First time playing a PBEM as Japan shortly after AE came out was against FatR playing one of JuanG's mod that included extra BBs for both sides. It wasn't until April that I took Singapore. Somehow, he got the 18th UK Div there. [&:] When I finally got to Palembang and took it in May 42, the industry was trashed. I had less than 100 intact Oil and less than 100 intact Refineries. [X(][X(] Too many painful lessons to share here, but I learned a lot before surrendering in July 42. Last game as Japan had Singapore fall on 31 Dec 41 when I used the Mersing Gambit on the 10th and came at Singapore with 7 divisions. A little overkill, but I failed to push this advantage afterwards.
Moral of story is to keep a stiff upper lip. [:D]
Thanks for the 'condolences' -ahhahah
I get the message. Keep plugging, keep learning, keep working on what I can. One thing I have learned is that I am not using my subs to their best potential. I should have been scouting this reinforcement route into Oosthaven and Palembang possibly sinking some of those transports.
Note made in my masterlist for the next game.
It is a much different task than playing the short scenarios or against the AI.
The Commander's job is to orchestrate and direct the three major dimensions of combat - space, time and force. Shattered Sword, the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
A big general Word to the Wise to the new players who want to learn from others' mistakes:
At the beginning of the game - check your submarines Home Ports and change those from Kawajalein Island to either Saipan or Eniwetok or Truk.
Kawajalein Island is too exposed and an experienced Allied opponent will raid the island with force at the time many subs will be returning for refuel and repair.
Yes folks, it happened to me - ignoring history and the fact I face an aggressive opponent, I did not foresee the raid in time to react, and had been shifting a few boats with small damage to pier side repairs. They couldn't escape even if I had seen it coming.
but let's walk thru the whole Allied raid - well done and very effective:
/* ********** Jan 14th - Raid on Wake Island: Action (1)
Night Time Surface Combat, near Wake Island at 136,98, Range 2,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
TK Nikkoku Maru, Shell hits 11, and is sunk
TK Shoyo Maru, Shell hits 18, and is sunk
PB Kosin Maru #3, Shell hits 16, heavy fires
E Uruyame, Shell hits 7, and is sunk
Allied Ships
CA Chicago
CA Pensacola
CA Salt Lake City
CA New Orleans
CA Astoria
CA Minneapolis
CL Trenton
CL Concord
DD Brooks
DMS Lamberton
DMS Dorsey
DMS Perry
DMS Long
DMS Wasmuth
DMS Elliot
Action (2)
Night Naval bombardment of Wake Island at 136,98
Japanese aircraft
no flights
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 6 damaged
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed on ground
F1M2 Pete: 1 damaged
F1M2 Pete: 1 destroyed on ground
Allied Ships
CA Minneapolis
CA Astoria
CA New Orleans
CA Salt Lake City
CA Pensacola
CA Chicago
CL Concord
CL Trenton
Action (3)
Day Time Surface Combat, near Wake Island at 136,98, Range 23,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
PB Hakkaisan Maru, Shell hits 9, and is sunk
PB Ikuta Maru, Shell hits 16, and is sunk
Allied Ships
CA Chicago
CA Pensacola
CA Salt Lake City
CA New Orleans
CA Astoria
CA Minneapolis
CL Trenton
CL Concord
DD Brooks
DMS Lamberton
DMS Dorsey
DMS Perry
DMS Long
DMS Wasmuth
DMS Elliot
Very good play, I only had floats and a Zero squadron at Wake.
Nav search from Kawajalein Island did not pick this threat out and was probably focused to the South of his chosen approach path.
The Commander's job is to orchestrate and direct the three major dimensions of combat - space, time and force. Shattered Sword, the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Japanese Ships
DD Asanagi
PB Takuna Maru #7, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
PB Kyo Maru #7, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
TK Nissan Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Kashima, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
DD Yunagi
CL Kashima was one of the older light cruisers, slow but still will be missed... [:(]
But that isn't all--
Air Attack (2)
Afternoon Air attack on Kwajalein Island , at 132,115
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 7
A6M2 Zero x 9
Allied aircraft
F4F-3A Wildcat x 7
F4F-3 Wildcat x 20
SBD-3 Dauntless x 100
TBD-1 Devastator x 27
Japanese Ships
DD Asanagi
CM Okinoshima, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
AD Shintoku Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS I-174, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk ([:(]x4)
SS I-170, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
AS Jingei, Bomb hits 2, on fire
AG Uji Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CM Tokiwa, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Yunagi, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
SS I-173, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SS I-172, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
xAK Tamagawa Maru, Bomb hits 1
ACM Daido Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Hokuan Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
Port hits 3
Port fuel hits 1
And Allied Command stuck around for a second day
/* ******** Jan 16, 1942 Air Attack
Afternoon Air attack on Kwajalein Island , at 132,115
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes
Japanese aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft
F4F-3A Wildcat x 7
F4F-3 Wildcat x 20
SBD-2 Dauntless x 32
SBD-3 Dauntless x 99
TBD-1 Devastator x 50
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 damaged
Japanese Ships
DD Yunagi, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
AS Jingei, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Hokuan Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CM Tokiwa, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
AD Shintoku Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CM Okinoshima, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
All these ships excluding xAKL Hokuan burned to the waterline - a couple were scuttled with fires at 99 - the others sank before I could do that.
A Very Painful Lesson.
Learn from my mistake and realize that even in the early war - do not set up repair and resupply points for your ships too close to the front lines.
The Commander's job is to orchestrate and direct the three major dimensions of combat - space, time and force. Shattered Sword, the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
My forces landed at Palembang and found the 18th Brit Division waiting (not so good)
Japanese force size is close to the same number of troops, but about 60-65% of Allied AV.
I have a few more Guns and more Vehicles -- whoo, hooo
I have been loading other units to send to the scene of the crime - arrival will be soon but maybe not soon enough. So far we are just bombarding each other and I am marginally winning that matchup.
Palembang will probably be trashed - all the hours and thoughts of what late war planes to research is like ashes in the wind at this point.
Oh well - the bright side is that my next match will be happening much sooner than I originally thought. Anybody looking to work over a JFB in training can start sending PMs any time past May... [8|]
The Commander's job is to orchestrate and direct the three major dimensions of combat - space, time and force. Shattered Sword, the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Some good news for those still holding out a candle in the training compound:
Jan 15th 1942
Japanese forces CAPTURE Kuantan !!!
... really? shouldn't that have been captured already ...
Jan 16th 1942
(crickets, crickets, crickets)
Jan 17th 1942
Reformed the 5th Division at Kuala Lumpur in preparation of the slaughter awaiting at Singapore
and overall note - a lot of Chinese units are chewed up each turn.
That's about it.
I hope to give a good detailed report on the coming battles in the DEI so stay tuned for what else I can go wrong.
As a preview:
Attack plans feature the KB who finally gets back in action.
The Commander's job is to orchestrate and direct the three major dimensions of combat - space, time and force. Shattered Sword, the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Don't lose heart, you can still turn it around.[:)]
I took heavily fortified bases in Java without any economic damage. Just don't shock attack and wear down the defenders. I even bombarded with ships. Just max your detection levels, bring in artillery and destroy those Allied troops.
Get air superiority over Palembang and start bombing the airfield to prevent forts and work on destroying supplies while taking the rest of Sumatra.
Keep plugging away, and get the search improved.
Aim for normal, or slightly less than normal expansion and you can still do very well.
He who wins the intel/recon battle and prevents his opponent from doing the same wins the war. Where was your NavS out in the Marshalls?? [&:]
A couple of Betty/Mavis units around Kawajalein Island searching in cones toward Pearl Harbor, which he apparently just slipped around. I should have put more effort in getting long range search planes into Wake Island, but with so many demands - planning on the invasion of Palembang, Balikpapan and such -- well just another tough lesson to learn.
The Commander's job is to orchestrate and direct the three major dimensions of combat - space, time and force. Shattered Sword, the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Don't lose heart, you can still turn it around.[:)]
I took heavily fortified bases in Java without any economic damage. Just don't shock attack and wear down the defenders. I even bombarded with ships. Just max your detection levels, bring in artillery and destroy those Allied troops.
Get air superiority over Palembang and start bombing the airfield to prevent forts and work on destroying supplies while taking the rest of Sumatra.
Keep plugging away, and get the search improved.
Aim for normal, or slightly less than normal expansion and you can still do very well.
Thanks for the words of encouragement. I have been assembling a rescue/retribution force from Takao to Malaysia and it is taking time, but the hammer should fall in a few days. The opening move on the Eastern DEI has already loaded ship and left port.
My search in and around the DEI has greatly improved from the late December attempt to invade Singkawang.
The Commander's job is to orchestrate and direct the three major dimensions of combat - space, time and force. Shattered Sword, the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
I definitely agree with ny59giants about the recon war. If you're blind in an area where he has good recon, he can set up a stinging ambush even at a time like the early war when you have an overwhelming lead strategically. In my game as Allies I am at about the same time (mid Jan 42) and while I fear the KB, I am terrified of blind spots. On the other hand, credit where it is due to your opponent for a gutsy and well executed move. Let's hope your payback goes well. Sooner or later he's going to get burned by these aggressive moves.
If your not using the Betty group at Roi-Namur for attacks, you set it for NavS without arcs at normal range and hope the AI gives you a heads up. As Allied player, I quickly set up PBY groups from Pearl to Johnson to Canton to Pago Pago to Suva to Noumea to Brisbane. Then, I have a few 2 AVD TFs with a PBY group disbanded at ports a little farther north to search and if need be run away. Japan only has KB in very large eastern Pacific to keep the Allies honest.
If your not using the Betty group at Roi-Namur for attacks, you set it for NavS without arcs at normal range and hope the AI gives you a heads up. As Allied player, I quickly set up PBY groups from Pearl to Johnson to Canton to Pago Pago to Suva to Noumea to Brisbane. Then, I have a few 2 AVD TFs with a PBY group disbanded at ports a little farther north to search and if need be run away. Japan only has KB in very large eastern Pacific to keep the Allies honest.
That could be the problem, I had the Betty/Nell set to Naval Attack with about 30-40% NavSearch: all planes including Mavis were set to specific archs and I did not go back to adjust the 'flashlight beam' as it were...
thanks
The Commander's job is to orchestrate and direct the three major dimensions of combat - space, time and force. Shattered Sword, the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Damn playing Japan is quite a lot more spicey meatball than playing allies eh!?
with a good case of heart-burn too if the spices are not right.
Play has slowed down a little as I have been using the 'Z' key a lot more and working on filling in gaps of air coverage.
Economy wise, more Resource convoys running.
The last of the Kagero class DDs is produced.
The first batch of DD upgrades (8 or so candidates) are coming out of the yards tomorrow.
More upgrades will be cycled.
I have been pounding his subs.
The Commander's job is to orchestrate and direct the three major dimensions of combat - space, time and force. Shattered Sword, the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Organization is so very important. It seems like it takes forever to get forces assembled, moved and in place for 'the next move'.
I am making a lot of notes for my next game - which isn't helping me much in this one. So to those, like me, who jump off in the deep end to learn how to swim, the notes you keep now will be golden at some later date -- be sure to write stuff down in some kind of sortable spreadsheet/ database like excel. Create a game log.
In the big picture, as soon as I run aground at Palembang, I started scouring forces already heading to other locations and the Restricted Commands. I found 2 Divisions worth of units, one heading toward Oosthaven/Palembang and the other toward Babeldaob and Balikpapan. But it is taking a long time to get those troops from Hong Kong, Pesco, Fusan, and the Home Islands into place -- many are still days away from their final 'staging' area.
In the meantime, another painful lesson. It takes a long time to unload some devices (as in Motorized Support) at a size 2 port without special Naval Support forces. Also you can't unload some devices at all at a size 1 port - or it appears to not be able to unload, so I have transport task forces basically stranded (and being stalked) while I am trying to figure out what it takes to unload the last frustrating parts of some LCU.
Learning has rarely been so painful...
And playing the short scenarios doesn't really prepare you for the demands of the full campaign. That makes picking your opponent, and how you two communicate and carry out the game, very important to your overall enjoyment, attitude, and willingness to continue through the hard turns that are sure to come.
Get what you can out of each turn. Make at least one note, observation, prediction, evaluation in you game log.
The Commander's job is to orchestrate and direct the three major dimensions of combat - space, time and force. Shattered Sword, the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Strike planes have launched from the KB and made their first strike at Balikpapan while an invasion fleet sorties behind their shield toward Ambon.
I hope to crush what is left of the DEI naval forces in a vise between the KB on the East and the MKB with BatDiv2 coming from the West.
The Commander's job is to orchestrate and direct the three major dimensions of combat - space, time and force. Shattered Sword, the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Jan 18th, 1942
Planning - moving - struggling to off load trucks and tractors at small ports.
Allies continue to bombard my troops outside Palembang
Jan 19th, 1942
Japanese forces CAPTURE Malacca !!!
Allies continue to bombard my troops outside Palembang - this time losing over 100 in casualties.
Jan 20th, 1942
I pull MKB and BatDiv2 back to refuel while waiting for invasion units to get into position. This compounds my mistake of the backlog of supply ships trying to unload unites at Kulching.
At this point Tracker says that the last Kagero DD has 1 day to go in the Delay column but says PENDING in the Building/Queue/Halt/Blue Print column. This continues thru the current game turn. I don't quite know why at this point. [&:]
Jan 21st, 1942
Japanese forces CAPTURE Lunga !!!
Maybe a bit forward given the recent events at Wake and Kawajalein.
KB shows up with lots of friends near Talaud-eilanden (North of Ternate)
Jan 22nd, 1942
Kind of an ugly turn.
The DEI naval units show up at Kuching, pretty much sweeping the sea clean of small PBs and transport (including one high VP TK[:(] )
But the MKB, land based Nells and a small DD force interfered enough that CA Exeter and a couple of DDs go down too.
On the other side of the DEI, the KB launches port strikes at Balikpapan, catching 6 TKs, a couple of AGs and AVP heavily damaged or sunk
At the end of the day, KB is rushing past Balikpapan to close off the East end of the Java Sea as the MKB and BatDiv2 are ordered to close off the West side. The sun WILL finally set on those pesky bastages.[:@]
IJA 98th Sentai, in Saigon, was flying Ki-21-IIA Sally. This unit is going to be my dedicated Army ASW unit. Their scores have been increasing and they are even getting consistent reports of 'sub hit'.
I am running out of Sally air frames (3 in pool). I have increased production slightly, but I don't want a whole lot of them given some of those are going to be upgraded to Helens in a few months.
Soooo, looking at the aircraft pools, I have 78 Ki-21-Ic Sally airframes. I changed the 98th Sentai to take the Ic airframes, which I believe will put the planes they were using back into the general pool.
The Commander's job is to orchestrate and direct the three major dimensions of combat - space, time and force. Shattered Sword, the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
At this point Tracker says that the last Kagero DD has 1 day to go in the Delay column but says PENDING in the Building/Queue/Halt/Blue Print column. This continues thru the current game turn. I don't quite know why at this point. [&:]
I sort by "Ship ID" (far left column) in Ship Production screen. Why?? This is because "Naval Shipyard" will expend points first on the lowest numbers first (ships like BBs and CVs always get priority). Look under "Build Points" column to see if points are actually being used. You could be running out before they get to this DD.
Operational Tempo is one of the hardest skills to master when playing Japan in early war. When you get close to capturing Singapore, make sure you have Minesweepers at Mersing waiting to move in. Also, most of your shipping at Saigon and CRB should be moving to Mersing awaiting the port of Singapore to be cleared. Most of your transports will need to be carrying supplies and fuel over.
DMS - did you send any from Formosa ports to Truk or Rabaul?? Japan doesn't start with any minesweepers in the eastern/southern Pacific if the Allies lay mines at an important port. Add this to your notes for next game as its important to do so within the first few days.
It takes a long time to unload some devices (as in Motorized Support) at a size 2 port without special Naval Support forces. Also you can't unload some devices at all at a size 1 port
It could be worse. Try a size 0 port. [:o] But seriously, I agree this is quite a trap for the inexperienced or unwary, and I have been caught in many places in my game as Allies. Even some of the major cities in India have only a level 1 port.
ORIGINAL: ny59giants
I sort by "Ship ID" (far left column) in Ship Production screen. Why?? This is because "Naval Shipyard" will expend points first on the lowest numbers first (ships like BBs and CVs always get priority). Look under "Build Points" column to see if points are actually being used. You could be running out before they get to this DD.
Very informative: the DD Tachekaze - Kagero class is ID 14394. There are 1945 destroyers with lower ID numbers.
I am trying to manipulate the ship production queue. Currently I am producing 1415 Navy build points, but there are 1667 points required for all the ships I have turned on and in a position to start using those Naval points. I could turn Yamato off (233 pts) which would get me within 14 pts of production for a couple of turns.
I assume there is no way to change the ID number other than using the game editor.
ORIGINAL: ny59giants
DMS - did you send any from Formosa ports to Truk or Rabaul?? Japan doesn't start with any minesweepers in the eastern/southern Pacific if the Allies lay mines at an important port. Add this to your notes for next game as its important to do so within the first few days.
Rough numbers from memory:
I have 3-4 in the Truk/Rabaul/Saipan area and about the same number near Babeldaob/on the way to Ambon. Another 3-4 in the Saigon/Malaysia staging area for the move on Batavia (I see mines there). And a couple in the Takao/Pesco/Hong Hong area to use around Manilla when I get to that stage. One or two are in the Home Islands.
I have lost 8 DMS ships so far, not great news but 18 remain above the waves.
I will recheck deployments in the next turn, thanks for the advice.
The Commander's job is to orchestrate and direct the three major dimensions of combat - space, time and force. Shattered Sword, the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
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