ORIGINAL: Sangeli
Really what it comes down to is patience (or lack thereof) with offensive operations. The Japanese can bull their way through Allied positions but you can't for some time. You have to wait for the right moment (like a KB attack somewhere else) even if it means staging your invasion for weeks. Going forward with an operation just because you have your forces ready is a recipe for disaster; you'll be surprised whats lurking behind the lines that you never counted on appearing.
ORIGINAL: Wargmr
The best way to proceed with this game around 1943 depending upon progress on both sides, is to prepare multiple axis of attacks onto Japanese territory. The objective is to start attacking where the KB is not but if you do not know where the KB is, a multi direction attack will most likely flush it out.
Too many players rely on the all or nothing linear attack mode.
To understand the Nettie threat, take a look at their incredible range. Betty range is 21 hexes, and Nells start at something like 23 hexes and the next model goes to 28 hexes.
Of course they cannot carry torps to the limit of their range, but they certainly outrange any allied TB, including Cats. The usual setup is a Mavis or Emily squadron doing LR NavSearch to find victims and a couple of Nell/Betty squadrons to reach out and touch you where it hurts. [:(]
Keep an eye on the Detection Level (D/L) on all of your TFs every turn. If it suddenly goes up, check the Op Report for Mavis sightings or Glen sightings by you TF. Check range to enemy bases from that point. Consider whether you have enough CAP to stay or should run if you are in Nettie range.
Little tidbits like this reduce the chance that a very bad thing happens to me. I look at DL each turn for my major TFs but I never thought of looking at the Op report to get more detail about what sighted me and didn't know the possible implication of being sighted by, say, a Mavis or Emily. Thanks!
To understand the Nettie threat, take a look at their incredible range. Betty range is 21 hexes, and Nells start at something like 23 hexes and the next model goes to 28 hexes.
Of course they cannot carry torps to the limit of their range, but they certainly outrange any allied TB, including Cats. The usual setup is a Mavis or Emily squadron doing LR NavSearch to find victims and a couple of Nell/Betty squadrons to reach out and touch you where it hurts. [:(]
Keep an eye on the Detection Level (D/L) on all of your TFs every turn. If it suddenly goes up, check the Op Report for Mavis sightings or Glen sightings by you TF. Check range to enemy bases from that point. Consider whether you have enough CAP to stay or should run if you are in Nettie range.
Little tidbits like this reduce the chance that a very bad thing happens to me. I look at DL each turn for my major TFs but I never thought of looking at the Op report to get more detail about what sighted me and didn't know the possible implication of being sighted by, say, a Mavis or Emily. Thanks!
Its also worth noting that CV fleets are much more easily spotted than other fleets. I believe launching aircraft from CVs which in turn detect enemy units will give your fleet detection. While a small destroyer fleet can weave in and out of range of Betties without too much concern, a CV fleet can often get 10/10 DL in a single turn. And the higher the detection level the better chance enemy aircraft will sortie to attack it.
Let's say you knew of a small carrier disbanded in a port (along with a bunch of other ships), and you have a small SAG nearby. Is the best move to bombard at night, set a patrol zone that included the port, or set the port as a destination (with retirement allowed or not)? Or is it best just to leave the port alone? At this point, the SAG has 0 detection. Of course, the carrier could be saddled up by the time I get there, but I can get the SAG there at night, I think.
Complication: that air base has 15 bombers and 31 auxiliaries. I'm unclear if I should just run away from the bombers or make an attack and risk the bomber's ire.
Let's say you knew of a small carrier disbanded in a port (along with a bunch of other ships), and you have a small SAG nearby. Is the best move to bombard at night, set a patrol zone that included the port, or set the port as a destination (with retirement allowed or not)? Or is it best just to leave the port alone? At this point, the SAG has 0 detection. Of course, the carrier could be saddled up by the time I get there, but I can get the SAG there at night, I think.
Complication: that air base has 15 bombers and 31 auxiliaries. I'm unclear if I should just run away from the bombers or make an attack and risk the bomber's ire.
I wouldn't even try to bombard the base; your cruisers are not going to do much to ships in port. There's also a decent chance that Ambon could have torpedo armed Betties but perhaps you could rule that out (certainly its a good place to put them but I don't know what your opponent has done).
At this point you should really only be using your surface ships to try to intercept Japanese cargo/transport fleets. If you want to try something to get to those disbanded CVEs (how sure are you they are CVEs anyway?) I'd try an air attack with bombers. Even level bombers can do pretty well against ships in port. But again, you always have to be looking at the risk/reward and putting a few 8 inch shells into the airfield at Ambon is probably not worth the risk of losing a couple of cruisers.
ORIGINAL: Sangeli
I wouldn't even try to bombard the base...
Your advice is, as always, good: the most likely outcome---a few divots taken out of the runway--is not worth the risk of anything valuable. And one (small) group of B-17s should arrive at Darwin in a day or so with more to follow. Of course, the B-17 pilots are still beginners and likely can't hit anything smaller than the state of Ohio, but the net effect of B-17 bombing, not negligible really, is to force him to keep fighters at that base instead of them causing trouble elsewhere. I probably should gather a bunch of B-17s and then make one biggish raid and then move back from Darwin to avoid the consequences of giving a whack at a Betty nest.
So a compromise, from an unruly learner: I'm sending a single CL and a single DD to bombard, arriving and leaving at full speed. All other ships are moving out of the area.
I send these two ships only because I need to learn a lesson about not taking undue risks. [:-]
December 16, 1941
---------------------------- Well, I was warned…expecting to impress Q-Ball with a bold raid on a small carrier sitting in port or to damage a few bad, evil, mean Betties sitting at an airbase at night, instead:
Night Time Surface Combat, near Ambon at 76,109, Range 5,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
BB Nagato
BB Mutsu
DD Kuretake
DD Sanae
DD Asagao
DD Fuyo
DD Karukaya
TB Sagi
Allied Ships
CL De Ruyter, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Witte de With
Relying on my undeserved luck, I got away with it: the CL De Ruyter will be in rehab for a bit but will survive. But this raid had absolutely no chance to have turned out well.
But my luck continued elsewhere: CL Adelaide [&o] had quite a day while on the lookout for TFs sent to invade (I believe) Buna:
Day Time Surface Combat, near Manus at 102,118, Range 19,000 Yards
Day Time Surface Combat, near Manus at 102,118, Range 18,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
xAKL Genmei Maru, Shell hits 7, and is sunk
Allied Ships
CL Adelaide
Day Time Surface Combat, near Manus at 103,117, Range 18,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
xAK Nittai Maru, Shell hits 1, on fire
xAK Shinkoku Maru, Shell hits 11, and is sunk
xAKL Ujigawa Maru, Shell hits 2, on fire
xAKL Heiwa Maru, Shell hits 1, heavy fires
xAKL Daitei Maru, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
Allied Ships
CL Adelaide
And another Japanese transport was sunk in the Aleutians. And for the first time, Allied fighters held their own against a Japanese sweep:
Morning Air attack on Rangoon , at 54,53
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes
Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 32
Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 24
Buffalo I x 12
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 2 destroyed [:)]
Aircraft Attacking:
12 x Ki-43-Ib Oscar sweeping at 10000 feet
That Hong Kong and Palembang are about to fall and that any land battle generally ends with complete destruction of the defending Allied units seems almost like merely a footnote in history. [8|]
I have read many AARs and Q-Ball has shown one of the skills needed as Japan - maintaining high rate of tempo. Getting troops and transports to the correct place early and not losing 3 or more days because you forget to form a TF at "X" to start headed for "Y" is an art. You will probably see a series of bases fall like a carefully laid out stack of dominoes.
American CVs - I'm a little OCD in getting my CVs together (Allied Death Star) and adding a Marine fighter group (18 planes) on each of them (except Wasp). After the resizing on January 1st to 27 and adding these groups each, you will have 45 fighters per CV that will help ensure 'survivability' in early '42. [:)] Some will be the Buffalo, but something is better than nothing.
ORIGINAL: ny59giants
I have read many AARs and Q-Ball has shown one of the skills needed as Japan - maintaining high rate of tempo. Getting troops and transports to the correct place early and not losing 3 or more days because you forget to form a TF at "X" to start headed for "Y" is an art. You will probably see a series of bases fall like a carefully laid out stack of dominoes.
American CVs - I'm a little OCD in getting my CVs together (Allied Death Star) and adding a Marine fighter group (18 planes) on each of them (except Wasp). After the resizing on January 1st to 27 and adding these groups each, you will have 45 fighters per CV that will help ensure 'survivability' in early '42. [:)] Some will be the Buffalo, but something is better than nothing.
Welcome NY59giants! Good suggestions. I'll probably follow what you say for CV air groups. I'm a bit concerned that my carriers are not joined up as a single unit, but I wanted to send one up to Alaska to nip in the bud any Japanese advance up there.
And I'm soon to be biting my nails as I will soon have carriers for the first time entering a port where Japanese subs might be operating. Those subs have been very effective. I've put into the water everything that floats and put in the air maximum ASW around the port, sending up into the skies everything short of strapping some young kids onto chairs attached to balloons to look for Japanese subs.
Bombay in February? That's scary. Are you past that point in your game?
Yes, I nearly killed his whole army in India. It is March of 1944 and I am almost on Luzon.
Check out my AAR "What could possibly go wrong?"
:] Go look in the early points and read me whining about Diego Garcia...
The extended map makes an India foray more plausible. NJP72 did the same in my game ... and activated the India Emergency Forces.
We could not continue because I have a job that requires my full time but I suspect the IJ were in trouble as far as supply goes.
With a great deal of the IJ army trapped and cut to pieces that I supposed greatly weakens the ability to resist later.
"What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we know for sure that just ain't so"
ORIGINAL: Crackaces
The extended map makes an India foray more plausible. NJP72 did the same in my game ... and activated the India Emergency Forces.
We could not continue because I have a job that requires my full time but I suspect the IJ were in trouble as far as supply goes.
With a great deal of the IJ army trapped and cut to pieces that I supposed greatly weakens the ability to resist later.
Is it the case, then, that unless a Japanese player is going for the big win (auto victory), it is foolish for him to try to move deep into India?
Cpt. H.A. Showers, commander of the Adelaide, is now considered as a candidate for a command of a bigger ship. His seamanship and leadership have been noted by upper command. But politics sometimes plays a role in such things and, so, you never know what the future holds for Cpt. Showers.
December 17, 1941
---------------------
Not much happened this turn, but Singapore is now cut off from the rest of Malaya as the Mersing invasion force cut the RR into the city.
But there was this, a single torpedo hit on one of Japan's big boats [:)]:
December 17, 1941
---------------------
Not much happened this turn, but Singapore is now cut off from the rest of Malaya as the Mersing invasion force cut the RR into the city.
But there was this, a single torpedo hit on one of Japan's big boats [:)]:
Wargmr you got me all worried about Diego Garcia and so I'm sending a battalion to the island, enough I hope to put the kabbash on any quick and sneaky invasion by Japan. Maybe later I'll send more. But I still don't know where I can get any major units freed up to send any place like D.G., however.
So...where will the CV Kaga likely be headed? What is the nearest port with a shipyard large enough for such a big boy?
ORIGINAL: Crackaces
The extended map makes an India foray more plausible. NJP72 did the same in my game ... and activated the India Emergency Forces.
We could not continue because I have a job that requires my full time but I suspect the IJ were in trouble as far as supply goes.
With a great deal of the IJ army trapped and cut to pieces that I supposed greatly weakens the ability to resist later.
Is it the case, then, that unless a Japanese player is going for the big win (auto victory), it is foolish for him to try to move deep into India?
I don't think so. IJA is fairly power and the RN is very ill-prepared to take on the IJN so an Indian adventure can be rewarding. As I've mentioned before many AFBs are naive and get drawn into fights they should try to stay away from and India can be one of those places. Lots of open terrain make offensive operations fluid and dynamic which serves the Rommels of the (PC) world like me very well. On the other hand, that can work against the Japanese when the Allies are ready to push back and lead to some easy 1942 victories.
Wargmr you got me all worried about Diego Garcia and so I'm sending a battalion to the island, enough I hope to put the kabbash on any quick and sneaky invasion by Japan. Maybe later I'll send more. But I still don't know where I can get any major units freed up to send any place like D.G., however.
Diego Garcia is tough to defend early and a battalion won't be enough to stop the Japanese if they come, but it could make them think twice about trying. You'll be getting a good deal of reinforcements in Aden in the coming months so be sure to get transports there. By the middle of 1942 you should have enough reinforcements in India to feel comfortable.
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