RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder

RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (Full Version)

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Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (8/28/2014 6:38:40 PM)
I didn't exactly say I was going to do it now. [:D] It'll be a few months before I can do any real moves. I'd like to reform the commandos and get the Marine paras in play first. Even then, I need transports for the job, which I don't have. I do have the one Dutch transport squadron intact at Charter Towers right now. Once the stragglers from the Lae area are at a runway, I'll be pulling them back to PM. I've pretty much gutted most of interior Oz for support -- even that little island on the south coast. Ed-

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (8/28/2014 8:03:08 PM)
29 January 1942 More naval stuff this turn. The an IJN force centered in Ise and Hyuga caught an RN CL force fleeing Calicut to Bombay, pretty much finishing them. Another cruiser force, including Tone is arrogantly sitting in Darwin Harbor. Two docked subs, including a Dutch one are going out. According to intel, the IJA 1st Division is prepping for Darwin As of 1/1/42, they were still at Fuson (Puson?). I have an Australian division hoofing it from Cloncurry to Darwin, which will take awhile. I can't afford to buy it out for shipping, and I wouldn't anyway, with the naval situation the way it is. Ed-

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (8/29/2014 8:38:27 PM)
30 January 1942. After spanking the Intel Monkey some more, I'm not sure what to think. The IJA 1st Div is training for Darwin and the 57th Div is training for Brisbane. The 57th was last located on Jan 13th a few hexes from Vladivostok in Manchu-land. I would imagine such moves are a ways in the future yet, if at all. There's been a big fight lately at Wenchow. He has nowhere near the strength to take it, and I've liquidated the existing generals of the infantry there. It's way out there by itself, so I don't know how long I can keep that up. Likewise, I don't think he has enough bodies for the time being to take Clark and Manila. It will only get worse at Bataan. Tjilatjap fell. Java's days are numbered. I've been withdrawing Dutch air for later use. I think they usually re-appear at Aden. There's a landing at Taberfane now. If he get's a good foothold there, it will make things rough for Darwin. Fortunately the B-17 bomb group from the Philippines now lives there, and once they're up to strength, they'll have a routine daily job to perform. Ed-

witpqs -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (8/30/2014 1:14:03 AM)
One thing that many IJ players commonly do is to assign units to plan for various Allied bases as a form of disinformation. They often use restricted units, or even better temporarily restricted units that they plan to never pay the PP to buy out (but the Allied player can't know that). What your opponent is doing here, I have no idea of course.

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (8/30/2014 3:45:15 AM)
Yeah, I've read of such things. I don't think the Japanese player ever gets enough Intel for me to return the favor. Ed-

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (8/30/2014 2:26:59 PM)
01 February 1942, A new month with new planes getting produced. Only 11 months until I get Corsairs. A slow, evolving few turns. Amchitka finally gets bombarded for a whopping two port and two supply hits. They arrived during the day, while I had the floatplanes set to night. S-28 hit an xAK at Adak, and I'm sending the battlewagons there next, since there seems to be a cargo TF there. I'm sending an AKE to Anchorage, so I'll probably keep the BBs there. I'll probably add a couple cruisers from my stash at Pearl to round things off. His cruiser force is back at Darwin, sitting there. SB2Us just deployed there from Brisbane, so it should get interesting. I can't get the A-24s there directly from Townsville, so they're staging at Cairns. The Hudsons and Wirraways there got ate up by LRCAP, so I'm pulling them. Another VP from Soerbaja is up and running, so I have complete air search coverage there with the two. The Aussie little PBY squadron deployed to Perth. I usually keep at least 2 extra pilots in my squadrons to mitigate fatigue. I'm also deploying 11th AF assets towards Alaska. Once the squadron of LB-30s gets up to snuff, they'll go to Kodiak. P-40s are hopscotching to Prince Rupert. Another signal that the 57th is still training for Brisbane. If he comes, I doubt he'll land right in the harbor, but at some small port and walk in. USAAF has a very heavy presence there right now, so if he comes it will probably get wild. The base unit from Canton Is is unloading at Noumea. Canton is just a little too forward for my taste, and in the past, usually gets taken. My PBYs at Christmas Is are keeping watch that ways. I'm toying with the idea of deploying the Hawaiian command units to S/SW Pac, but I think I have all I can support right now. Three BBs at LA are almost done upgrading, and I'll deploy them to Suva. I need to ship more fuel there. I have a pretty good conveyor belt going right now. Ed-

JocMeister -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (8/30/2014 2:32:00 PM)
Don´t count too much on the USAAF at this point. Zeroes can sweep above both P40s and P39s and allied pilot quality leaves a bit to desire at this stage! [:D] I think it took Tom a whooping two days of sweeping to send the USAAF back with the tail firmly tucked in behind their legs. Lost someting like 50 planes for 5 or so Zeroes. [:(]

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (8/30/2014 4:29:43 PM)
Yeah... I know. If you get enough there at times, sometimes you can bury them with pure numbers. I withdrew the Philippine refugees to steal their planes. 50+ exp beats 20+ exp. I've been reading Rising Sun Falling Skies. This book's laid everything out in a fairly easy to follow fashion. It's actually given me some ideas for the next time I start a game. Ed-

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (8/30/2014 6:11:58 PM)
02 February 1942 Live on the cheap... die on the cheap. quote: Day Time Surface Combat, near Great Sitkin Island at 163,52, Range 18,000 Yards Japanese Ships PB Busho Maru, Shell hits 5, and is sunk xAK Taito Maru, Shell hits 10, and is sunk xAK Nanman Maru, Shell hits 10, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk xAK Kenan Maru, Shell hits 6, and is sunk xAK Tomitu Maru, Shell hits 16, and is sunk xAK Nagisan Maru, Shell hits 11, and is sunk xAK Shinfuku Maru, Shell hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk Allied Ships BB Colorado BB Warspite, Shell hits 2 DD Anderson DD Walke DD Reid DD Fox Lots of those hits were 15" and 16" guns. I'll happily abort a bombardment for that. The torp hits generally happened after they got beat up, so I guess their maneuverability suffered. They're going to Seattle, due to Warspite's torp damage. I'm going to base them at Dutch Harbor after that, since the AKE will be there. It's nice having plenty of battleships to throw around. I think I have about 10 in-theatre right now, the one at Pearl needing the most work. I'll probably deal them out in pairs to relatively safe air-free bases, just as a prevention to surface raider action. I don't want to tax any one base too hard fuel-wise. It's amazing how much they'll drink. Not a lot of movement other than that. I committed my Wind-Indicators too soon at Darwin and they got hit. Looks like they mostly replenished their losses. I have USMC SBDs on the way, and I'll rustle up some fighters when I can. I don't know how long he can LRCAP over there. I had gambled that they were ready for a rest. 51st PG/25th PS arrived at Cape Town. They consist of 4 P-38Es. I'll try to flip them to something when they get to Karachi. I wanted to get the perma-based stuff in the states replaced with P-26s and such, but I can't seem to do it. It would be nice if I could rustle up some Es on the cheap like that. It's about a sleazy as dealing with Tojos in March. Some search plane messages: quote: CA Atago is reported HIT DD Oyashio is reported HIT Don't believe everything you read... I've been working 'em over here for awhile. Occasionally they hit. quote: Morning Air attack on 15th Tank Regiment, at 84,34 , near Ningsia Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid spotted at 5 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 1 minutes Allied aircraft SB-III x 6 No Allied losses Japanese ground losses: Vehicles lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled) Aircraft Attacking: 6 x SB-III bombing from 5000 feet * Ground Attack: 3 x 100 kg GP Bomb Lots of ships started upgrading -- mostly transports and destroyers. 3 cruisers are also on the blocks. Ed-

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (8/30/2014 9:49:00 PM)
03 February 1942 Forgot to mention. Colombo fell last turn after one real attack. I guess he's slow getting air groups there, since I got away with this the next turn: quote: Morning Air attack on Colombo , at 29,48 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid spotted at 11 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 3 minutes Allied aircraft Hudson IIIa x 17 No Allied losses Airbase hits 8 Airbase supply hits 8 Runway hits 33 Aircraft Attacking: 5 x Hudson IIIa bombing from 6000 feet Airfield Attack: 4 x 250 lb GP Bomb 12 x Hudson IIIa bombing from 6000 feet Airfield Attack: 4 x 250 lb GP Bomb --------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Colombo , at 29,48 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid spotted at 14 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 4 minutes Allied aircraft Blenheim IV x 16 No Allied losses Port hits 8 Port fuel hits 1 It looks like things are taking a downward spiral at Darwin. Betties and a lot of Naval Air (Yes.. I know Betties are naval air too, but you know what I mean) hit the airfield there. quote: Afternoon Air attack on Darwin , at 76,124 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid detected at 33 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 11 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 14 G4M1 Betty x 16 Allied aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses G4M1 Betty: 2 damaged Allied aircraft losses B-17D Fortress: 10 damaged PBY-4 Catalina: 2 damaged SB2U-3 Vindicator: 2 damaged Airbase hits 6 Runway hits 23 Aircraft Attacking: 16 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 11000 feet Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb --------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on Darwin , at 76,124 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid detected at 116 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 43 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 44 B5N2 Kate x 84 D3A1 Val x 83 Allied aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 2 damaged D3A1 Val: 12 damaged Allied aircraft losses B-17D Fortress: 65 damaged B-17D Fortress: 1 destroyed on ground PBY-4 Catalina: 1 damaged PBY-4 Catalina: 1 destroyed on ground SB2U-3 Vindicator: 6 damaged SB2U-3 Vindicator: 1 destroyed on ground Wirraway: 1 damaged Wirraway: 1 destroyed on ground Airbase hits 15 Airbase supply hits 11 Runway hits 30 It was led off by a couple sweeps. I'm pulling my air out as fast as possible. I see four task forces within two hexes of the base. Two appear to be KB divisions. A surface force might be another. I'm pretty sure an invasion convoy will be in the mix. I'll try to form a secondary line at Katherine. I don't know if he'd do a long cross country route out of there south. One would think that would be difficult logistics-wise. Interesting times... Ed-

Bill Durrant -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (8/31/2014 12:02:29 AM)
I doubt he'll go south. Darwin is a good Japanese place to take as you will need it later to launch north into the DEI. It is easy to supply from DEI but to take back is difficult and difficult to supply from Oz. You can bottle him up south of Darwin but beware of rushing everything up there as another Oz invasion further south means you won't get troops back down the road network quick enough and will be cut off.

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (8/31/2014 12:59:57 AM)
A good point. My one division on the way will camp at Katherine. I'll try to get the base forces there, too. I guess this will save me from worrying about Torres Strait. I'll have to get all my subs out to re-assign their home base. Ed-

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (8/31/2014 2:13:46 PM)
04 February 1942, Atago bombards Darwin by herself. Returning the favor, KIX puts a torpedo into her. Looking at the map, after all these years, I've only now noticed Normanton, at the bottom of the gulf. It doesn't have the raw port capacity that Darwin has, but the airfield can be built up to at least level 4. It would mostly be a sub base anyway. Best of all, it has a real road connecting it to Charter Towers. I've shipped all my damaged planes to Katherine, and all the LCUs will follow suit by rail. I've also set up Kat to draw max supplies from Darwin to hold me until I've rearranged everybody. The troops will have to hoof it there from Kat. This should make a fine sub base out of reach of escorted raids. Wenchow falls in China. I didn't think he had the APs to do it. That was my last stronghold in the east. Tarakan hasn't fallen yet. He doesn't have enough for the job, but I don't have enough to counterattack either. One of my AMCs from Cape Town got torpedoed at Addu. Fortunately, the squadron of PBYs got unloaded first. This will help me keep tabs in the area. USAAF fighter squadrons are making their way to Karachi from Cape Town. Ed-

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (8/31/2014 4:23:25 PM)
05 February 1942 They're here. Landings started at Darwin. Coastal artillery is hitting back a bit. One DD is heavily damaged. Some of the transports are hit -- 9" guns included. quote: nvasion Support action off Darwin (76,124) - Coastal Guns Fire Back! Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force 18 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships BB Mutsu, Shell hits 1 xAK Tatumiya Maru, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage TB Hiyodori xAK Shinryu Maru, Shell hits 1 xAK Awajisan Maru xAP Keihuku Maru DD Shikinami DD Ayanami Japanese ground losses: Vehicles lost 5 (5 destroyed, 0 disabled) Allied ground losses: 29 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled --------------------------------------------- Invasion Support action off Darwin (76,124) - Coastal Guns Fire Back! Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force 32 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships BB Nagato, Shell hits 1 DD Asagao, Shell hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Uranami DD Fubuki xAK Yamasimo Maru DD Yugiri xAK Manila Maru xAK Kinugasa Maru, Shell hits 3 xAK Melbourne Maru, on fire AK Sasako Maru Allied ground losses: 197 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled --------------------------------------------- Pre-Invasion action off Darwin (76,124) - Coastal Guns Fire Back! 68 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships BB Nagato, Shell hits 1 DD Yugiri DD Asagiri, Shell hits 1, on fire, heavy damage DD Uranami, Shell hits 1, on fire DD Fubuki xAK Melbourne Maru, Shell hits 1, on fire DD Asagao xAK Yamasimo Maru, Shell hits 2, on fire Japanese ground losses: 27 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 188 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 13 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled) --------------------------------------------- Pre-Invasion action off Darwin (76,124) - Coastal Guns Fire Back! 58 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships BB Mutsu, Shell hits 2 DD Mikazuki DD Ayanami xAK Tatumiya Maru, Shell hits 3, on fire xAP Haruna Maru, Shell hits 1 TB Hiyodori xAP Keihuku Maru DD Shikinami Japanese ground losses: 10 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled) Allied ground losses: 270 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 16 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Guns lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled) I could have used a day or two extra at Darwin before this. I was getting every one loaded on the trains, but a few might get caught. Snapper gets a shot off at Nagato, but of course misses. Concurrently, there's landings at Lautem on East Timor. One other item of obitural interest was that Loyang fell. I figured that would be stalemated forever. quote: Ground combat at Loyang (87,43) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 85990 troops, 862 guns, 305 vehicles, Assault Value = 2491 Defending force 66111 troops, 301 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1378 Japanese adjusted assault: 2161 Allied adjusted defense: 340 Japanese assault odds: 6 to 1 (fort level 2) Japanese forces CAPTURE Loyang !!! Combat modifiers Defender: preparation(-), experience(-), supply(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 5716 casualties reported Squads: 15 destroyed, 562 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 48 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 42 disabled Guns lost 51 (4 destroyed, 47 disabled) Allied ground losses: 34129 casualties reported Squads: 621 destroyed, 139 disabled Non Combat: 841 destroyed, 328 disabled Engineers: 86 destroyed, 10 disabled Guns lost 66 (40 destroyed, 26 disabled) Units retreated 23 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 15th Division 36th Division 34th Division 32nd Division 35th Division 110th Division 3rd Ind.Mixed Brigade 10th Tank Regiment 11th Tank Regiment 15th Ind.Medium Field Artillery Regiment 52nd Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion 14th Medium Field Artillery Regiment China Expeditionary Army 12th Army 2nd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 1st Mortar Battalion 51st Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion 4th Mortar Battalion Defending units: 80th Chinese Corps 40th Chinese Corps 69th Chinese Corps 93rd Chinese Corps 38th Chinese Corps 98th Chinese Corps 96th Chinese Corps 9th Chinese Corps 51st Chinese Corps 47th Chinese Corps 15th Chinese Corps 2nd Chinese Cavalry Corps Jingcha War Area 14th Group Army 24th Group Army 4th Chinese Base Force 7th Construction Regiment 39th Group Army 4th Group Army 3rd Construction Regiment 36th Group Army 15th Group Army 10th Chinese Base Force Madras is getting bombed daily. I don't think he's aware of the air I'm putting in Cochin. Ed-

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (8/31/2014 7:58:12 PM)
06 February 1942 Darwin falls. As suspected, it was the IJA 1st division. Intel got that right, at least. Clark also goes down. Survivors fall back to Bataan. East Timor holds against the first attack. With the daily bombing at Madras, I'm moving about 2/3 of the support troops there to Bangalore, along with all the non-seaplane aircraft. Ed-

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (9/1/2014 1:08:27 PM)
07 February 1942 Relatively quiet. Terapo, a few hexes NW of Port Moresby mysteriously flips to the Japanese flag. The three Aussie infantry from the Lae area are in the next hex enroute to this hex. I was intending to airlift them out from there. There's another landing at Tarakan. What he had wasn't enough for the job, and this may push it over. A single unit tries to take Subic Bay, but is repulsed. Ed-

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (9/1/2014 11:17:45 PM)
08 February 1942 Two months in after about 5 weeks of playing. For me, that's a jackrabbit pace. Not a lot this turn. Several hundred Chinese dead by bombing, as usual. A sub got a shot at Queen Elizabeth three hexes from Suva. I'm hoping speed saved her. He launched an assault at Tarakan with his new arrivals, but still couldn't better 1-2 odds. Betties bombing the Darwin fugitives. Hopefully he won't follow all the way to Kat. Warspite and Colorado make it to Seattle. 9 heavy flt damage translates to 45 days in the yard. I'm sending another BB north to help. I want to keep some muscle near Alaska. Ed-

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (9/2/2014 9:39:30 PM)
10 February 1942 Fairly slow on the ground front. My Darwin forces are being chased to Katherine. I have a feeling he wants to grab that base also. Likewise, my Rangoon troops have been perused towards Mandalay. Little does he know I have a Chinese corps waiting there, so this should get interesting. An almost 300 AP unit. Intel Chimp is warning about a future landing. 6/1st/C Division is loaded on AK Hirokawa Maru bound for Wyndham. One of the good long range Dutch subs is enroute there to wait. Subic Bay finally falls, as does Bandjermasin. I finally have enough support to handle the 140-ish aircraft at Townsville. I just need more to forward deploy. A bunch of APs arrived at San Fran, and once they're patched up, they can bring more across. I'll also have four battleships out of the yard to accompany them. An enemy surface TF is prowling off Cochin. Royal Sovereign will sail down and think of an intercept, if it lingers. Ed-

Sangeli -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (9/3/2014 7:07:57 AM)
Defending Darwin is very difficult if not impossible in February 1942. In situations like that I like to array my forces in depth as to avoid getting all my LCUs trashed after one battle. The front line is always moving during the early days. Sometimes its little more than a screen of base units I need for air units there. One thing you could do though is bring those OZ armored regiment detachments which are like 27 AV. Too useless for amphibious missions to waste PP on but they are fast and small so they are very useful in NW OZ. You can bring them up north to the interior OZ bases to aid in a more orderly retreat; their speed makes them an excellent rearguard. Also be sure to build up those bases, especially with supply. Its hard to hunker down against Japan but no Japanese smart Japanese player is going to send more than a few regiments deep in OZ. If you want to make a stand, this is a very good place early on, but only if you have decent supply. China doesn't seem to have much left :(

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (9/3/2014 12:18:20 PM)
At this point, I'd be content just sealing the Torres Strait. Cannonfodder's not above long distance pursuits. In China, he took Hami and is set to run all the way to the end of the road to the north. At worst, he'll get to Kat, but I don't think he'd have the supplies to go further. All my damaged Darwin planes got shipped to Kat, awaiting repairs when the base units arrive. It's not looking good for them right now. I may have to disband the fragments sitting there. Looking ahead, I'm not inclined towards a DEI campaign. It's very early yet, so I can't commit to a long range strategy, but I'm favoring a Nimitz plan, starting with the Marshalls. My goal is to hit the three most important islands simultaneously. I don't know what's typically stationed there, but I'm hoping a regiment each with armor and possibly USMC raiders would do it. I've been sending all my militarized transports to Pearl. (APs and AKs - without the x). By the way, I didn't realize that Queen Elizabeth was over 40,000 tons. (Wiki sez 83,000) I probably shouldn't be using her to ship troops to Noumea. I've got a pretty good strength at Perth right now, so that would be a tough nut to crack. Geraldton has three armored units, one of which has Matildas. While not heavy AP-wise, they probably won't go easy. Things are quiet around Colombo right now. Very little air activity from him at the moment. KB's divisions are MIA now, too. My lame guess is that they may be reforming at Singapore, but that's pure conjecture. Nothing's at Rabaul or east of there. I would like to do a "hit him where he ain't" campaign, but I still have to respect the Netties until I get through an upgrade or two. I haven't looked at Yorktown recently, but I think everyone's rid of their F2As now. I'll have to take stock of my naval air next turn. I've got a few strongholds in China. I have a slight AP advantage at Lang Son, with another strong-ish corps just a few hexes away. Arty and more stuff is also on the way. I'm hoping I can bust that front open. I'd be happy getting to Hanoi. In my AI game, the IJN lost some subs under construction there, so it may be a way to poke him in the eye. In a prior PBEM, I've found that Sir Robin really is not a good idea in China. Lose too may cities and your supplies drop to roughly nil, as bad as it normally is... As mentioned before, A strong Chinese Corp, cheaply assigned to an unrestricted command, is sitting in Mandalay. The previous general is filling a shallow grave somewhere in the jungle, with a reasonably competent one now in charge. The moment he enters, I'm pouncing. I've been getting reinforcements at supply-less Bora Bora, which is inconvenient. Fortunately, I looked ahead had transports on the way there. Off to Noumea with 'em. I had a supply convoy at Tahiti, so it was easy to detach a single xAK to top off Bora. Ed-

Sangeli -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (9/3/2014 9:28:28 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Mundy Cannonfodder's not above long distance pursuits. In China, he took Hami and is set to run all the way to the end of the road to the north. At worst, he'll get to Kat, but I don't think he'd have the supplies to go further. I wouldn't bank on that. Supplies will be more limited but he should be able to get 100 supply a day along the dirt road. Not enough to run an army off of but probably enough to sustain a division and maybe more. quote: ORIGINAL: Mundy All my damaged Darwin planes got shipped to Kat, awaiting repairs when the base units arrive. It's not looking good for them right now. I may have to disband the fragments sitting there. Shame. You had a lot of B-17's there; hard to replace. quote: ORIGINAL: Mundy I've got a pretty good strength at Perth right now, so that would be a tough nut to crack. Geraldton has three armored units, one of which has Matildas. While not heavy AP-wise, they probably won't go easy. Again, be careful of defending Perth. Coast is large enough where Japan will be able to land easily; he may bypass Perth initially altogether. The key to fighting here is keeping the trans-Australian railroad in your hands and there a couple of places where Japan can cut the line and I've seen many an AFB fall into this trap with inadequate protection of the rear bases. quote: ORIGINAL: MundyKB's divisions are MIA now, too. My lame guess is that they may be reforming at Singapore, but that's pure conjecture. Colombo has a BIG port and I'm guessing you left a fair amount of supply there. If that's the case there is no reason why the KB would need to go back to Singapore; it could rearm and take replacements in Ceylon. quote: ORIGINAL: Mundy I've been getting reinforcements at supply-less Bora Bora, which is inconvenient. Fortunately, I looked ahead had transports on the way there. Off to Noumea with 'em. I had a supply convoy at Tahiti, so it was easy to detach a single xAK to top off Bora. The Bora-Bora reinforcements are some of the most annoying reinforcements to deal with. That being said, they do have a use. Those USA infantry and AA battalions are rare and you can't split up regiments to get them either and Bora-Bora gives you one of each. They are ideal for defending small atolls because of their small size. That way you can have infantry, AA, engineers, etc, without going over the limit. It's pretty unfortunate for the Allies that the vast majority of their small infantry units are just commando type units which aren't well suited for static island defense.

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (9/3/2014 10:42:16 PM)
12 February 1942 When it rains, it pours... Royal Sovereign and friends were sent down west of Cochin to try and catch a TF I've seen lurking there. There indeed was a surface force there, which went on to smack Cochin, splattering airplanes all over the place. Unfortunately there were also carriers nearby, putting two torps into the BB and one in a CA. Unless he aggressively pursues, they should make it back. It's hard to fight the urge to DO SOMETHING, but I have to get used to thinking long term -- not continue to play the high risk slot machine. Wasu falls in the north of China. an entire road line gone. I suppose I could say I've taken it up the Wasu, but I'll refrain. He's had troops at Batavia for awhile now, but hasn't started an offensive yet. A big transport TF is at Sydney, unloading a good part of the 5th AF. Three base forces plus a construction unit are included. One base force is off to Cloncurry, to meet with the two Aussie base forces headed there. Once built up enough, I'll start harassing with my B-17s. The bombers stuck at Kat are the Ds that escaped the Philippines. I've got a full group at Noumea of Es, and I'll probably bring them over when support allows. I have plenty of Marauders at Brisbane, along with lots of 40s and 39s. I would like to beef up Moresby, but that's a dangerous route right now. I've got a smaller supply convoy on the way there to test the waters a bit. If it gets through unscathed, I'll consider a big one with troops and support. Another couple shots were taken at Queen Elizabeth off Noumea. I've re-routed her to Koumac and she'll be there instantly to finish the job. the fragment can walk back to Noumea. All that's left is about 6 motorized supports and a radar. There's a landing at Kirakira. He's determined to fill out the Solomons. I figure that's most likely a Mavis base. I think I'll be paying them a visit in the near future. Maryland, Nevada and one other battleship I can't remember are out of the yard at Los Angeles. They're be at San Fran next turn. The plan is to have two escort a people transport TF to Noumea and stay deployed there. Cruisers from Pearl will meet them enroute. I'm going to keep the presence to two for now. I want two in S/SWPAC and another two in Alaska. The rest go to Pearl for a future invasion at some point. quote: Original: Sangeli The Bora-Bora reinforcements are some of the most annoying reinforcements to deal with. That being said, they do have a use. Those USA infantry and AA battalions are rare and you can't split up regiments to get them either and Bora-Bora gives you one of each. They are ideal for defending small atolls because of their small size. That way you can have infantry, AA, engineers, etc, without going over the limit. It's pretty unfortunate for the Allies that the vast majority of their small infantry units are just commando type units which aren't well suited for static island defense I'm just glad i looked ahead and saw them. I've given then enough to eat right now and a transport should be there within a week. I'll probably put them on Pago Pago. I want to develop that base as a backup to a move on Suva. All my guessing with KB: I'm just assuming at some point he'll get them combined again. The longer he plays around with the divisions like he has, the better chance I may get a 4 v 2 bounce on one of them. I'll gladly sacrifice one to bag a division. I'll feel better when Hornet and Wasp arrive. I do want to offload the 8" guns before getting too brave with them. I think I've moved a USN VP squadron to Geraldton. I'd like some good eyes watching West in case something develops. Intel Primate gave me this news: quote: 1942-02-11 Maizuru 2nd SNLF - is planning for an attack on Baker Island 1942-01-25 Maizuru 2nd SNLF - is located at Kwajalein Island 1942-01-10 9th Division - is located at 111,43 1942-02-03 9th Division - is located at 111,43 1942-02-11 9th Division - is planning for an attack on Auckland 111,43 is like three hexes north of Vladivostok, on the Manchu side of the border. I'm not too concerned about Baker Island apart from his spies watching my convoys. If he takes it, it may become a waypoint for every surface group going to/from Oz. [sm=00000619.gif] The 9th has to be seriously long term, like I mean months. Maybe I should consider building up my US forces there. The thing is that I don't want to commit too highly to this part of the map. I want the Marshalls, not the Solomons. I'll keep what I have to to protect the routes to Australia, but that's about it. By protect, I mean Pago Pago, Suva, Noumea and Port Moresby -- Probably Luganville, too, if the situation allows. Ed-

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (9/3/2014 11:55:45 PM)
13 February 1942 Intel Ape gave me this nugget: quote: 21st Fld AA Gun Co on an xAK for Colombo Well, at least I know it's not somewhere important... My RN SCTF has not been thoroughly mauled by INJ air off India. I'm not doing squat there for quite some time. I am getting enough land air down there where I can start needling him a bit. He drives my three little units out of Meiktila. I'm just waiting for him to enter Mandalay. My corps arrives at Lang Lon. The attack starts forthwith. I'm not sure it's enough to go over the edge, but I'll test him. I have a cavalry brigade and two arty units on the way, but they're a few weeks out. Other than that not a whole lot right now. Tarakan is in endless bombardment mode, since he's too week to take it. Too bad I can't rig all the oil wells this whole time. He's polishing up Mindanao's far flung bases. Ed-

Sangeli -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (9/4/2014 1:03:20 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Mundy Maryland, Nevada and one other battleship I can't remember are out of the yard at Los Angeles. They're be at San Fran next turn. The plan is to have two escort a people transport TF to Noumea and stay deployed there. Cruisers from Pearl will meet them enroute. I'm going to keep the presence to two for now. I want two in S/SWPAC and another two in Alaska. The rest go to Pearl for a future invasion at some point. I would caution you about deploying BB's in a place like the SoPac. As you said fight the urge to always do something. Noumea is simply too exposed to be a good place to have slow BBs. You saw how well it went in the IO. There is a damn good reason why the American slow BB's saw little work outside of naval bombardment and even that was after the Americans dominated the air. quote: ORIGINAL: Mundy My corps arrives at Lang Lon. The attack starts forthwith. I'm not sure it's enough to go over the edge, but I'll test him. I have a cavalry brigade and two arty units on the way, but they're a few weeks out. I think this might be another case where the urge to do something is clouding your better strategic judgement. I just think the Chinese have better things to do than invading Vietnam while China is collapsing...

Mike McCreery -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (9/4/2014 1:13:58 AM)
I wish there was a "Like" button. Sangeli is right. The urge to do Something is often more dangerous than the KB....

Sangeli -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (9/4/2014 1:29:23 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Wargmr Sangeli is right. The urge to do Something is often more dangerous than the KB.... If you have to do something, use your energy to set up defensive positions in depth. While the Japanese are still advancing it's never a bad idea to prepare defenses behind the front lines. When the Japanese move the lines forward and that base you prepared is now on the front line you'll be happy you had the foresight to do so ahead of time. And seeing how capable your opponent is, it's pretty much a sure thing that front lines will move in every theater. Don't think that just because the amphibious bonus ends that the Japanese will stop moving. I've been burned many a time by hunkering down in good defensive positions in spring 1942 against the Japanese only to see them use brute force to crush me in summer 1942. You can tell yourself its not going to happen, but it is. Learning how to lose battles gracefully is one of the most difficult challenges you face as an AFB. And unless you can start getting good at it, you'll never get to the point where you can start winning them.

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (9/4/2014 12:17:22 PM)
Advice noted... I'll reign it in a bit. Having 6 BBs available for my eventual invasion would be better. I will indulge my baser instincts and keep a pair in Alaska. I have a group of cruisers and DDs enroute to Dutch Harbor now, passing Midway. I'm away right now, but I think I'll have close to eight battleships available within a week. Warspite's a month in the yards, and I have one at Pearl which is 2.5 months away. Likewise, I'm not going to use my carriers, unless it's to support a clearly defined objective. I may patrol just west of the Solomons to curb his cheap expansion that ways, but I want no part of Rabaul right now. You guys have been good as my conscience, so I'll learn to roll with it. I don't really know what his next big move is. I'm still thinking Ceylon was just rounding off the edges as was Darwin. I figure he'll take Broome and all the other whizzy north coast bases, too. Forgot to mention: One of Americal's regiments showed up at Melbourne, along with some engineers. The infantry are off to Townsville (for now) and the engineers to Cloncurry. I'm torn between using Americal in SWPac or SPac. They would be valuable at Moresby or at Noumea/Suva, with the latter easier to transport to. Moresby's been getting swept daily by about 15 Zekes each time. I have a P-40 squadron there that's been training, with a capable leader in charge, plus one Buffalo squadron. I've set the 40s to 80% CAP this turn to see how they do. The Buffs are LRCAPping the incoming small supply convoy. I have a serious overstock of USAAF fighters in Oz right now. I want to get at least 2 base forces to PM in the near future. I may have to get APDs over to Townsville. Usually, I have 200+ air support there by now, but he's been aggressive at going after my convoys. I'm wondering when the CVs are out of the yards at Sydney if I should swap out the VT squadrons on both for two VMFs at Noumea. and LRCAP the convoys from the south at max range, with Moresby's fighters taking over near the port. I'll probably get more ops losses with the Marines. As far as China, I'm not pouring much into Lang Son. Just a further Brigade plus an artillery and anti-tank are enroute. If I can't dislodge him, I'll know that end is secure, at least. The rest that show up at Chungking is going east, once they've built up their strength. I've had issues with a few cities not meeting garrison requirements, so I'm looking for weak/spent units to get sent over there. When it's available, I may move the 32nd Infantry division to New Zealand. I'm rather fond of them, since they're of this area. Their legacy still lives in with the Wisconsin National Guard, though they're a brigade now. Ed-

Sangeli -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (9/4/2014 5:16:56 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Mundy I will indulge my baser instincts and keep a pair in Alaska. I have a group of cruisers and DDs enroute to Dutch Harbor now, passing Midway. I'd say your instincts are sound on this one actually. Alaska is probably the best combat theater for those slow BBs. Bases are limited here making LBA easier to predict/handle, its close to big west coast shipyards in case you take a torp from a sub, and most importantly its a strategic backwater on the edge of the map. The risk of a KB appearance is now and if it happens it will open up a lot of things elsewhere. quote: ORIGINAL: Mundy Likewise, I'm not going to use my carriers, unless it's to support a clearly defined objective. I may patrol just west of the Solomons to curb his cheap expansion that ways, but I want no part of Rabaul right now. As long as you have an eye on the KB deployed elsewhere, this is probably a safe move. There is a good chance that Japan will opt to move forward in the Solomons soon with few if any carrier assets. Should that happen those CVs will come in handy. On the other hand, its probably a safe bet that at some point in the next few months the real KB shows up here. Be mindful of subs. Easy to discount them as a major threat but Japanese doctrine is to go after warships; attacks on CVs are much more common and I've seen many AFBs burned by subs just in transit much less a combat sortie. For now I'd say its a good move. quote: ORIGINAL: Mundy I don't really know what his next big move is. I'm still thinking Ceylon was just rounding off the edges as was Darwin. I figure he'll take Broome and all the other whizzy north coast bases, too. I think India is his next move. That's the best reason to go after Ceylon so early. An invasion of western Australia also sounds like it may be looming. quote: ORIGINAL: Mundy I'm torn between using Americal in SWPac or SPac. They would be valuable at Moresby or at Noumea/Suva, with the latter easier to transport to. I have found Port Moresby to be ahistorically difficult to defend. It's too close to Rabaul for comfort in 1942. Noumea is worth defending but ONLY if you can also establish positions in STRENGTH in a couple of the islands in the New Hebrides to the NE. And by in strength I mean 300+ AV, CD guns, AA, engineers, etc, in each base. A limited effort in the New Hebrides and New Caledonia will spell the death of any LCUs there because there are no positions behind Noumea. But honestly with regards to the Americal regiment I would leave it in OZ to defend against a possible Japanese invasion there; no sense shipping it back east after it just arrived from there. Other units from Hawaii/West Coast can go to Suva. quote: ORIGINAL: Mundy I have a serious overstock of USAAF fighters in Oz right now. I want to get at least 2 base forces to PM in the near future. I may have to get APDs over to Townsville. Usually, I have 200+ air support there by now, but he's been aggressive at going after my convoys. I'm wondering when the CVs are out of the yards at Sydney if I should swap out the VT squadrons on both for two VMFs at Noumea. and LRCAP the convoys from the south at max range, with Moresby's fighters taking over near the port. I'll probably get more ops losses with the Marines. You get a lot of USAAF fighters in OZ around this time - but then in mid March you have to pull them all out. Be sure to have other squadrons in the pipeline to OZ to replace these guys when they have to leave. Honestly at this point if you're having to resort to using LRCAP from CVs just to get reinforcements into place, it's probably not worth the effort or the risk. An extensive APD effort, on the other hand, may be worth it. Fast AVDs are useful compliment to the APDs as they can carry cargo so its usually good to keep them together. Even some fast AVs might come in handy. I believe the special rules for fast transport fleets allow them to drop things off in a single phase regardless of their cargo load although I've never tried. If its true then using them to deliver troops and supply at Port Moresby might be a safe option. quote: ORIGINAL: Mundy As far as China, I'm not pouring much into Lang Son. Just a further Brigade plus an artillery and anti-tank are enroute. If I can't dislodge him, I'll know that end is secure, at least. Well what makes this a special case is that by simply moving to Lang Son you actually make your position there less secure by the automatic reinforcements (up to 4 divisions with 1 division per Chinese unit that crosses). Yes the militia aren't much but neither are Chinese forces (their soft attack values are comparable if not identical). Even worse, those militia may be used to free IJA garrisons for offensive action. If you want to test Japanese defenses find somewhere else that won't result in free divisions for the Japanese...

Mundy -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (9/4/2014 6:06:20 PM)
What helps the BBs in Alaska is the AKE I now have at Dutch Harbor. I have a pretty regular freight train of transports and tankers keeping it topped off. Dutch is probably about half way to a level 1 airfield. I have an obscene number of engineers and engineering vehicles there right now working overtime, and it's still pretty slow. The good side effect is that the port is getting built up nicely. The scattered coast defense unit has been combined there, so there's lots of 155s watching the beach. As much as I want to plan with the carriers, they're out right now for nearly a month yet. Two suffered from the "flank speed empty fuel" incident, and the yard at Sydney can only work one at a time. By the time the first is done, I think yard time for the other will be minimal. I may be looking at an upgrade by that time, so I will take it when it comes. I have little confidence in the .50s lining the galleries. The other was the Nell victim south of Moresby. So in the end, I have one undamaged carrier at Pearl -- Saratoga, I think. I can't check right now. I do most of my cerebral WITP thinking at work. I have an Oz division assembled at the next base above Cochin (Calicut?). I forgot to check them out, but I'm hoping they're hard bitten North Africa veterans. I'm getting a regular flow of planes and base units out of Aden lately, and I'm getting them concentrated at Bangalore. I'm sure that if/when he hits the subcontinent, it will be at some small base, but I can't cover everything. Right now, my main limiter with US troops is my political point pool. I'm sitting around 300 right now. I've been nickel and diming a bit lately, as lots of USAAF fighter squadrons have real losers running them. Likewise, I tweak the Chinese leadership at a hotspot now and then. The next limiter is my xAP count. I have several xAKs which will be converted within the next two weeks at San Fran. Several more have recently returned from recent missions. Maybe I'm weird, but I always fully repair anything before sending it out again. I don't know if that's typical or not. Within the next four months or so Port Hueneme will be breeding Seabees like rabbits, so I'll need the shipping to get them out. I have a few APDs enroute to Pearl and from there to the front. I have at least another four being converted, but they're some days off yet. I tend to favor converting 4-stackers to DEs, but I think I have to go this route this time. I appreciate the advice, guys. I do take it all to heart. If it improves my play even slightly, I'll consider this a victory. With this game, in the end, it doesn't matter to me much who finally wins. It's all about the journey with this one. It doesn't mean I won't try, though... Ed-

HansBolter -> RE: Too much Iron in my Diet - Mundy vs Cannonfodder (9/4/2014 6:42:26 PM)
Multiple BBs may not all be able to rearm in a single turn from a single AKE. I typically deploy them in pairs.

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