::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post descriptions of your brilliant victories and unfortunate defeats here.

Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition

User avatar
BBfanboy
Posts: 20698
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2010 5:36 pm
Location: Winnipeg, MB
Contact:

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by BBfanboy »

ORIGINAL: obvert

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Re: the transport skippers who would not "Stay!" - I find it sometimes helps to set the port you want them to stay in as the home port.
If they get the urge to run from SCTFs they usually run for home port, though not always if their skipper has poor aggression rating.
I usually check the skipper of every xAP that has been assigned to carry troops and change the CO if needed (Naval 50+, Aggression 40 - 60). Most of the time no PP are required for the change.
Unfortunately the CO pool for Commonwealth ships is very shallow and most skippers are poorly qualified.

I had them set to karachi as home port, but didn't change commanders. The pools in general are really poor for the Allies in the beginning. This is one of the biggest surprises for my first run through a PBEM so far. I literally can't find enough good sub, destroyer and cruiser commanders, let alone improved transport TF guys.

The Japanese start with a plethora of aggressive, highly skilled naval commanders and air group commanders. This is another reason they own the first year of the war. It's a huge difference to run out ships with skippers whose aggression tops at 49! ASW suffers for sure, as aggression is key to attacking subs. I can get either naval or aggression but not often both.

Having been doing a lot of reading I see why this is in game though. The pre-war commanders were much less risk-taking and by-the-book. It wasn't until the 90-day wonders arrived and the younger naval academy grads moved up into commands that things started to change.
One final comment on this - the pools for Naval and Commercial ships are different, so there are some changes that can easily be made in the xAP/xAK realm. You won't find high naval/high aggression skippers there either but then you don't want high aggression in most
transport vessels. And improving naval skills from the dismal 15 some have to say, 35, is significant. It may just be enough to dodge a sub torpedo or a bomb. It will help with damage control.
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
User avatar
EHansen
Posts: 360
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2013 1:31 am

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by EHansen »

What I have found is that the British and US have loads of Captains that can be assigned to transports. But there are limited Commonwealth, Dutch, Australian, and New Zealand Captains available.
User avatar
obvert
Posts: 14051
Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:18 am
Location: PDX (and now) London, UK

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by obvert »

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: obvert

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Re: the transport skippers who would not "Stay!" - I find it sometimes helps to set the port you want them to stay in as the home port.
If they get the urge to run from SCTFs they usually run for home port, though not always if their skipper has poor aggression rating.
I usually check the skipper of every xAP that has been assigned to carry troops and change the CO if needed (Naval 50+, Aggression 40 - 60). Most of the time no PP are required for the change.
Unfortunately the CO pool for Commonwealth ships is very shallow and most skippers are poorly qualified.

I had them set to karachi as home port, but didn't change commanders. The pools in general are really poor for the Allies in the beginning. This is one of the biggest surprises for my first run through a PBEM so far. I literally can't find enough good sub, destroyer and cruiser commanders, let alone improved transport TF guys.

The Japanese start with a plethora of aggressive, highly skilled naval commanders and air group commanders. This is another reason they own the first year of the war. It's a huge difference to run out ships with skippers whose aggression tops at 49! ASW suffers for sure, as aggression is key to attacking subs. I can get either naval or aggression but not often both.

Having been doing a lot of reading I see why this is in game though. The pre-war commanders were much less risk-taking and by-the-book. It wasn't until the 90-day wonders arrived and the younger naval academy grads moved up into commands that things started to change.
One final comment on this - the pools for Naval and Commercial ships are different, so there are some changes that can easily be made in the xAP/xAK realm. You won't find high naval/high aggression skippers there either but then you don't want high aggression in most
transport vessels. And improving naval skills from the dismal 15 some have to say, 35, is significant. It may just be enough to dodge a sub torpedo or a bomb. It will help with damage control.

Sure, it's definitely worth it. I tried for Japan in my last game to give the flag of any transport convoy with men or fuel/oil a commander with 50+ naval and 50+ aggression. The aggression is for going after subs with the escorts after a shot is taken. Three were a lot of 50/50 guys in the merchant captain pools. I'll have to check the Allies to see how it compares.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
User avatar
obvert
Posts: 14051
Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:18 am
Location: PDX (and now) London, UK

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by obvert »

I realize I haven't posted the narratives lately. I'm still writing, but now that some characters are established I need to get some information before continuing the stories. They'll be back in soon.

I'm really enjoying being on the Allied side. It's scaring me how little there is to work with in the beginning against a strong aggressive player like GJ. I keep looking at the queues, willing stuff to arrive sooner. Early on playing this side takes creativity and guile plus a lot of patience. India is a big test, and the worst may not be over yet.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
User avatar
ny59giants
Posts: 9902
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 12:02 pm

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by ny59giants »

Allied morale booster - mid and end of month mega-reinforcements. It starts off slow in '42, but by mid-43 you get 8 Fletchers a month plus lots of other goodies. I've become a Fletcher Fan Boy!! [&o]

Since you don't have interior lines of communications now, it takes a little more planning. USA to Cape Town to India is about two months.
[center]Image[/center]
User avatar
Bullwinkle58
Posts: 11297
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2009 12:47 pm

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by Bullwinkle58 »

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Allied morale booster - mid and end of month mega-reinforcements. It starts off slow in '42, but by mid-43 you get 8 Fletchers a month plus lots of other goodies. I've become a Fletcher Fan Boy!! [&o]

Since you don't have interior lines of communications now, it takes a little more planning. USA to Cape Town to India is about two months.

Gotta agree on the Fletchers. You get a couple in the late autumn 1942. A drink of cold water in the desert.

Having played through two spring 1942s now I think I dislike April-May the most. It's been months of getting curb-stomped, retreats, huge troop losses through surrender. The amphib bonus is over, but the Japan player usually doesn't need it anymore either. He has search and ASW very far forward and constant, every-turn VP jumps from finishing port and AF levels and supplying same. Sometimes a couple of hundred VPs in a day just from getting supply to a huge Chinese city. Your fighter pools are shot, which is OK because the fighters are lousy. Your torpedoes don't work, your ASW doesn't work yet, your AA is firing .50 caliber MGs, your BBs move at 21 knots, you may have lost a carrier or three.

And then . . . it starts to get better. There's a few weeks in fall where you don't feel in control, but you're not terrified to go someplace either. You get 1942 infantry, especially into the Aussie units, and they can fight a stand-up fight and have a shot. You get the June 1942 AA pool dump and those guns deploy. Your subs get radar and will fight a surface action if he chooses to non-escort. USMC regiments come together in some of the most fearsome divisions in the game. You buy out a couple of US Army divisions and get them on the water. You have the P-40K and the beginning of a P-38 force. You have options.

But April and May? Dark days. In many ways worse than December and January were.
The Moose
User avatar
ny59giants
Posts: 9902
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 12:02 pm

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by ny59giants »

But April and May? Dark days. In many ways worse than December and January were.

The Japanese empire has reached its zenith here and you start to second guess some of your early war decisions. Shoulda, coulda, and woulda type thoughts. Then, I hope my CV fleet is intact as I have a small window (late June to August) to hit back if I can get both the American and British CV/CVLs together with extra Marine fighter groups on the Americans. Japan will need to rotate back the 6 CVs from KB to get their upgrades (radar) and the Allies can have over 600 carrier based planes. The big thing is what to do then?!?
[center]Image[/center]
User avatar
obvert
Posts: 14051
Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:18 am
Location: PDX (and now) London, UK

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by obvert »

Thanks guys. yeah. There is nothing like a PBEM against a good player. It's grim, and I thank you for letting me know it just gets darker for a while yet. After Japan in 45 I can handle it, I just have the tension of avoiding AV to deal with as well. It's amazing getting worried about the port in Tahiti and building Winnipeg's airfield to enhance my VP score by a few points. [:D]

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
User avatar
ny59giants
Posts: 9902
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 12:02 pm

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by ny59giants »

You will be better after you get Yorktown into Pearl drydocks. [;)]
[center]Image[/center]
User avatar
obvert
Posts: 14051
Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:18 am
Location: PDX (and now) London, UK

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by obvert »

[font="Times New Roman"]Feb 16 - 18, 1942[/font]

[font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]SUBS: [/font]The KB gets through the net. No hits, but a few shots on escorts.

Nearing the Big Island, on a track toward Kona, Yorktown and company are tenaciously fending off a pack of at least 5 IJN subs now. One day the York had a pump failure and float damage shot from 66 to 76 (!!!) but in the three days since it's dropped again to 69, with 10 system. A scare, but hopefully the hole is plugged and the ship seems to be moving back to 2-3 hexes a day.

[font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]INDIA: [/font]The Ceylon invasion is at least two divisions. The saved third of the Aussie brigade makes Karachi as does another, several base forces, an arty unit, and a few more RAF groups. The IJA is moving on Hyderabad. I've evacuated the troops and they're in Bombay. One more division at Bangalore to move over, and then the rookies can all hang out together behind the forts if the IJA comes calling. It'll be a decent group of units, but low experience again.

[font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]CHINA: [/font]The flanking IJA division makes the wooded rough hex the same move as our Corps and tries a DA immediately, getting a 1:2 by a meagre 1 point differential! [&o]

I've got another unit moving that'll be there in two days so we could be okay here. Two more units are moving to close the hex sides from the gray road beyond. I've moved back from Kukong to guard the road and these rear approaches. The maneuver with SL is much more fun than pounding away with 200k troops without.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR February 18, 42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Air attack on Jamshedpur , at 51,34

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-17D Fortress x 5
B-17E Fortress x 17

No Allied losses

Manpower hits 75
Fires 24750


Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet *
City Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Jamshedpur , at 51,34

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 46 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-17D Fortress x 2
B-17E Fortress x 6

No Allied losses

Manpower hits 31
Fires 37875


Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 6000 feet *
City Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at 80,55 (near Hengyang)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 14815 troops, 122 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 404

Defending force 5534 troops, 43 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 160

Japanese adjusted assault: 357

Allied adjusted defense: 358

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
313 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 26 disabled

Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Allied ground losses:
385 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 38 disabled

Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Assaulting units:
51st Division

Defending units:
78th Chinese Corps

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[/font]
Image
[font="Trebuchet MS"]Nearing the goal. Still can't get decent hits on the subs here even with carefully selected commanders and TF leaders, lots of APDs with 6 DC, and night and day search by over 100 planes. [/font]
Attachments
Screenshot..08.20.31.jpg
Screenshot..08.20.31.jpg (447.22 KiB) Viewed 234 times
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
User avatar
Lowpe
Posts: 24582
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2013 2:25 pm

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by Lowpe »

Oh no, this nail biting time is by far and away the most enjoyable....backs to the wall, never enough forces for the job, the uncertainty of Japan's offensive aims, this is just great![:D]

And, my goodness, what a strike Obvert is planning! I can hardly wait to read about it.
User avatar
crsutton
Posts: 9590
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2002 8:56 pm
Location: Maryland

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by crsutton »

The "Yorktown Affair" is pretty exciting. Just goes to show the danger of using American carriers aggressively so early in the war. His subs are almost immune from ASW attack. I have been feeling it in my game as well. After 4/42 the American DDs get both DC upgrades and radar. That makes a world of difference. You would be killing on average a sub a day if that was the case.
I am the Holy Roman Emperor and am above grammar.

Sigismund of Luxemburg
User avatar
HansBolter
Posts: 7457
Joined: Thu Jul 06, 2006 12:30 pm
Location: United States

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by HansBolter »

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Allied morale booster - mid and end of month mega-reinforcements. It starts off slow in '42, but by mid-43 you get 8 Fletchers a month plus lots of other goodies. I've become a Fletcher Fan Boy!! [&o]

Since you don't have interior lines of communications now, it takes a little more planning. USA to Cape Town to India is about two months.

Gotta agree on the Fletchers. You get a couple in the late autumn 1942. A drink of cold water in the desert.

Having played through two spring 1942s now I think I dislike April-May the most. It's been months of getting curb-stomped, retreats, huge troop losses through surrender. The amphib bonus is over, but the Japan player usually doesn't need it anymore either. He has search and ASW very far forward and constant, every-turn VP jumps from finishing port and AF levels and supplying same. Sometimes a couple of hundred VPs in a day just from getting supply to a huge Chinese city. Your fighter pools are shot, which is OK because the fighters are lousy. Your torpedoes don't work, your ASW doesn't work yet, your AA is firing .50 caliber MGs, your BBs move at 21 knots, you may have lost a carrier or three.

And then . . . it starts to get better. There's a few weeks in fall where you don't feel in control, but you're not terrified to go someplace either. You get 1942 infantry, especially into the Aussie units, and they can fight a stand-up fight and have a shot. You get the June 1942 AA pool dump and those guns deploy. Your subs get radar and will fight a surface action if he chooses to non-escort. USMC regiments come together in some of the most fearsome divisions in the game. You buy out a couple of US Army divisions and get them on the water. You have the P-40K and the beginning of a P-38 force. You have options.

But April and May? Dark days. In many ways worse than December and January were.


I find June 1st, 1942 to be the most trying day of the war for the Allies.

It seems like about a third of the Allied air force withdraws on this date or by mid June. June is the thinnest month there is for the Allied air force.

April and May do seem to be slim on reinforcements, but at least each of those months has a highlight (April F4F4s) and May (TBFs).

I find myself spending the last half of May scratching my head over how I'm going to replace squadrons in the front line that will be withdrawing June 1st.
Hans

User avatar
Bullwinkle58
Posts: 11297
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2009 12:47 pm

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by Bullwinkle58 »

ORIGINAL: obvert

Thanks guys. yeah. There is nothing like a PBEM against a good player. It's grim, and I thank you for letting me know it just gets darker for a while yet. After Japan in 45 I can handle it, I just have the tension of avoiding AV to deal with as well. It's amazing getting worried about the port in Tahiti and building Winnipeg's airfield to enhance my VP score by a few points. [:D]


Yeah, it's similar to late-Japan, but different too. As is often said, the Allies have better times to look forward to and Japan doesn't. But late-Japan has an end-date to hold out for too, even though it's not war-winning. But it might be game-winning. And to me the biggest difference is a Japan player never has to operate without a good air force. Even at the end over the HI there are planes enough. You're seeing what being air-poor feels like.

I know what you mean about base VPs too. When I get Seabees I sometimes leave 3-4 battalions at Port Huneme for a week just to enjoy the build numbers shooting north. Then I deploy them. [:)]

This India campaign is hard, but he is leaving reams of needed things undone. Maybe it's hard to see that from your chair right now, but it's true. He's going to regret it.
The Moose
User avatar
Bullwinkle58
Posts: 11297
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2009 12:47 pm

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by Bullwinkle58 »

ORIGINAL: crsutton

The "Yorktown Affair" is pretty exciting. Just goes to show the danger of using American carriers aggressively so early in the war. His subs are almost immune from ASW attack. I have been feeling it in my game as well. After 4/42 the American DDs get both DC upgrades and radar. That makes a world of difference. You would be killing on average a sub a day if that was the case.

The K-gun rules.
The Moose
User avatar
rook749
Posts: 1175
Joined: Thu Dec 21, 2006 3:41 am

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by rook749 »

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

I find June 1st, 1942 to be the most trying day of the war for the Allies.

It seems like about a third of the Allied air force withdraws on this date or by mid June. June is the thinnest month there is for the Allied air force.

April and May do seem to be slim on reinforcements, but at least each of those months has a highlight (April F4F4s) and May (TBFs).

I find myself spending the last half of May scratching my head over how I'm going to replace squadrons in the front line that will be withdrawing June 1st.

And tips like this are why I read AARs. I just looked and yikes you are so right June is a bad month for the Allied Air Forces.
User avatar
Bullwinkle58
Posts: 11297
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2009 12:47 pm

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by Bullwinkle58 »

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

I find myself spending the last half of May scratching my head over how I'm going to replace squadrons in the front line that will be withdrawing June 1st.

I went ahead and paid the PP piper on a few. You need that bridge. Hurts on the infantry buy-outs, but ya gotta make choices.
The Moose
User avatar
Lokasenna
Posts: 9304
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 3:57 am
Location: Iowan in MD/DC

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by Lokasenna »

ORIGINAL: obvert

Thanks guys. yeah. There is nothing like a PBEM against a good player. It's grim, and I thank you for letting me know it just gets darker for a while yet. After Japan in 45 I can handle it, I just have the tension of avoiding AV to deal with as well. It's amazing getting worried about the port in Tahiti and building Winnipeg's airfield to enhance my VP score by a few points. [:D]


Don't forget about Canberra, Anchorage, Socotra, and Diego Garcia. They are (probably?) the only bases that remain in your hands and have a multiplier higher than x2. Canberra is a whopping x30 for some reason, and he ain't never gonna take that one from you.
mind_messing
Posts: 3394
Joined: Mon Oct 28, 2013 11:59 am

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by mind_messing »

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

ORIGINAL: obvert

Thanks guys. yeah. There is nothing like a PBEM against a good player. It's grim, and I thank you for letting me know it just gets darker for a while yet. After Japan in 45 I can handle it, I just have the tension of avoiding AV to deal with as well. It's amazing getting worried about the port in Tahiti and building Winnipeg's airfield to enhance my VP score by a few points. [:D]


Don't forget about Canberra, Anchorage, Socotra, and Diego Garcia. They are (probably?) the only bases that remain in your hands and have a multiplier higher than x2. Canberra is a whopping x30 for some reason, and he ain't never gonna take that one from you.

I was wondering why you were building Socotra and Diego Garcia...
User avatar
Lokasenna
Posts: 9304
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 3:57 am
Location: Iowan in MD/DC

RE: ::Felix, Ferdinand and FRUPAC:: obvert (A) v Greyjoy (J)

Post by Lokasenna »

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

ORIGINAL: obvert

Thanks guys. yeah. There is nothing like a PBEM against a good player. It's grim, and I thank you for letting me know it just gets darker for a while yet. After Japan in 45 I can handle it, I just have the tension of avoiding AV to deal with as well. It's amazing getting worried about the port in Tahiti and building Winnipeg's airfield to enhance my VP score by a few points. [:D]


Don't forget about Canberra, Anchorage, Socotra, and Diego Garcia. They are (probably?) the only bases that remain in your hands and have a multiplier higher than x2. Canberra is a whopping x30 for some reason, and he ain't never gonna take that one from you.

I was wondering why you were building Socotra and Diego Garcia...

VPs doesn't have the be the only reason [:)]. Just look at what GJ is doing here.
Post Reply

Return to “After Action Reports”