Bird War Two, Emu Against The Chicken (No poultry Allowed).

[DivePac88]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: DivePac88
... I had planned to build a small presents on Christmas Is, as I fallback for Canton.
...

[:D] Good one!

There goes my spelling/grammar again.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: DivePac88

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

Des,

Checking In.  Sorry to see that you have gone over to the "dark side".  [;)]  Even so, I will be in the corner kibitzing.  [8D]

Hi there Pax, good to hear you mate, and excellent to have you're experience on-board. I'm sorry to have deserted the empire, but I needed to feel the grass on the other side. [;)]

Ach, I know. Heard that it was greener over there. No worries. We'll hoist a few schooners at the end and bring you back over for your next game!



Cheers!

[ny59giants]

From Pearl, send a Support TF of 3 AVDs to the South Pacific. They can move up to the Luganville or lower Solomons to support a 12 plane PBY group. Since they are destroyers, they can get out quick enough.

China - I move a Corp from Chungking that you divide to cover the western bases. Once that happens, I move the few Chinese troops that you can use PP to India for rebuilding. You should have enough Chinese in China without them and you can build up three powerful Chinese Corps. There may some more Chinese around Tuyan and maybe another in the interior that could use PPs.

Java - the Dutch Do-214 FP can upgrade to Dutch PBY-5s. I do so for half.

[DivePac88]

Thanks for the info Michael,

Question on the Dutch Do-214s for you; do use use some of the on low-level naval attack, as that was use on me once, and they did score some hits.

I would like to run my carrier doctrine passed you Michael (and anyone who would care to comment; As you know my carrier warfare experience and doctrines in this game is mainly from the Japanese side, an therefore offensive in concept. So now that I am directing the USN air combat TFs, it is only natural that I will still want to use similar offensive doctrines.

I have been reviewing the USN carrier air-groups for the last few days, and have come up with a different system than the one you proposed to me. It’s not that I think there is anything wrong, with your concept of reinforcing your carrier fighter strength with USMC F4F groups. Because your Tactical concept is different than mine, and you therefore need to configure you carrier air-groups for that mission profile.

For the first 6 months of the campaign my carriers will be used for ‘tip and run’ raids only, and only when I know for certain where KB is, and not anywhere near it. So for me the ideal mission configuration is the 27x F4F for self-defence and escort, 36x SBD for search and strike, and the 15x TBD for ASW and strike. This configuration also means; that I have room for spares and can use the carriers for air-transport of air-groups to outer-Islands (very useful at this stage).

This also means that I can deploy USMC F4F/ SBD groups to outer-islands, and hopefully get a chance to attrite some of KBs pilots. In July the the F4F air-groups increase to 36, and the TBD’s increase to 18, which along with 36 SBDs and spares is an ideal air-group for taking on part of KB. That's the plan anyway, I am confident it is the best operational doctrine for my style of play. Well see what you think of it all, and of course time tell.

[ny59giants]

You can use the Dutch Do-214s for naval attacks and the PBYs for naval search missions. The Do-214s carry 300kg bombs which are nice "when" they hit. [:D]

I go for the Marine fighters for survivability. You have Buffalos and the earlier models of the F4F before the F4F-4s come out in numbers. Until the re-sizing in July you need the number to survive, IMO. By early Jan '42, you should have 4 American CVs that have a capacity of 90 planes each, but I overstack to close to 100 (stay below the 115% threshold). I like having 180 fighters to go into harms way. I like to send a small BF and construction engineer to Penryhn (between Christmas Island and Pago Pago to allow planes to ferry from Line Islands to South Pacific, if Canton Island falls.

Once you get the F4F-4 and then the TBF-Avenger that allows you to get in a sword fight vs a knife fight with the 4 hex torpedo range of the old TBs. During a brief time in May to July you can have 5 American heavy, plus Wasp. Add in the 3 Brit CVs. That will put you over 550 carrier planes. Sweet!! [:D]

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

You can use the Dutch Do-214s for naval attacks and the PBYs for naval search missions. The Do-214s carry 300kg bombs which are nice "when" they hit. [:D]

I go for the Marine fighters for survivability. You have Buffalos and the earlier models of the F4F before the F4F-4s come out in numbers. Until the re-sizing in July you need the number to survive, IMO. By early Jan '42, you should have 4 American CVs that have a capacity of 90 planes each, but I overstack to close to 100 (stay below the 115% threshold). I like having 180 fighters to go into harms way. I like to send a small BF and construction engineer to Penryhn (between Christmas Island and Pago Pago to allow planes to ferry from Line Islands to South Pacific, if Canton Island falls.

Once you get the F4F-4 and then the TBF-Avenger that allows you to get in a sword fight vs a knife fight with the 4 hex torpedo range of the old TBs. During a brief time in May to July you can have 5 American heavy, plus Wasp. Add in the 3 Brit CVs. That will put you over 550 carrier planes. Sweet!! [:D]

Speaking of Penryn Island, it gets a USN Port Service company as a reinforcement around Jan. 2/42. This is very helpful for unloading supply/troops/equipment. Since you have to either rescue them from the supply-less island or bring them supply, it is just as easy to send air support as to evacuate the island.

About the TBDs, in addition to the 4 hex range limit, they seem to be so overloaded with a torp that they will only take off if the weather is really good. [:@]On many occasions I had a Jap BB SCTF within 4 hexes and only the SBDs and fighters took off. A few bomb hits on the BBs but they get away. [:(]

[sprior]

The thing with scenario 2 is that the Japanese players get cocky so you have to keep an eye on when you can strike back. Have alook at mine and the Cap's AAR for when we got lucky.

Some of the things you can do:

1. Wait until they take Palembang then bomb the crap out of it with your Dutch uglofortresses
2. keep PoW and Repulse in DEI and sally forth to sink poorly escorted convoys
3. They will go for Darwin, reinforce Ambon as a breakwater but be prepared to lose whatever you put there
4. Don't count on keeping Tahiti, they can take it but they have to take New Caledonia first, again it's a breakwater and you will probably pose what you put there.

Mostly, just have fun.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: sprior

The thing with scenario 2 is that the Japanese players get cocky so you have to keep an eye on when you can strike back. Have alook at mine and the Cap's AAR for when we got lucky.

I must have missed the description of that in your 10,000 post AAR. Can you narrow it down a bit? Which Bali Hai club was it at? Or was it Kandy House?[;)]

[DivePac88]

HI sprior old chap, some great tips there thanks.

I will use them all, apart from POW which I want as an escort for the Brit flight-decks.

[DivePac88]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: sprior

The thing with scenario 2 is that the Japanese players get cocky so you have to keep an eye on when you can strike back. Have alook at mine and the Cap's AAR for when we got lucky.

I must have missed the description of that in your 10,000 post AAR. Can you narrow it down a bit? Which Bali Hai club was it at? Or was it Kandy House?[;)]

I've got the same problem as you BB, hey sprior I can't your AAR either! [&:]

[BBfanboy]

Sprior is in cahoots with Cap Mandrake in the "Bring Me the Head of the Mayor of Diego Garcia ...etc." AAR. Very entertaining but you would need to search to find the lucky action he mentions. The two Admirals made a lot of that luck with uncanny estimates of what they could get away with in dicey circumstances.

[DivePac88]

Thanks BB, on my way there now. [&o]

[DivePac88]

Just an update on this game, Andre is back from his Christmas break, and beginning to work-up the turn, so I should have turn 1 in here in a few days. We Skype'd this morning just to iron the spirit/HRs of the game out, and made two changes to the OOB data base.

The changes are; that I get 15 B25B's a month from the start, till the C model comes in the 8/42. The other was a OOB mistake I spotted with the Japanese 21st KuT-1/21st Kut-1 Det, which starts at Osaka. It had an error in that the 22nd KuT-1 Det which arrives in 1942, was attached to the 21st KuT-1 and would have caused problem with replacement airframes/pilots.

Cheers Des.

[sprior]

Here's a good place to start:

tm.asp?m=2341315&mpage=10&key=

tm.asp?m=2341315&mpage=20&key=

The other 337 pages is mostly drivel.

Bear in mind that your fowl opponent is a regulat contributor and has seen this all.

[DivePac88]

CB kindly sent me the combat replay while he works-up the 2nd turn, and I’ve run it so I’ve now also got the combat-report. It is a bit of a surprise as he has opened with KB raiding Manila, while I’ve seen it in other games, but never used it myself. But the end result this time is that most of the shipping in Manila is on the bottom, or at the least heavily damaged.

So I have to figure now that most of my USN Pacific Subrons are devastated, and revise some of my strategies. Whereas the USN subs weren't very effective hunters early in the war, because of their faulty torpedoes. They do provide some excellent intelligence on enemy shipping/convoy movements early in the war, particularly his CV’s and BB’s.

Also I’ve been able to pin-down his flightdeck distribution from the combat-report, which I’ll think about for a few days to workout his possible strategies.

So they are;
5 x CV (KB?) in South China Sea west of Manila, with a strike package of 88 x A6M2, 90 x B5N2, 101 x D3A1.
1x CV (Kaga?) in Philippine Sea east of Manila, with a strike package of 18 x A6M2, 27 x B5N2, 27 x D3A1.
1x CVL ( Ryujo) in Philippine Sea east of Mindanao, with a strike package of 24 x B5N2.
1x CVE ( Taiyo) in Philippine Sea southeast of Mindanao, with a strike package of 9 x B5N2.

CB also hit the Port of Manila with IJNAF LBA from Formosa, and apart from a naval bombardment at Iba, has hit none of the Luzon airfields. So my air power on Luzon is still mainly intact, but not for long I suspect. But my intern plan is for the Luzon fighter force to fight and die here, taking as many sons of Nippon with them as possible. While my B-17 force will launch a few spoiling raids on ports, then leave for similar targets from the DEI, and my PBY force will come strait away.

Well that's about it till I get the turn and put out a full report on the damage, to view the combat-report just click on the attachment.

[DivePac88]

Here is a Screenshot of the situation off Luzon, and what a think is the positions of his Carriers-

[BBfanboy]

Your assessment of carrier distribution seems very accurate to me.
I wonder if he is planning on landing at Iba with the intention of marching quickly to take Clark Field nearly undamaged and to prevent Bataan from being reinforced or built up? The units cut off in the north would not be a threat to him.

[DivePac88]

Yes thanks BB, I've got the working turn back now and it confirms what we thought. I also think from his distribution of flattops, I can discern some of his operational strategy. So it would appear that CB intends the main body of KB to operate further west into the South China Sea (and maybe even the Java Sea), while Kaga and probably the other CVL's will initially operate in the Pacific. With maybe the Kaga force, and/or the CVE's putting in an appearance to cover his jump onto Ambon in the Southern DEI.

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: DivePac88

Here is a Screenshot of the situation off Luzon, and what a think is the positions of his Carriers-

Ah...yes. The well-known Olongapo Vise Move. Very dangerous. Good luck getting ships out of Manila (other than 30 kt combatants and subs).

The good news is your P-40's and 17's at Pearl live to fight another day. Not to mention BB's for bombardment purposes later.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: DivePac88

Here is a Screenshot of the situation off Luzon, and what a think is the positions of his Carriers-

With CVs on both sides searching eagerly for victims among the maze of islands, this is the time to send some of your surviving ships to the north of Luzon. I know of a couple of posters who have managed to sneak some ships out this way. There is not much to detect them in the Bonins or at Marcus at game start. If they do bump into his convoys and he send Kaga et al after them, that leaves some chance for others to try the island route to the SE.