RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (Full Version)

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Canoerebel -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 12:51:11 AM)
John's level of interest in the game has been increasing over the past few days, but today has reached a fever pitch. He worked a long day (and had expected to be off), just got home, and jumped on the turn. Something's up.

Flicker -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 12:52:15 AM)
IMO you already know what the "next big thing" is, given that your troops are prepping for somewhere. BTW what unit is heading for Normanton (on the road west of Normanton). Do you have a regiment or brigade plus engineers that can take and build Daly Waters? PM Curtin wants to know :)

Canoerebel -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 12:59:01 AM)
That is a small armored unit sent towards Daly Waters to see if the road was open and if John might be withdrawing from Oz. But it stumbled into a blocking unit and then took daily Helen bombings until it was pulverized nearly out of existence. Fortunately, John seems to have forgotten about it. It's prepped for Wessel Islands, so I'd like to make use of it. John is not withdrawing from Oz. I think he's reinforcing Darwin. I know he's reinforcing Timor. That (and the situation in other areas) indicates he's spreading his troops out, creating a new line in front of Big Tent but also strengthening around Big Tent. That will work to his advantage if he ever takes control of the sea and air. If he doesn't, though, he's positioning troops too far forward and neglecting deeper areas. Does he realize there's no reason that another Big Tent can't be done, at least if I maintain carrier superiority? I wonder.

Mike McCreery -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 2:35:34 AM)
I am not sure I have ever seen John do defense...

Flicker -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 3:13:03 AM)
CR = "it stumbled into a blocking unit and then took daily Helen bombings until it was pulverized nearly out of existence". Well, that sounds like fun... for John. I agree that building a defense around (containing) Big Tent will be proven a mistake when your next big operation cuts them all off.

Canoerebel -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 4:26:26 AM)
12/13/43 Big Tent: A productive day, though not without cost and not without a pack of ravening wolves nipping at my heals. The landings at Ambon go off without a hitch, preceded by an effective BB bombardment. The troops will try a deliberate attack tomorrow. If it doesn't make some kind of progress, the next effort will be to employ the air force (last resort, because I prefer to devote the fields to fighters, to the extent possible). So, with the Ambon landings essentially complete, Death Star can proceed to Boela to spend some down time, or it can roam seeking victims. But a might host of enemy subs is on its heels. Today, those subs picked off an empty AK and a DMS. But Death Star strike aircraft sortied and wiped out transport TF nearing Babo (2 PB, three xAK) but no indication it had troops aboard. The snap invasions of Babar and Saumlaki go extraordinarily well, with unprepared fragments landing without disruption, fatigue or disablement. Both bases are empty and will fall tomorrow unless John cobbles together countermeasures. The PBY Liberators hit Kendari port, damaging an ACM and taking care of supply. No sign of enemy naval activity around the Torres Strait. John's up to something, I'm nearly positive. But I don't have a good feel for what or where. [image]local://upfiles/8143/04A6288C86364FCD924448F48474A010.jpg[/image]

jwolf -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 3:15:33 PM)
It seems very foolish to me for the Japanese to bring in still more reinforcements to Australia. The only conclusion I draw from this is that John really thinks he can undo your "Big Tent" operation and regain both air and sea control of that whole area. But this isn't the Sumatra operation from 10 months ago, and the relative force balance is much worse for Japan now. Any operation he conducts has to proceed near perfectly or else he is on the knife edge of disaster.

Canoerebel -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 4:15:02 PM)
I agree, jwolf. John probably looks at situation as an opportunity more than as a threat. He is working on his next line of defense, but he's leaving a lot of troops forward and bringing in more. If he was able to achieve carrier superiority somehow, while at the same time controlling my LOCs to Oz or Pearl, he'd have a fighting chance to turn this into some kind of Sumatra '43. If he doesn't succeed, the troops he is positioning (or leaving in place) forward will be more isolated or more irrelevant when the next campaign takes place deeper into his heartland. But the issue isn't decided yet, so John, with his aggressive style, is working to achieve an aggressive solution. On that note, I think he must've deployed a heckuva lot of subs near the Torres Strait on the expectation my ships would exit via that route. That was a good plan on his part. He may have moved on to another plan, perhaps having grown impatient for the exit to take place. I think I'm going to send Death Star to port and then use many of her destroyers in ASW roles until the Dance of the Submarine Plum Fairy episode resolves.

jwolf -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 4:32:00 PM)
The Torres Strait works both ways -- shallow water there so if he keeps subs active in the strait they can be pounded by ASW. And by this time I think (hope?) Allied ASW is highly effective and deadly.

Canoerebel -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 4:44:43 PM)
The ships loss screen lists 40 IJN subs sunk in the war - sixteen of them just since November 1. I have good ASW defense in the Big Tent AOO (I think), but the Peanut Gallery gave me a big assist. You guys encouraged me to shift some CVE TBFs to ASW patrol. That seemed to really increase ASW effectiveness. [image]local://upfiles/8143/DFEB2CDE11A1461C9DF363C205A84645.jpg[/image]

paullus99 -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 6:35:09 PM)
Every sub you sink is another tooth pulled....good luck.

Canoerebel -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 7:20:11 PM)
12/14/43 Big Tent: A very good day - even the one disappointing thing offered an unexpected hint of promise. The day began with undefended Babar auto-flipping to the little Allied garrison. This was most fortuitous, because the next event was John landing a detachment of 90th Regiment via fast transport. Had those troops arrived first, my handful of guys wouldn't have been able to dislodge them. As it was, his troops were messed up by landing at what turned out to be a hostile beach, so my guys deliberate attacked (ordered to take the base) and pretty much wiped out the Japanese. But John's effort to reinforce here, combined with his ongoing shipments in to Darwin and his efforts to defend Dabo, contrast sharply to his neglect of his garrison at Ambon. It's as if he has mentally written off Ambon but has focused his attention on the Timor/Darwin area. If so, I had better expect a sharp reaction. My little garrison can't withstand any decent attack, so I'll have to commit my carriers if I wish to preserve this lodgment. Saumlaki fell to deliberate attack later (it didn't auto-flip) and is held by a decent garrison now. John's position at Darwin is threatened. He'll probably commit ships and perhaps KB to address this situation. Peril plus opportunity here. At Ambon, the Allied deliberate attack comes off at a disappointing 1:2 (hey, my guys have 80% prep and are well rested, so why did AV drop from 450 to 125???) The attack doesn't drop forts, but losses are light and suggest a weakness among the defenders: Japan takes 3x losses. More importantly, the sync bug version of this attack came off at 1:1 and dropped forts to 3. I'll rest my guys a day or two and then shock attack. A CV TF is shown up near Makassar - I'm nearly certain it's fraudulent (NavSearch didn't announce "sighted enemy carriers"). But I'll watch this. Allied air ASW reported three hits on enemy subs south of Ceram. That's a good day's work, if accurate. [image]local://upfiles/8143/6CE0B1EDE3A5414D9286509007CAFD70.jpg[/image]

BBfanboy -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 8:09:06 PM)
Talk about serendipity at Babar! If John complains he has a right to! [:D] quote: Canoerebel: Saumlaki fell to deliberate attack later (it didn't auto-flip) and is held by a decent garrison now. Only one enemy base will auto-flip per turn, in my experience. I also have the impression that vacant island bases are more likely to auto-flip to the Japanese when they have forces nearby than they are to flip to me when I have forces nearby. I have had strong forces for months in Malaya close to Langkawi and Phuket (which have not Japanese troops, ships or aircraft) and those places will not flip. I even moved regiment sized units through the jungle to the coast to get one hex away from these islands and no flip occurred. Ditto for some islands in the Central Philippines off southern Luzon.

jwolf -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 8:09:26 PM)
How long to build up airfields so you can have fighter cover in the Babar-Saumlaki-Taberfane-Dobo area?

Mike McCreery -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 8:46:17 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: BBfanboy Talk about serendipity at Babar! If John complains he has a right to! [:D] quote: Canoerebel: Saumlaki fell to deliberate attack later (it didn't auto-flip) and is held by a decent garrison now. Only one enemy base will auto-flip per turn, in my experience. I also have the impression that vacant island bases are more likely to auto-flip to the Japanese when they have forces nearby than they are to flip to me when I have forces nearby. I have had strong forces for months in Malaya close to Langkawi and Phuket (which have not Japanese troops, ships or aircraft) and those places will not flip. I even moved regiment sized units through the jungle to the coast to get one hex away from these islands and no flip occurred. Ditto for some islands in the Central Philippines off southern Luzon. Might it have to do with air control or another factor as well? BBfanboy is right about auto-flip. You get 1 per turn if you are lucky.

BBfanboy -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 8:56:04 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Wargmr quote: ORIGINAL: BBfanboy Talk about serendipity at Babar! If John complains he has a right to! [:D] quote: Canoerebel: Saumlaki fell to deliberate attack later (it didn't auto-flip) and is held by a decent garrison now. Only one enemy base will auto-flip per turn, in my experience. I also have the impression that vacant island bases are more likely to auto-flip to the Japanese when they have forces nearby than they are to flip to me when I have forces nearby. I have had strong forces for months in Malaya close to Langkawi and Phuket (which have not Japanese troops, ships or aircraft) and those places will not flip. I even moved regiment sized units through the jungle to the coast to get one hex away from these islands and no flip occurred. Ditto for some islands in the Central Philippines off southern Luzon. Might it have to do with air control or another factor as well? BBfanboy is right about auto-flip. You get 1 per turn if you are lucky. I have complete control of the air in Malaya and the Philippines - Japanese air has been wiped out except Formosa and the Home Islands(an AI game, obviously!). A few shattered squadrons remain in Indo-China where they manage to repair an aircraft or two before they are shot down or damaged again.

Lokasenna -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 8:56:53 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Wargmr quote: ORIGINAL: BBfanboy Talk about serendipity at Babar! If John complains he has a right to! [:D] quote: Canoerebel: Saumlaki fell to deliberate attack later (it didn't auto-flip) and is held by a decent garrison now. Only one enemy base will auto-flip per turn, in my experience. I also have the impression that vacant island bases are more likely to auto-flip to the Japanese when they have forces nearby than they are to flip to me when I have forces nearby. I have had strong forces for months in Malaya close to Langkawi and Phuket (which have not Japanese troops, ships or aircraft) and those places will not flip. I even moved regiment sized units through the jungle to the coast to get one hex away from these islands and no flip occurred. Ditto for some islands in the Central Philippines off southern Luzon. Might it have to do with air control or another factor as well? BBfanboy is right about auto-flip. You get 1 per turn if you are lucky. Whether or not your opponent has strong enough forces in the area also matters.

BBfanboy -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 9:02:48 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Lokasenna quote: ORIGINAL: Wargmr quote: ORIGINAL: BBfanboy Talk about serendipity at Babar! If John complains he has a right to! [:D] quote: Canoerebel: Saumlaki fell to deliberate attack later (it didn't auto-flip) and is held by a decent garrison now. Only one enemy base will auto-flip per turn, in my experience. I also have the impression that vacant island bases are more likely to auto-flip to the Japanese when they have forces nearby than they are to flip to me when I have forces nearby. I have had strong forces for months in Malaya close to Langkawi and Phuket (which have not Japanese troops, ships or aircraft) and those places will not flip. I even moved regiment sized units through the jungle to the coast to get one hex away from these islands and no flip occurred. Ditto for some islands in the Central Philippines off southern Luzon. Might it have to do with air control or another factor as well? BBfanboy is right about auto-flip. You get 1 per turn if you are lucky. Whether or not your opponent has strong enough forces in the area also matters. In my case there are no enemy units within 10+ hexes. I opened the IJ side to check. A couple of dot islands in the Gilberts/Marshalls did autoflip to the allied side but a few others like Bikini have been obstinately Japanese. Must really like rice balls ...

Canoerebel -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/27/2016 10:54:21 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: jwolf How long to build up airfields so you can have fighter cover in the Babar-Saumlaki-Taberfane-Dobo area? Quite some time. All these fields are level 0, and I have no engineers or base forces available to serve them. I won't divert any from the main bases taken, because I need those fields at maximum operational capacity. I have many engineers and bases force (and other units) prepping for these very bases while at Normanton. They are part of the Third Ring operation. Thus, I now am even more anxious to head to Normanton and pick up those units. But first thing's first. I'm going to try to secure control of the Babar area by deploying carriers and combat ships and sending in the marines. I only have the two whipped, unhappy units almost destroyed at Namlea, but they'll at least give the appearance of solidity. And Japan is just going to have trouble cobbling together viable counterinvasions, I think. I have solid infantry units prepping for both bases at Normanton, so I could eventually turn the defense over to them. But all of this is going to be a dance that draws out longer than I'd like. I may airlift in a cadre base force and gets some patrols up and running from Saumlauki, which has a decent amount of supply.

Canoerebel -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/28/2016 12:00:07 AM)
I mulled this over during a seven-mile hike this afternoon. I decided to try to preserve the lodgments at Babar and Saumlauki. The carriers are returning to that vicinity immediately. Two marine units will load aboard APA/AKA at Boela and move on the bases. This may take a few days. I think the threat to Darwin is provoking John. Let's see what happens.

Canoerebel -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/28/2016 1:55:12 AM)
Next turn took a lot of thought before deciding on a course of action. Then it involved a great deal of clicks as units were shifted around to aid in the pending Banda Sea operation. [image]local://upfiles/8143/5777E60BCC9A436A86CC39E31D2333C6.jpg[/image]

ny59giants -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/28/2016 2:36:49 AM)
Bathurst Island is a dot base 1 NE of Darwin. Can you hit Darwin with DS before you retire to Normanton? Then, come back and land some troops, constr eng, and BFs to semi-isolate Darwin's influence on your western flank.

Canoerebel -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/28/2016 5:19:03 PM)
12/15/43 Big Tent: Barring arrival of the KB to mix up the deck and throw uncertainty into the situation, I think the good guys will win the race to stabilize Babar and Saumlaki. John has positioned a lot of his subs there, but didn't try to send it troops today. Death Star took position NE of Timor and will move closer tomorrow. Combat ships and ASW will fan out to provide protection. The two amphib TFs carrying the marine reinforcements departed Boela and could reach Saumlaki tomorrow and Babar the day after. Av support is at Saumlauki now. PBYs report lots of shipping at Darwin. Recon numbers suggest John may be evacuating rather than reinforcing Oz. If things go well tomorrow, I might send Death Star after these ships. Shock attack at Ambon tomorrow. It appears that the defense raw AV has dropped from 130 to about 85 over the past two days. If so, the Allied attack ought to at least drop forts. Patrols give a "send main body" after sighting enemy combat ships down at Tabituea (south of Tarawa). I've been watching shipping down there for several days, wondering if John is up to something offensive or if he's simply evacuating forward outposts. [image]local://upfiles/8143/6B21718D2EEC47739F2C97DB7A4A8B50.jpg[/image]

jwolf -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/28/2016 5:23:18 PM)
What is the calendar flip you mentioned? What happens in January 1944 in game terms? [&:]

Mike McCreery -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/28/2016 5:41:58 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: jwolf What is the calendar flip you mentioned? What happens in January 1944 in game terms? [&:] Allied carriers gain a better chance of not fragmenting when using larger groups.

Lokasenna -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/28/2016 5:50:06 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Wargmr quote: ORIGINAL: jwolf What is the calendar flip you mentioned? What happens in January 1944 in game terms? [&:] Allied carriers gain a better chance of not fragmenting when using larger groups. I mean.... I guess. After initially running multiple TFs, I've always run mine in 4+ CVs per TF and never had major issues. The only "issue" I've had is strike craft breaking off with minimal escort to attack disparate targets - which isn't a strike fragmentation issue. I think maybe he meant 1944 as a symbol - even though it's only a few days apart, for those that think in "chunks" rather than a smooth continuum for time January 1, 1944, has a different "feel" to it than December 13, 1943.

Andav -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/28/2016 6:12:49 PM)
I am pretty sure they have a house rule prohibiting strategic bombing until 1944. Wa

dave sindel -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/28/2016 6:16:40 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Lokasenna quote: ORIGINAL: Wargmr quote: ORIGINAL: jwolf What is the calendar flip you mentioned? What happens in January 1944 in game terms? [&:] Allied carriers gain a better chance of not fragmenting when using larger groups. I mean.... I guess. After initially running multiple TFs, I've always run mine in 4+ CVs per TF and never had major issues. The only "issue" I've had is strike craft breaking off with minimal escort to attack disparate targets - which isn't a strike fragmentation issue. I think maybe he meant 1944 as a symbol - even though it's only a few days apart, for those that think in "chunks" rather than a smooth continuum for time January 1, 1944, has a different "feel" to it than December 13, 1943. I seem to recall they might have a HR regarding strategic bombing that goes away January 1st ? Is that recollection correct ?

Mike McCreery -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/28/2016 6:22:37 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Lokasenna quote: ORIGINAL: Wargmr quote: ORIGINAL: jwolf What is the calendar flip you mentioned? What happens in January 1944 in game terms? [&:] Allied carriers gain a better chance of not fragmenting when using larger groups. I mean.... I guess. After initially running multiple TFs, I've always run mine in 4+ CVs per TF and never had major issues. The only "issue" I've had is strike craft breaking off with minimal escort to attack disparate targets - which isn't a strike fragmentation issue. I think maybe he meant 1944 as a symbol - even though it's only a few days apart, for those that think in "chunks" rather than a smooth continuum for time January 1, 1944, has a different "feel" to it than December 13, 1943. The fragmenting is vaugely defined and might not be an issue although many people treat it as a very important rule. I agree with other people that he was likely referring to the HR regarding bombing now that it has been mentioned again.

Canoerebel -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (10/28/2016 6:28:00 PM)
Yes, we have a house rule prohibiting strategic bombing until 1944. That was a very bad house rule to agree to, by the way. It kind of gives Japan carte blanche to ignore defense of its strategic bases in '42 and '43. And that's exactly what happened in this game, when the Allies invaded Sumatra in November '42. John didn't have to worry about Palembang and didn't have to post fighters there. I'd never agree to that house rule again, though I might be open to a more narrowly defined one that attempted to deal with the possibilities of excessive strategic bombing (by either side) early in the game. I'm not saying one is necessary, just that it's something I'd consider if an opponent mentioned it.

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