Splashing the Divebomber

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

Woe unto the SRA. Dive has taken two-thirds of Timor, Lautem being the only free city there. Also, Soerabaja was hammered from the air by a couple of massive bomber raids, so I am evacuating to Timor every flyable airplane that can reach the place, with an eye towards moving on to Oz the following turn. Last turn I moved by Oz B-17's to Derby, and now that Kupang has fallen, those Fortresses are going after its airfield, and why not?

My Dacca Devils were grounded by weather, so Dive's Burma forces remain unharassed.

Finally growing more and more paranoid about my CV's in Pago, I have formed them up and are running east with them. Even though Lex's float is only down to 31, I am going to rely on my damage control and move towards safer waters. Good Luck girl!

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

Dive is going to own the SRA soon except for Batavia and Soerabaja. He bombarded (again) and landed troops on Lautem, blasting many of the bombers I sent there last turn. I managed to save roughly half of them by flying to Darwin. Speaking of Darwin, a bunch of Hudsons (37 of them) attacked the bombardment TF at Lautem, managing to bounce multiple bombs off of CA's and CL's armor. A few pilots failed in their ship recognition and heavily damaged a DD in the same attack.

It may have been a bad idea to send the Lex out of port so soon as the Float damage jumped back up to 38. I will keep a close eye on it in the coming turns.

Dive's bombers in China are working Ichang over every turn, and are escorted VERY heavily. Too heavily in fact for me to intercept one of the attacks with my few remaining Chinese fighters and P-39's. I am trying an experiment this turn: I am strafing one of the bases the attacks are coming from with the P-39's. We will see if the cannon on the plane can do anything worthwhile. It is ok if I lose a bunch of pilots and planes because I have plenty of both, and the group's experience isn't very high.

In fourteen turns, India gets a lot of engineering reinforcements.

[Alfred]

AU Tiger,
 
Regarding the Lex, have you tried specifying her speed to be "cruise" rather than "mission"?  In some of the AARs, "cruise" speed seems to stop flotation damage from increasing.
 
Alfred

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

Thanks for the tip Alfred, I am trying it this turn although Float dropped by one point this time.

Indian attrition of Jap interlopers continues. All of the paras have been eradicated, but the 55th Inf Div continues to hold out. I have reinforcements on the way to aid in the reduction but they are a long way away.

My P-39 strafing attack was useless: I lost two planes and many damaged. No worries though because I am putting together an ambush of the Ichang Express consisting of all my remaining Chinese fighters, the Airacobras, and a squadron of AVG. It will be a few turns before it is ready because of damaged planes.

My LBA from Darwin bounced more bombs off CA's and CL's off Timor again, but mangaged to hit an AP a few times with 250kg's. What the heck, I set my B-17's to Naval attack also this turn and hopefully they load 1000 lb bombs for an attack run.

In other news, bunches of supplies and troops are moving all over the map. Additionally, beaucoup fleet subs and DD's upgraded their AA this turn. Soon Dive will be suffering the slings and arrows of Rosie's work.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

Dive will think twice before sending transport TF's near LBA bases again. Hudsons and B-17's from Darwin smashed numerous AP's and escorts off Timor. Unfortunately there were no troops aboard.

My fighters in China have consolidated in Chungking in preparation for ambushing Dive's bombers.

4E bombers from Dacca are tasked with hitting Mandalay when the weather clears enough to fly.

Other than this, there is nothing of note this turn.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

We should have had a turn to report by now, but I am afraid RL events are piling up on both of us, not to mention my having saved the last turn to the wrong slot, and thus e-mailed the wrong turn to Dive. He is going out of town, so it may be a few days before we get another one in.

Dive has a serious automotive issue, and I have a g/f with a life crisis along with my having started a new job (and career) a month ago, so I am putting in serious overtime on both. Unfortunately, my new bosses and old g/f have little empathy for my grognardic pursuits, most especially the g/f. [:-]

Edit: For non-English as Mother Tongue readers - Life crisis does not mean she has major health problems.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

Dive is being a sneaky git. On a hunch I hit the ‘W’ key to check hex ownership in China, and he is trying to sneak some forces into my supply lines in western China. He did this to me in a past game, successfully I might add, so I have some counter-measures up my sleeve. I intend to meet him at each river crossing with some troops, and have dispatched the necessary units to achieve this. Frankly, I am running short of combat power, and have very little in the way of reserve left in China. He is obviously trying to circumvent my defenses. I never imagined them to hold as long as they have, but they have, and fort levels are growing to satisfying levels, except in Ichang. Speaking of which, my ambush of the Ichang express should happen within a couple of turns.

PM has been under bombardment for quite a while now, and is much diminished in combat power. Fortunately though, supply is high, all of the ‘bird’ units are at 100% prep, and there is an HQ in the base. Dive is probably planning to attack the place sooner or later. I hope sooner, because he will get a nosebleed in the process.

Java will be attacked soon. Dive did a recce of nearly every base on the island this turn – a bad thing because nearly all the forces are in Batavia and Soerabaja. The good part is they are behind big forts with plentiful supplies.

Timor’s landing ships took another major beating this turn from Darwin’s airpower. I have now sunk a large number of AP’s which will certainly hamper Dive’s ability to shuttle troops. I just wish I could find some TK’s to sink.

The Lady Lex’s Float damage is up to 48, so I have routed all ships back to Pago, where they will stay until it is safe to head for base. This is a major annoyance.
Subs and and escort ships are undergoing major AA upgrades in repair ports all over the map. The “Get Well Soon Cards” are costing me a fortune.

[Alfred]

AU Tiger,
 
So, placing the Lady Lex on "cruise" speed did not work.
 
Alfred

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: Alfred

AU Tiger,

So, placing the Lady Lex on "cruise" speed did not work.

Alfred

i've often seen the claim that cruise speed works better to prevent floatation damage... but according to one of the devs it has nothing to do with it... and from testing it (pre 1.8) i could never find any real support for the theory (sometimes it helped, sometimes it was neutral, sometimes it hurt) ...

i haven't tested it under 1.8+. Most of the time, it appears weather is the most important factor.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

Dive returned from a work trip a few days ago, just in time for a local "maximum effort" job in my neck of the woods. I did my turn a few days ago, and have almost zero recall of what I did because of sleep deprivation. I hope I did something worthwhile in the game.

tm.asp?m=1486519

[USSAmerica]

Wow, AU!  It looks like that WitP geek has been a busy boy!  [:D]

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

USS America: The company I am working for now has been on Mega Movers a few times. This is why I went back to school for engineering. My grandfather once told me that is you love your job, you don't don't work a day in your life.

Some of my subs in PH and Sydney have reached zero damage after the latest upgrades, and have been given their orders to sink enemy shipping. Now if only my sub skippers would stop complaining about their ordinance and be more aggressive.

Weather in India and China is predicted to by Heavy precip, so no new orders have been given to my squadrons.

The Lady is up to 49 float. I am starting to grow worried.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

The Lady is now to 54 FLOAT. It is now high-tailing it back to Pago-Pago. I thought I had DC on my side. [X(]

The weather is clearing significantly in India. It is only forecasted as "precipitation", so I am sending my 4E's to Rangoon to hit the heretofore untouched resources there. Good luck boys!

Dive has moved a unit of unknown size to the road due west of Changsha. Fortunately I have two Chinese corps sitting there. Hopefully his unit is only a fragment because I am attacking next turn. In response I have sent a Chinese div from Changsha to cut off th Jap's supply. Yes, the hex behind it is vacant. We will see what we will see. Perhaps it is time to send some supply via air into Changsha. Time will tell.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

The Lex will auto-dock in Pago next turn with a stationary 54 FLOAT. I hope Dive doesn't get wind of her there. The rest of my CV's and escorts are heading to PH for upgrades.

Weather precluded my strike on Rangoon, so I sent the AVG fragment staged at Akyab back to Dacca, and re-ordered the 4E's to hit Moulmein. Dive has three units on the trail to Akyab, and I didn't want to take a chance on losing the planes there. Speaking of which, I am now airlifting the 55th Chinese Inf Div to Akyab. It had been in Myit, but has been lifted out. Akyab has 4 forts with more building.

A Jap INF div launched an across river attack on Lanchow and was blasted with zero Chinese casualties. Inexplicably, the Japs retreated in the move phase. No complaints here. Homan, I just noticed is completely surrounded. My solution? Attack! Rather than dilute Homan's garrison by shuttling units to the units that have cut me off, I am moving forward to cut THEM off from supply. Cursor Intel shows little in the way of forces in front of Homan, so this might bugger the Dive's plans a bit, I hope. (I can say bugger because I am an American and I am not supposed to know what that means[&:]). Weather in China continues to suck (low barometric pressures you see) so my planned fighter ambush at Ichang continues to be on hold.

Dive lost an AK sunk from previous battle damage, and another hit a mine at Truk. I dropped some there with my next-to-useless US fleet subs on their way to their patrol zones. Dive's 55th Jap INF div continues to hold out in India. Reinforcements are enroute.

Sorry about the delay on this turn, but I have been busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest lately with work. Fun stuff though!

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

The Lex has docked in Pago, and the FLOAT increased to 56. It is a good thing I turned it back I think.

China is interesting. Surprisingly, my two Chinese corps on the road behind Homan kicked out the interloper. Irregardless, I am continuing my mini-offensive there to cut off supply for his infiltrators. Changsha is still cut off by road, so I am have ordered all of Changsha's garrison save the BF and one LCU to move into that hex. Facing me are minimal forces to the front, so I can do this safely I think. The forts are 9 after all. The weather forecast for China continues to be bad, so the fighter ambush is still on hold.

The Moulmein 4E attack was disappointing, I only hit 3 resources. Oh well. Next time I will go in lower than 15K feet.

My CV's heading for PH from Pago spotted a couple of subs, and hit one. Since they were SBD's and TBD's, Dive knows I am heading for base now. I reckon the KB gets to play for a bit more before the hammer strikes.

[ny59giants]

The Lex has docked in Pago, and the FLOAT increased to 56. It is a good thing I turned it back I think.

After the float is down to ZERO, then send her directly to the WC (San Fran). You will probably see the system damage decrease by a point or two on the way. I had my "Coral Sea" against the AI when I first started playing WitP and the Hornet left Sydney with 94 sys and got to San Fran with less than 90. Go figure. [:D][:D]

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

The Lex has docked in Pago, and the FLOAT dropped 12 points. As ny59giants has suggested, it will head directly for SF when the flooding has been secured, and the AO's heading for Pago get there. They should arrive about when the Lex will be ready to sail. Somewhat Northeast of Pago, the SS I-5 ran into one of my ASW TF's shadowing my other carriers. This is the same sub hit by carrier air last turn. It will be out of the war for a while since my DD's left it ablaze.

The Burmese population is aghast and fleeing to the jungles in terror. An unusual fiery orb has been spotted in the skies, traveling slowly from East to West. The Gods must be angry to have sent such a horrible apparition to the heavens. My 4E's hit Rangoon next turn with heavy P-40E escort from Akyab.

China is more interesting. It appears Dive is retreating from Lanchow. I will keep a close eye on the them and will send some troops from there to Yenen if necessary. My counterattacks near Changsha and Homan should manifest themselves next turn, and attack the next one. Also, fighter ambush at Ichang has been ordered. I have a slew of Chinese fighters in Ichang flying 90% CAP along with 24 each Airacobras and AVG Warhawks flying LR CAP out of Changsha. Wth any luck, Dive will fly his nearly daily attacks on Ichang next turn. If so, he will bleed.

A problem I never mentioned here has been solved. A good while back I sent several TK's loaded with oil from the WC to Sydney via Auckland for fuel. Unfortunately I forgot to tag "Do Not Unload" and the TF had unloaded half their cargo before I caught it. There were 0 resources in Auckland so I could not load the oil back aboard. Last turn I unloaded resources from Sydney, and can now load the oil. This has been a real pain in the butt.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

An interesting air war turn. First, my 4E bombers launched an effective attack upon Rangoon’s resources. Unfortunately, the P-40E’s I flew into Akyab to escort this attack, and to protect my C-47’s flying in did not accompany the Rangoon attack. The B-17’s and LB-30’s did fairly well for themselves against Nates and Oscars on CAP. It could have been so much worse. The P-40E’s that did not fly to Rangoon put up a huge CAP over Akyab as a swarm of Oscars and Lily’s attacked. Many Oscars fell into the jungle.

My fighter trap over Ichang was a clean miss. Dive attacked a nearby hex instead, and a handful of Chinese fighters flew to that hex. Although they were wiped out, they downed a good number of third rate Jap Army aircraft. I was happy overall.

Very surprisingly, a Japanese BB task force was spotted and attacked by Hudsons just North of Darwin. My aircraft scored not a single hit, but I don’t really mind too much. There is only one reason those BB’s are there, to shell Darwin. Fair enough, they will hit a bunch of troops, but all of my A/C are now temporarily moved elsewhere.

Dive is starting to sound a little dejected with this game, and I fear he may decide to quit. I would really hate for that to happen because I have really been enjoying the game. If he does decide to quit, maybe someone would be willing to take over for him.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

After a day of funk, Dive has decided he will continue the game, for which I am thankful.

In Burma, the weather has returned to normal (wet) conditions, however my 4E's are still in no condition to fly after the damages suffered last turn. Fortunately, I only lost two pilots, so my experience is climbing. I am leaving the P-40E's at Akyab for the moment to protect my C-47's transporting Chindians into the base.

I should have maintained my AVG element and Airacobras flying over Ichang because Dive launched a massive low level attack on the base. If they had been covering Ichang instead of doing a wasted sweep over Wuhan, I would have shot down massive numbers of Japs, well, more than I did anyway. The Chinese Air Farce done good. [8D] Changsha's garrison has arrived in the hex due West of the city, and is attacking the infiltrator's there. I made a mistake here though. A couple of turns ago I moved a Corps fragment into the only retreat hex available to the Jap unit there, so it will not retreat. As a result, I have tasked many units from Hengchow to move there and continue the attacks necessary to wipe out the Japs for I must return to Changsha forthwith after blasting the infiltrators. The retreat from Lanchow appears genuine as the Japs have all been spotted moving westward. If this continues for a bit more, I will redeploy some of my troops in Lanchow to Yenen. Speaking of Yenen, the road hex due East of the city has been abandoned, so I am moving my weakest unit there to see what happens.

Dive repeated his low level attack program in Soerabaja, and suffered for his temerity. True, the Dutch fighters nearly cease to exist, but they took some of the Emperor's finest along with them.

The Lady Lex's FLOAT has decreased to 43, so apparently it will take some time before it is ready to return to SF. [:@]

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

Java is under attack. Dive has landed paras in two bases in Java, so I am attacking. I am moving a single LCU to both bases along with LR CAP over both. Perhaps Dive will get forgetful, and send transports in again.

The bombardment attack on Darwin never materialized, so all aircraft have returned there.

My attack on the the Jap Division West of Changsha turned out like I expected. I achieved 122 to 1 odds, and inflicted huge casualties, and the unit did not retreat because it is cut off. I expect to shred the unit over the next several days with a couple of Corps I am leaving there as well as the troops moving there from Hengchow. Apparently Dive is retreating all over Northern China, so I am moving my forces forward for annoyance value if for no other reason.

My next big reinforcement day is two days away. I will receive a bunch of engineers in India, and the 1st Seabees in SF as well as miscellaneous aircraft and ships.

I fear I am going to lose 500 PP's on May 1 because I forgot to forward the CLAA from Melbourne for several days, and it is too far from Karachi at this point. Oh well.