The Power of Inexperience / GreyJoy(A)-Rader(J)

[ny59giants]

AA Ranges

Allied:
90mm M1A1 AA........33,800
3in M1918 AA........29,800
80mm AA.............28,000
75mm AA.............28,000 (another model goes only to 20K)
3.7" Mk II AA.......24,000
40mm Bofor AA.......9,800
40mm M1 Bofor.......9,800
37mm M1 Colt AA.....8,600
2 pdr AA............8,000
20mm Mk 4 Oerlikon..6,200
0.5in M51 Quad AAMG.4,200
0.5in M2HB AAMG.....3,600
12.7mm AAMG.........3,600
Lewis AAMG..........2,100
Bren AAMG...........2,100
Vickers AAMG........2,100

Japan:
10.0cm T14 AA.......31,000
75mm T88 AA.........25,000
40mm T91 AA.........8,000
25mm T96 AA.........7,000
20mm T98 AA.........6,200
13.2mm T93 AAMG.....3,200
7.7mm T99 AAMG......2,100

[GreyJoy]

Thanks NYGiants, now my guess is that he has thousands of those T14 and T88 guns in india...only in this way i could explain the differences between the performances of my 3.7 MkII compared with his T88 and T14s...
 
Lesson learnt however...jap flak can be nasty as german flak over berlin

[String]

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

Thanks NYGiants, now my guess is that he has thousands of those T14 and T88 guns in india...only in this way i could explain the differences between the performances of my 3.7 MkII compared with his T88 and T14s...

Lesson learnt however...jap flak can be nasty as german flak over berlin

I doubt that, there are only a few units in game that can use the T14 guns, most of the flak should be from the T88's. However, 30-40 AA units still contain a lot of T88's.

edit: Just checked and he should have about 100-120 T14's in total available, and about a third of them are concentrated in small 4 gun companies.

Now the Japanese also start with a pretty large number of AA units equipped with 88mm guns, which also has a ceiling of 31000 ft and effect/accuracy of 20/38. So nothing stellar but much better than the 75mm.

Regardless, there are never more than 18 guns in a japanese AA unit, so you could be facing about (let's say there are 35 AA units there) 600 heavy flak guns, which is quite a lot.

However, since the 18 gun units are only the 75mm ones, you're likely facing less.

[GreyJoy]

Thx String! Very good analysis!

Well, i do have more 100 3.7 MKII at Hyderabad , plus more 300 smaller AA guns, and during the last raid flown by 300 bombers at 13k feet we managed to shoot down only 1 helens![X(]...damaging maybe 10 more... that's not nearly comparable with what i'm facing at Surat and Baghawhatever...My B17s (which are far more stronger than Sallies and Helens) get chewed by flak.

Anyway, tomorrow we'll discover what is left at Surat and we'll decide what to do next (a base force of mine, which has been pushed back during his advance, managed to get into Surat again and tomorrow will make a suicide attack to recon his units composition)...

[GreyJoy]

July 3 and 4 1942
 
Another VERY quiet turn.
Seems Rader is assembling his Indian air army for the final battle.
I bet he's waiting his units get enough morale to sustain an entire week of fightings (for sure the last 15 days have been hard for them).
My suicide base force collected the following info: at Surat there are 3700 AVs and a huge amount of AA...considering we have more 41 units at Bawatherver (north of Surat), i think he has brought almost every single AA unit he could spare all around the Empire!
As far as i can tell this prooves that he still want to get to Karachi and he has no intentions of letting me off the hook[:'(]...
 
The ASW air campaign goes on with another day of constant subs pounding at Karachi...strange he didn't move them away...
 
 

Ground combat at Surat (39,20)
 
Japanese Deliberate attack
 
Attacking force 19107 troops, 641 guns, 283 vehicles, Assault Value = 3730
 
Defending force 67 troops, 11 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2
 
Japanese adjusted assault: 477
 
Allied adjusted defense: 1
 
Japanese assault odds: 477 to 1
 
Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(+), leaders(-), preparation(-), experience(-)
 supply(-)
Attacker:
 
 
Allied ground losses:
      68 casualties reported
         Squads: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled
         Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 0 disabled
         Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
      Guns lost 9 (9 destroyed, 0 disabled)
      Units destroyed 1
 
 
Assaulting units:
    16th Guards Regiment
    48th Recon Regiment
    5th Division
    21st Division
    55th Engineer Regiment
    15th Guards Regiment
    6th Guards Division
    20th Ind. Engineer Regiment
    143rd Infantry Regiment
    33rd Infantry Regiment
    4th Division
    56th Engineer Regiment
    23rd Ind. Engineer Regiment
    56th Recon Regiment
    17th Indpt Guards Regiment
    48th Engineer Regiment
    144th Infantry Regiment
    19th Ind. Engineer Regiment
    5th Guards Cav Regiment
    33rd Division
    4th Ind.Mixed Regiment
    5th Guards Engineer Regiment
    15th Ind. Engr Rgt /2
    1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment
    41st Field AA Battalion
    49th Field AA Battalion
    32nd Air Defense AA Battalion
    31st Air Defense AA Battalion
    29th Fld AA Gun Co
    1st Air Defense AA Regiment
    1st Air Defense AA Battalion
    10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
    5th Mortar Battalion
    51st Field AA Battalion
    31st Fld AA Gun Co
    11th Air Fleet
    9th Field AF Construction Battalion
    34th Field AA Battalion
    55th Const Co
    56th Const Co
    3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
    13th JAAF AF Bn
    18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
    22nd Air Flotilla
    3rd Mortar Battalion
    53rd Const Co
    41st Air Defense AA Battalion
    41st JAAF AF Bn
    30th Fld AA Gun Co
    15th Const Co
    23rd Ind.AA Gun Co
    201st JAAF AF Bn
    3rd FF Const Unit
    21st Fld AA Gun Co
    2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
    21st Air Defense AA Regiment
    54th Const Co
    2nd RF Gun Battalion
    34th Ind.AA Gun Co
    39th Field AA Battalion
    69th JAAF AF Bn
    3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
    22nd Fld AA Gun Co
    56th Field Artillery Regiment
    2nd Air Division
    26th Fld AA Gun Co
    6th JNAF AF Unit
    26th Air Defense AA Regiment
    4th Naval Construction Battalion
    25th Air Defense AA Regiment
    27th Fld AA Gun Co
    12th Ind. AA Battalion
    7th RF Gun Battalion
    20th AA Regiment
    39th Road Const Co
    9th RF Gun Battalion
    45th Ind.AA Gun Co
    8th Field AF Construction Battalion
    31st Field AA Battalion
    14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
    54th Field AA Battalion
    48th Field AA Battalion
    21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion
    48th Field Artillery Regiment
    47th Field AA Battalion
    35th Fld AA Gun Co
    32nd Field AA Battalion
    5th Field AF Construction Battalion
    55th Mountain Gun Regiment
    11th RF Gun Battalion
    35th Field AA Battalion
    45th Road Const Co
    92nd JAAF AF Bn
    Southern Army
    1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment
    38th Field AA Battalion
    3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
    7th Field AF Construction Battalion
    17th JAAF AF Bn
    42nd Ind.AA Gun Co
    23rd AA Regiment
    6th Field AF Construction Battalion
    20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
    41st Air Defense AA Regiment
    5th RF Gun Battalion
    56th Field AA Battalion
    32nd Ind.AA Gun Co
    25th Army
    8th RF Gun Battalion
    21st Army
 
Defending units:
    2nd West Coast Base Force

[Canoerebel]

GreyJoy, I want to go on the record to say that he's not going to cross the LOD unless he brings back the KB. If he does bring it back, get your ducks ina row to ramp up operations in the Pacific. If he doesn't come back, that means he's waiting to pounce in the Pacific, so you need to give alot of thought to where you can strike and how you will eventually go on the offensive in India and elsewhere.

If the KB is in the Pacific, do you want to try something in the DEI? Do you want to counterinvade behind him (eventually) in India or Ceylon? Do you need your carriers in the Indian Ocean to make such a move possible?

I doubt you can go on the offensive in a big way in the DEI or IO until perhaps September or October, but that's not far away.

[Canoerebel]

P.S. In the old WitP days, most PBEM matches had a House Rule limiting the number of AA units in a hex to three. Putting umpteen million in a hex doesn't smell exactly right, though you might find good ways around it or to take advantage of the lack of AA elsewhere. I'm not recommending that you raise it as an issue - far better to just try and find a way to neutralize it or deal with it - but later on when you come up with a stratagem that he doesn't like, you might gently point out his handling of the India campaign.

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL:  Canoerebel
GreyJoy, I want to go on the record to say that he's not going to cross the LOD unless he brings back the KB.  If he does bring it back, get your ducks ina row to ramp up operations in the Pacific.  If he doesn't come back, that means he's waiting to pounce in the Pacific, so you need to give alot of thought to where you can strike and how you will eventually go on the offensive in India and elsewhere.
If the KB is in the Pacific, do you want to try something in the DEI?  Do you want to counterinvade behind him (eventually) in India or Ceylon?  Do you need your carriers in the Indian Ocean to make such a move possible?
I doubt you can go on the offensive in a big way in the DEI or IO until perhaps September or October, but that's not far away.

Hi CR,
     that was my initial thought: the presence of the KB determines his strategical choice in India.
However he may want to wait and use till the very last sip of blood his LBA assets untill the KB moves back to India, so that once the KB is in place it will find a less stiff opposition.
However my problem now is how i can monitorize the KB movements? There's no easy or not risky way to do that.
I still hold Makin and Abenama and i could try another attempt to reinforce them using some surface assets and my CVs in cover...if the KB is in place i bet she will come out and play again...if she doesn't it means she's moving back to India...
The point is that this is going to be very risky...i may find myself facing a disaster in the pacific just to know where the KB is...
The other choice is to wait and see and be ready to move in the pacific if the KB springs up in India.
I think without the KB i can do the Bonins operation and, even on a smaller scale, the Gilberts one.
I can easily mount an amphib operation targetting Iwo Jima and place 2500 AVs there. Without the KB my 6 CVs should be enough to discourage any surface attempt to smash my amph TFs...and with Iwo strongly in my hands everything can change...
But first i need to be sure that the KB is not there...
The other option is to raid with my CVs somewhere between the Bonins and Japan hoping to find some juicy convoys...i'm pretty sure that if the KB is lurking in the pacific she's not in Japan but at the Mariannas or Truk...
DEI? not now, impossible. Before thinking about DEI i need first to reinforce Oz which is far from being able to mount an offensive operation (lack of planes, base forces and unrestricted units). Now, i think the only options if the KB moves away are in the pacific.
Another Indian  Bde arrived at Karachi today. 250 AVs arrived in the last 2 days isn't bad...tomorrow at Aden will arrive another british Bde that will immediately be sent to Karachi.
I really think that if i will dig in Karachi with those 5500 AVs, supplied by more than 300.000 supplies...behind forts level 7(or hopefully 8) the fortress will become simply untakeable even for the mighty japanese armies. And however a moving stack of 5000 AVs with good artillery and tanks will be a tough opponent to face outside Karachi...
I really think the AA overstacking is a problem. Simply i need not to target those places...he can mass but massing means also less flak somewhere else. So to say if he brings those AAs with his marching troops, Surat and the other bases will be undefended and so raidable...if he let the AA guarding his AFs...well, the advancing columns will be my target. Simple[:'(]

[CaptBeefheart]

Congratulations on keeping India to this point. The question that begs: Did your opponent pull a Kurita or is he just marshalling forces for one final push on Karachi? Very, very interesting. It appears you have learned well, Grasshopper.

Cheers,
CC

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: Commander Cody

Congratulations on keeping India to this point. The question that begs: Did your opponent pull a Kurita or is he just marshalling forces for one final push on Karachi? Very, very interesting. It appears you have learned well, Grasshopper.

Cheers,
CC

Thanks C Cody.

What d'you mean with "pull a Kurita" ?

Whatever that means i think he's still marshalling forces for one final push on Karachi. If there are 102 units with 3700 AVs at Surat i bet at "Baghawhatever" (1 hex north-west of Surat) there are at least 3000 more with probably more 4000 between Madras and Colombo which i bet are being transported or moving towards the front right now.
He's probably resting his air units in order to wait for a final and decisive attack...and i can smell the KB coming...so unfortunately i still think he can destroy me if he wants to...

I'm tempted to move to India my CVs...but it will take them too much time and i think they'll arrive when it will be too late.
Plus i really don't like the idea of fighting with my CVs so close with that LBA concentration (more than 1700 planes spotted between the two major japanese air bases) and in the corner of a map...where there's nowhere to run away.

However considering the paniking situation of April (where his advanced coloumns were cutting in pieces my defensive lines near Calcutta) the situation is defenetly better. And also having efficiently countered the threat posed by his subs near Karachi (consider that i've lost nearly 40 transports due to his subs near Karachi in the first 2 months of activity of my blockade runners) is a great achievement imho.

Now my goal is to be able to keep on brining those 20k weekly supplies to Karachi with regularity and at the same time be able to keep my fighter force alive as long as i can.

Now i have 530 operational and ready fighters at Karachi. This is a good force but my pools (especially brit pools) are getting dry and we all know i cannot sustain more than a week or two of air battles with those numbers (he has 700 fighters at Surat).
I think the difference will be made by who will throw the towel first...if my aircraft pools or his pilots pools[:)]

[GreyJoy]

.

[GreyJoy]

This is the composition of the fighter air force present in India

[SoliInvictus202]

I'd have 2 questions:

1) are you playing with the beta version or with the latest "official" patch?

2) how many radar stations do you have at Karachi?


if #1 would be answered by "beta" and #2 with at least 4 I'd suggest that you consider the option of having some of your fighters only CAP the base at 30%... why? - less ops losses, much less fatigue and less morale losses.... - and if the enemy attacks, you might still see all planes fly if the detection was early enough for your fighters to scramble.... - one other thing, what I see very often in the beta is that some of your fighters would automatically get vectored onto the bombers....thus getting to the juicy targets right away...

just a few thoughts, if you haven't already considered them....

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: SoliInvictus202

I'd have 2 questions:

1) are you playing with the beta version or with the latest "official" patch?

2) how many radar stations do you have at Karachi?


if #1 would be answered by "beta" and #2 with at least 4 I'd suggest that you consider the option of having some of your fighters only CAP the base at 30%... why? - less ops losses, much less fatigue and less morale losses.... - and if the enemy attacks, you might still see all planes fly if the detection was early enough for your fighters to scramble.... - one other thing, what I see very often in the beta is that some of your fighters would automatically get vectored onto the bombers....thus getting to the juicy targets right away...

just a few thoughts, if you haven't already considered them....

1) yes we'e playing with the latest beta now
2) yes i have 4 CH radars, sound detector and the other strange device at karachi...so you think that 30% CAP is enough? i had somehow the perception that the scrambling a/c were in a worse postions than their comrades that were already on patrol cause they got bounced easier...but probably that's just a feeling

Thanks mate, very helpfull! I'll try it!

[SoliInvictus202]

it was just something to consider.... - if you do it - only do it with some of your units..... - it can go very bad....(if your radar fails to detect the raids) - but it can also preserve your units for longer, if scrambling isn't needed, and/or if no raid happens, then less planes were on CAP and thus less of the already mentioned bad side effects of constant CAP...
thus far in my game against fcharton (he's also writing an AAR) it has been very useful to me and kept my outdated fighters in the DEI battle ready for over 2 months (until none were left )

[ny59giants]

I would suggest that you take some time and go through your fighters leaders in India to make sure they are of good quality (Aggression 60 or over, Air experience near or above 60, and Inspiration 50 or above if possible). I like to set CAP at 40% and Rest at 20% as you are likely to get more than one strike coming in.

Since you are using the latest Beta patch, I would turn off replacements for all BF and AA units outside of India until you can fill these out. The AI will look at the lowest ID# for each LCU and give replacements to those first. Thus, some Allied units in USA or Australia may get them first because of this. You may need to use the Stockpile feature to store up troops so you can focus on those infantry units in India first.

[witpqs]

Stagger the altitude assignments for your fighters (give them various altitudes all the way from high to low).

[jeffk3510]

GreyJoy- just curious why you have put Brisbane on the backburner?

Brisbane should build forts, port, and AF from day one. That should (not will, depends on your playing style) be your biggest base to base your operations out of in the SOPAC....

Has Rader taken everything but PH, West Coast, Russia, Alaska, PH, and Aussie? Karachi ofcourse...

Just curious what your plans are outside of India...I too wonder if he is awating a final push on Karachi...

[GreyJoy]

NYGiants, i have no PP points since May cause i'm keeping all my airgroups and the RN ships with me and not sending back to ETO...when i still had time i had already done that anyway...i tried to put best leaders everywhere (LCUs and LBAs)...hope that's enough...
 
About altitude it really doesn't matter cause we have an HR that limit the max alt of fighters to 20k for CAP and Sweep so all my fighters are sitting at 20k except for 5 groups that are watching at 15k...
 
Jeffk i chose to reinforce Sydney cause when Oz was still a possible target i had to make a choice between Sydney and Brisbane and so i decided for the first because of the terrain hex. Brisbane had just built forts for months.
Oz however still needs lots of things before becoming a base from where to start a counteroffensive...lack of fuel (i'm shipping it via CT but it takes time with the AKs) and lack of unrestricted troops are limiting my options.
 
Rader has taken China and India, DEI and the usual historical perimeter but has already abbandoned northern Oz, New Caledonia and has a VERy light perimeter in the solomons and new hebrids...I think also that the whole NG is very ungarrisoned.
 
I'll post a strategic map to let you take a look.
 
July 5,6 1942
 
Rader has moved some of his bombers to Cawdpore (south of Dehli) and made a couple of effective ground bombing missions against 2 units of mine that were guarding a base between Delhi and Jodpur...one of my units got so mauled that from 100/100, after 2 days, its status was 5/30 [X(]...that's why it's really impossible to defend ourself against the para-railway tactic...Jodpur will be my only outspot outside my inner perimeter from now on...[>:]
 
Sunk a sub today and badly damaged at least 2 others near Karachi...[:D] My british Bde (part of the 2nd UK division) safely arrived at Karachi with an heavily escorted convoy...tomorrow another brit Bde will arrive at Aden and in 4 days at max speed should be at Karachi [8D]
 
for the rest another very quiet day. I followed your suggestions and put my fighters on 40 cap 20 rest...let's hope.
 
I'm pretty sure he's moving his troops towards Cawnpore (got a couple of intel reports about arty units there)...probably he will try to attack following two different directions (the coastal way and the valley way) but i'm pretty sure he'll first paradrop on dot bases and then railway in his masses to gain time...cannot do much about it as you can see. A week of bombing without a decent air cover and without any flak will destroy even a division...then a para drop of 4 para units at the same time can easily dislodge a so battered unit of mine...so better to wait him in my trenches and annihilate his new conquered bases with my 4Es...
 
Still no sign of the KB...i bet it's moving back to India...

[GreyJoy]

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