Command Decisions: Yeomen vs. Samurai RA 6.4

[FOW]

That was a very effective PH air raid. All the BBs appear to need extensive drydock time.
I did notice the PBY squadrons took a lot of damaged airframes; they'll take a fair time to repair and limit your naval search for the rest of the month.
Will there be a Day 2 strike?

My comments above are based on DBB and vanilla games, not tried RA. WITPQS makes some valid points. I've used East Coast - Cape Town - Oz route because of pressures in the Pacific from Japanese forces. Your mileage may vary depending on the actions of JohnIII. However it's still a good idea to move the surplus xAPs and largest tankers to the West Coast.

[moore4807]

SigInt December 7th 1941

3/21st Infantry Regiment is loaded on a Japanese xAKL moving to Kuantan.
3rd RTA Division is located at Ubon(62,63).
III./124th Infantry Battalion is planning for an attack on Singkawang.
23rd Fld AA Gun Co is located at Niigata(114,57).
Radio transmissions detected at Babeldaob (90,97).
11/90th Infantry Regiment is planning for an attack on Davao.
5/15th Base Force is loaded on a Std-C Cargo class xAK moving to Manus.
Heavy Volume of Radio transmissions detected at 68,65.
III./4th Infantry Battalion is loaded on a Aden Cargo class xAK moving to Jaluit.
Radio transmissions detected at Mishan (114,42).
7/Kimura Det is loaded on a Japanese xAK moving to Cotabato.
Radio transmissions detected at 135,123.
5/Kanno Det is loaded on a Japanese xAK moving to Vigan.
55th Engineer Regiment is located at Cam Ranh Bay(64,72).
13th Division is located at Hankow(85,50).
21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion is planning for an attack on Tavoy.
Heavy Volume of Radio transmissions detected at Ominato (119,54).
116th Division is located at Shanghai(92,55).
13th JNAF AF Unit is located at Matsue(107,57).
9th Infantry Regiment is loaded on a Japanese xAP moving to Legaspi.

[moore4807]

ORIGINAL: FOW

That was a very effective PH air raid. All the BBs appear to need extensive drydock time.
I did notice the PBY squadrons took a lot of damaged airframes; they'll take a fair time to repair and limit your naval search for the rest of the month.
Will there be a Day 2 strike?

My comments above are based on DBB and vanilla games, not tried RA. WITPQS makes some valid points. I've used East Coast - Cape Town - Oz route because of pressures in the Pacific from Japanese forces. Your mileage may vary depending on the actions of JohnIII. However it's still a good idea to move the surplus xAPs and largest tankers to the West Coast.

FOW - thanks for the input...

I think John3rd will positively attack on day two, the sheer number of damaged planes and ships and the chance to finish them off is too great a temptation. My other note is the Japanese have gotten almost TOO good at Pearl Harbor... I am NOT complaining, some of the prior PH results were almost insulting to the Japanese player, but its close to being too much damage... <takes AFB hat off>

Establishing the "Gas Station/Grocery Store" base between CONUS and Australia will be paramount to keeping Australia in the fight. All of the advice seems to say to stay south of Pago Pago, my only concern is that makes me build TWO bases from the get-go Christmas Is. and Tahiti (for example) because of the distances involved and the reduced capacity. I figure Larry can do the CS supply runs to the East Coast without my help and take what he needs to Capetown and then Perth...

I have to salvage what I can from Manila, and pretty much back Larry's play and help him however he needs... I may just send the Manila subs to Gas Station/Grocery Store (where ever that end up being) and try to get an AR & ARD down there for repairs.

[witpqs]

Oh - I forgot. Players use various routes to get the sans-escort merchants and transports back to the West Coast. If you choose to send any ships via Port Stanley (Falklands) then make sure you send fuel there to meet them.

[moore4807]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

Oh - I forgot. Players use various routes to get the sans-escort merchants and transports back to the West Coast. If you choose to send any ships via Port Stanley (Falklands) then make sure you send fuel there to meet them.

witpqs - thanks, but that is (or seems to be) exactly what I'm concerned with, If I'm going South to go East, AND I have to bring fuel there too... Isn't it simply better to "Go West young man" and accept some losses? Larry can freely send CS TF's to his hearts content between Capetown and the East Coast, and If I can get 40K of fuel and 30K of supply monthly to "Gas Station/Grocery Store" (again where ever we decide to put it) Then I'm thinking (clearly I hope) that it will be enough to keep Sydney/Brisbane supplied. And for resources in the new mod did anyone see how much New Zealand has to offer?

I'm not dismissing your observation, just trying to see how it fits in with my early gameplan... (that NEVER survives contact with the enemy!)

[moore4807]

"It looked a little like this..."

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: moore4807

ORIGINAL: witpqs

Oh - I forgot. Players use various routes to get the sans-escort merchants and transports back to the West Coast. If you choose to send any ships via Port Stanley (Falklands) then make sure you send fuel there to meet them.

witpqs - thanks, but that is (or seems to be) exactly what I'm concerned with, If I'm going South to go East, AND I have to bring fuel there too... Isn't it simply better to "Go West young man" and accept some losses? Larry can freely send CS TF's to his hearts content between Capetown and the East Coast, and If I can get 40K of fuel and 30K of supply monthly to "Gas Station/Grocery Store" (again where ever we decide to put it) Then I'm thinking (clearly I hope) that it will be enough to keep Sydney/Brisbane supplied. And for resources in the new mod did anyone see how much New Zealand has to offer?

I'm not dismissing your observation, just trying to see how it fits in with my early gameplan... (that NEVER survives contact with the enemy!)

I'm not referring to the logistics of bringing stuff forward, I agree that Port Stanley would only help with that in dire circumstances. I am only referring to bringing home those many, many Allied ships that begin the game in Australia, New Zealand, and other places South Pacific. How many losses they take on a more direct route is always up in the air. If J-III pays it lots of attention (as NYG59 says J-III loves to kill ships), then you might face many subs and added surface raiders. Losses could be high.

The trade-off is that it takes much longer to send ships 'home' via Cape Town and Port Stanley (depending upon where they start). On the gripping hand, if you don't have scads of stuff to ship out so early, and certainly have too few escorts, then you are not giving up much.

Anyhow, I am not trying to steer you in that direction, only point out a pitfall so that if you send ships there then you must also send fuel.

[moore4807]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

I'm not referring to the logistics of bringing stuff forward, I agree that Port Stanley would only help with that in dire circumstances. I am only referring to bringing home those many, many Allied ships that begin the game in Australia, New Zealand, and other places South Pacific. How many losses they take on a more direct route is always up in the air. If J-III pays it lots of attention (as NYG59 says J-III loves to kill ships), then you might face many subs and added surface raiders. Losses could be high.

The trade-off is that it takes much longer to send ships 'home' via Cape Town and Port Stanley (depending upon where they start). On the gripping hand, if you don't have scads of stuff to ship out so early, and certainly have too few escorts, then you are not giving up much.

Anyhow, I am not trying to steer you in that direction, only point out a pitfall so that if you send ships there then you must also send fuel.

Fair enough - I wasn't trying to pin anything on you, I'm sorta musing on here... <grin> Your points are valid and I do appreciate your input and advice. ny59giants does indeed have a long history with John3rd and I believe what he says is true... What to do indeed!

Agree or disagree folks... The traditional US forces reinforce Midway and create a supply lane for shipping to Australia... Now depending on what John3rd does in his attack this is what I'm imagining the first six months will be for the US forces.
Commentary?

[witpqs]

Commentary?

Yah. [:)]

First, I am not reading J-III's AAR, so I can be loose with my so-called advice. [:D]

Second, by reading this post you agree to hold harmless this poster for any and all past, present, and future advice on this or any other topic in the known, unknown, or imaginary universe(s), regardless of the quality or likely lack thereof of said advice, or unsaid advice. Remember that an imaginary victory is just as good as a real victory if you try really, really hard to believe. And always bring a towel when you travel.

OK, I presume that J-III will go for Midway. I don't know if he will bring a sledge hammer or just a hammer. But if he brings only a hammer and you have enough there to hold on then he will just bring more and take the place anyway. How will you use that to your advantage? The answer to that question might influence if and how you defend Midway.

Regarding the supply line to Australia, create more than one line of defense/transit, with the idea being that it is hard to know where he will stop. He might even be flexible depending upon how battles go early on, so he might not yet know where he will stop. Look at the islands in the southern part of the map and figure out which ones you will get some engineers to. For example, if all available engineers are on Fiji and he takes it, then you are stuck. Have a couple of fallback positions.

Many people say they like the Cape Town to Perth route to supply Australia. I find it a bit exposed unless you hold lots of built-up bases up there (which would be later on). If you must use Cape Town -> Australia, then you probably want to send stuff to Melbourne. YMMV more than usual on this one.

BTW, in Babes and I suppose in RA, India needs to have a whole lot of supply continually sent to it so as to support any offensive operations in Burma. This means if you want to send supply from Cape Town to Australia, you will have to replace that supply at Cape Town so you can send the needed supply to India. That would be where East Coast/UK/Canada come in.

Regarding the civilian shipping that needs to find its way home, it just might befuddle the heck out of J-III if he can't get a fix on much of it. If the shipping is of limited use in the early weeks, you might consider sending it the long way(s) home just to keep him guessing and moving assets around trying to find it. Just a possibility.

I am not at all an expert on J-III as an opponent. I am listening to NYG59 and others on J-III's affinity for killing ships. We all have our own likes and dislikes in this game. If that is one of his, then you might be able to leverage it to your benefit from time to time.

[moore4807]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

Commentary?

Yah. [:)]

First, I am not reading J-III's AAR, so I can be loose with my so-called advice. [:D]

Second, by reading this post you agree to hold harmless this poster for any and all past, present, and future advice on this or any other topic in the known, unknown, or imaginary universe(s), regardless of the quality or likely lack thereof of said advice, or unsaid advice. Remember that an imaginary victory is just as good as a real victory if you try really, really hard to believe. And always bring a towel when you travel.

OK, I presume that J-III will go for Midway. I don't know if he will bring a sledge hammer or just a hammer. But if he brings only a hammer and you have enough there to hold on then he will just bring more and take the place anyway. How will you use that to your advantage? The answer to that question might influence if and how you defend Midway.

Regarding the supply line to Australia, create more than one line of defense/transit, with the idea being that it is hard to know where he will stop. He might even be flexible depending upon how battles go early on, so he might not yet know where he will stop. Look at the islands in the southern part of the map and figure out which ones you will get some engineers to. For example, if all available engineers are on Fiji and he takes it, then you are stuck. Have a couple of fallback positions.

Many people say they like the Cape Town to Perth route to supply Australia. I find it a bit exposed unless you hold lots of built-up bases up there (which would be later on). If you must use Cape Town -> Australia, then you probably want to send stuff to Melbourne. YMMV more than usual on this one.

BTW, in Babes and I suppose in RA, India needs to have a whole lot of supply continually sent to it so as to support any offensive operations in Burma. This means if you want to send supply from Cape Town to Australia, you will have to replace that supply at Cape Town so you can send the needed supply to India. That would be where East Coast/UK/Canada come in.

Regarding the civilian shipping that needs to find its way home, it just might befuddle the heck out of J-III if he can't get a fix on much of it. If the shipping is of limited use in the early weeks, you might consider sending it the long way(s) home just to keep him guessing and moving assets around trying to find it. Just a possibility.

I am not at all an expert on J-III as an opponent. I am listening to NYG59 and others on J-III's affinity for killing ships. We all have our own likes and dislikes in this game. If that is one of his, then you might be able to leverage it to your benefit from time to time.

1) Any and all contributions are voluntary and nothing will be held against you unless you are of the opposite gender and beautiful... (personal preferences)
2) Melbourne? harder for IJN to reach? I usually see an overflow of subs to the south of Australia when I try there... I can't comment on John3rd's tactics because all I've seen him do in previous AAR's is invade Australia!
3) Nothing to disagree with your advice. . . All depending on how John3rd plays it, especially Midway. I tend to think Midway must be held not quite at all costs, but losing Midway makes him uncomfortably close to the pipeline and western sub bases (I like Johnston Is. for the S boats)

[moore4807]

Breaking News! (background teletype clacking away)
The Samurai has returned to his Dojo! Apparently kidnapped by familial sympathizers to the Allied cause, he summoned all his wits and astonishingly delayed his inevitiable defeat!

Larry should be recieving the turn shortly and combat will begin for the valiant Allied Armies, Navies, and Air Forces! Stay tuned as more exciting news will be forthcoming right on this Armed Forces radio station...

[larryfulkerson]

I for one would like to know what the origination station was for John's paratroopers. I'm guessing Bubble Drop only because it's pretty
close to the target hex and has known oodles of troops there. Herds of them. Paratroops there wouldn't be out of order for the Japs.
Anybody know for sure?

[larryfulkerson]

There was something wrong w/ the database or the #11 file or something. I had to delete the trackerdb.* files and start all over but
that's okay I guess. I'm just missing the data for turn 1 is all. So far. Here's the economic chart for the Allied side.

[larryfulkerson]

Sightings are sparse around the PI looking south. There's some Jap TF's moving close enough to Miri to threaten it. One looks like it's
headed for Jolo or Tarakan or both. One looks like it's headed for Legaspi. I'm going to have to shift around some search planes
to optimize the coverage. I'd like to keep an eye on the Japs in and around the south PI.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's a rough draft of the losses so far:

[larryfulkerson]

Here's a list of the ships that were sunk during the night last night or during the day yesterday. In other words, in the last 24 hours..

[larryfulkerson]

So far John3rd is losing a lot of planes. If he does another Pearl strike won't that number go even higher. But he's got to do another
airstrike on Pearl to finish off all those ships that are on fire but not sunk yet. Etc. If he leaves now before the job is done, those fires
will go out and we'll fix the ship and those ships will be saved eventually.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's a list of the industry that's failing for lack of resources, for the most part. There's a refinery in Russia that can't seem to get
enough oil to satisfy it. I'll turn on the oil stockpiling for that. I'm debating turning on the resources stockpiling in the failing cities to
at least get them through this slim period. What's the SOP for that idea? Anybody have an opinion?

[larryfulkerson]

Here's a list of the cities that have Resource Centers that need repair. Repairing these bad boys is a priority for me because there's
industry that's failing because of a lack of resources and the only thing that will fix that is more resources coming out of the ground
( mining ), or out of the industrial district of many cities as people make things.

I need to make sure each of these cities has boucou engineers to get the repair started. Pearl is probably crawling w/ engineers.

[larryfulkerson]

Just as I suspected: Pearl has 180 engineers and 12 engineering vehicles. They should be good to go to fix all the damage that has
accumulated during the recent attacks. Plus all the resources outputting goodies that need repair.

Magadan is in Russia and isn't that high a priority, really, so I'm skipping that one. Butte needs attention.