Mac Linehan
Posts: 1441
Joined: 12/19/2004 From: Denver Colorado Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: topeverest Mac, > Note: Mac Allies vs. experienced PBEM Japanese opponent. The sub war is best started immediately. Your challenge is to decide if you are going to use the bulk of them in fleet or merchant roles. Without being too specific, imho, lets say the allies have about 60 subs, all but a handful of which are deployable in the first days of the war. IMHO, The goal is to sink tonnage not disrupt invasions. > Absolutely agree. I do, however, have a small portion of the SS force deployed at invasion points, in an attempt to disrupt the Japanese landings. The Empire has to regularly pull booty by sea in many places. As you reduce her capacity to move this, you are winning the war. Not pretty or sexy like CV or BB combat, but of paramount importance. Some areas are more important than others. IME, deploying every available sub at the beginning towards merhants will reap rewards through lower stockpiling and asset diversion. To simplify, there are two basic strategies you can deploy to - at the pickup and drop off locations or at the choke points. Furthermore, the longer the deployment path the more chance your short range subs cannot deploy once Manila is gone (which is a good reason to hold onto a major port as long as possible.) The best choke points might be Yellow and east china seas near the southern HI ports, in and around Formosa, Near Ominato, makassar straight / celebes sea, near singapore. This is not to say other areas might not be important in any particular game. > A very clear and conies road map, Thank You. I erred initially, in keeping the significant Manila SS \ Surf forces in port, to allow the AM's to clear mines. Not only did this delay deployment and use of these forces, but I was Properly Spanked and lost a number of ships to air attack. Lesson learned; the risk of passage through a partially swept minefield is far more acceptable than the more immediate threat of attack by highly experienced Japanese Naval Air. The empire can and probably will deploy air and ship based asw assets to effectively close down at least one of these patrol zones, and smart players will vary their convoy paths as their losses mount in any one area. If you are playing against an enemy who uses the auto convoy system, you are likely to be more successful, since AC tends to use most direct paths unless otherwise ordered. > Am not sure if the Japanese Player will use AC; but will keep your advice in mind. Furthermore, let me suggest that a dozen subs is more than adequate to flood a combat zone and meaninfully interdict any single set of empire amphibious actions if you are in a protracted combat in one general location...say in mid 42. You can use your reinforcements for that effort. > This lesson has been brought home to me with a will, my esteemed opponent's I boats have taken a toll at the Samrinda / Balikpapan, Oosthaven / Merak, and the Singers / Lingga choke points. Otherwise, get every available sub into either choke points or delivery / pickup zones and keep them there until exhausted, out of ammo, or severely damaged. You need to spend time on this part of the war each day and you have to plan about 7-14 days in advance. It is perhaps easyiest to allocate a number of subs to be in certain patrol areas and track the number of kills by area, resetting allocations periodically based on success and damage. To extend your effective patrol times is to mulitply your force effectiveness. With that in mind...Bases in the western Aleuts are very good sub bases against the HI if nothing else is near. Once you have the Marshalls or NG, these are great locations too, along with western Oz and any base near the western DEI > Oh my gosh - I really appreciate the above advice. I spend about six to eight hours on a turn (weekends only), and am a very detailed / micromanage kind of guy. Your remarks give me a clear picture of where and how to set up shop. lastly, do the upgrades, I maybe seeing things, but the radars seem to work wonders in the engagement rate. > Yes - it was an incredible technological edge that US submarines enjoyed - and used to devestating effect. While the Japanese had centimetric radar, "Shipborne Surface - search, Fire assisting Radar [Designation 22-Kai-3]: Mark 2 Model 2 Modification 3 (Submarines), there was no PPI - just an A Scope readout, [Japanese Radar and Related Weapons of World War II, Yasuzo Nakagawa]. Louis Brown, in "A Radar History of World War II" quotes historian Samuel Elliot Morrison as calling the "Sugar George" Surface Search Radar, "the greatest boon of science to sailor-men since the chronometer. When SG was combined with PPI, our Fleet Boats became all the more deadlier and effective. > Now Gents, I am, of course, getting all fired up; and am gong by memory. If I am off track, please let me know <grin> By the end of 42 you will have approx 150 subs in your arsenal. That is enough to rip the heart out of the enemy's booty haul in 43, especially if you have a few forward bases to deploy from. Even if you can't advance on the surface, the subs will constrict the enemy economy so badly by mid 43 that you will have the war won before you realize it. remember, each 10% reduction in empire trasnport capacity is a corresponding (but delayed) reduction in their ability to make war and bring on new naval & air assets. Each naval and air asset you prevent from being built is one you never have to fight!! > This is indeed, a whole different take on the first year and a half of the war... Without betraying those who dont want to know...Ask yourself these questions to help you along. About how many empire total merhcant assets are available each year with what capacity? How many of those assets must be operating (what capcity) to fully employ the economy and from where do they run to/from? Therefore, how many ships do you need to sink to affect how much of the economy? How many subs do you need to deploy and how many sinkings per sub deployed do you need to get the effect you want by the date you want? track this and...well...there you go. Its a very straightforward curve...for those who have decided to calculate it. > And You, Sir, have started me down the path, as I do want to know....! ----------- Dare I leave it there, I want to add but not talk about the fact that you want to integrate a surface raiding policy along with this. > And I shall do so. Anyway, I hope this helps. Topeverest, you have been more than helpful. I shall put the above to good effect, and shall get back to you. cricket Mac
< Message edited by Mac Linehan -- 4/17/2011 7:42:34 PM >
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