RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J)

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RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 8/23/2012 11:37:52 AM

PaxMondo

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The chinese struggle to restore disabled troops, they simply do not have the supply. Disabled is even better than dead as they cannot return to Chungking 1/3 restored ... I beleive you will have have Chungking, I think your opponent tried to defend too far forward and is paying for it.

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Pax

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 181

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 8/23/2012 5:12:22 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: fcharton

PDU Off

Before embarking on my first turn clickfest, I thought I would comment a bit on this setting. I actually asked for PDU Off. Having never played the late game, I might be totally wrong, but I am not convinced it is such a problem for Japan.

First, PDU Off cuts both ways. Since it prevents both sides from maximizing their technological advance throughout the game, I would believe it hinders Japan in the first half of the game, but also helps slowing the Allies when the tide turns. Like many other features in this game, I suspect our negative view of it is biased by our lack of collective experience of the second half of the war.

Second, it is not true that PDU off forces one to fight with old frames that can�t upgrade. A close look at Tracker statistics shows that many squadrons can upgrade to advanced models. But front line squadrons will not be the same through the war. For instance, several Nate training squadrons that begin the war in Japan or Manchuria update into good late war models, whereas some of the early Zeroes that will help me take the DEI will keep their early Zeroes, and become training outfits as the campaign proceeds. This means a different sort of planning, and some PP costs.

Lastly, I suspect PDU Off helps one rationalize plane production. An extreme case of PDU On strategy would see a player overproduce every model, to equip as many squadrons as he can, and just dump all those frames once a new model is available. This is a waste of resources, which implies a heavier dependence on imported fuel and oil, and more vulnerability for Japan.

Hi Francois,

I've just been going over your AAR from the beginning again and saw your comments concerning PDU off. I thought I'd ask how you are finding it to date? I was very vocal about my dislike for this setting, but I agree, the lack of information concerning how the late game will play out doesn't allow for completely condemning it yet.

I think you'll begin to see problems in late 42 and early 43. It took only two massed Allied raids to break the back of my entire fighter force in Burma. You'll never be able to mass enough better airframes locally to contest large Allied raids, unless you strip entire areas of your perimeter of aircraft to provide the numbers you'll need. If the Allies push you in more than one threatre, this is where I think you'll find PDU off restrictive. You just won't have enough of the better aircraft to spread around in the numbers needed to be effective. I have nothing other than my own experience to base this on, and unfortunately my game ended prior to receiving the Oscar IIb and Tojo IIb, which would have allowed me to increase the number of updated air units to frontline duty. So my experience is obviously limited and I'll never know now.

I'm looking forward to seeing how PDU off plays out in the later stages of your game, although I think Scenario 2 will help. Scenario 1 with PDU off still remains a huge handicap to Japan in my personal experience.

If you are still relying on Oscar IIa's in the latter half of 42 and early 43, produce a lot of them, you'll need them.

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 182

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 8/24/2012 6:00:08 PM

fcharton

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Joined: 10/4/2010
From: France
Status: offline

Last day of holidays, we are travelling tomorrow, and then, the war will be back.

Letters to the editor

Hi Pax,

I am quite surprised by this war in China. In my previous game (�now when the land rings��), my opponent did defend forward, I used troops from Kwantung, and lots of tanks, and followed a similar strategy (except that I evacuated Ichang, moved on Hami earlier, and took a while to realize than I needed Yenan, and why). Yet, at the end of May (when the game ended), Lanchow was still Chinese, Ankang was a battlefield, and we were fighting for control of the northern crossroads east of Tienshui. There had been many battles on the way, but much less casualties on the Chinese side.

In this game, my opponent did pretty much the same, he fought a decent retreat over the plains, and did a very good job harassing my supply lines in the south and Fujian. The only difference were that I brought the artillery earlier, held Ichang, and pushed for Yenan before the western drive on Hami.

There were, I believe, two strategic errors. In the north, he lacked a second line of defense in the forests between Nanyang and Sian, and another one in Lanchow. In the centre, failure to reinforce Changteh, Hengyang and Pingsiang allowed me to bypass and cut off Changsha (and pocket three dozen units).

But I don�t think this can explain the complete collapse of the Chinese front, which is now broken in the north, centre, and soon in the south west. Also, we are only in April, and my opponent does not seem to have repaired his industry, or built bases. This seems a bit early for a supply crunch (normally, you get that in August).

My impression is that the heavy casualties suffered by the Chinese explain the situation. Right now, Allied LCU loss VP is over 9000 points, more than double what I had in my previous game (with about the same advance in the DEI). And as VP are only awarded for destroyed squads and vehicles, those come along with a lot of disablements. This is in line with my accounts of destroyed combat squads.

This might prove an important point about the war in China. It is a war of attrition, won by destroying squads, not conquering cities or industry. And as an old principle of land warfare goes, whereas battles conquer enemy territory, the destruction of his forces is achieved through pursuit. We will soon know whether this is the case here: China first strategies are very common these days, and a lot of AAR feature deep thrusts, and attacks on supplies, instead of attrition.

Hi Joseph,

So far, PDU off did not prove too difficult, but bear in mind that we are in April 1942, when Oscars and Zeroes rule the airs. So far, I am still leading in terms of air losses (meaning, the Allies lost about 200 more planes than the Empire). The long brawls over Port Blair, and now Buna, are reducing this advantage, but I am still leading.

My main difficulties were not with having to cope with old frames, but organizing the rotation of fresh fighter squadrons to forward bases, coping with fatigue, moving air support to forward bases. Typical stuff, that is.

As for PDU off, I like it so far, for several reasons.

First, it forces me to have a practical approach to R&D. No point in investing a lot on late war models if you can�t upgrade squadrons. Right now, I am focusing on late 42 and early 43 models (Oscars, Zeroes, Helens, Tojos and Nicks).

Also, it encourages me to make the most with what I have. I don�t really need Oscars and Zeroes in China, Nates fit the task. I don�t need Sallies and similar heavyweights to disrupt troops in open terrain, or slow the march of reinforcements: Anns, Sonias and even Idas are just fine. The interesting consequence is that I have less training squadrons, and more planes flying combat missions. I have several Kwantung bases in central china for this effect.

Recently, this sent me wondering about pilot training� Is it as important as we think? Could a Japanese player manage without, just by using his squadrons wisely?

Finally, I like the planning side of it. With PDU Off, every squadron has a history, specificity and function. They cease to be �bunches of planes�.

(As a side note, it also fits my frugal approach to the industry.)

I do realize it is still early, and the real problem with PDU off might only appear in six months or so. We�ll see then�

April 18th 1942

Tjilatjap

�fell today, the five Dutch units defending the base surrendered. Java is now free of enemy units, save the dozen bottled up in Surabaya. Meanwhile, we will land tomorrow in Sibolga, the last Dutch base on Sumatra. It seems that capturing ALL bases is important if one wants to eliminate enemy units. As soon as a unit cannot trace supply back to some base (even an empty one) it apparently stops retreating once it is defeated, and surrenders instead.

Subs around Port Moresby

I have a couple of submarines prowling between Port Moresby and Cooktown. So far, they were quite harmless, but today, both managed to catch a light cargo. Over Buna, we managed to shoot down a B17-E, and damage two more. This will be a long and boring battle.

Bombardment reports

In Changsha, we are destroying a dozen squads every day. The city is now surrounded, which means the 2000 AV that defend it are lost for good. I intend to keep bombing, and see whether I can take Chungking before finishing those guys.

In Kweiyang, we now have more than 2000 AV, against less than 350 enemies. We will attack tomorrow, with a little luck�

In Bataan, daily bombardments are destroying the garrison, which is now badly unsupplied. AV went from 1500 to less than 1100 these days. I am giving it a few days, and will attack again.

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 183

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 8/24/2012 6:32:48 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
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Hi Francois,

I felt much the same way in my game with PDU off, utilize what I had and was fine with Ann's and Sonia's in China as no escort was needed. It's when you run into coordinated and massed Allied raids of better aircraft that things might fall apart rather quickly.

Once I realized the limitations of PDU off I too toned down R&D and production numbers, and I agree if forces you to plan differently. I did like that aspect of it.

How are your Ops losses? I think this is the benefit of training squadrons as they limit Ops losses in frontline units. My Ops losses were through the roof, I had too many inexperienced pilots in forward air units.

I think "bunches of planes" is relative. In PDU off, every aircraft has a role and the player that can best utilize each aircraft to it's specific function will do well. In PDU on, I think you still can apply that logic, you don't have to have every unit a Tojo or Frank and in some cases you need a variety of aircraft to meet your needs. I still plan on having varied air units regardless of now playing PDU on, just my personal preference. What I do like best is it's now my decision, not the historic OOB's. I can determine the structure of my air force based on my preference of playing and style. I think this is key for me.

Looking forward to seeing what happens. In no way am I trying to criticize your decision for PDU off (I hope it doesn't come across as such), just furthering the discussion and I hope sharing my experience and thoughts about PDU off can help you in some way.

Joseph

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 184

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 8/31/2012 9:50:09 PM

fcharton

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From: France
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Hi Joseph,

My ops losses are not as low as I would like, but still quite reasonable. I am a firm believer in the Cuttlefish school of thought on pilot management. I have relatively few sorties every day, and tend to rest my pilots as soon as their fatigue level exceeds ten. I am also trying to understack my frontline airfields, and avoid overusing LRCAP (it is quite efficient, but it comes at a cost).

I am currently trying to organize my air force, I will report on it soon.

And this sure doesn�t come across as criticism, please keep it going, I am learning a lot.

Francois

Back from holiday, the game is on, but the AAR is lagging, again�

April 19th 1942

Most of the action was in China today. Over Buna, we both are resting, and sweeps over Port Blair found nothing.

South of Kienko, we attacked the Chinese stack we defeated two days ago. AV had gone from 600 to 400, a good thing, but which shows a defeated stack is still combat worthy. I had infantry in the hex, but only my tanks attacked.

Ground combat at 78,42 (near Kienko)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 2308 troops, 0 guns, 322 vehicles, Assault Value = 1073
Defending force 11391 troops, 77 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 412
Japanese assault odds: 5 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
Vehicles lost 10 (1 destroyed, 9 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
6104 casualties reported
Squads: 249 destroyed, 128 disabled
Non Combat: 134 destroyed, 16 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 13 (5 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Units retreated 6

400 destroyed squads for just one tank lost, it doesn�t look quite right� I suppose I�ll be on the receiving end of that, some day.

In Changsha, today�s bombardment destroyed 50 squads, almost a record.

Most importantly, the big stack between Tuyun and Kweiyang was defeated after a month long battle.

Ground combat at 75,50 (near Kweiyang)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 83675 troops, 1020 guns, 219 vehicles, Assault Value = 2223
Defending force 21533 troops, 202 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 346
Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
814 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 80 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled
Guns lost 12 (2 destroyed, 10 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
9372 casualties reported
Squads: 399 destroyed, 21 disabled
Non Combat: 345 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 23 destroyed, 12 disabled
Guns lost 61 (42 destroyed, 19 disabled)
Units retreated 8

This is an important victory, because it cuts the southern KMT bases (from Kukong to Tuyun) from the Sichuan basin. About 2500 AV will now march on Kweiyang, two fresh divisions are arriving tomorrow and will garrison the hex, lest my opponent tries to attack from Tuyun. I don�t think such an attack can succeed, as we will be in defensive terrain and they will be unsupplied, but I�d rather be safe�

The situation in China looks good, we have broken in Sichuan from the North, we will soon be in Kweiyang, and are closing on Tuyun, and quite a few units are stranded in Changsha. We suffered very little losses throughout this campaign. I am beginning to hope that we can finish China by June. This means I probably need to start moving support troops from Manchukuo South. Sooner or later, I will need those guys in Burma and Thailand.

The economy today

I have not commented upon this for a while. So far, the frugal approach to production seems to work. I have closed almost all my merchant yard, and some of the naval ones. So far, I only halted the battleships and some late programs. The vehicle crisis of the early war is now over, and I have 5500 vehicle and 13000 armament point in stock, while still producing an excess.

I am saving about 7000 HI per day, and our stocks will probably be a little under 850k after the pilot draw at the end of the month.

In terms of raw materials, we are pretty much swimming in resources, with an excess production of more than 22k tons / day. Stocks are now over 10 million tons, I don�t repair those, and the allies are welcome to bomb those centres.

Fuel stocks are around 6.5 million tons (plus 1.1 million tons in ship bunkers), growing by about 10k/day. It this can be maintained for a year (and holding the DEI in April 1943 does not look like a mad gamble), I will probably be out of trouble. Oil stocks are almost stable at 4.4million tons down by 3000 tons/day.

Finally, supply levels are stable, and very close to their starting values.

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 185

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/1/2012 12:11:34 PM

fcharton

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From: France
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April 20th, 1942

Very little to report today. We had a pretty bad time over Port Blair. I usually sweep one day, and then rest for a while, but since we had not found anyone home yesterday, we swept again today. Enemy Hurricanes were there, and we probably were fatigued, and this is how you lose 36 planes to 18 enemies�

I am pretty certain that rest patterns are the key to an efficient use of air units in this game. This, unfortunately, means a lot of work every day, as you pretty much need to stand down every front line squadron, and give orders to some. I have not yet found a solution, something like a �turn routine� that I should be taken care of every day, in a reasonable amount of time.

In China, a lone unit appeared today in the hex between Kweiyang and Tuyun. Since it did not shock attack over the river, it must have come from Kweiyang, reinforcements that my opponent forgot to cancel, I believe. This delays my advance on Kweiyang, but also means destroyed KMT squads.

In the south, we are now marching on Kanhsien. I don�t really need this base, but it will help isolate enemy troops in Fujian. The enemy still holds fifteen bases in China.

Flak, and radars

The more I play this game, the more I realize I am still clueless about many aspects of it. For instance, most of my anti air units are still sitting in their starting positions, in Manchuria, Formosa or Hainan. Now, most of those should be either in Malaysia or in Burma, defending my bases, and freeing the AA units there for duty in the Indies or in the Pacific.

I am sending most of those to two staging points; Wuchang and Hangchow. From there, they will march to Southern China, and Indochina, or take position in newly conquered industrial centres. I intend to develop Chinese industry (and, perhaps, the refineries in Sian and Lanchow), and need flak to cover them.

While looking at flak units, I noticed I now have quite a few radars, 90 in mobile units, and 25, long range, in static base forces around Japan, and 65 more are due in June. I don�t know how efficient Japanese radars are, and whether it makes sense to stack several in the same base, but I am under the impression that I should take some care in setting those in front line bases.

This is something I like with those long campaigns: every day, you discover something you�ll have to do better, in your next game, in five years or so�

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 186

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/1/2012 1:30:29 PM

obvert

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It's only 4/42, so you have plenty of time to get the AA units out to where they need to be. Unfortunately, unless you're using a babes scenario, they are fairly ineffective. You have to really put a lot of units in one base to make any difference.

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 187

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/1/2012 10:47:46 PM

fcharton

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From: France
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@Obvert : We are playing stock, but I thought the current version of the game engine had improved the flak. Is it so?

April 21st 1942 - China, mostly

On the crossroad halfway between Kienko and Chungking, the units that once defended Kienko were defeated again. They were 650 AV strong when we first met them, and are now down to 110 AV, and probably half that after the battle.

Ground combat at 77,43 (near Chungking)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 2332 troops, 0 guns, 321 vehicles, Assault Value = 1117
Defending force 6931 troops, 69 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 146

Allied ground losses:
1421 casualties reported
Squads: 164 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 90 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 40 (21 destroyed, 19 disabled)
Units retreated 5

Our Sichuan column will now march north on Chengtu, and let reinforcements arrives before we move on Neikiang and Chungking.

Between Kweiyang and Tuyun, the unit that marched in yesterday turned to be a 250 AV strong infantry corps. Scratch one battle worthy unit�

Ground combat at 75,50 (near Kweiyang)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 85830 troops, 1000 guns, 251 vehicles, Assault Value = 2551
Defending force 5804 troops, 23 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 256

Japanese ground losses:
895 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 48 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Guns lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
3033 casualties reported
Squads: 115 destroyed, 202 disabled
Non Combat: 60 destroyed, 35 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 3 disabled
Guns lost 20 (3 destroyed, 17 disabled)
Units retreated 1

Outlaws of the marshes

This is one of the strange side stories of this war. Back in December, when the KMT tried to attack Ichang, several Chinese corps moved into the marshes between Ichang and Wuchang. I believe my opponent wanted to isolate Ichang, and perhaps march on Hankow.

Unfortunately, as Ichang never fell, and as the IJA marched on Changteh, those troops ended up surrounded in the marshes. Back in March, they tried to invade Ichang, but that happened as I was reinforcing from Hankow, and they were thrown back into the swamp.

Now, they seem to have marched south, and their vanguard crossed the river between Wuchang and Changsha� into the waiting arms of two Japanese regiments.

Ground combat at 83,51 (near Wuchang)
Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 6119 troops, 56 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 28
Defending force 8330 troops, 68 guns, 26 vehicles, Assault Value = 298
Allied assault odds: 1 to 99

Allied ground losses:
626 casualties reported
Squads: 75 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 17 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 12 (1 destroyed, 11 disabled)

And so, the outlaws will remain in the marshes�

(in reply to obvert)

Post #: 188

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/2/2012 4:53:32 AM

PaxMondo

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Some improvement in flak, but the major change is in DBB mod.

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Pax

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 189

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/2/2012 5:45:47 AM

obvert

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I find I do have good days when I stack several AA units in a base. So overall there is an improvement, but not like what I hear about from the various levels of babes scenarios.

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

(in reply to PaxMondo)

Post #: 190

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/2/2012 9:43:01 AM

fcharton

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From the receiving end, I noticed two uses of flak. First, it will be deadly if you fly at low altitudes, so, there goes skip, dive and torpedo bombing. Second, the presence of flak seems to make my raids less effective, probably because it forces my bombers lo lose formation, just like enemy CAP. But I agree you need concentrated flak to achieve something.

Nemo once made the point that flak tends to be more damaging than combat report suggest, because some of the planes it damages will end up ops losses, and that this creates some form of "concentration bonus": once you reach a certain level, flak becomes very deadly because of the cumulative damage, which results in very high ops losses. I would love to try and test this in Burma (and I regret not having thought of it earlier).

Along these lines, my current flak doctrine says I should have some flak in the ports where my ships are anchored, to avoid raids, and flak concentrations in bases where enemy raids are expected, refineries and oilfields typically.

(in reply to obvert)

Post #: 191

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/2/2012 12:51:09 PM

JocMeister

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I have found flak to be mostly useless in stock scenario. Sure if you amass most of the British and Indian AA in one hex it will do some damage but nothing stellar. Just started playing Babes but its too early to tell any differences. I have high hopes though!

In stock I wouldn�t bother too much with the placements of flak unless you intend to seriously mass it somewhere.

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 192

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/2/2012 1:32:12 PM

fcharton

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From: France
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Hi JocMeister, and welcome

I believe I agree with you. I don�t have high expectations for my flak. Two things I believe it can achieve, though, is reducing the damage done by enemy bombers, and, perhaps, helping the CAP, for those flak units that have radar.

April 22nd 1942

In Burma, a sweep over Chittagong found the 605th RAF, which used to be in Port Blair a few days ago. It seems that my opponent is using Chittagong, and perhaps other bases in the area as rest points for his Andaman squadrons.

In the Banda sea, the allies seem bent on bombing the empty port of Taberfane. Did they get some incorrect intel about something brewing there? Is this a default AI choice? I am sending a few Zeroes from Ambon to catch the unescorted Hudsons there, one less Allied plane is one less Allied plane.

Over Buna, and with an Air HQ now in Rabaul, we manage to have a permanent LRCAP, by rotating fighter squadrons, and are slowly making enemy bombardment less effective.

Apart from that, it was a dull day in the Pacific.

April 23rd 1942

Wellingtons bombed Rangoon during the night. Oscars caused them to miss the refineries and hit the light industry instead. I cannot say I have suffered, but I hope some of them will fall to ops losses.

Over Buna, the enemy is now bombing the port, I suppose they want to prevent us from building the forts. I don�t think this works: ground units are still digging in, and engineers repair such damage at a pretty good rate. We are using Mavises. I know some spell this Mavii, or Mavi, but this looks strange, in latin Mavis would be third group, so Maves, Mavii would be for something like Mavius, and Mavi for Mavus)

And you know nothing is happening in the war when you end up discussion latin grammar in an AAR.

Right, it is afternoon here, and a perfect day to go canoeing up the river that flows in our backyard. As I am writing this, my children are running in the yard with paddles, life jackets and our usual riverine gear. The 24th of April 1942 will have to wait, I'm afraid!

< Message edited by fcharton -- 9/2/2012 1:36:04 PM >

(in reply to JocMeister)

Post #: 193

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/2/2012 9:23:31 PM

PaxMondo

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quote:

ORIGINAL: fcharton

... is reducing the damage done by enemy bombers, ...
.

Agreed. In the stock scenarios which I am also playing. Clearly see effects of AA vs no AA in bomb raid damage. I think the ops damage on the bombers also happens, but I have little proof. Strictly observation and likely colored by desired perception.

_____________________________

Pax

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 194

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/3/2012 12:05:20 AM

fcharton

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From: France
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April 24th 1942

New developments in the Andamans

For a couple of days, reconnaissance reported no fighters in Port Blair. So, in complement of our usual heavy sweep, a few bombers were sent to attack the airfield. The sweeps were unopposed but my Betties and Nells found SBD-3 Dauntless, and destroyed a few on the ground. The runway is now damaged. We are going in again tomorrow, to see whether the fighters are back.

It is still too early to judge, but this might be a milestone in the battle for the Adamans. The enemy has lots of troops there. If the airfield can be attacked, and bombed on a regular basis, we probably can cause complex supply problems.

Battle in Bataan

We launched a deliberate attack, which caused heavy losses for a fort level, but achieved 1:1 odds for the first time.

Ground combat at Bataan (78,77)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 33989 troops, 460 guns, 229 vehicles, Assault Value = 983
Defending force 41525 troops, 617 guns, 500 vehicles, Assault Value = 1056
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 3)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 2

Japanese ground losses:
3175 casualties reported
Squads: 21 destroyed, 333 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 56 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Guns lost 68 (4 destroyed, 64 disabled)
Vehicles lost 43 (9 destroyed, 34 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
717 casualties reported
Squads: 19 destroyed, 93 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 43 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 10 disabled
Guns lost 24 (1 destroyed, 23 disabled)
Vehicles lost 9 (1 destroyed, 8 disabled)

I need to rest my troops, but I believe we only need a few more of those to take the base.

And in Kweiyang

Our first attack failed to take the city, but confirmed that the 16 units holding Kweiyang are mostly remnants. Since odds were 1:1, disruption levels are acceptable and we are attacking again tomorrow. With a little luck�

Ground combat at Kweiyang (74,49)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 86415 troops, 1000 guns, 251 vehicles, Assault Value = 2612
Defending force 32391 troops, 246 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 644
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese ground losses:
2910 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 261 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 20 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 36 disabled
Guns lost 20 (2 destroyed, 18 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
2304 casualties reported
Squads: 34 destroyed, 58 disabled
Non Combat: 35 destroyed, 82 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Guns lost 14 (2 destroyed, 12 disabled)

April 25th 1942

Port Blair

A second day of bombing further damaged the runway, but found no planes on the ground. Has the airfield been evacuated?

My bombers are flying low, and taking lots of damage from the flak. I will now rest them, and order sweeps for tomorrow, just in case�

Chengtu

My armored spearheads attacked Chengtu. The infantry is two days behind.

Ground combat at Chengtu (75,41)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 2654 troops, 0 guns, 372 vehicles, Assault Value = 198
Defending force 8600 troops, 60 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 322
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 1)

Japanese ground losses:
Vehicles lost 12 (1 destroyed, 11 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
736 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 86 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled

300 AV behind level one forts. I will have 1100 AV in two days, I am pretty confident about this one. Once those troops are defended, we will probably pursue (over the river on the slow road to Kunming, to make sure they will not recover).

Further south, the 104th division arrived in Tsuyung, where my opponent massed 350 AV. This will probably take a while.

Kweiyang

As I hoped, the defenders of the city could not withstand a second day of attack.

Ground combat at Kweiyang (74,49)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 84426 troops, 998 guns, 251 vehicles, Assault Value = 2412
Defending force 30118 troops, 233 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 555
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Kweiyang !!!

Japanese ground losses:
1693 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 108 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 16 disabled

Allied ground losses:
12535 casualties reported
Squads: 434 destroyed, 56 disabled
Non Combat: 534 destroyed, 58 disabled
Engineers: 138 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 82 (72 destroyed, 10 disabled)
Units retreated 15

I am splitting my units into three stacks. Two depleted divisions will guard Kweiyang, two full strength division and artillery will march to the northwest, threatening Kunming and the road west of Chungking, and the rest of my troops will pursue the defenders, and march on Chungking. I believe very little is left between Kweiyang and the Sichuan basin.

Meanwhile, two Chinese corps tried to take the hex between Kweiyang and Tuyun. I had two fresh IJA divisions there, so the shock attack over the river was a bloody affair�

Ground combat at 75,50 (near Kweiyang)
Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 9271 troops, 142 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 338
Defending force 25486 troops, 216 guns, 69 vehicles, Assault Value = 940
Allied assault odds: 1 to 336

Japanese ground losses:
158 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Allied ground losses:
6680 casualties reported
Squads: 336 destroyed, 24 disabled
Non Combat: 259 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 19 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 54 (42 destroyed, 12 disabled)

I will throw those back into Tuyun tomorrow.

Kanhsien

I didn�t intend to take this base, but since it was almost empty. The KMT now holds thirteen bases. And this was our best day so far in China, with 900 combat squads destroyed (and as many support).

(in reply to PaxMondo)

Post #: 195

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/3/2012 12:55:38 AM

PaxMondo

Posts: 9750
Joined: 6/6/2008
Status: offline

Keep them on the run in China. Disabled squads in chinese units are your friend. They fight at vastly reduced strength, consume supply as a normal squad, require supply to repair (which they don't have) and generally have low morale. Just push them all the way to Chungking. Banzai!!

_____________________________

Pax

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 196

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/6/2012 4:25:11 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

Hi Francois,

Does the Tojo require the Ha-34 engine in your game? If so, I'm curious on what you decided in terms of bomber production? I'm leaning towards both Helen and Sally production, not sure yet. If I go with the Helen I'll have to produce over 400 engines monthly and that's a big expense, while if I go with both I have less factories to expand/convert. I have four more game days to decide before I finalize my aircraft production. I know you put a lot of thought into crunching the numbers, what's the more efficient and cost effective route in your opinion?

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to PaxMondo)

Post #: 197

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/8/2012 7:21:37 AM

fcharton

Posts: 1112
Joined: 10/4/2010
From: France
Status: offline

Hi Joseph

The Tojos are Ha-35 in this scenario. I have not invested a lot in my plane production so far. Being PDU off, my upgrade options are limited, and the game is more about rotating squadrons and pilots than equipping every one with the latest model.

Right now, I am focusing on the Sally. The IIa has better range and maneuver than the Helen Ia. I also have more planes that can upgrade to Sallies. But I am researching later Helens, which outclass the Sally. The Helen IIa should be out in July, and I believe I will have the IIb in April 43. I am also trying to produce more Lilly IIa, as I have many squadrons that can use them.

But again, I am more focused on using all the squadrons I have (so far, most of my PP were spent on air units), than on production.

April 26th, 1942

Surabaya, for a change

Our first attack on Surabaya went well. We achieved 3:1 odds, and reduced the forts. Unfortunately, disruption and fatigue are high, and I will probably need to rest every other day. I believe I can take the base by the beginning of May.

Ground combat at Soerabaja (56,104)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 59881 troops, 555 guns, 393 vehicles, Assault Value = 2214
Defending force 25463 troops, 346 guns, 323 vehicles, Assault Value = 624
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese ground losses:
1771 casualties reported
Squads: 13 destroyed, 125 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 29 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 20 disabled
Vehicles lost 18 (2 destroyed, 16 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1139 casualties reported
Squads: 25 destroyed, 47 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 66 disabled
Engineers: 35 destroyed, 14 disabled
Guns lost 30 (8 destroyed, 22 disabled)
Vehicles lost 24 (5 destroyed, 19 disabled)

Punishment

The four Chinese units that tried to attack the hex between Tuyun and Kweiyang yesterday, were defeated today

Ground combat at 75,50 (near Kweiyang)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 25369 troops, 216 guns, 69 vehicles, Assault Value = 929
Defending force 3996 troops, 102 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 103
Japanese assault odds: 55 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
111 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
1262 casualties reported
Squads: 59 destroyed, 31 disabled
Non Combat: 55 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 39 (17 destroyed, 22 disabled)
Units retreated 4

The had 350 AV yesterday, and lost 330 squads in the river crossing. The 60 more squads destroyed today reduce this stack to very little. This means those KMT unit trapped in southern China will probably remain there.

There are now quite a few pockets in China. Two large stacks are trapped in the mountains around Lanchow. There are defeated corps in the woods near Ankang. And then we have Changsha, and the south (Kukong to Tuyun). All these units are too far away to retreat, and not strong enough to launch counterattacks. Besides, my supply lines are secure.

As a result, I intend to move most of my forces towards Chungking, and see if I can capture the place before June. I believe the KMT is in bad enough shape to make this possible.

Once Chungking falls, we will turn back to those pockets�

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 198

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/8/2012 3:20:54 PM

PaxMondo

Posts: 9750
Joined: 6/6/2008
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: fcharton

As a result, I intend to move most of my forces towards Chungking, and see if I can capture the place before June. I believe the KMT is in bad enough shape to make this possible.

Once Chungking falls, we will turn back to those pockets�

BANZAI!!!!

_____________________________

Pax

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 199

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/11/2012 10:49:54 PM

fcharton

Posts: 1112
Joined: 10/4/2010
From: France
Status: offline

A few days ago, my internet connection broke down, then my opponent was on holidays, and we are right in the hectic season at work. As a result, turn exchange rate is slightly reduced, from the turn-a-day we used to have, to four turns a week. This also means I have less time for this AAR. So, here is an almost weekly update�

April 27th � May 1st 1942

Closing on Chungking

On the 28th, Chengtu feel on first try. Forts were level one, and only two corps and a base force defended the city. I believe my opponent should have tried harder, because the loss of Chengtu is a big dent in his remaining industrial capacity. We are pursuing the defenders, and moving on the Neikiang, which seems weakly garrisoned.

The rest of the plains are empty, and most of the remaining Chinese troops are in Chungking. A small mystery is unfolding there, as the number of units (and estimate of guns and troops) has changed a lot lately. Recon used to report 50-60 units, 150 000 troops, and about 700 guns. But yesterday, the number of units fell down to 23, and only 200 guns.

The decrease in the number of units might result from my opponent rebuilding split units, but this would now explain the gun figure. It might just be FOW, we�ll see tomorrow.

North of Kweiyang, we are making good progress clearing the roads to Chungking. There is no way the enemy can escape.

In the west, the fourth Guard Division is crossing the mountains towards Mengtze, and the 104th is still besieging Tsuyung, where forts were destroyed.

Changsha besieged

Whereas all the surrounding hexes are under Japanese control, the two river hexsides north west of the city were still under allied control, as I would not risk a shock attack to cross them. This was corrected on the 29th, as both hexes were crossed simultaneously. It was a bloody affair.

Ground combat at Changsha (82,52)
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 54995 troops, 975 guns, 774 vehicles, Assault Value = 1812
Defending force 70299 troops, 605 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1846
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 4
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 8 (fort level 4)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
5485 casualties reported
Squads: 76 destroyed, 564 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 64 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 41 disabled
Guns lost 56 (5 destroyed, 51 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1140 casualties reported
Squads: 26 destroyed, 124 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 47 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 12 disabled
Guns lost 16 (2 destroyed, 14 disabled)

Yet, I believe it was worth the losses. The Chinese are now isolated and unsupplied in Changsha. I can reduce the garrison, especially move all those guns towards Chungking for the kill. With all hexsides captured, and Changsha too far back behind the front to be rescued, the pocket is harmless.

Clearing the SRA

Koepang fell at last. This was a long battle, but not a very bloody one.
Surabaya, the last Dutch base on Java fell on the first of May. VP jumped by more than 1000 points as a result.

Ground combat at Soerabaja (56,104)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 59599 troops, 574 guns, 388 vehicles, Assault Value = 1854
Defending force 20579 troops, 309 guns, 306 vehicles, Assault Value = 360
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Soerabaja !!!

Allied aircraft losses
B-25C Mitchell: 5 destroyed
B-339D: 1 destroyed
CW-22 Falcon: 2 destroyed
Do-24K-1: 2 destroyed
PBY-5 Catalina: 2 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
1034 casualties reported
Squads: 24 destroyed, 35 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 11 (2 destroyed, 9 disabled)
Vehicles lost 22 (21 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
22570 casualties reported
Squads: 625 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 2043 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 212 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 438 (438 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 333 (333 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 17

Both Java and Sumatra are now clear of enemy presence. I have five divisions on both islands, now available for redeployment, and I am hesitating about my next move. I might land two divisions on Luzon, to finish Bataan, and free two more divisions there. The rest would either move down to the jungles of New Guinea, for a fun land campaign there, or maybe go for northern Australia, which doesn�t seem to be strongly defended.

Finally, my Nells in Georgetown have detected an enemy task force off the western coast of Sumatra. The first reports spoke about carriers. I doubt it, but all my planes in the area are on alert� With a little luck�

(in reply to PaxMondo)

Post #: 200

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/11/2012 10:58:37 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

Nicely done Francois. With the fall of Chengtu, that means Chungking is the only base left that Chinese respawns or reinforcements will appear (unless otherwise noted). Then you can begin to destroy Chinese units at will since they'll never return until either base is recaptured.

I'd hold off finishing Changsha until you capture Chungking, unless you decide to destroy them, have them respawn at Chungking and destroy them again?
That's worth the VP's alone.

P.s. I understand your reasoning behind PDU off and how that affects your R&D and production levels. I just wanted an idea of the numbers you were setting for yourself as a benchmark to determine my own needs.

I'm like you. Even though I wanted PDU on, there are a number of aircraft I still want to produce, not just the best ones, and have some variety. For that reason alone, I won't simply be producing thousands of the best aircraft, but a nice mixture that can provide many different tactical uses.

< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 9/11/2012 11:07:09 PM >

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 201

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/12/2012 9:04:31 AM

fcharton

Posts: 1112
Joined: 10/4/2010
From: France
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon
I'd hold off finishing Changsha until you capture Chungking, unless you decide to destroy them, have them respawn at Chungking and destroy them again? That's worth the VP's alone.

Chinese recruit farming... Now, that might be a little too naughty for an old, evil but dignified, empire like ours.
Seriously, after seeing the 1000+ VP increase I got from the surrender of Surabaya yesterday, I am quite convinced that the methodical destruction of all KMT units left after the fall of Chungking is worth a lots in VP. Chinese devices are only worth 1/12th of a VP, but there are lots of them, and whereas you'll eventually lose you base VP (to lack of supply or capture), LCU VP are here to stay.

I will discuss my plane production in a later installment.

Francois

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 202

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/13/2012 11:33:48 PM

PaxMondo

Posts: 9750
Joined: 6/6/2008
Status: offline

Agreed. You have a lot of potential VP in Chinese LCU's. Much like the IJ merchant fleet for the allies ... just future VP's waiting to be harvested.

_____________________________

Pax

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 203

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/14/2012 10:26:49 PM

fcharton

Posts: 1112
Joined: 10/4/2010
From: France
Status: offline

May 2nd, 1942

Silent service

So far, the submarine war was a bit disappointing. On average, we are doing just fine: 40 enemy ships are claimed over about five months, or about two ships per week. But in reality, half of those happened during the first month of the war, and my submarines found very little from the beginning of February to mid-April.

During the last week of April, after spotted several ships in the coastal waters of Australia, submarines were deployed there, between the coast and the reef, and we seem to be successful again. We caught a Dutch light cargo near Horn Island on the 27th, then two l arger British cargoes near Townsville on the 30th, and another Dutch cargo today near Maryborough.

I still need to define and implement a submarine doctrine. Right now, I am deploying lurkers in coastal waters, in the hope that I can get a cargo from time to time, but I would also like to set up front line submarine bases, with air searches and packs of subs ready to jump on anything detected.

The last base

With Timor, Java and Sumatra under Japanese control, and Port Blair and Port Moresby not being invaded anytime soon, the only base in the Pacific where I am waging war is Bataan. Today, our AV surpassed that of the enemy for the first time. I want to try another deliberate attack while I am sweeping Surabaya. If it succeeds, I might not need to reinforce Luzon (or just lightly). If it fails, I will load one or two divisions from Java, and finish the job.

I would like to clear Luzon by the end of the month.

Stranglehold

In China, 300 more combat squads were destroyed today. We are slowly pushing towards Chungking, where new reconnaissance found back the 58 units we were used to see there. In Neikiang, my armored regiments were repulsed by a 300 AV strong KMT corps. This is good: the more enemies I fight before Chungking, the less I need to dig out of their pillboxes.

All the artillery that bombarded Changsha is now packing. They will march to Changteh, Chihkiang, Kweiyang, and Chungking.

My last reinforcements from Lanchow have arrived in Kienko. I now have over 3000 AV in Sichuan.

A look at VP

I now have 24222 VP, against 8582 for my opponent, a 2.8:1 ratio. Base VP are 8675:4918, Air losses 2000:1900, and LCU losses 10700:600. This ratio will improve as Bataan falls, and then as China is conquered and KMT units destroyed, but I doubt auto-victory can be achieved in 1943.

As others have mentioned, unless Japan can keep its losses (and especially its air losses) at a very low level, capturing China will not bring enough VP to trigger auto victory.

Still, I am quite curious about the VP total once Chungking fall. The capture of Surabaya brought Japan about 1000 VP. I expect the fall of Bataan to achieve the same. As for Chungking, the bases itself is worth 1600 VP (and a loss of 800 for the allies), and the units there are probably worth more than another thousand, or 1500. All other things being equal, capturing Bataan and Chungking would probably make the VP ratio : 30000 / 7500, very close to 4:1� Air losses will probably make it closer to 3.5:1, but the destruction of the KMT armies and the campaign in Burma should bring more.

(in reply to PaxMondo)

Post #: 204

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/16/2012 10:26:04 PM

fcharton

Posts: 1112
Joined: 10/4/2010
From: France
Status: offline

May 3rd, 1942

Air battles

Today was a bad day for the empire. Over Magwe, a large unescorted night bombing raid was unopposed. I had forgotten to set night CAP the last time I rotated my squadrons. Fortunately, the damage was light, two fighters destroyed on the ground, and a few hits on the runway.

Over Port Blair, after several days of unopposed bombing of the air base and port, the enemy managed a CAP trap that cost me about two dozen planes. I will be sweeping Port Blair tomorrow. If the CAP is still there, they should have a bad day because of fatigue.

My air loss advantage is shrinking very fast. I used to lead by about 250 points a month ago, we�re below 100 now.

Land wars

In Sichuan, a first attack in Neikiang revealed a 300 AV strong Chinese corps, behind level two forts. I have two divisions on the way, and Neikiang will fall, but this suggests my opponent still has a few good units in Sichuan. I will probably be in Chungking in a week, and wonder about what I will find there.

North of Kweiyang (mapwise) we are clearing all the remnants on the major roads between Kweiyang, Chungking and Patung. This means the southern pocket (Tuyun to Kukong) is now cleanly cut off from the rest of the KMT, and that Kunming will soon be cut off as well.

A lot of small intensity battles are taking place all over China. In Paotow, two regiments are in the process of eliminating a Chinese corps that tried to take the city. Once this is done, they will turn to the last KMT stack reported in the north east, just north of Taiyuan. We are also fighting a large stack of defeated troops on the secondary road from Nanyang to Ankang. Finally, the battle for Tsuyung is slowly wearing the defenders away. It might take another week, but Tsuyung is toast. This is good, because another column, marching yet undetected from Lao Cai, will reach the secondary road to Mengtze in a week, too.

Plane research

I now have twelve repaired factories (all 30 unit strong), researching five models.

The Helen IIa (two factories) have advanced to August, and will be available in July. At this rate, the Helen IIb should be available in April 1943.

The Tojo IIb (three factories) should be available in December or January 1943, which means the IIc might be available by August 1943.

The Zero 3a (3 factories, one more researching the Zero 5) should be available in September 1942, perhaps August, even. This means the Zero 5 should be available by December, the 5b in September 43, and the 5c in April 1944.

The Nick 1c should be available by January 1943.

Eight more factories, researching Oscars, Tonies, and Vals, are half repaired.

Preparing for the inevitable�

September, in France, is the month of wine fairs. Vineyards market their recent production, supermarkets fill with all kinds of bottles, people start making room in their cellars, and plan their buys just like your typical JFB plans his economy. I am going tomorrow, and thought I might as well get the bottle I will drink after Japan capitulates. If I can hold until 1945, and at the current rate of play, this should happen in five or six years.

After months of firebombing, and perhaps a couple of A-bombs, C�te Rotie, a vineyard in northern C�tes du Rhone, that could translated into English as �roasted coast� sounds like a good idea.

On the other hand, as this will be a defeat, and the wine will be here for comfort, a Chateau Chasse Spleen (meaning �dispel sadness�, that�s a Moulis, a region in Bordeaux) might be in order.

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 205

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/17/2012 3:11:09 PM

obvert

Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011
From: PDX (and now) London, UK
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: fcharton

May 3rd, 1942

Plane research

I now have twelve repaired factories (all 30 unit strong), researching five models.

The Helen IIa (two factories) have advanced to August, and will be available in July. At this rate, the Helen IIb should be available in April 1943.

The Tojo IIb (three factories) should be available in December or January 1943, which means the IIc might be available by August 1943.

The Zero 3a (3 factories, one more researching the Zero 5) should be available in September 1942, perhaps August, even. This means the Zero 5 should be available by December, the 5b in September 43, and the 5c in April 1944.

The Nick 1c should be available by January 1943.

Eight more factories, researching Oscars, Tonies, and Vals, are half repaired.

Will you use the Nick Ic? Most think it's not as good as the Ia, so I haven't tried it. I have been having good results with the Tojo IIb though which I'm only making due to a mistake letting the factory upgrade. It is doing as well or better than the IIa at least.

quote:

Preparing for the inevitable�

September, in France, is the month of wine fairs. Vineyards market their recent production, supermarkets fill with all kinds of bottles, people start making room in their cellars, and plan their buys just like your typical JFB plans his economy. I am going tomorrow, and thought I might as well get the bottle I will drink after Japan capitulates. If I can hold until 1945, and at the current rate of play, this should happen in five or six years.

After months of firebombing, and perhaps a couple of A-bombs, C�te Rotie, a vineyard in northern C�tes du Rhone, that could translated into English as �roasted coast� sounds like a good idea.

On the other hand, as this will be a defeat, and the wine will be here for comfort, a Chateau Chasse Spleen (meaning �dispel sadness�, that�s a Moulis, a region in Bordeaux) might be in order.

A fine idea. I like the connection to the meaning of the name.

I have thought of this as well. I am leaning toward a good bottle of Japanese Single Malt. Hibiki 17 yr. 'Hibiki' means 'resonance' according to the site. Not sure yet if that will fit with the end of the game, but we'll see. I do know it will taste very good.

http://www.suntory.com/whisky/en/hibiki/index.html

< Message edited by obvert -- 9/17/2012 3:13:12 PM >

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 206

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/18/2012 3:41:45 AM

PaxMondo

Posts: 9750
Joined: 6/6/2008
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: fcharton

After months of firebombing, and perhaps a couple of A-bombs, C�te Rotie, a vineyard in northern C�tes du Rhone, ...

A very NICE vinyard ... I should have to plan a visit there upon your victory to assist you!

_____________________________

Pax

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 207

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/18/2012 9:32:26 AM

fcharton

Posts: 1112
Joined: 10/4/2010
From: France
Status: offline

May 4th 1942

In the air

We had a pretty good day over Port Blair. The enemy, fatigued from yesterday, lost a dozen Hurricane IIb and Warhawk 40E. My fighters operate from three bases, Moulmein, Bangkok and Victoria Point.

Over Magwe, Oscars on night CAP failed to intercept another bombing run. They probably flew too high. I will try again tomorrow.

Over Buna, I am on the receiving end: we�re trading a few fighters every day, a couple bombers get damaged, the garrison gets disrupted and repairs an equivalent number of squads�

In China, the goal is to reduce KMT numbers, so I am going for the easier gains, targeting troops in the open.

Mopping up

We had another costly battle in Bataan. Forts are now level one, and we managed 2:1 odds. Yet losses were high. Two divisions are on their way from Surabaya, I might try another attack in a week, though.

In China, today was the last bombardment in Changsha. All my artillery is moving west tomorrow, towards Chungking. I am leaving three divisions that will keep the defenders in place. The city is too far behind our lines to be taken back, anyway.

In Neikiang, forts are down to level one. I am resting, and the city will probably fall the day after tomorrow. Two divisions and artillery from Kweiyang will cross the river between Neikiang and Chungking today, three more are attacking in the woods south (mapwise) of the city, clearing the defenders from Kweiyang. The siege of Chungking is about to begin�

Nicks and PDU Off

Hi Obvert,

PDU off is a world of its own, with a very specific logic. According to Tracker, I have 140 planes that can use the KAIa, and 250 that can upgrade to KAIc. As some of the 110 belong to Sonia or Nate Sentais, this makes the KAIc worth producing.

Another important point is that a squadron needs to go through all past incarnations before it can upgrade to the better, late war models. Some KAIc squadrons convert to Frank, and most late war night fighters (randies) were KAIc at a point. In other words, with PDU off, the question is not �should you produce� (you almost always should) but �how many�.

Once more, I haven�t really studied the question, looking at all groups, their upgrade paths, and production dates. I believe it is possible to devise a general upgrade plan, which would the drive research, and production.

To our women, our horses

Well, I did not find C�te Rotie, or Chasse Spleen, after all. They had small stocks, which probably sold fast. Next year, maybe� But all this raises another interesting question: how should I celebrate the fall of Chungking? As China is an attrition war, something strong and heavy is in order. That would be red wine, obviously, Burgundy, or perhaps Cornas is we stay in the C�tes du Rhone, or a Spanish wine (or French close to the border). And cheese too, something manly, Brie de Melun, perhaps. Food when I win, food when I lose, I am beginning to enjoy this war!

@Obvert: Japanese whisky is an interesting idea. I know Japan produces some wine, but I have never tried it. I hope they are better than Chinese wines�

@Pax: C�te Rotie is a great wine, it is getting a bit too famous these days, and prices, which always were high, are becoming unreasonable (like some famous Bordeaux). If you like it, you might also enjoy its white counterpart, Condrieu. And just PM if you plan to be in the area (Paris, I mean). I know places�

(in reply to PaxMondo)

Post #: 208

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/19/2012 1:35:23 AM

PaxMondo

Posts: 9750
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C�te Rotie - I know ... out of my budget now.

As for Paris, prolly be a couple more years before a trip ... hopefully about the time you declare VICTORY!!!!

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Pax

(in reply to fcharton)

Post #: 209

RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) - 9/19/2012 9:06:45 AM

obvert

Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011
From: PDX (and now) London, UK
Status: offline

quote:

Well, I did not find C�te Rotie, or Chasse Spleen, after all. They had small stocks, which probably sold fast. Next year, maybe� But all this raises another interesting question: how should I celebrate the fall of Chungking? As China is an attrition war, something strong and heavy is in order. That would be red wine, obviously, Burgundy, or perhaps Cornas is we stay in the C�tes du Rhone, or a Spanish wine (or French close to the border). And cheese too, something manly, Brie de Melun, perhaps. Food when I win, food when I lose, I am beginning to enjoy this war!

I like your ideas more and more!

Being the son of a wine merchant, Chiang most likely had some good stores of French wine in his house in Chungking there. Probably classic Bordeaux and Burgundy. For cheese maybe Bleu d'Auvergne for the Chinese colors?

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"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

(in reply to PaxMondo)

Post #: 210

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