Two Questions

[currahee55]

Post: #1Help with WITP Rules

I'm having problems in WITP in two areas:

1. In a scenario with production turned off, small map, I can't get my damaged ships to leave the map, and head home for repairs. When they're in port, "return to Osaka/Kobe" is an option, but when I select it, the travel distance is shown in red, and the TF won't go anywhere...

2. What is the significance (if any) of assignment of land units to a particular HQ? I can't find it dealt with in the rules; it takes political points to reassign, so you'd think it would have some impact...

Thanks

[wwengr]

Partial Answer

ORIGINAL: emorris5

Post: #1Help with WITP Rules

I'm having problems in WITP in two areas...

...What is the significance (if any) of assignment of land units to a particular HQ? I can't find it dealt with in the rules; it takes political points to reassign, so you'd think it would have some impact...

Thanks

One significance in the campaign game is that LCU's assigned to a restricted HQ (Home Defence Force, Kwangtung Army, China Expeditionary Army, Australia Command, West Coats, USAFFE, New Zealand Cmmand, ABDA, Canada Command) may not be loaded onto ships or transported by air.

[Koniev]

wwenger -

If Australian troops cannot be transported by ship, how can you defend Port Moresby?

[wwengr]

Some are already Southwest Pacific Command (i.e. Lark Force, Australia I Corps, etc).  You can move these at no PP cost.  There are American LCU's in Pearl and that appear on the west coast that have their HQ set to Southwest (or any other unrestricted command for that matter) that you can ship to Port Moresby at no cost in PP.  Also you can use your Political Points to change Australia Command Units.  Against the AI, Port Moresby is safe for a while.  Send supplies, build the to size 5 (to handle level bombers), and build fortifications.  Fly in Australia Command Airgroups early and punish all of his landing TF's that come within range.  When  he sets up an airbase close by, immediately attempt to damage it out of action by pummeling it with Level Bombers.
 
Build your airbases up between Cooktown and Charter Towers.  This will allow you to use your longer ranged level bombers to support Port Moresby when it does come under attack.
 
Also, I like to station a Patrol Squadron in Port Moresby until it becomes too hot and I want to operate as many strike aircraft as possible.  Then I take one of the AV's or AVD's that I saved from the Phillipines to Merauke or Thursday Island and operate a patrol squadron out of there (until supplies are used up).  Definately operate patrol aircraft out of all of the Australian Cities.  This will help you keep those Japanese Subs in check.

[wwengr]

I don't bother converting may Australia Command Units right away. I do take the NVGR and the Base force out of Rabaul though. It is doomed anyway.

In the early months I preserve PP for assigning really good commanders and evactuating LCU's and Airgroups from the Phillipines and subsequently from the Dutch East Indies (DEI) (USAFFE and ABDA). Don't rush to evacuate though. You need to fight a delaying action in the Phillipines and through the DEI as long as possible. Use the PP to conver the units and to evacuate a slice just before the end so that you have a cadre to re-constitute later. Read the threads regarding cadre's though. There are many diferent opinions and approaches.

[VSWG]

ORIGINAL: emorris5

1. In a scenario with production turned off, small map, I can't get my damaged ships to leave the map, and head home for repairs. When they're in port, "return to Osaka/Kobe" is an option, but when I select it, the travel distance is shown in red, and the TF won't go anywhere...

I found this using the forum search:

tm.asp?m=1183275
tm.asp?m=972810

[currahee55]

Thanks!!

[currahee55]

ORIGINAL: wwengr

Partial Answer

ORIGINAL: emorris5

Post: #1Help with WITP Rules

I'm having problems in WITP in two areas...

...What is the significance (if any) of assignment of land units to a particular HQ? I can't find it dealt with in the rules; it takes political points to reassign, so you'd think it would have some impact...

Thanks

One significance in the campaign game is that LCU's assigned to a restricted HQ (Home Defence Force, Kwangtung Army, China Expeditionary Army, Australia Command, West Coats, USAFFE, New Zealand Cmmand, ABDA, Canada Command) may not be loaded onto ships or transported by air.

OK, thanks; sound like as long as I can transport them, it doesn't really matter what HQ they're assigned to.

[pmath]

Against AI Rabaul can be successfully defended, (I don't recommend against exp human) bring up Sparrow and Lark forces from Darwin and support w/ Au I Corps HQ. Wirraways take a beating but are expendable till the Hurricanes arrive. Rotate them in and out from PM as they get mauled. Surface TFs cobbled together from PI and Australia help support and bombard against invaders. You can't base them in Rabaul due to range from Truk, but you can raid from Shortlands. Get Patrol craft up to watch out for KB and flee immediately upon sighting till coast is clear. Reinforce every chance you get from the West Coast. You will definately lose transports to Truk Bettys, but the cost is well worth it. It is essential to get a coastal battery to Kavieng to protect your flank and fend off invasions of Kavieng with air and Tokyo Express style raids.

[wwengr]

ORIGINAL: pmath

Against AI Rabaul can be successfully defended, (I don't recommend against exp human) bring up Sparrow and Lark forces from Darwin and support w/ Au I Corps HQ. Wirraways take a beating but are expendable till the Hurricanes arrive. Rotate them in and out from PM as they get mauled. Surface TFs cobbled together from PI and Australia help support and bombard against invaders. You can't base them in Rabaul due to range from Truk, but you can raid from Shortlands. Get Patrol craft up to watch out for KB and flee immediately upon sighting till coast is clear. Reinforce every chance you get from the West Coast. You will definately lose transports to Truk Bettys, but the cost is well worth it. It is essential to get a coastal battery to Kavieng to protect your flank and fend off invasions of Kavieng with air and Tokyo Express style raids.

Historically, Lark Force was the combined forces that Defended Rabaul. It was overcome by an invasion of about 20,000 Japanese troops.

The AI comes at Rabaul with a fairly large force early on. It will take too many resources to stage an effective defense of Rabaul. The Allies in '41 & '42 must operate with an economy of force mind set. Rabaul is an exposed position. For the Allied player to stage an effective defense, he must expose his resorces to the Japanese meat grinder of LB air, submarines, and surface forces.

I bielive that you are better off setting up in the relatively safe Port Moresby. It can be quickly built up to a size that will protect against Malaria, has protected approaches from Australia, and is within range of Australia for Level Bombers.

Port Moresby is a position from which the Allied player may operate strike aircraft to punish the Japanese operating in the Bismark Archipelago and the East Coast of New Guinea.

[Ken Estes]

I think pmath is right [against AI], and I have defended Rabaul vs. several attempts and hope to hang in there [now 7Jan42]. KB did not show up yet, but the CVLs from the Java Sea did stop by. I have all the cruisers and destroyers from the ABDA Fleet [via Robin strategy] joined with the ANZAC cruisers in 2 TF rotating into Rabaul, but otherwise remaining south out of Betty/Nell range from Truk; they also withdrew when I saw the CVLs approach. The Hudsons and Wirraways are not effective in keeping the IJN AK/AP amphibious forces away, and they have placed troops ashore twice. The allied subs have also contributed little.
 
Right now the issue is a bit in doubt as IJN landed 2000+ troops and the ANZAC cruisers are refitting in Oz, the ABDA ships are approaching Pt Moresby. Will they arrive in time?  KB may be at Truk, but I hope to distract with my 3 USN CVs coming east after beating up the Marshalls, where AI had only a couple of Nell squadrons. I'd really like to deep six a couple AK/AP groups and maybe gum up the IJN island hopping.

[wwengr]

Playing the AI, I have found it fairly easy to sit back in Port Moresby and launch strikes against the Japanese Transport TF's . Generally, I have caused a great deal of damage to his AP's and AK's, sending troops down with them in some cases with the loss of only a few aircraft on my part. This has allowed me to commit forces to other areas. I generally focus on smashing any small landings that occur in the Menado - Amboina area.

I do not expect to hold the Dutch East Indies. Rather, I find it allows me to build Fortress Java, organize an orderly ans slow withdrawal from the PI, inflict heavy damage on his landing ships, and delay the fall of the DEI for quite a while.

[currahee55]

Against the Japanese AI, I'm holding Rabaul rather firmly on March10, '42. The Port is at 5, the AF at 4 and growing; 70 US and 16 Aussie fighters in place, with adequate avn spt; and the ground firmly held by 2d Marine Div and 1st Australian Div. Shortland is held firmly by US 26th Inf Div. I'm now eyeing Tarawa and Kwajalein.

Well, it was tough for awhile; sent in Lark, Sparrow and Gull, reinforced by 3d Australian Tank Rgt, and held on by skin of teeth; Aus I Corps arrived to give staying power; and finally, most of 1st Austr Div. Some (perhaps 1/3 to 1/4) were on transports that got damaged by subs, and retired to Townsville to recuperate; eventually set out again for Rabaul, most of them made it, some drowned as one transport went down. Part of 1st Austr reconstituted in (of all places) San Francisco, probably because I'd assigned the Div to Southwest Pacific.

The defense of Rabaul also required some daring surface forays out of Port Moresby, but it all worked out. Rabaul is head and shoulders above the other bases in the area, and it's put the AI on the defensive. Big key is getting US help out there asap, via Noumea, steering way around the Gilberts.

Having just read Darkest Hour, I was determined to try to hold Rabaul.