ALLIED ONLY: aztez (A) vs erstad (J) ...2nd ROUND

[aztez]

Swenslim: No worries! It sound like you guys are as much as involved with psychological warfare than with actual game battles! [:D]

The important thing though is that bot of you seem to be enjoying the PBEM.

[SqzMyLemon]

Aztez,

Great job with your counterstrike at Suva, too bad you couldn't have bagged more Japanese ships for the effort, but that's the way it goes sometimes. At least you have caused some horrific aircraft and crew losses.

I was wondering though if you were using your subs aggressively enough? In the short time I've been playing as the Allies against the AI, I seem to have a fair amount of opportunities and some success against the merchants. I've seen many comments on the importance of causing as much disruption as possible with sub forces, and wondered how much of a priority it's been for you so far? Mind you, being new to the game and just playing against the AI so far, perhaps it's a completely different beast playing another person!

Great AAR and looking forward to you turning the tide in the near future. Once again great job, for myself it's a tutorial, a foreshadowing of future frustrations, but above all else, a great read!

[SuluSea]

ORIGINAL: Swenslim

Hi Sulu

Aztez please sorry for little oftopic...

Actually my losses at Changsha was low and I think the city will fall within week. I think your idea of moving some units from Changsha was mistake, look on map - after I will crush your forces at Changsha (with heavy loses to you) I will have a free operational space to maneuvre and will push your routed troops to river on north.

But the loses at forest hex norther of Nannyang were much havier, I really dont understand how your troops are holding there with their supplyes cut.

Actually the only units I remember moving from Changsha was two engineer units and one anti tank regiment I don't remember moving any infantry out of the area but may have if they were already shattered from earlier battles. I'm guessing my losses may be 30,000 but feel it's the price of doing business. [;)]

Air battle over Burma and Northen India will be bloodbath, because I am planning to destroy your industry in Calcutta

Sounds great, Buckle up and enjoy the ride. [;)]

ORIGINAL: aztez

The important thing though is that bot of you seem to be enjoying the PBEM.

No question Aztez, all about the fun. Swen is a reliable , fun opponent. [8D]

[LoBaron]

Im not sure if its a good idea to attack the troops aproaching Kathering right now. Sure it costs him a bit fatigue and morale
but if you dont hit much with high AC losses (and they look high) you got less options when you relly have to fight.
 
Id do recon, recon, recon and start hitting them full force before they attempt the river crossing.
advantage would be:
- his LRCAP has to fly farther out, increasing attrition
- you have the best hitting power right before he has to shock attack after crossing the river
- you could use escorts (if you got any)

[Yamato_Blitzer]

I'm cirious...Have you set up the concentrated defense in China yet or made a detailed plan?

Counter-attack isn't realistic at all yet and we've seen what happens when you counter-attack with lower quality and supplies. Even if you wear him down with decent sized forts, counter-attacking is extremely risky and almost doomed in any situation. Dave won't give you such oppurtunities anyways.

I've found all you can really do in China at this point is harass and conduct concentrated defensive positions, anything else is fodder for the Japs.....especially with those losses at Sian...even against the AI this is pretty much all you can do for the first 2 years. You can try for encirclement but that takes alot of skill and coordination and that also runs a tremendous risk because the only advantage you can ever give yourself here is numbers.

At least 1:1 ratio is needed, behind decent sized forts.

I agree you have to halt him, that's pretty much all you can do and nothing more...set up those huge defensive positions and halt his massively concentrated armies.

[wpurdom]

Has anyone tried putting all the units on reserve when facing a battle where you can't hold?
Does that reduce the casualties and lead to an early retreat or does it mean you suffer the same casualties and don't hurt the other side?

[aztez]

Hi guys! I have been busy so really haven't had time to do much in past few days.

SqzMyLemon: Yeah, it could have gone even better. Those pilot losses should hurt him in the longrun though. We can sink those carriers later on.

His ASW has been very aggressive and it seems that he using large convoys with heavy escorts. That is one reason my I getting short stick on the sub assaults. My fleet is going through upgrades so things really should improve quite a lot in late 1942 and 1943 onwards. At the moment I don't want to risk those submarines for nothing so I need to be patience.

One thing I'am intensifying though and that is sub minelaying missions. Hopefully we can bag few convoys this way.

Thanks and good luck with your PBEM games. I noticed you had some brewing!

SuluSea: [:D][:D]

LoBaron: I have identified those troops advancing towards Katherine and no way to stop them.

Even with river crossings things would become very problematic and it would be an suicide mission for sure. The basic concept though is solid what you proposed.

Yamato_Blitzer: It is 85% complete. Only areas in doubt are central china. The Changhsa area is still somewhat open. I will post an pic so you can see.

I would love to counterstrike but it would serve no purpose and only thing achieved would be fastening any upcoming disasters. The reasoning is 100% same as you stated.

wpurdom: Welcome aboard. What you are proposing is very risky business. You do not want your forces retreat with reserve mode on.

This could do with more quality troops but chinese forces will fail leadership checks and reserve mode is to be used very carefully.

That is my opinion at least.

[aztez]

Northern Oz (june 21st - 24th)


The second northern base seized was Derby. Australia base force unit was easily overrun by japanese infantry.

Dave is still providing cover with his lba airbase at Wyndham and last turn our recon flights spotted CV Junyo off coast at Wyndham. I have sent some submarines to intercept these enemy warships.

I have kept bombing those troops advancing towards Katherine in order to slow him down and wear out his supplies. There has been heave recon involved also and those troops advancing are at least following:

2 x Tank regiments
Imperial Guards Division
56th Recon regiment
21st Division

This is an sizeable force so I have "evacuated" most of the units out of Darwin.

Even without escort cover I will keep pounding these troops since fatigue and time is something want to keep on my side.

[aztez]

Fiji (june 21st - 24th 1942)


The first ground assault was launched againts Suva last turn.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Suva (132,160)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 44851 troops, 327 guns, 26 vehicles, Assault Value = 1302

Defending force 21729 troops, 301 guns, 187 vehicles, Assault Value = 450

Japanese adjusted assault: 523

Allied adjusted defense: 1397

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 4)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
684 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 79 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 72 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled


Allied ground losses:
1008 casualties reported
Squads: 46 destroyed, 27 disabled
Non Combat: 36 destroyed, 49 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled
Guns lost 2 (0 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Vehicles lost 27 (22 destroyed, 5 disabled)


Assaulting units:...
Guards Mixed Brigade...
67th Naval Guard Unit...
44th Naval Guard Unit...
46th Naval Guard Unit...
4th Division...
144th Infantry Regiment...
65th Brigade...
52nd/C Division...
18th Mountain Gun Regiment...
9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion...
2nd Field Artillery Regiment...
...
Defending units:...
22nd Motor Battalion...
41st Infantry Division...
12th Australian Brigade...
8th NZ Brigade...
1st RNZAF Base Force...
148th Field Artillery Battalion...
115th USAAF Base Force...
114th USAAF Base Force...
131st Field Artillery Battalion...
147th Field Artillery Regiment...
21st NZ Pioneer Coy ...
Nandi Base Force...


...the 22nd Motor Battalion took an heavy hit in terms of casualties.

Dave has kept supporting this battle with his navy. Even BB Kirishima was involved in naval bombardments so the torpedo hit didn't take her out of action.

Japanese airforce has increased it presence at Nadi.

US airforce has been withdrawn out of Suva. There are plenty of SBD's resting in NZ.

[aztez]

Burma (june 21st - 24th 1942)


This has been very intense battlefield in past 4 days.

RAF along with US airforce has kept pressure on at Magwe. The main targets are airfield and the oilfields here.

I think both sides have lost total of 40-70 aircraft in past 4 days. This is is hard to say due to FOW though.

Next turn I have moved in some "fresh" Hurricane squadrons and they will sweep the skies above Magwe. There has been an CAP of 30-50 enemy fighters.

Already there is 1 RAF Hurricane squadron with average exp. of 70. These guys have shot down quite of few Nate's and Oscars.

Intresting to see what kind of CAP there is up next turn. We have managed to knock down maybe around 20 oilfield points here. There are still +250 left though.

[aztez]

China (june 21st - 24th 1942)

Here is an pic from this region.

The ceasefire is still ongoing in northern parts and my intel still shows 53 units at Sian.

The pic shows intended defensive positions and av value to be attached to them. These av values are estimates though so there are few give or take errors.

As for the central china defense. I'am still uncertain whether to try and hold there.

[crsutton]

Hmmmm... this tells me that as an allied player it is not a good idea to build up the ports and airbases at Wynham and Derby. Keep them small until you are strong enough to use them. Don't give the Japanese bases to land supplies or fly aircraft from.

[LoBaron]

hehe yep crsutton i think the rule "only build up what you want to defend" applies to AE even more than to stock.
that does not mean that you have to be 100% sure but you should at least limit your building ambitions to those places you plan
to defend.
 
Aztez im really curious what the status of your offense planning is as you a probably slowly starting to get units that
can hold their own against the Japanese. How are your land forces in Southern Australia looking? Are you diverting
units to counter the invasion?

[aztez]

crsutton: That is an good basic rule. The movement is so awful in northern oz that if you want to defend Wyndham / Derby area those troops need to move via ships.

Personally I feel there is not much sense throwing troops into northern oz.

LoBaron: Yes, I have some troops not enough to start advancing just yet.

I want my carriers to get refitted and upgraded and need few more infantry units. So, patience is an virtue for now, If I didn't get battered as badly early this would be an diffrent story.

I think the main action will be at China and Burma. The ceasefire has now ended and enemy is moving troops out. Last turn the intel showed 57 units at Sian and now there is just 27.

We will get rolling once I feel I have troops to move forward

[aztez]

Burma (june 25th - 29th 1942)


RAF has continued to very active here. The main target is still Magwe oifields.

The Hurricanes are dueling out with Nate's and Oscars. I also have few P40E's available doing sweep missions.

The grand total of aircraft shot down in past 4 days is 60-80 aircraft per side. The kill ratio is slightly in allied favour.

Only disappointing fact is that my bombers don't hit the target accurately. Propably need to tone down their alltitudes.

This battle has been most fierce aircampaign of the war so far.

[aztez]

Northern Oz (june 25th - 29th 1942)


Not much in terms of development but as you can see our bombing runs (eventhough costly ones) have slowed the enemy advance significantly.

IJN has large battleship formation bombarding our troops at Darwin, The TF includes the following ships: BB Yamato, BB Fuso, BB Mutsu, BB Kongo, BB Nagato and BB Haruna.

These ships are doing quite a lot of damage with their runs. Our coastal batteries have reported 10 hits on BB Fuso but I think the damage is very moderate.

CV Junyo and other mini KB vessels are still patrolling the area. I'am moving submarines around in order to assault them. So far no such luck.

[aztez]

Fiji (june 25th - 29th 1942)


The slaughter here has slowed down. The final battles are taking place at Suva.

Here are the latest combat report "casualties" inflicted...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Suva (132,160)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 50782 troops, 377 guns, 26 vehicles, Assault Value = 1514

Defending force 20802 troops, 300 guns, 172 vehicles, Assault Value = 442

Japanese adjusted assault: 490

Allied adjusted defense: 433

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 4)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 3

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
2951 casualties reported
Squads: 13 destroyed, 78 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 150 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 2 (0 destroyed, 2 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
2141 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 95 disabled
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 135 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 19 disabled
Guns lost 3 (0 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Vehicles lost 37 (1 destroyed, 36 disabled)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Suva (132,160)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 48823 troops, 377 guns, 26 vehicles, Assault Value = 1400

Defending force 19367 troops, 300 guns, 173 vehicles, Assault Value = 366

Japanese adjusted assault: 618

Allied adjusted defense: 839

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 3)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), disruption(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
2282 casualties reported
Squads: 23 destroyed, 93 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 90 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
1850 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 69 disabled
Non Combat: 12 destroyed, 79 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Guns lost 4 (1 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Vehicles lost 43 (1 destroyed, 42 disabled)

..at least we are no pushovers here.

[Xxzard]

I can't believe he will manage to take Suva, you put a lot of troops there and gave it the best chance of surviving possible with the CV air assist.

But in the end, I guess the Japanese are still very powerful early on. Clearly he is a good player too.

Good luck on your future offensives!

[Yamato_Blitzer]

Yea early in the game 1 for 1 the Japs will probably win (except in a situation where the allied player is behind good forts), 2:1 or 3:1 they definitely win...simply a matter of picking a spot, doing recon, and sending in overwhelming force, because Dave has the offensive completely. Suva never really had a chance and wouldn't have a chance in any game if the Jap player decides to commit to it in 1942.....if its 1943, depending on the allied naval situation, suva might have a chance...but in 1942 if the jap player hasnt lost any serious naval assets then suva is doomed should the jap player commit to it, and if worst comes to worst for the jap player, they can cut it off and just keep sending in as many troops as they need.

I think Suva just became a sacrificial delayer....Aztez sent in a decent amount of troops and as a result held it longer and it caused some delay for Dave....Hopefully it holds for a while longer....It'll be quite brutal if those Japanese troops go to OZ.....Hopefully they go to NZ instead, that would be a nice blunder for Dave to commit.

[aztez]

Xxzard: Thanks. We did our best but it will not be enough though. However he still hasn't captured the base so we will fight on.

I'am happy and no regrets on moving assets into Suva. It did its purpose.

He is damn good but we will pounce back. I just really need to have patience. That is the key at the moment.

Yamato_Blitzer: That summary is 100% correct. The reason why has been doing so many operations is the loss of those 2 carriers early on. It gave so much room to maneuver. If that hadn't happen this would be completely diffrent story.

As said the Suva defense is sacrificial lamb. If this base had fallen without an fight we would be in trouble many ways.

The allied signit hasn't indicated whether his troops are still preparing for NZ nor Oz. We shall see what happens.