cap_and_gown(j) v witpqs(a) - no witpqs

[CapAndGown]

Cont.

Finally, I am just about ready to put some of the finishing touches on my defenses in the eastern DEI.

What I want to do here, as in the Solomons and in the Adaman Sea, is use land based CAP to shelter my surface forces who will do most of the work in attacking invasion fleets and suppressing airbases. The airforce can contribute to this mission as well, but only if the allies are limited in how many airbases they can seize in one thrust. Too many airbases and they will have the advantage of interlocking bases that I have been trying to secure for myself. So to prevent them from grabbing too many airfields all at once, I need to add garrisons to a few more bases. These garrisons will prevent the allies from taking these bases "on the cheap". Using SNLF/Naval Guard units will force the allies to commit at least 2 regiments to each of these bases, meaning they will not be able to capture as many in one go as they otherwise might. SNLF units are unloading right now at Kendari that I will use as garrisons.

[veji1]

what's the plan for Burma/China where he is likely to focus his forces with the beating his navy took ?

[CapAndGown]

Jan. 4, 1944

Not much to report. A couple of sub sinkings were heard in the last week.

For my defense of Thailand I have 2200 assault value at Moulmein (3 inf divisions, 2 tank divisions, plus bucket loads of AT and artillery) with level 6 forts. Three tank regiments are in reserve at Raheng. I suppose the Moulmein position could be flanked by a landing to the south. I am not sure how likely that would be.

For China I am gathering forces for an offensive aimed at capturing the cities to the west of Changsa. I don't want to attack Changsa because of the 2x modifier. The cities in open terrain on the north side of the river, however, may be easier. The key here will be to stretch out the Chinese defenses so they cannot concentrate so heavily on defending one base. This means threatening advances from multiple directions. Already I advanced a brigade into the forests between Kweilin and Henyang. Apparently the Chinese got wind of this move through sigint a few turns back since 3 units were moved out of Henyang to block my move to the north. So already my plan to stretch out the Chinese defenses is to work.

The key here will be the clear hex between Changsa and Henyang south of the river. Currently, Siangtan is only garrisoned with 3 units. The Chinese have concentrated their forces at Henyang and Changsa. By moving to threaten Siangtan, I an either draw off defenders from these other two cities, or capture a bridgehead on the north side from which the offensive can be expanded. Recently, the Japanese army in China received a large infusion of reinforcement brigades. I am going to use all of those for this offensive.

Another 5 divisions will threaten Henyang and the forest hex west of it from the south. Again, the goal will be to stretch the defenders out some.

As for Changsa, 4 divisions and one brigade will be tasked with a holding action.

[Chickenboy]

For Changsa, will you move your holding divisions into Changsa and just have them sit? This will, at least, remove any LI production benefits he's receiving from Changsa. IIRC, that's >100 LI, so nothing to sneeze at. Every little bit of starvation for the Chinese rabble helps.

[Xxzard]

A few questions if I may:
What does your Northern China situation look like?

Have you followed a continuous unified strategy in China or would you say you have shifted as the circumstances demanded? Did you expect to have more success in the North or the South of China?

[CapAndGown]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

For Changsa, will you move your holding divisions into Changsa and just have them sit? This will, at least, remove any LI production benefits he's receiving from Changsa. IIRC, that's >100 LI, so nothing to sneeze at. Every little bit of starvation for the Chinese rabble helps.

Yes, the divisions for this will move into the hex, but not to stop LI production. That starts out with only 17 factories operational, and it doesn't look like witpqs fixed them. (it would not make sense to fix them.) I am going to enter that hex from 3 different sides so as to control entry and exit better.

ORIGINAL: Xxzard
A few questions if I may:
What does your Northern China situation look like?

Have you followed a continuous unified strategy in China or would you say you have shifted as the circumstances demanded? Did you expect to have more success in the North or the South of China?

I control the north China plain, he controls the rugged terrain to the west.

My goals have been to establish a defensible line of resistance, prevent infiltrators, and reduce the amount of supplies available to the Chinese. Only recently have I received sufficient reinforcements where I felt it possible to go back onto the offensive.

[CapAndGown]

Jan. 6, 1943

Today was the day I began my effort to reinforce the eastern DEI. Nav Guard/SNLF units are being landed on the islands around Samlauki to make it more difficult for the allies to grab multiple bases in one blow. The problem with this operation is the potential for allied interference, both in the air and on the surface.

To guard against air attacks, fighters on nearby bases were ordered to LRCAP the islands. Unfortunately, I forgot that LRCAP needs to be within normal range and so my Tojo's, which did not have their drop tanks on, did not participate in the day's actions as I thought they would. In truth, I have no idea what they did. They were set to 50% LRCAP, though what they were LRCAPing is beyond me. They managed to accumulate 66 fatigue apparently doing nothing, while the squadrons that actually did provide LRCAP had half the fatigue. [8|] Well, I turned on their drop tanks for next turn.

Since the Tojo's were out of the picture, that left CAP duties up to my Zero's. In addition to one land based sentai, I brought over the carriers from the slow KB to help out. That includes Hiyo, Ryuho, Shinyo, and Hosho. They did not do a very good job:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Selaroe at 78,118
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid spotted at 49 NM, estimated altitude 26,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 3
A6M5 Zero x 19

Allied aircraft
P-38H Lightning x 17

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed (lba)
A6M5 Zero: 3 destroyed (cv based)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Babar at 76,117
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid spotted at 42 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-25C Mitchell x 4
Kittyhawk III x 9

Allied aircraft losses
B-25C Mitchell: 1 damaged

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Selaroe at 78,118
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid spotted at 13 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 1
A6M5 Zero x 9

Allied aircraft
Beaufort VIII x 6
Boomerang C-12 x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed [8|]

Allied aircraft losses
Beaufort VIII: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged
Boomerang C-12: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Molu at 79,116
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid spotted at 36 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-25C Mitchell x 7
Spitfire VIII x 11

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Molu at 79,116
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid spotted at 31 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 11
A6M5 Zero x 3

Allied aircraft
B-25C Mitchell x 7
Spitfire VIII x 11 [these are fairly nasty. wouldn't want to face them in a stand up fight.]

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed
A6M5 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-25C Mitchell: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
Spitfire VIII: 1 destroyed

I ended up losing 10 cv based Zero's, 8 A2A, and 3 land based, all A2A. Fortunately, only 3 pilots were KIA and 5 WIA.

Also fortunate was the fact that the allies did not score a single bomb hit. They are bombing from 5k feet which seems to be a peculiarly bad choice of altitudes. It is low enough that it uses the lowN skill rather than NavB, but high enough that it manages to be very inaccurate. Either go with 6k feet or commit to lowN and bomb at 1k (or even 100 feet).

For tonight, I am racing surface forces into and out of these bases to guard against any possible surface interference from the allies. I don't know if they have any DDs down at Gove, but it is possible. I have my naval search assets at Taberfane set up to search one hex shy of Darwin and Merauke. I have lost too many planes and pilots searching over enemy bases, so I am not doing that any more. (The allies obviously have more planes and pilots than I do since they are losing patrol planes over my bases every other turn yet continue to run these searches. Even PBY Liberators are not immune from being shot down.)

By tomorrow's air phase, the overwhelming majority of the troops will be landed and so any air attacks tomorrow may cost me some ships, but not many troops.

[CapAndGown]

Jan. 7, 1942

Unloading in the DEI finished and none of the ships were hit. The airforce, unfortunately, did no fare so well. Witpqs was under the impression these were "bait" ships. If that was the case, then to paraphrase Roy Schneider when he first saw the shark in Jaws, we're going to need a better plane.

The allies swept these bases with P-38s and P-47s and launched naval attacks with B-25s and Spitfire/Kittyhawk escorts. Some sweeps also went in against Taberfane along with a bomb run by B-17s on the air strip. I lost 23 fighters compared to just 8 allied A2A casualties. Only 1 P-47 was an ops loss and no P-38s. (Why does this game make it so much more costly to fly transport/patrol missions than combat missions?) The allies lost 5 Kittyhawks and 3 B-25s. One Spitfire was an ops loss.

At least the troops are ashore, the ships are safe, and everyone is heading home. From the "bait" comment, I am now wondering if the allies were ever contemplating an offensive though this region. This comment shows no concern that I might be reinforcing bases the allies might wish to capture. Better safe than sorry, though. More speed bumps to slow the allies down in case they should come this way.

I really do need some better planes. The Zero is useless. I am thinking that all my Zero squadrons need to be converted into trainers. The Tojo IIa is basically obsolete as well. It was decent at one time, but needs to be replaced as soon as possible.

Right now I am producing 240 Tojo IIc a month, 160 climbing to 180 Tony Id a month, and 110 climbing to 150 Franks a month. So far I have deployed 480 Tojo IIc's. I will probably increase the Frank production even further, depending on how they work out. There are still 544 Tojo IIa's and 224 Tony Ic's that need to be replaced. Of course, a number of the Tojo IIa's are being used as trainers in the Home Islands and Manchuko. Still, I will want to swap those out so that their engines can be recycled.

I am not sure but I am thinking the Frank and Tojo IIc will be the front line fighters. Maybe the Tony as well. The Georges and Jacks will provide CAP for vital rear area installations such as Palembang and Balikpapan. And the Zero's will concentrate on training and as reserves for emergencies.

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: cap_and_gown


The allies swept these bases with P-38s and P-47s and launched naval attacks with B-25s and Spitfire/Kittyhawk escorts. Some sweeps also went in against Taberfane along with a bomb run by B-17s on the air strip. I lost 23 fighters compared to just 8 allied A2A casualties. Only 1 P-47 was an ops loss and no P-38s. (Why does this game make it so much more costly to fly transport/patrol missions than combat missions?) The allies lost 5 Kittyhawks and 3 B-25s. One Spitfire was an ops loss.

I´ve asked this so often and still got no clue what is going wrong in the game... [8|] Am already back to 60% nav search 40% rest with squadrons being fully filled up with pilots but still lose more ac than I get replacements. This is just insane. I´ve got 100% op losses of what I get as replacements.

[CapAndGown]

Jan. 14, 1943

Not a whole lot going on. An enemy surface combat group is in the Arafura Sea. Not sure what they are up to.

Let's talk doctrine. In particular, invasion defense doctrine. In the Solomons and DEI my doctrine is simple: use LBA to cover my surface forces and attack enemy fleets. There are enough interlocking airbases and aviation support in those regions that the use of carriers is almost not needed. It is the Marianas where things get more interesting (and Truk too, I suppose).

Up to this point, repelling an allied invasion has not been high on my to do list. I was more interested in engaging enemy carriers. Now, however, I feel I need to stop the allies cold, if possible. So my doctrine is meant to be able to defeat an allied invasion. It will also have a subsidiary goal of demolishing the allied CVE force. The allies get a massive numbers of CVEs in 1944. These guys have around 20 fighters each so can contribute greatly to allied CAP. OTOH, they are extremely vulnerable to both surface and air forces because of their slow speed and low durability. Since they are easier to take out than fleet CVs, they are a prime target for quickly and decisively reducing allied CAP. For my next engagement, then, I will be attempting to target the CVEs rather than the CVs.

With that out of the way, how to deal with an invasion?

The first step will be to have a large commitment of land based fighters. These will be tasked with reducing the enemy CAP. This will be done by offering up sacrificial ships for the allies to attack which my fighters will then CAP.

Torpedo bombers will also be set to night attack. Witpqs better plan on coming at me when the moon is new. Even if this is not successful, it may divert some CAP away from daylight duties.

Once the target(s) of the allied invasion become clear, land based bombers will be moved to the threatened base and given naval attack orders with a range of zero. I want them attacking the invasion forces, including the CVEs, not the fleet carriers.

Meanwhile, surface forces, which will be loitering out of range will be ordered to race into the threatened base(s). They will be given a home port of the base being invaded with the expectation that they will still be there during the daylight phase, with land based fighter giving them cover. Fast cruisers and BBs will race in from 9 hexes away to try to prevent the allies from landing their forces. That may or may not be successful. Slower BBs will also race into the bases, but from further away, meaning they will make an appearance for a daylight action.

If possible, the KB will get itself into position so as to be able to attack the CVEs/invasion, but out of range of the enemy fleet CVs.

The hope here is to severely damage the enemy CVE fleet, significantly reduce their CAP, and make staying in the neighborhood dangerous.

None of this make work. The allies may get forces ashore anyway. At that point, I need the forces on the invaded island to be able to hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive. I don't want to make the garrison too strong, since that would reduce my reserves, but I don't want it so weak that it will fall to the first allied shock attack. With level 6 forts, I should be able to buy the garrisons some time.

Reserves, meanwhile, will be sitting at Davao. I will have three divisions there, one prepped for Guam, one for Saipan, and one for Tinian. There will also be a large number of AKs and E boats there. When the invasion appears, the reserves will begin loading. If I can make the allies go away through damage already inflicted to their fleet, and through the potential of inflicting more damage, then the reserves can be landed on the threatened island, tipping the scales in my favor and stranding a large number of allied troops on an island they are not able to capture.

Again, I have arranged my garrisons so that the allies will find it difficult to grab multiple bases in one go. I am hoping they will need to concentrate on one base to overcome the opposition. I think the garrisons on Guam, Saipan and Tinian could use an extra brigade each. I am also a little concerned with the northern Marianas, but since their SPS is lower, they make less inviting targets.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: cap_and_gown

For China I am gathering forces for an offensive aimed at capturing the cities to the west of Changsa. I don't want to attack Changsa because of the 2x modifier. The cities in open terrain on the north side of the river, however, may be easier. The key here will be to stretch out the Chinese defenses so they cannot concentrate so heavily on defending one base. This means threatening advances from multiple directions. Already I advanced a brigade into the forests between Kweilin and Henyang. Apparently the Chinese got wind of this move through sigint a few turns back since 3 units were moved out of Henyang to block my move to the north. So already my plan to stretch out the Chinese defenses is to work.

Hi cag,

Are you worried about troops from Kweilin making the rail journey east to reinforce Hengyang and area as your movements become clear? Do you have a plan to neutralize the railway? I'm not sure a brigade will be enough to cross the river against opposition and block the railway long enough to prevent those 28 units from hitting your flank.

[CapAndGown]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

ORIGINAL: cap_and_gown

For China I am gathering forces for an offensive aimed at capturing the cities to the west of Changsa. I don't want to attack Changsa because of the 2x modifier. The cities in open terrain on the north side of the river, however, may be easier. The key here will be to stretch out the Chinese defenses so they cannot concentrate so heavily on defending one base. This means threatening advances from multiple directions. Already I advanced a brigade into the forests between Kweilin and Henyang. Apparently the Chinese got wind of this move through sigint a few turns back since 3 units were moved out of Henyang to block my move to the north. So already my plan to stretch out the Chinese defenses is to work.

Hi cag,

Are you worried about troops from Kweilin making the rail journey east to reinforce Hengyang and area as your movements become clear? Do you have a plan to neutralize the railway? I'm not sure a brigade will be enough to cross the river against opposition and block the railway long enough to prevent those 28 units from hitting your flank.

The Chinese in Kweilin need to defend against the forces just south of the city. I do not expect too many of them to be moved out.

[CapAndGown]

Jan. 16, 1943

The allies launched a very large strike against Truk today. I finally got to test out how some of my new fighters do in combat. The Tojo was something of a disappointment, but the George did very nicely. I was a little surprised that the Tojo did not do better since in is about 15 mph faster. And it was not a matter of skill, as far as I could tell, since the Army pilots were more skilled than the Navy ones.

First the allies swept the place with 175 Corsairs:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Truk , at 112,108
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid detected at 39 NM, estimated altitude 28,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 54
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 84

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 18

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Truk , at 112,108
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid detected at 37 NM, estimated altitude 28,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 50
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 77

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 18

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Truk , at 112,108
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid detected at 18 NM, estimated altitude 26,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 47
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 72

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 17

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Truk , at 112,108
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid detected at 160 NM, estimated altitude 30,000 feet. RADAR! [&o]
Estimated time to target is 60 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 40
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 64

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 122

These sweeps were then followed up by a raid by 72 B-24J's:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Truk , at 112,108
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 41 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 22
Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 31

Allied aircraft
B-24J Liberator x 72

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K1-J George: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged
N1K1-J George: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 1 destroyed
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 3 destroyed on ground
E13A1 Jake: 2 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
B-24J Liberator: 7 damaged

Airbase hits 16
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 41

The Corsairs were very roughly handled, but they did help thin out the CAP for the heavies. As it was, only one B-24 was shot down; a rather disappointing result. But the Corsairs paid for it:

F4U-1 Corsair - 50 A2A, 16 Ops
Ki-44-IIc Tojo - 15 A2A, 4 Ops
N1K1-J George - 9 A2A, 1 Ops, 1 Ground

That is 66 Corsairs lost out of 175 committed. That has got to sting. The pilot losses, I imagine, will be especially painful. I noticed that witpqs had several rescue subs stationed between Ponape and Truk. But from what I can tell, they don't work all that well. (The Japanese lost 8 KIA and 10 WIA.) Plus, with a service rating of 3, all of the damaged planes are going to take some time to repair.

That the George did so well, even though its top speed is only 360 mph, seems to indicate that the Tony Id may be an OK front line fighter, and not just a bomber interceptor. I just converted my first squadron to the Tony Id model. I will station it at Truk soon and see how it does. (The runway was moderately damaged, but there are over 250 engineers at Truk, so they should be able to repair damage fairly quickly.)

Meanwhile, over in the Arafura Sea, the allies have a rather large convoy delivering supplies to Darwin. I am going to try to hit that convoy tonight. Because witpqs will probably try to retreat the convoy, I am sending out TFs to several different hexes where they might go. Last time I did this, they went southwest. My guess would be this time they head east. But witpqs may get tricky and try moving them only one hex. I am also going to bombard Darwin with the hope of hitting the airfield and knocking out a number of fighters and bombers there. I want to try to reduce the number of naval air strikes the allies are certain to launch tomorrow. Most of these TFs have a home port of Moa which they will retreat to. My fighters on Timor are providing LRCAP of Moa.

[cookie monster]

Nice AAR.

What program do you use to put the arrows in?

And is it free?

[CapAndGown]

ORIGINAL: cookie monster

Nice AAR.

What program do you use to put the arrows in?

And is it free?

I use paint. It comes with windows. It sucks. [;)] I am curious as to what PzB uses. Photoshop I would guess. Much prettier.

[janh]

I smell a trap...  Would be surprised if your opponent wouldn't expect you to pull some surface TF tricks on the supply convoy again.
Anyway, I am surprised the Corsair did so poorly.  Was it a range thing?  I guess "partially cloudy" rules out weather issues, and the radar only benefited you in one case.  Maybe sweep coordination and just a numbers game since the first few sweeps came in piece meal.  Well, makes for a good start in the battle of Truk.

[aprezto]

I certainly note that range makes a difference. When I've P-40s versus zeros and the zeros are at range I do much better than when I'm the one at range.

[PaxMondo]

What I've seen from some testing is that firepower is a BIG driver.  Your results with the George would support what I've seen.
 
I've made some mods and am testing them in Nik's Gua scenario.  ITdoesn't take much change in gun power to make a lot of difference in the lethality of your fighters.   

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: cap_and_gown

ORIGINAL: cookie monster

Nice AAR.

What program do you use to put the arrows in?

And is it free?

I use paint. It comes with windows. It sucks. [;)] I am curious as to what PzB uses. Photoshop I would guess. Much prettier.

ever thought about paint.net? Freeware and easy to use

[FatR]

I think George did well because of its massive armament. This really makes the difference. I don't remember if you are using any HRs against stratosphere combat, if not, the first George model also has the most excellent ceiling of all Japanese planes available at the moment, and along with four guns this can make George a real killer.