When Newbies Collide

[John B.]

Hello all,

I've started my first PBEM game with Scott. I'm the Allies, he's Imperial Japan. We started with the surprise turn on Dec. 7 with the Americans frozen in place and the Brits given some leeway in moving forces (aka Force Z). I'm not going to be too explicit in my details since I don't want Scott using this as a way to get intel. on the game (he's sneaky like that).

Before I get started with the latest synopsis let me say that this really is a great game. I've already spent too much of my life span on it and I'm going to be spending lots more.

The game opened with the usual litany of Allied disaster. Scott did an airborne drop into the Philippines, spent two days bombing the snot out of Pearl, landed in Malaya etc... There was one snafu right off. I thought I could sneak up on his carriers after they had expended their ammo on Pearl. The net result was that I wrecked the Zuikaku and hit all of his carriers, but the entire American carrier force was blasted to smithereens. Scott was nice enough to let us restart that day.

It's now nearly the end of December 1941. So far I feel pretty good. Scott took Wake with a huge force but my Wildebeests caught an AP near Borneo and sank it and the regiment it had on board. The IJA is now laying siege to Singapore since I ran back there as fast as I could and has taken the entire northern portion of Borneo.

In the PI, I have Manila, Clark Field, and Bataan. A IJA probing attack was pushed back from Clark Field but there are lots and lots of IJA units lurking just outside the perimeter. The Wildebeests rebased to Clark and got a couple of AKs but then ignored orders to raid to the south, raided north, and the entire squadron was shot out of the sky.

Scott has also taken the northern coast (except for the Lae/Buna area) of New Guinea. I did get the CA Australia to intercept one of his landing forces and shot up two AKs and ran down some commerce raiders in the coral sea.

Except for some air raids, all is quite in Burma.

In China, the Chinese retook Ichang and have been mauling the IJA 32nd division and its equivalents. The Japanese seem to be pushing up from the south and in the extreme north. It is a big theater! The AVG showed up and shot down lots and lots of planes. But, now the Zero squadrons have showed up and the kill ratios have returned to normal.

IJN submarines are a real pain in the rear. I've found both here and in the AI games I've played that it pays to have any sort of escort even one to keep them from attacking on the surface. My ASW is pretty lousy, but I think I cut down on losses by trying to escort things. My subs have been ok and his ASW is on the job. I think I got a lucky shot near Balikpappan about Dec 14th and sank a CA.

I did pull off one coup. I had the Force Z battle group with some extra destroyers/light cruisers and, by sheer luck, managed to have them within range of Davao when the IJN invasion force showed up. There was an initial surface action where I got a few hits on two of his CAs but did not really seem to do much damage. Then, I got to the transport group. It appears to have been totally destroyed! The next day, the BB and BC managed to evade a mini KB that showed up but the IJN hunted the damaged ships (CLs and DDs)that broke off to form an escort task force to extinction. The main KB has not shown up since Pearl. Don't worry Scott, if you're reading this I know exactly where it is and I'm going to ambush it next turn. As for my carriers, well, the less said the better.

Losses to date, filtered through my FOW.

Allies:

1. AK/AKL/TK/AP/AUX/Mine/Pat (in numbers of ships): 84.

2. SS: 2.

3. DD: 5

4. CA/CL: 3

5. BB: 1

Japanese:

1. AK etc..: 37 (I think this is higher since I usually don't see AK/AKL hit by torpedoes when they sink).

2. SS: 3

3. DD: 3

4. CA/CL: 4

5. BB: 0

Aircraft:

1. Allies 390

2. Japanese: 410 (God Bless the AVG). this number may also be enlarged by an odd 42 ops loss I saw one turn for the Japanese. Not sure what that was but I doubt the accuracy.

The largest number of airframes that that Allies have lost has been the P-40s and for the Japanese its the Nates (again, God Bless the AVG).

Army losses:

1. Allies: 711

2. Japanese: 211.

[Crackaces]

Good Luck!

As a newbie I found the following tools invaluable:

Combat Reporter: This tool takes the *.txt files in your Save directory that are reproduced after the combat replay, and structures and organizes the data on a day by day directory tree. Then the tree has directories like Ops, SignInt, Air, Sea, Submarine, etc .. this information goes by very quickly in teh animation and CR allows you to slice, dice, and ingest it ...It is how some of us post combat results that you see in AAR's.

WitPTracker. This allows you to track turn by turn messages, aircraft, losses, industry, etc and sort this information in a spreadsheet format. Including exporting the information in a comma delimited text file that can be manipulated in Excel. One of the real powerful things is loading the SigInt messages. I just got a message that the "1st Imperial Guards are loading for Ragoon on a xAP". Well a search through the SigInt and it so happends that the 1st Imperial Guards had been idenified recently at Singapore. Hmmmm I wonder if I can get a submarine between these two points .. or maybe a SCTF . That kind of tracking is impossible without a tool.

WitPStaff. Although Tracker is an excellent tool and Staff has duplication there are two features of Staff I like. 1st, It has a map interface where as if I click on a ship upgrade it shows me on the map about where this ship class is sailing ... I can then plan upgrades a whole lot better .. 2nd .. there is a feature where you can see on a WitP map all the "Loitering LCU's" You see after your LCU's arrive you have to manually take them out of Strategic mode or move mode. If you leave them" loitering" and they find combat it is not pretty .... I also like the patrol arcs better in Staff than Tracker but that is my preference.

Well welcome aboard!

[DOCUP]

John B
 
Welcome. Dosen't look like your doing to bad.  Turn this into an AAR and ask him not to read it so you can get some advice on some of your plans.  You might get lucky and get some of the exp guys to stop by and help. I am not exp as others but I have made a few mistakes that i would be glad to tell you about and help you not commit the same ones.  But good luck if you need help or questions ask
 
doc

[John B.]

Well, we've put in another game week and it's just about time to say goodbye to 1941 and hello to 1942. Just 365 days until my torpedos are less likely to going "boink" instead of "bang."

After the POW and Repulse smashed a Japanese convoy near Davao there has been very little naval action to report. My ASW and his subs continue to duke it out near Pearl and I think I may have gotten a hit on one of his subs. At the very least, they shoot torpedos at DMS' and destroyers that are not then used on troop or resupply convoys. He did send an AMC to do some commerce raiding up near Alaska and damaged a lone AK that is feeling very very lucky to have survived (there were three naval combats). I have a CL and two DDs trying to hunt him down, but he may well get away. I think his major KB is near Balikpapan, but at this stage of the war there is not much I can do about it.

In the air, I continue to say God Bless the AVG. According to FOW stats, he's lost 450 planes thus far to all causes and 150 of those belong to the three AVG squadrons. The fact that most of the Japanese fighter support in China currently belongs to Nates helps a great deal. I was also able to set up a couple of fighter ambushes. I lay low for a few turns in Manila and Singapore. Then, transferred in fighters that were laying low else where and put about 40 buffalos over Sing. and 35 P-40s over Clark Field which got past his fighters to his bombers which, especially for the Japanese, does not seem to have happy results.

On land, the siege of the Phillipines has commenced. We are sharing Manila and he launched one attack that was repulsed but he has more strength coming up. He's also landing and clearing out the other islands. I have most of my strength in Manila and Clark field (after reviewing other comments that the best terrain is there) but, I'm keeping my Big Mac HQ in Bataan. Since he draws most of the supply to him, that limits my supply losses when Manila and Clark fall and leaves something Bataan to fight with. He has not yet moved into Singapore but is on the outskirts. He took the northern coast of New Guinea and Tarawa. In China, my Ichang counter offense got a rude surprise when a very good corps launched a shock attack upon moving into a hex (and it was not across a river so I'm not srue what was going on) and now it no longer counts as very good. He is pushing foward in the clear north east of Changsha and we're dueling in the south. I realize that the chinese are weak but I figure it's better to keep pressure on him than to sit around and wait. No signs of the Japanese yet in Burma or on Java.

@ Doc, thanks for the offer of suggestions. I don't mind you sharing advice and Scott seeing it, that can help both of us in future games. Or at least letting me know mistakes to avoid.

@Crackaces. Those tools sound very helpful. Where would I find them.

[Crackaces]

WitPStaff is in your WitPAE/tools directory.

Witp Combat Reporter tm.asp?m=2456864

WitpTracker: http://sites.google.com/site/witptracker/releases --- look at the very bottom ..

Each had instrcutions to make them work ... its not straightforward so feel free to ask questions and if you have a 64bit machine you need a 32bit Java engine ...

That is one thing .. if the IJN bomber attacks get uncoordinated and miss their escorts .. they are very fragile and you will shoot down bunches .. I created 4 aces with the USAFFE P-40's over Manilla in the first few turns

[John B.]

Scratch one flattop.

It's now January 11, 1942 and the mini KB was providing support in the Dutch Islands when a Dutch submarine put a single torpedo into the Zuiho. By all reports, that was that last of that CVL. God bless the Dutch torpedoes. [&o] Of course the AMC that sortied from Singapore and found two AKs and a PB, shot four times and then scurried back to port gets no medals.

In other news, the siege of Manila continues and he has not yet made his move on to Singapore. He has been snapping up the small bases in the Philippines and in New Guinea. In China he's pushed me back a few hexes and killed three corps (that are not slated to return). He did launch a shock attack at Sinyang and got his head handed to him (3,800 casualties to 500). One technical question, I have four Chinese corps outside one Japanese base in China but the computer tells me that these cannot enter any adjacent hex. This means that they're doomed as they cannot get out. Any advice?

He has made Pearl a nest of submarines and so I've avoided sending anything of value there. But, I do have packs of ASW DDs and DMS. I think I've sunk one or two subs and I figure at the very least I'm getting more ASW experience. And, it keeps lots of his subs there with no targets to shoot at.

I have managed to pull off a few more air ambushes in China and shot down 25 Anns in one with the AVG. Ever since my airplanes started laying low his air victories have gone way down and I hope to keep it that way.

Reinforcements are being rushed to Australia as well as several very large fuel convoys with battleship escorts.

a few questions.

1. Am I better off if he holds off on assualting Manila and Singapore? I figure that it makes my fort levels higher, gets me higher up on the prep scale and ties down his forces longer. Or, is it better for the IJA to make its attacks, take its lumps and move on?

2. What is the value of bombardment attacks. they seem to have very little effect other than telling you what is in the hex.

3. He is not really pressing the British. Anything that they can do to be annoying or should they just hunker down?

Thanks everyone!

John

[DOCUP]

The subs around PH.  Can you send your ships to Hilo?  If you can get them to Hilo you can use the shallow water hexs to move to and from PH.  If you have your TFs following your ASW forces you can get them to port.  My opponent is doing the same thing to me.  I am able to get ships in and out via that route.  I also have the A20s on ASW patrol.  My pilots say I am hitting subs routinely by them.  I think its FOW but can hope.  Nice work with the AVG though.
 
1.  He can take Manila and Singers when he wants.  He can put enough troops in the hex to stop you from moving your troops.  Then bomb or bombard you to death.  Both of those will eat up ur supplys as does building forts.  I don't know for sure which one is better.  I would think it would be better if he attacked you while you had supply and the will to fight. 
 
2.  Recon as you said.  It helps you gain Exp and helps to reduce supply.  But watch for counterbattery fire.  If he has more guns than you then he can really hurt you.
 
3.  Not much I can tell you about this.  Do you mean in Malaya, Burma, or India.

[CaptBeefheart]

I wouldn't scratch that flattop just yet. I read somewhere that flooding ships show up as a sink, even when there's still plenty of flotation, and I've seen a few of these "sunk" ships pop up later myself.

I'd say your ship loss talley is quite light at this stage.

Good luck.

Cheers,
CC

[DOCUP]

This is not a sure fire way to check if she sunk.  Check the air menu and see if you have a large number of ground loss for the planes she carries. 

[koniu]

Good luck

I am newbie to. But you can`t be sure for 100% that enemy ship sunk.

Docup advise is good. If carrier go down lots of planes go with him. Especially when he sunk at night or no friendly bases or CV`s in range to land.

You cant` be sure that he have suffer any damage. In my and Docup last PBEM Guadalcanal scenario he score torp hit in my CV and he got only 5 flood damage

You can be sure only that the sub crew saw torp explosion. Maybe one day you will have confirmation from your intel.

[DOCUP]

Dang I only got 5 flood damage.[:-]  That sucks lol   sorry for the Hijack John.  Koniu mentioned something above.  As allies try and keep your carriers close to friendly AFs so if a carrier gets hit it can fly off the undamaged AC.
 
keep up the fight

[Crackaces]

Docup has a good point. Always check the ground losses after a CV battle and you can tell if a CV has had a bad day. One thing I note, In the animation you will see critical hits that are not displayed in the Combat Reporter. So "Crtical Hit: Ammo Explosion Heavy Fires, Heavy Damage" is a good sign that ship will burn over 2 or 3 days. A single torp into a CVL without a critical hit is going to be some time in the "pen," but I doubt you have her sunk.

But .. great use of the Dutch subs! They do not have the duds like the USN [;)]

[John B.]

Not much to report this go round. It's January 14, 1942. I've sunk a couple of ships with my subs over the past few days. For some reason, his SS off of San Francisco have the range on my YP ASW task forces as he's blown three of them out of the water.

I did get a little greedy and tried to sneak a tanker/AKL task force into Palembang to suck up some fuel for Perth. He found them and the next day sent in the Nells. I had one squadron of Buffaloes and he learned the hard way that Nells don't do too well against any type of fighter. Then I learned the hard way that merchant ships don't do too well against torpedoes. I lost 5 ships he lost about 15 planes. Then, the next day, he was back and sent in a zero sweep that shot down 8 buffaloes for no loss. [:(] My ships had left and were hiding in thunderstorms as they headed south. I won't be trying that again any time soon.

In the PI he is maintaining his steady bombing and bombardment of Manila. Since that was an open city on January 2, 1942 I figure I'm ahead of the game. He has now cleared out Malaya and stands on the brink of Singapore. I have 64K supply (and flying more in) so it may be awhile until he takes that one. He's cleaning up the small dutch islands and we're pushing each other in China. It seems that he's moved most of his planes from China to Malaya and PI as there have been some truly impressive air raids there the past few days and not much in china.

so, today's questions.

1. I just noticed that the US actually has some say over its production and I admit that I don't understand it. Is there any sense as to whether or not it makes sense to change the pre-set production?

2. I see in the airplane production that there is (a) replacement rate and (b) production rate. What is the replacement rate? Is it how many planes you can replace per month provided you have the supply to do so? And, why is the production rate so low for planes?

3. I had a number of ASW patrols out with two ships in each one but noticed that only one ship would attack in any one combat so I've switched to single ship ASW task forces. Is this a better system?

Thanks to one and all.

[koniu]

2. I see in the airplane production that there is (a) replacement rate and (b) production rate. What is the replacement rate? Is it how many planes you can replace per month provided you have the supply to do so? And, why is the production rate so low for planes?

I think that production i referring to Japanese player because only he can manage production of planes, as you are playing allies you do not have to produce planes (there are only few small factories on WC.) Planes will arrive to the pool with designed rate. So if you have 30 replacement rate that mean you will have 30 new planes in one month (~1 per day)

On beginning allies have small numbers of new planes but with time when US economy will kick of, there will be so many of them that you will have problem what to do with them. Numbers will start grow in `43

I have never play allies before so i can be wrong.

[DOCUP]

Koniu is right, Allies get a set number of planes. There is no prodution for the Allies. Some of the more exp players can tell how the production screen works for the Allies. I'm not for sure, so I don't want to tell you wrong.

ASW, i think they are workin on that or it was fixed in a mod. MichaelM works so fast with the beta updates I can't keep up with them. I personally use 4 ship ASW TFs, with air ASW (if I can). In my current game, Im not sure how it's working. Ask koniu. Lol. YPs are not good for ASW in my opinon. Vary your convey routes also have them follow a 4 ship ASW TF out of the area. Set some AC on ASW.

Don't let your opponet ask Koniu about air raids. His AF is killer. I can't find a way to deal with them. I don't think I have seen an uncoordinated strike yet.

Sounds like your doing pretty well

[koniu]

ASW in early stage of game is mostly trying to catch bunny wit poor result.
Early ASW is poor for both sides so you main goal should be focusing on ASW training. You main job for ASW duties of yor ASW TF`s is to pull of enemy subs from Cargo TF and force them to waste torps on SC`s and PB`s. they are hard to hit and time to time they will score some sub hits.

Also try to avoid shallow waters with your own subs

[modrow]

John B,

ORIGINAL: John B.

1. I just noticed that the US actually has some say over its production and I admit that I don't understand it. Is there any sense as to whether or not it makes sense to change the pre-set production?

Manual 13.0:

When the Production System is on, Japan can control all elements of their industry (aircraft, armaments, shipbuilding, fuel refining, supplies, etc.). The Japanese can expand and convert their factories whereas the Allies cannot.

When the Production System is on, the Allies are allowed certain on-map production of aircraft, supplies, and fuel along with having repair shipyards, but since most Allied material was going to Europe, and most production was off-map, most Allied material arrives through the Build Rate/Replacement System (which brings items into the replacement pools on a regular basis from off-map areas)

What you can do is disable upgrades if you like to keep a given plane type in production. Some players did it AFAIK to prevent a Mitchell upgrade to a type that was not useful due to some bug, but I think that has been fixed, so there may be no reason for it any more.

2. I see in the airplane production that there is (a) replacement rate and (b) production rate. What is the replacement rate? Is it how many planes you can replace per month provided you have the supply to do so? And, why is the production rate so low for planes?

Manual, 5.1.3.3:

The difference between Production and Replacement is that Production refers to on-map sources, while Replacement refers to off-map sources. Apart from this distinction, once the aircraft enter the pool, the aircraft are called “replacements”...

The Replacement Rate is the total monthly production rate from off-map sources. This is the expected number of planes that will be delivered to the Replacement Pool each month. When Japanese production is on, Japanese replacement rate is usually zero.
The Production Rate is the total monthly production rate of all the on board factories. Assuming they have the required factors to operate at 100%, this is the expected number of planes that will be delivered to the Replacement Pool each month.

Re. numbers: playing Allies, you are essentially stuck with historical numbers as established by the development team. Subject to many complaints by AFBs, who think they should get a) more to play with and b) argue that if the Japanese would have expanded productionwise and mapwise, Allied priorities may have shifted, leading to an influx of material from other theatres.

Hope this helps

Hartwig

[Crackaces]

Re. numbers: playing Allies, you are essentially stuck with historical numbers as established by the development team. Subject to many complaints by AFBs, who think they should get a) more to play with and b) argue that if the Japanese would have expanded productionwise and mapwise, Allied priorities may have shifted, leading to an influx of material from other theatres.

+1

Especally in the scenario #2 situation. [;)]

The big beef I have is withdrawals .. Here the IJ are a comin' and the units are set to withdraw. The PP's to keep the forces in theater are ridiculous so .. its psyche! You only thought you had forces to resist!

On the other hand the Allies get soooo much stuff in 1944 the point seems moot. Just let the LYBFB's have thier way and give 'em hell in '44 !

[John B.]

Thanks everyone, this is all very helpful. I just continue to live in fear of the KB and I think that's a healthy fear to have.

BTW, I've found that the sound effects can give you a good clue as to whether or not you sink something.

[Crackaces]

ORIGINAL: John B.

Thanks everyone, this is all very helpful. I just continue to live in fear of the KB and I think that's a healthy fear to have.

BTW, I've found that the sound effects can give you a good clue as to whether or not you sink something.

Yes .. the animations give one piece of data and the combat reports provide differnt kinds of data. I put them both together to get a picture of the turn.