The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

ORIGINAL: crsutton

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I might when I'm within range.

Thus far I haven't done any aerial mining. I'm reserving that until within normal range of several key ports, so that I can keep John guessing. I'm close to being in range of the southern Home Islands, Palembang, and Singapore, but I'm not quite there yet. I'm not targeting Hong Kong because I think John has cleared it of ships due to its exposure.

Aerial mining works well only with bases that are in range of your DDs. Any base further back can just be patrolled by a AM or DMS and the mines are for most part useless. Instead I use them to support my offensives by mining nearby bases that the enemy can use to base raiders or transit reinforcements. That way any slow AMs that might show up can be intercepted by my DDs.

In my experience, aerial mining is garbage. All it does is risk your planes to ops losses. The minefields can only be laid at enemy bases, and are automatically detected by the enemy.

In a strait, with CD guns, the minefield being detected probably doesn't prevent the enemy from avoiding them entirely. But they're still basically worthless.

Have to disagree. Aerial mining can be very effective if you use them closer to the action. As I pointed out in my other post, you just have to be close enough so that the enemy sweepers cannot safely operate. So no more that eight hexes from your surface support. But you are right in that they do not have a chance if you try to use the historically. One bomber unit flying for a week will lay multiple minefields making it very dangerous for enemy ships to enter a base where they cannot sweep.

I really like using mines and get a lot of pleasure when they go bang. You won't win the war with them but you can kill some decent ships if you are creative.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: crsutton


Actually they do in a way. Australia has so many independent brigades that once the real threat of Japanese invasion is gone I start breaking them down to fill the squad and device pools. I even break down some weak divisions but eventually rebuild them. Doing this can keep all of the Australian divisions in the field and leave a decent supply of replacements to fill in losses. The bigger pain in the neck is devices but careful management will do the job. The big problem with Australian and other Commonwealth units is that if you screw up and lose a full division, there is little chance that you can ever rebuild it.

There is a 1945 TOE upgrade that changes one of the devices (I think an AT gun) to a model that the production system doesn't even produce enough of in 1945 to equip a single division, let alone the several that upgrade to it. Highly frustrating.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

Have to disagree. Aerial mining can be very effective if you use them closer to the action. As I pointed out in my other post, you just have to be close enough so that the enemy sweepers cannot safely operate. So no more that eight hexes from your surface support. But you are right in that they do not have a chance if you try to use the historically. One bomber unit flying for a week will lay multiple minefields making it very dangerous for enemy ships to enter a base where they cannot sweep.

I really like using mines and get a lot of pleasure when they go bang. You won't win the war with them but you can kill some decent ships if you are creative.

The problem is that the minefields are automatically detected by the other player, so ships never hit them. I've never seen a hit, anyway. I've used about 1000 of them across games in areas of action. I'm not sure if that's a high number, but it seems like it is.

[Lowpe]

I have never seen a hit with aerial mines, but they do cause you to change your behavior.

[MakeeLearn]

Operation Starvation

"Operation Starvation sank more ship tonnage in the last six months of the war than the efforts of all other sources combined. The Twentieth Air Force flew 1,529 sorties and laid 12,135 mines in twenty-six fields on forty-six separate missions. Mining demanded only 5.7% of the XXI Bomber Command's total sorties, and only fifteen B-29s were lost in the effort. In return, mines sank or damaged 670 ships totaling more than 1,250,000 tons."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Starvation

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: MakeeLearn

Operation Starvation

"Operation Starvation sank more ship tonnage in the last six months of the war than the efforts of all other sources combined. The Twentieth Air Force flew 1,529 sorties and laid 12,135 mines in twenty-six fields on forty-six separate missions. Mining demanded only 5.7% of the XXI Bomber Command's total sorties, and only fifteen B-29s were lost in the effort. In return, mines sank or damaged 670 ships totaling more than 1,250,000 tons."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Starvation

I believe is was kept top secret until the Red Curtain fell in the 90's...it was so effective.

[MakeeLearn]

Has anyone noticed a effect difference in aerial mines dropped during day vs. those dropped at night?

[Canoerebel]

6/3/44

Fun House: Death Star is at sea and Allied troops are embarking on transports here and there; a strong enemy bombardment TF hits Beaufort to minimal effect; and I'm wondering about KB's whereabouts.

Burma: Two Allied attacks come off at 1:1 and indicate the enemy forces can't stand absent reinforcements.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

I have never seen a hit with aerial mines, but they do cause you to change your behavior.

Well you see I have had a few. The key is to use them in bases where the enemy just "has" to move ships in and out of. For example, I have invaded Pegu in Burma and use air dropped mines in both Moulmein and Rangoon to prevent the movement of reinforcements and supply. Supply does not flow well for the Japanese in Burma and they must use shipping if they have a lot of force there to support. So, I am dropping mines right next to my point of attack to hinder both surface warships and supply ships in waters too dangerous for enemy minesweepers. I only wish that I could drop them in non base hexes just like any other mine.

Using them offensively out of range of your surface fleet is a waste of time though. I use the sub carried Mk 12 mine for that.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: MakeeLearn



Has anyone noticed a effect difference in aerial mines dropped during day vs. those dropped at night?

There is none that I know of.

[Canoerebel]

6/4/44

Fun House: Allied infantry will attack tomorrow at San Jose (Panay), and Allied armor will attack at Lucena (Luzon).

John is showing increased aggressiveness on the map and interest in the game. My spidey senses are tingling. He sees Death Star in the Sulu Sea and has vectored in a wolf pack. What he doesn't know is that DS will move slowly - it's going to take days - perhaps five or six - for amphibs to load 6th Aus. Div. at Puerto Princesa. And the amphibs won't move there for several days as I vector ASW TFs to try to hits some of those subs. As that goes on, I'll use my own subs and nav search to see if I pick up any signs of KB in the South China Sea. That's the only thing John might do that really worries me. Any other use of KB right now - in the Pacific or Solomon Sea or Coral Sea - would simply free up DS to move more boldly.

Burma: Chindits at Luangprabang maul and push out a Thai RCT. In the hex west of Raeheng, I'll attack whenever my units have decent supply. At the moment, only a West African division does. I'm not sure if I want a solo unit to attack an enemy army in jungle terrain, so I'll probably stand down the guys for a turn or two.

Elsewhere: Remaining vague for Op Sec reasons, TFs are on the move all over the place. If KB shows itself, triggers can be pulled. But the time comes soon when triggers will be pulled no matter what.

[Canoerebel]

Burma.

[Lecivius]

[:D]

[Canoerebel]

6/5/44

A busy day, especially in and near the Philippines.

[Canoerebel]

6/6/44

Fun House: Things are really heating up in this area of operations. Allied bombers clobbered the Japanese at Batangas today. I think John has to withdraw that army, 75k strong, to Manila instanter. If he allows them to get caught in the open and attacked, his entire position on Luzon might collapse. But I do think he'll get them back in time.

Pacific: Four Allied amphibious TFs with carriers are at sea, waiting for the "all clear" before heading to various destinations. Knowing where KB is would be a great help, but John isn't cooperating. The first and smallest of the invasion forces will hit Luganville tomorrow. This base is small and weakly defended, and I don't expect trouble. But if John and KB run into a little carrier TF like this one, a little, simple op turns ugly. The only up-side is that KB way down here would free up other, larger TFs to move boldly.

[Canoerebel]

I think the strikes on Batangas destroyed 49 combat squads, disabled 26 combat squads, and destroyed more than 75 non-combat squads. There were guns and vehicles destroyed, and disruption should be elevated (especially since this is the third or fourth strike on this army in a week or ten days).

[paullus99]

John really shouldn't be standing in any hex that isn't either urban, jungle, heavy terrain or with high levels of forts....he's so focused on trying to inflict "offensive" losses to you at this point, that he's completely ignoring the fact that even at this point in the real war, the Japanese army had come to the conclusion that it was better to let the allies come to them & inflict "defensive" losses.

He really needs to start thinking about the end-game here & not going back on the offensive...although he's been a lot more timid in relation to events in Burma & his lack of any real effort to counter your PI operations is perhaps a sign that he's transitioning over to a more defensive stance.

I guess we'll all have to see what happens.

[Canoerebel]

6/7/44

Uber quick post due to teaching this a.m. More later:

Fun House: ASW kills an enemy sub east of Puerto (always an achievement) and transports are embarking 6th Aus. Div. No sign of "hostiles" in proximity.

Massed 4EB again hit Batangas. John's army may not be retiring - no movement dot, though that's uncertain. My troops arrive tomorrow.

Mini KB seen in full strength in Timor Sea. It's not strong enough to do damage to my main assets. But could John send in KB from the north? I'm watching.

Invasion of Luganville ashore, but CVEs a hex away decline to provide LRCAP, resulting in loss of six or seven xAK and xAP.

Burma: Attack near Rahaeng tomorrow.

[MakeeLearn]

Fun House: ASW kills an enemy sub east of Puerto (always an achievement)

Good German(and American) optics...

[Canoerebel]

6/7/44

Mini KB: Sighted approaching the Timor Sea. This frees up Death Star a bit in the Sulu Sea, because now I need fret about a combined, full KB in that theater.

But it doesn't free up things in the Pacific. For all I know, KB is out there....and it's definitely far stronger than any carrier force I have out there.

Mini KB came here from the Bay of Bengal. I've been expecting the move, so I'd adjusted patrols to make sure those passages were covered. John's been paying a lot of attention to Boela, Sorong, and the Gulf of Carpentaria. So...does he bring in KB from the Solomon Sea?