RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan)

RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (Full Version)

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FDRLincoln -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/24/2012 3:48:39 AM)
93 disruption. Ouch.

Saros -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/24/2012 4:36:17 AM)
That was a damn good showing against the bombers. I don't think I have ever had results that good using Zekes. Especially with only 12 minutes warning as well.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/24/2012 4:35:45 PM)
Yes I was very surprised at how well they did. I'm going to dump out the airgroup data ...

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/24/2012 4:37:09 PM)
First group. [image]local://upfiles/11369/9B10748598514F7FAA0E6A238165E720.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/24/2012 4:42:03 PM)
First group pilots. [image]local://upfiles/11369/02903502EB4F4BA3ACFDB1011A0C1E62.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/24/2012 4:47:03 PM)
Second group. [image]local://upfiles/11369/38C9FFEEBA824333A2F594BF2E55DE57.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/24/2012 4:48:43 PM)
Second group pilots. [image]local://upfiles/11369/234840305AD8466DA92211FB9EBDFCD0.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/24/2012 7:21:24 PM)
Nov 27 1942 This was a much quieter turn, unsurprisingly. Here is Burma. As I guessed he is going for Magwe over the river. The Swarm is ready ... [image]local://upfiles/11369/EA72C50E98994595AA27451480B59AD1.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/24/2012 7:23:57 PM)
The only thing that really happened today was 4 cruisers of the Australian fleet turning up at Merauke. Nells out of Ambon had a go at them but were beaten off by the flak with no hits. [image]local://upfiles/11369/BCF7E3200A6A492696CC718A40B8CEC4.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/24/2012 9:03:05 PM)
Pilots There have been a fair few additions to TRACOM recently in both services. So, we now have 160 IJN and 64 IJA pilots there. These boys will only be extracted when it looks like there is a decisive battle or two about to occur. Both replacement pools are full to bursting. I just don't have the airgroup space to accomodate any more pilots on map at this point.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/26/2012 2:07:48 AM)
Nov 28 1942 Another very quiet turn. Things should be getting quite interesting in Burma soon though. My opponent was not pleased with the results of the Truk raid, but he is not the type to get discouraged. I expect he will be back, only next time we will have to face P-38s sweeping out of Kavieng and/or Manus alongside the 4Es. None of which will matter though, since Truk is not being used for anything except as a place to attrit his airpower. Cackle cackle ... [;)]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/26/2012 2:18:10 AM)
Alternate fleet bases A key part of the cunning plan for the Pacific is to enable the KB and Kongos to re-arm at numerous places that are not Truk. Babeldoab is a size 5 port and hosts the 3rd Fleet HQ Ulithi is a size 5 port (soon to be size 6) and hosts the 8th Fleet HQ Guam is a size 5 port and hosts the Southeast Area Fleet HQ Saipan is a size 4 port and could host some AKEs if necessary Kwajalein is a size 4 port (soon to be size 5) and hosts the 6th Fleet HQ This gives me lots of options if and when he finally commits his CVs and takes the offensive seriously.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/26/2012 2:29:32 AM)
Mindanao The way things are going it seems almost inevitable that his main thrust will eventually end up pointing towards Mindanao. Indeed you could almost say I am inviting him to do that. Which is not true, I just thought of it this turn. Anyway, I have decided to make Mindanao "Swarm capable" just in case. I have a hunch that massed Oscars naval bombing at 100ft would be quite effective even without having trained for it. So I am moving my one spare IJA air HQ and a couple of IJAAF base forces to the island. These will complement the remnants of the original 16th Army invasion forces, which remain in place and have been building mostly Fort. There are no divisions there, but given the mostly horrible terrain I am hoping none will be needed. Or at least not yet.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/28/2012 1:58:48 AM)
Nov 29 1942 Not a lot happening. The Swarm vs. the Brits should kick off in 2 or 3 days time. While waiting, I have been pondering (as always) and decided that I shall include the Ki-67 Peggy in my plans. [image]local://upfiles/11369/743F51F2F31542B18D12305479B56BC9.jpg[/image] I have always really liked the look of this plane, but more importantly it is the nearest thing to a useful bomber that is available to the Empire. The plan is to use it in conjunction with the Ki-43 IIIa, the Ki-83 and the Ki-74 to make a "14 hex range airfield destruction unit" for the end-game. The tactical deployment would be thus, with airgroups spread around numerous size 2 and 3 airfields: Ki-83 high altitude Sweep (draw off the CAP) Ki-74 high altitude Airfield Attack (draw off the CAP and possibly increase DL) Ki-67 medium altitude Airfield Attack (destroy airfield) Ki-43 IIIa (Escort for Ki-67s, plus maybe low level Sweep) This unit will not be a Swarm, it is too expensive and fragile, but it may nevertheless be useful. By 1945 I may even come up with a name for it [:'(]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/28/2012 11:42:35 PM)
Nov 30 1942 Mandalay falls to air-dropped Chindits and the 2nd British Div stack has arrived at Magwe. No automatic shock attack was triggered by crossing the river though for some reason. The 33rd Division is now entrained at Meiktila and should be in Rangoon in two days. It has thankfully not received any Allied ordnance since vacating Mandalay so is starting to recover slowly. Rain is forecast for next turn in Burma so I will not commit the Swarm yet. [image]local://upfiles/11369/8AB02ABA7ED947ECBA56FE7605B0054B.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/30/2012 1:22:37 AM)
Dec 1 1942 Swarmage is on for next turn. The forecast is still Rain but what the hell. There will be up to 190 planes doing a Ground Attack at Magwe. I don't need to try an Airfield Attack at this point since the damage is still very high due to previous Allied LB bombing. Note the 33rd Div on the rail to the NE of Pegu. Sanctuary is in sight, and the unit still has 98% strength assuming full recovery of disablements. Phew ... [image]local://upfiles/11369/2F830CB0BE724107B34A0E6571C2FE3D.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/30/2012 7:54:58 PM)
Dec 2 1942 Well the Swarm co-ordinated perfectly from the 3 airbases and a total of 239 planes flew. It was about as I expected. The flak was not overcome and 34 planes were lost, along with 29 pilots. That's a 14.2% loss rate. However reasonable damage was done to the British stack, which comprises 1 Division + 2 Brigades. We are going in again tomorrow ... [8D] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 16th Indian Brigade, at 57,47 (Magwe) Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 4 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 239 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 105 damaged Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 9 destroyed by flak Allied ground losses: 629 casualties reported Squads: 3 destroyed, 38 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 59 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 15 disabled Guns lost 17 (1 destroyed, 16 disabled) Aircraft Attacking: 28 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 29 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 23 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 25 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 27 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 29 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 24 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 19 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 26 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb Also attacking 2nd British Division ... Also attacking 14th British Brigade ... Also attacking 2nd British Division ... Also attacking 16th Indian Brigade ... Also attacking 2nd British Division ... Also attacking 14th British Brigade ... Also attacking 2nd British Division ...

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/31/2012 5:45:45 PM)
Dec 3 1942 Chiang Mai was socked in, so only 107 planes flew. Of these 18 were lost, which is a 16.8% loss rate. Damage caused was minimal. I am going to stand down and defend for a bit, see what he does and whether my 400+ fighters in the Burma area can achieve air superiority or not. The Swarm is not just intended for bombing but also for air fighting. Note though that I am absolutely not giving up on the idea of low-level bombing. I just can't do it every day. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Magwe , at 57,47 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 4 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 107 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 42 damaged Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 8 destroyed by flak Allied ground losses: 123 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Aircraft Attacking: 21 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 29 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 27 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 22 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb Also attacking 14th British Brigade ... Also attacking 2nd British Division ... Also attacking 14th British Brigade ... Also attacking 2nd British Division ... [image]local://upfiles/11369/EFE2DACDBAED474D8CFF96CA47892DEA.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (3/31/2012 5:48:57 PM)
The 33rd Division is now safely at Rangoon, where it will de-train for some much needed rest. It has performed its job admirably, and should be able to recover to full strength within a reasonable timeframe. [image]local://upfiles/11369/E0FBC70BA0074A7A945C59A9C223C417.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (4/2/2012 1:39:17 AM)
Just an aside ... I have recently started a game as the Allies, which is fun. However I really did not realise just how few aircraft you get prior to 1945, especially bombers. No wonder the Truk raid erked my opponent so much. It will take him a month to replace the lost B-17s and B-24s. Meanwhile, I can produce 300 or 400 fighters a month and pilots to fly them without causing any strain on my economy whatsoever. The only real limiter on Japanese airpower is airgroup space. This hardens my determination to play with mostly Oscars and Zeros. Otherwise it's just not a fair game.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (4/3/2012 12:38:10 AM)
5 Dec 1942 Burma quiet. I managed my first successful night raid of the war, on Kavieng. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Kavieng , at 106,122 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 16 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 5 minutes Japanese aircraft G4M1 Betty x 8 Allied aircraft no flights No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses B-26B Marauder: 8 damaged PBY-5A Catalina: 4 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 4 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed on ground F4F-4 Wildcat: 4 damaged Airbase hits 2 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 10 Aircraft Attacking: 8 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 7000 feet Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before anybody squeals, I have made lots of night attacks during the course of the game all of which have achieved precisely diddly squat. This time random() just came good for once.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (4/4/2012 1:21:40 AM)
Dec 6 1942 Very quiet apart from the "Daily Changsha", as illustrated below. In other news, I have been steadily implementing the LB->FB conversions as discussed earlier and now have 4 x 27 strength airgroups which sport the Ki-45 Nick instead of Sonias and Anns. How much of an increase in utility is that? [image]local://upfiles/11369/2AA078F06FBF4F419AA13E9F405FD4CB.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (4/4/2012 1:32:45 AM)
64th Sentai Today I also decided to try an experiment. I discovered that I had 64 pilots in the IJAAF TRACOM so on a whim I have pulled some of these out to the 64th Sentai, with the former very good but not quite golden pilots of that unit being despatched to Reserve. The unit is based at Takao, well out of the action, and I will initially train it up in NavB, with LowN to follow. The Exp/Air/Staf/Def values are already very high. There is an upgrade path to the Ki-102 Randy available, the B variant of which has some useful if inaccurate strafing equipment installed as well as 2 x 250kg bombs. My idea is to create a shock IJAAF anti-shipping unit. Observant readers may note that this contradicts some things I said earlier.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (4/5/2012 1:09:06 AM)
Dec 7 1942 The war has now been going for exactly a year, and the IJN has lost only a single DD. One day the Allies will start fighting.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (4/6/2012 1:39:18 AM)
Dec 8 1942 There is a small British/Indian/Burmese unit sitting all on its own in a clear hex just to the SW of Meiktila. I am going to throw my entire airpower at it and see what happens. 100+ Tojos on Sweep plus 300 or so Oscars bombing. [image]local://upfiles/11369/2F201BB14F304C1AA8D223871376C07E.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (4/6/2012 3:44:07 PM)
Dec 9 1942 Not a bad result. No Oscars lost and siginificant damage caused to the 44th Cavalry Regiment. There was no CAP. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 44th Cavalry Regiment, at 58,48 , near Magwe Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 10 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 131 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 8 damaged Allied ground losses: 45 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 49 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 51 (5 destroyed, 46 disabled) Aircraft Attacking: 29 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 29 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 29 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 25 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 19 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 44th Cavalry Regiment, at 58,48 , near Magwe Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 4 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 29 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 3 damaged Allied ground losses: 5 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 15 (9 destroyed, 6 disabled) Aircraft Attacking: 29 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on 44th Cavalry Regiment, at 58,48 , near Magwe Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid spotted at 14 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 3 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 78 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 7 damaged Allied ground losses: 23 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 24 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 28 (21 destroyed, 7 disabled) Aircraft Attacking: 24 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 29 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb 25 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar bombing from 100 feet Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you can see from the picture the cavalry unit has now reached the sanctum of the jungle to the NE of Toungoo. However, another larger armoured unit has presented itself for the taking in the clear hex. [image]local://upfiles/11369/C02A6FD49F9F43BB9CEC6BAFD096028B.jpg[/image]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (4/6/2012 5:12:17 PM)
Nakajima Ha-35 I am starting to get aircraft production failures on all types that use the Nakajima Ha-35 engine. The Engine screen informs me that I am some 300 engines a month deficient. Oopsy. The cranking up has been done, but it will take 3 months or so for it to fully take effect. In the meantime the Oscar, Tojo and Zero pools ought to be quite sufficient at the current game pace.

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (4/7/2012 2:48:39 AM)
Allied DDs One thing is quite clear from playing Downfall - it is the Allied DDs that are the most difficult weapons system to counter. They are almost impervious to air and sub attack, the only way to get rid of the blessed things is with surface attack using CAs, CLs and DDs. The only problem being that at some point, whatever happens, Japan will become seriously deficient in these on a relative basis. I don't know how many DDs the USN and RN get in the GC but it's likely to be in the 100s. There is no way we can win that game. So ... Enter the Ki-45 Nick in a new role as a "Destroyer Destroyer". All variants of this plane sport useful centre-mounted cannons plus there are 2 x 250kg bombs. The plane has good speed, armour and reasonable durability. This ought to mean that in the right circumstances and attacking at low level it will eat DDs for breakfast. As an initial plan I have allocated the newly converted 4 x 27 Nick airgroups to this task. They will train in Staf and LowN, and are currently based at Clark Field, which is a good place since I estimate that it will be in the southern Philippines where important things really start to happen in a few months time.

PaxMondo -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (4/7/2012 12:52:02 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Captain Cruft So ... Enter the Ki-45 Nick in a new role as a "Destroyer Destroyer". Agree with your assessment on the DD's, and yes they get several hundred of them. Never had any success with the Nick in any role. Watching to see if this works. [sm=00000613.gif]

Captain Cruft -> RE: The Hive - Cruft Scen 2 PBEM (Japan) (4/7/2012 1:08:25 PM)
Nicks are good at LowG and I have had success Sweeping with them against fighters that aren't P-38s. On CAP they do seem mediocre. It will be a while before I get to test this anti-DD theory out.

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