RE: Empire of the Sun

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/13/2021 7:48:04 PM

DesertWolf101

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May 1, 1943

An unfortunate day in the air and it is all my fault.

I knew he was looking to go after Ceylon. With all his preparations, airbase expansions, and squadron movements it was pretty obvious. So I sent in a few very good IJN squadrons newly equipped with the George to contest his coming aerial offensive. Unfortunately, I realized too late that I had neglected to send radar equipped units to the island! I was in the process of remedying this critical oversight but the day before the radar would have arrived Andy launched an overwhelming aerial offensive against Colombo with his best squadrons and roughly handled my radar-less fighters. 14 pilots are KIA and 21 are WIA, representing the worst day thus far for my elite pilots.

Edit: Some good news - I double checked my pilot losses and only 3 of the KIA are aces, one of whom has 11 kills. The bulk of the KIA number is made up with relatively fresh (but still good) pilots that were brought into the squadrons. The WIA list is a different matter, with a large number of high scorers. Hopefully they come back!

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< Message edited by DesertWolf101 -- 4/13/2021 8:11:47 PM >

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/13/2021 7:55:48 PM

DesertWolf101

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In better news, Japanese tank regiments chased down the retreating Soviet armored units and finished them off.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/14/2021 1:04:51 PM

DesertWolf101

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May 3, 1943

Andy continues to pound the air bases in Ceylon, but today he paid a price when his heavy bombers encountered fierce resistance over Koggala. Some 25-30 4E bombers were destroyed. When weakly escorted, even these beasts are quite vulnerable, especially to a well armed aircraft like the George.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/14/2021 5:21:09 PM

Kull

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quote:

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101

April 19, 1943

I sent in a couple of my destroyers to knock out the small craft around Geraldton and the mission was a success. Two task forces composed of a total of 24 PT boats and 3 MGBs were completely destroyed. Illustrated below is the first task force. I wonder how many PT boats the USN gets in total?

In AE, the USN gets 398 in total (part of the research for the PT boat art mod)

Elco 77ft PT (US) - 46
Higgins 78ft PT (US) - 115
Huckins 78ft PT (US) - 10
Elco 80ft PT (US) - 227

The Indian Navy adds 24 Vospers in late '43, and there were some dribs and drabs on map in 1941 for the Dutch (12) and Brits (8). The three Philippine "Q-boats" are Elco 77 class (in-game, not in real life), and counted as such.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/15/2021 12:27:03 AM

DesertWolf101

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Thanks Kull, that's some really nice artwork!

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/15/2021 1:19:59 AM

DesertWolf101

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More than a third of the way into 1943, here are where things stand. I lost quite a few points with the loss of Calcutta and the destruction of its garrison, although I gained quite a bit there too with damage inflicted on the opposing forces.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/15/2021 1:34:46 AM

DesertWolf101

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Economy

Miraculously, I have yet to crash the economy. Fuel is at 6 million and supply is at 5.5 million and both are slowly climbing. I am a bit worried about my heavy industry points however, as their rate of accumulation has dropped dramatically with the loss of the heavy industry in India. I thought about turning off some of the merchant shipping but I remain desperate for more tankers (even though I only lost a single tiny one for the entire war) so that's the focus there. Now I am considering turning off some of the armament points when I get to 300K. Too risky?

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/15/2021 1:45:18 AM

DesertWolf101

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Engines 1

Here are my currently producing engine factories. I've placed a lot of emphasis on the Ha-45 of which I currently have a stockpile of 3,327 engines. I figure since I will need that engine for the rest of the war I might as well produce large numbers from the start.

Edit: Not shown in the image (got cropped out) is the single Ha-60 factory of size 80.

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< Message edited by DesertWolf101 -- 4/15/2021 1:49:53 AM >

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/15/2021 1:48:19 AM

DesertWolf101

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Engines 2

In terms of developing or researching engines a lot of emphasis is going into the Ha-43. Once I am able to start making those engines some of the research factories will probably go for the jet engine. I also just started making the Ha-44 for the Ki-94 that I now have five airframe factories trying to research.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/15/2021 4:49:18 PM

castor troy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101

Engines 2

In terms of developing or researching engines a lot of emphasis is going into the Ha-43. Once I am able to start making those engines some of the research factories will probably go for the jet engine. I also just started making the Ha-44 for the Ki-94 that I now have five airframe factories trying to research.

I'd recommend using two factories researching jet engines if you want to have Karyus in early 45. Should be easily affordable to use two factories which will give you 60% R&D per month. If you won't get there you won't have lost a lot and considering how well your overall situation is I can't see you capitulating in early 45.

< Message edited by castor troy -- 4/15/2021 4:50:42 PM >

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/15/2021 6:17:31 PM

DesertWolf101

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quote:

ORIGINAL: castor troy

quote:

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101

Engines 2

In terms of developing or researching engines a lot of emphasis is going into the Ha-43. Once I am able to start making those engines some of the research factories will probably go for the jet engine. I also just started making the Ha-44 for the Ki-94 that I now have five airframe factories trying to research.

I'd recommend using two factories researching jet engines if you want to have Karyus in early 45. Should be easily affordable to use two factories which will give you 60% R&D per month. If you won't get there you won't have lost a lot and considering how well your overall situation is I can't see you capitulating in early 45.

Good idea, I was even thinking of putting more factories on it but that might be overkill.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/15/2021 6:23:41 PM

DesertWolf101

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May 7, 1943

The George units have effectively halted major allied operations over much of Ceylon. Following the successful bomber intercept over Koggala, the Allies have mostly restricted their air operations to Jaffna in the very north. I suspect Andy is preparing an airborne invasion of the island rather than an amphibious one. I have decided to send additional units to fight such an operation. Without heavy weapons, it will be significantly easier to contend with the invasion force.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/16/2021 1:13:08 AM

Dili

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Do the AA protect against airborne assaults?

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/16/2021 2:00:18 AM

DesertWolf101

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Dili

Do the AA protect against airborne assaults?

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that AA can hit the transport aircraft but not the paratroopers themselves.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/16/2021 11:11:47 AM

Dili

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/16/2021 12:28:38 PM

castor troy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dili

Do the AA protect against airborne assaults?

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that AA can hit the transport aircraft but not the paratroopers themselves.

True! Neither AA nor fighters do harm the paratroopers.

I had 70 transports shot down by fighters over the target and they still all delivered their troops.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/17/2021 5:04:14 AM

DesertWolf101

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May 9, 1943

I noticed an influx of SBD-3 squadrons being brought in to cover the waters near Ceylon so I prepared and launched a successful CAP trap. The George units tore through the Beaufighter escorts and set on the dive bombers with a frenzy. I suspect Andy may be planning to include an amphibious element to the Ceylon invasion after all. It took me a while to realize that he could be utilizing landing craft vessels deployed from Madras/Calcutta without having to send landing ships to attack the west side of the island or to go around Ceylon from the West. I assume he can't create minesweeping type craft in the same way he can create PT-boats and LCI in these ports so maybe a good counter is naval mines and subs?

Over the last few turns I have also had some success in leveraging small night and day bombing raids in targeting airfields around India. Now that Andy has spread out to more bases to cover both the Assam region and to carry out his operations against Ceylon, there are more airbases available that have fewer anti aircraft artillery units for targeting without it being outright suicide. Hopefully this will drive him to start CAPing his bases which would then allow me to use fighter sweeps.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/17/2021 10:35:39 AM

DesertWolf101

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May 10, 1943

Thankfully, even the Allies don't have infinite anti-aircraft units. Through sheer perseverance I finally found an airbase that was not blanketed with AA guns, forcing Andy to send up CAP to protect it. The CAP, although outnumbering my sweep, could not prevent my fighter pilots from seizing the skies, paving the way for my bombers to strike through and wreak havoc below. Andy appears to have given up his attempts to seize Ceylon, at least for now, as he is rushing back his squadrons and LCUs back deeper into India.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/17/2021 8:59:34 PM

DesertWolf101

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May 12, 1943

His heavy bombers having arrived back from the Ceylon front, Andy launched a full aerial offensive against Chittagong and closed down its airfields. The Tojo squadrons on CAP generally held their own against superior aircraft like the Corsair but were too poorly armed to reliably shoot down the opposition despite regular hits. This was especially the case against the well escorted and armed bombers. 10 IJAAF fighter pilots were killed, a third of them aces.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/17/2021 9:08:24 PM

DesertWolf101

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Meanwhile in the South Pacific east of New Zealand, I detected a large convoy heading towards either New Zealand or Australia. The only ships I had immediately at hand were two Katori-class training cruisers. Despite their weak armament and armor, I decided to send them in due to favorable weather conditions and the desire to potentially strike at some valuable cargo. The Katori cruisers encountered a very high value convoy of about 50 ships during the day phase, but mostly tangled with the escorting anti-aircraft cruisers instead of the cargo ships and tankers. Nevertheless, the Japanese did very well, scoring torpedo hits on two of the enemy cruisers and disengaging from the battle thereafter without suffering crippling damage.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/18/2021 1:44:43 AM

DesertWolf101

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May 14, 1943

I am attempting to maintain the pressure on the convoy. Today two Japanese light cruisers, the Tenryu and the Yura, arrived on the scene and engaged the enemy. Andy detached some of his destroyers to run interference and they successfully ate into the Japanese ammo stocks but the light cruisers did manage to find the convoy in the end and they scored some good hits. Having completed depleted their munitions and taken some damage, they are now pulling out of the fight. The convoy meanwhile is almost home free and I will try to reach it one last time with a couple of small warships - too bad I don't have any heavy cruisers in the area!

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/19/2021 2:44:55 AM

DesertWolf101

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May 19, 1943

Over the last several days/nights I attempted to pursue the convoy with a scattered assortment of mostly minor warships. The convoy's escorts largely shielded their charges however, and I only managed to damage another tanker and sink a couple of minor escorts. The convoy finally arrived in Wellington and I decided to send in the freshly rearmed light cruiser Yura. Unfortunately, Andy's reinforcements had begun arriving and the Yura encountered stiff opposition. The mortally wounded warship subsequently met her demise when Hudson bombers attacked her at sea skimming altitude. This is the third light cruiser I have lost thus far in the war.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/19/2021 3:15:54 AM

DesertWolf101

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In the meantime, Andy continued to mercilessly pound Chittagong's airfields from the air both during the night and day phases. He was eating into my supply with the supply hits but the runaway hits were quickly repaired by the large Japanese force positioned in the base. I noticed the absence of his heavy bombers and his superior fighters (Corsairs, Lightnings, and newly arrived Thunderbolts) in one of these raids and correctly deduced that he had moved them to a new base (Ledo) for new operations. I took the opportunity to move in my fighter squadrons into Chittagong to meet the now weakened onslaught. Sure enough, my fighters did well under these conditions and had no trouble with the sweeps and managed to rack up some impressive bomber kills. The one exception was the B-25D1 with its heavy gun armament - that aircraft is better than a Corsair at killing my fighters. I lost 2 fighter pilots KIA.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/20/2021 5:13:33 AM

DesertWolf101

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May 20, 1943

The training cruiser Katori continues to punch above its weight - it finished off the damaged anti-aircraft cruiser Reno east of New Zealand. I think thus far in the convoy battle I sank 2 CLAA, 2 large tankers, 4 large transports, a smattering of small escorts, and damaged a heavy cruiser and some destroyers. In return I have lost a good light cruiser. I think this battle is coming to an end unless I encounter some stragglers or his hunting groups find me.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/20/2021 5:19:54 AM

RedTeamFred

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Greetings DesertWolf 101,

My my, I have to say, after lurking in this forum for twelve years or more, this is one of the finest examples of Japanese play I've seen. That's after having the pleasure of reading at least fifty AARs or more over the course of that time, and from reading parts and pieces of many more. Keep up the great work!

But most importantly, it's obvious from your many posts that you are an all-around honorable opponent and a fair man. That covers many miles in my book. There's nothing worse that an opponent that lacks these qualities.

And I really like your AAR style. It's informative without being full of CRs and bloviating bansais. Thanks for that.

Fred
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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/20/2021 7:52:58 AM

DesertWolf101

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quote:

ORIGINAL: RedTeamFred

Greetings DesertWolf 101,

My my, I have to say, after lurking in this forum for twelve years or more, this is one of the finest examples of Japanese play I've seen. That's after having the pleasure of reading at least fifty AARs or more over the course of that time, and from reading parts and pieces of many more. Keep up the great work!

But most importantly, it's obvious from your many posts that you are an all-around honorable opponent and a fair man. That covers many miles in my book. There's nothing worse that an opponent that lacks these qualities.

And I really like your AAR style. It's informative without being full of CRs and bloviating bansais. Thanks for that.

Fred
_____________________

"This is much of my plan, fight hundreds of small stubborn battles with minimum effort and maximum effect" - PzB

Thank you for the kind words Fred, glad you are enjoying the AAR! Maybe soon you will have a campaign going yourself and I will read of your exploits

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/22/2021 7:13:01 PM

DesertWolf101

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May 21, 1943

I decided to finally test the Voroshilov defenses with a bombardment attack now that my artillery units were all dug in. It was like my forces were hit with an atomic bomb. This is not going to be easy...

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/22/2021 7:24:23 PM

DesertWolf101

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May 26, 1943

The last week has been very quiet with minimal Allied air activity except for night raids which have essentially caused no damage. Andy packed his air power into Calcutta in order to concentrate his flak defenses around the city. This way he doesn't need to CAP as the massive number of flak guns effectively make any bombing attempts on my part suicidal.

Since I can't strike him from the air, I decided to mount a risky operation from the sea. A task force centered around 5 heavy cruisers struck out from a distance of 10 hexes, navigated the river from Diamond Harbor to Calcutta (where I unfortunately lost a Kagero class destroyer to a naval mine) and plastered the airfield. More than thirty 4E aircraft were destroyed on the ground as a result but now I have to concentrate on extracting the task force.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/26/2021 3:13:59 AM

DesertWolf101

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May 27, 1943

The cruiser task force was swarmed by PT boat squadrons as it sought to make its escape. Fortunately, the cruisers and escorting destroyers ducked all the torpedoes launched at them. One of my heavy cruisers did strike a mine at Diamond Harbor on the way out, but it should be all right until it makes it to Singapore for repairs.

In other news, the Frank is about to enter production at the start of June. I can't wait to try it out.

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RE: Empire of the Sun - 4/26/2021 7:09:40 PM

castor troy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101

May 27, 1943

The cruiser task force was swarmed by PT boat squadrons as it sought to make its escape. Fortunately, the cruisers and escorting destroyers ducked all the torpedoes launched at them. One of my heavy cruisers did strike a mine at Diamond Harbor on the way out, but it should be all right until it makes it to Singapore for repairs.

In other news, the Frank is about to enter production at the start of June. I can't wait to try it out.

With the Frank it's game over for Andy. According to the airbattles in the last months he has more than a problem dealing with what you had, the George and the Frank are a game changer in 43.

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