Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side

Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (Full Version)

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BlitzimX -> Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (5/27/2020 9:04:50 AM)
Greetings everyone! Time for the big game, the big time, the big everything. After a few years against the AI, i'm digging my teeth into the PBEM and hopefully won't get completly obliterated after a week or two. Playing against the AI can give quite bad habbits so, we'll see how it goes. Rules are fairly standards : Scenario : DaBigBabes 28 Extended, no Stack limit FOW ON Advanced weather ON PDU ON Historical First turn OFF Allied damage control ON Surprise ON Realistic R&D ON Reliable USN torps OFF No unit withdrawals OFF Reinforcements Historical Turn cicle 1 day No below 10K 4E naval bombing Have to pay the PP points to cross border with a restricted unit No big movements on December 7th appart from forces already at sea, so no evacuation of PH or Manilla.

BlitzimX -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) (5/27/2020 6:43:58 PM)
December 7th/8th Grouping both days together as given the rules we had, nothing much happened order wise on the 7th. The opening day of the war turned out quite okay for the Allies: Only one DD sunk at PH, and a CM which may sink on the following days due to fires. The BBs are not that damaged and most should be back in the fight in less than a year for the most damaged. [image]https://i.imgur.com/Htw9Voj.png[/image] One Netherland sub obliterated and the first casualty of the war quote: Submarine attack near Kota Bharu at 52,74 Japanese Ships DD Asashio CL Jintsu DD Oshio DD Hibiki DD Akatsuki DD Arashio Allied Ships SS KXI, hits 7, and is sunk SS KXI launches 2 torpedoes at DD Asashio DD Hibiki fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Akatsuki attacking submerged sub .... DD Arashio attacking submerged sub .... SS KXI forced to surface! DD Arashio firing on surfaced sub .... DD Hibiki firing on surfaced sub .... DD Akatsuki firing on surfaced sub .... DD Arashio firing on surfaced sub .... DD Hibiki firing on surfaced sub .... DD Akatsuki firing on surfaced sub .... DD Hibiki firing on surfaced sub .... DD Akatsuki firing on surfaced sub .... Sub slips beneath the waves And the two british DDs fleeing HK ran straight into the Japanese invasion force, and didn't survive the day. quote: Day Time Surface Combat, near San Fernando at 78,70, Range 20,000 Yards Japanese Ships DD Yamagumo DD Tachikaze, Shell hits 2, on fire APD Shimakaze APD Nadakaze TB Chidori TB Manazuru TB Hatsukari TB Tomozuru DMS W-13, Shell hits 2 DMS W-14 PB Aso Maru #3, Shell hits 2 PB Kiso Maru PB Nanpo Maru AV Sanuki Maru xAK Sydney Maru #2 xAKL Kumakawa Maru, Shell hits 3 xAKL Hakuyo Maru xAKL Hanakawa Maru CM Tsubame Allied Ships DD Scout, Shell hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Thanet, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage Japanese ground losses: 48 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Manila was heavily bombed, but most subs will be back in the fight in one week at most. [image]https://i.imgur.com/2VhHAA4.png[/image] And with that only 16 planes lost total , all the rest only damaged. All and all, not a bad start. Now as for the Japanese opening moves, it seems that they're planning a pretty aggressive push on the first day, with the invasion of Borneo already on its way, plus the fall of Julo, sign that the southern escape road may already be cut off. It also looks like the Mini KB has been split, since we spoted 2 different TFs (both sent planes on the opening turn). [image]https://i.imgur.com/u8fg5YY.png[/image] I guess i'll try to drip forces bit by bit in all directions. Hopefully the weakest ships will attract the fire and be sacrificed for the greater good. For the rest of the turn i'd say it's business as usual for the Allies. Preparing convoys, gathering troops to be sent in the different islands, mostly Noumea and Christmas for now. I may consider Adak in a close future as well, it's a pretty good forward base. Still don't know if i'll hold Burma or not, for now just gathering forces near the border and see how it goes from there. As long as the KB is nearby, nothing moves from PH.

BBfanboy -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) (5/27/2020 10:32:13 PM)
Oglala will not survive those fires with that much system damage. Scuttle her to reduce 10% VPs for the enemy. Don't count your repaired Philippine subs yet - he will bomb some more and his fighters will be able to hold off your CAP some of the time. But if he is concentrating on that, you can arm your Cats with torpedoes and go hunting for Amphib TFs. Hold their range short of the known carrier locations though. He might also try a second strike at PH because of the lack of success there. I am greatly surprised that none of your CAs and only two of your CLs were damaged. The undamaged ones are a real threat to him.

BlitzimX -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (5/28/2020 9:45:15 AM)
December 9th Around PH the KB is moving West; a good thing i followed my instinct and pulled the Lexington back south , which i had previously ordered to go get the fighters from Wake. If i had carried on, she'd have found herself right in the path of the KB. In the PI, things already heat up quite a bit; a few more transports and cargo sunk on their way out. A sneaky sub mined the straight out Manilla, and of course all my minesweepers are already away. That costed us only a wounded sub. CL Boise made a nice quick raid over the landing troops at Jolo, but did absolutly nothing to the 2 other groups it intercepted. I think that's because of the fact she had ONE gun with only ONE ammo left, when all the other 3 main guns were almost full. I really wished there was a way to bypass this limitation.. quote: Night Time Surface Combat, near Jolo at 74,90, Range 11,000 Yards Japanese Ships DD Yamagumo DD Tachikaze, Shell hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage APD Shimakaze APD Nadakaze TB Chidori TB Manazuru TB Hatsukari TB Tomozuru DMS W-13 DMS W-14, Shell hits 15, and is sunk PB Aso Maru #3 PB Kiso Maru, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage PB Nanpo Maru AV Sanuki Maru, Shell hits 2 xAK Sydney Maru #2 xAKL Kumakawa Maru xAKL Hakuyo Maru xAKL Hanakawa Maru CM Tsubame Allied Ships CL Boise The trap is closing down with a Force moving south to catch the fleeing ships. Not all will survive, but i consider sending part of Force Z north in the Makassar Strait , depending on where the Mini KB decides to go next. [image]https://i.imgur.com/P4wbEZ2.png[/image] In the North, the main invasion has been spoted. PT boats are waiting for their glorious sacrifice in an attempt to get some ships down with them. [image]https://i.imgur.com/vDFPjxG.png[/image] A second raid on Manilla didn't really push back our repairs by much, despite the amount of damage. quote: Morning Air attack on Manila , at 79,77 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 8 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 11 B5N2 Kate x 27 Allied aircraft P-40E Warhawk x 37 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed B5N2 Kate: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak Allied aircraft losses P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed Allied Ships xAKL Palawan, Bomb hits 1, on fire SS Stingray, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage SS Seal, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage SS Seadragon, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage SS Sailfish, Bomb hits 1 A bombing raid on Babeldaob failed due to bad weather. quote: Morning Air attack on Babeldaob , at 90,97 Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 5 minutes Japanese aircraft A5M4 Claude x 3 Allied aircraft B-17D Fortress x 4 No Japanese losses No Allied losses -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Babeldaob , at 90,97 Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 4 minutes Japanese aircraft A5M4 Claude x 1 Allied aircraft B-17D Fortress x 5 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses B-17D Fortress: 1 damaged Aircraft Attacking: 5 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 4000 feet * Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb Further raids are cancelled and Bombers are returned to Naval search duty, while the PBYs are set for short distance bombings of landing crafts. This will stay like that until their evacuation. Near Singapore, the Japanese BBs are lurking near Mersin. Sign of an ivasion? Not sure, since most signal interceptions point at Kota Bharu. The small STF i sent to intercept the Kuching landings unfortunatly failed one hex short, and are now fully detected in the open. With the BBs so close, i'll just make a night run and sail down to Java. In Java , heavy mining operations are in progress. That's not much, but i'm mining every small passages from the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean, plus part of the Java Straight and the Makasar straight. If there is a small chance of catching some fish, why not taking it. Further south, operations to evacuate Rabaul's Lark Force is under way, they should start loading next turn. In AU, i'm still debating whether to send the rest of 30th division to die un Port Moresby, or ship them to Noumea. Given how aggressive my oponent seems to be, Japan may be at my doorstep in a few weeks, and i may just pull back the force from PM all together. A small force of CL and DD will be detached to patrol around Suva and Pago Pago to deter sneaky invasions. In the US, some F and DB are sent to East coast to be shiped to India. Subs and support ships are sent to Adak, while ENG and ART are loaded for the same destination. I'm waiting for the PPs to free up and INF division to send up there for protection. Saratoga starts her journey to PH. A group of support ships and a TK set sail for Christmas island to prepare ground for the incoming troops. I'll build it as a major fuel hub. Nothing else major in China or India, just troops moving around. Also quick question : I'm trying to replace the 12 P38 in EC by 12 P26. I have replacements/upgrades allowed, i got 13 P26 in pool, but the airframe don't want to change, is it because they're fully restricted? I've also set no unit at all to receive upgrade, i suppose it's better than doing stockpiling for individual item?

BBfanboy -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (5/28/2020 6:19:52 PM)
Assuming you have lots of supply at EC USA and you set the unit to upgrade to P-26s, the change should happen but it is not necessarily instant. Sometimes it takes a turn or two before the change of aircraft happens. Transit time from the pools to the location maybe. You are correct to have automatic replacements off, so that you can select which units you want to receive the limited pools of devices. This is much easier than going through and turning off each unit during the first turn.

BlitzimX -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (5/29/2020 11:45:21 AM)
December 10th More shipping sunk, mostly isolated units fleeing the PI. Near PH, the KB hasn't move far for this turn, maybe he was expecting a sortie from PH to intercept, or catching my CVs coming back to port. However, my Enterprise CV TF bumped into a sub, and even if no CV have actualy been spoted, the KB is shown as moving southwest toward Johnston, maybe hoping to cut the road short. I just order Full East to the Entreprise, and the Lexington will continue due South. In the SOPAC area, Tarawa and Nauru have fallen, and the invasion force to Kavieng has been spoted. My STF in the area is however too far to intercept it, i may try and get the Rabaul one. Speaking of Rabaul, the transport TF has arrived and even if it's not big enough, will embark part the Lark Force. I think i'll send it to Noumea to start building up. In the PI, i think i made one of the first newby mistake. I sent most of my ships fleeing south, and the Japs have positioned their fleets in perfect spot to intercept each and every boat. [image]https://i.imgur.com/0oqbPMe.png[/image] I think i'm going to pull back the ships still in the Sulu sea in various ports and hope for better times to slip them passed the net. Given some of his CVLs are heading toward the Makasar straight, i'm even hesitant to bring out TF Z to intercept and cover the retreat. We'll see how it goes, but i expect a bloody week in this area. I was also hoping to evacuate the 5th BG and Del Monte AAF BF from Mindanao, under cover of the P40Es, but given the pounding i'm getting in Cagayan, it will be a miracle if even one ship manages to slip through. I've created multiple TFs in port to try and spread the bombing runs and hopefully have my main transports be safe. In the North, my PT boats had 3 encounters, but unfortunatly no shot fired or transport sunk. The TFs are too well guarded. In Malaya, the BB TF spoted previously was indeed covering a Mersing Landing. 5 Units spoted so far. I decide to accelerate the evacuation of Singapore and start loading as much as the Indian III corps as i can, starting with the Air HQs (not enough PP to buy out the Australian one). They'll be evacuated to India. In the US, loading has started for troops aiming for different Islands : For Chirstmas I. we have one Marine Rgt, A const RGt, a Pion Bn, a Cst AA rgt and the 11th MAG. For Pago Pago, one Marine Def Bn which will be followed by other ENG units. I'm still debating where to send the second Maring Rgt, probably Noumea. The Marine Rgt on Christmas will be replaced by an INF Rgt once i got the PPs. 3rd day and i'm already overwelmed by everything. The pace is clearly faster than the AI for sure.

BlitzimX -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (5/30/2020 8:05:27 PM)
December 11th Things are starting to heat up on both sides. Pretty interesting turn. After her original run against Transports on the 9th, retreating CL Boise has been caught up by a STF and unfortunatly sunk, dealing few damages to her oponents. The escorting DDs managed to leave relatively unscrathed. quote: Night Time Surface Combat, near Donggala at 70,96, Range 8,000 Yards Allied aircraft no flights Allied aircraft losses SOC-1 Seagull: 3 destroyed Japanese Ships CA Haguro, Shell hits 3 CA Nachi DD Kuroshio, Shell hits 1 DD Hayashio Allied Ships CL Boise, Shell hits 27, and is sunk DD John D. Ford DD Pillsbury, Shell hits 1 The PT boats defending the PI have all died for no damage inflicted. quote: Night Time Surface Combat, near Aparri at 82,73, Range 12,000 Yards Japanese Ships CL Natori DD Satsuki DD Minazuki DD Fumizuki DD Harukaze DD Hatakaze Allied Ships PT-31, Shell hits 1, and is sunk PT-32, Shell hits 3, and is sunk PT-33, Shell hits 1, and is sunk PT-34, Shell hits 1, and is sunk PT-35, Shell hits 1, and is sunk PT-41, Shell hits 1, and is sunk PT Q-111, Shell hits 3, and is sunk PT Q-112, Shell hits 1, and is sunk Near Singapore, really nice shots from our TBs which scored hits against Haruna and Atago. Atago is reported as sunk in the intel, but no way to confirm that. quote: Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 51,82 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 3,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 9 minutes Allied aircraft Vildebeest III x 11 Allied aircraft losses Vildebeest III: 1 damaged Japanese Ships BB Haruna, Torpedo hits 1 CA Atago, Torpedo hits 2 Aircraft Attacking: 11 x Vildebeest III launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Mk XII Torpedo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 51,82 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid spotted at 14 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 9 minutes Allied aircraft Vildebeest III x 12 Allied aircraft losses Vildebeest III: 2 damaged Vildebeest III: 1 destroyed by flak Japanese Ships BB Haruna, Torpedo hits 1 LSD Shinshu Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage BB Kongo Aircraft Attacking: 12 x Vildebeest III launching torpedoes at 200 feet Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Mk XII Torpedo A limited stike on our side on Bangkok, just propaganda meterial. quote: Morning Air attack on Bangkok , at 56,62 Weather in hex: Light rain Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 5 minutes Allied aircraft Blenheim I x 3 Blenheim IV x 12 Buffalo I x 15 No Allied losses Heavy Industry hits 4 Aircraft Attacking: 12 x Blenheim IV bombing from 12000 feet City Attack: 4 x 250 lb GP Bomb 3 x Blenheim I bombing from 12000 feet City Attack: 4 x 250 lb GP Bomb Other than this, no major combat to report. As planned, quite the slaughterhouse in ships leaving the PI. Near Hawaii, the KB finally seems to be leaving the scene, all TFs reported heading plain West. I'll get my CVs back to PH from the East to be sure. [image]https://i.imgur.com/zdgRVMt.png[/image] Main point of focus for the next day or two will be Makasar Straight, where 3 TFs are rushing in in pursue of ships, among which a small CVL TF. [image]https://i.imgur.com/mwYPvVv.png[/image] I've prepositioned Force Z south of Bandjermasin, ready to pounce in and try get some kills. However i don't really know how to approach this, even less with the CVs lurking a bit further west. All Floats planes on the TF are on 100 search, 2 of the 5 set to night patrol. Should i just set a destination in the straight, within green movement, or should i set a patrol zone with one point in the straight, and the other one further south (i suppose all on Mission speed?)? How do i calculate the safe reach for a night interception? I'm aware it's a risky move, but it can be quite a blow if pulled out successfuly. They'll have a bit of air cover from Samarinda as a distraction. On TF is spoted heading for Ambon or Kendai, but unfortunatly i don't have anything to counter them. Near the Solomon, CA Lousiville and CL Adelaide are realy to pounce on the invading force eventualy coming to Rabaul. They'll be joined by CA Cambera,CL Perth and one DD if time allows it. Lark Force is soon loaded in Rabaul and will leave the next day. Near Singapore, Mersing has been captured. The first convoy of troops is loaded in Singapore, and will attempt a dash through the strait of Malacca to India. In China, nothing out of the ordinary. [image]https://i.imgur.com/wrBdMST.png[/image] Also point to note, my P38 squadron still hasn't been demoted to P26s. [image]https://i.imgur.com/yhLMNin.png[/image]

BBfanboy -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (5/31/2020 12:02:11 AM)
You could expect that nearest enemy TF to move at least 4 hexes during the night phase. Set your Force Z to a patrol zone extending from where you think the enemy will end up and back to where you are now. Set react to 4 and have your FPs search at night at 5000 feet, range 4. Do not set any linger time in the patrol zone. Mission speed or Full Speed is appropriate for this mission. If the Japanese have been coming at full speed they will be short on fuel and should not be able to pursue for long, but you must be prepared to take Force Z out of the DEI once it has been detected. Darwin is a trap. Go to Perth, then Capetown or Colombo. You need 25 airplanes to upgrade your fighter unit.

witpqs -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (5/31/2020 1:15:11 AM)
Good luck guys! Nice hit on Haruna.

Q-Ball -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (5/31/2020 3:41:54 PM)
Well written AAR so far! What is your plan for Palembang? Reinforce, or just leave it? If you are evacuating troops from Singers, you could drop some at Palembang. You can also bring in a couple Indian Brigades that are available at-start (though they have low exp). Use Dutch transports and flying boats to fly units to Palembang, starting with a couple nearby that are in useless spots anyway (The Riouw garrison unit?). March all the small Dutch combat units on Sumatra to Palembang. An extra base force from Singapore will also help. Drop supplies at Oosthaven, and use that port to get units to/from Palembang and India. The more AV you can get there, the better, even crappy units. Delaying Japanese take of Palembang is the most important thing you can do to disrupt his timetable, IMO.....

BlitzimX -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (5/31/2020 4:02:47 PM)
I'm already moving all units in Sumatra able to move in Palembang, at least those able to strat move. The others are walking, but i do agree i didn't think about flying them down. In fact i don't yet have the reflex to "save" bits of units by flying them out from Java down to AUZ. Even the path to take for than isn"t really clear and i don't see the benefits to end up with dozens of barely whole units. I'll see to drop a malaysian unit or two down here, we'll see if my first convoy manages to slip through or if thousands of men will drown trying.

Q-Ball -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (5/31/2020 7:15:29 PM)
Given time, you can move alot of Dutch units around via air. There are two units at Pamakisan that are in a totally useless spot; fly them to Soerbaya, rail to Batavia, then fly to Palembang....much more useful. Also, run extra supply to Sumatra while you can....just drop it at Oosthaven. It's worth diverting a few from the Rangoon run (you should be running as much supply as possible to Rangoon, then pulling up the trail to China, while you still can)

BlitzimX -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (5/31/2020 8:05:03 PM)
I'll have a look at it; it's basicaly a way to move restricted units inside the borders, when you are unable to use sea transports.

BBfanboy -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (5/31/2020 10:31:09 PM)
If you do decide to use the Oosthaven port, mine the hex. The IJN loves to send subs and DDs/CLs through that strait.

CaptBeefheart -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/1/2020 3:28:14 AM)
On the P-38 squadron, the greyed-out "No upgrade possible" might provide a clue if you do a mouseover on it. If it's not too late, sending some of those Manila ships east between Iwo Jima and the Marianas is usually worthwhile. In most scenarios the IJ has scarce naval search assets [EDIT: in the beginning] and there may be a large gap in that area. Good luck! Cheers, CB

BlitzimX -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/1/2020 7:25:54 AM)
December 12th I can say that this day has been a disaster for the allies. None of the STF i set up came into any contact. The one i set to patrol north Borneo (only 4 hexes) even managed to completly ignore 2 TFs heading for the bases, and ends up in plain sight, while its origin base is invaded. In a sense i think it's for the better, as the 2 enemy TFs appear to be sweeping TFs in preparation for the landing crafts, which are a bit north. None of the planes set to Naval attack scored any hit, the sub war is so far pathetic with 6 shots an not even a dud, some of my planes of been decimated, and a Japanese unit already occupies Johore Baru, cuting down retreat to singapore and catching 8 units in strat mode in the hex. Transports carrying the 5th BG out of Mindanao has been obliterated, and the survivors end up stranded on Oroquitea, as i didn't set the TF to Do not Unload. And to top this, one of my small TFs set to intercept invasions near Celebes decides it can't move more than 1 Hex per day, for no apparent reason (engine damage doesn't seem to be the reason). 8 ships sunk this turn, and 8 bases captured. In 2 words , not good. Situation in the PI: [image]https://i.imgur.com/mkVvDRr.png[/image] Situation in Malaya and Borneo. [image]https://i.imgur.com/Coel1F3.png[/image] In the light of this, i take the following actions: - The PI are definetly cut off, with the bombers at Jolo and the invading troops progressing fast. All sea worthy ships, including those in repair, will attempt a dash out via the North and East, where bombers aren't yet a problem. - Evacuation of the P40Es,PBY and B17 (or what remains of them) to Java set to full gear. - In Singapore, the transport with 224 RAF Group leaves port. The next to leave, or try to, will be the one carrying the 223rd group. All Other troops will stay and fight, since i won't have time to extract them. So far the convoy with part of the 3rd Corp has sliped through unharmed, rushing North full speed. - Following advices from previous posts, i'll try to fly some units to Palembang, either dutch units or British ones. Other than this, the rest is BAU. A full force of support and troops is heading North for Adak, CI renforcements are on the way and China is quite calm for now. Troops are moving around in Burma and India.

BBfanboy -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/1/2020 6:18:34 PM)
The TF that did not move more than 1 hex was probably balking at enemy aircraft in range. You need to set the TF routing to Direct/Absolute to overcome this.

BlitzimX -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/1/2020 6:59:26 PM)
I think it's more to the fact they refueled at sea in port, i just saw it with an other transport TF, the movements went down when i refueled them. I didn't know there was something like that. Below the problematic child: [image]https://i.imgur.com/iaNQ8GC.png[/image]

BlitzimX -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/3/2020 7:06:59 AM)
December 13th Nothing much to report this turn. The sub war remains as pathetic for the allies than before, and we had our first naval engagement. My Fleet retreating from Borneo after its failed interception ran into a japanese TF on its way home. Night Time Surface Combat, near Singkawang at 56,87, Range 9,000 Yards quote: Japanese Ships CA Mogami, Shell hits 3 CA Mikuma, Shell hits 1 CA Suzuya, Shell hits 2 CA Kumano DD Maikaze DD Nowaki, Shell hits 1 DD Arashi DD Hagikaze Allied Ships CL Danae CL Dragon CL Durban CL Mauritius, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Vendetta DD Jupiter, Shell hits 4 No ship were sunk and all made it back to base. The Jupiter will be back in action in 4 days, but the Mauritius is still fighting fires at 64%. We'll see how this goes. In the south near Java, the TF heading for Ambon may have been a decoy or something, since it just dashed north instead of moving south. As aresult my intercepting fleet stoped in the middle of the sea and got hamered by the mini KB, which i swear didn't though could move that fast in a turn. quote: Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Taliaboe at 73,103 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 7 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 6 B5N2 Kate x 12 D3A1 Val x 15 No Japanese losses Allied Ships CL Tromp, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires DD John D. Edwards DD Whipple Aircraft Attacking: 11 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000' Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb 12 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 10000 feet Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb 4 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000' Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb Heavy smoke from fires obscuring CL Tromp With so much damage (99% fire), the Tromp has been scutled while the two DDs get back to Java, leaving me pants down in this area. So far we haven't done much damage to its shipping. Guam and Tabiteuea are invaded, and Japanese force progress everywhere in the PI and Malaya. Near Hawaii, the KB seems to take its sweet time to leave, as despite being indicated to be moving west, hasn't move much since last turn. Not really sure what are the intentions here, maybe a second PH strike? I also learnt it's not a good idea to set up a base to gather all the supplies and ask to upgrade the fort; Palembang didn't upgrade because there isn't enough supply in all of sumarta. Point taken.

BlitzimX -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/3/2020 4:52:50 PM)
I do have a question though related to Replacements and Device management, as i want to be sure i don't do anything stupid. This is currently my Industry screen, as you see everything is stockpiled but the few items set as "N". [image]https://i.imgur.com/r8wVRqu.png[/image] From what i understood, this is the best way to controle what goes where, and not find yourself with good devices given to a BF in the middle of nowhere. So far only a handfull of units are set to replacement ON, mostly in the US, India and China. Is it the correct strategy? If i want to upgrade or replenish something, i remove the stockpile and set the units to Replace, right? Also do we have a topic or a general guide as to which items are the most valuable and where they should go?

BBfanboy -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/3/2020 7:25:01 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: BlitzimX I do have a question though related to Replacements and Device management, as i want to be sure i don't do anything stupid. This is currently my Industry screen, as you see everything is stockpiled but the few items set as "N". [image]https://i.imgur.com/r8wVRqu.png[/image] From what i understood, this is the best way to controle what goes where, and not find yourself with good devices given to a BF in the middle of nowhere. So far only a handfull of units are set to replacement ON, mostly in the US, India and China. Is it the correct strategy? If i want to upgrade or replenish something, i remove the stockpile and set the units to Replace, right? Also do we have a topic or a general guide as to which items are the most valuable and where they should go? Yes, when you have enough new devices to fill the TOE of a unit, set the unit to receive replacements and turn off the stockpile for that device. What is important and where depends very much on what is happening in your game and what your long-term strategy is. For example, if the Japanese are bombing your troops in Burma and India heavily but ignoring China, put your AA devices and units in the Burma-India theater. Just be aware that some devices are shared among many nations. Using the Industry/Troops screen that you posted, turn off all the nationalities and then turn them on one at a time. Notice how many nations draw on the British pools (same device pool shows up for all of those nations). It takes a long time to get enough 3.7" AA guns to equip all the units that need them. Same for Stuart 1 tanks. Other considerations for allocation of devices: - is the unit unrestricted and thus deployable to hot spots? - does the unit have reasonable experience to make it battle-worthy - does it have a good leader - does the device have a long production run or has it stopped production and all you have left is in the pool. Some units like Dutch armour and infantry simply run out of replacement devices and should be relegated to garrison duty.

Yaab -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/4/2020 5:31:59 AM)
I never stockpile Chinese Rifle Squads, ever. For the Chinese, stockpile their field arty/mortars/AA weapons/MMG squads, and select a few corps you want to fill them with. Chinese Rifle Squads and Chinese Cavalry Squads are produced in adeqaute numbers - no need to stockpile those.

BBfanboy -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/4/2020 12:05:37 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Yaab I never stockpile Chinese Rifle Squads, ever. For the Chinese, stockpile their field arty/mortars/AA weapons/MMG squads, and select a few corps you want to fill them with. Chinese Rifle Squads and Chinese Cavalry Squads are produced in adeqaute numbers - no need to stockpile those. In a discussion about unit experience levels, Alfred made clear that constantly-arriving low-experience troops will lower the overall unit experience level and lower morale. Furthermore, the new arrivals are often disabled on arrival so that it takes weeks to get a few squads active (abstracted training period I suppose). In reply, some players suggested stockpiling the combat troops but leaving support squads turned on so that, as they fill out, they can improve the recovery time of the disabled squads. I have been trying that for the last month and it seems to work much better than drawing cannon fodder. The other benefit is that you don't have to use precious supply feeding disabled troops.

BlitzimX -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/4/2020 4:59:19 PM)
December 14th Bloodiest day for the allies so far. 17 Ships lost, mostly ships fleeing from the PI and 2 scuttled on the previous day. This brings the total to 45 losses for the Allies, and 7 for the Japs. However i'm too worried for now, as those are mostly ships who were traped and couldn't have a safe escape route. Hong Kong and Guam have fallen as well. The P40E and B17D have been evacuated from the PI to Java successfully with rather limited, and are consolidating , waiting for their transfer to AUS. In the meantime, the bombers will play a bit with the japanese ground troops, trying to harass them a bit. Near Singapore, my Wildebeest and Swordfishes have been decimated in an attack, as i didn't think that removing the HQs would also remove the torpedoes, meaning they lost most of their firepower. I will fly them out to Java where they can find new more efficent weaponry. An other good news is that part of the IIIrd India corps fleeing from Singapore have managed to slip through the death corridor which is the Strait of Malacca, and are on their way to Calcutta, along with the 2 RAF HQs. Unfortunatly, all the other units, including the AUS brigades, are stuck in Malaya to fight to the end, either because already in Singapore, or because intercepted in Mersing. I was also surprised to see Palembang not upgrading any fort, despite the ENG unit i flew there. It's just now that i realize that this ENG only had enginee in the name, and no actual ENG device. I'm not sure if this is related though, because Batavia has also no ENG device in its unit, yet is building forts. So mystery here.. Other than this, like the previous day, nothing really to report in the rest of the world. Base building, units moving around. The KB finally moved away from PH, or at least isn't in any patrol zone anymore. The invasion forces for Celebes and New Guinea are on their way, and i don't have much to stop them with the Mini KB covering their approach from the Celebes sea. I don't want to risk Force Z at this point. In Burma, i'm still torn between actualy commiting to a defense, or keeping the bare minimum and planning for India instead. I think this last solution is better, as holding and organizing the retreat for Burma is a double edged sword, and i don't feel competent enough to pull it off.

Q-Ball -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/4/2020 7:00:52 PM)
You have a little time in Burma, because it takes a bit for the Japanese to march there from Thailand. I would leave your forces there and see how committed he is to Burma and how aggressive he is. You have to be wary, however, of a landing at Chittagong or similar which would cut-off all the forces in Burma, or force them to retreat into China. In the meantime, you should be getting as much supply as possible into Rangoon, then pulling that up into China....you have a month or two to do that unimpeded, and the Chinese need every supply crate they can get On the engineers, only Engineer SQUADS build things. Look for those in units. Some combat units have them as well. On the base screen you can also see how many engineers are working in the hex. You will need to get some units to Palembang if you want to dig; you won't be able to dig far, but the longer he leaves you alone, the more dangerous you get there. Try flying the RN Base force from Kuching, it's exposed there anyway. Keep flying small Dutch units there....the more the better.

BlitzimX -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/4/2020 7:39:05 PM)
As it stands, ENG squads are a very rare sight in the Dutch roster, only found in static base units. I'll extract i think a few weaker ENG units from Singapore, plus the one from Kuching (already under attack so i don't know if units will be picked up by air).

BlitzimX -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/6/2020 5:57:14 PM)
December 15th I think we're finally reaching the end of the PI blood bath, with the last few transports meeting their demise against the Mini KB surface force. Great day for the allies as well, as we finally scored our first sub hit of the campaign. Not a big victory, but at this stage everything counts. The ship hasn't been sunk though. quote: Sub attack near Talaud-eilanden at 79,96 Japanese Ships AO Shinkoku Maru, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Tanikaze Allied Ships SS O16 My last convoy leaving Singapore has been under bomber attack 3 times; fortunatly, it was under air cover from Malaya and the Bufalos made a good meal of the bombers. However the very last torp hit the Danae; damages aren't too serious, but she'll be detached from the main force with a DD to not slow down the rest. quote: Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Langsa at 46,72 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid spotted at 72 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 28 minutes Japanese aircraft G3M2 Nell x 6 Allied aircraft Buffalo I x 13 Japanese aircraft losses G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed by flak -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Langsa at 46,72 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid spotted at 34 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 13 minutes Japanese aircraft G3M2 Nell x 12 Allied aircraft Buffalo I x 7 Japanese aircraft losses G3M2 Nell: 7 destroyed, 1 damaged -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Langsa at 46,72 Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid detected at 45 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 17 minutes Japanese aircraft G3M2 Nell x 6 Allied aircraft Buffalo I x 3 Japanese aircraft losses G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed No Allied losses Allied Ships CL Danae, Torpedo hits 1 I don't think we'll have a sweeping or escorted bombers next turn, as the fighters are busy defending Malaya. Near Kuantan, currently under ground attack, the AA took a very good chunk of the attacking bombers. quote: Morning Air attack on Kuantan , at 51,79 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 4 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-21-IIa Sally x 28 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-21-IIa Sally: 21 damaged -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Kuantan , at 51,79 Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid spotted at 6 NM, estimated altitude 4,200 feet. Estimated time to target is 1 minutes Japanese aircraft Ki-21-IIa Sally x 3 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-21-IIa Sally: 2 damaged Ki-21-IIa Sally: 1 destroyed by flak Invasion of Celebes has officialy started with the invasion of Manado. Unfortunatly i can't really do much to intercept the transports, given the area is covered by the KB lurking in the Celebes Sea. All the invaded areas are switched to Defend instead of Bombard to save some supplies and hold a bit longer, giving time to transport some units out (like the ENG out of Kuching). Near India, i'm reinforcing Port Blair with the 45th Indian Brigade, and will ship there a Base force as soon as one is available. In China, enemy units are gathering in the plains for what looks to be a push to the North/Northwest toward Sian and the mountains. Defense in the Changsha area are still building up (where the industry is also rebuilding). I'm trying to not disperse my troops too much to create choke points and hold back the advance. Soon the air bridge from Ledo will be established. [image]https://i.imgur.com/G6omEjJ.png[/image] For now the biggest concentration of troops is in Sinyang, with some sen moving North. Given he hasn't attacked Chengshow yet and is starting by Nanyang, with troops heading there, i'd bet on the fact he'll try to split the country before going haywire. Though it would mean a very stark division of forces. I won't divert troops to Nanyang, some are moving to Ankang to cover the Eastern part of the capital area. Others are gathered around Sian in a Defense in depth formation. In Fiji, a small TF has been assembled (2CL+1DD) and will patrol the norther waters, trying to intercept some sneaky invasions. Near PH, the Enterprise is finally back home. I'll be waiting for her two sisters to be home, and we'll work around some squadrons before sortying and go poke some Japs (once the KB has been spoted). I'm also preparing a forward base at Canton, at least to operate some planes from here to spot the advance. Christmas island remains the local fortress. In the US, more units are sent to Eastern USA waiting to be bought up and sent to India. SO far we have some Wildcats and DBs, along with 2 ENG units, a full INF Division and some AA. In Anchorage, all the elements of the 28th BG have been gathered, but i'm still waiting for the last element in 13 days; it will then be shipped to Dutch Harbor as a secondary base. Subs also start operating from Adak to overflow the Japanese northern waters (almost 10 subs so far). A Rather strong STF (3CLs+4 DD, soon reinforced by a CA once Adak is built up) has been sent to guard the Aleutians. The downside is none of those have radars for now.

BlitzimX -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/9/2020 7:42:45 PM)
December 16th Nothing of major importance to report so far. A few ships sunks on our side, and we managed to sink 2 more ships thanks to our subs. Ocean island has been conquered, and Manado in Celebes is the next on the list. In the Celebes area, we may have an opening for an attack on what seems to be the invasion force to Balikpapan. Out of bomber range and with the CV TF on its way East, it may be a good oportunity to try and snatch a few kills with what force remains in Java. [image]https://i.imgur.com/3ciCoHc.png[/image] On the other hand, i am a bit hesitant. The CV TF spoted has only 3 ships, which casts doubt on the quality of information, and even if some CVEs are definetly spoted north of Borneo, i'm pretty sure we have some CVs elsewhere. My Surface search in the area is pretty tight so i should have noticed them. Plus my STF can't reach Balikpapan in a single turn, so the risk is real to be caught pants down. Good news from Singapore: all my convoys managed to get out unharmed. The very last shipment leaving port will be mostly military ships, leaving barely a small surface fleet to fend off invasions. Singapore has already been completly cut off from the rest of the country, with the fall of Kluong. The first fleeing ships from Java have reached Perth, and after unloading will mostly all be redirected to Cape Town. They'll fuel the AUS industry with more than 100K fuel in total. All the ARDs in Java have also started their journey to Perth; one will stay there, and the other 3 will continue down to Sydney and Auckland. In the Solomon, I suspect the invasion force for Rabaul is approaching. Of course, lucky as we are, the fleet guarding the area has retreated to refuel, leaving it completly open. I've also started emptying Darwin, leaving only a handfull of troops to defend. The Base troops will be redeployed in Noumea where they'll be much more usefull. In China, one of our army has been obliterated, but it was seating in the open, with a 3to1 inferiority so..no surprise here. Nanyang is also under attack, but so far we slightly outnumber the japs 14k against 11k. Not many tanks, moral is good so we should hold a few days. In the PI, a new raid on Manilla keeps on damaging all the ships in the dockyard or under repair. I fear most of them will sink here, as i don't have any opening to get them out. In the US nothing special. A SS has been spoted near SF, but most of my convoys are already out so i'm not really worried. A bunch of 8 DDs from PH will soon reach LA and be used as escorts for the second wave of convoys. I do have a question for you : what do you usualy do for the planes on the CVs onces they get back to PH? Do you swap some of them out, resize the groups, or keep the original force until later? Do we also have a guide or something on the different DD classes and what they're good for? Not the type of DDs (like DE..), but the classes. I know some are outdated and relegated to escort, while others are more suited for Surface combat.

BBfanboy -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/9/2020 9:32:06 PM)
The SBDs are set to resize automatically in 1943 - the VS groups withdraw and the VB groups expand to 36 to make up the difference. I do like to increase my VT groups to 16, 18 or 20 planes, but I am playing against the AI and do not need fighters as much as PBEM players. In PBEM, most players try to increase their VF groups. I have learned not to max out the carrier aircraft capacity as the repair crews never seem to keep them all in service so if you lose the carrier you lose more planes than you needed to. Also, you cannot launch all the aircraft in a single strike IME. Staying with the number of aircraft their normal four squadrons have seems to allow for all to launch. If you are disbanding your carriers in port for repairs, by all means send the aircraft to a nearby airfield to repair, train and contribute to air defence. Just be sure the airfield capacity can handle them and repair them. Replacement aircraft are more easily drawn with the squadron on the carrier than if the squadron is at a small airfield or base with less than 20K supply. If your carriers are not disbanding, keep the aircraft aboard in case the enemy comes knocking and you have to vamoose.

Q-Ball -> RE: Going down in flames - BlitzimX(A) vs. Hoplosternum (J) - Allied Side (6/9/2020 10:51:24 PM)
On the DDs, there are nuances among the USN Classes, but they are broadly in 3 groups: 4-stackers (Clemsons), pre-Fletcher DDs (all the 30's classes are pretty much the same), and Fletchers. Clemsons are best converted almost all to APDs, IMO. Others may think differently, but Allies don't get a ton of Fast Transport assets. DMS are useful. Don't convert to any AVDs. The 30's DDs can be used more or less interchangeably; they are good multi-role DDs, not amazing in any role Fletchers are more capable, and should always be front-line DDs (Surface and CV escort) The Dutch DDs can carry troops, so save the leftovers for Fast Transport TFs

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