Tale of the Sheep! - JocMeister (A) vs. Lowpe (J)

[JocMeister]

ORIGINAL: richlove

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

....

In my game against Erik I perfected the art of unloading in just 2 phases. As you say a lot of things can effect unloading. A mine hit, some ship deciding to refuel, an unwanted reaction, sub attack etc etc...

...

Can we digress on this for a comment or two? What was your secret?

Use APA/AKAs. [;)]

On a more serious note though. As a RoT use 4-6 extra ships APAs. Use "load troops only". Load a couple of AKAs/AKs with supply only and merge them into the Amphib TF after you loaded the troops. End the previous turn as close to the target destination as possible. Reaction 0, threat tolerance at max. Make sure no ships are in "red". Set home port to the closest possible allied port (to reduce the risk of the ships doing some unwanted refueling).

Thats pretty much it. It won´t work every time due to unwanted factors but it works 90% of the time. [:)]

PS. Using 4-6 extra APAs means you probably won´t be able to unload all the motorized support. If you want them to unload EVERYTHING you will have to add more ships. Usually not worth it IMO.

[JocMeister]

ORIGINAL: poodlebrain

If you are able to detect an invasion fleet 4-5 days out, then you should have no trouble interfering with his assault and unloading. PT boats to keep his escorts busy and burn their Op points. Then follow up sorties by heavier surface combatants to fight their way in among the transports. This should extend the unloading time, and leave his transports more vulnerable to attacks from air, sea and coastal defense.

I think I would try to get as much of the U.S. Navy as possible to the San Francisco Bay bases while the KB is not on station off the WC. From the SF area your navy would be in position to support the defense of any likely invasion site. I doubt the Japanese will seek a pre-invasion decisive naval battle while your fleet is under the protection of air power in superior numbers. You could operate your carrier air units from the land bases, and disband your carriers at Mare Island or Alameda depending on the IJN's approach vector. This would require the Japanese to make a port strike into the teeth of 3 mutually supporting airfields to attack your valuable ships. That is not a winning proposition at this point in the game unless the Japanese can achieve a Pearl Harbor type surprise.

Can´t move the USN to the WC as I can´t cover them from the KB for more then 2-3 days before KB sweeps would have blasted away my CAP and completely drained my pools. Any ships still on the WC after that would be easy pickings for the KB.

I´ve stockpiled my PTs though and have two CMs ready to plunk down some mines. Besides that the sub fleet will be the only USN presence. I´m still pondering this though...some smaller SCTF might prove very useful if they can get in among the transports. I might send some DDs to the WC for this purpose. But again I have to weight the possibility of an invasion against the likelihood of it happening at all. I can´t let the threat of a WC invasion tie down everything I do and devour what little assets I have. If I do Jeff have taken away all the initiative from me.

[JocMeister]

Uncivil Engineer, Loka

Thanks for the input. Looks like shipping per see wouldn´t be a problem. So 3 IDs on the first wave seems pretty reasonable to expect. The rest would have to come by xAK/xAPs.

This probably means landing right on the intended target is very unlikely. Which would buy me more time.

[JocMeister]

Still no turn from Jeff. Hope he gets his internet sorted soon. [:(]

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

Can´t move the USN to the WC as I can´t cover them from the KB for more then 2-3 days before KB sweeps would have blasted away my CAP and completely drained my pools. Any ships still on the WC after that would be easy pickings for the KB.

True to an extent, but there are a lot of ports to hide them in. I doubt he has the assets to recon every port every day, or even every week. But I do think DDs are your friend here. I'd leave the cruisers somewhere safer.

[Uncivil Engineer]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

ORIGINAL: Uncivil Engineer

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna




You can convert some to AKVs from the Lima and Aden class ships, of which there are relative multitudes... I'm not sure when the conversions are available (might not be until 06/1942). I also don't know the conversion time for them, but it's got to be less than the 120 and 180 days to convert to AVs. It might be 21 days? I'm not very confident in that guess but it's my best without looking in-game. The Lima class is big, 6475 tons and 12000 endurance. 14 knots. The aden class is 4875 tons, 9400 endurance, and 12 knots.

I should also point out that again, I'm reading both sides, so am trying to keep my comments technical and meta in nature in both. Let me know if I step over a line.

As mentioned, ops points burn and such can reduce the amount unloaded in a phase, and there are 2 phases per game day (exactly how this interacts with the 4 observed unloading/CD gunfire phases in the game, I don't know, but I have a guess there as well).

Aden class xAK can convert to AKV starting April 42, takes 30 days in size 5 shipyard. There are > hundred Aden class.

Lima class xAK can convert to AKV starting February 42, takes 30 days in size 5 shipyard. These are not nearly as plentiful as Aden class.

Yusen A (AK) carries 385 troops (so quick unload), but can convert to -t and carry 1585 troops, which lengthens unload time. There are only a few of these.

Yusen S (AK) carries 410 troops, and can convert to -t and carry 1685. Very few available.

I haven't counted ships, or given much thought to a WC invasion, but in my experience playing Japan, it's conceivable to unload 3 divisions (~45000 troop load) in one day if every transport ship was available to that end. More than 3 divs would be questionable in my opinion. Most of the Aden class ships are usually tied up transporting resources, but that could easily be put on hold. They would need many days to transit the Pacific to pick up their new load, and SIGINT may give you a clue that that is happening.

Keep in mind that the Japanese have favorable troops-in-cargo-space calculations... with 130 or so AK-t's, you can unload a ton of troops. Way more than 45,000.

Yes, more than 45000, BUT NOT IN ONE DAY. Most people (IMO) don't convert all xAK to -t, and since their troop capacities are larger than 500 (2 x 250 per phase), they require 2 or 3 days to unload the troops (if full), and more to unload any supply. Only 500 troops will unload in one day after the early war bonus ends. The Aden class (xAK) troop capacity is 370 - requiring 122 ships to carry a 45000 troop load. That's nearly ALL of them.

I'm not trying to get in a p-ing contest here, but in many respects we're talking apples and oranges. I think Joc has the info he needs.

[Uncivil Engineer]

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

Uncivil Engineer, Loka

Thanks for the input. Looks like shipping per see wouldn´t be a problem. So 3 IDs on the first wave seems pretty reasonable to expect. The rest would have to come by xAK/xAPs.

This probably means landing right on the intended target is very unlikely. Which would buy me more time.

The vast majority will be on xAK or xAP - there are not enough AK or AP to carry much more than 1 division.
As I mentioned in the previous post, 122 Aden class xAK are required to unload 3 divisions in one day (after the early war bonus). Converting them to -t allows more troops to be carried, but lengthens the unload time.

[JocMeister]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58
True to an extent, but there are a lot of ports to hide them in. I doubt he has the assets to recon every port every day, or even every week. But I do think DDs are you friend here. I'd leave the cruisers somewhere safer.

Probably not. But if he knew they bulk of the USN was disbanded in port somewhere close by he would probably do what he could to find them! [:D]

ORIGINAL: Uncivil Engineer
The vast majority will be on xAK or xAP - there are not enough AK or AP to carry much more than 1 division.
As I mentioned in the previous post, 122 Aden class xAK are required to unload 3 divisions in one day (after the early war bonus). Converting them to -t allows more troops to be carried, but lengthens the unload time.

Thanks for the info (again!) [&o]

I´ve spent most of the day looking at the map and going through my OOB as well as the quite substantial reinforcement package for the WC. (Yes I´m bored and still sick! [:D])

To sum it up I think an invasion is unlikely. The logistics of it is a big part of why I think its unlikely. I also think it would be very, very hard to succeed.

Really the only thing pointing at any kind of WC operation is the fact that (to my knowledge) Jeff has kept the troops in Alaska. And I´m not even sure they are still there. I´m basing that solely on the fact that I´ve seen no SIGINT of them leaving.

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

Probably not. But if he knew they bulk of the USN was disbanded in port(s) somewhere close by he would probably do what he could to find them! [:D]

Fixed it. [8D]

Every port foray he mounts is one less strat bombing mission. A DD is 10 VPs.

[JocMeister]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

Probably not. But if he knew they bulk of the USN was disbanded in port(s) somewhere close by he would probably do what he could to find them! [:D]

Fixed it. [8D]

Every port foray he mounts is one less strat bombing mission. A DD is 10 VPs.

True that! [:)]

[poodlebrain]

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

Can´t move the USN to the WC as I can´t cover them from the KB for more then 2-3 days before KB sweeps would have blasted away my CAP and completely drained my pools. Any ships still on the WC after that would be easy pickings for the KB.

My suggestion was not intended for immediate action, but for September-October when you have had time to get some improved aircraft and naval strength. The Allies are not ready for immediate implementation. That being said, I think you are underestimating the risks for the Japanese. Remember they need at least a 4:1 VP ratio for any attack to be considered successful.

What other tasks will the KB have during the 2-3 days of sweeps you think it would require to degrade your CAP? It will have to be performing search and ASW search missions, it will be flying CAP over IJN, it will fly naval strikes against any surface TFs it spots, and it will have to fly some recon missions to find your ships in port. At the same time it has to play keep away from the numerous subs you will have operating in the area while staying outside the range of any SCTF you could sortie from SF. The Japanese can not afford one mishap during any phase in the turns leading up to the 2-3 days of sweeps, the 2-3 days of sweeps, or the following days in which they could make the necessary strikes against your ships.

What can you be doing as a counter? The first thing to consider is reducing the effectiveness of the KB. This can be achieved in two ways. The first is the obvious method of causing actual combat losses. You only have to have good fortune in one phase over several turns to achieve success at this. The second is to cause fatigue, loss of morale and limited capacity to mount strikes (exhaust his sorties). This will happen naturally, but you can accelerate the process by mounting small operations that force a disproportionate response from the Japanese.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: Uncivil Engineer

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

Uncivil Engineer, Loka

Thanks for the input. Looks like shipping per see wouldn´t be a problem. So 3 IDs on the first wave seems pretty reasonable to expect. The rest would have to come by xAK/xAPs.

This probably means landing right on the intended target is very unlikely. Which would buy me more time.

The vast majority will be on xAK or xAP - there are not enough AK or AP to carry much more than 1 division.
As I mentioned in the previous post, 122 Aden class xAK are required to unload 3 divisions in one day (after the early war bonus). Converting them to -t allows more troops to be carried, but lengthens the unload time.

I really think you're undercounting the AK-t types. Not xAK-t, but AK-t. At this point in the war he could have around 100 AK-t with troop capacity somewhere in the mid-1000 and cargo in the mid-2000.

An IJA ID has a troop load cost at or under 10,000, and a cargo load cost at or under 6000 (in most cases). You only need 12-15 AK-t's to completely unload a division in a single day. If you can do 2 days, you need less (not half as many, but less)...

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

ORIGINAL: richlove

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

....

In my game against Erik I perfected the art of unloading in just 2 phases. As you say a lot of things can effect unloading. A mine hit, some ship deciding to refuel, an unwanted reaction, sub attack etc etc...

...

Can we digress on this for a comment or two? What was your secret?

As a RoT use 4-6 extra ships APAs. Use "load troops only". Load a couple of AKAs/AKs with supply only and merge them into the Amphib TF after you loaded the troops. End the previous turn as close to the target destination as possible. Reaction 0, threat tolerance at max. Make sure no ships are in "red". Set home port to the closest possible allied port (to reduce the risk of the ships doing some unwanted refueling).

There's an "easier" way, if you can do some simple math. When setting up your TFs, open up the Load Troops screen (doesn't matter, you can do this with just 1 ship)... look at the Troop Load and Cargo Load cost for each of the units you want to take. Make a note of these values. If you want to unload in 1 full day using APAs, for example, then you need a number of APA/AKA/LS* ships equal to the total load cost divided by 2400. If you want to unload in 1 phase (half a day), then you need a number of total APA/AKA/LS* ships equal to the total load cost divided by 1200. It doesn't hurt to use 1 extra ship to account for any rounding errors...

For AK/AP types, divide by 1200 for a full day or 600 for just one phase to get the number of ships.

For example, for a division with 10,000 Troop and 15,000 Cargo load, I would aim for ~8 APA and 3 AKA: this is 26400 total unload compared to 25000 total load cost... however, most APAs aren't able to fit a 10,000 Troop cost unit onto 8 APAs (their Troop loading space is usually in the mid-1000s) and with needing to have about 20% space free, I will have to use about 10-12 APAs depending on size... This might mean that I don't need to use more than 1 AKA or so. This pretty much ensures 2-phase full unloading. Basically, for APA/AKA/LS* types, you'll unload their full load in 2 phases. Maybe 3 for the biggest ones. It's the AK/AP types (and xAK/xAP) that you need to do real math for their loads.

Also, set to Do Not Refuel and you won't have to worry about unwanted refueling, even if there are ships in red. When you use this setting, you will have to manually refuel if you want ships to refuel.

[JocMeister]

ORIGINAL: poodlebrain
My suggestion was not intended for immediate action, but for September-October when you have had time to get some improved aircraft and naval strength. The Allies are not ready for immediate implementation. That being said, I think you are underestimating the risks for the Japanese. Remember they need at least a 4:1 VP ratio for any attack to be considered successful.

What other tasks will the KB have during the 2-3 days of sweeps you think it would require to degrade your CAP? It will have to be performing search and ASW search missions, it will be flying CAP over IJN, it will fly naval strikes against any surface TFs it spots, and it will have to fly some recon missions to find your ships in port. At the same time it has to play keep away from the numerous subs you will have operating in the area while staying outside the range of any SCTF you could sortie from SF. The Japanese can not afford one mishap during any phase in the turns leading up to the 2-3 days of sweeps, the 2-3 days of sweeps, or the following days in which they could make the necessary strikes against your ships.

What can you be doing as a counter? The first thing to consider is reducing the effectiveness of the KB. This can be achieved in two ways. The first is the obvious method of causing actual combat losses. You only have to have good fortune in one phase over several turns to achieve success at this. The second is to cause fatigue, loss of morale and limited capacity to mount strikes (exhaust his sorties). This will happen naturally, but you can accelerate the process by mounting small operations that force a disproportionate response from the Japanese.

I think you are more optimistic then I am! [:D]

Only light in the tunnel regarding the air strength I have is the P40K which begins production in September! Its a big step up from the "E" certainly but it will take a long time for me to get it into squadrons as numbers will only be enough for 2 squadrons/month if there are no combat losses.

I agree KB would be stretched pretty thin by doing all the usual stuff + sweeping. But the way LBA is working all he needs are 50 Zeroes on CAP and he is safe from LBA. That leaves around 100 Fighters for sweep and LRCAP. More then enough as my next update will show. Japanese air force is way too much for the allies to handle. It will shift eventually but we are far from there. [:)]

But you convinced me to send some naval assets to the WC. [:)]

[JocMeister]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

There's an "easier" way, if you can do some simple math. When setting up your TFs, open up the Load Troops screen (doesn't matter, you can do this with just 1 ship)... look at the Troop Load and Cargo Load cost for each of the units you want to take. Make a note of these values. If you want to unload in 1 full day using APAs, for example, then you need a number of APA/AKA/LS* ships equal to the total load cost divided by 2400. If you want to unload in 1 phase (half a day), then you need a number of total APA/AKA/LS* ships equal to the total load cost divided by 1200. It doesn't hurt to use 1 extra ship to account for any rounding errors...

For AK/AP types, divide by 1200 for a full day or 600 for just one phase to get the number of ships.

For example, for a division with 10,000 Troop and 15,000 Cargo load, I would aim for ~8 APA and 3 AKA: this is 26400 total unload compared to 25000 total load cost... however, most APAs aren't able to fit a 10,000 Troop cost unit onto 8 APAs (their Troop loading space is usually in the mid-1000s) and with needing to have about 20% space free, I will have to use about 10-12 APAs depending on size... This might mean that I don't need to use more than 1 AKA or so. This pretty much ensures 2-phase full unloading. Basically, for APA/AKA/LS* types, you'll unload their full load in 2 phases. Maybe 3 for the biggest ones. It's the AK/AP types (and xAK/xAP) that you need to do real math for their loads.

Also, set to Do Not Refuel and you won't have to worry about unwanted refueling, even if there are ships in red. When you use this setting, you will have to manually refuel if you want ships to refuel.

Yeah. "Easier" [:D]

I did the math initially on my first big landings but for reasons unknown (probably that I suck at math) they often ended up not fully unloaded anyway. So I just added enough ships to load them + 4-6. That usually leaves some motorized support but gets everything important off the ships. [:)]

PS. Are you sure about "do not refuel" preventing "within TF refueling"? That would be awesome if it worked. [X(]

[JocMeister]

[font="Verdana"]July 7th 1942[/font]
______________________________________________________________________________

Some good, some bad!

------------------------
NORPAC
------------------------
Big sweeps hit Seattle on the 6th. My air force have withdrawn to the south to recover from the earlier sweeps. On the 7th everything hits Vancouver. They get almost 10k fires going but AA claims 16 planes shot down!

Ise bombards Prince Rupert but only 2 Bolos are destroyed.

------------------------
SOPAC
------------------------
47th US regiment unload at Luganville together with some OZ engineers. They are covered by a cruiser force. No detection on any of the TFs.

I´ll bump the forts a little (already at 3) before expanding the AF to 3. Don´t want to draw a lot of attention down here.

------------------------
India
------------------------
Lots of action here and two mistakes on my part. Japanese air force show up over Calcutta to show who is boss.

Morning Air attack on Calcutta , at 52,37

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 33 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 38

Allied aircraft
Hurricane I Trop x 16
Hurricane IIb Trop x 8
P-40E Warhawk x 49

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 8 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane I Trop: 4 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 4 destroyed

Morning Air attack on Calcutta , at 52,37

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 21 NM, estimated altitude 21,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 27

Allied aircraft
Hurricane I Trop x 2
Hurricane IIb Trop x 3
P-40E Warhawk x 26

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane I Trop: 1 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 4 destroyed

This is followed by even more Zero sweeps ending in a huge 47 plane sweep. From a VP perspective its a good result with 1:1 losses during the day. But losing 32 fighters in a single day is not something I can do. Fighters are redeployed back to Madras.

32nd ID are now just one day from Calcutta. Some sloppy play on my part cost me some AFVs West of Calcutta.

Ground combat at Rajshashi (55,35)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 14695 troops, 122 guns, 69 vehicles, Assault Value = 480

Defending force 3014 troops, 54 guns, 294 vehicles, Assault Value = 192

Japanese adjusted assault: 194

Allied adjusted defense: 86

Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Rajshashi !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: preparation(-)
Attacker: leaders(-)

Japanese ground losses:
269 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Allied ground losses:
361 casualties reported
Squads: 12 destroyed, 17 disabled
Non Combat: 140 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 6 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 21 (11 destroyed, 10 disabled)
Vehicles lost 167 (142 destroyed, 25 disabled)
Units retreated 2

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
5th Division <--- Good intel!

Defending units:
254th Armoured Brigade
48th Light AA Regiment

Losses looks worse than they are. Mostly motorized support and some Improv. AFVs. What is REALLY interesting here is the 5th ID. This one was used in NORPAC (have to go back and double check but I´m fairly certain). A bit surprised I got no SIGINT on them moving to Burma. But my units should have been caught like that. I simply missed the Japanese units moving in.

Further up North I do the same thing and 3 units sitting in strat mode get caught in the open by a Japanese tank regiment.

Ground combat at 53,25 (near Gorakhpur)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 384 troops, 0 guns, 93 vehicles, Assault Value = 62

Defending force 650 troops, 6 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 14

Japanese adjusted assault: 61

Allied adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 61 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: op mode(-), leaders(-), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: leaders(+)

Allied ground losses:
721 casualties reported
Squads: 23 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 58 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 8 (8 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 3

Assaulting units:
14th Tank Regiment

Defending units:
16/5th Mahratta Battalion
4/2 NW Frontier Base Force
20th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment

Jeffs units are approaching Lucknow where a surprise is waiting for them. Jeff have also moved down his big stack from Ranchi down to Asanol. I´ll see if I can lure him down even further by pulling back to Calcutta.

------------------------
WC Defense
------------------------
So after pondering this yesterday I´ve done some changes here. 3rd USMC and 5th Armored will move to Sacramento and sit there in Strat mode together with 2 tank BTLs.

Some engineers moving for EC and India are turned back. They will start boosting the forts at LA and Portland. Some US troops are pulled from Canada (got a slew of Canadian BDEs a couple of turns ago) and sent to Portland.

18 DDs and 4 DMs set sail from Balboa to SD.

But with the 5th ID showing up in India I think the threat is almost non existant. But the forces currently defending WC can be used in a NORPAC offensive in 43 so they are not completely wasted being on the WC.

[ny59giants]

Like me (late Oct 42), you have to wait for the slow trickle of General Lee tanks to fill out your big three armoured brigades (50, 254, 255). You will need 52 x 7 battalions = 364 of them! [X(] I cannot wait until the big convoy on Dec 1st to come in with 72 of them. I only have 3 of 7 battalions with them so far and they are not filled out to 52 yet. [:(]

[JocMeister]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants
Like me (late Oct 42), you have to wait for the slow trickle of General Lee tanks to fill out your big three armoured brigades (50, 254, 255). You will need 52 x 7 battalions = 364 of them! [X(] I cannot wait until the big convoy on Dec 1st to come in with 72 of them. I only have 3 of 7 battalions with them so far and they are not filled out to 52 yet. [:(]

Yeah, 6/month is a little bit too slow for my liking... [:(] Loved the armored BDEs in my game with Erik. Nothing the Jap has can stop them for long...add in a few M4s and they can´t stop them at all! [&o]

Right now I´m trying to juggle the upgrades. Seems like Improv.AFV --> Valentine III --> General Lee. But some skip the Valentine and go straight for General Lee? Or is the Valentine -> General Lee a device upgrade?

[ny59giants]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants
Like me (late Oct 42), you have to wait for the slow trickle of General Lee tanks to fill out your big three armoured brigades (50, 254, 255). You will need 52 x 7 battalions = 364 of them! I cannot wait until the big convoy on Dec 1st to come in with 72 of them. I only have 3 of 7 battalions with them so far and they are not filled out to 52 yet.

Yeah, 6/month is a little bit too slow for my liking... Loved the armored BDEs in my game with Erik. Nothing the Jap has can stop them for long...add in a few M4s and they can´t stop them at all!

Right now I´m trying to juggle the upgrades. Seems like Improv.AFV --> Valentine III --> General Lee. But some skip the Valentine and go straight for General Lee? Or is the Valentine -> General Lee a device upgrade?

Right now, I have the 50th with 2 of 3 battalions with just over 30 General Lee each. 255th has Valentines in one battalion. 254th has one battalion worth of General Lee. So the upgrade paths are like you said...some skip the Valentine III. The Valentines are good anti-infantry tanks, but you want the Lee to go up against Japanese tanks.

Don't forget to monitor your monthly to bi-monthly CS Convoys that arrive at Cape Town to see how many tanks and other devices you are getting.

Slightly OT - In BTS, I allowed the under strength American 13th Armoured Division to be bought out in mid-Dec '42 vs being withdrawn. It will take 6 months worth of stockpiling Shermans, but I'm looking forward to seeing her in action.

[JocMeister]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

ORIGINAL: ny59giants
Like me (late Oct 42), you have to wait for the slow trickle of General Lee tanks to fill out your big three armoured brigades (50, 254, 255). You will need 52 x 7 battalions = 364 of them! I cannot wait until the big convoy on Dec 1st to come in with 72 of them. I only have 3 of 7 battalions with them so far and they are not filled out to 52 yet.

Yeah, 6/month is a little bit too slow for my liking... Loved the armored BDEs in my game with Erik. Nothing the Jap has can stop them for long...add in a few M4s and they can´t stop them at all!

Right now I´m trying to juggle the upgrades. Seems like Improv.AFV --> Valentine III --> General Lee. But some skip the Valentine and go straight for General Lee? Or is the Valentine -> General Lee a device upgrade?

Right now, I have the 50th with 2 of 3 battalions with just over 30 General Lee each. 255th has Valentines in one battalion. 254th has one battalion worth of General Lee. So the upgrade paths are like you said...some skip the Valentine III. The Valentines are good anti-infantry tanks, but you want the Lee to go up against Japanese tanks.

Don't forget to monitor your monthly to bi-monthly CS Convoys that arrive at Cape Town to see how many tanks and other devices you are getting.

Slightly OT - In BTS, I allowed the under strength American 13th Armoured Division to be bought out in mid-Dec '42 vs being withdrawn. It will take 6 months worth of stockpiling Shermans, but I'm looking forward to seeing her in action.

I´m getting a ton of M3 Grant/Lee and even more Matilda IIs from the convoys. But very few units to use them which is annoying. Have 24 General Lees coming in shortly though which is nice.

From my experience of the late war...that armored division is going to absolutely rock! [&o] I see lots of Japanese players going on about their Tank divisions. But they fail to realize that just what a few Shermans can do those late war Japanese "tanks"... [:'(] Its like China in reverse.

[Hermit]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

ORIGINAL: ny59giants
Like me (late Oct 42), you have to wait for the slow trickle of General Lee tanks to fill out your big three armoured brigades (50, 254, 255). You will need 52 x 7 battalions = 364 of them! I cannot wait until the big convoy on Dec 1st to come in with 72 of them. I only have 3 of 7 battalions with them so far and they are not filled out to 52 yet.

Yeah, 6/month is a little bit too slow for my liking... Loved the armored BDEs in my game with Erik. Nothing the Jap has can stop them for long...add in a few M4s and they can´t stop them at all!

Right now I´m trying to juggle the upgrades. Seems like Improv.AFV --> Valentine III --> General Lee. But some skip the Valentine and go straight for General Lee? Or is the Valentine -> General Lee a device upgrade?

Right now, I have the 50th with 2 of 3 battalions with just over 30 General Lee each. 255th has Valentines in one battalion. 254th has one battalion worth of General Lee. So the upgrade paths are like you said...some skip the Valentine III. The Valentines are good anti-infantry tanks, but you want the Lee to go up against Japanese tanks.

Don't forget to monitor your monthly to bi-monthly CS Convoys that arrive at Cape Town to see how many tanks and other devices you are getting.

Slightly OT - In BTS, I allowed the under strength American 13th Armoured Division to be bought out in mid-Dec '42 vs being withdrawn. It will take 6 months worth of stockpiling Shermans, but I'm looking forward to seeing her in action.

I know this is a noob question, but how do you "buy out" a unit that is supposed to be withdrawn?