Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition
ORIGINAL: castor troy
I wonder why your Georges are doing that much better than your Franks when the Franks should be at least equal if not better. Have you got your elite IJN pilots flying the Georges having a considerable higher air skill than the Frank pilots?
ORIGINAL: MrKane
ORIGINAL: castor troy
I wonder why your Georges are doing that much better than your Franks when the Franks should be at least equal if not better. Have you got your elite IJN pilots flying the Georges having a considerable higher air skill than the Frank pilots?
Well, I would say it is not a pilot quality issue, it is guns quality and quantity issue.
ORIGINAL: castor troy
ORIGINAL: MrKane
ORIGINAL: castor troy
I wonder why your Georges are doing that much better than your Franks when the Franks should be at least equal if not better. Have you got your elite IJN pilots flying the Georges having a considerable higher air skill than the Frank pilots?
Well, I would say it is not a pilot quality issue, it is guns quality and quantity issue.
gun value shouldn't matter much vs fighters, Frank with 14 downs fighters just as well as George with 16 and the rest of the stats should favour the Frank
I disagree here. What would prevent Japanese tank divisions from moving around besides the simple geography of the area? Yes, you won't be able to win in meeting engagements against the Allies. But the speed you need here is merely to get them into defensive position quicker; not counterattack Allied units. Northern Sumatra is probably an ideal place for them given the primary road that follows the coast there and the commitment to defend Sabang. 3x terrain and forts certainly are helpful but those multipliers apply equally to infantry units as well.ORIGINAL: JocMeister
Yeah, I wouldn´t count too much on the Japanese tank divs. They need to be in x3 terrain and preferably some forts to be effective. Counting on being able to move them around is probably a bit too optimistic.
Frankly I think that a full day of sweeps is basically mandatory before an attack like this. LRCAP just doesn't cut it. Moreover, I don't find the numbers involved to be that impressive. Worst of all, damage to the airbase is not very heavy and you can easily fly CAP another 2 days at this rate. If he managed to suppress the base it might be a Pyrrhic victory of sorts but 1 to 1 ratio fighting over Japanese bases is not going to win the attritional war. If Erik attacks another day I expect it to be a bloodbath for him.ORIGINAL: GreyJoy
The A6M5c suffered too much, but 40 4E downed is a very good result. Wonder if he is willing to try for a second day...
ORIGINAL: Sangeli
Frankly I think that a full day of sweeps is basically mandatory before an attack like this. LRCAP just doesn't cut it. Moreover, I don't find the numbers involved to be that impressive. Worst of all, damage to the airbase is not very heavy and you can easily fly CAP another 2 days at this rate. If he managed to suppress the base it might be a Pyrrhic victory of sorts but 1 to 1 ratio fighting over Japanese bases is not going to win the attritional war. If Erik attacks another day I expect it to be a bloodbath for him.ORIGINAL: GreyJoy
The A6M5c suffered too much, but 40 4E downed is a very good result. Wonder if he is willing to try for a second day...
ORIGINAL: Sangeli
I disagree here. What would prevent Japanese tank divisions from moving around besides the simple geography of the area? Yes, you won't be able to win in meeting engagements against the Allies. But the speed you need here is merely to get them into defensive position quicker; not counterattack Allied units. Northern Sumatra is probably an ideal place for them given the primary road that follows the coast there and the commitment to defend Sabang. 3x terrain and forts certainly are helpful but those multipliers apply equally to infantry units as well.ORIGINAL: JocMeister
Yeah, I wouldn´t count too much on the Japanese tank divs. They need to be in x3 terrain and preferably some forts to be effective. Counting on being able to move them around is probably a bit too optimistic.
Also I think that the Allies are at least a year and a large naval battle from launching an invasion of the Marianas. Considering Erik's rather conservative naval approach so far I don't see him risking the entirety of his navy on a landing there. There are lower hanging fruit to grab and better places to fight naval battles.
Another consideration for fighting in the Marianas should be infantry reinforcements post Allied invasion. You should be able to fly or fast transport in infantry squads during the campaign so you can replace your losses with pure AV and not go over the stacking limit. Better yet if you can get those units preparing for the bases they will reinforce. Erik's calculus is based off what intel tells him is currently in the Marinas rather than what may end up there during the battle. I'm not sure where your SNLF units are but this should be a good role for them at a time when they just don't have enough beef to stand up to Allied assaults on their own; they need large IJA LCUs to absorb the damage while they fire their rifles at the attackers.
If you couldn't tell I have a strong preference for mobile defense....
ORIGINAL: Sangeli
I disagree here. What would prevent Japanese tank divisions from moving around besides the simple geography of the area?
ORIGINAL: JocMeister
ORIGINAL: Sangeli
I disagree here. What would prevent Japanese tank divisions from moving around besides the simple geography of the area?
The allied Air Force knocking the tanks out of move mode? [:)] And once out of move mode Allied tanks will catch up and make very short work of the Tank Divs... One or two Tank Btl with Shermans is enough to wreck a full tank Div even in good defensive terrain.
I think you misinterpreted what I was trying to say. I understand that sweeps may get there after the bombers. That's exactly why I said he needed to sweep for a full day BEFORE the bombers go in. Yes, it gives away the element of surprise. But if Erik can't dominate the sky with his fighters even when you know they are coming, he has no business attacking Rabaul yet. And yes, LRCAP numbers were probably much higher but I'm only evaluating the results so from my perspective it's irrelevant.ORIGINAL: GreyJoy
ORIGINAL: Sangeli
Frankly I think that a full day of sweeps is basically mandatory before an attack like this. LRCAP just doesn't cut it. Moreover, I don't find the numbers involved to be that impressive. Worst of all, damage to the airbase is not very heavy and you can easily fly CAP another 2 days at this rate. If he managed to suppress the base it might be a Pyrrhic victory of sorts but 1 to 1 ratio fighting over Japanese bases is not going to win the attritional war. If Erik attacks another day I expect it to be a bloodbath for him.ORIGINAL: GreyJoy
The A6M5c suffered too much, but 40 4E downed is a very good result. Wonder if he is willing to try for a second day...
Sweeps are not that reliable. You never know if they get before the bombers or not. Erik is doing a fine job using all the bases he has at his disposal, thus lowering the effect of the uncoordination that can affect a single base(weather above all). the problem of LRCAp is that the pilots get really too fatigued to do it extensively for more than a single day, especially when the distance is pretty intensive (like in this case).
He will surely try this again, maybe not today, but soon. He will need to get closer to Rabaul (I know he wants Arawe and Gasmata, just like Green Island and Namantani), in order to successfully use his LRCAP cover for his bombers. My task will be to make this process as slow and expensive as possible, but I know i'll have to give up sooner or later.
I do agree, however, that a second day will be a bloodbath for him. The base has 3 points of runaway damage and his 4Es suffered a lot, so morale must be bad.
I also doubt he has the numbers to conduct another extensive LRCAP mission with his Hellcats.
Just consider, however, that in the combat reports often LRCAP planes are not reported correctly. Numbers were much more higher for him
Yes, I was sort of setting up that counterpoint. But I would imagine this maneuver taking place at the very beginning or just before an invasion when the Allied air forces are concentrating on other targets. I don't think Erik will be hitting divisions behind the front line before he has secured a foothold in Sumatra. This isn't Normandy in 1944 just across from Britain; Allied air forces will be busy enough just trying to keep their ships from being sunk and attacking ground units at the landing point itself. And of course Japan is still able to provide CAP in many places so it doesn't seem unreasonable that Greyjoy could use a tank division to quickly get to the invasion spot in northern Sumatra before the base can fall given their fort levels. Again, I think that given Greyjoy's forward defensive scheme it is critical to get units to the point of landing and that means getting tanks to the beachheads.ORIGINAL: JocMeisterThe allied Air Force knocking the tanks out of move mode? [:)] And once out of move mode Allied tanks will catch up and make very short work of the Tank Divs... One or two Tank Btl with Shermans is enough to wreck a full tank Div even in good defensive terrain.ORIGINAL: Sangeli
I disagree here. What would prevent Japanese tank divisions from moving around besides the simple geography of the area?
ORIGINAL: Sangeli
Yes, I was sort of setting up that counterpoint. But I would imagine this maneuver taking place at the very beginning or just before an invasion when the Allied air forces are concentrating on other targets. I don't think Erik will be hitting divisions behind the front line before he has secured a foothold in Sumatra. This isn't Normandy in 1944 just across from Britain; Allied air forces will be busy enough just trying to keep their ships from being sunk and attacking ground units at the landing point itself. And of course Japan is still able to provide CAP in many places so it doesn't seem unreasonable that Greyjoy could use a tank division to quickly get to the invasion spot in northern Sumatra before the base can fall given their fort levels. Again, I think that given Greyjoy's forward defensive scheme it is critical to get units to the point of landing and that means getting tanks to the beachheads.
ORIGINAL: JocMeister
ORIGINAL: Lokasenna
Reserve mode.
Is that not fixed yet?
ORIGINAL: Lokasenna
I think the basic answer we got (if/when it came up) was that it was WAD/WAI. Reserve mode doesn't seem to exactly mimic the move mode bonus, but it's really close... And it doesn't protect you from casualties from aerial bombing, so far as I can tell - the bombing just doesn't knock you out of Reserve mode.
