Noob question: Aircraft use to reduce chokepoints

[dethbass]

Hi All,

First post. I'm playing scen 15 stock for the first time and I have a question about using aircrafts to reduce chokepoints (e.g. Sing. or Battan as Jap). Is is better to use them doing ground attacks to disrupt the defendig troops, or to do port/airfield strikes in order to reduce the supply available and prevent new supply to be carried in, thus putting the defenders OOS faster

/Bass

[Yakface]

To strart with, use them to reduce supply by airfield and port attacking. If there is damage to the airfield or port it will mean that the defenders can't build more forts. when you think you have reduced supply to nothing switch to ground attack, but maintain the damage to the facilities to ensure forts aren't built.

[niceguy2005]

Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything.

[dtravel]

ORIGINAL: niceguy2005

Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything.

The American Way of War: "Wrath of God Logistics"

[HansenII]

Hi!

As Allied, I'll go for a reduction of the airfield first in order to reduce oposition. Then I start to atack ports, ressource & heavy industry to make the bases depending from imports of supply (since I love killing ships....). I'll do ground attack only a couple of turns before I move my LCU's in, except if I have enough planes.

Just remeber to collect as many 4E-Bombers or 2E-Bombers with as heavy a bomb load as possible (i.e. Blenheim's I are not recomended) to get a fast result on the airfields. Especially in the early years this can help you to surpress the Zero-plague!

If the airpower is gone, you can nearly roam, attack & destroy at a will....

It is like Eric Bergerud said: It was a war oer bases and airfields, at least in the southwest pacific...

Have fun

Hannes

[AmiralLaurent]

Bombing the airfield/port is more interesting on a normal day than bombing the troops.

Bombing the base may destroy supplies, but at one stage more supplies will be used to repair the damage (you can't turn off repairs of a base, so supplies will be used) than those destroyed by air attacks. Also this damage will stop engineers (re)building fortifications as they can do that only when the base is undamaged (again you can't change this priority). By bombing the base you will also hit the base forces, CD and AA units, the HQ and the Const units. None of this will matter much in the ground battle but they will provide AA protection, support squads and build fort, so disabling them before the start of the ground attack is a good idea.

Once the battle starts, I bomb enemy troops and the base at the same time. When my troops will attack this turn almost all AC will attack troops and when they won't attack almost all AC will attack the base. The reason is that the immediate effect of an air attack against a big combat unit is disruption more than real losses and so will apply on the day of the attack and not be very interesting the next day. But to keep a high DL and so having more chances to see your AC fly when you want it bombing enemy troops each day is better.

A last point: if the attacked base has many AA/CD units or Base Forces the AA defences will be too efficient for fighters to be used in ground attacks. Losses won't be worth it.

As Japanese, you can use Betties/Nells + Zeroes to crush enemy bases, and then IJAAF bombers (and fighters on escort) to keep them closed/besieged. But Betty crew are too valuable to be lost in daily pounding of a starving base.

[dethbass]

Cool, thx for the replies!

Actually I'm playing Jap, and I did notice a big difference between first bombing the crap out of Singapour for a few days before attacking with LCUs vs. only doing ground attacks with A/C. Sing fell so much more easily and quickly. Now Bataan !!!

/Bass

[pauk]

ORIGINAL: AmiralLaurent

But Betty crew are too valuable to be lost in daily pounding of a starving base.

If i may add: only if you still have veteran/crack pilots in the groups... depending on the intensity of A2A combat you will find yourself in position that you must send recruits to depleted air groups...

the best way for training those recruits is airfield/ground attack on enemy base/units - if you control the skies, of course....

[AmiralLaurent]

ORIGINAL: pauk

ORIGINAL: AmiralLaurent

But Betty crew are too valuable to be lost in daily pounding of a starving base.

If i may add: only if you still have veteran/crack pilots in the groups... depending on the intensity of A2A combat you will find yourself in position that you must send recruits to depleted air groups...

the best way for training those recruits is airfield/ground attack on enemy base/units - if you control the skies, of course....

Right but to train recruits you should find a target with few/no AA, like Chinese Corps for example... Using a base with 200 AA guns inside to train is not a good idea.