JFB in charge of the USN??? BtS Lite ver. 4.5 Kitakami (A) vs Falken (J)

[Kitakami]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
It is only January 42 - you cannot expect major reinforcements or experienced/well-trained troops/crews/pilots just yet!

True... I forget that on this side of the fence one thinks totally opposite!

1. First, look at your replacement queues. That will give you a sense of when and where the reinforcements will arrive. Hint - send lots of transports to Aden and send some of Abadan's tankers over with fuel for Aden. If supply is sketchy, send some of your transports to Abadan or Karachi to pick some up.

xAPs, AKVs and some xAKs in place in Aden. The fuel is something I had not considered, and will do either this turn or next.

2. When those short ranged 4000 nm xAKLs are no longer useful because of the distances on map, send them to Cape Town and have them work hauling supply from EC USA to CT.

Most of the 10-kt cargo haulers are either in the East Coast or on their way there... the ones that survived the first few days, that is.

3. Look at your pilot pools to see what is coming from the training system. They graduate to on-map availability at 12 months training so the numbers for 11 months will be your next month influx.

Hmm... good point. Let's see... last month this is what I got (numbers rounded):
* US Navy, 600.
* US Marines, 100.
* Dutch, 10.
* Australian, 70.
* Canadian, 20.
* Indian, 10.
* British, 170.
* New Zealanders, 35
* US Army, 440.
* Commonwealth, 10.
* French, 5.
* Philippinos, 10.
* Soviet, 35.
* Chinese, 10.

That sounds like a lot, but they arrive at a deplorable exp level (US Navy is high at 44, Chinese is low at 23). Training as many pilots as I can in most on-map air units that can be safely put on training, but training takes a long time...

4. Look at your industry screen to see the number of airframes being produced per month, by type. If you need info on future months you might have to go to the editor to see what aircraft are produced and when.

This is what gives me the shudders (current production, not all planes are listed):
* USN - 8x F4F-3A, 12x F4F-3, 33x SBD-3, 12x Devastators.
* USA - 18x A-24, 15x B-17E, 25x P-39D, 50x P-40E.
* Australia - 12x F2A-3, 12x Swordfish II.
* New Zealand - 12x F2A-3, 12x Swordfish II.
* UK - 8x Albacore, 5x Sea Hurricane Ib, 33x Hurricane (various).
* Canada - 12x Kittyhawk I.
I have lost so many fighters so far, that replacement rates are not enough to keep current units operational. I have already withdrawn one of the P-40E squadrons from the Philippines because of the low number of planes remaining.

Things begin to look a bit better in the coming months, though: 36x P-400/mo. in February; 60x F4F-4/mo. in March, 15x Aus Kittyhawk Ia/mo. in April; 24x P-38E, 35x TBF-1, 12x Auz F4F-4 & 12x NZ F4F-4/mo. in May; 45x Hurricane IIc trop, 24x Can Hurricane XIIb/day in June. But getting there is going to be tough. I will have to take a look at planes that can be bought with PPs, I guess.

5. Don't forget to manage withdrawals or they will bite your PP hard! Start moving the units to be withdrawn to a base that allows that weeks ahead of due date.

Thank you. Yes, I will pay attention to this.

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated!

[Kitakami]

ORIGINAL: Dirtnap86
1) They may be replenishing planes, or something similar, upgrading escorts, etc. Given his losses, he may have landed his KB zeroes to sweep with. It'd be absurd but well...refuge in audacity I suppose.

I sure would prefer if they didn't come back

2) The only real reason for an Aleutian push is to take Adak and *maybe* Cold Harbor. Not a whole lot up here.

Yes, not much there, that is true.

3) I don't know the mod that well, but you seem to be doing as good as you can. The butcher's bill in the air is always bad for the Allies, especially early war as you are limited on how many planes you can even put up. I do know in stock, you get several Hurricane squadrons that come in at Aden in Jan/Feb 42. Ship em to Karachi then rail them to Calcutta to train for a bit then deploy them as range 0 defense for akyab/chittagong/cox's bazaar. Good fighters and more than a match for Oscars. If you find yourself really hard up for planes you can always 'upgrade' one of the permanent restricted squadrons to an older plane (if you have PDU on). Then again you get to buy planes with the mod, so maybe it won't help as much. I find it astounding that he has that many land based zero squadrons, I always thought Japan was fairly hard up for Zekes for the first couple of months, here he's blown through an entire KB's worth of 'em.

There are those Hurricanes, true, and they will have a lot of work cut out for them too. As for the "upgrades", I've been doing that since day 1, otherwise I would not have lasted this long. Problem is, I have run out of "upgrades" I can do. Thankfully the P-39s are filling the ranks nicely in back areas. Otherwise I would not have USAAF reserves at all.

Now, the desperation is mostly regarding USAAF, Australian, New Zealander, UK, and Dutch fighter squadrons. USN and USMC squadrons are nicely full, but they have other duties. I am not risking my CVs or their planes in the current circumstances.

On the plane front, once you get some P-38s save them for sweeping. Nothing can contend with a Lightning once it comes online til mid-late 43 and even then it does well.

I have a P-38E Sqdn a few days away from Cape Town. They will then be shipped to India, where final training will take place, and then to sweep the front lines. The Sqdn has a full complement of 25 planes, plus 16 in reserve. I am looking forward to their use. If I am careful, they could almost last to May '42, when P-38E begins, as there is only one group of P-38Es that can be bought with PPs before November, and the date for that is June 15th.

Thanks for the comments! They help me process what I have not done, what I have done, and what I should do

[Dirtnap86]

Now, the desperation is mostly regarding USAAF, Australian, New Zealander, UK, and Dutch fighter squadrons. USN and USMC squadrons are nicely full, but they have other duties. I am not risking my CVs or their planes in the current circumstances.

Your CV pilots are perhaps the best the Allies have until you get more trained up stateside. You can always dump them in Australia to ambush betties or nells that he hasn't escorted all that well. They'd also likely do alright in the CBI area, since IJAAF planes aren't that much better and the pilots are likely worse.

Where is the AVG? those guys really *really* put a hurt on almost anything Japan throws at me (though I'm an AI player not a PBEM).

[ny59giants]

Allies: you have to have good pilots as you cannot afford to throw airframes away. You have American and Brit training squadrons along with restricted airgroups in USA. Those that stay throughout the war get better leaders. Fighter groups first and then my 4e bombers. If you have to, cease using groups until you get decent pilots. The number of fighters at Pearl stay there for months just filling out airframes steadily and training up their pilots. Its' a long war.

Japan: The can afford to lose airframes, but not pilots. So as Allies fighting over your bases helps you.

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Kitakami

Now, the desperation is mostly regarding USAAF, Australian, New Zealander, UK, and Dutch fighter squadrons. USN and USMC squadrons are nicely full, but they have other duties. I am not risking my CVs or their planes in the current circumstances.

I have a P-38E Sqdn a few days away from Cape Town. They will then be shipped to India, where final training will take place, and then to sweep the front lines. The Sqdn has a full complement of 25 planes, plus 16 in reserve. I am looking forward to their use. If I am careful, they could almost last to May '42, when P-38E begins, as there is only one group of P-38Es that can be bought with PPs before November, and the date for that is June 15th.

Thanks for the comments! They help me process what I have not done, what I have done, and what I should do

Use the P-38s with the best pilots you've accumulated from action in China, the PI and elsewhere. This alone is reason to get some actions going, because if you can put 80exp fighter pilots in P-38Es in early 42, you control any area you want against even the best Japan has to offer.

The pilot quality game is something I think about all of the time. The more you can take away Japan's best pilots early, the less pain when they start getting the better airframes.

[Kitakami]

ORIGINAL: Dirtnap86
Your CV pilots are perhaps the best the Allies have until you get more trained up stateside. You can always dump them in Australia to ambush betties or nells that he hasn't escorted all that well. They'd also likely do alright in the CBI area, since IJAAF planes aren't that much better and the pilots are likely worse.

I will not disclose their current location, but they are land-based at this point, in a region where at least the fighters are bound to see action. It would be interesting if the IJN got close enough

Where is the AVG? those guys really *really* put a hurt on almost anything Japan throws at me (though I'm an AI player not a PBEM).

They are in the CBI theater, on CAP duty, waiting for Japanese planes to come to them. They will be reinforced by the P-38s.

[ny59giants]

P-38s rule the skies until Mr George shows up in late 42. John 3rd felt that pain in our brief game as he lost plenty of Tojo and pilots trying to stop my sweep. 😁

[Kitakami]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants
Allies: you have to have good pilots as you cannot afford to throw airframes away. You have American and Brit training squadrons along with restricted airgroups in USA. Those that stay throughout the war get better leaders. Fighter groups first and then my 4e bombers. If you have to, cease using groups until you get decent pilots. The number of fighters at Pearl stay there for months just filling out airframes steadily and training up their pilots. Its' a long war.

This last is perhaps what is the hardest to remember. Being used to the Japanese mentality, it is hard for me to remember that my attacks BEGIN 6-12 months from now.

Japan: The can afford to lose airframes, but not pilots. So as Allies fighting over your bases helps you.

This piece of advice has helped immensely, yes.

[Kitakami]

ORIGINAL: obvert
Use the P-38s with the best pilots you've accumulated from action in China, the PI and elsewhere. This alone is reason to get some actions going, because if you can put 80exp fighter pilots in P-38Es in early 42, you control any area you want against even the best Japan has to offer.

The pilot quality game is something I think about all of the time. The more you can take away Japan's best pilots early, the less pain when they start getting the better airframes.

This I had never thought of! Thank you VERY much!

[Kitakami]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants
P-38s rule the skies until Mr George shows up in late 42. John 3rd felt that pain in our brief game as he lost plenty of Tojo and pilots trying to stop my sweep. 😁

I will humbly try to emulate your achievements!

[ny59giants]

Spring ‘43:
Increased B-24 production
First Corsairs
Hellcats
Essex Class CVS
AP can convert to APAs (thats why I hide mine)
Fletchers and more Fletchers 🙂 (look at just your DD production)

By summer ‘43 you should be able to start on the road to Tokyo!!!

[Kitakami]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants
Spring ‘43:
Increased B-24 production
First Corsairs
Hellcats
Essex Class CVS
AP can convert to APAs (thats why I hide mine)
Fletchers and more Fletchers 🙂 (look at just your DD production)

By summer ‘43 you should be able to start on the road to Tokyo!!!

That is a long time waiting! ;p

With 2-day turns, it is not so bad, though. And, now that you mention the road to Tokyo, that is one decision I will have to make eventually... where will the road to Tokyo be? I know it will depend on my opponent's actions (and gains), but I need to start thinking about it. From what I read in various AARs, a key element is getting airfields within bombing and sweeping range of Japanese Home Island cities.

[Kitakami]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants
AP can convert to APAs (thats why I hide mine)

The last two APs have left dangerous waters (just in time, as I'll report later). All 16 APs with speeds of 15-kts+ survived, and one will be withdrawn in a bit over a month, so I will have 15 APAs come summer of 1943.

[Kitakami]

Jan 14th, 1942

There are times when calculated risks are a success, and there are times when they are not. This past turn one of my calculated risks backfired. As you have been able to see in previous turns' illustrations, I had two TF downloading supplies on the west coast of Sumatra, after having unloaded the land units. They were being screened from night surface action by a pair of Free French YPs.

Well, out of nowhere the Hiryu/Soryu CsrDiv from KB appeared, and sent most of those ships to the bottom. I have plenty patrol planes in the DEI looking for combat and amphibious TF, and I did NOT see them coming. Here is the result. Japanese flat tops are coming back it seems, and I now must be careful. Should I retreat surface forces from the Java region?

[Kitakami]

In the air I did not do that bad, even with my dwindling number of fighters over the combat areas. Zeroes are still getting whacked, and I hope their pilots are going down with them. Total losses were 40 Japanese to 30 Allied, but the Japanese only lost 12 to air combat and 5 to Flak, while the Allies lost 20 to air combat.

[Kitakami]

Instead of giving you another table of accumulated airframe losses, this turn I'll post a graphic, which shows better how the air war has been going (image reduced in size):

[Kitakami]

The DEI:

Enemy force levels remain constant at 28K troops. I bombard every day, checking for new arrivals, and do tiny bit of damage to the enemy.

The Philippines:

There are now about 14K Japanese troops in Manila. Every time they bombard, I lose some troops and they lose some guns. Over 20 destroyed so far, by my account.

There are about 1K Japanese troops in Bacolod, not having much success (until I run out of supply, I guess). There are also 5K Japanese troops attacking what I have left in Davao, also without much success in their part, but when I get to zero supply, those Philippinos will probably surrender.

Malaya:

No action here except for air bombardment of Singapore. So far, between my fighters making most bombers miss, and the number of Allied engineers in the fortress island, installation damage starts at zero each turn.

Burma:

Chinese land forces have been steadily trickling in (after having been paid for), and are happily accepting reinforcements. They will not be sent to the front lines, but will be kept as a reserve in a place from where they can flee to India easily if necessary.

Here, there might be an opportunity to attack the Japanese. About 6k enemy troops crossed into Pegu, and they were well received by the local festivities committee:

Japanese Shock attack at Pegu (55,53)
Japanese ground losses:
* 1059 casualties reported
*** Squads: 1 destroyed, 138 disabled
*** Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
*** Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
*** Guns lost 8 (1 destroyed, 7 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
* 74 casualties reported
*** Squads: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
*** Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
*** Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Assaulting units:
144th Infantry Regiment

Defending units:
46th Indian Brigade
6th Burma Rifles Battalion
1st Burma Division
17th Indian Division
107th RAF Base Force
1st Burma Auxiliary AA Regiment
108th RAF Base Force

Although I see more enemy units moving in, I am going to order a shock attack. Another calculated risk, hoping that it works. If it does and the enemy retreats, the Japanese will have to shock attack across the river one more time, which is going to cost them a lot of troops. We will see.

[Kitakami]

The Solomons, Papua New Guinea, and islands nearby:

My esteemed opponent sees to have stopped his southward advance at Lunga. I have used that to reinforce the next likely island, and have landed the 2nd & 8th Marine Rgts plus support units in Luganville, after having mined the approaches heavily. It will take more than an SNF Assault Div to dislodge those guys from the place. I intend to build the base up after fortifying it heavily. Good airbase possible there.

IJN CVE TF spotted 4 hexes east of Rabaul. I wonder what direction they are sailing. Must begin with defensive preparations in Port Moresby.

A question: how do you supply Port Moresby once the pressure is on? Air? Fast Transport? I need to know if I want to keep the base. Many thanks to those that care to respond

[ny59giants]

If you can you will need to start building Allied Death Star with your CVs and hybrids. They can take on two CVs and a CVL.

[Kitakami]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants
If you can you will need to start building Allied Death Star with your CVs and hybrids. They can take on two CVs and a CVL.

Hmm... yes... I might have to do this. I was hoping to be able to do do the AA improvements before getting the ships into harm's way, but we will see. Decisions, decisions...