerable. It's not often you get a shot at making a stack retreat, and the losses when you do so are truly awful. It's worth the risk. Try to bomb the stack as much as possible that turn.

Canoerebel -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/8/2011 2:53:30 AM)
P.S. Deliberate, not shock, at least the first time until you get a feel for the adjusted AVs.

Cribtop -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/8/2011 3:54:35 AM)
That's my thought. We're bombarding this turn to draw supply back to white and to get a feel for the enemy's raw AS after their failed attack. Seems like a worthy gamble, but those terrain mods are evil. However, even if we fail, we can recover disablements while the supply challenged Chinese can't.

SuluSea -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/8/2011 12:02:00 PM)
Bombarding is the safe play, I agree that is good defensive territory by chance do you know if CF has been digging in there for awhile? If so some of his troops may have a few forts. How much bombing by LBA is this area seeing and wondering have you a latest recon on Sian? I'd also recon cities north to see if he's moving more to the party. If it were me I'd have my worst LCU at Sian and the bulk of my forces south of the city and a few east so I'm wondering if what you're facing is the bulk of his defense forces allocated for Sian. So it might be prudent to send one bombing run over Sian to see what his strongest unit is . Sorry to ramble on.[:)] It looks like you have a tough call at Nanyang do you hold them prisoner and in the process do the same with some of your troops or do you kill them off and use the better units at Nanyang to help them spearhead your drive? At some point CF is going to try and assist the troops in an escape. The other day I was in the prisoner camp, I think with the doors open near Sian I've moved to the kill them off camp. I'd be interested in what experienced players on this side have to say about it.

Canoerebel -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/8/2011 12:38:40 PM)
I'd kill them off so that I could take Nanyang and move on. They'll respawn at 1/3rd TOE, but that may only equivalent to what they are now - so no net gain for China, but Japan gets the points for the kills, takes the base, and frees up his own troops to move on and press the Chinese back, back, back.

Cribtop -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/9/2011 5:21:52 AM)
Feb 8, 1942 Subs Ugh. I hate to even write this. Not a glorious day for the I-boats. Commanding Officer 6th Fleet is preparing for ritual suicide. [:-] I-15 misses CV Enterprise with 6 torps near Sydney. Later in the phase she misses CA Chicago in the same hex. Three enemy TFs are spotted at the time of the attack but were no longer visible after the replay. Then I-162 misses That Damn Boise near Denpasar. At least the escorts couldn't hit any better than our subs. Next I-165 enters the Sabang hex seeking the xAKs our Nells missed and to generally snoop on why the enemy is obsessively reconning Georgetown. She finds the HDMLs and takes a real DC hit. She'll limp to Alor Star and has a good chance of making it. In a karmic "nanny nanny boo boo," KXVII then sinks PC Ashi, which was moving down the Makassar Strait to serve as a picket for the Timor invasions. Joy. All bitching aside, I-15 gained us very valuable intel. Looks like the USN CVs are putting in at Sydney (are they due a refit about now?) en route back to the Pacific theaters. More I-boats vector to the area, but we blow a golden opportunity to smack the Big E. Sigh. 4th Fleet Baker Island invaded and falls to the auto SA. The Canton relief force will consist of the Baker SNLF Coy and the SNLF at Jaluit, which is ordered to load today. We should be able to get in and out before the enemy carriers reach the neighborhood (even assuming that for some reason they sail hell for leather to save Canton, which Cribtop Intel rates as unlikely). Our SNLF at Canton ticks up to 15 AS despite allied BA. SE Fleet Mostly building up the perimeter. 20th Division will begin unloading at Truk tomorrow, but given the position of USN CVs we're not sticking our noses out in this AO for a while. This is fine as frankly we already have what we need. Anything else would be outposts that fall under the "what we want" category. 14th Army Odd little incident today. Our DBCL (Dot Base Cleanup) TF invades Busuanga and finds no troops but three ships in port, one ID'd as a CL. The CL bit is unlikely but something must be there. Weird. The TF will run away tomorrow just in case. A Nate Sentai at Takao upgraded to Oscar Ic a few days ago and has almost finished repairing. When this unit arrives in Burma we will have the forces necessary to challenge AVG. 16th Army We line up ships for Operation DK in the Banda Sea. KB and KBL will RV tomorrow SSE of Kendari and form MKB with 6 CV and 3 CVL. Melding of the TFs will allow two full DesDivs to guard each Carrier Division against subs. Nice. We hope the Boise TF scoots over our way as KB hasn't been sighted, but we doubt CF will do this as he knows Netties are present. Speaking of Netties, Nells from Ambon and Kendari hit the Darwin airfield today and get a nice haul. Cribtop Intel noted no more ships in port but 38 bombers and no fighters per recon. So we pay a visit and hit a goodly number of planes on the ground. I would hate to live in Darwin right now. [:D] 2 DMS begin to clear mines from the harbor at Balikpapan while transports fly in most of 5th Air Division. Two runs by an FT TF will complete the move forward to Balikpapan. Then this Air HQ will jump to Denpasar. Noemfoor falls to a DBCL TF. 25th Army We are paying close attention to the daily recon of Georgetown. Currently two combat engineer regiments are present and we will soon have a regiment at Johore Bahru in strat mode just in case. The balance of the Singapore army is about 2 days out from crossing the channel. Supply and recovery of the units on the island is going well. The next DA will come soon. 15th Army 1st Raiding Regiment jumps into and seizes an empty Akyab. Will be interesting to see what CF does about this, if anything. We can't DA at Rangoon again only because supply levels are still in the red (damn yellow roads). IJAAF pounds the airfield unopposed while AVG still sits at Toungoo, which is still a level 1 airfield. [sm=00000116.gif] China Round the clock bombing of Nanyang begins today. This is because a BA near Sian shows raw AS at 1772 to 1718 in our favor. The enemy has lost almost 400 AS in his attack, and his quality is lower than the IJA, but Cribtop HQ rates that as too tough a nut to crack given the dramatic effect of terrain advantages. Thus we decide to be a little boring, concentrate reinforcements at Nanyang and destroy the enemy. Then we assemble a force capable of seizing Sian and perhaps Lanchow. BA Nanyang shows enemy raw AS dropping at the rate of 5 per day. Lack of supply plus a clear hex will soon take their toll. CF has slipped a lone LCU down the road a hex from the Sian battlefront. We will counter by moving a unit NW 1 hex along the road from Nanyang to prevent the enemy from opening a hexside. There will be no repeat of the escape at Loyang if we can help it. 5th Fleet Jakes flying from an AV at Adak find that island clear. We may use a Nav Guard to take the place. Economy Just realized I forgot to give you guys a February 1 economic update. Not a lot to tell, really. Everything is moving in the right direction, just need to get more Oil home. Airframes and engines have been rationalized and the planning tool in Tracker shows we are good for months to come. Junyo is accelerated and has been since the accelerated arrival of Shoho. We need to find time to rationalize our R&D factories soon.

Cribtop -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/9/2011 5:45:10 AM)
February 9, 1942 Subs No contacts for our side despite vectoring I-boats to snoop around Sydney. [:(] Near Formosa our first 8 DC rack equipped ASW TF goes into action against Skipjack. No hits but the sheer number of DC attacks from these little buggers will tell someday. 4th Fleet No change. SE Fleet No change. 14th Army DA Davao takes the place easily, odds 8:1, 4 LCUs retreated, casualties 912(129) vs 130(1). Mindanao is almost wrapped up. We sent Hosho hunting out from Jolo to see if the enemy ships spotted in port at Busuanga fled (remember Hosho is now destined for training duties as she can't keep up with the fleet carriers). They don't, so Hosho's Kates port attack in the PM phase. No hits, but the anchor symbol still shows. What's great about this is between the port attack and the fact the Hosho TF was spotted with the "Radio, raise Command" message about carriers, CF may falsely assume KBL is still mucking around Jolo. Unfortunately we forgot to order the DA at Busuanga that would have destroyed the ships there. D'oh! We'll get them tomorrow. Siquijor invaded by the other 14th Army DBCL TF. 16th Army KB and KBL RV to form MKB (now that's a sentence so chock full of acronyms I felt compelled to lengthen it with a parenthetical [:)]). Car Div 1 contains Akagi, Kaga and the 3 CVLs. Car Div 2 contains the four faster CVs (Hiryu, Soryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku). Each TF sports Kongo class BBs, 3 CAs, 1 CS, 2 CLs and 12 modern DDs. ASW for Car Div 1 is 34, for Car Div 2 it's 32. These mighty formations aren't going to stick around the sub infested waters of the DEI for long. Aircraft are almost equal between the TFs. MKB covers the invasion of Dili today, which goes off without incident. No sign of That Damn Boise. Garrisons on Timor are nominal. The Kopang TFs have slipped past the Dutch sub cordon and are a few days out from D Day. The 2 DMS at Balikpapan continue to clear mines. 25th Army The rest of the army crosses into Singers tomorrow. 15th Army We are ready to DA Rangoon. We guarantee it falls tomorrow because the enemy's forces abandoned it today en masse. They retreated 1 hex NE up the good road to Prome but have no way to catch the rails north. We will seize the city and pursue along all three good roads. The fall of Rangoon will cause our VP totals, already almost even with CF's, to vault past the Allies. China Our blocking force moves into the hex NW of Nanyang. The enemy's relief Corps will need to be reinforced to have any chance as we are in rough terrain. This is good as we can entice CF to either abandon Nanyang to its fate or continue to reinforce from his already weakened Sian army, which obviously courts disaster.

yamo1 -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/9/2011 10:57:15 AM)
my sword will not cut but the edge is honed and sharp my hand must be dull

rjopel -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/9/2011 2:55:51 PM)
Did your subs load some of the US torps you found at Manilia?

SuluSea -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/9/2011 3:20:35 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Cribtop Feb 8, 1942 In a karmic "nanny nanny boo boo," KXVII then sinks PC Ashi, which was moving down the Makassar Strait to serve as a picket for the Timor invasions. Joy. All bitching aside, I-15 gained us very valuable intel. Looks like the USN CVs are putting in at Sydney (are they due a refit about now?) en route back to the Pacific theaters. More I-boats vector to the area, but we blow a golden opportunity to smack the Big E. Sigh. China Round the clock bombing of Nanyang begins today. This is because a BA near Sian shows raw AS at 1772 to 1718 in our favor. The enemy has lost almost 400 AS in his attack, and his quality is lower than the IJA, but Cribtop HQ rates that as too tough a nut to crack given the dramatic effect of terrain advantages. Thus we decide to be a little boring, concentrate reinforcements at Nanyang and destroy the enemy. Then we assemble a force capable of seizing Sian and perhaps Lanchow. BA Nanyang shows enemy raw AS dropping at the rate of 5 per day. Lack of supply plus a clear hex will soon take their toll. CF has slipped a lone LCU down the road a hex from the Sian battlefront. We will counter by moving a unit NW 1 hex along the road from Nanyang to prevent the enemy from opening a hexside. There will be no repeat of the escape at Loyang if we can help it. Enterprise 1st refit is scheduled for April of 42 with a 7 day delay. Saratoga and Lexington 1st refit is available 3/42 requiring a size 25 shipyard and 27 day delay. Good call in China, can you update the map when something happens? Thanks![:)]

ny59giants -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/9/2011 4:29:34 PM)
quote: KB and KBL RV to form MKB (now that's a sentence so chock full of acronyms I felt compelled to lengthen it with a parenthetical ). Car Div 1 contains Akagi, Kaga and the 3 CVLs. Car Div 2 contains the four faster CVs (Hiryu, Soryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku). Each TF sports Kongo class BBs, 3 CAs, 1 CS, 2 CLs and 12 modern DDs. ASW for Car Div 1 is 34, for Car Div 2 it's 32. These mighty formations aren't going to stick around the sub infested waters of the DEI for long. Aircraft are almost equal between the TFs. Think about having one Val group assigned only to ASW at 1,000 or 2,000 ft with range restricted to (2 or 4 which is 1 or 2 hexes actual) with about 50% on ASW patrol and the other 30 to 50% on ASW training. Your FPs might find the subs, but their bombs will just send the sub to port for repairs while the Vals may actually sink one if they get a good hit. PM sent on R&D airframe stuff.

Cribtop -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/10/2011 6:58:01 AM)
Feb 10, 1942 First off, major thanks to ny59giants for his assistance via PM with my economy. Great stuff! Rangoon falls a month before the historical date and we almost catch up on VPs. Subs A small measure of revenge as I-175 torpedoes and sinks AO Cuyama near the Bass Straits. The AOs are no doubt trailing the enemy CVs. Note the lack of mention of Dutch subs despite major action in the DEI. Knock on wood -- let's hope it stays that way. 4th Fleet We are putting together a reinforcement invasion at Canton. We want the island because it establishes a defensible perimeter, will no doubt capture good stores since the enemy reinforced it, and will mean the destruction of 3 enemy LCUs. SE Fleet AA units will be delivered to Shortlands and Lae tomorrow. Lae makes level 2 airfield and will soon host airborne attacks at Meruake and Horn Island. The former PM garrison marches on the now empty Terape. 14th Army Siquijor and Busuanga fall. The mystery ships at Busuanga were 2 subs, probably damaged near Formosa and trying to pump out. 16th Army Dili falls. The Boise TF is spotted SSW of Koepang, no doubt hoping for the chance to give us a bloody nose as it must be obvious that Koepang is next on the menu. Nells from Kendari try to launch but can't find the enemy ships at extreme range. Tomorrow the Koepang invasion force, escorted by an ASW TF and Indes Fleet, will be 4 hexes out. MKB will be hovering and if CF doesn't retire the enemy SCTF will suffer. 25th Army The balance of our army arrives at Singers. DA tomorrow. Balabac invaded. 15th Army Abandoned Rangoon falls. We miscalculated the VP impact slightly so we're still a little behind, but not much. We will pursue the enemy into the interior. Imperial Guards Division will be transferred to 15th Army AO upon the fall of Singapore. China 3 fresh Divisions converge on Sinyang by rail. Then on to Nanyang and the destruction of 18 enemy LCUs. That's the script, anyway. Hard to see how CF can interrupt it, though.

Cribtop -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/10/2011 11:01:23 PM)
Feb 11, 1942 Subs S-36 misses a DD escort in a TF staging an SNLF to Jolo for the Denpasar invasion. Escorts of a TF of size 1250 TKs chase off S-41 near Cam Ranh Bay. 4th Fleet The cavalry is about 3 days away at Canton. SE Fleet 20th Division is unloaded at Truk. AA is distributed to our main bases at Rabaul, Lae and Shortlands. Para assaults on Horn Island and Meruake are in the offing. 14th Army Balabac falls. 16th Army The Boise TF wisely withdrew in the face of MKB, LBA and Indes Fleet. The way is open to land at Koepang tomorrow. Our big raid on Soerabaja is postponed because the air commanders at Kendari brilliantly decide to attack 3 small Dutch minelayers at Banjdermasin rather than stonk 20+ ships in port with no fighter cover (CF really needs to attend to that or there will be many Darwins in this game). At least we sink two minelayers, but a 50+ Netty raid for that is a bit of overkill. [:D] Tomorrow we hope the raid goes off. Cribtop HQ is not willing to put the planes on Port Attack only until the Koepang invasion is ashore. 25th Army DA Singers with the full army present does well, forts dropped to 1, odds 1:1, casualties 3517(229) with 2 LCUs destroyed vs 1547(12). The fat lady is warming up. One or at most two more attacks should take the place. 15th Army No change, our troops are resting at Rangoon before moving out. China No change yet, but 2 more divisions will begin marching on Nanyang tomorrow.

ny59giants -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/10/2011 11:42:50 PM)
quote: Cribtop HQ is not willing to put the planes on Port Attack only until the Koepang invasion is ashore. Set MKB Kates to Naval Attack (Primary) and Port Attack (secondary) with a target of a specific port. They will go after ships in both phases, but if there are no ships to attack, in the PM phase they will attack the port selected. Unless you want to keep MKBs position secret, this will help you out. You can do the same for shore based Nell and Betty.

Saburo Kurusu -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/11/2011 12:26:59 AM)
Oh, how I could have missed this fantastically written and organized AAR for such a long time? Dear Supreme Chief of Staff, Great Admiral Cribtop San, we certainly highly appreciate and intensely support all your fertile efforts to finally overcome and get away with that Gaijin menace which threatened our beloved Holy Empire for too long!!! [sm=happy0065.gif]

Cribtop -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/11/2011 5:11:49 AM)
Feb 12, 1942 nygiants59: That's what we had the Nettys set to - Nav primary, Port secondary with Soerabaja selected. The planes went after the Dutch TF and that's frustrating but acceptable. If That Damn Boise had stuck around near Koepang we'd much rather have knifed her TF than bombed Soerabaja. Saburo Kurusu San: I am honored at your compliment, Sir. A deep bow to you and all my readers who have pushed thread views to almost 10,000 in such a short time. Many thanks, especially as Shokaku is my favorite CV so I appreciate your sig art. Subs No contacts. 4th Fleet No change. SE Fleet An SNLF finishes unloading at Marcus Island just in case. Rabaul hits level 6 airfield and will go on to level 7. Meruake seized by paratrooper assault. 14th Army No change. 16th Army We sweep Koepang with Ryujo's Zeroes and shoot down two B339's. We used the CVL fighters to try to maintain the illusion that it's only KBL present. No sign of any enemy SCTF. Koepang invaded without incident. Allied BA shows raw AS at 155:54 in our favor, so the base should fall pretty easily. Soerabaja port attack scrubbed by bad weather, but recon of the port now shows a BB in addition to 24 ships, including numerous subs. While Cribtop Intel assumes this is actually a CL or the CA Houston, that many ships plus a capital ship with NO fighter cover is worth an alpha strike. We will move Bettys to Balikpapan and order them plus Nells from Kendari and KB's Kates to hit Soerabaja tomorrow. Hoping for a Darwinesque haul. Threat to the Koepang force is minimal as we know where CF's USN CVs are and our picket hasn't been spotted from the air. Babeldoab makes level 5 port. That plus a big base force and the 1st Fleet HQ means she's as good as she can get. Odd incident at Balikpapan. An FT TF composed of APDs and TBs was dropping elements of 5th Air HQ. In the night phase she reported contact with an enemy TF but apparently evaded because there was no replay. Our numerous search aircraft over the Makassar Strait report nothing come morning. What was this? Hmmmm... 25th Army Our arty at Singers launches a BA and shows AS 1929:726, casualties 43(7) vs 6(0) and destroys an LCU. Not sure we've ever seen a BA destroy an LCU, but it's surely a good sign. Just a few more days for DIS to drop in our infantry units and we will attack Singers again, perhaps for the last time. 15th Army We are conducting a pursuit of the enemy, aiming to rapidly seize Bassein, Prome and Toungoo. 15th Army will push on until it hits a wall, at which point it will await Imperial Guards Division and two armored regiments that are earmarked for Burma once Singapore falls. China We usually don't report on the daily bombings of various targets, but when 40 Lilys achieve 7 airbase, 40 runway and SEVEN supply dump hits at surrounded Nanyang, they get mentioned in dispatches. Banzai! We have about 1400 AS moving to the Nanyang hex. When it arrives we will DA and hopefully finish this.

Nemo121 -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/11/2011 12:24:52 PM)
If you are looking for supply hits etc then it is the NUMBER of bombs per bomber which matters more than the payload. Each bomb gets a chance to hit individually so a bomber with 10 x 20 Kg bombs is a LOT better than a bomber with a single 250 Kg bomb. You'll get, roughly, ten times the strategic bombing results with the 10 x 20 Kg bombs. Not realistic but the way the game is programmed.

princep01 -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/11/2011 1:15:53 PM)
The Japanese tidal wave continues without check or abatement. Nicely done....one Gaijin to another. The war in China seems to be going particularly well. Those are huge advances over such a short period in my experience. Was there a key offensive stroke or defensive flub that caused this?

PaxMondo -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/11/2011 3:00:18 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Nemo121 If you are looking for supply hits etc then it is the NUMBER of bombs per bomber which matters more than the payload. Each bomb gets a chance to hit individually so a bomber with 10 x 20 Kg bombs is a LOT better than a bomber with a single 250 Kg bomb. You'll get, roughly, ten times the strategic bombing results with the 10 x 20 Kg bombs. Not realistic but the way the game is programmed. Yes, but IIRC, the supply amount damaged is proportional to the size of the bomb. So, 5 x 100ib bomb hits should do the same damage as 2x250lb bomb hits.

Nemo121 -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/11/2011 5:06:57 PM)
PaxMondo, Are you sure about the bomb size making that difference? It is not quite geometric but whenever I was bombed I found the impact on supplies to be proportional to hits - irrespective of size of the bombs.

Saburo Kurusu -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/11/2011 6:30:06 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Cribtop Saburo Kurusu San: I am honored at your compliment, Sir. A deep bow to you and all my readers who have pushed thread views to almost 10,000 in such a short time. Many thanks, especially as Shokaku is my favorite CV so I appreciate your sig art. I'm very delighted that we both share the same "love" for this great ship, I'm really addicted to her...... [:)]

Cribtop -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/11/2011 9:50:51 PM)
Nemo: My assumption was that this was how it worked. It's why Cribtop Doctrine defines an early war IJAAF Bomber Wing as 2 Sentai of Sallys and 1 Sentai of Lilys. Going for the combo of big(ish) bombs with the many small bomb Lily mixed in as an airfield re-paver. Later on we switch to all Helen for production efficiency's sake, but in '42 you've got the Lilys, so what the hey. Princep: So far we are pleased with the progress on all fronts (knocks on wood). In China, I've employed a strategy of big stacks with multiple infiltrating "feeler" LCUs working on outflanking/surrounding the enemy. Cuttlefish has so far gone with big stacks instead of guerrilla tactics. The result has been a series of outflanking moves that have forced his stacks to retreat in order to avoid encirclement. Reminiscent of Sherman's campaign in North Georgia where he contiually flanked Joe Johnston out of a series of positions all the way to Atlanta. (Not that I - a Texan descended from South Carolinians - relishes the role of playing Sherman, mind you). Cuttles hasn't suffered big defeats really, but has been pushed back. Things have changed recently, however. First, CF voluntarily chose to retire his former Loyang army all the way to the hex just SE of Sian, surrendering without a fight 3 or 4 hex rows worth of marvelously defensible terrain without making me pay for it. It is in these rough forest hexes SE of Sian that most JFB North China offensives go to die as the KMT can actually fight on the defensive with the terrain bonuses. In this case, he has let me march to the gates of Sian. This allowed me to pull a bit of Maskirovka and surround an 18 LCU army in Nanyang. I had some armor and an infantry Division trailing 12th Army's march on Sian. It looked for all the world like they were moving to join the Sian front or protecting 12th Army's LoC. Instead, they were prepping for Nanyang and marched one hex cross country to cut the good road leading from Nanyang to Sian. Now, 3 reinforcement divisions are moving to Sinyang by rail to join 11th Army at Nanyang and finish this stack. Then we should have the combat power to force the issue and get Sian in the bargain (that's the plan anyway). The other pleasant surprise has been catching large concentrations of Allied shipping in port. We sank numerous ships at Darwin and are hoping to do the same at Soerabaja in the next replay (speaking of which, I'm off to check the inbox for the next turn). That said, we haven't really damaged the enemy's navy much because with three exceptions we haven't seen them. 1) CF sent Force Z to Kota on turn 1 but we pulled back; 2) CF tried a great CV raid on Kendari but Cribtop Intel's spidey senses tingled and we got KBL and our invasion TFs out of the danger zone in the nick of time; and 3) very early in the war CF sent a CL/DD force to Manado and caught about a 5 ship re-supply convoy with serious glug-gluggage for our side. Where we have fought the enemy's air force (and we seek to whenever possible), kill ratios have been sky high in our favor due to numbers and the fact we've aggressively swept bases with (for now) better planes and pilots. We want to bring the enemy air force into action to attrit him and are looking for more opportunities to do this. Saburo: I was always a big fan of Car Div 5. Shokaku and Zuikaku look pretty, gave a good account of themselves historically, and are pretty darn effective CVs by Japanese standards. I like both ships and both names, but tend to favor Shokaku for the admittedly odd reason that I tend to say their names in alphabetical order and Shokaku comes first. Somebody once had sig art saying they were a "Car Div 5 Fanboy" and my instant thought was - damn, beat me to it!

Cribtop -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (6/11/2011 11:33:21 PM)
Feb 13, 1942 "Oops, I did it again." - Britney Spears. Subs S-36 misses the exact same DD on the return to Cam Ranh Bay that she missed on the outbound leg. Her captain is feeling like the captain of I-15 a few days ago. 4th Fleet The second Canton invasion TF RVs NW of the island and will move into the hex tomorrow. D-Day the day after that in order to maximize atoll unloading. Could be a little rough as our prep is crap except for the already damaged SNLF ashore (which is back to 18 AS and growing), but sheer weight should overwhelm the enemy. The Taiyo is about to leave friendly waters in search of prey near Pearl Harbor. SE Fleet Lots of Naval Guard units arrive in Tokyo and will begin to build the perimeter. 14th Army Oroquieta invaded. Dadjangas falls. 16th Army "Air raid, Soerabaja. This is not a drill." In an action very reminiscent of the attack on Darwin, 22 Bettys, 57 Nells and 152 Kates blast the Dutch ships in harbor. Destruction is so complete that the late turn recon flights no longer show an anchor symbol for a port with 24 ships yesterday. Sole regret is we only bag 1 sub. Biggest catches are CL Sumatra and Dutch AS, AVP, and AR support vessels. Combat report excerpt below. We considered a first person account but have had several lately and want to use part of the weekend for some deep strategic thinking about the course of the game as we near the completion of Phase I. Still, the results are well worth a Banzai! [&o][&o] Quick update: Tracker shows the CL sunk as Achilles and the SS as Argonaut. We're happy either way. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Soerabaja , at 56,104 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 14 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 15 G4M1 Betty x 22 No Japanese losses Allied Ships CL Sumatra, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires xAKL Silindoeng, Bomb hits 1, on fire SS Spearfish, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage AR Castor, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage AG Albatros, Bomb hits 1, on fire ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Soerabaja , at 56,104 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid detected at 48 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 19 minutes Japanese aircraft G3M2 Nell x 57 Japanese aircraft losses G3M2 Nell: 2 damaged Allied Ships CL Sumatra, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires AMc Gedeh, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AVP Valk, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage SS Spearfish, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AS Zuiderkruis, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage AVP Fazant, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires AMc Djombang, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage AG Albatros, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk AMc Ardjoeno, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AMc Smeroe, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk xAP Van Rees, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AMc Djember, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AMc Ceram, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage AMc Tjerimai, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AMc Enggano, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk xAKL Silindoeng, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage AR Castor, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage Allied ground losses: 7 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Port hits 4 Port supply hits 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Morning Air attack on Soerabaja , at 56,104 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 17 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 13 B5N1 Kate x 31 B5N2 Kate x 63 Allied aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 5 damaged Allied aircraft losses Allied Ships CL Sumatra, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk AMc Slamat, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AMc Kawi, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AMc Merbabo, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AMc Merapi, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AMc Bogor, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk xAKL Sigli, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk AVP Fazant, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AMc Rindjani, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AR Castor, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk xAP Van Rees, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage Allied ground losses: 14 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Port hits 3 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Soerabaja , at 56,104 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 17 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 12 B5N2 Kate x 61 Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 3 damaged Allied Ships AVP Valk, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk xAKL Silindoeng, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AS Zuiderkruis, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAP Van Rees, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage Port hits 1 Port supply hits 1 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We solve the mystery from yesterday as enemy PTs are seen sneaking back down the coast of Borneo from Balikpapan. We are fortunate our APDs avoiding combat. 25th Army No change. Estimate next DA at Singapore on the 15th. 15th Army Enemy forces are running away with great alacrity. We should quickly occupy the Prome - Toungoo line. China The last reinforcement division should rail in to Sinyang tomorrow. First attack at Nanyang within the week.

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