IChristie
Posts: 673
Joined: 3/26/2002
From: Ottawa, Canada
Status: offline
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Well now that everybody else is starting their 24 hour vigil waiting for the postman. It seemed like a good time to discuss some of the "lessons learned" from this little campaing.
These are just some random thoughts in no particular order.
First of all, I learned that pursuing the autovictory conditions is not really a good idea. Against a human opponent, I almost certainly would have failed. Joel and Gary first suggested the strategy because they suspected that the AI would not be flexible to respond to a massive invasion below hex row 52. They were right, while the AI did a credible job of keeping L'ville alive, it did not ever get serious about kicking me out of any of the other bases that I occupied. Sure, it bombed the crap out of them, but it never followed up with ground troops. A competent human opponent would have probably disabled and recaptured Koumac within a week and likely PV within a month. Deprived of those two bases, the assault would have failed because I never was able to take L'ville.
Second of all, this may be billed as a Navy game, but I'm sorry to say that I am convinced that aircraft RULE. For instance:
- Usually CV's are treated as the highest value assets on the board. This is true only if there is no suitable airbase in range or prospective targets. Once a chain of airbases is established CV's are redundant.
- In a battle between LBA and a CV force the CV's will lose almost every time (except maybe early in the game against exceptionally weak allied bases).
- After about October 1942, the largest single factor in the game will likely by US LBA. In each of the games I have played (including this one) US LBA was the dominant tactical arm. US Medium and heavy bombers are literally a steamroller that will flatten all before them, particularly once they start to gain experience. It is not unusual for the allied player to mount raids with 200+ bombers by Nov/Dec 1942.
This, then should drive the following strategies:
- Typical Japanese strategy should be to establish a line of bases which are as isolated as possible from large allied air bases. Then defend forward of this line to prevent airbases from being built. Once the US LBA dominance kicks in, the allied player can take just about anything within 6 hexes of an airbase apart piece by piece. The Japanese player has to utilize the range advantage in the IJNAF aircraft by basing aircraft where they are able to hit invasion fleets, but where their bases are safe from escorted bombing attacks. Note that this strategy will start to come apart when P-38's start to arrive.
- Typical Allied strategy will be to hold on to forward airbases. If airbases are lost, establish new ones ASAP to at least provide CAP to the re-invasion that will ultimately be mounted. If a Japanese base is in range use the following prescription:
First, pound any aribases that can attack the invasion fleet into submission, second sink any ships that venture into range, third pound the ground troops for about a week, then invade.
Amateurs talk about firepower - professionals talk about logistics! Boy oh boy is this ever true. UV will make you pay for overextending yourself. Not only do you have to devote more supply resources to feeding the long link, that devotion of resources itself eats up the resources in the pipeline. Also, combat resources become increasingly dedicated to preserving the supply line so that further offensive action becomes impossible. This was brought home very clearly to me in my campaign. Just supporting L'ville basically used up almost all of my available surface combat units and most of my aircraft reserve as well.
Which brings up my last point - it's a long war! In my campaign the naval and air combat power of the Japanese forces was essentially expended by the time the game ended. I would guess that 85% of my ships had 15% or more system damage. Most of the carriers were down to 50% or less complement of a/c (as I kept using them to reinforce the airfields). Most air groups were depleted (especially the bombers). Basically, I expended all my reserves to get the AV condition. In any real campaign this would have been suicide. I think learning to husband resources for a long campaign may be one of the toughest things to learn in playing UV. I won't be surprised to hear of some long campaigns where one side looked like an easy victor right up until the last six months only to have the whole thing come apart in a hurry as the lack of reserves is suddenly exposed by an enemy that planned better for the long term.
Comments? questions? queries? complaints?
_____________________________
Iain Christie
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"If patience is a virtue then persistence is it's part.
It's better to light a candle than stand and curse the dark"
- James Keelaghan
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Outstanding AAR - 
Thanks for the AAR Iain. Makes us Canucks look brilliant! - 
Thanks guys. - 
I don't think Mogami's or anyones AAR will top IC's count. - 
Who's da Man - 
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