RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM

RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (Full Version)

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Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/9/2014 8:15:18 PM)
05 July 1944 My opponent was surprised by this move, which is good, and I have noticed a westward pointing arrow has sprouted at Nanning. Perhaps those are his nearest combat troops? If so then all the more pleasing.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/11/2014 2:38:11 PM)
07 July 1944 Cagayan has fallen. We are now engaged in a massive air fight over Kiungshan. The base remains open and undamaged, but I have lost a lot of planes on the ground and in the air. He has lost over 70 4Es so far.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/12/2014 4:37:42 PM)
08 July 1944 Davao has fallen. Canton will be next. I am sending an additional division and some arty to Hong Kong. Another 40 4Es are destroyed over Kiungshan. The raids today were significantly weaker. It has cost me about 350 fighters though. I am fortunate that he continues to not escort his bombers and that the 2Es have been diverted to bombing the troops at Hue and Tourane. Overall I am down to around 5,500 ready aircraft, and apart from Oscars and Zeroes the fighter pools are looking thin.

obvert -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/12/2014 9:23:25 PM)
That's a big chunk of 4Es though too, so you might see a slow down in the bombing for a while which will give you time to recover. In terms of your main IJN and IJA fighters, what are you using now and is anything else almost in production?

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/12/2014 9:32:18 PM)
I am confident I can hang on to Kiungshan unless he lands there. Plane-wise the IJN is still mostly reliant on the A6M5, which a few Jacks and even fewer Georges. There have been no groups in action for a while though. For the IJA it's a mix of Franks, Tojo IIc and Oscar IIIa, in more or less equal numbers. There are no new fighters due to arrive until 1945.

Sangeli -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/13/2014 4:59:28 PM)
What air frame has been the best 4E killer for you so far?

Cribtop -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/13/2014 5:17:06 PM)
Are you concerned that plane and airframe losses will be so high that you will lose the ability to shock the Allies with a tidal wave once they cross the borders of the Hive? Asked another way, what are your thoughts at this point on the overall viability of the Hive strategy?

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/13/2014 11:52:46 PM)
Sangeli, Anything better than a Nate or a Claude with a decent pilot in it. Cribtop, I'm still pretty confident. However a lot of that is down to the way he plays. Against a more aggressive and unpredictable player I would certainly be feeling more nervous.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/16/2014 7:05:02 PM)
11 July 1944 Canton falls. The survivors will head for Hong Kong. Meanwhile, some Allied shipping has appeared in the South China Sea. The ones to the bottom left are two CV TFs and an Amphib. What is puzzling me are the supposed two DDs to the top right. It's really difficult to guess where this lot are all going. So I won't plot any Naval Attacks until things become clearer. [image]local://upfiles/11369/A8132F3FF8704C02BB1CC3D9393C4BA3.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/18/2014 5:26:18 PM)
13 July 1944 I have landed another sacrifical unit at Vinh. Three APDs were lost to RAF dive bombers but most of the unit is ashore, albeit about 50% disabled. There are no substantive Allied combat units at the base, but a stack of aviation support and the like. I will not attack yet. The US CVs are sitting just to the south of the area in the picture. Out of range of any of my LBA. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Vinh (65,59) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 70 troops, 8 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 37 Defending force 2421 troops, 21 guns, 10 vehicles, Assault Value = 52 Assaulting units: 169 Wing 167 Wing Sikh Construction Battalion 123rd RAF Base Force III Indian Corps 104th RAF Base Force 1st Indian Coastal Artillery Regiment I/224 Gp Forward Base Force Defending units: 1st Amphibious Brigade [image]local://upfiles/11369/B0B2EC6FBEB348919EF1F85C86B67EA1.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/19/2014 4:10:05 PM)
14 July 1944 The unit at Vinh has been bombed heavily by seemingly every 2E bomber in the vicinity. Meanwhile the Allied CV fleet looks to be heading for Brunei. [image]local://upfiles/11369/9E4E3D70C8964DEDA8F60537568CCF95.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/19/2014 5:20:00 PM)
Hong Kong I would really like not to lose this base. That's probably not possible but hopefully it should cost him dearly. There are now 6 divisions present, although 3 of these are the beaten up ones from Canton. Total AV is currently 1,777 and forts are at level 8. His horde is one hex away and apparently not moving. Sonias are bombing on a daily basis, to quite good effect.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/20/2014 10:14:23 PM)
15 July 1944 A brave sub puts a torpedo into a CV but pays for it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Jesselton at 67,85 Japanese Ships SS I-154, hits 19, and is sunk Allied Ships CV Olustee, Torpedo hits 1, on fire BB New Jersey BB South Dakota CA Pensacola CL Denver CLAA San Juan CLAA San Diego DD Anthony DD Charles Badger DD Bache DD Charles Ausburne DD Aulick [image]local://upfiles/11369/2CAF80E9256E48108CAE85BDD9E62873.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/24/2014 6:55:19 PM)
19 July 1944 He has re-taken Tourane, my unit at Vinh has failed to take the base and it doesn't look like Hue will hold out for long either. [image]local://upfiles/11369/52EA558317BC43F38AC8FC8323E4B127.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/26/2014 4:36:28 PM)
20 July 1944 A really excellent result at Pingsiang today. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Pingsiang (82,54) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 148339 troops, 806 guns, 113 vehicles, Assault Value = 4534 Defending force 9102 troops, 56 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 337 Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 5 Allied adjusted assault: 1529 Japanese adjusted defense: 1901 Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 5) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 639 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 29 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 4950 casualties reported Squads: 196 destroyed, 44 disabled Non Combat: 17 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 26 destroyed, 12 disabled Guns lost 18 (12 destroyed, 6 disabled) Vehicles lost 6 (6 destroyed, 0 disabled) Assaulting units: 37th Chinese Corps 78th Chinese Corps 59th Chinese Corps 14th Chinese Corps 75th Chinese Corps 4th Chinese Corps 46th Chinese Corps 2nd Chinese Corps 32nd Chinese Corps 36th Div Engineer Battalion XV Corps Engineer Battalion 10th Chinese Corps 58th Chinese Corps 52nd Chinese Corps 72nd Chinese Corps 3rd Carabiniers Regiment 3rd Chinese Cavalry Corps 10th Group Army 3rd Heavy Mortar Regiment 7th Artillery Regiment 1st Artillery Regiment 35th Group Army 4th Heavy Mortar Regiment Defending units: 64th Division [image]local://upfiles/11369/74E5FF23BA7744AC9327C19235F2606B.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/27/2014 8:09:47 PM)
21 July 1944 I had sent 5 subs to Cam Ranh Bay to lay mines. Unfortunately two of them got sunk by Commonwealth destroyers, but a third managed to put two fish into the Prince of Wales. The army troops in Indochina are still hanging on (just), and there are two more sacrificial units on the way. I am very pleased at how this operation has slowed his advance into China down. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Cam Ranh Bay at 64,72 Japanese Ships SS I-44, hits 11 Allied Ships BB Prince of Wales, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage DD Warramunga DD Arunta DD Rapid DD Tjerk Hiddes SS I-44 launches 6 torpedoes at BB Prince of Wales DD Rapid fails to find sub and abandons search DD Tjerk Hiddes attacking submerged sub .... DD Tjerk Hiddes attacking submerged sub .... DD Tjerk Hiddes fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Tjerk Hiddes fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Tjerk Hiddes fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Tjerk Hiddes attacking submerged sub .... DD Tjerk Hiddes is out of ASW ammo DD Tjerk Hiddes is out of ASW ammo DD Tjerk Hiddes is out of ASW ammo Escort abandons search for sub [image]local://upfiles/11369/CB15FDA4556B48B1A41DD58E3139F627.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/27/2014 8:11:37 PM)
Also today the last 3 Unryu class CVs arrived, which means that apart from the Ibuki my carrier fleet is now all on the map. It's about 1,000 planes in total.

Cribtop -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/27/2014 10:46:22 PM)
Are you concerned the Allies may just seize airfields in China to allow a strategic bombing campaign in the Home Islands? Could he avoid the tsunami of assets you've held back by adopting this strategy and never exposing his fleet in an invasion of islands in the Hive?

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/27/2014 11:00:24 PM)
I dare say that might be part of his plan, but he has yet to move any aircraft beyond Liuchow, despite having several airfields available. The "Kiungshan Gambit" seems to be working well, and he is focused on that area for the time being.

Cribtop -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/28/2014 12:01:40 AM)
The downside to this from the Allied perspective is unless he walks all the way to Korea he will need to invade some islands in order to get in fighter escort range.

Sangeli -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/28/2014 4:43:58 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Cribtop The downside to this from the Allied perspective is unless he walks all the way to Korea he will need to invade some islands in order to get in fighter escort range. This. He cannot hope to achieve good effect in a strat bombing campaign if he cannot get fighters in escort, especially if he cannot apply pressure anywhere else. However, I would be concerned about the Allies being able to get tons of VPs by destroying the IJA in China and capturing places like Shanghai. That may be just enough to get him enough VPs for autovictory by the end of 1945.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/30/2014 12:34:50 AM)
22 July 1944 His huge stack has arrived at Hong Kong. I am going to continue bombing it, despite the UH terrain, and also try an experimental naval bombardment with some Es which happen to be nearby. He also has a small stack at Kanhsien (Clear terrain) without much flak. I am going to see if the 300+ Oscars at Takao can do any damage to it. The range is 8. Indochina has reverted to Allied control. Liuchow remains his most advanced airbase in China. I am flying recon over Tulagi next turn, with some recently arrived long-range Myrts. Truk remains pristine, albeit without a drop of fuel. This could be useful.

Sangeli -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/30/2014 4:36:07 PM)
If you can get air suppression from bombing and are able to bring in supply Hong Kong could hold out for a while. I'm not sure I would have opted to defend the base in open plains, but it has a shipyard that would be very useful in Allied hands if he tries to break into The Hive for heavily damaged ships. The longer you can deny him the base the better. What's the defensive plan in China now? I'm concerned about the gap in your defenses between Kukong and the coastal bases which has a good road going right in between. Doesn't look like you have much stopping a drive along that road until Hangchow even though there's a nice 3x non-base hex NE of Foochow that would be a pretty good blocking position and another one further west that is north of Amoy. I would get defenses to one of those ASAP in case he opts to bypass Hong Kong and continue east.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/30/2014 8:27:05 PM)
23 July 1944 Bombardments from both sides at Hong Kong. Pleasing results. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Hong Kong (77,61) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 10126 troops, 216 guns, 94 vehicles, Assault Value = 2042 Defending force 178708 troops, 2850 guns, 3645 vehicles, Assault Value = 5318 Japanese ground losses: 23 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 457 casualties reported Squads: 10 destroyed, 35 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Guns lost 21 (8 destroyed, 13 disabled) Assaulting units: Hong Kong Def Force 21st Division 55th Division 38th Division 60th Division 104th Division 30th Division 3rd Air Division 53rd Field AA Battalion 75th Field AA Battalion 25th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion 20th RF Gun Battalion 54th Field AA Battalion 9th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion 11th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion 5th RF Gun Battalion 29th Army 28th Army 52nd Field AA Battalion 16th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 43rd Const Co 1st JAAF Base Force 10th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion Hong Kong Special Base Force 2nd Shipping Engineer Regiment Canton Special Base Force 7th JAAF Base Force 47th JAAF AF Bn Defending units: 19th Indian Division 7th Australian Division 11th Indian Division 254th Armoured Brigade 25th Indian Division 81st (West African) Division 38th Infantry Division 20th Indian Division 18th British Division 3rd New Chinese Corps 28th (East African) Brigade 43rd Cavalry Regiment 2nd British Division 14th Chindit Brigade 82nd (West African) Division I Aus Corps Engineer Battalion Provisionl Tank Brigade 255th Indian Tank Brigade 60th Chinese Corps 73rd Chinese Corps 5th Indian Division 24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment 163rd Light AA Regiment IV Indian Corps 88th Medium Regiment 14th Army 6th Medium Regiment 20th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment 272/273rd Bty 80th AT Gun Regiment 8th Medium Regiment 3rd West African AA Regiment 17th Indian Light AA Regiment 6th Mixed A/T Mtr Regiment Southeast Asia 23rd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment 5th Field Regiment XXXIII Indian Corps 20th Artillery Regiment 77th Heavy AA Regiment 25th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment 22nd Artillery Regiment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Hong Kong (77,61) Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 161858 troops, 2725 guns, 3023 vehicles, Assault Value = 5276 Defending force 74314 troops, 932 guns, 537 vehicles, Assault Value = 2040 Japanese ground losses: 28 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 644 casualties reported Squads: 26 destroyed, 36 disabled Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 17 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 11 disabled Guns lost 29 (13 destroyed, 16 disabled) Vehicles lost 43 (19 destroyed, 24 disabled) Assaulting units: 2nd British Division 255th Indian Tank Brigade I Aus Corps Engineer Battalion 7th Australian Division 82nd (West African) Division 254th Armoured Brigade 81st (West African) Division 11th Indian Division 20th Indian Division 73rd Chinese Corps Provisionl Tank Brigade 3rd New Chinese Corps 28th (East African) Brigade 60th Chinese Corps 38th Infantry Division 25th Indian Division 18th British Division 14th Chindit Brigade 43rd Cavalry Regiment 19th Indian Division 5th Indian Division IV Indian Corps 5th Field Regiment 24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment 3rd West African AA Regiment 20th Artillery Regiment 17th Indian Light AA Regiment 163rd Light AA Regiment 6th Mixed A/T Mtr Regiment Southeast Asia 14th Army 23rd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment 77th Heavy AA Regiment 25th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment 272/273rd Bty 80th AT Gun Regiment 8th Medium Regiment 20th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment 6th Medium Regiment 88th Medium Regiment XXXIII Indian Corps 22nd Artillery Regiment Defending units: 38th Division Hong Kong Def Force 21st Division 55th Division 60th Division 104th Division 30th Division 52nd Field AA Battalion 9th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion 3rd Air Division 43rd Const Co 54th Field AA Battalion 5th RF Gun Battalion 10th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion 28th Army 25th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion Hong Kong Special Base Force 11th Ind. Field Artillery Battalion 29th Army 75th Field AA Battalion 2nd Shipping Engineer Regiment 20th RF Gun Battalion 1st JAAF Base Force 7th JAAF Base Force 53rd Field AA Battalion Canton Special Base Force 16th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 47th JAAF AF Bn

Sangeli -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/31/2014 4:03:02 PM)
Well there are stacking limits in your game...not sure why your opponent thought it would be a good idea to go over the limit. Until he pull some out he's going to be taking a beating every bombardment.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/31/2014 9:46:12 PM)
I doubt he is over-stacked. The number of units is about the same as I have, and I am only using 80,000 of the 160,000 limit. Here is the KB. [image]local://upfiles/11369/87D49604FDB94FE6B6EDE82B4FDF9F24.jpg[/image]

witpqs -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/31/2014 10:04:52 PM)
In any event over-stacking is penalized, not forbidden. It can be done against ones will, by having units retreated into areas that are then over-stacked. That nicely parallels the real life situation of clogged roads and so forth. Over-stacking can also be done very deliberately, when the player has the supply to support it and needs to concentrate the extra firepower. That also nicely parallels real life. For all the imperfections/shortcomings everywhere in the game and certainly in stacking, when you understand it that way you see just how well implemented it really is. Be aware that your opponent can over stack and almost certainly will deliberately do so at certain times!

obvert -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/31/2014 11:04:24 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Captain Cruft I doubt he is over-stacked. The number of units is about the same as I have, and I am only using 80,000 of the 160,000 limit. Here is the KB. Aren't there coordination penalties for having so many CVs in one TF?

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (1/31/2014 11:47:50 PM)
Yes there are.

obvert -> RE: The Hive - Cruft PBEM (2/1/2014 7:50:46 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Captain Cruft Yes there are. So ... will you go to battle in a 25 ship TF? What's the advantage there?

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