Miller (A) vs Mind_Messing (J) No M_M!

[ny59giants]

Right now this would be a draw to tactical defeat, IMO. It should force your opponent to be very methodical in his conquest as he will need to advance under the cover of Nell/Betty. By early '43 when the first Essex is about to arrive, it will be a draw to tactical advantage for you. "IF" you can confirm the sinking of a second CV, then everything shifts up one level for you.

[Miller]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Right now this would be a draw to tactical defeat, IMO. It should force your opponent to be very methodical in his conquest as he will need to advance under the cover of Nell/Betty. By early '43 when the first Essex is about to arrive, it will be a draw to tactical advantage for you. "IF" you can confirm the sinking of a second CV, then everything shifts up one level for you.

I agree. I am not too unhappy tbh as I think MM's morale was wavering due to the losses he had taken prior to this battle, it seems to have got his head "back in the game" so to speak. I'm leaning towards the Shokaku having gone down now, as "heavy fires" assumes a fire level of more than 50, which in my experience as the Japs means death.

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Miller
His alpha strike of 54Z, 117K and 80V goes in against my tiny CAP of 22 fighters (I had hoped the fighters based one hex away at Batavia would help but none showed up

People need to read the manual more sometimes. LRCAP over a CVTF is only has like a 10% effectiveness which I think means that only 10% of the planes will fly CAP over it. I've seen I few other AFBs attempt to use LRCAP like this before and all of them complain they got "unlucky" they didn't get the CAP from the base even though the manual basically says don't even try to do this...

Do you have a lot of subs in the area? In the future if you plan on knocking boots with the KB be sure to bring a handful of them - often times it's the difference between a CV limping back to port and a CV on the bottom of the ocean floor.

ORIGINAL: ny59giants
Right now this would be a draw to tactical defeat, IMO. It should force your opponent to be very methodical in his conquest as he will need to advance under the cover of Nell/Betty.

Which makes it a strategic victory based off the latter sentence. Even if you didn't sink the 2nd CV it's going to be in the repair yards for many months before returning to action. The other carriers in the KB also probably need some shipyard repairs.

Also I think this has a huge impact on the CentPac where the only real Japanese asset is the appearance of the KB. Meanwhile your BBs are relatively untouched. No KB + US BBs = easy invasions of CentPac atolls. Don't let historical time frames constrain you either - I've seen an AFB launch a counter invasion on a defended atoll in Jan 1942 because he knew the KB wasn't around and he had the BB's for shock and awe. Get some marines prepped for some atolls - even if you don't go through with it and send the marines elsewhere to defend there is not much penalty in defense if you're not prepped for that base.

[Miller]

Hi Sangeli, thanks for your interest. Just to clarify a couple of things, I'm aware LRCAP set over a CV TF is next to useless, and I had not set my land based fighters to do so. What I was hoping for was some "leaking" CAP from Batavia to extend out one hex to where my CVs were and lend a hand. As it happens even if they had showed up it would have been academic and my CVs would have been swamped regardless. Yes plenty of subs in the area at the time of the battle and followed his cripples all the way back to port, no luck apart from one ineffective hit on Soryu. My subs have been fantastic up to now, sinking Ryujo and Fuso as well as plenty of transports, so I cant complain.

I said to MM after the battle it was a classic "Tactical defeat but strategic victory", he disagrees. Oh well we will se what happens over the next few months. If before the battle you had offered me 2 IJN CVs sunk and 3 of the other 4 damaged in return for the loss of all of my CVs, I would probably have taken it. I hear you re Cenpac, in fact I already have units prepping for the area. I plan to invade Tarawa and Makin sometime in March, just waiting for Hornet to arrive and a few of the PH BBs to fully repair.

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Miller
Hi Sangeli, thanks for your interest. Just to clarify a couple of things, I'm aware LRCAP set over a CV TF is next to useless, and I had not set my land based fighters to do so. What I was hoping for was some "leaking" CAP from Batavia to extend out one hex to where my CVs were and lend a hand.

Ah got it. Fairly certain the same penalty applies though. Anyone know for certain if this isn't the case?

[JocMeister]

I don´t know what that 10% figure comes from? I have on many, many occasions been able to put a very good LRCAP over TFs even at some distance and I know my opponent have done the same.

If that 10% figure was true covering any amphibious landing from CVs would be almost impossible. In my experience LRCAP over TFs work just the same as it does over bases. Range is THE most important factor. Put a LRCAP from 8 hexes and very few planes will show up. Perhaps only 10%. Put it from 2-3 hexes and most will show up.

Regarding "leaky CAP" I have tried it twice now but on both occasion not a single plane showed up. Not sure if something has changed in the BETA or if I just had bad luck. But after those two tries I switched back to LRCAP instead and it works well enough.

[Spidery]

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

I don´t know what that 10% figure comes from? I have on many, many occasions been able to put a very good LRCAP over TFs even at some distance and I know my opponent have done the same.

If that 10% figure was true covering any amphibious landing from CVs would be almost impossible. In my experience LRCAP over TFs work just the same as it does over bases. Range is THE most important factor. Put a LRCAP from 8 hexes and very few planes will show up. Perhaps only 10%. Put it from 2-3 hexes and most will show up.

Regarding "leaky CAP" I have tried it twice now but on both occasion not a single plane showed up. Not sure if something has changed in the BETA or if I just had bad luck. But after those two tries I switched back to LRCAP instead and it works well enough.

It is specific to air combat task forces. The manual states, "Long Range CAP over Air Combat TF’s is only 20% as effective as over other units since it’s harder to coordinate with an Air Combat TF that is constantly changing course and is using radio silence."

[JocMeister]

ORIGINAL: Spidery
It is specific to air combat task forces. The manual states, "Long Range CAP over Air Combat TF’s is only 20% as effective as over other units since it’s harder to coordinate with an Air Combat TF that is constantly changing course and is using radio silence."

Ah, the keyword here being "Air combat TF". I missed that in the original post. My bad!

[Miller]

29th Jan 42

Well, I'm up to date with the game now, so hopefully can go into a bit more detail on specific events.

The only thing of note this turn is that I send an ABDA TF led by CL Tromp with 14DDs (mostly Dutch or old USN crap) from Batavia to Palembang to see what they can find. That night they meet an IJN of 4 CAs (the entire Takao class) and 4 modern DDs. Tromp goes under in a hail of torpedoes along with 3 DDs, but in turn 3 of the Jap DDs are either sunk or left in a sinking condition. Unfortunately during the day instead of breaking off my TF engages again at long range and 3 more of my DDs are picked off by his CAs and the rest badly damaged...not sure how many will make port. Still, happy to trade him 2 for 1 in DDs at this stage of the war! A USN TF is due to go in next turn, lets see what it finds.....

[Miller]

30th Jan 42

The surviving damaged DDs from the previous days action at Palembang run into a small IJN DD TF, without any remaining ammo and slowed by damage they are easy pray, 5 go under and the remaining 2 are picked off by Vals. 14 DDs lost in two days[:(] The USN cruiser TF that should have gone in this turn somehow ends up 3 hexes short and is attacked by land based Vals and Kates. Fortunately the few fighters LRCAP'ing them do well and shoot down 20 or so, but still Boise and Pensacola take 2 torps each, the latter will probably go under.

Elsewhere nothing really of note. I made a mistake regarding the respective AV's at clark, I have 2000 whilst he has only 1200, not the other way round as I reported earlier. Just means the siege will take longer to resolve.

[Miller]

31st Jan 42

Two TFs, one USN and one Brit/Aus go into Palembang to bombard and stumble across an enemy transport TF and wipe it out, 4 APs and 2 AMCs go down. The bombardments torch about 50 fighters on the ground. A covering surface TF of CL De Ruyter and 6 DDs runs into Kongo and Haruna and all but 2 DDs are sunk. Almost 20 DDs lost over the last 3 days, nasty.

I have conceded the air over Singapore and have pulled back all my fighter sqds to Java.

A deliberate attack at Wake fails but knocks my forts down to 0.

[Walker84]

ORIGINAL: Miller

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Right now this would be a draw to tactical defeat, IMO. It should force your opponent to be very methodical in his conquest as he will need to advance under the cover of Nell/Betty. By early '43 when the first Essex is about to arrive, it will be a draw to tactical advantage for you. "IF" you can confirm the sinking of a second CV, then everything shifts up one level for you.

I agree. I am not too unhappy tbh as I think MM's morale was wavering due to the losses he had taken prior to this battle, it seems to have got his head "back in the game" so to speak. I'm leaning towards the Shokaku having gone down now, as "heavy fires" assumes a fire level of more than 50, which in my experience as the Japs means death.

I'd agree that the ability of your opponent to get his head back in the game is key at this stage. Most relatively inexperienced Japanese players may only have experienced a 'Sir Robin' defence, or perhaps won easier victories against a more cautious Allied player of a similar playing level, so I doubt that he was psychologically prepared for the tenacity with which you have defended Singers and DEI to date.

Whatever timeline and plan he was working to is bound to have been thrown out of kilter even though he may have come off slightly better in the carrier exchange in the short term. This is at a time when he desperately needs to maintain the initiative and he is going to become ever more cautious as he knows that you will defend the key objectives more aggressively than he thought possible. I know if it was me I would be suffering a loss of morale to find my main moves stymied this early on in the war. Hell, these are supposed to be the fun times for the Empire!

[Lokasenna]

Idunno, depending on how badly Zuikaku and Akagi were hit, he could still have 3 CVs in action plus MKB vs. your 1 (one!!) for the next several months. If anything, that removes some of his reason for caution during his expansion phase. I hope, for the sake of all JFBs everywhere, that he realizes this [:)]. Long term, of course, you're in the clear. Which is why it is even more important for him to use his remaining CVs, IMO.

[Miller]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

Idunno, depending on how badly Zuikaku and Akagi were hit, he could still have 3 CVs in action plus MKB vs. your 1 (one!!) for the next several months. If anything, that removes some of his reason for caution during his expansion phase. I hope, for the sake of all JFBs everywhere, that he realizes this [:)]. Long term, of course, you're in the clear. Which is why it is even more important for him to use his remaining CVs, IMO.

The MKB is all sunk. Even with 3 CVs still to hand he will struggle to cover an invasion of Java unless he lands the strike a/c and fills them with extra zeros (that's what I would do as he has no carrier threat to face). Using land based LRCAP is notoriously unreliable beyond a few hexes range.

My main goal from the start has been to attrit his surface fleet as much as possible, warships are the one thing the Japs cannot replace in the game.

[Miller]

1st Feb 42

Notable only for ground attacks at Singapore, where he gets 1:2 odds but knocks the fort down to 2, and at Wake where amazingly a shock attack see's him lose 66 sqds destroyed despite 0 forts! He should have rested them a few days rather than attacking again so soon methinks[;)]

A bit disappointed with the Singapore defenders, I was hoping to hold out well into Feb but it looks like it may fall in the next 10 days. I have moved fighters back into the base to try and give the engineers time to get the fort back up to 3 before he attacks again.

[Miller]

2nd Feb 42

A port strike on Palembang by Dutch Martins and a few B17s meets no aerial resistance and sinks half a dozen damaged APs and AKs sitting in the harbour, I-156 also goes under.

His large troop stack south of Changsha that scored a victory over my Chinese troops a week or so back runs into a larger blocking force which should at least contain them for now...

Quiet everywhere else.

[Miller]

3rd Feb 42

Another good day for my fighters over Singapore, shooting down roughly 50 IJA bombers. Nothing else of note.

[Miller]

4th-5th Feb 42

Nothing of note on the 4th.

The 5th sees another deliberate attack at Singapore:


Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 55976 troops, 764 guns, 324 vehicles, Assault Value = 1378

Defending force 42676 troops, 509 guns, 368 vehicles, Assault Value = 941

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1

Japanese adjusted assault: 1106

Allied adjusted defense: 2219

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 1)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
7267 casualties reported
Squads: 46 destroyed, 535 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 113 disabled
Engineers: 14 destroyed, 96 disabled
Guns lost 67 (4 destroyed, 63 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1670 casualties reported
Squads: 87 destroyed, 84 disabled
Non Combat: 11 destroyed, 59 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 21 disabled
Guns lost 31 (9 destroyed, 22 disabled)
Vehicles lost 34 (23 destroyed, 11 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Fortunately the fort goes straight back up to level 2 at the end of the turn. I still have nearly 100 P40s in place there so he has not sent in any bombers lately fearing another turkey shoot.

[stuman]

Never mind.

[Miller]

6th Feb 42

Several small sweeps over Singapore meet 80 P40s and I continue to get 1:1 or slightly better kill ratios. MM is not best pleased about his fighters going in in bits and pieces but that's the risk you take. Hopeful of getting the fort level back up to 3 in two more days.

Meanwhile 48 Hurricanes arrive at Batavia after a long voyage from Aden. They join the 32 already there plus the 3 AVG sqds of P39s to form the backbone of the Java fighter defences. I have very few Dutch fighters left and they will be used in the escort role.