third wave on PH

[tristandracul]

Hope I dont ask an old question again[:D] - still doing my first testbattles in WITP.
Has anyone ever tried to force the third attack wave on PH in the initial attck, and if so, how and to which effect?
Historians often talk about it as the chance the Japanese missed in the early days of the war.

[KDonovan]

depends on what you are implying. The game models the historic December 7th first and second raids as one massive raid. When you say "3rd raid"..do you mean a 3rd airstrike on December 9th...or a 2nd airstrike (would be considered the 3rd historically) on December 8th??

To me a followup raid on December 8th, will not yeild an exponential difference in sunk ships but intern will cost you more valuable pilots. A better strategy is to remain hidden in b/t the shipping lanes of the West coast and PH.

[scout1]

A better strategy is to remain hidden in b/t the shipping lanes of the West coast and PH.

Absolutely. Ask Goodboyladdie. Cost him the USS Colorado steaming in from the West coast. Dropped her like a bad habit [:D]

[niceguy2005]

ORIGINAL: tristandracul

Hope I dont ask an old question again[:D] - still doing my first testbattles in WITP.
Has anyone ever tried to force the third attack wave on PH in the initial attck, and if so, how and to which effect?
Historians often talk about it as the chance the Japanese missed in the early days of the war.

INteresting you bring this up. I am currently playing a grand campaign as Japan (I always play the allies). I did hit PH on 12/8. The result as others indicated did not yield any sunk ships. Actaully, I had no ships sunk on day 1. Ships sinking at a large port like PH in WitP is rare due to the way ports repair flood damage. However, I scored about as many hits on day 2 as I did day 1. I have not peaked, but I would bet that ALL his BBs are at 50%sys damage and several are probably at 99% sys damage. This effectively eliminates them from the war. Also a number of his cruisers will be in the same shape. Since my victory condition is total pacific domination, this means more to me than points for sunk ships. His BBs are out for at least a year and will be clogging up his repair yards. The damage done to the KBs planes and pilots was moderate, but it still had more than enough punch to put down Big E when it ventured too close on the way home. Japan is guaranteed not to have enough pilots for the entire war. So the question isn't whether to spend them, but where. It will always depend upon your overall strategy.

Hanging out behind PH for a strike is an option, but not one I like. The KB is vulenerable in such a place, one sub torp hit and a carrier is doomed. Also, KB is not invulnerable. Three carriers attacking could get planes through and again, anything more than very minor damage can be fatal to the KB.

[goodboyladdie]

Ouch! It is my first PBEM and it is running about as fast as my first game against the AI. STEEP learning curve! Grateful for the lessons Scott.

[grraven2004]

In a current game I just started I decided to attack on the 8th as my aircrews weren't very hurt on the 7th. This follow up attack cost my opponent the Tennessee and the Oklahoma. I sank the Pennsylvania on the 7th.

[tristandracul]

Many thanks for the helpful comments so far!
The historians I mentioned aimed mainly on more damage to the installations on PH, which in their opinion should have delayed the US war effort.
In my current battles I guess I'll keep KB closer to the Japanese defense perimeter.