How the heck...

[Maniac]

In scen #17 I am USN and I am havin some big trouble... I am building up Gili Gili but I can't supply the base because every time my transports get there I am met by massive air strikes from Rabaul

also does the Japanese have an invisible bombardment fleet? how the heck do they get all the way to Gili Gili undetected bombard me to hell and then stay undetected? my PBYs seem to not find them as does all my other Nav search planes.

also I can't seem to ever get massive air feild attacks on Rabaul, I'll have over 40 bombers that can make it there and I'll order them to do strikes there and make their nav search 0...but when they go they go in groups of 3 or 6...why wont they go in a group of 40? or what ever amount I have...its very frustrating that the Japanese can send these massive escorted boming runs when I can't do squat

now what the heck do I do about the 7 carrier IJN group? what will it take to beat them? I was going to try and get that invisible bombardment TF i was talking about earlier with the Lexington Hornet and Yorktown but then came that huge 7 carrier group and sunk all three of my carriers while i only got 1 bomb hit on one of their CVLs and that brings me to my next delima

why aren't my carrier attacks successful? I had three full carriers all of my sqadrons by the way had over 70 exp. and over 90 morale and all had below 5 fatigue...now why can they not put a bomb or torpedo into a monstrous enemy carrier



all in all I am confused at how I am sapposed to do anything as the USN in this scenario when i can't supply my bases and I can't see their TFs and I can't seem to make a stinkin' massivie bomb run with my bomber. I mean don't get me wrong I love this game and I stuff but i am very competetive and I hate to lose and right now I am loosin' and its not even July in the game

so could anybody help me out here and kick me in the butt and tell me what i am doing wrong and what I need to be doing to counter these problems I am having...I am feeling a little like this when all this junk is happening to me and I can't seem to do anything to stop the IJN so yeah HELP ME!!!

[Raverdave]

I alos found this frustrating, and could not work out howthe IJN bombard group could get past my air cover, until I played from the Japanese side, I set a bombardment group up, and was shocked to see just how much distance they covered in such a short time, there really move FAST. This went a long way in explaining how they were slipping in and out but not getting caught by my air cover.

As for yoir B-17's, make sure that you have a recon of the target first as well as an air HQ in the same hex....this helps alot. They also need more rest than say the B 25's. I tend to only have one sortie of b-17's every two to three days, as I have found that they put in a maximum effort when well rested.

As far as the IJN carrier group, see if you can tempt them south of GC or GG and then use your b-25/26's to soften them up. The best way to set the trap is to drag your coat tails in view of the IJN recon flights with your carriers. It also helps if you are able to get your carriers to practice a bit with attacks on land targets and ports. This tends to get them "blooded" and ready for the IJN carriers.

I have played S#17 and #15 and won.....just hang in there till early '43, the USN gets heaps of new carriers, while the IJN has a hard time replacing the aircraft losses for their carriers.

Best of luck.

[Maniac]

Thanks for the advice that helps me a ton! yeah i messed around with some bombardment groups and they do move really fast, I was also in shock when I found this, they do it all at night don't they its crazy

I've pulled most of my bombers out of PM because I need to get more supllies there before I can really do much more...thanks again

[Raverdave]

No worries, just remember that S#17 and #15 are LONG...something like 600 odd turns, so take your time and plan well. I often get a blood-rush and want to do something foolish, but instead go and get a cup of coffee, by the time I have returned I have cooled down:D

[Kavik Kang]

Early in the war the IJN is much more powerful than the USN. Not so much in ships as in quality of pilots and ship crews. Look at the IJN pilots on those carriers, and then look at your pilots. There is a huge difference, especially the legendary Jap torpedo bombers (who, if you pay attention, are the guys doing most of the damage too you).

As the allies, early on you have to stay underneath your land based air. Don't fight his carriers unless he is willing to come to you underneath your bombers (most of which should be set for naval attack whenever the Jap carriers are near). Then when you spot his carriers, assign most of your carrier fighters to cap (I do 60/40 cap/escort) AND assign all of the fighters at the land base except one squadron to fly long range cap over your carriers. You do this when his carrier appear, you should not be trying to fight his carriers in the early stage, you should be covering troop landings with your carriers (long range cap from carriers over transports).

This is why you want to occupy QC right away, send the transports on turn 1 with an occupation force and everything they will need to survive for a while. You have no land based air cover there, so the IJN dominates that area early in the game. You can sneek a force in if you send it on turn 1:-)