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RE: 1942 - 9/9/2012 7:58:29 AM

SqzMyLemon

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Unfortunately, I overwrote my Central Pacific screenshot. I'll take a new one after the next turn is run, January 2/42.

Any other info you are interested in please let know and I'll post it. These are the major theatres at the moment so I concentrated on them. I'm still in the process of tallying submarine kills and Allied tonnage lost. I also have to provide economy and R&D information.

The start of 1942 has not been kind to the Allies. Here's a teaser:

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 9/9/2012 7:59:22 AM >

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

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Post #: 121

RE: 1942 - 9/9/2012 9:18:47 AM

PaxMondo

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You look good in China ... I think the allies have defended too far forward and you will make them pay. Good job!

Palembang ... I hope you haven't let a fortress Palembang develop. That could cost you a lot ... any of those good Ozzie units in swamp with supply ... ouch.

Banzai!!!

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Pax

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Post #: 122

RE: 1942 - 9/9/2012 4:03:42 PM

SqzMyLemon

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quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

Palembang ... I hope you haven't let a fortress Palembang develop.� That could cost you a lot ... any of those good Ozzie units in swamp with supply ... ouch.

My fear too Pax. I've left this late and should have gone in two weeks ago with whatever I had available. The question now is do I waste the time to isolate, or send everything right at Palembang? I'm beginning to bomb ground forces to hopefully gain some intel on what I'm facing there. I've seen Dutch and Indian coloured units so far, no Australian green. I'm thinking of landing the 38th Division directly at Palembang now, along with anything else free. The invasion TF is leaving Saigon today, so I can land in 3-4 days. I think I'd better get there ASAP now.

Spotting BC Repulse heading for Australia indicates to me I'll be facing the Dutch, and maybe CL Boise and CA Houston. No sign of any surface ships at Batavia, so my guess is they are at Soerabaja. I'm conserving Oscar's so I can hit Java hard. It's clear Jocke is mustering his air strength for a solid defence of Java.

< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 9/10/2012 4:39:11 PM >

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

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Post #: 123

Complacency leads to problems... - 9/10/2012 5:09:56 PM

SqzMyLemon

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My invasion of Canton Island by two SNLF units didn't do well. Recon of the base was poor previous to the decision to invade, only one unit was indicated and I took that to mean a small BF. Jocke had reinforced with a Marine Defense Bn. Forts were level three and oucho. One SNLF is trashed (10 AV) with high disruption while the other is ok. I've learned you do not shock attack a second time after a poor initial landing, even if it looks like one unit is still good to go. I got lazy and complacent here. I didn't provide minesweepers and two PB's hit mines. I didn't perform a preparatory naval bombardement. I could have kept KB around to cause disruption to the defenders and didn't. What's this mean? Delay!

I'm leaving my assault forces in place while I muster another invasion TF. DMS's will be provided to sweep mines, a BB bombardment TF is being dispatched and KB is reversing course to stop any attempt by the Allies to reinforce the base. Lesson learned, be 100% prepared regardless of how easy you think something may be. If I'd performed this operation up to my usual standards, I'd be be in control of the base right now.

A few things upcoming.

We've reached Jan. 4th and I've just landed at Rabaul, an assault by the 65th Bde. goes ahead next turn. I've also landed at Lautem on Timor.

I've decided to hold off on Palembang. The 38th Division will land at Mersing and join the other forces to assault Singapore. I'm hitting Singapore with seven divisions after all: 4th, 5th, 18th, 21st, 33rd, 38th and Imperial Guard. I hope to end this quickly and move on to Java and Palembang with my full strength rather than go in piecemeal and possibly get bogged down against all three objectives.

The plan is capture Singapore, then land on Java to capture Batavia. Then land at Oosthaven and deal with Palembang. This will allow me to mop up the rest of Java and move immediately on Perth. I'm hoping the end of March at the latest.

I may be able to hit Darwin by the end of January. I'm now also shifting focus to New Guinea and the Solomons. Once Canton Island is dealt with I can finally get KB to Truk to replenish and support operations against Port Moresby and Darwin. It will then be available to support operations at against Perth.

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

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Post #: 124

RE: 1942 - 9/10/2012 6:31:35 PM

Empire101

Posts: 1970
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quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

Unfortunately, I overwrote my Central Pacific screenshot. I'll take a new one after the next turn is run, January 2/42.

Any other info you are interested in please let know and I'll post it. These are the major theatres at the moment so I concentrated on them. I'm still in the process of tallying submarine kills and Allied tonnage lost. I also have to provide economy and R&D information.

The start of 1942 has not been kind to the Allies. Here's a teaser:

Its the only shot I could find of I-173
Good Hunting

Banzai!!

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Empire101 -- 9/10/2012 6:32:18 PM >

_____________________________

Our lives may be more boring than those who lived in apocalyptic times,
but being bored is greatly preferable to being prematurely dead because of some ideological fantasy. - Michael Burleigh

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Post #: 125

RE: 1942 - 9/10/2012 6:42:37 PM

ny59giants

Posts: 8784
Joined: 1/10/2005
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quote:

The plan is capture Singapore, then land on Java to capture Batavia. Then land at Oosthaven and deal with Palembang. This will allow me to mop up the rest of Java and move immediately on Perth. I'm hoping the end of March at the latest.

Even though I'm dealing with a massive invasion of Australia in my own game as Allies, I'm strongly considering adding western Australia to my 'honey to do list' for the next game as Japan. It eliminates that flank from getting into the SRA in '43 by the Allies, makes getting anything from Cape Town to Australia more hazardous, and makes almost everything on the western part of the map only accessible to the Allies with CV support. Do you see any downside to this??

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Post #: 126

RE: 1942 - 9/10/2012 8:21:51 PM

SqzMyLemon

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Empire101

Its the only shot I could find of I-173
Good Hunting
Banzai!!

Here's hoping I've just increased her photo appeal.

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to Empire101)

Post #: 127

RE: 1942 - 9/10/2012 8:43:45 PM

SqzMyLemon

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quote:

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Even though I'm dealing with a massive invasion of Australia in my own game as Allies, I'm strongly considering adding western Australia to my 'honey to do list' for the next game as Japan. It eliminates that flank from getting into the SRA in '43 by the Allies, makes getting anything from Cape Town to Australia more hazardous, and makes almost everything on the western part of the map only accessible to the Allies with CV support. Do you see any downside to this??

I see a couple of downsides. Eliminating Perth doesn't shut down the ability to support Australia, it only lengthens the trip and perhaps makes it a little more vulnerable. Capturing Perth may encourage or force the Allied player to concentrate on India, which could lead to problems for the Japanese in defending Burma, or open up Malaya and Sumatra to invasion instead of the DEI.

The loss of Perth could also be ignored completely. As long as there is no threat of a further Japanese advance, it would probably just lead to the Allies supplying Australia with war material from the U.S. A buildup of Eastern Australia would allow a strong move against New Guinea and not inhibit the slow buildup to retake Darwin if that too is in Japanese hands.

I think a Perth invasion on it's own won't accomplish much, but in conjunction with other Australian operations it could be quite useful. I think the key to taking or neutralizing Australia for some time is a south to north approach, not the traditional hit Darwin and Northern Australia and trickle down effect. If you can divide Australia into zones, and deal with each in turn, you can mass the force needed to make conquest up to the LOD far easier, but you have to start in the south and work your way up north, not the other way around in my opinion.

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

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Post #: 128

RE: 1942 - 9/10/2012 11:08:28 PM

obvert

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Interesting idea. I imagine this could work well on the E coast of OZ too. Landing farther toward Brisbane but not intending to move to Sydney. The Allies would concentrate forces to the South and you could pick off the rest of the north at Leisure. Then strat bomb the HI.

It would be hard to know when to leave and how to accomplish that gracefully.

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Post #: 129

RE: 1942 - 9/11/2012 3:34:34 AM

PaxMondo

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IF I go after OZ, not a given, but if I do, then I take Perth for the reasons outlined above. Mavis with Nettie's at Perth creates issues for shipments from west map edge.

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Post #: 130

RE: 1942 - 9/11/2012 5:42:50 AM

SqzMyLemon

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quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

IF I go after OZ, not a given, but if I do, then I take Perth for the reasons outlined above.� Mavis with Nettie's at Perth creates issues for shipments from west map edge.

Hi Pax,

Totally agree, if the Allies play ball. If material can still be shipped via West Coast to Australia, Perth on it's own won't stop anything reaching Australia, just the direction it comes from. It certainly will delay things, but more so if the Allies do things as expected. I think a lot depends on how Japan invades and the Allies choose to counter.

Interesting to see though. Excepting a disaster on my end, I'm going to take a shot at disrupting Australia in what I hope to be a different way than what I see so often. I think you can achieve more in Australia than simply delaying the Allied buildup, and that is the destruction of Allied forces in a divide and conquer type campaign.

Stay tuned.

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to PaxMondo)

Post #: 131

RE: 1942 - 9/11/2012 8:36:12 AM

obvert

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How far will you plan to go in the South Pacific? Luganville? Noumea? Suva?

Having New Caledonia would certainly help any work on the E coast of OZ you plan to do. As I found against Jocke, it's pretty tough for the Allied player to get it back without exposing forces to the KB. It's a fun place to fight. Close enough to the ports of the Solomons to get inured ships back and far from his LBA.

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

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Post #: 132

RE: 1942 - 9/11/2012 4:09:34 PM

SqzMyLemon

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quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert

How far will you plan to go in the South Pacific? Luganville? Noumea? Suva?

I'd like to say none of them.

I'm probably going to have to take Luganville and New Caledonia. I don't really want to, but if I make a strong move against Eastern Australia I can't have the Allies interdicting my LOC.

It's going to take a lot of planning, which I'm working on right now. I think I'll start posting maps and ideas soon to get some feedback. The limiting factor will be troops and the timing of operations. I'm going to have to concentrate on SoPac to provide a temporary buffer.

Other than a few support units for China, all my PP's are being spent for the Pacific. Once I've secured Sian, I'll withdraw most of my armour for deployment to Australia.

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to obvert)

Post #: 133

Interesting comments - 9/11/2012 5:27:30 PM

SqzMyLemon

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This is a quote of Jocke's in GreyJoy's AAR and has me thinking more on my own plans to invade Australia and what I can hope to accomplish by doing so.

quote:

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

I don�t think the Jap player have any hope of "isolating" OZ whatever he does take or not. The allies have just way too much shipping available. Its simply no doable. You can ship more then enough fuel just using xAKs if needed. I don�t really know how much fuel I have at OZ since I havn�t checked. But I have never been low at any point. 2 million? 3? So I don�t agree with the fuel problem at all. The Jap player can never cover all the possible approaches to OZ taking Pago Pago and Christmas would be a nuisance at most.

I just hit April 43 and I have so much fuel and supplies everywhere I don�t really know where to put it anymore. And I have done so without using Christmas or Perth. So I�m pretty much in agreement with CR on this one. As an allied player you don�t need Christmas Island, Perth or Pago Pago for that matter.

In a month of game time playing Jocke, I've already come to the conclusion that he'll send transport TF's far to the south, most likely skirting the map edges trading time for the guarantee his war material arrives safely. His thoughts echo mine as far as the value of a Perth only option for Japan.

What are the reinforcements the Allies get if Japan crosses the LOD in Australia?

I see two options available to me in regards to Australia. The first, I capture Perth, Darwin and north of Rockhampton to destroy portions of the Australian army in detail and strat bomb the industry without crossing the LOD, withdrawing before Allied strength overwhlems me. The second would be a full blown invasion of Australia with landings in the south to completely stop the flow of war material arriving in Australia, but triggering the reinforcements.

Another option is invade all the way down to New Zealand and break any chance of material reaching Australia from the U.S., while capturing Perth to further delay a buildup of Australia preventing a direct thrust into the DEI from the south for perhaps all of 1943.

Any operations I mount against Australia must achieve more than just delay, there has to be a strategic goal. Either trashing of the industry, destruction of Australia's Army or the outright capture of the entire continent. Otherwise, there is absolutely no point to invading it at all in my opinion.

Thoughts?

< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 9/11/2012 5:29:27 PM >

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 134

RE: Interesting comments - 9/11/2012 6:19:49 PM

obvert

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My guess is that Jocke (and many savvy vets of the Allied side) use map edge or off-map transport more than they talk about. There is no way to keep stuff from getting from the US to OZ. If you take it all from the South you will lose Burma after he send the reinforcements there, and thus open your oil centers to strat bombing by late 43.

It's really hard to cover the approaches to Melbourne and other Southern OZ ports even with Perth in hand. Taking a bunch of stuff gets the Japanese player over-extended and ripe for the counter-attack unless you can take out a good portion of the Allied CVs in the process. It doesn't do much good to have OZ if he starts bouncing up the Solomons from Fiji and cuts the LOC to the East side of the continent. I'm in favor of a good solid perimeter and contesting far flung bases while not actually trying to hold them. You really just want to make him fight before 43, but you have to make him think it's his idea!

< Message edited by obvert -- 9/11/2012 6:20:10 PM >

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

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Post #: 135

Jan. 6 preview - 9/11/2012 7:02:57 PM

SqzMyLemon

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I'll be running the Jan. 6/42 turn when I get home, but thought I'd comment on a few developments.

China:

Japanese forces along the Taiyuan access of advance will shock attack Chinese forces in the mountain hex 138 miles west of the base today. I do not think the Chinese can prevent me marching all the way to cut the secondary road from Sian to Yenan.

Chinese troops N.E. of Sinyang are attempting to cut off my force advancing from Nanyang. I've halted the advance in order to deal with this threat. Bombers are attacking the enemy daily while in cultivated terrain, so I'm sure disablements are mounting and supply is low. I realize this will slow my advance on Sian along the major road from Nanyang, allowing the Chinese to block my route more effectively. That's ok, my first priority is destroying Chinese squads. Nanyang guards the left flank of my offensive and must be secured, so there's no rush to get to Sian from this direction.

New Guinea:

A small Allied TF was picked up near New Gloucester and reported as 5 DD's. I have a bad feeling this enemy TF actually contains a CA or CL. The only force I have a available is a SCTF composed of CL Nagara and 4 DD's at Rabaul. They've been ordered to try and intercept the enemy. A transport TF at Manus has been ordered to disband in port, and an amphibious TF unloading at Rabaul has been ordered to stop and move east to await developments.

KB is two days away to the east joining up with a replenishment TF. The BB SCTF covering the Rabaul landings was ordered east to bombard Canton Island and is now out of position. KB could come into play in a matter of days if the Allies hang around too long. I could also try a shot at Sydney, there's a good chance CV Lexington is there repairing the torpedo damage from SS I-173.

Malaya:

The 38th Division has captured Mersing. One more base to go, then all my forces can move against Singapore. The troops should be able to launch the first assault on Jan. 11th. More artillery will arrive in a week or so. I sure hope I can take out Singapore before the end of January.

The Philippines:

It appears Manila is the chosen strongpoint and last stand location for Luzon. Clark Field has been abandoned! I'm trying to recon Bataan. If lightly held, I will capture the base prior to investing Manila. Why? Once Bataan is secure, I can sweep the mines and then use BB bombardment TF's to hammer Manila. They will be way more effective in reducing Manila than bombing alone.

Sub Ops:

Allied submarines are dudding on everything lately. If you thought Japanese ASW was poor in stock, it's truly pathetic with DaBabes.

Thoughts:

I'm moving the 2nd Division forward and will secure Lae and Port Moresby soon. Then I will use KB to support the capture of Darwin by the 56th Division. The goal is to have Darwin captured by the end of January. Then I can seal off Java completely by taking the remaining bases along the north coast of Australia. By then Singapore should have fallen and I can begin landings on Java to take Batavia and open up access to the IO and Perth. Then of course, Palembang for the oil. It's all about the crude.

< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 9/11/2012 10:30:01 PM >

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

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Post #: 136

RE: Jan. 6 preview - 9/11/2012 10:28:16 PM

SqzMyLemon

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Just a post to get me away from Jocke's AAR, it's so easy to almost click on his instead of mine with Lemon being in both titles!

A quick question, should I even attempt any port raids on major bases (Sydney for example) with KB considering the effectiveness of FLAK under DaBabes?

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 137

Is this enough? - 9/12/2012 4:23:59 AM

SqzMyLemon

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I did a quick count of the AV I've brought to the party about to begin at Singapore. An impressive 3400AV. I believe what I did last time was split my AV, so the first group took the initial shock attack and the follow up troops were fresh to allow for a quick recovery and renewed attack in a matter of days. I'm thinking of doing a 2000/1400 split with the first group making the crossing.

Is it better to use the full 3400 AV initially and just wait to recover disruption? Splitting worked well for me last time, but that wasn't against a fully loaded Singapore.

I'm going to be reconning Port Moresby soon to see if Jocke has any surprises from me.

Troops are moving up from Ternate and Ambon to deploy against Koepang and Darwin. This is strictly an LBA show. Mini-KB is still in Japan, although they will be ordered out soon to support operations against New Guinea. No way I'm going into the DEI with carriers considering the number of enemy subs now patrolling there. I'm getting 6-7 attacks a day, luckily mostly duds.

I'm thinking of landing on Java without CV support as well. I want to nail down New Guinea, the Solomons, Luganville and New Caledonia quickly with CV support. Then I hunt, bigtime while all my invasions accomplish their goals. I need more troops though! Just not enough PP's right now for everything I want.

A note on production. I've turned off all merchant shipyards to customize what is being built and with how many points. I'm currently saving 7k HI a day and using up the pool until I get organized. Nice!

I may have to ramp up Sally production. I'm currently producing 50 a month and it's not nearly enough. FLAK really has improved. I'm losing 2-4 Sally's a day over Singapore, even at 15k. I'm falling behind on replacements and upgrading units. Same with Oscar's, I'm almost at 100 a month, but I'm hardly able to convert the Nate's over quick enough. I need a large airforce by Feb. - Mar. to take on Allied air in Java and Australia.

KB has refuelled and I'm heading for the east coast of Australia while my forces gather for operations against New Guinea. I'm moving in supply, fuel and aircraft. I'll be pretty pumped if I can deal with these areas quickly, especially Darwin and Port Moresby. I'll be looking for a scrap and using my forces aggressively. Let's see if the Allies oblige by showing up in the defence of PM or Darwin.

< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 9/12/2012 2:40:06 PM >

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 138

RE: Is this enough? - 9/13/2012 5:12:16 PM

Empire101

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quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

I did a quick count of the AV I've brought to the party about to begin at Singapore. An impressive 3400AV. I believe what I did last time was split my AV, so the first group took the initial shock attack and the follow up troops were fresh to allow for a quick recovery and renewed attack in a matter of days. I'm thinking of doing a 2000/1400 split with the first group making the crossing.

Is it better to use the full 3400 AV initially and just wait to recover disruption? Splitting worked well for me last time, but that wasn't against a fully loaded Singapore.

Personally I'd go with the lot as hopefully only a couple of units will be hammered, and once you have established yourself on the other bank any other reinforcements can cross unmolested.

quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon
I'm thinking of landing on Java without CV support as well. I want to nail down New Guinea, the Solomons, Luganville and New Caledonia quickly with CV support. Then I hunt, bigtime while all my invasions accomplish their goals. I need more troops though! Just not enough PP's right now for everything I want.

Ain't that the truth!! There are never enough PP's to go around.

quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon
I may have to ramp up Sally production. I'm currently producing 50 a month and it's not nearly enough. FLAK really has improved. I'm losing 2-4 Sally's a day over Singapore, even at 15k. I'm falling behind on replacements and upgrading units. Same with Oscar's, I'm almost at 100 a month, but I'm hardly able to convert the Nate's over quick enough. I need a large airforce by Feb. - Mar. to take on Allied air in Java and Australia.

You will need more of the above. I try to get Sally production upto around 80 a month & Oscars to 130+. Just replacing the Nates sucks up huge amounts of new aircraft, and thats without considering losses.

quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon
KB has refuelled and I'm heading for the east coast of Australia while my forces gather for operations against New Guinea. I'm moving in supply, fuel and aircraft. I'll be pretty pumped if I can deal with these areas quickly, especially Darwin and Port Moresby. I'll be looking for a scrap and using my forces aggressively. Let's see if the Allies oblige by showing up in the defence of PM or Darwin.

This is getting exciting. I've never gone for Australia, as I'm a China first advocate, but reading your AAR has made me reconsider my strategic approach to the game.

I shall follow with great interest!
Good Luck!!
BANZAI!!

_____________________________

Our lives may be more boring than those who lived in apocalyptic times,
but being bored is greatly preferable to being prematurely dead because of some ideological fantasy. - Michael Burleigh

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 139

RE: Is this enough? - 9/13/2012 11:31:31 PM

PaxMondo

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Don't be afraid of Nates. Compared to Oscars, the biggest difference is really only range. Both are poorly armed, have high manouver, and very fragile. Nates can work just fine in CAP roles. You need the Oscars for Escort.

The problem I always have is with Claude's. Huge difference between Claude and Zeke, especially armament.

BTW: this is historically accurate. Nates held their own in China against the China and later the SOV fighters. They can't take on 4E's or later US fighters though, and they can't escort due to range.

_____________________________

Pax

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Post #: 140

RE: Is this enough? - 9/14/2012 9:49:06 AM

Empire101

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quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

Don't be afraid of Nates.� Compared to Oscars, the biggest difference is really only range.� Both are poorly armed, have high manouver, and very fragile.� Nates can work just fine in CAP roles.� You need the Oscars for Escort.

The problem I always have is with Claude's.� Huge difference between Claude and Zeke, especially armament.

BTW: this is historically accurate.� Nates held their own in China against the China and later the SOV fighters.� They can't take on 4E's or later US fighters though, and they can't escort due to range.

Good point. I never thought of it like that, I've been obsessed with range because of the vast distances involved, but as you point out, in China it does'nt matter so much.

The airforce in China (in my games) has always been last on the list for upgrades though

_____________________________

Our lives may be more boring than those who lived in apocalyptic times,
but being bored is greatly preferable to being prematurely dead because of some ideological fantasy. - Michael Burleigh

(in reply to PaxMondo)

Post #: 141

RE: Is this enough? - 9/14/2012 4:07:28 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4192
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From: Alberta, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

Don't be afraid of Nates.� Compared to Oscars, the biggest difference is really only range.� Both are poorly armed, have high manouver, and very fragile.� Nates can work just fine in CAP roles.� You need the Oscars for Escort.

I agree Pax, but for me it's the potential pilot losses. Nate's seem to get chewed up pretty badly by AVG aircraft, not that the Oscar's are much better, but I hate to throw away good pilots over China.

Jocke is setting up some AVG ambushes and I lost another 10 Ann's last turn, unescorted mind you. I plan on taking out AVG in one go. I'm just biding my time until I have sufficient numbers of fighters to blow it from the sky. In the meantime, I'll risk the odd ambush to mass my fighters for a decisive air battle to neutralize Allied air in China, or elsewhere for that matter.

< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 9/14/2012 4:11:38 PM >

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

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Post #: 142

RE: Is this enough? - 9/14/2012 4:12:46 PM

PaxMondo

Posts: 7664
Joined: 6/6/2008
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

... Nate's seem to get chewed up pretty badly by AVG aircraft, not that the Oscar's are much better, ...

kinda my point. I do replace Nates with Oscars, but I also use Nates in defensive roles on front lines as they are no worse than Oscars in that role. I'm not suggesting they are good, they simply are not worse. So, I'mnot in such a panic about them.

Claudes though are completely different. They really do suck compared Zekes and so I am furiously trying to remove all Claudes as fast as I can.

_____________________________

Pax

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Post #: 143

RE: Is this enough? - 9/14/2012 4:23:51 PM

Empire101

Posts: 1970
Joined: 5/20/2008
From: Coruscant
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

Claudes though are completely different. They really do suck compared Zekes and so I am furiously trying to remove all Claudes as fast as I can.

Of all the planes that blow in AE, the Claude stands out as the plane that blows the most.

Like Pax, in any game, They Are Outta Here!!

_____________________________

Our lives may be more boring than those who lived in apocalyptic times,
but being bored is greatly preferable to being prematurely dead because of some ideological fantasy. - Michael Burleigh

(in reply to PaxMondo)

Post #: 144

Jan. 8th brief update - 9/14/2012 4:59:45 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4192
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

I'm pretty busy these days with RL so updating the AAR has been sporadic and I know I'm not providing information in much detail lately. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up somewhat over the weekend.

China:

AVG jumped another unescorted bomber force near Sian today. Losses were about 10 Ann's. AVG must be performing CAP from Sian. I'll deal with the airbase shortly.

Japanese forces have cleared the first forest hex west of Loyang on the road to Sian. Japanese forces are also advancing along the secondary road north of Tsiaotso. I'm encountering single enemy units so I'm pleased with the advance, but I'm certain I'll be running into a road block soon. There are eight units blocking the route along the major road to Sian from Nanyang, but I'm not concerned, this isn't my main route of advance. Once Sian is under direct threat the Chinese will have to withdraw anyway, so why get bogged down fighting in terrain I don't need to.

I'm in a good position in the south of the country now. I think I can counter any moves Jocke tries here.

I'm losing VP's from lack of garrisons at the moment, but that can't be helped. Until I get larger garrison units at the major bases I can't free up enough smaller units to meet the requirements. I refuse to use a Bde. of 200 AV to garrison a base when only 60 AV is required. I'm still in the process of getting garrisons sorted, I'll take my VP lumps in the meantime.

I'm also running into overstacking at times, but that's more from not knowing what the stacking limit in a hex is prior to entering it. This doesn't apply to bases as you can mouse over, but non-base hexes are causing me some problems.

Malaya:

Troops are massing for the assault on Singapore. I'm going to attack with five divisions first and follow up with another two. I don't want to risk all my units getting trashed or suffering high disruption. I think 3400 AV will be enough to take the base quickly, especially if forts are only around level 2-3 as I suspect.

The Celebes:

A Japanese Rgt. will arrive at Makassar soon and I expect the base to fall easily. I'm only concerned with Kendari and Makassar. I can grab the other bases later.

Timor:

Lautem and Dili are Japanese, while Koepang is the final base to take. Lautem and Dili are being built to level two airbases to allow sweeps of Darwin. I will hit Darwin with a division soon. Recon indicates only three enemy units, so it seems Jocke isn't planning on trying to hold the base.

New Guinea:

Recon at Port Moresby indicates three enemy units. The 2nd Division will hit the base with Combined Fleet support when ready. Lae will be captured first to provide CAP.

Thoughts:

The pace of advance has slowed, but I think I'm in a good position to exploit things. If Singapore falls quickly I should be able to use the seven divisions to crush Sumatra (Palembang!) and Java quickly, prepping for Australia while doing so.

I will divide Australia into zones and look to seal off each zone and destroy all enemy forces within it before moving on to the next one. I do not want to dissipate my strength. My entire strategy for Australia is based on destroying Allied units, not simply pushing them back. To do that I need to concentrate my strength and attack differently.

< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 9/14/2012 5:43:16 PM >

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 145

RE: Is this enough? - 9/14/2012 6:31:25 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4192
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

... Nate's seem to get chewed up pretty badly by AVG aircraft, not that the Oscar's are much better, ...

kinda my point. I do replace Nates with Oscars, but I also use Nates in defensive roles on front lines as they are no worse than Oscars in that role. I'm not suggesting they are good, they simply are not worse. So, I'mnot in such a panic about them.

Claudes though are completely different. They really do suck compared Zekes and so I am furiously trying to remove all Claudes as fast as I can.

Hi Pax,

I got yours, but didn't express mine clearly.

I won't risk Nate's or Oscar's against an uneven fight against AVG until I have the numbers to make a difference. I don't care about the planes, it's the pilots I won't sacrifice. When I engage AVG it will be with swarms of Oscar's and Zero's to deal with it quickly.

Nemo made a point in my last AAR which stuck with me. It was along the lines of "just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should" and I apply this to my air campaign now. My units are being used for specific purposes. I could escort my bombers and lose a few fighters here and there, but why, what does it accomplish? If anything it slows down my ability to mass and kills pilots. Let's see what happens to AVG when it runs into a hundred Oscar's and Zero's and it's airbase is hit by 75-100 bombers. If I wait a little, I hope to accomplish in days what might otherwise take weeks or months to do.

That's the theory anyway.

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to PaxMondo)

Post #: 146

More thoughts - 9/14/2012 10:26:25 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4192
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

I'm happy with progress in China. There's a potential to completely cut off about 30 enemy units. Whether I should contain, reduce or destroy them is the question. Originally, I intended on simply reducing enemy units without destroying them, driving them back as I advanced. I'm not sure this is the right strategy to employ this early considering some large enemy pockets have formed in my rear. I want to advance quickly, but having to secure my LOC from interdiction by these troops will be problematic.

In light of this, I've decided to eliminate the 10 enemy units cut off near Nanchang. I realize they will respawn, but the south is where I'm weakest. I can't afford to have Chinese forces from Changsha move against me at this stage, and the danger of being caught between two strong enemy forces is real. Granted, I believe the units cut off are out of supply, but they amount to almost 100k. If they suddenly get access to supply, I could be overwhelmed in the south.

The pocket forming around Loyang is more promising to reduce, rather than eliminate. Recon indicates about 80k threatened with encirclement. I'll produce a screenshot later, but essentially they are moving west in rough terrain towards Sian. This force is already flanked from the south and roughly parallel with my advancing forces in the north. Once I take the next secondary road hex they will be cut off directly from Sian. The risk of them turning south and cutting off my southern force will be countered by withdrawing from Nanyang and marching to Loyang to secure the encirclement. I believe I'll attempt to reduce this force by direct attack and attrition from supply loss, before allowing it to "escape" the trap. It will be severely weakened and pose more of a logisitcs problem to the Chinese, than an offensive threat to me.

Chinese forces blocking the road from Nanyang will most likely fall back to Sian or attack Nanyang after I withdraw from the base. I don't believe Jocke would occupy Nanyang only to be pummeled again in clear terrain. I have no intention of trying to force my way up the main road from Nanyang, providing at least eight enemy units with 3x defensive terrain. Perhaps I still should feint though, the longer I delay their withdrawal to Sian the better for my advancing troops.

My northern thrust will eventually run into at least seven units moving along the secondary road to Sian from Yenan. This force does not worry me whatsoever, as it will be advancing in only 2x defensive terrain and my bombers and ground troops will crush them. I'm almost in a position to deal with the AVG and Chinese air units. Once I establish air superiority, I'll bomb around Sian and Yenan causing heavy disruption and disablements.

Once Sian and Lanchow fall, or the fuel flow into Central China is blocked, I can then employ my strategy of not destroying Chinese formations. I want them constantly drawing what supply remains to recover disablements, and prevent enough supply pooling at bases for their garrisons or to allow fort construction.

The Burma Road is threatened now. Japanese troops are about to invest Pegu, which upon capture will block the direct rail line betwen Rangoon and China. If Sian's and Lanchow's fuel/oil can be blocked as early as Feb./Mar. and the Burma Road cut, China will be in big trouble. There's a long way to go yet, but I'm quite optimistic about China already. I haven't had to buy out any combat units, excepting a few armoured units, for China.

I'm starting to draw up plans for Australia. I expect a typical Allied response to the capture of Darwin, and that is the build up of Alice Springs to allow logistics to pool and flow north as bases are built up for the eventual counterattack. I will land initially at Caenarvon on the west coast in order to try and suck units to Perth. Then land behind the entire theatre at Port Augusta with a force strong enough to prevent the Allies opening the rail line. My main force will then land at Esperance and Albany and march north to cut Perth off completely. Landing at Port Augusta will also have the benefit of allowing me to block the rail line to Alice Springs. Then I close the pocket and eliminate all Allied forces deployed to Western Australia.

Once Perth is secure, I will transition forces for operations against Northeastern Australia. Horn Island and Port Moresby will be captured initially to provide LBA the means to support operations. I will not attempt to draw Australian units north to Townsville and area as I don't think Jocke will react the same way a second time. Instead, a hammerblow will fall at Rockhampton to block the rail line north. The majority of forces will march north to eliminate all Allied units, while airbases are expanded to allow for strategic bombing of Australia's industry.

The Combined Fleet will support initial landings until LBA can be utilized. Once LBA is established, it is the mission of the Combined Fleet to hammer enemy coastal bases and blockade Southern Australia from receiving any reinforcements via Cape Town or New Zealand.

I think it's an ambitious plan for Scenario 1 and perhaps beyond the capabilities of my forces, or my skill level at this time, but I'm giving it a shot regardless. A lot will depend on what happens from now until operations begin. How quickly will Singapore, Palembang and Java fall, how quickly can I transition logistics and support. Will combined Fleet still be intact and able to interdict the LOC to Australia. Lots of unknowns at this point. I'm looking at committing at least eight divisions, possibly 10, to Australia. This leaves me quite vulnerable to an early Allied move elsewhere, but I hope to be in a position to defend against anything that might be tried.

Sould be a fun ride, but I do know I have to take the fight to the Allies this time around. India and Australia aren't big surprises anymore to the Allies, but the way they are attempted could be. I'll discuss my thoughts on how Jocke might attempt to counter and what my preparations will be another time.

And of course, any thoughts or suggestions are always welcome. Even if you want to say I'm crazy!

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 147

Northern China 010942 - 9/15/2012 5:45:46 AM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4192
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

Here's the situation in Northern China. I'm extremely pleased with recent events and the potential destruction of 16 Chinese units is looming. I'd prefer to reduce them to combat ineffectiveness rather than destruction, but depending on how the situation develops I may not have that option. Regardless, they are in trouble. Screenshot follows:

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 148

RE: More thoughts - 9/15/2012 10:34:16 AM

Empire101

Posts: 1970
Joined: 5/20/2008
From: Coruscant
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon
I'm happy with progress in China. There's a potential to completely cut off about 30 enemy units. Whether I should contain, reduce or destroy them is the question. Originally, I intended on simply reducing enemy units without destroying them, driving them back as I advanced. I'm not sure this is the right strategy to employ this early considering some large enemy pockets have formed in my rear. I want to advance quickly, but having to secure my LOC from interdiction by these troops will be problematic.

I always face the same dilemma too. I always try to avoid destroying them/making them surrender if possible as over time the accumulated 'drag' of severely damaged units can suck the Chinese into a vicious circle of supply and re-equipping. But sometimes you just have to bite the bullet, especially if the advance has flowed past, IMO.

quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon
In light of this, I've decided to eliminate the 10 enemy units cut off near Nanchang. I realize they will respawn, but the south is where I'm weakest. I can't afford to have Chinese forces from Changsha move against me at this stage, and the danger of being caught between two strong enemy forces is real. Granted, I believe the units cut off are out of supply, but they amount to almost 100k. If they suddenly get access to supply, I could be overwhelmed in the south.

Yep! They have to go.

quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon
The pocket forming around Loyang is more promising to reduce, rather than eliminate. Recon indicates about 80k threatened with encirclement. I'll produce a screenshot later, but essentially they are moving west in rough terrain towards Sian. This force is already flanked from the south and roughly parallel with my advancing forces in the north. Once I take the next secondary road hex they will be cut off directly from Sian. The risk of them turning south and cutting off my southern force will be countered by withdrawing from Nanyang and marching to Loyang to secure the encirclement. I believe I'll attempt to reduce this force by direct attack and attrition from supply loss, before allowing it to "escape" the trap. It will be severely weakened and pose more of a logisitcs problem to the Chinese, than an offensive threat to me.

I agree. Tactics like this can only hamper the Chinese.

quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon
Chinese forces blocking the road from Nanyang will most likely fall back to Sian or attack Nanyang after I withdraw from the base. I don't believe Jocke would occupy Nanyang only to be pummeled again in clear terrain. I have no intention of trying to force my way up the main road from Nanyang, providing at least eight enemy units with 3x defensive terrain. Perhaps I still should feint though, the longer I delay their withdrawal to Sian the better for my advancing troops.

My northern thrust will eventually run into at least seven units moving along the secondary road to Sian from Yenan. This force does not worry me whatsoever, as it will be advancing in only 2x defensive terrain and my bombers and ground troops will crush them. I'm almost in a position to deal with the AVG and Chinese air units. Once I establish air superiority, I'll bomb around Sian and Yenan causing heavy disruption and disablements.

Once Sian and Lanchow fall, or the fuel flow into Central China is blocked, I can then employ my strategy of not destroying Chinese formations. I want them constantly drawing what supply remains to recover disablements, and prevent enough supply pooling at bases for their garrisons or to allow fort construction.

The Burma Road is threatened now. Japanese troops are about to invest Pegu, which upon capture will block the direct rail line betwen Rangoon and China. If Sian's and Lanchow's fuel/oil can be blocked as early as Feb./Mar. and the Burma Road cut, China will be in big trouble. There's a long way to go yet, but I'm quite optimistic about China already. I haven't had to buy out any combat units, excepting a few armoured units, for China.

This is looking good, I am following with great interest!!

Good Luck!!

_____________________________

Our lives may be more boring than those who lived in apocalyptic times,
but being bored is greatly preferable to being prematurely dead because of some ideological fantasy. - Michael Burleigh

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 149

Movement bugs strike again. - 9/17/2012 3:57:51 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4192
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

Jocke and I have hit another snag which has caused a stop to the game until we can resolve the issue.

Jocke's large Chinese stack located at Tsiaotso and attempting to move west is unable to complete the movement. The turn the units are to leave the hex they reset their movement rate as if they were just starting out. This force is being bombed and I'm guesing suffering low supply, but there is no way the game engine should be resetting units and wiping out accumulated movement. This is a huge game design failure and needs to be fixed. It doesn't happen to eveyone, but when it does occur it completely compromises the game.

I've reported this bug on the tech forum in the past and there was never a satisfactory resolution. In my case, I had a stack of Japanese units in Malaya trying to move along the road to Temoluh, entering the hexside from the west. My troops would always reset the turn they were to arrive. I was using the "follow" command and it was suggested to order individual movement of units. That didn't work either. I tried "move" and "combat" mode movements and neither worked. My units were not interfered with in any form, not ground bombing, combat or supply issues. I ended up having to route my units to try and enter from a different hexside, causing weeks of delay. I know exactly what Jocke is experiencing.

I believe the "follow" command and movement in general is bug ridden and poorly designed. Sometimes it works, others not, and it leads to constant problems. I also think the resetting of a unit's movment at times back to "0" is ridiculous and should never have been a feature of this game.

This is truly a game breaker and it has huge consequences. Right now we are trying to figure out how to proceed, do we go back to when the movement was first ordered and try again? What if it still doesn't work? Do we go back and allow Jocke to change direction? Do we not go back and allow Jocke to change direction, and if so, what do I do about the fact I've already flanked that force and moved into a postion to encircle it? Even if the movement had worked and Jocke's stack moved one hex west, it would still be threatened with encirclement. A change of direction however changes the tactical situation dramatically.

If we go back that has consequences all over the map. I don't know how many days exactly we'd lose, but Jocke knows where I'm going and with how much now. I'm aware of a number of CAP traps and can act accordingly. Does Lexington still get torpedoed? Does my Canton Island invasion still fail knowing what the enemy strength on the base is? It is unrealistic to expect us to mirror exactly what happened over the last ten days.

It's a crappy situation, but what to do about it?

I've offered a restart (this is the last resort solution and I'm not keen on doing that), I've offered to wait to see if tech support (michaelm can resolve the issue), I've offered to go back to when the movement was first ordered to allow Jocke to change direction. Unless michaelm can fix this, I think we'll either have to replay a number of turns, or simply move forward and allow Jocke to change direction. None of these solutions is ideal and may involve a fair number of compromises on either side. I think I just saw my drive on Sian and great tactical position undermined by yet another movement bug.

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 150

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RE: 1942