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An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so far... - 3/18/2014 9:33:01 PM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		Howdy all,

First off, I need to thank everyone who has posted and commented on the AARs posted since this game has come out, it has helped me alot in learning this game so far.

I'm not sure when I first heard of WIF, but was not overly impressed at first glance. However, reading some of the posts several years before it was released, I slowly began to think that there was a lot more to it than I gave it credit for, and it has far exceeded my expectations since I bought it.

My first real exposure to wargames was in the late 70's with AH Alesia, follwed by Wooden Ships and Iron Men, Squad leader, and Gettysburg. At some point I bought Third Reich. At some point I found TSR's European and Pacific Theaters of Operations. Now here I am with this AAR.

This is about my 5th or 6th Start of the Global War using all of the options turned on. I had decided from my first attempt to use all of the options turned on to force me to learn the game in full from the start, and it has been paying off I believe. I have yet to get more than one or two turns past the fall of France, due to lessons learned from the mistakes I made learning the game. In my current game, I made it past the fall of France and am pushing in spite of things I should have done better not fully understanding some things, but I am happy with it so far, and hope at least to make beyound the U.S. entry. In this AAR, and new game, I hope to take it even further.

Post #: 1
RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/18/2014 9:48:44 PM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		Ok, all options are on and the U.S. entry rolls have been made. Two rolls for Germany and one for Japan.





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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/18/2014 9:58:05 PM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		Next, there are some units to get scrapped. I scrapped all of the air that I could, and the real slow sub. Come the scrap phase at the beginning of 1940, I may scrap more of the older subs, will wait and decide then. The air units scrapped are just too bad to think about using.

Regarding the weaker infantry units, some of them may be good for posting on the perimeter as speed bumps for the japanese, or at least to divide up for divisions as cannon fodder/ destroyed results. As my other in progress game progresses, I will learn more regarding scrapping older units.




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< Message edited by Banjo -- 3/18/2014 11:02:51 PM >

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Post #: 3
RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/18/2014 10:36:16 PM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		One thing I have learned so far is that we can make custom map views. Here is a view I made for the Caribbean, since there will be convoys here for the oil.




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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/18/2014 10:55:48 PM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		Set up for the U.S. is pretty standard. Fleets in Frisco and Norfolk. Engineers, AA, and fighters positioned to go to Pearl.

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Post #: 5
RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/18/2014 11:23:05 PM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		The USSR had their fighters scrapped. Before I set up the land units, I need to read up about placing units for making claims for Bessarabia and Finland, so for now its time to hit the books.

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Post #: 6
RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/19/2014 2:39:59 AM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		The bulk of the land and air forces are set up to threaten Rumania at the start. I am not looking to shift the forces north to try for Finland by winter, so they will shift to guard against the Germans invasion when it comes. The rest are in the east. The transport js in the Black Sea. Subs are in Leninigrad and Vladivostok. Eastern forces swapped for Siberians.

< Message edited by Banjo -- 3/19/2014 3:42:09 AM >

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Post #: 7
RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/19/2014 3:21:12 AM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		I have not shown the initial set ups so far. When the opposing sides need to set up on their respective fronts with regards to what they are facing, I will show them then. Italy has been set up.

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Post #: 8
RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/19/2014 3:40:34 AM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		The Chinese Nationals have been interesting since my days of playing PTO. In that game I played with the 1936 or 1937 start, I forget which date it was.

I like to place the warlords in their respective cities at the start of set up. After I place the rest of the forces, I will move them into areas shown as to help "fill in the gaps" so to speak. The open ground north of Changsa for me is a death zone for the Chinese. HGowever, I will place the Cav. units in the mountains on the western edge to give the Japanese something to worry about.




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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/19/2014 4:21:58 AM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		Here is the Nationals set up.

The Main defenses are in the Mountains east of Changsa. I was a bit unlucky in my force draw as I recieved an AT unit instead of AA as I have in my last two games. The Mountains east of Chunking are lighly defended. The Japanese will have to commit an HQ to support an attack through here, and it will be a few impulses before Yamamoto can get on the scene with forces from Japan to contain the Changsa area forces. I tried to spread out the 3 movement point units to readjust the lines when the Japanese do finally show their intentions. The warlords are placed just far enough into the mountains where they can either pull back to clear terrain for movement or to push forward to block the Japanese advance.




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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/19/2014 7:40:26 AM   
AxelNL


Posts: 2386
Joined: 9/24/2011
From: The Netherlands
Status: offline 		I'll be following your AAR - thanks for sharing this.

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Post #: 11
RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/19/2014 11:17:23 AM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		Thank You AxeINL. I'm learning just by doing this.

Bedore I went to bed last night, I realized that there were still a few units that needed placing. fighter went to Changsa, oil to Chengto, and 3-1 gar to Nanning to beef up the south line.

Here is a closeup of Changsa with avenues os retreat in blue, threat to Japanese in red, and hidden unit values in yellow. Courtesy of my high tech graphics department.




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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/19/2014 11:48:50 AM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		After placing the Chicoms, I am not liking this set up overall. I think that while looking at the two sides individually it looks fine, but in the big picture, the north is vulnerable. That being said, it is due to having to set up the two sides seperatly. This screenshot will be of use to evaluate future set ups when things are said and done.

This is roughly how I set up my last two games. The Japanese in both games were to take the factory in Changsa, then redeploy for Sian, or clear the rout to Hanoi, depending on how much time was left before declaring war on the CW and US. In the last game which I am still playing, it worked fairly well for the Chinese so far. Changsa held out for quite a while. As of Sept 40 turn, Kweilin and Chihkiang are under threat, but the Japanese have to start redeploying for action in 41. Mao is holding steady with growing numbers in the north, and Stilwell has added more flexability in the south. This game may prove to be different, as my initial thought for Japan before starting this game was to Hit the Chicoms and take Sian first.






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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/19/2014 3:06:18 PM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		All of the 1 class carrier air has been scrapped. There will be enough available when the classes change at the end of the year. I hope. Only the 2 air/sea strength Vildebeast was scrapped in Nav Air section. The Vildebeast range is not that great, but their air/sea strength is not that bad. If the are drawn in builds, they can always get moved into the Med or Pacific when better units are available to protect Britain.




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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/19/2014 3:24:21 PM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		First thing I like to do in setting up the CW, is to get the convoys out of the way. It can be a bit of a pain, but it is not impossible. Hopefully as time goes on, the process will be made a bit easier by the developers. I have full confidence that it will improve over time.

What works for me is to see how many of my factories are idle at start. Here it is 15, and all are in the UK. Since the Bay of Biscay is the main junction of the routes, I will place 15 CP units there.

The new Khaki colors for the units are fantastic. Kudos for the guys who made it possible!!!




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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/19/2014 3:42:46 PM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		To begin connecting the resources, I start with the western hemisphere first, farthest away, which is South Africa abd Rhodesia. Oil, will be connected last. There are three resources from Africa, so three CPs from the Gulf of Guinea to Cape st Vincent.




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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/19/2014 3:44:23 PM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		In all it took nine CPs to make the connection.




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Post #: 17
RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/19/2014 4:37:53 PM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		Houston, we have a problem. To connect the Eastern resources, I placed two Cps from Australia, 4 to from the connection from Malaya and Australia, add the two from India, that makes six going into the Med. One more for Cyprus, making it seven in the W. Med. and Cape st Vincent. Hiting the recompute button shows that I now have all of my convoys place accounted for, but...

Oil was convoyed out of Palambang instead of the resources from Australia. This is not good as the oil will need to be saved there. So I need to go into the production page and correct the problem. Its a minor pain, but it is something to be aware of when dealing with the convoys. Every unit of oil that can be saved per turn must be. If you want your units to be able to remain active.

In my current game, the Italians were able to cut the supply lines in the Med, and it plays havoc with getting the resources and oil where you want them. Since naval operations are still a bit sketchy for me, I am sure that I overlooked some things before the end of the turn and was not getting all of the resources routed. THis is one of the reasons that I began playing with oil and all of the options from the start, as I believe it forces one to learn these lessons early. I think that if one waits to use oil, one would get too used to that style of play and not fully adapting to the challenges that using oil presents. Then again thats why we have apples and oranges.

Here is my production showing the unintended oil connection.





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< Message edited by Banjo -- 3/19/2014 5:42:36 PM >

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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/19/2014 4:52:57 PM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		Now that the resources have been squared away, I have nine idle oil and seven Cps in my tray. Now its a matter of saving the oil in safe places, and set up the forces. I liken this to getting infrastructure in place before you pave the road. Having to dig up the road to place the infrastructure leads to potholes and a bumpy ride.




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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/19/2014 9:03:41 PM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		All of the convoys are placed, all factories are supplied. Only four oil are idle. They will supply reorganization factors until more CP is available.




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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/19/2014 11:32:36 PM   
Finarfïn


Posts: 145
Joined: 12/23/2013
Status: offline 		Maybe i'll say something wrong but i think you can't use traded oil (VEN or NEI for you)
untill you ship them to a city or port you control.

Fin

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Post #: 21
RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/20/2014 12:03:06 AM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		Finarfin,

I honestly do not remember back to the reorg. phase whether you can or not. I have a suspicion that you are correct. Regardless of which is the right answer, I do not have the means to transport it at the moment. What I do recall in the first couple of turnsint he game, oil usage for the CW can be limited enough so that all units can reorg, and that 1-3 units of oil may still be saved per turn. When the Dutch and Danish CPs that survive their respective countries capitulation, It will be enough to transport them to a safe location to make them available. Of course as the war progresses, that will become more difficult for a while when the Japanese declare war.

As I said in a previous post, the naval aspect of the game is still one of my weak areas, and my games never progressed to where the Royal Navy was really put to the test. My current game is at that point, and am learning from it. I also need to watch the tutorial video for naval operations, and read more of the manuals. As the old adage goes, "When all else fails, read the instructions".

Your comment is one of the reasons why I wanted to post an AAR, in order to have things like this pointed out. For that I thank you.


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Post #: 22
RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/20/2014 1:48:33 AM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		With the Italian fleet sitting in La Spezia, the CW has them outnumbered in BB units 7:2. They have a fair sized cruser force all with AA capability. Yes the forces are split between Gibratler and Alexandria, but They can call upon the Home fleet in Plymouth and the Asiatic fleet in Aden. A coordinated effort in the Atlantic an Med. along with the Japanese when they enter, will keep them busy.For now, they can hold their own.

Here is the distribution of the Navy with the home fleet shown.




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< Message edited by Banjo -- 3/20/2014 2:48:58 AM >

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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/20/2014 1:53:57 AM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		The forces will be built up and shifted into the Med and India when possible. The French will only be able to help contain the Italians for so long, So getting some more air and a land units will be done as soon as possible before Italy enters the war. So much to build, so little time. Of course, transports need to be built to keep everything moving.

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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/20/2014 2:34:58 AM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		Ah the French. How long will they last this time? Holding force against the Italians. Fast ships in Brest, slow in Oran with CV, subs and one CP. Oil will be saved in Damascus, with force pool oil in Paris. Reinforcing garrisons will man the Maginot line, allowing the infantry to redeploy.




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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/20/2014 2:38:43 AM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		Resources were sent using same method as CW, except Senegal was routed through the Atlantic, and Hanoi through the Med. Oil transported overland to Syria as there are not enough CP to get to France. Trans in Syria to get 3-3 inf back to France. Algerian inf will follow.

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Post #: 26
RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/20/2014 2:57:03 AM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		Before I call it a night, there are two more things that I have learned. Call it a day when you start to get tired, hence my waiting until tomorrow to set up the Japanese. Second, MWIF is not completly cat proof. No matter how hard the cat tries to rearrange the units on the screen he fails every time. He has walked across the keyboard and screwed things up to where I had to go back and reload the phase that I was in when I left the room.

One more. Make sure that you spend some time with the wife. The homefront is just as important as the frontline.

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Post #: 27
RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/20/2014 7:11:49 AM   
AxelNL


Posts: 2386
Joined: 9/24/2011
From: The Netherlands
Status: offline
Nice cat! Nice to see KiF being used as well.

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Post #: 28
RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/20/2014 2:10:40 PM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		Looking at the Dispositions of the CHinese forces, there are four places that I can groundstrike and attack on the first turn. The 3-3 inf in the south offers a good target with some room to exploit a successful attack. The next impulse weather could put a damper on that, but the Chinese would suffer from that as well. The large concentration of forces east of Changsa have some chances of advancing if there is not enough troops to block it.

I think the best thing to do would be to place all of my blocking forces on the map, and see what is left to use as my assault force. The sun is finally out here and the ground is drying out, so I will need to take advantage of it and get some work done.

THis afternoon will be the time to spend setting up the groundwork for deciding where I will attack.




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RE: An advanced beginners AAR, and what i've learned so... - 3/21/2014 2:22:22 AM   
Banjo

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 3/10/2001
From: Southwest Missouri
Status: offline 		After looking at the Chinese forces, I changed my mind and decided to hit Mao's forces in the north. Realising that I would not be able to concentrate enough forces for a first turn attack in the south, and the higher probability of bad weather, this was not a good idea.

The three attacking groups are not in position and spread out to show the units that will be commited. The other four were put in place so I could see where I wanted minimum blocking forces before I decided where to make my main attack. The attack groups will be put in place next, along with setting up the navy, which other than the transports and amphib will be sitting idle for quite a while. Air assets have not been placed yet either.

My goal is to have the forces on the Manchurian border secure the mountains north of Sian. China group will set up north of the Yellow river to secure the railroad between Tungkwan and Chenchow. The group from Japan will land and move into position to begin the assault on Sian from the south with the the China group. The main objective is to secure the area in white as soon as possible.




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< Message edited by Banjo -- 3/21/2014 3:28:35 AM >

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