RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. David the Great (J)

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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> After Action Reports >> RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. David the Great (J)

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RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. Dav... - 5/26/2015 3:42:33 AM

CaptDave

Posts: 659
Joined: 6/21/2002
From: Federal Way, WA
Status: offline

2179

Repeat of my previous post, but this time we're finally really getting going on. After a year and a half we've actually played a full month! David's move took some time, then it was high point in the tax season, then he was busy at work, then ... then ... then ...

On the bright side I'm coming to the end of a couple of my terms of office in some professional organizations, and although I'm replacing those positions with others the net result should be that I have a little more free time. Also, due to previously mentioned medical conditions (which haven't gone away -- some are improving greatly, some are merely improving, and some have cropped up but are being treated) I've given up some of my other meetings.

I'll have a good post for you next turn, I think (I just finished the 1/5/42 turn and will review it before sending it off). Took too long to pick up on where I was so no report this time.

(PS -- as an Allied player, I hate the accuracy of Japanese search in the early war!)

Dave

(in reply to BBfanboy)

Post #: 31

RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. Dav... - 7/16/2015 7:04:25 AM

CaptDave

Posts: 659
Joined: 6/21/2002
From: Federal Way, WA
Status: offline

1/6/42

This time it was David's turn to take a month for his turn. I've promised to up my tempo, and I hope he is able to do the same. I don't object to a slow game -- some of us do still work for a living! -- but I'm quickly learning that after about a week I have no memory of what I was thinking, and even after playing the game sporadically for years my note-taking skills haven't even risen to the level of lacking.

To recap:

My strategy right now is to hunker down on defense as much as possible. The exception, of course, is the submarine force. While they're being much more useless than I'm used to, they at least get a shot off on occasion. It's been a while since they scored any hits, though (fortunately, I can say the same for the other side).

The current situation:

All surviving troops in Malaya are either in Johore Bahru or Singapore. The Japanese have advanced into Johore, where my strenght is 2391/327/98. Not as strong as I'd like, but what is at this point in the war? Fortifications just reached 3, so this should be at least a teeth-jarring speed bump. Intelligence tells me there is only 1 Japanese unit in Johore at this point.

The numbers at Singapore are much better: 10833/6206/359. I'm hoping the forts will be up to at least 4 by the time the Japanese arrive (they're at 3.52 now). I'm also prepared to evacuate air and shipping as soon as needed.

I have absolutely no idea where the KB is. It was last seen northwest of Auckland (all directions based on the map, not on reality) but it departed after sinking practically every ship in port. I'm wary, proceeding with caution, but pressing on.

There was a report of ships being sighted one hex west of Cochin. They don't show on the map, and the report was 4 ships moving SW at 19 knots. I don't have any TFs in that area, so it's not a case of misidentification. There's probably nothing there, but we'll find out next turn when we see if they're spotted again. To add some safety I've sent SS TRUANT on patrol in the area between SW India and the line of shallow water to the west.

Since the allies can't convert any ships into AS, I'm prudently redeploying my current ones as possible. The one in Colombo is moving to Trincomalee so I have both bases available for sub work. The AS in San Diego will be redeployed to either Darwin or Brisbane as soon as an escort is available.

The Japanese have invested Manila so I'm in the process of evacuating all ships in good repair. There are only 5 ships in port, anyway, and one isn't worth trying to save. The other four are simply rebasing to Bataan. There are some Japanese TFs in other hexes around the entrance to Manila Bay and I'm redeploying the local S boats to harass them a bit. In the unlikely event that the Japanese ships decide to retire then I'll get the AS out of Dodge. There haven't been any air attacks on Bataan for a while so I might have a few days' respite before he calls my bluff.

I'll be rebasing all the Manila submarines. The S boats will go first to Soerabaja, then to Australia. The others will be split among several bases; those with a longer range will probably go to Pearl while those with a little bit less endurance will go to Australia. I have some time before I have to commit them, but since their hunting grounds aren't bearing fruit I'll shift their patrol zones (next turn) in the direction of their new bases.

I'm not happy with the way I've been building up defenses in India. I somehow don't think he's going to make any serious attempts to invade, but as O'Kane (and probably several others) said, "plan based on the enemy's capabilities, not on what you think his intentions are." So far I've concentrated on building up Ceylon, which is not unreasonable, but my shipping is too scattered to do much with the two Australian divisions waiting in Aden for transport. Lots of empties headed back that direction, though, so I might be able to move some Aussies soon.

China, as can be expected, is a chaotic mess. I've been pulling the old Sir Robin ploy there, but my troops move with the speed of a glacier while his are more like the nitwits skiing down that glacier! He has troops in Changsha alongside mine, but this will be a long war of attrition. The mouseover makes it look like I have a few hundred units -- that's units, not troops -- there, and the numbers are 16690/445/0. He has 9 units in the city, so his AV is probably getting close to mine. I get the city bonus on defense, at least, and I'm not stupid enough to attack him! Other units are moving toward the city, and they're closer than his approaching reinforcements. Everything west of Changsha is still retreating, by the way; the incoming troops I mention are coming from the east on their own retreats.

The only other effort I've made this turn is to take a look at the repairs going on at Pearl Harbor. The shipyard is close to capacity, and DD HELM and CL PHOENIX have reached their repair limits without going into the docks. I moved HELM in, but doing so with PHOENIX tripled the remaining repair time on the other ships already there so she will stay pierside another 3+ weeks. The ships taking up the space are almost all CA and CL, with a DD or two. The BBs will have to wait; they might even get repaired enough pierside to be sent to the states to finish up, but we'll see. They're all still pretty heavily damaged.

Oops, I lied. I decided I'd better check the status of upcoming withdrawals. Nothing to worry about their. AP DOMINION MONARCH, currently at Singapore is the next ship to go and that's not for 27 days. Ground unit withdrawal is far enough away that it's still reported in dates and not numbers of days. The earliest air unit withdrawal is coming up in 9 days, and that's the B-18 squadrons training at Fresno. A B-17E unit will disappear not too many days after that, and I won't be as complacent about its departure. After that I have some breathing room.

Lots I still need to get done. Any particular information anyone wants? More important, any advice anyone has?

(in reply to CaptDave)

Post #: 32

RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. Dav... - 8/5/2015 4:56:27 AM

CaptDave

Posts: 659
Joined: 6/21/2002
From: Federal Way, WA
Status: offline

2501

Okay, I just finished my 1/7/42 turn but haven't sent it off, yet (with the amount of email I receive, I try not to get into the program in the evening because if I don't look at all my mailboxes I won't see new messages flagged the next morning).

Not a lot of combat worth mentioning this turn. SS S-37 decided to take on a whole flotilla of destroyers off the entrance to Manila Bay; I think you can guess the outcome! The only other thing I bothered making a note about was the Japanese SS parked off the entrance to Puget Sound. More on that in a minute.

Most of this turn was spent paying attention to the subs in the Philippine Sea and its environs, along with aircraft in the islands. As far as the aircraft go, I'm either evacuating or preparing to evacuate them from bases that will fall soon. In most cases the key word is "preparing." The biggest question I have for myself is what to do with 10BS PAAC, that miserable little B-10 unit. It's restricted, so I can't move it out of the PI without changing a base command somewhere (don't have the game open right now; might be I can change the unit, as well). It has one airplane left with no replacements available, so I'll probably decide to just disband it rather than wasting points. It could be a good training unit, otherwise.

The Manila-based submarines have been subjected to three different changes. The S boats have been rebased at Soerabaja, which for the time being seems to be safe from Japanese aggression. One of them needs to leave now and even stop at Ternate for some fuel; the others can stay on patrol a while longer before they need to retire. The fleet boats are being rebased to either Sydney or Pearl Harbor, depending on where they're patrolling now; those in the south go to Sydney, those in the north go to Pearl Harbor. Three of them have had their patrols changed so they're in an area where some ships needs some sinkin' -- the others will be changed eventually if I see evidence they're being evaded.

I have a task force leaving Cagayan, heading to Pearl Harbor. Remarkably enough there don't seem to be any Japanese ships positioned to block my escape route and there are no aircraft in those parts making observations. These are just four small transports (I think one xAK and three xAKL) carrying the base force, the only ground unit that can be moved. They'd be lost soon anyway, so if they don't make it I'm not going to cry about them (well, no more than if they were lost when the base was overrun).

On the other hand, I seem to have something on the order of a hundred ships at Soerabaja. The base isn't under immediate threat, so I've put off thinking about them for one more day. Since I have most of my game time in the hour or two before going to bed, I don't always think my best when working with it!

My other hope is that I'll be able to get AS CANOPUS out of Manila. It has two days left in the shipyard, and when it's in good shape I'll rebase it to Bataan. David does have the waters blocked any farther out, so I'm hoping some of my sub activity will cause at least some temporary diversions there. There just aren't enough AS to go around, and in AE the Allied player doesn't get to convert anything to them.

With any luck the SS off Puget Sound won't survive much longer (but luck of this sort has eluded me this entire war; even the Dutch submarines aren't getting hits!). There are any number of ASW aircraft that should be flying over its hex, and I've formed the three KV from Vancouver into an ASW TF and sent them in that direction. At the very least I hope to keep this guy hugging the bottom after a few turns; Alaska needs some supplies so I have the TF loading up at Seattle. Two DDs and a PG with the transports, but I feel safer when there's no SS there in the first place.

I'll admit to being completely overwhelmed trying to keep track of what's happening in China. Units have movement orders different from what I remember, some are just camping in place when I know I had everything on the move, and so on. Sometime soon I need to make some detailed notes of what my intentions are so I can follow up every turn or two. I'm taking to heart everyone's advice to not worry about everything every turn, but China seems to be that one that keeps getting postponed "just one more turn."

Biggest concern of all: I haven't seen the KB in well over a week of game time. It could well be heading back to Truk or even Japan; shortly after Pearl Harbor it was off New Zealand decimating everything I had down there. There are no Japanese bases to speak of south of Truk at the moment (there are some, but they're tiny sites) so I'm not concerned about the KB refitting any closer.

Next major action site will probably be Singapore. The enemy is in Johore Bahru, but so are a dozen or so of my fighting units. An equal number and more are in Singapore resting up, and I'm issuing ground attack orders to many of the Singapore-based aircraft (both bombers and fighters). I'm rather surprised there haven't been any Japanese bomber attacks in this area, to tell you the truth!

I think that about covers it for this update. Questions and advice are always welcome!

(in reply to CaptDave)

Post #: 33

RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. Dav... - 8/10/2015 4:21:11 AM

CaptDave

Posts: 659
Joined: 6/21/2002
From: Federal Way, WA
Status: offline

2599

1/7/42

Always happy to see that people are actually reading!

Don't think I have David's next turn, yet. I tend not to check email on weekends (has to do with the same computer being for work and personal), so it could be in my inbox waiting. He does sent the combat results and his pre-move file, though, so I can start my own planning.

Not that much to report in terms of combat. Had only two or three flights to attack shipping at Bataan; his pilots must need some rest (or they couldn't take off due to weather). For once he actually didn't hit anything! Neither did my CAP, but that's beside the point.

In China the Japanese attacks continue, both air and ground. He seems to be concentrating on two points -- just southeast and slightly farther south of Sian -- and not having ultimate success (in one attack I did lose a LOT of troops, but that was the exception). There are some attacks elsewhere, but they were inconsequential for a change.

The big deal is Malaya, where the attack on Johore Bahru has begun. I have less firepower there than I thought, but I know there is a lot more in Singapore itself. I might start pulling back now; the main purpose of having a force in JB was to hold off the enemy while we ramped everybody up to fighting mode in Singapore (I've been alternating units set for Rest or Combat every day or two). Naturally, the planes I had attacking his troops in Johore Bahru were lucky to hit the right time zone.

My plans for this turn include:

1. As I just said, start pulling back from Johore Bahru to Singapore. At the same time, convert troops in Singapore to Combat/Defend status. Maybe see about sneaking some ships up the east coast of the other island (name escapes me at the moment) in onesy-twosy TFs while he's distracted with the attack.

2. Look at all units in China. Many seem to have stopped their movement in locations I wouldn't have sent them; if that's the case, it needs to be rectified. Make a list of units and their individual intentions.

3. Reassess my status in India and the surrounding ocean. This is just a status check; no change in strategy unless my review of the map finds some disconcerting enemy shipping in the area.

4. Do the same for the South Pacific, Dutch territory, and Australia. I did this for Alaska last turn (with the result that I'm sending some shiploads of supplies up that way).

5. Regarding the Alaska shipping, see what's up with that submarine off the entrance to Puget Sound. Its presence is distinctly unwelcome! At least my supply shuttle to Victoria isn't affected by it.

6. Anything else I happen to think of between now and the time I open the game file.

If I remember, I'll post again at the end of the turn.

(in reply to CaptDave)

Post #: 34

RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. Dav... - 8/10/2015 4:29:05 AM

CaptDave

Posts: 659
Joined: 6/21/2002
From: Federal Way, WA
Status: offline

OFF-TOPIC

For anyone who might be interested, while my medical issues are still around I'm much improved. They boil down to two things: diabetic amyotrophy (which results in atrophy of the quadriceps) and a blister on the ball of my foot. The former affects about 1% of Type 2 diabetics, and I got it in both legs so I'm really special! The left leg included a case of drop foot, so I had a brace which, in turn, caused the blister.

Both issues saw a marked improvement over the past 3 weeks. I still use a walker because I have balance issues, but if I'm at home or walking short distances I don't use it. I can do stairs as long as there's a handrail. Other than that, the strength in my legs is probably about 80% back to normal and improving. The blister, which was as deep as it could be, has also healed nicely since I realized the way I was walking on it was an additional issue.

I don't want to bore everybody, so this will be the last post here on the issue. Always willing to talk about it, though, especially if someone else is facing a similar issue and has some trepidation. That's what PMs are for.

(in reply to BBfanboy)

Post #: 35

RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. Dav... - 8/10/2015 4:57:20 AM

BBfanboy

Posts: 18046
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
Status: offline

Glad to hear you are on the upswing! I can only gripe about the usual aches and pains (and lack of sound sleep) that go with geezerdom, so your post reminds me that I am still pretty lucky (touch wood). It grieves me whenever one of the forum community suffers ill health and drops off line. Feels like I lose a friend I never met ... but miss anyway.
Keep the posts coming - I am reading them even if I don't have comment.

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

(in reply to CaptDave)

Post #: 36

RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. Dav... - 8/16/2015 3:39:55 AM

CaptDave

Posts: 659
Joined: 6/21/2002
From: Federal Way, WA
Status: offline

Thanks, BBfanboy. I know people are reading! (Have you ever wondered about the numbers at the top of my posts? Those are the number of reads at that point.) I appreciate it.

(in reply to BBfanboy)

Post #: 37

RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. Dav... - 8/24/2015 1:28:13 AM

CaptDave

Posts: 659
Joined: 6/21/2002
From: Federal Way, WA
Status: offline

2795

01/08/1942

It's on at Johore Bahru! The Japanese have made their opening attack and our units have started their pullback to Singapore. Those with no AV and therefore useless in combat are in Move mode, the others are in Combat mode and employing a fighting withdrawal. Units already in Singapore are on full war footing and ready to defend the island. Although no Japanese shipping has been spotted anywhere in the area, some submarines have been redirected to patrol the approaches to Singapore Harbor, just in case.

In other observations, I continue to be amazed that the Japanese pilots can find a single ship in any water hex in their range, while at the opposite extreme Allied pilots -- if they deign to take off at all -- are lucky to drop their bombs in the right time zone! Fortunately, there haven't been many Japanese air attacks for 2 or 3 days, although this make me wonder whether their planes are just all in need of some maintenance at the same time or they're being rebased. They have plenty of bases in Southeast Asia, and it could be that the planes are being relocated to aid in the attack on Singapore.

I still have no blankety-blank idea where the KB is. I wonder if my search pilots are taking turns sleeping at the controls.

The submarine in the vicinity of Victoria is no longer detected. My convoy headed for Alaska is transiting the strait right now, so tomorrow will likely be the day of reckoning if it's going to come at all. There are two destroyers -- all I had available -- escorting the convoy, but I've seen nothing to give myself great confidence in US ASW capability.

I made it through the laborious process of identifying what all my Chinese ground units need to be doing. Most are retreating to cities before going farther to defensible terrain; this way I can at least exercise some modicum of control over their routes. It also lets me concentrate more units that can move together. Two units in particular, though, are a long way from anywhere so I've started them off toward friendly territory while I perform airborne reconnaissance over Foochow which right now seems to be empty. Should that prove to be the case then I'll redirect these two units -- actually two hexes full of units, as one stack really has four units in it -- to Foochow. There don't appear to be any enemy units elsewhere in the vicinity, either, so taking a short break to recapture one city (and divert his attention) and avail myself of its supplies might be of some benefit. These units really don't have much of a chance otherwise, so what the heck?

I have 7 days before some air units need to be withdrawn, and 25 days for the first ship (unnamed here for OPSEC reasons; we have arrival variability turned on so even with this message it won't be clear exactly what ship(s) this applies to). Someone remind me, since it's easier than trying to find the right search terms -- is the common wisdom that it's better to remove all the pilots before disbanding/withdrawing a squadron, or does it not make any difference?

Per a post I read in the forum, I'm going to move my shipping out of Rangoon one ship at a time, to a couple of different destinations, on an irregular schedule. I'll then bring in supplies in the same fashion. There's no immediate threat to Rangoon, so let's get this going while it's still possible.

Speaking of Rangoon, I am using the bombers based there to attack Japanese troops that are moving up the road on the east side of the gulf. They're being escorted by 1/3 of an AVG squadron, another 1/3 is strafing said troops, and the other 1/3 is providing CAP at Rangoon (the rest of the AVG is still at Taungoo -- I have a basic belief that defending Burma is more important than defending China). I've been minimizing my offense so far, but sometimes its effect can go beyond simply displaying firepower.

That pretty much covers the present situation. Next time, if my memory works properly, I'll give an update on the situation in the central and south Pacific.

(in reply to CaptDave)

Post #: 38

RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. Dav... - 3/11/2016 8:27:03 AM

CaptDave

Posts: 659
Joined: 6/21/2002
From: Federal Way, WA
Status: offline

3452

Yes, this game is still going on. Yes, it's moving at a glacial pace! No, we don't mind; that's why we have each other as opponents -- we both have lives full of other activities and, as sacrilegious as it may sound, WitP isn't our top priority!

I've missed a few turns in the updates, but nothing much happened that's newsworthy so we'll just pick up where we are now. I would like it if we picked up the pace just a little bit!

1/12/42

Some aircraft withdrawals will take place in 3 days, including the ones that are actually doing something in China.
There are 21 days until xAP DOMINION MONARCH withdraws. She is currently in port in Singapore.
No LCU withdrawals are scheduled for months to come.

China

Given the length of time I've been sitting on this turn (I misplaced my notebook, and without it it's nearly impossible to play given the frequency of our turns) I'm going to assume the units in China are still doing what they were told to do a couple turns ago. Spot checks show this to be the case.

Using the longer-range bombers to send some supplies from Kweilin to Kukong. This will be done only for one turn as (a) these are the bombers that will withdraw, and (b) Kweilin isn't exactly blessed with a surplus, itself. However, Kukong is one of the mustering points for the scattered units, and those who are waiting need to eat.

Strategy in China is a general withdrawal, with a couple of detailed thoughts:
1. There is safety in numbers, hence the attempt to amass multiple units to travel together.
2. While the mustering points are all cities, primarily for the defense bonus, some units are blocking strategic intersections outside the cities until the stragglers make it in (or until attack looks imminent).

Malay Peninsula

All ground units in Singapore are either prepped or prepping for that location. Singapore itself has not yet been attacked; I believe David is waiting until he has critical mass assembled in Johore Bahru.

Although recon throughout the war to date has been suspect, to say the least, all appearances are that there are no naval forces in the vicinity nor will there be in the foreseeable future (caveat: I have absolutely no idea where the KB is, but I think I've located the mini-KB). Because they're surprisingly useful for such ancient planes, I'm moving the torpedo bombers, along with the Recon Buffaloes, to other bases. Note to self: remember to keep moving them each turn!

Burma

Units in Pegu have been put into Rest mode. There are enemy units to the east, but if I remember past turns correctly I have some time before they can move far enough to enter Pegu. Even two or three turns of rest will help the defense effort.

There are some Allied units in Moulmein who don't have a clear path to Rangoon so plan to defend in Moulmein. Enemy units to the SW are being targeted by air from Rangoon (with the usual lack of results). The air units aren't even returning good intelligence.

Borneo

Three units in the hex to the east of Pontianak are pretty much done for. They have no supplies and AVs of 3, 2, and 0. I've been trying to come up with some kind of poetic tribute, but my brain isn't working that way tonight.

The units forced out of Tarakan into Tandjoengaelor are similarly low on AV but have better supplies. Still, it doesn't seem to be enough for them to get anywhere else. We offer the same lack of poetic tribute to them.

A large surface TF is sitting SW of Balikpapan, the only hex to move into from the port. I'm sending a Dutch submarine to see if it can raise some interest (at least their torpedoes work!).

Philippines

Enemy troops are far superior in Manila; the city will be lost soon. If they can hold on for one more day we might be able to evacuate the remaining aircraft (which have said "repairs in 1 day" for a lot longer than that).

Four ships remain in the harbor at Manila. Two are viable, the other won't be close to seaworthy before the city falls. The good ones have been rebased to Bataan.

Supplies are low at Batangas, where we have our fighter aircraft. We'll have to consider relocating them very soon.

There are two enemy TFs outside Bataan, one to the SW (surface) and one to the W (mini-KB). Our submarines haven't done a good job of even finding them, let alone sending them to Davy Jones's locker.

Incredibly, Iba is still in Allied hands although it is surrounded by Japanese-held property. I'm attempting to move out the two ground units still there, but we'll have to see what happens. Might as well die trying to join their comrades as defending an unused airfield.

India

No news. I didn't even think to look at this theater until I started writing this report.

Southwest Pacific

Two ground units on New Britain are making their way to Gasmata. The direction arrow on their pursuer indicates the enemy has turned around and is heading back to Rabaul; we'll hope that's the case. There is a transport TF waiting to report to Gasmata to pick up these units, and we'll try to time the arrivals of the two forces at the same time.

Enemy SS activity outside Auckland continues to be ridiculous -- four submarines just marking time! I don't know what they think is left that's worthy of their attention, so I guess I can be grateful they're hanging around there and not off doing something really harmful. On the other hand, what's just as ridiculous is the total lack of results of my ASW efforts.

Fiji is starting to run low on supplies. Wellington doesn't have a lot of surplus, but I'll run a small xAKL from there up to Suva. There are more supplies available in Christchurch, but by the time a ship gets there, loads, and makes it to Suva the follow-up load from Australia will have arrived or be just one or two days out. That's not worth taking some of New Zealand's precious supply for.

Central Pacific

Nothing much happening except that supplies have finally arrived at Christmas Island and are being unloaded. Penrhyn Island is alarmingly low on supplies itself, and there is a US Navy unit sitting there, so I'm going to try to stop unloading when there's just a little left and send the task force on to Penrhyn.

Alaska

There has been no enemy presence except for one harassing submarine a couple weeks ago. We would at least like to have some good patrol aircraft in this sector, in case the enemy tries to take the northern route to the States.

There is a transport TF in Dutch Harbor. Its name is "Evac Naga-BNE" (BNE is the airport code for Brisbane). What's it doing in DUT??? I must have rerouted it due to enemy shipping and either I didn't notice when it arrived or it just got there. It's empty, so now that it's refueled I'm sending it on to San Francisco.

Supplies are finally being unloaded at Umnak after two different sets of garbled orders. Engineers on the island apparently were just delivered as they're still in Strategic mode (well, they were; now they're in Combat mode). Their job will be to build up the airfield as quickly as possible.

North America

There a lot of air and ground units sitting in the Eastern USA, training. When I'm able to look at the game again (it is tax season, after all; results not guaranteed) I'll have to see how far along they all are in their training. Didn't want to take the time this turn.

Part of me says I should take the Canadian units garrisoning the interior cities and at least move them to the west coast (they're in restricted commands and will stay for Home Defense regardless). The other part of me says I should stick to the spirit of what their role is and leave them where they are. There's no rush, so I'll wait but will likely decide to go ahead and move them. We're playing with no house rules, after all (none beyond the very first turn, that is).

(in reply to CaptDave)

Post #: 39

RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. Dav... - 6/21/2016 12:14:35 AM

CaptDave

Posts: 659
Joined: 6/21/2002
From: Federal Way, WA
Status: offline

3794

Believe it or not, this game is still going on. We seem to be averaging about a turn per month right now, but since tax season is over I do have a little more time to devote to it. What I do find at this glacial pace is that I have to spend way too much time remembering what I'm doing!

Right now I'm reviewing the situation as I await the next turn (David always sends a pre-move file with the combat file so I can at least be looking at the latest turn before I get the one that's actually in play). At this precise instant I'm at the office taking a quick break so I don't have the game open, but here are my conclusions so far as I remember them:

∙ I need to pay more attention to who's commanding my submarines. Unfortunately, I can only look at each commander's statistics when the sub is in port, so I'm limited to the two brand-new ones I have (and they're both immensely satisfactory).

∙ Submarine patrol areas need to be revised, as well. Haven't had an attack in ages!

∙ I need a 120" screen so I can open the strategic map and see everything at a readable scale.

(Seriously, I'm nearsighted and don't need any help reading the screen, but it would be nice to see the whole thing at once and be able to identify individual Pacific islands.)

∙ I want the larger map so I can set up supply lines with reasonable intermediate support points for the times they're needed. For this rough purpose I can make do with the old WitP printed map, which is still on my wall.

There's more, but I'm getting distracted by office conversation. Hope to receive a turn soon, then get my part done and report back to my loyal readers!

(in reply to CaptDave)

Post #: 40

RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. Dav... - 6/26/2016 4:40:09 AM

CaptDave

Posts: 659
Joined: 6/21/2002
From: Federal Way, WA
Status: offline

3861

Still waiting for the next turn, but I'm determined to be 100% ready for it this time and turn it around within a day! What I'm learning, though, is that's it's exhausting to have to figure everything out again every time; it's even worse than the opening move. I really have to learn to take better notes.

In the meantime, I've done the initial review of my sub patrols. As expected, I discovered that I must be missing a lot of opportunities. I have 72 submarines active, including 2 that are new and waiting at their opening ports so they don't count in this discussion. In addition, one other is new and en route to its first base and another is just starting out after resupply so they don't count, either. That leaves 68 submarines to talk about; of those 68 a full 30 haven't fired a single torpedo. Ignore the misses and duds; after a month 44% haven't even fired a shot!

Now, that's to be expected (and hoped for) with the subs on west coast patrol duty. Where targets should be plentiful, though, I think some of the problem is that I make my patrol areas a bit too compact, typically triangles only 2 or 3 hexes on a side. This is appropriate in some cases, but in the open ocean I need to be willing to enlarge the patrol areas.

Of course, I also suspect that some of my sub commanders are somewhat lacking in aggression, but I can't check them until they're back in port (that's not one of the values displayed on the ship screen). There are lots of candidates for submarine command in my pool, so I'll be watching the subs as they arrive.

Speaking of that, here's a tip for any newbies who might be unaware: if a task force is assigned a patrol area, it will return to port for reprovisioning and then head right back out; auto-disband commands are ignored. This is great for an ASW patrol around the base that just needs to get more depth charges, but it's a PITA when a sub is involved. When you see a submarine leaving its station to return to port, if you don't want it to automatically go right back where it was then you need to clear the patrol zone. I just now figured that out, after how many years playing this game?

I'd like to go into more detail about my sub operations, which actually are my primary interest, but I'm suspicious there might be a security leak. Every time I've posted detailed plans in the past my opponent almost magically happens to be in position to thwart them. I don't suspect him of espionage, but I need to run a few turns in silence to convince myself that it's all just coincidence. Shouldn't be long before I can talk about such things again. (Besides that, I've only reviewed the existing problems -- I'm still looking into how I want to address them!)

Next update will probably come when the turn comes and is returned.

(in reply to CaptDave)

Post #: 41

RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. Dav... - 8/3/2016 5:17:40 AM

CaptDave

Posts: 659
Joined: 6/21/2002
From: Federal Way, WA
Status: offline

4032

Finally got the turn and, of course, it was during my busiest week of the month. Almost ready to send it back, just a couple items to research first.

Due to the security concerns I mentioned in my last post, I can't give specifics of what I'm doing this turn. This should give a general idea, though. Things are listed here in no particular order.

1. Some flying groups are to be withdrawn next turn, so I'm sending them on last minute all-out blitz missions. In keeping with some semblance of realism (think the "Dieppe Factor" rule in Third Reich) these are not suicide missions, but I at least want the pilots to earn their respite.

2. Two new submarines are being deployed to their future operating bases.

3. Provisions are being made for particular supply lines in China.

4. Aircraft in hot areas that aren't useful in the immediate future are being redeployed to safe haven bases.

5. Forward defense bases are being built up with appropriately-sized ground units.

6. ASW task forces have seen a small amount of reorganization. Nothing major, just efficiency improvements.

7. As always, have reviewed bases that just completed an expansion phase (ports, airfields, and/or fortifications). Shifted focus on one of them, others are to continue on the same feature(s).

8. Although there doesn't seem to be any immediate danger, I'm sending some fighters to defend a base that is almost worthless to the Allies but of immense value to the Japanese. That's one of the research items: determine which aircraft type is best suited to my needs.

That's it for now. Turn will be finished this week (would be tonight if I didn't need to be working a program that conflicts with WitP) and I'll post any additional comments then.

(in reply to CaptDave)

Post #: 42

RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. Dav... - 8/5/2016 5:46:21 AM

CaptDave

Posts: 659
Joined: 6/21/2002
From: Federal Way, WA
Status: offline

4089

Okay, turn is complete and will go out tomorrow in email (I try to avoid getting into email at home -- if you really care why, I'll tell you but it'll take a lot longer than this weasly remark).

Just one major addition to what I mentioned in the previous post: there are additional air units that will be withdrawn within 2 weeks, so I've upped them to 100% training (these are the restricted units in the US that don't stick around long enough to be worth doing anything with). They should be okay for 2 weeks or less until they go away. Normally I stick to about 70% training so pilots and airframes will rotate in and out and minimize fatigue, which in turn reduces the chance of operational losses. We all know what's going to happen later on, but I try to play as if it were in the here and now and I have no idea what's going to be released to the Pacific Theater contrary to the "Germany first" orthodoxy.

Oh, yes, I did upgrade two units' aircraft. These units, of course, aren't going away anytime soon, and the pools for their new types are full enough.

For the future, I'll be reviewing what units -- both ground and air -- I have in places that don't do any good. Somehow I've built up the East Coast to an air force about the size of the boneyard at Davis-Monthan and need to get those planes moving. That's only one example, though perhaps the most extreme.

If things go as usual then David will get the turn Friday afternoon his time and I'll have the combat replay, along with what he calls a "raw" file, before the end of the weekend. We'll see if I have time to do anything with it!

(in reply to CaptDave)

Post #: 43

RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. Dav... - 8/6/2016 7:00:55 AM

CaptDave

Posts: 659
Joined: 6/21/2002
From: Federal Way, WA
Status: offline

4139

Got the combat replay. Haven't yet looked at what I'm going to do about it!

Most negatively notable, that damn Japanese sub hanging around Midway sank xAK MAHIMAHI. Two destroyers and I don't remember how many aircraft on ASW and they can't even find a sub whose presence is known. A replacement TF is already en route, but we are not amused!

Most positively notable, one of my own subs actually hit a ship! SS SAURY fired I-don't-know-how-many torpedoes at XAK KEIYO MARU and scored one torpedo hit and 13 shell hits. I haven't yet investigated why the captain was making a surface attack in the daylight! SAURY took 5 shell hits herself. At least two torpedoes were duds, and at least two missed. I wasn't paying attention during the replay and the numbers aren't split out in the combat report.

Aside from that, the Japanese are unloading troops at Shortlands and Billiton, and they occupied the next-to-last base on Mindanao. Only Cagayan remains in Allied hands.

Several inconsequential air attacks took place in China, as usual. One major raid at Manila (138 Japanese aircraft), attacking Asiatic Fleet HQ, was a moral victory for the Allies. The defense consisted of 2 P-35As and 1 P-40E, 1 each of which were destroyed but not before one Lily was damaged (I'm actually surprised the CAP lasted more than 30 seconds)! Only 168 casualties on the ground.

The only ground combat took place in the hex east of Pontianak, where the exhausted units fleeing from the various northwest bases finally had enough and surrendered. The loss is minuscule in terms of the war, but it's still painful to see.

Next post will come when orders for the next day have been developed.

(in reply to CaptDave)

Post #: 44

RE: Dave, David; Potato, Potahto -- CaptDave (A) v. Dav... - 8/7/2016 9:57:11 PM

Bif1961

Posts: 2014
Joined: 6/26/2008
From: Phenix City, Alabama
Status: offline

Now the xAK MahiMahi is sleeping with the fishes?

(in reply to CaptDave)

Post #: 45

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