hartwig.modrow,
The last three posts reveal some encouraging signs for ultimate Allied success and definitely disclose no air disaster over Hailar. Listed below is some feedback on your posts #78-80 inclusive.
1. I would ascribe the following reasons for Nemo retaining air assets (you surmise 1 x Mike unit) at Choybalsan.
(a) Choybalsan is 3 hexes from Hailar and thus cannot be LRCAPed by Mikes based at Hailar
(b) Choybalsan is 2 hexes from Borzya, hence he can use Mikes from there to LRCAP Borzya (assuming the Siberian air bug does not preclude this) and thereby interfere with Soviet air transport operations into Borzya
(c) Choybalsan provides flank protection to the base of the Japanese offensive thrust against Borzya, hence why he would want to keep at least 1 unit of Mikes (note my previous reference to DAK's 88s) at each of Choybalsan and Hailar to protect infrastructure and LOC
(d) if Nemo is air transporting troops/supplies into Choybalsan (due to the poor road network connection to Japanese bases), he would want to protect his air transports
2. The significant air reinforcement of Hailar bears out my comments made in post #76. As I understand the Siberian air bug, other than LRCAP, the enemy fighters at Hailar have no offensive capability - thus you have immobilised 5 out of 48 enemy fighter units. You can keep your fighters at Borzya, safe from enemy air attack, and sweep whenever the enemy numbers drop at Hailar. Just remember that from Hailar the Zekes can LRCAP seemingly undefended Japanese bases.
3. In post #78 you partly attributed the successful Allied defence of Karachi to Nemo forgetting to radio in air support. That would be a typical Nemo claim to make you believe he had available suitable air assets which would have flown but for his mistake. A much more plausible explanation is that the land based Zeke units which normally accompany his Indian offensive (because of their long range) were temporarily transferred to Hailar pending the arrival of shorter legged fighters. Thus air operations over Hailar assisted the Karachi defence.
4. The second sweep against Hailar was not an Allied disaster (as claimed in post #78). For the loss of 23 Polikarpovs you downed 6 Zekes. Considering that 124 Japanese fighters confronted 27 Polikarpovs, this was a good Allied result because:
(a) according to your beloved Lancaster Law and the WITP air combat engine, enemy losses should have been far smaller
(b) a 1:4 exchange rate between Zekes (flown by experienced pilots) and Polikarpovs (flown by inexperienced pilots) is actually close to an even exchange rate, particularly when the enemy enjoyed an almost 5:1 numerical superiority and had deployed first rate plane types against an obsolete plane
(c) see comments made above under points (2) and (3)
(d) it was part of your maskirovka/intentionally bad operations meant to deceive, n'est pas
(e) you can be certain that Nemo will not be happy that he has to deploy many Zeke units to confront Polikarpovs just to maintain equilibrium/air superiority over the base of his Siberian salient
5. In principle, on strategic grounds your approach outlined in post #80 has some validity - it depends on the efficacy of the tactical execution. The one caveat I make is the higher imperative of saving cadres (1 per unit) for rebuilding. You can use subs to transport cadres to safety from Indian ports. Make certain you have safely landed the cadre and that it has some abled squads (as opposed to all the squads being disabled), before the parent unit surrenders.
Alfred
Gutted - Hartwig (Allied) vs Nemo (Japan)
Moderators: wdolson, Don Bowen, mogami
RE: Lost Appetite ?
Hartwig,
good to see some action. I'm not as organised as other WITP players, but I know that having a plan in mind and operating within its boundaries subordinates other things. I see that you have thought a lot about this but can I also add to it ...
Intelligence is key.
I'd be starting to take a survey of what Nemo is building and where ... as much as I hate this exploit and have YELLED loud and clear about it to anyone who will listen... AE TEAM !!!
I'm only giving advice which is operationally what Nemo is doing to me, so it is nothing new...
Use the city bomb interface and see what he's doing. What fighters, engines etc will give you a good idea of numbers. Take particular note of his next generation LB / fighters & associated engines ... Then start a bombing campaign to get him to disperse his fighters over Manchurian bases (if he is building in this region or maybe he is building elsewhere??) then hit him somewhere else & as you can see where he is moving his fighters, a two or three day low level city bombing campaign might make your life easier in the long run & while you still can ... Russia looks like it is crumbling or am I wrong ?
Can you build up Okha and Sovietskya Gaven by flying in engineers (if you already haven't) and some more troops? Okha has a good Resource base and supplies should be plentiful. Then use it as a nuisance or tying up his forces...
Can you get those Chinese moving and working ? I know supplies are possibly low, but the size and sheer number must be able to place some pressure at the peripheries and some other interesting places. Hanoi/Canton or in the North working around behind his forces ?
You are going to have to start the war of attrition / economic destruction sometime, and it is better now than after Nemo gets Angels and Tojo III's. Angels in large numbers are going to cause you a headache, I've found they are very durable and quite destructive, and the way it is set up at present I'd image Nemo can use escorts to fly them in because he is right in your face...
The economy is a tight-rope, ramp up the pressure and see what gives
Damian
good to see some action. I'm not as organised as other WITP players, but I know that having a plan in mind and operating within its boundaries subordinates other things. I see that you have thought a lot about this but can I also add to it ...
Intelligence is key.
I'd be starting to take a survey of what Nemo is building and where ... as much as I hate this exploit and have YELLED loud and clear about it to anyone who will listen... AE TEAM !!!
I'm only giving advice which is operationally what Nemo is doing to me, so it is nothing new...
Use the city bomb interface and see what he's doing. What fighters, engines etc will give you a good idea of numbers. Take particular note of his next generation LB / fighters & associated engines ... Then start a bombing campaign to get him to disperse his fighters over Manchurian bases (if he is building in this region or maybe he is building elsewhere??) then hit him somewhere else & as you can see where he is moving his fighters, a two or three day low level city bombing campaign might make your life easier in the long run & while you still can ... Russia looks like it is crumbling or am I wrong ?
Can you build up Okha and Sovietskya Gaven by flying in engineers (if you already haven't) and some more troops? Okha has a good Resource base and supplies should be plentiful. Then use it as a nuisance or tying up his forces...
Can you get those Chinese moving and working ? I know supplies are possibly low, but the size and sheer number must be able to place some pressure at the peripheries and some other interesting places. Hanoi/Canton or in the North working around behind his forces ?
You are going to have to start the war of attrition / economic destruction sometime, and it is better now than after Nemo gets Angels and Tojo III's. Angels in large numbers are going to cause you a headache, I've found they are very durable and quite destructive, and the way it is set up at present I'd image Nemo can use escorts to fly them in because he is right in your face...
The economy is a tight-rope, ramp up the pressure and see what gives
Damian
Learning lessons in Indian hex dancing
Gentlemen,
thanks for your contributions – I will try to get back to the good thoughts mentioned by you later, though once again not today. Always good to get input and feedback.
As you all know, this is a slow war, but this time Nemo is waiting for my turn rather than vice versa – probably tonight I might start giving my orders for the next turn to come.
Still, before I do that I want to try to provide you with a little more information about another aspect of the India theater – the Indian hex dance. Right now, it is still uncertain which of us is leading (is that the term you would use relating to dancing, when the man is supposed to “maneuver” his lady while the couple is moving around, in English?), I guess in the end it will be Nemo… but even if that should be the case, perhaps I can step a bit on his feet on occasion. At least I’ll try to.
Let’s start with a map I tried to set up to clarify things. Looking at it, I am not sure whether it will serve that purpose, but anyway… I went back a few days to be able to illustrate the moves better. In red you see where the Japanese went, in green Allied moves, in blue pointers indicating the cursor info (partly updated from what I learned by now from other sources of intel).
In general, you know that my idea is to try to reinforce Festung Calcutta, ideally with some of the units from Delhi. Nemo is aware of that plan as well… he mentioned it in an e-mail.
Thus, I have a nice instructive little ground combat problem to solve, as unfortunately, my situation does not allow just marching there. As you see, there are Japanese units on the connecting (rail-)roads. There are blocking positions, specifically 4 units including a tank Rgt and an Inf Rgt which started at Lucknow and a tank Rgt at Patna. Thus somehow, I need to get past these units. Note specifically, that unless I am mistaken I will not be able to get the troops back via Asansol. Nemo has sufficient AV/units at Jamshedpur to move into Asansol and just needs to invest Calcutta with a single unit in order to block any movement from Asansol to Calcutta. Therefore, there are basically three routes which may or may not be followed: Delhi-Cawnpore-Patna-Rangpur, Delhi-Cawnpore-Lucknow-Rangpur and Delhi-Lucknow-Rangpur. Key question is how strong the forces at Lucknow really are. The tank regiments so far seem to be working very well against my IA brigades…
I know that as the Japanese have moved their tank regiment from Patna and taken Benares. I believe that this may be a very good move, because from there it may be used to block the western road connection or reinforce Lucknow if needed. Also, they have used a tank regiment from Lucknow to take Cawnpore and move into Agra (no attack took place so far, will happen next turn most likely). Note that this move may lead to a new, alternative supply connection if the connection to Jaipur can be opened.
I believe this means I will have to try to get some maneuvering done (and get Nemo to do some maneuvering for me) to get through… One of the starting ideas was based on the general concept that troops without supplies don’t fight well and that the two sources for supply flow into the area (other than from bases in the area, like Patna, Lucknow, or whatever is taken in between) are the hexes marked with green crosses. Whether this may be a valid idea or not will be dependent on the amount of supply available in the bases.
At the same, I wanted to try to keep pressure of Delhi, because this base will have to be partly evacuated in order to get troops on the move to Calcutta, and the less pressure it is exposed to, the more troops I can move. As cursor info on the unit at Jaipur (NW corner of my map) showed it was weak, I feinted an attack in that direction, threatening another supply line. As a result, only one Japanese division has moved to Delhi so far and I have a unit in a non-base hex, blocking supply flow.
In addition, by now the hexes with the green crosses are under Allied control. This is a side effect of an attempt to strengthen the forces which may be available in case I need to try to dislodge the troops at Lucknow or .
Next turn, I will probably take Patna back. Also, a threat to Cawnpore may be put into action. Let’s see whether that moves more units out of Lucknow. The really interesting question for me is whether I can disbalance Nemo here so that I can move a few more AV down to Calcutta. Note that I am not sure whether he actually has to react in any way, it may be his best course of action to just ignore what I am doing.
I’ll keep you informed on this dance. If you have a good idea for additional steps and exciting figures to be added, please post them ! Also, if you think I am wrong and making a mess of an already messy situation, also don’t hesitate to tell me so.
As always, thanks for your interest
Hartwig
thanks for your contributions – I will try to get back to the good thoughts mentioned by you later, though once again not today. Always good to get input and feedback.
As you all know, this is a slow war, but this time Nemo is waiting for my turn rather than vice versa – probably tonight I might start giving my orders for the next turn to come.
Still, before I do that I want to try to provide you with a little more information about another aspect of the India theater – the Indian hex dance. Right now, it is still uncertain which of us is leading (is that the term you would use relating to dancing, when the man is supposed to “maneuver” his lady while the couple is moving around, in English?), I guess in the end it will be Nemo… but even if that should be the case, perhaps I can step a bit on his feet on occasion. At least I’ll try to.
Let’s start with a map I tried to set up to clarify things. Looking at it, I am not sure whether it will serve that purpose, but anyway… I went back a few days to be able to illustrate the moves better. In red you see where the Japanese went, in green Allied moves, in blue pointers indicating the cursor info (partly updated from what I learned by now from other sources of intel).
In general, you know that my idea is to try to reinforce Festung Calcutta, ideally with some of the units from Delhi. Nemo is aware of that plan as well… he mentioned it in an e-mail.
Thus, I have a nice instructive little ground combat problem to solve, as unfortunately, my situation does not allow just marching there. As you see, there are Japanese units on the connecting (rail-)roads. There are blocking positions, specifically 4 units including a tank Rgt and an Inf Rgt which started at Lucknow and a tank Rgt at Patna. Thus somehow, I need to get past these units. Note specifically, that unless I am mistaken I will not be able to get the troops back via Asansol. Nemo has sufficient AV/units at Jamshedpur to move into Asansol and just needs to invest Calcutta with a single unit in order to block any movement from Asansol to Calcutta. Therefore, there are basically three routes which may or may not be followed: Delhi-Cawnpore-Patna-Rangpur, Delhi-Cawnpore-Lucknow-Rangpur and Delhi-Lucknow-Rangpur. Key question is how strong the forces at Lucknow really are. The tank regiments so far seem to be working very well against my IA brigades…
I know that as the Japanese have moved their tank regiment from Patna and taken Benares. I believe that this may be a very good move, because from there it may be used to block the western road connection or reinforce Lucknow if needed. Also, they have used a tank regiment from Lucknow to take Cawnpore and move into Agra (no attack took place so far, will happen next turn most likely). Note that this move may lead to a new, alternative supply connection if the connection to Jaipur can be opened.
I believe this means I will have to try to get some maneuvering done (and get Nemo to do some maneuvering for me) to get through… One of the starting ideas was based on the general concept that troops without supplies don’t fight well and that the two sources for supply flow into the area (other than from bases in the area, like Patna, Lucknow, or whatever is taken in between) are the hexes marked with green crosses. Whether this may be a valid idea or not will be dependent on the amount of supply available in the bases.
At the same, I wanted to try to keep pressure of Delhi, because this base will have to be partly evacuated in order to get troops on the move to Calcutta, and the less pressure it is exposed to, the more troops I can move. As cursor info on the unit at Jaipur (NW corner of my map) showed it was weak, I feinted an attack in that direction, threatening another supply line. As a result, only one Japanese division has moved to Delhi so far and I have a unit in a non-base hex, blocking supply flow.
In addition, by now the hexes with the green crosses are under Allied control. This is a side effect of an attempt to strengthen the forces which may be available in case I need to try to dislodge the troops at Lucknow or .
Next turn, I will probably take Patna back. Also, a threat to Cawnpore may be put into action. Let’s see whether that moves more units out of Lucknow. The really interesting question for me is whether I can disbalance Nemo here so that I can move a few more AV down to Calcutta. Note that I am not sure whether he actually has to react in any way, it may be his best course of action to just ignore what I am doing.
I’ll keep you informed on this dance. If you have a good idea for additional steps and exciting figures to be added, please post them ! Also, if you think I am wrong and making a mess of an already messy situation, also don’t hesitate to tell me so.
As always, thanks for your interest
Hartwig
- Attachments
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- indian_hex_dance.jpg (86.8 KiB) Viewed 221 times
Bookkeeping question
Gentlemen,
I finally managed to send the turn back to Nemo on Tuesday evening and am currently trying to use the time to make my bookkeeping more convenient, as unfortunately my (paper) notebook for this game does not have a good search function. Even the one for these forums is better [:D].
This has generated a technical question: Is there any quick way to transfer information from the tracker to an Excel spreadsheet ? Specifically, I have set up a dummy empires ablaze game against myself and want to get the Japanese unit information so I have a complete list of what arrives when and can add the available info which unit is where at what point of time, possibly with which equipment (plane type etc) if applicable. I seem to be able to copy only one line at a time which is... tedious...
Btw: I feel it is fair to use this hindsight into the enemy oob against the designer of this mod, and apart from that, this is a gutter war and special times need special measures, don't they ?
I also checked whether I could use any of the WitP editors to set up something linke that but failed. Probably this is just due to my not being very familiar with these tools and one of the more expert users can help...
Thanks in advance.
Hartwig
I finally managed to send the turn back to Nemo on Tuesday evening and am currently trying to use the time to make my bookkeeping more convenient, as unfortunately my (paper) notebook for this game does not have a good search function. Even the one for these forums is better [:D].
This has generated a technical question: Is there any quick way to transfer information from the tracker to an Excel spreadsheet ? Specifically, I have set up a dummy empires ablaze game against myself and want to get the Japanese unit information so I have a complete list of what arrives when and can add the available info which unit is where at what point of time, possibly with which equipment (plane type etc) if applicable. I seem to be able to copy only one line at a time which is... tedious...
Btw: I feel it is fair to use this hindsight into the enemy oob against the designer of this mod, and apart from that, this is a gutter war and special times need special measures, don't they ?
I also checked whether I could use any of the WitP editors to set up something linke that but failed. Probably this is just due to my not being very familiar with these tools and one of the more expert users can help...
Thanks in advance.
Hartwig
Key issue intelligence
Damian,
thanks for the detailed comments. I agree completely: Intelligence is of key importance here, and that is part of the reason why I am in process of starting the most accurate bookkeeping I did in a PBEM so far. Never went about one of these games as organized as in this case.
I am aware of the application of the strategic bombing interface (I read both AARs of your game against Nemo, who has encouraged me to study his approach in his game against you - which is unfortunately also the reason why I do not post in your AAR, even though you have my full support and I share your pain [8D] )- I think I may even have seen Nemo mention it somewhere. Not sure whether I can probe the home islands right now, but I will keep it in mind.
One of my suspicions right now is that Nemo did not expand A6M2 production a lot; if that can be verified, it may be exploitable. In general, sucking his fighters into and causing him to try to defend a lot of places in Manchuria is one of the things I would like to try in the next few game days in this theater. Not sure whether this will work, but it's worth trying. I am also trying to prepare a similar situation in India, which will still take a few days to set up. If I get this time (and presently it looks like he is going after non-essential targets for this purpose), Nemo's presently unchallenged air superiority over India will be attacked locally at a point of time when he has just shifted additional air assets to Manchuria/Russia. At least that's the idea right now.
The general situation in Russia is delicate, the next few turns will actually decide whether I can avert disaster. I would like to post my expectation for his further approach to Russia when I find the time. The worst case scenario is that a large number of units will be cut off and *not* destroyed, i.e. that even pulling out fragments will not lead to reproduction of the virtually disabled units. I believe Nemo follows this approach at a huge number of places on the map, e.g. India. I see a good chance for him to achieve that. Next better scenario would be having a reasonable number of "main fragments" (i.e. rebuildable) at the "save base". Best case will being able to keep Nemo tied down at several bases (I think Alfred outlined what is to be considered a best case scenario in this theater in one of his posts), but I am not sure whether I can achieve that.
By the way - can someone tell me which HQ units will respawn in this mod ?
Unfortunately, Okha and Sovietskaya Gaden have not been expanded so far and I don't have additional engineers there as of yet. Getting some there may not be easy, especially as my limited airlift capacities are used at many places and especially for the purpose of trying to set up a defense against being cut off. In addition, the available engineers have mainly been used to fortify a sequence of bases which is now in danger of being cut off at not yet well fortified bases. I agree that the two bases you mention may at least present another thorn in Nemo's side that may provoke action from his side if they are starting to work, thus it would be desirable to reinforce them appropriately. They seem to be attackable for Nemo, thusI may move there whatever I want.
In China, I think Chinese moves have been tried and failed. Perhaps 2nd ACR can tell about what has happened in China, if he reads this. Presently, I have most frontline Chinese units at the Chinese eastern front eating their shoes (supplies close to 0). Actually, I am trying to move them back and rotate against garrison units and/or regroup for now.
Thanks again for your help and support !
Hartwig
thanks for the detailed comments. I agree completely: Intelligence is of key importance here, and that is part of the reason why I am in process of starting the most accurate bookkeeping I did in a PBEM so far. Never went about one of these games as organized as in this case.
I am aware of the application of the strategic bombing interface (I read both AARs of your game against Nemo, who has encouraged me to study his approach in his game against you - which is unfortunately also the reason why I do not post in your AAR, even though you have my full support and I share your pain [8D] )- I think I may even have seen Nemo mention it somewhere. Not sure whether I can probe the home islands right now, but I will keep it in mind.
One of my suspicions right now is that Nemo did not expand A6M2 production a lot; if that can be verified, it may be exploitable. In general, sucking his fighters into and causing him to try to defend a lot of places in Manchuria is one of the things I would like to try in the next few game days in this theater. Not sure whether this will work, but it's worth trying. I am also trying to prepare a similar situation in India, which will still take a few days to set up. If I get this time (and presently it looks like he is going after non-essential targets for this purpose), Nemo's presently unchallenged air superiority over India will be attacked locally at a point of time when he has just shifted additional air assets to Manchuria/Russia. At least that's the idea right now.
The general situation in Russia is delicate, the next few turns will actually decide whether I can avert disaster. I would like to post my expectation for his further approach to Russia when I find the time. The worst case scenario is that a large number of units will be cut off and *not* destroyed, i.e. that even pulling out fragments will not lead to reproduction of the virtually disabled units. I believe Nemo follows this approach at a huge number of places on the map, e.g. India. I see a good chance for him to achieve that. Next better scenario would be having a reasonable number of "main fragments" (i.e. rebuildable) at the "save base". Best case will being able to keep Nemo tied down at several bases (I think Alfred outlined what is to be considered a best case scenario in this theater in one of his posts), but I am not sure whether I can achieve that.
By the way - can someone tell me which HQ units will respawn in this mod ?
Unfortunately, Okha and Sovietskaya Gaden have not been expanded so far and I don't have additional engineers there as of yet. Getting some there may not be easy, especially as my limited airlift capacities are used at many places and especially for the purpose of trying to set up a defense against being cut off. In addition, the available engineers have mainly been used to fortify a sequence of bases which is now in danger of being cut off at not yet well fortified bases. I agree that the two bases you mention may at least present another thorn in Nemo's side that may provoke action from his side if they are starting to work, thus it would be desirable to reinforce them appropriately. They seem to be attackable for Nemo, thusI may move there whatever I want.
In China, I think Chinese moves have been tried and failed. Perhaps 2nd ACR can tell about what has happened in China, if he reads this. Presently, I have most frontline Chinese units at the Chinese eastern front eating their shoes (supplies close to 0). Actually, I am trying to move them back and rotate against garrison units and/or regroup for now.
Thanks again for your help and support !
Hartwig
Still alive !?!
Gentlemen,
this is mainly a bump post to let you know that afaik this game is still alive. I am still waiting for a turn though, and even though there is still strategic discussion to be done/posted, my mood to do so seems to decline with increasing distance in time from receiving the last turn. Has anyone got a good remedy for that ?
This is it for this morning. I will try to motivate myself to do some more posting today and/or during the weekend - as always, this is not a promise but more of a vague plan...
Regards
Hartwig
this is mainly a bump post to let you know that afaik this game is still alive. I am still waiting for a turn though, and even though there is still strategic discussion to be done/posted, my mood to do so seems to decline with increasing distance in time from receiving the last turn. Has anyone got a good remedy for that ?
This is it for this morning. I will try to motivate myself to do some more posting today and/or during the weekend - as always, this is not a promise but more of a vague plan...
Regards
Hartwig
RE: Still alive !?!
Hartwig,
how's the game going? I'm just interested in how things are proceeding.
Damian
how's the game going? I'm just interested in how things are proceeding.
Damian
RE: Still alive !?!
Damian,
thanks for your interest. If Nemo sent a turn, I did not get it. [&:] Decided not to pour more time into this before I do.
Hartwig
ORIGINAL: n01487477
Hartwig,
how's the game going? I'm just interested in how things are proceeding.
Damian
thanks for your interest. If Nemo sent a turn, I did not get it. [&:] Decided not to pour more time into this before I do.
Hartwig
New turn
Gentlemen,
It's been a while, as Nemo's monitor issues seem to have been followed by an attack of the flu, but a few minutes ago I found a new turn in my inbox. Not too much happening, but there may be a few things to report and some views on things and prospects I'd like to collect. As usual, posting things will take a while...
One issue will be what to do about Exmouth. The reason for this question is that my first B19/B17 attack went in today - with absolutely disappointing results. I had devoted all my B19 units to the attack plus most of my B17 squadrons, and this is what happened:
[font="Courier New"]Day Air attack on Exmouth [Australia] , at 11,86
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zeke x 20
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 27
B-19A x 24
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zeke: 2 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
B-19A: 7 destroyed, 1 damaged
Japanese ground losses:
14 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 5
Aircraft Attacking:
1 x B-19A bombing at 14000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
6 x B-19A bombing at 14000 feet
5 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
3 x B-19A bombing at 14000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
3 x B-19A bombing at 14000 feet
2 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
2 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
2 x B-19A bombing at 14000 feet
[/font]
Only a small number of bombers went in (morale is not very good, one B19A unit did not fly at all), those who did did not do much damage and my B19A losses are high. Far from the punch I had hoped for - I used almost all I have to put pressure on the base after concentrating what I have at Perth and resting the units for a two or three turns to bring fatigue down and morale up.
In view of this situation, I am no longer sure whether I can provide enough ground support to have a go at Exmouth. I will discuss my thoughts relating to this problem in later posts; I think Exmouth is a key position and would like to take it, but in view of what my bombers can and cannot do, I am not sure that I can.
More details later
Hartwig
It's been a while, as Nemo's monitor issues seem to have been followed by an attack of the flu, but a few minutes ago I found a new turn in my inbox. Not too much happening, but there may be a few things to report and some views on things and prospects I'd like to collect. As usual, posting things will take a while...
One issue will be what to do about Exmouth. The reason for this question is that my first B19/B17 attack went in today - with absolutely disappointing results. I had devoted all my B19 units to the attack plus most of my B17 squadrons, and this is what happened:
[font="Courier New"]Day Air attack on Exmouth [Australia] , at 11,86
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zeke x 20
Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 27
B-19A x 24
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zeke: 2 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
B-19A: 7 destroyed, 1 damaged
Japanese ground losses:
14 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 5
Aircraft Attacking:
1 x B-19A bombing at 14000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
6 x B-19A bombing at 14000 feet
5 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
3 x B-19A bombing at 14000 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
3 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
3 x B-19A bombing at 14000 feet
2 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
2 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 32400 feet
2 x B-19A bombing at 14000 feet
[/font]
Only a small number of bombers went in (morale is not very good, one B19A unit did not fly at all), those who did did not do much damage and my B19A losses are high. Far from the punch I had hoped for - I used almost all I have to put pressure on the base after concentrating what I have at Perth and resting the units for a two or three turns to bring fatigue down and morale up.
In view of this situation, I am no longer sure whether I can provide enough ground support to have a go at Exmouth. I will discuss my thoughts relating to this problem in later posts; I think Exmouth is a key position and would like to take it, but in view of what my bombers can and cannot do, I am not sure that I can.
More details later
Hartwig
RE: New turn
It depends on whether you intend Exmouth to be a maskirovka operation or not. In any case you suffered no damage to your B-17s and therefore there is no reason why you can not continue to operate them, subject to your real intentions regarding Exmouth. Regarding the B-19s, you need to gather more units. They can fly again after the B-17s have started to impact on the morale/fatigue of the defending Zekes.
Alfred
Alfred
RE: New turn
I know you have read my thread, but for the benefit of others :
I have to agree with Alfred here, you sustained no losses and your units are gaining experience, which ultimately will translate into morale and the ability to fly at will. Gathering more units to fly at this height will really hurt the Japanese, be careful though Nemo would love to have them concentrated for a big hit. Nemo was hitting me with 100+ and they really messed up my air force. Also I found that even small numbers over Tokyo at high Alt got quite a few hits on ships disbanded, more than I thought possible.
--Damian--
I have to agree with Alfred here, you sustained no losses and your units are gaining experience, which ultimately will translate into morale and the ability to fly at will. Gathering more units to fly at this height will really hurt the Japanese, be careful though Nemo would love to have them concentrated for a big hit. Nemo was hitting me with 100+ and they really messed up my air force. Also I found that even small numbers over Tokyo at high Alt got quite a few hits on ships disbanded, more than I thought possible.
--Damian--
RE: New turn
Alfred, Damian,
just a short update when using a lunch break for a quick trip to the forums...
I most definitely do intend to continue to hit Exmouth, be it for real suppression or as a fake op. More B19 units - well, I think I have ordered all I have to attack (unless I messed something up, I need to check that). B17 units are mostly concentrated there as well, but I get a few more in the next few weeks of game time; I will provide you with the details in a later post.
I am aware of the danger of concentrating too many of my heavy bombers at a single base (Perth) in view of Angels entering the fray, specifically as I don't have may reasonably gunned fighters to make him pay a price for such a visit.
Thanks for your thoughts and advice.
Hartwig
just a short update when using a lunch break for a quick trip to the forums...
I most definitely do intend to continue to hit Exmouth, be it for real suppression or as a fake op. More B19 units - well, I think I have ordered all I have to attack (unless I messed something up, I need to check that). B17 units are mostly concentrated there as well, but I get a few more in the next few weeks of game time; I will provide you with the details in a later post.
I am aware of the danger of concentrating too many of my heavy bombers at a single base (Perth) in view of Angels entering the fray, specifically as I don't have may reasonably gunned fighters to make him pay a price for such a visit.
Thanks for your thoughts and advice.
Hartwig
RE: New turn
Hartwig,
I'm sure that Nemo will keep the Angels back until he has 100~200+, he quite strongly suggested this to me, so I'd say he might follow his own advice here & as this is still June(I wish you'd include dates), he can't have that many yet... what did recon tell you of his factory dispositions? While the Angels are potent, they do fall like any other plane if enough cap is provided, and fortunately for you Allied cap flies far better than the Japanese in my experience. So he really only has his Betty's for at least 2 months, probably more (if he is producing 50~100/month) and he would be rash to send them in to a base with Allied cap without other cap /sweeps/Bombardments available to him.
Also can you tell us how many a/c you have in pools ? Do other aircraft upgrade to B-17's ? (I should have checked this in my game with Nemo, but was too lazy).
--Damian--
I'm sure that Nemo will keep the Angels back until he has 100~200+, he quite strongly suggested this to me, so I'd say he might follow his own advice here & as this is still June(I wish you'd include dates), he can't have that many yet... what did recon tell you of his factory dispositions? While the Angels are potent, they do fall like any other plane if enough cap is provided, and fortunately for you Allied cap flies far better than the Japanese in my experience. So he really only has his Betty's for at least 2 months, probably more (if he is producing 50~100/month) and he would be rash to send them in to a base with Allied cap without other cap /sweeps/Bombardments available to him.
Also can you tell us how many a/c you have in pools ? Do other aircraft upgrade to B-17's ? (I should have checked this in my game with Nemo, but was too lazy).
--Damian--
RE: New turn
Damian,
it is June 6, 1942 in the game. I took over on June 1, 1942 - you see that we have been playing slowly I hope to be able to improve that from my side a bit...
Let me try to answer some of your plane questions:
1) B17 pool: 0 (used so far 103). I presently get 16 per month as replacement (12 B19A).
2) B19 A units available on the map: 4, totalling 52 planes (3*12+16). They are all in Australia. I wanted them all to fly.The 16 plane unit did not at all. There are no more units to concentrate.
3) B17 units available on the map: 8, totalling 8*12=96 planes nominal strength - they are partly depleted. They are all in Australia. 50% had orders to fly. I had hoped for a good smash at the airfield and wanted to have some planes ready to go in again tomorrow along with some medium bombers from Broome (sp). Experience of about 50% of the units is high 50ies, 50% high 60ies, split between the two shifts which are supposed to keep working.
I am presently concentrating all my heavy bombers at that target - with the results shown above. Morale is an issue; going in two days in a row with the same group will most likely not work.
Your experience is probably due to the fact that he is a little bit later in time. I get 120 B17 (10 new units) during the next 7 weeks. By August I start getting Liberators. My heavy bomber punch will gain strenght considerably over the next few months. Looking forward to that [:D]
Angels: Well, I know what he preaches about their use and he knows that I read what he writes (after all he gave me permission to do so). He will also be aware that most of my heavies are at Perth, this is the only big airfield in the region and of course knows the low replacement rates for those planes I get. For this reason, wouldn't it be a nice and rewarding move to surprise me with an action DIFFERENT from his usual style of play ?
Re. the CAP: I have mostly Wirraways and Mohawks I can use in western Australia. I am in process of trying to change that. A few days ago, I asked in the war room whether damage to a plane accumulates in the A2A model or if I just get more chances to get the lucky roll which will make a wirraway down an angel. Response was not clear (i guess everyone was just guessing) but seemed to indicate that it's just more rolls, not adding up damage. If that is the case, I am not sure what the CAP I could provide at present would achieve. As I said, I am working to remedy that problem a bit.
More discussions re. Exmouth and updates to follow.
Thanks for your interest
Hartwig
it is June 6, 1942 in the game. I took over on June 1, 1942 - you see that we have been playing slowly I hope to be able to improve that from my side a bit...
Let me try to answer some of your plane questions:
1) B17 pool: 0 (used so far 103). I presently get 16 per month as replacement (12 B19A).
2) B19 A units available on the map: 4, totalling 52 planes (3*12+16). They are all in Australia. I wanted them all to fly.The 16 plane unit did not at all. There are no more units to concentrate.
3) B17 units available on the map: 8, totalling 8*12=96 planes nominal strength - they are partly depleted. They are all in Australia. 50% had orders to fly. I had hoped for a good smash at the airfield and wanted to have some planes ready to go in again tomorrow along with some medium bombers from Broome (sp). Experience of about 50% of the units is high 50ies, 50% high 60ies, split between the two shifts which are supposed to keep working.
I am presently concentrating all my heavy bombers at that target - with the results shown above. Morale is an issue; going in two days in a row with the same group will most likely not work.
Your experience is probably due to the fact that he is a little bit later in time. I get 120 B17 (10 new units) during the next 7 weeks. By August I start getting Liberators. My heavy bomber punch will gain strenght considerably over the next few months. Looking forward to that [:D]
Angels: Well, I know what he preaches about their use and he knows that I read what he writes (after all he gave me permission to do so). He will also be aware that most of my heavies are at Perth, this is the only big airfield in the region and of course knows the low replacement rates for those planes I get. For this reason, wouldn't it be a nice and rewarding move to surprise me with an action DIFFERENT from his usual style of play ?
Re. the CAP: I have mostly Wirraways and Mohawks I can use in western Australia. I am in process of trying to change that. A few days ago, I asked in the war room whether damage to a plane accumulates in the A2A model or if I just get more chances to get the lucky roll which will make a wirraway down an angel. Response was not clear (i guess everyone was just guessing) but seemed to indicate that it's just more rolls, not adding up damage. If that is the case, I am not sure what the CAP I could provide at present would achieve. As I said, I am working to remedy that problem a bit.
More discussions re. Exmouth and updates to follow.
Thanks for your interest
Hartwig
RE: New turn
Gentlemen,
a very brief update without additional pictures - due to the fact that my graphics card has been causing my system to be very unstable since a few days. I am struggling against crashes at the worst possible situation and consider changing over to my old computer (yes it can run WitP) for the time being. Still hoping to be able to get a turn done this weekend.
I'd like to report an exchange of bases in India - Agra (sp?) fell to one of Nemo's tank units, I reconquered Patna. Patna is another thing I consider a (small) success, amongst other reasons because the 100 HI the base had at the beginning of this war are now reduced to about 25, some of which are damaged. It will be cut by 50% again when Nemo takes it back.
In the context of the fall of Agra, I made a mistake. For some reason, I had assumed it might be possible to move assets from Delhi (contested hex, Nemo moved a division there and my AV is too small to kick it out) to Agra (which was still British, but with a single Japanese tank unit in the hex). Of course, the movement rules did prevent this. Usually, this is indicated by a message, but I did not note it or it did not flash because a British base was the target of the move. A pity, I wanted to make Nemo attack against about 350 AV - now it was only 80 which moved in from another road and got clobbered.
Does anyone happen to know whether it is possible to move from a hex under Allied control through a base under Japanese control to a hex under Allied control ? In the turn one enters the base hex, the enemy cannot attack yet. In the turn after that, the unit may have moved on already. A move which I would not apply ususally if it works, but this is a gutter war and special times need special measures, don't they ?
In an add-on to the above complaints re. effectiveness of the air attack against Exmouth, I would like to report that Nemo's engineers at that base seem not to have managed to repair the little damage that was done after all, if cursor info is correct. That is encouraging. Still, I am not sure whether an attempt to take the base may be successful based on the AV I can bring in. Well, this discussion needs more details to allow you to make a qualified assessment, thus let's postpone it once again.
Speaking of effectiveness of bombers, interestingly my Russian bombers did not fly. Potentially, this may mean their target was LRCapped. I tried to do another sweep in Russia against a hex I assumed to be LRCapped weakly, but the sweep did not happen. Well, maybe next time.
Ok, that's all for the moment. Thanks for your interest
Hartwig
a very brief update without additional pictures - due to the fact that my graphics card has been causing my system to be very unstable since a few days. I am struggling against crashes at the worst possible situation and consider changing over to my old computer (yes it can run WitP) for the time being. Still hoping to be able to get a turn done this weekend.
I'd like to report an exchange of bases in India - Agra (sp?) fell to one of Nemo's tank units, I reconquered Patna. Patna is another thing I consider a (small) success, amongst other reasons because the 100 HI the base had at the beginning of this war are now reduced to about 25, some of which are damaged. It will be cut by 50% again when Nemo takes it back.
In the context of the fall of Agra, I made a mistake. For some reason, I had assumed it might be possible to move assets from Delhi (contested hex, Nemo moved a division there and my AV is too small to kick it out) to Agra (which was still British, but with a single Japanese tank unit in the hex). Of course, the movement rules did prevent this. Usually, this is indicated by a message, but I did not note it or it did not flash because a British base was the target of the move. A pity, I wanted to make Nemo attack against about 350 AV - now it was only 80 which moved in from another road and got clobbered.
Does anyone happen to know whether it is possible to move from a hex under Allied control through a base under Japanese control to a hex under Allied control ? In the turn one enters the base hex, the enemy cannot attack yet. In the turn after that, the unit may have moved on already. A move which I would not apply ususally if it works, but this is a gutter war and special times need special measures, don't they ?
In an add-on to the above complaints re. effectiveness of the air attack against Exmouth, I would like to report that Nemo's engineers at that base seem not to have managed to repair the little damage that was done after all, if cursor info is correct. That is encouraging. Still, I am not sure whether an attempt to take the base may be successful based on the AV I can bring in. Well, this discussion needs more details to allow you to make a qualified assessment, thus let's postpone it once again.
Speaking of effectiveness of bombers, interestingly my Russian bombers did not fly. Potentially, this may mean their target was LRCapped. I tried to do another sweep in Russia against a hex I assumed to be LRCapped weakly, but the sweep did not happen. Well, maybe next time.
Ok, that's all for the moment. Thanks for your interest
Hartwig
RE: New turn
ORIGINAL: hartwig.modrow
Re. the CAP: I have mostly Wirraways and Mohawks I can use in western Australia. I am in process of trying to change that. A few days ago, I asked in the war room whether damage to a plane accumulates in the A2A model or if I just get more chances to get the lucky roll which will make a wirraway down an angel. Response was not clear (i guess everyone was just guessing) but seemed to indicate that it's just more rolls, not adding up damage. If that is the case, I am not sure what the CAP I could provide at present would achieve. As I said, I am working to remedy that problem a bit.
Hi Hartwig
Hadn't spotted your question on the board, but to answer it - damage to planes during a combat does add up, so unescorted bombers will have trouble against decent numbers of fighters even if individually their firepower is poor.
I found out by playing an early version of CHS 157 where 4E bombers had over 100 durability. No fighter was able to take down a bomber with one hit (worked out it took an average of 6 damaging passes) so combat started with lots of damaged planes. Later in the combat the 4E's started dropping like flies. The only explanation was that damage had accumulated during the earlier combat.
RE: New turn
Yakface,
Thanks a lot, this is very valuable information !
Hartwig
ORIGINAL: Yakface
Hi Hartwig
Hadn't spotted your question on the board, but to answer it - damage to planes during a combat does add up, so unescorted bombers will have trouble against decent numbers of fighters even if individually their firepower is poor.
I found out by playing an early version of CHS 157 where 4E bombers had over 100 durability. No fighter was able to take down a bomber with one hit (worked out it took an average of 6 damaging passes) so combat started with lots of damaged planes. Later in the combat the 4E's started dropping like flies. The only explanation was that damage had accumulated during the earlier combat.
Thanks a lot, this is very valuable information !
Hartwig
June 6 => June 7, part 1
Gentlemen,
Once again, apologies for a long period of silence in this thread. This time, Nemo sent his turn relatively quickly, I had it since last Thursday, I think, but I did not manage to post for a while and will probably return the turn only tonight or tomorrow. We are at June 7 1941 now, I think we may start thinking about claiming that we are playing the slowest game around these forums… Still, it is intensive for me – playing Nemo is a lot of fun (and pain).
There are a number of reasons for the delay, I had talked about technical problems earlier (a technician came promptly and solved the ones I had by replacing the motherboard, but in the new one, the onboard WLAN does not work any more), plus I am in vacation now, meaning less regular access to the internet and more family life; unfortunately at least so far not more game and thread time. Well, enough apologies – let’s move on.
The June 6=>7 turn was an interesting one for two reasons, one of which I will discuss now, whereas the second will follow in a separate post.
I had planned another little wiggle in India around Madras. AK Vitorlock had made it there last turn and was unfortunately detected. Of course, the aim there is still to get that garrison to a mobile state. Thus I loaded some troops and ordered the ship to move 1 hex WEST (which means a ride of 2 hexes on that map). EAST was the more evident solution, that’s why I didn’t pick it. Even if I can move towards the west, this will cause trouble, because I assume that the bases around the tip of india are weakly garrisoned (if garrisoned at all).
Nemo reacted in several ways. First of all, now there is a Japanese unit one hex EAST of Madras. I guess that answers the question re. possibility of walking through a base hex and remove any pangs of conscience one may possibly have against such a move. If I had landed there, I would have achieved exactly – nothing. Nemo beefed up his attackers at Madras by an additional division, so I can’t take advantage of this. At the same time, I do not think he can have much of a reserve in this part of the theater, thus it’s fine if he gets involved here.
Well, I had assumed that Nemo would protect to the EAST which is, of course, the reason why I moved WEST. First, some Betties planted a few bombs in the AK, but that was not a problem. In the day surface combat phase, two MSWs showed up, planted a few shells into the AK and drove it out of the scheduled landing hex. That was a problem. The AK is still not sunk yet, but it will soon go down. I will try another landing, of course, but the MSWs can cover everything in the night phase range, air threat during the day is still valid and Nemo can simply walk another unit through the streets of Madras to get to the WEST. Thus, I assume this operation will not really work out either. Well, it was/is worth trying.
Of course, this is not the end of the spoiler operations in the India theater. There’s more to come, stay tuned. In a way, this part of our war is psychological. Nemo will want me to believe that he sees everything and is in a position that he intercepts everything (see more along these lines in part II). I want him to believe that he has to garrison what he thinks is important, no matter how unlikely an invasion may seem.
Other than that, Nemo did his usual port attack on diamond harbor, hitting the ships that are still left there. Slowly, damage is accumulating, some of the ships will go down soon. I hope though that that will take a few more turns, taking pressure off Calcutta (which is still in process of repairing its AF, thus no increasing fort levels as of yet, but it should not be too far away) for just a few more turns. I am trying to buy some time here.
Also, Cuttack was reconquered by Japan. Sad news there is that now cursor intel suggests there are 2 HI points available again, (I had it down to one and hoped for more of a lasting reduction…)
As we are talking about the ususal: My nuisance level bombing squads in Russia went active again. Today, Beijing was the target. 7HI hits (cursor intel actually suggests -12 HI at that base). [:D]
Why Beijing ? Because it is a juicy HI target and because Nemo can protect it easily. He just has to use some of the air assets devoted to his Chinese air training program. Which is something I would approve, of course… CAP increases exp less than ground attacks, I guess… especially unopposed CAP. There are still a number of viable targets in range for the bombers.
Interestingly, for the second day in a row a scheduled sweep over a base in Russia which Nemo did have CAP flying at did not take off (the recon planes did - that's why I know). That’s a pity. I really would have liked to increase his air losses, even though this turn he lost more airframes than I did. Well, maybe next turn…
A new development is a Japanese unit which appeared in the hex SE of Ulan Bator. I will try to find out what it is, if it is small AV wise, I might have a chance to spoil that attack. But I do not have sufficient information just yet to figure out the correct way to respond. AV allocation in Russia is a very delicate problem right now. Maybe tomorrow (game time) I will know more and present a more detailed analysis.
Ok, this is the end of part I of my story. Part II will follow still tonight. Sorry I did not add any pictures this time, I thought it is more important to update this at all.
As always, I'm open to comments, criticism, questions etc.
Thank you for your interest
Hartwig
Once again, apologies for a long period of silence in this thread. This time, Nemo sent his turn relatively quickly, I had it since last Thursday, I think, but I did not manage to post for a while and will probably return the turn only tonight or tomorrow. We are at June 7 1941 now, I think we may start thinking about claiming that we are playing the slowest game around these forums… Still, it is intensive for me – playing Nemo is a lot of fun (and pain).
There are a number of reasons for the delay, I had talked about technical problems earlier (a technician came promptly and solved the ones I had by replacing the motherboard, but in the new one, the onboard WLAN does not work any more), plus I am in vacation now, meaning less regular access to the internet and more family life; unfortunately at least so far not more game and thread time. Well, enough apologies – let’s move on.
The June 6=>7 turn was an interesting one for two reasons, one of which I will discuss now, whereas the second will follow in a separate post.
I had planned another little wiggle in India around Madras. AK Vitorlock had made it there last turn and was unfortunately detected. Of course, the aim there is still to get that garrison to a mobile state. Thus I loaded some troops and ordered the ship to move 1 hex WEST (which means a ride of 2 hexes on that map). EAST was the more evident solution, that’s why I didn’t pick it. Even if I can move towards the west, this will cause trouble, because I assume that the bases around the tip of india are weakly garrisoned (if garrisoned at all).
Nemo reacted in several ways. First of all, now there is a Japanese unit one hex EAST of Madras. I guess that answers the question re. possibility of walking through a base hex and remove any pangs of conscience one may possibly have against such a move. If I had landed there, I would have achieved exactly – nothing. Nemo beefed up his attackers at Madras by an additional division, so I can’t take advantage of this. At the same time, I do not think he can have much of a reserve in this part of the theater, thus it’s fine if he gets involved here.
Well, I had assumed that Nemo would protect to the EAST which is, of course, the reason why I moved WEST. First, some Betties planted a few bombs in the AK, but that was not a problem. In the day surface combat phase, two MSWs showed up, planted a few shells into the AK and drove it out of the scheduled landing hex. That was a problem. The AK is still not sunk yet, but it will soon go down. I will try another landing, of course, but the MSWs can cover everything in the night phase range, air threat during the day is still valid and Nemo can simply walk another unit through the streets of Madras to get to the WEST. Thus, I assume this operation will not really work out either. Well, it was/is worth trying.
Of course, this is not the end of the spoiler operations in the India theater. There’s more to come, stay tuned. In a way, this part of our war is psychological. Nemo will want me to believe that he sees everything and is in a position that he intercepts everything (see more along these lines in part II). I want him to believe that he has to garrison what he thinks is important, no matter how unlikely an invasion may seem.
Other than that, Nemo did his usual port attack on diamond harbor, hitting the ships that are still left there. Slowly, damage is accumulating, some of the ships will go down soon. I hope though that that will take a few more turns, taking pressure off Calcutta (which is still in process of repairing its AF, thus no increasing fort levels as of yet, but it should not be too far away) for just a few more turns. I am trying to buy some time here.
Also, Cuttack was reconquered by Japan. Sad news there is that now cursor intel suggests there are 2 HI points available again, (I had it down to one and hoped for more of a lasting reduction…)
As we are talking about the ususal: My nuisance level bombing squads in Russia went active again. Today, Beijing was the target. 7HI hits (cursor intel actually suggests -12 HI at that base). [:D]
Why Beijing ? Because it is a juicy HI target and because Nemo can protect it easily. He just has to use some of the air assets devoted to his Chinese air training program. Which is something I would approve, of course… CAP increases exp less than ground attacks, I guess… especially unopposed CAP. There are still a number of viable targets in range for the bombers.
Interestingly, for the second day in a row a scheduled sweep over a base in Russia which Nemo did have CAP flying at did not take off (the recon planes did - that's why I know). That’s a pity. I really would have liked to increase his air losses, even though this turn he lost more airframes than I did. Well, maybe next turn…
A new development is a Japanese unit which appeared in the hex SE of Ulan Bator. I will try to find out what it is, if it is small AV wise, I might have a chance to spoil that attack. But I do not have sufficient information just yet to figure out the correct way to respond. AV allocation in Russia is a very delicate problem right now. Maybe tomorrow (game time) I will know more and present a more detailed analysis.
Ok, this is the end of part I of my story. Part II will follow still tonight. Sorry I did not add any pictures this time, I thought it is more important to update this at all.
As always, I'm open to comments, criticism, questions etc.
Thank you for your interest
Hartwig
RE: June 6 => June 7 1942, part 2
Gentlemen,
my second update of the day...
Well, after building some more tension, here is a post relating to the second interesting development of the last turn. I may need some input here, because I do not understand this move.
Nemo struck with two CV TFs, once near midway and once near Suva and hit a total of about 7AK and 2 TK plus midway airfield in the afternoon phase, killing some 10 planes – mostly kingfishers, catilinas, dauntless and damaging the airfield to some 40%. The TFs were shipping fuel and supplies, nothing truly meaningful was lost. Some stragglers are still around, but quite bound to go down.
Of course, I tried to analyze his TF composition – but well, you know what Nemo is like. According to the strike plane composition, I have Soryu and Zuikaku in BOTH TFs [X(] plus units from Kaga at Midway and Akagi at Suva. LOL [8D]!
Actually, a naval search plane saw Soryu at Midway. But essentially, I cannot really say much about the exact TF composition. The Midway strikes per phase suggest Vals (about 110 of them, belonging to 5 different Daitais), not many escort planes (5+21). I do not have any fighters fit to interfere there, thus I cannot say anything relating to the question how many Zeke Daitais were involved.
The Suva strike was Kates only (about 75 per phase), plus some thirty Zekes on escort – call it 5-6 Daitais in total. I have some fighters in that area, but they were not LRcapping the TFs and are as green as they come (48ish exp), which will become more important later.
Doing the numbers like that, I think I may be dealing with 2TFs of 3 CVs each, possibly 2CV+1CVL.
What I don’t really understand is why Nemo does this. Even if I do not have details on what carriers are where, I get a lot of intel regarding to carrier distribution for the price of a few AKs. If he did believe he would find something else, his timing was quite bad. In principle, he may hope to use this to lure me out of the hole in some other area of the map (he still has sufficient carrier strength to deal with anything I can put together). And he may attempt to drive me into the “Nemo sees all and can interdict everything” state of mind, trying to make me hunker down. Well, he may try that. I happen to KNOW that there are a number of things that Nemo does not see and failed to intercept so far [:D].
Thus, demonstrations like this will be a waste of assets. Maybe I should suggest that I am despaired about his ability to detect and intercept every single activity of mine in one of my next mails to him. Unfortunately, I just sent a little tease, asking whether he just did this because he could, relating to some of his recent comments in another thread. That is one of the nice things when fighting Nemo – e-mail conversation with (against) him is tons of fun, he combines helpful advice how to improve and a second layer of (mis-)information in a very skillful way.
There is one more aspect: Nemo stressed in his e-mail that there may be a riposte from me. I got technical on him and replied there could not be a riposte (afaik in fencing the prerequisite for a riposte is a parried or failed attack, thus by definition a riposte is not possible, because his attacks were not parried and he did not suggest he had failed in his opinion - correct me if I am wrong here). He did not pick that up, but insisted that then maybe my intel was not good enough and there was opportunity for it.
Assuming that Nemo wants to say “counterattack” in general, what he may be relating to is that in fact, the Midway TF is weak on fighters, and if I did not make a mistake while counting hexes he is too far away to replace his Vals to beef up his CAP. However, as mentioned above, the airstrip is quite damaged, I have no fighters available and could muster only a few Dauntless for a strike. I might fly in more medium bombers from Alaska, but am not really convinced that I truly want to do that. I am not convinced that Nemo’s Vals don’t close the field next turn, plus I might have problems of adding replacement planes at Midway plus getting them back to where they should be used – in Alaska.There are still a number of squadrons stuck in the PH area, which cannot fly any more because they are out of planes and there are no supplies. No need to increase this amount of frozen assets... As a matter of fact, I am trying to accumulate more bombers in Alaksa to be able to strike massively in that theater again. I think I should be willing to send some of my assets to the grinder on that front, but of course they should be sufficiently strong to achieve something.
For the sake of completeness, I will also comment on the situation near Suva. I do have a few fighters available in the region (maybe 50 or 60 would fly if I concentrated them), but they are as green as they come (exp 48). Not sure that I want to burn them as escorts, especially as all I have as strike capacity are some 36 Mitchells (sp?) and can only use them only from Suva or Nandi due to limitations in AF development. Maybe I will CAP a port with a TF in it though, even if I lose airframes (mostly P40B, of which I have plenty), I should manage to keep many of the pilots. Oh, and my available supplies should be sufficient to replace them in the theater, of course.
Ok, that’s my summary of the latest turn. Any ideas on Nemo’s application of his CVs anyone ? And any other thing that is of interest to you ?
Thanks for reading
Hartwig
P.S: I should mention that in a completely different theater of this war, there was another raid on Exmouth which found Nemo's fighters resting, but did not score many hits on the base. Cursor intel considers it to be undamaged again.
Hartwig
my second update of the day...
Well, after building some more tension, here is a post relating to the second interesting development of the last turn. I may need some input here, because I do not understand this move.
Nemo struck with two CV TFs, once near midway and once near Suva and hit a total of about 7AK and 2 TK plus midway airfield in the afternoon phase, killing some 10 planes – mostly kingfishers, catilinas, dauntless and damaging the airfield to some 40%. The TFs were shipping fuel and supplies, nothing truly meaningful was lost. Some stragglers are still around, but quite bound to go down.
Of course, I tried to analyze his TF composition – but well, you know what Nemo is like. According to the strike plane composition, I have Soryu and Zuikaku in BOTH TFs [X(] plus units from Kaga at Midway and Akagi at Suva. LOL [8D]!
Actually, a naval search plane saw Soryu at Midway. But essentially, I cannot really say much about the exact TF composition. The Midway strikes per phase suggest Vals (about 110 of them, belonging to 5 different Daitais), not many escort planes (5+21). I do not have any fighters fit to interfere there, thus I cannot say anything relating to the question how many Zeke Daitais were involved.
The Suva strike was Kates only (about 75 per phase), plus some thirty Zekes on escort – call it 5-6 Daitais in total. I have some fighters in that area, but they were not LRcapping the TFs and are as green as they come (48ish exp), which will become more important later.
Doing the numbers like that, I think I may be dealing with 2TFs of 3 CVs each, possibly 2CV+1CVL.
What I don’t really understand is why Nemo does this. Even if I do not have details on what carriers are where, I get a lot of intel regarding to carrier distribution for the price of a few AKs. If he did believe he would find something else, his timing was quite bad. In principle, he may hope to use this to lure me out of the hole in some other area of the map (he still has sufficient carrier strength to deal with anything I can put together). And he may attempt to drive me into the “Nemo sees all and can interdict everything” state of mind, trying to make me hunker down. Well, he may try that. I happen to KNOW that there are a number of things that Nemo does not see and failed to intercept so far [:D].
Thus, demonstrations like this will be a waste of assets. Maybe I should suggest that I am despaired about his ability to detect and intercept every single activity of mine in one of my next mails to him. Unfortunately, I just sent a little tease, asking whether he just did this because he could, relating to some of his recent comments in another thread. That is one of the nice things when fighting Nemo – e-mail conversation with (against) him is tons of fun, he combines helpful advice how to improve and a second layer of (mis-)information in a very skillful way.
There is one more aspect: Nemo stressed in his e-mail that there may be a riposte from me. I got technical on him and replied there could not be a riposte (afaik in fencing the prerequisite for a riposte is a parried or failed attack, thus by definition a riposte is not possible, because his attacks were not parried and he did not suggest he had failed in his opinion - correct me if I am wrong here). He did not pick that up, but insisted that then maybe my intel was not good enough and there was opportunity for it.
Assuming that Nemo wants to say “counterattack” in general, what he may be relating to is that in fact, the Midway TF is weak on fighters, and if I did not make a mistake while counting hexes he is too far away to replace his Vals to beef up his CAP. However, as mentioned above, the airstrip is quite damaged, I have no fighters available and could muster only a few Dauntless for a strike. I might fly in more medium bombers from Alaska, but am not really convinced that I truly want to do that. I am not convinced that Nemo’s Vals don’t close the field next turn, plus I might have problems of adding replacement planes at Midway plus getting them back to where they should be used – in Alaska.There are still a number of squadrons stuck in the PH area, which cannot fly any more because they are out of planes and there are no supplies. No need to increase this amount of frozen assets... As a matter of fact, I am trying to accumulate more bombers in Alaksa to be able to strike massively in that theater again. I think I should be willing to send some of my assets to the grinder on that front, but of course they should be sufficiently strong to achieve something.
For the sake of completeness, I will also comment on the situation near Suva. I do have a few fighters available in the region (maybe 50 or 60 would fly if I concentrated them), but they are as green as they come (exp 48). Not sure that I want to burn them as escorts, especially as all I have as strike capacity are some 36 Mitchells (sp?) and can only use them only from Suva or Nandi due to limitations in AF development. Maybe I will CAP a port with a TF in it though, even if I lose airframes (mostly P40B, of which I have plenty), I should manage to keep many of the pilots. Oh, and my available supplies should be sufficient to replace them in the theater, of course.
Ok, that’s my summary of the latest turn. Any ideas on Nemo’s application of his CVs anyone ? And any other thing that is of interest to you ?
Thanks for reading
Hartwig
P.S: I should mention that in a completely different theater of this war, there was another raid on Exmouth which found Nemo's fighters resting, but did not score many hits on the base. Cursor intel considers it to be undamaged again.
Hartwig
Kona first ?
Gentlemen,
yesterday evening, I sent my turn back to Nemo. While I did not find his response in my inbox so far, I want to post about a few more aspects which I consider to be interesting (you see that I am willing to try to keep this thread sort of interesting in between turns, which will work depending on the dsitance between turns).
Exmouth will probably also be covered in that series, but I want to start with the presentation of another theater on the map, where new spoiling activities are going to start soon. So far, we have seen a burst of activity in the Aleutian theater (which did not go too well and means I need to regroup and go for a more systematic approach there, which is in progress), other than that we have seen mainly defensive action in India and Russia including attempts to reduce HI points available to Nemo a bit as well as air activity against Exmouth and Effate. Clearly, this is not enough if one wants to try to throw dirt into the wheels of Nemo’s war machine.
Let me start by showing the corresponding section on the map – I think I did not show it to you so far, at least not that segment. I also control the area south of this section, specifically Timor. Note that I do so because Nemo did not care to take it as of yet, not because it is an impregnable fortress or whatever…
One of the things that can be recognized immediately (even though I added green circles for emphasis) is that Nemo is content with pushing forces out of bases to places where they are irrelevant and/or out of supply. He does not care about destroying the units (as you know, this game is not about points).
This has a bad side effect for me: the standard approach of evacuating fragments from which the unit can be respawned does not work. My predecessor, from which I took over, did an excellent job in the standard conceptual framework: I have lots of fragments of units which he saved to do just that. Unfortunately, Nemo does not do me the favor of destroying the parent units. Thus, the main part of it is slowly starving where it does not matter, and my fragment is… quite irrelevant.
As I mentioned earlier, Nemo just took what he considered to be essential. Even some potentially significant bases like Davao have not been conquered as of yet.
The question is, of course, whether a) my fragments can be put to use anyway and b) it is possible to use any of the bases left in my possession to do some mischief. My answer to this question is “I got a few ideas which can be tried cheaply, thus I’ll do just that”. [:D]
During the last few turns, I was able to move a lot of the assets needed to do so into a starting position. I also started to do some scout bombing in the vicinity of Amboina (which showed e.g. that there is at least one unit at that base), which does not show a true random distribution of targets but rather has a notable focus on Amboina (which I do not intend to attack) which seems to be masked by a superimposed random distribution of targets. Nemo is too good at statistics not to note that.
This turn is going to see an expansion of the air activities as the next step, further scheduled plans are directed at poor man’s invasions based on fragments of my fragments (just in case I manage to destroy the parent unit or if it is wiped out due to attrition), carried along by (very) small transport TFs (as you know, sub invasions are banned in this game) which will either take bases if they are not garrisoned or will tell me what Nemo left there, completing the missing slots in my tables of Nemo’s unit allocations. Let’s see how long Nemo resists the temptation to intervene (which, of course, he is completely capable of doing). If he does not do so for a sufficiently long time, I think I may have designed a sequence of operations which may look like a consistent plan, thus somehting that may need to be challenged, but would turn out to be insufficiently supported if challenged. But discussing this in detail right now would be in vain, because there are too many unknown variables right now.
The major aim in this theater is to get Nemo involved, make him dissipate his strength by allocation of units to yet another theater, to activities he did not plan to use them for and get statistics for an eventual analysis of reaction patterns. I do not expect to be able to lead, much less win, a battle of attrition here. In a best case scenario, I will temporarily reconquer bases which Nemo thought sufficiently important to take in the first place. Of course, he can always take them back…
Ok, this is today’s update. I hope I’ll be able to post some more tomorrow or so, but as always, that is not a promise but a vague hope…
Thank you for reading
Hartwig
yesterday evening, I sent my turn back to Nemo. While I did not find his response in my inbox so far, I want to post about a few more aspects which I consider to be interesting (you see that I am willing to try to keep this thread sort of interesting in between turns, which will work depending on the dsitance between turns).
Exmouth will probably also be covered in that series, but I want to start with the presentation of another theater on the map, where new spoiling activities are going to start soon. So far, we have seen a burst of activity in the Aleutian theater (which did not go too well and means I need to regroup and go for a more systematic approach there, which is in progress), other than that we have seen mainly defensive action in India and Russia including attempts to reduce HI points available to Nemo a bit as well as air activity against Exmouth and Effate. Clearly, this is not enough if one wants to try to throw dirt into the wheels of Nemo’s war machine.
Let me start by showing the corresponding section on the map – I think I did not show it to you so far, at least not that segment. I also control the area south of this section, specifically Timor. Note that I do so because Nemo did not care to take it as of yet, not because it is an impregnable fortress or whatever…
One of the things that can be recognized immediately (even though I added green circles for emphasis) is that Nemo is content with pushing forces out of bases to places where they are irrelevant and/or out of supply. He does not care about destroying the units (as you know, this game is not about points).
This has a bad side effect for me: the standard approach of evacuating fragments from which the unit can be respawned does not work. My predecessor, from which I took over, did an excellent job in the standard conceptual framework: I have lots of fragments of units which he saved to do just that. Unfortunately, Nemo does not do me the favor of destroying the parent units. Thus, the main part of it is slowly starving where it does not matter, and my fragment is… quite irrelevant.
As I mentioned earlier, Nemo just took what he considered to be essential. Even some potentially significant bases like Davao have not been conquered as of yet.
The question is, of course, whether a) my fragments can be put to use anyway and b) it is possible to use any of the bases left in my possession to do some mischief. My answer to this question is “I got a few ideas which can be tried cheaply, thus I’ll do just that”. [:D]
During the last few turns, I was able to move a lot of the assets needed to do so into a starting position. I also started to do some scout bombing in the vicinity of Amboina (which showed e.g. that there is at least one unit at that base), which does not show a true random distribution of targets but rather has a notable focus on Amboina (which I do not intend to attack) which seems to be masked by a superimposed random distribution of targets. Nemo is too good at statistics not to note that.
This turn is going to see an expansion of the air activities as the next step, further scheduled plans are directed at poor man’s invasions based on fragments of my fragments (just in case I manage to destroy the parent unit or if it is wiped out due to attrition), carried along by (very) small transport TFs (as you know, sub invasions are banned in this game) which will either take bases if they are not garrisoned or will tell me what Nemo left there, completing the missing slots in my tables of Nemo’s unit allocations. Let’s see how long Nemo resists the temptation to intervene (which, of course, he is completely capable of doing). If he does not do so for a sufficiently long time, I think I may have designed a sequence of operations which may look like a consistent plan, thus somehting that may need to be challenged, but would turn out to be insufficiently supported if challenged. But discussing this in detail right now would be in vain, because there are too many unknown variables right now.
The major aim in this theater is to get Nemo involved, make him dissipate his strength by allocation of units to yet another theater, to activities he did not plan to use them for and get statistics for an eventual analysis of reaction patterns. I do not expect to be able to lead, much less win, a battle of attrition here. In a best case scenario, I will temporarily reconquer bases which Nemo thought sufficiently important to take in the first place. Of course, he can always take them back…
Ok, this is today’s update. I hope I’ll be able to post some more tomorrow or so, but as always, that is not a promise but a vague hope…
Thank you for reading
Hartwig
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