Grumble, Grumble, Grumble, Grumble - 12/5/2009 3:55:02 PM
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Canoerebel
Posts: 21100
Joined: 12/14/2002
From: Northwestern Georgia, USA
Status: offline
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9/17/42 to 9/26/42
Subwoes: Japanese subs continue to ravage Allied shipping, which is fortunes of war, but additional instances of ASW taking losses and brittle tankers seems to suggest these are two areas that need tweaking in the game. The Allies lost yet another ASW-assigned DD near Pearl Harbor and yet another ASW-assigned ML near Bombay. I have lost too many ASW ships, especially DDs, that were close to major ports. In these instances, ASW-assigned patrol aircraft and mutliple ASW TFs didn't do a thing. It seems to me that Japanese subs are too easily able to operate near big port/airfield complexes, too easily can strike ASW ships, seldome are attacked, and almost never take damage. Meanwhile, a wolfpack near Tahiti claimed an AO and a TK with single torpedo strikes. My understanding is that tankers were notoriously tough to sink during World War II, but I've lost a bunch and nearly every one went under after a single hit. These two aspects of the game are becoming increasingly irritating to my own brittle psyche.
Airwoes: On the 19th, the Allies launched a massive and devastating air strike on Akyab. Miller squawked that he had "just" rested his fighters. Something like 50 to 80 Oscars were destroyed on the ground. I followed up the next two turns with massive sweeps aimed at Akyab and a massed bomber raid against the airfield. The order of the Allied strikes was as bad as they could possibly be. First came a few small and weak fighter squadrons facing 90 Oscars. Next came a few fighters escorting a few bombers - this occurred over several successive waves of attacks. Then came large numbers of unescorted bobmers. Since these strikes came separately they took high losses and eventually the Oscars retired - they were weary from shooting down so many aircraft and their guns were out of ammo. THEN, and ONLY then, came massed waves of Allied fighters flying sweep missions. Here came 25 P-38Fs....with no fighters left in the sky. Then camed waves of high experience Hurricanes and P-40s - literally scores of them...and no Oscars in the sky. This happened the following turn also. Very frustrating. I even have a US fighter HQ at Calclutta, but that didn't help. Very, very frustrating. I took huge losses -130+ aircraft in A-2-A to just 25 for the Japanese. Fortunes of war, maybe, but the fact that about 80 Allied fighters didn't find a single foe left in the sky doesn't feel right. If this continues I think it's a nerf that needs to be addressed.
Just in Case: I want to have my ducks in a row just in case an opportunity to strike presents itself. The main target is Paramshiro Jima and Onnekotan Shima in the Kurile Islands. Both appear lightly guarded (SigIn just showed 7,313 troops at Paramushiro included 47th Naval Guards). Winter weather descends upon the Kuriles in just over a month, so if I'm going to strike, I need to do so a week or two before November 1. That means it's time to get my forces in place. Accordingly, I just spent 3,000 political points to change HQs and my troops are loading aboard transports at Seattle. These ships will soon embark and move to the Aleutians. I have enough ships to handle:
a) Paramushiro - One Army division, two Marine regiments, one Army regiment, one artillery unit, one Marine CD, one big base force, one Seabee unit.
b) Onnekotan (which I believe is unoccupied) - One Army regiment, one artillery regiment, one Marine CD, two base forces; one Seabee unit.
I will also bring some aircraft and as many supplies as possible. If I succeed in taking these bases, winter weather would prevent a counterattack by ground units until next Spring. Miller will know that and this should pose a grave threat to his psyche for awhile.
If I decide to hit the Kuriles, I also want to strike somewhere else. I still hold Lautem on Timor, although that could change at any moment. However, at Perth I have an Aussie division plus other troops 100% prepped for Latuem. I have transports heading to Perth and I will soon combat load the ground troops and base forces. This force would then head to Lautem. Just before they arrive I would transport by air from Darwin to Lautem a base force to permit fighter operations. If all went as planned, the Allies would suddenly have a big, well-supplied base on Timor. This too would pose a grave threat to the Japanese and would require Miller's full attention.
The positives to this two-prong attack:
1) Miller suddendly faces attacks at opposite ends of the map. He has to respond in strength and there is at least a possibility that the Allies could hold one or both bases. That both are relatively close to Allied territory (Darwin/Aleutians) is of some help.
2) The Japanese will react vigorously and there is a decent chance this would take the heat off other areas.
There are many conditions that have to be met before I would implement this plan (remember, at this point I'm just positioning troops to act if the opportunity arises):
1. The Allies have to still hold Lautem around October 20, which I think is pretty questionable. If the Japanese seize the base before then the entire operation is scrubbed.
2. The KB can't show up in either area before I strike as that would be a pretty persuasive dissuasion.
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