Allied AI vs Fulkerson

[larryfulkerson]

So um.......hey you guys: I thought maybe while I was waiting for some moves from my opponent that I'd play the Japs against the Allied AI in scenario 1 and maybe even do a short AAR to sort of document and describe what a new guy runs into during the game in the way of questions and questional decision making. To maybe help out other new guys that are going to get into the same situation. I thought I'd play the Japs because I'm really fishing for comments by you experts out there to make pronouncements about better ways of doing things and stuff to watch out for etc.

I want to play a realistic game with all the preferences turned on / off to enable that except for the PDU which I'd rather have "on". I'd really like to cover at least the major questions that a new guy would run into so as to be a useful AAR for us new guys. I'm hoping to get a lot of advice and direction when I go astray, which will probably be pretty often. At least at first. I'm learning too.

I plan on a strategic advance in every possible direction: Burma, Alaska, SRA, Australia, South Pacific, etc. so as to cover all the possible places to advance. I think maybe against the AI it might be possible to pull it off whereas against a human opponent it might be considered risky and or impossible.

I've already started the game and here's the Pearl Harbour strike results:


Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 72 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 23 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 68
B5N2 Kate x 144
D3A1 Val x 126



Allied aircraft
P-36A Mohawk x 2
P-40B Warhawk x 2


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 4 damaged
A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed by flak
B5N2 Kate: 3 damaged
D3A1 Val: 3 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
P-36A Mohawk: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
P-36A Mohawk: 4 destroyed on ground
P-40B Warhawk: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
P-40B Warhawk: 20 destroyed on ground
B-18A Bolo: 4 destroyed on ground
B-17D Fortress: 4 destroyed on ground
PBY-5 Catalina: 16 destroyed on ground
O-47A: 2 destroyed on ground
C-33: 1 destroyed on ground
A-20A Havoc: 2 destroyed on ground
SNJ-3 Texan: 1 destroyed on ground
B-17E Fortress: 3 destroyed on ground
SBD-1 Dauntless: 6 destroyed on ground
F4F-3 Wildcat: 3 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 14, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA New Orleans, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
BB Tennessee, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
BB Nevada, Bomb hits 7, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB California, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Maryland, Bomb hits 8, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Pennsylvania, Bomb hits 8, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Arizona, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
CL Raleigh, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AK Alchiba, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
BB West Virginia, Bomb hits 8, Torpedo hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Detroit, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Phoenix, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Chew, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AE Mauna Loa, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CA San Francisco, Bomb hits 3, on fire
CL St. Louis, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AR Vestal, Bomb hits 1
DD Cummings, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
DMS Zane, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DMS Wasmuth, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AG Aries, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DMS Trevor, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Honolulu, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Tucker, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
AV Curtiss, Torpedo hits 1
AV Wright, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Helena, Bomb hits 1
PC Taney, Bomb hits 1
DD Worden, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP St. Mihel, Bomb hits 1, on fire
PC Tiger, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
DD Monaghan, Bomb hits 1
SS Dolphin, Bomb hits 1
DD Ralph Talbot, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AVD Hulbert, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DM Montgomery, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
AV Tangier, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
ACM Buttress, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Reid, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Conyngham, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
SS Tautog, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage


Allied ground losses:
5 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Airbase hits 49
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 114

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the aircraft losses for 7Dec41:

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the ships sunk so far:

Notice that POW and Repulse are listed as sunk also. Jap airpower caught them out in the open and lowered the hammer on them.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's my first question: In the event that the midget subs don't get killed is it possilbe to reload them on the midget sub carrier and take them back to a friendly port so as to refuel them? I'm asking because in my game with Rob I've conveyed a midget sub to Port Moresby and sailed into the harbour to find the base empty . I have just enough fuel left to sail 1 hex back out to sea where the carrier awaits still. I'm hoping I can reload that bad boy back on the carrier and take it to, say Truk, where I plan to drop it off, dock it, and refuel / rearm it.

Cool?

Here's how the attack went at Davo:

Morning Air attack on Davao , at 79,91

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 10 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B5N1 Kate x 12



No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AVD William B. Preston, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Mauban, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Montanes, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires

Port hits 1

[larryfulkerson]

I'm particularly encouraged by the results of the alpha strike on Alor Star. I happened to catch a lot of planes on the ground and damaged / killed them.

Morning Air attack on Alor Star , at 49,73

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 3,200 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 52



Allied aircraft
no flights

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim I: 26 damaged
Blenheim I: 2 destroyed on ground


Allied ground losses:
5 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Airbase hits 17
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 51

[larryfulkerson]

I was a little discouraged by the results of the Hong Kong strike. There was no Alllied damage listed and I lost a plane. I kind of wanted to expedite the fall of Hong Kong because I find I get a lot of utility out of Honky town in my game w/ Rob. Here's the strike highlights:


Morning Air attack on Hong Kong Fortress, at 77,61 (Hong Kong)

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 116 NM, estimated altitude 21,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 40 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 7
Ki-36 Ida x 27
Ki-44 Tojo x 6
Ki-51 Sonia x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-36 Ida: 1 destroyed by flak

[larryfulkerson]

Also, there was some aerial action at Wake Island. I'm hoping to kaput the Allied air effort there pretty quickly.

Morning Air attack on Wake Island , at 136,98

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 27



Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 4


Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged
G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 4 damaged
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed on ground

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 21

[larryfulkerson]

I bombarded Midway Island with a couple of DD's and absolutely nothing came of it. I'm going to have to bring in heavier guns to damage anything it seems.


Naval bombardment of Midway Island at 158,91

Japanese Ships
DD Ushio
DD Sazanami

DD Ushio firing at Midway Island
DD Sazanami firing at Midway Island

[larryfulkerson]

There was some good news from Kota Bharu in that all 38 of the Allied coastal guns missed, hitting none of my invading ships. Losses from unloading over the beach were unremarkable and the landing happened as expected:


Pre-Invasion action off Kota Bharu (51,75)

38 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
CL Sendai
DD Ayanami
DD Shikinami
DD Uranami
PB Tatsumiya Maru
SC Ch 9
SC Ch 7
AK Sasako Maru

Japanese ground losses:
56 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
5 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

CL Sendai firing at 8th Indian Brigade
DD Ayanami firing at 8th Indian Brigade
DD Shikinami firing at 8th Indian Brigade
DD Uranami firing at 8th Indian Brigade
PB Tatsumiya Maru fired at enemy troops
SC Ch 9 fired at enemy troops
SC Ch 7 fired at enemy troops
DD Ayanami fired at enemy troops
DD Shikinami fired at enemy troops
DD Uranami fired at enemy troops
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 5,000 yards
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 1,000 yards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amphibious Assault at Kota Bharu (51,75)

TF 85 troops unloading over beach at Kota Bharu, 51,75

Japanese ground losses:
51 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

18 troops of a IJA Engineer Squad accidentally lost during unload of 12th Engr Rgt
18 troops of a IJA Engineer Squad lost in surf during unload of 12th Engr Rgt
18 troops of a IJA Engineer Squad accidentally lost during unload of 12th Engr Rgt
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Kota Bharu (51,75)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 3410 troops, 36 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 137

Defending force 4732 troops, 41 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 169

Allied ground losses:
8 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
FMSV Brigade
8th Indian Brigade
3rd ISF Base Force

Defending units:
12th Engineer Regiment
56th Infantry Rgt /1
5th JAAF AF Coy


From the combat results I deduce that I don't have much of a land AV advantage and that more assets might be called for. I say that because my opposition isn't the pushover Chinese or Philipineo but the seasoned British proxy and it might behove me to ship in more AV to avoid any unnecessary losses.

[larryfulkerson]

And it almost goes without saying that the Japs captured Batan Island:


Ground combat at Batan Island (85,70)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 1469 troops, 19 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 69

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0

Japanese adjusted assault: 57

Allied adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 57 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Batan Island !!!

Combat modifiers
Attacker: shock(+)

Assaulting units:
Sasebo 1st SNLF
24th JAAF AF Bn

[larryfulkerson]

Now that all the combat results are out of the way, let's talk about the Jap economy for a bit. I'm doing pretty good on oil and resources so far.

I cranked up Tracker ( v. 1.9 ) and here's the economic picture about the aforementioned assets:




So with a year's worth of oil and about 2 months worth of resources I figure I have enough time to do some snatch and grabbing of those things from other places
and bring them to the Home Islands.

What do you guys think about importing those assets from Port Arthur? It's not that far away, I've got the AK's and TK's to do the job and I'm thinking I can import
about another year's worth of both oil and resources from there to the HI.

[larryfulkerson]

Tracker says I have a couple of sub chasers due to arrive in late Dec 41 and a CVL a month after that with bright new shiny paint.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the Merchant Production:



I'm thinking of turning a lot of the Merchant Production off because it's not especially needed except there's some TK's, CVE's etc. that I'd like to keep going.

On the other hand I could just let it all produce as it might be useful in the late war period. What's the consensus?

[larryfulkerson]

I was surprised to find that I already have some ships to repair. I'm surprised because these ships didn't see any action yet.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the production figures for Jap Army planes. It looks like I may need to ramp up the output a lot because I plan on losing a bunch of them.

What's a good figure to shoot for as output, do you guys think?

[larryfulkerson]

I don't plan on changing the output of Jap Navy planes a whole lot, because I don't anticipate having a lot of Naval Air action taking place anytime soon.

If the situation changes I'll ramp up the production accordingly.

Or should I build up the pool now before it's needed?

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

Here's the aircraft losses for 7Dec41:

Larry,

Funny what happens to guys with time on their hands. [;)]

So you know about FOW. Take those allied losses and divide by 2. maybe more.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

I'm particularly encouraged by the results of the alpha strike on Alor Star. I happened to catch a lot of planes on the ground and damaged / killed them.


Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim I: 26 damaged
Blenheim I: 2 destroyed on ground

Remember that a/c can be damaged many time before being destroyed. So the damaged count is always WAY inflated. The better way to read that is "a blenheim bomber was damaged as the result of an attack 26 times, and of those 2 were destroyed." Even that isn't perfect due to FOW.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

What do you guys think about importing those assets from Port Arthur? It's not that far away, I've got the AK's and TK's to do the job and I'm thinking I can import
about another year's worth of both oil and resources from there to the HI.

You can't take oil from China/MAN, if you do, you will starve the HI and refineries there.

Resources, yes. BUt your biggest resource flow is from Hokkaido. You need to get that up and running ASAP.

[larryfulkerson]

Thanks for your input PaxMondo dude. I completely forgot about FOW and how it might effect the combat stats. And I was forgetting how one plane can be damaged 26 times etc. D'oh.