Notes from a Small Island

[jwolf]

Good point about the Manchuria garrison; as you say, the "risk" of early activation isn't really a large problem now. But I presume he still needs to keep a pretty strong army in Manchuria so that the Soviets don't just blitz through the whole thing instantly once they get activated. BTW do you have the Red Army ready to go?

[Canoerebel]

Red Army is ready to go. Fully prepped, pilots trained, aircraft upgraded.

[Canoerebel]

Many ground units upgraded too, to latest devices. And a fair number of fighter squadrons are set to CAP (rather than training) just in case Erik decides to get in a hard first lick.

[RangerJoe]

If he makes Shanghai and/or Nanking redoubts, your naval forces could have a lot of fun bombarding . . .

I would set your Soviets units to part CAP with part training just so they will still continue to train a little more.

[Canoerebel]

5/16/45

TNNBT: The first test bombardment at Shanghai goes surprisingly well, considering the modest size of the ships involved. Earlier in the turn, and in preceding turns, minesweepers have worked to clear channels. Soon I'll send in one of my big TFs. I hope to do that erratically but occasionally so that Erik is loathe to load up the airfield.

Another small bombardment at Nanking yielded modest results, but the big boys can definitely target it.

[RangerJoe]

With the rail lines cut, those damaged planes can only go so far and if you can naval bombard those bases, they will make nice targets. Especially if he flies in air units and you catch them on the ground.

[Mike Solli]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

If he makes Shanghai and/or Nanking redoubts, your naval forces could have a lot of fun bombarding . . .

I would set your Soviets units to part CAP with part training just so they will still continue to train a little more.

If you want to work on experience primarily, 100% CAP at 0 range works nicely.

[Canoerebel]

But CAP doesn't have an effect on defensive skills. For that you have to train in certain areas or gain experience through combat. My Soviets have been training for years, so they are high in skills and defense. So those units are now set to CAP. Newer units with lesser experience and skills are still in training mode.

[Mike Solli]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

But CAP doesn't have an effect on defensive skills. For that you have to train in certain areas or gain experience through combat. My Soviets have been training for years, so they are high in skills and defense. So those units are now set to CAP. Newer units with lesser experience and skills are still in training mode.

Gotcha. Yeah, training defensive skills is the tough one to accomplish. It definitely takes the longest.

[HansBolter]

He really can't afford to pull anything out of Manchukuo.

While the 8k AV may be adequate to stave off activation, it is woefully inadequate to stand up to the Soviet juggernaut.


I'm at August 29th and the Soviets are steamrolling with units like this:

[HansBolter]

And just look at this baby. The Soviets definitely subscribe to the principal of massed artillery.

[traskott]

Oh mamita qué cosa tan bonita [8D][8D].

Lovely.

[RangerJoe]

All of those guns and no motorized support. I wonder if they have Bears helping them move artillery shells like Sgt Wojtek of the Polish Army:

The animal was very small and the problem of feeding him was soon overcome by the improvised techniques employed by his new family including feeding him from on a bottle filled with condensed milk. Eventually, they all arrived in Palestine and the bear was taken to the 22nd Transport Company, Artillery Division, Polish 2nd Corp where the men would become his companions for the next few years. He was given the name Wojtek, pronounced Voytek.

From the beginning he became a popular member of the Company spending most of his time with the soldiers of the 4th Platoon. Two of his closest friends were two young soldiers, Dymitr Szawlugo and Henryk Zacharewicz who would both be featured in many of the photos and film footage taken of Wojtek. He would often be found in the kitchen area and he ate everything he was fed and even developed a taste for beer and wine together with cigarettes which he would only accept when lit. He had a habit of drinking from a beer or wine bottle and when empty, he would peer into the bottle waiting patiently for more. He would usually take one puff of a lit cigarette and then swallow it.

http://thesoldierbear.com/Wojtek/index.html

[MakeeLearn]

Masha, a Russian cadet of the Northern Fleet

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

All of those guns and no motorized support. I wonder if they have Bears helping them move artillery shells like Sgt Wojtek of the Polish Army:

The animal was very small and the problem of feeding him was soon overcome by the improvised techniques employed by his new family including feeding him from on a bottle filled with condensed milk. Eventually, they all arrived in Palestine and the bear was taken to the 22nd Transport Company, Artillery Division, Polish 2nd Corp where the men would become his companions for the next few years. He was given the name Wojtek, pronounced Voytek.

From the beginning he became a popular member of the Company spending most of his time with the soldiers of the 4th Platoon. Two of his closest friends were two young soldiers, Dymitr Szawlugo and Henryk Zacharewicz who would both be featured in many of the photos and film footage taken of Wojtek. He would often be found in the kitchen area and he ate everything he was fed and even developed a taste for beer and wine together with cigarettes which he would only accept when lit. He had a habit of drinking from a beer or wine bottle and when empty, he would peer into the bottle waiting patiently for more. He would usually take one puff of a lit cigarette and then swallow it.

http://thesoldierbear.com/Wojtek/index.html

When you're lining the guns up wheel to wheel there is no room for trucks [:D]

[Canoerebel]

5/18/45

Air Wars: The Allies won a nice victory in the air today. It was noteworthy, because it was his first team against my first team. Ki-83s, Frank-Rs, Georges against Corsairs, Thunderbolts and Mustangs.

This is the third consecutive day that Erik's fighters have swept targets: (1) Day 1 versus Allied LRCAP over the contested hex in China: the combat animations went Erik's way, but his ops losses were high, resulting in roughly even losses; that's a decent result for the Allies; (2) Day Two: sweeps against mainly Tungchow and the new base near the contested hex - this time, the Allies scored a slight victory; (3) Day 3: major sweeps against the main CAP over Tungchow and modest CAP over Toyohara - a nice Allied victory, somewhat surprising considering the number of Ki-83s involved.

Fighting on the defensive over a friendly base is always helpful. The combat animation will often show an enemy victory, but his ops losses will offset that, usually evening things out. Considering the quality of his air force, that's usually an acceptable outcome.

The Allied fighters at Toyohara had interesting settings - roughly CAP at 20% or LRCAP at 20%. During the latter days of the campaigns in the Kuriles, I thought I detected results suggesting that this kind of setting somehow seemed to produce better results than the standard 70% or 80% CAP settings. Today's results were consistent with that hypothesis. I'll continue to test when possible (but not where CAP is covering DS or major shipping).

I think Erik has always used the rail feature of the game to expedite aircraft recovery from battle fatigue. So if the Ki-83 has a high service rating, he'll use a squadron at, say, Nagasaki; when it suffers damaged aircraft, he rails to a nearby base and the aircraft repair much faster than ordinary. To me, this is a wonky feature of the game that wasn't intended (the designers intended service ratings to mean something). But it, like many other things, is simply part of the game. We all can take advantage of this feature, though it especially benefits the Japanese with their good HI rail network and high service ratings.

[Canoerebel]

5/18/45

Air Losses in Detail: 114 Frank-Rs lost to Ops. I wonder what happened?

[RangerJoe]

No matter what the CAP percentage is, it is my understanding that if more planes are needed and available then they are sent into the air. You might see something like so many aircraft joining the fight.

If you LRCAP his airbases, that can increase the ops losses. This might be a good use for older but longer ranged aircraft.

As far as his losses go, his pilots may getting more tired which could also explain the ops losses. Remember, when the planes are damaged or there is an ops loss, the pilot will lose an experience point. So even if the pilot is saved, the experience will suffer.

[Canoerebel]

5/18/45

TNNBT: Things look good on the ground, thus far. The main elements of the Allied army are now one hex and two hexes from the key contested hex. I intend to take that hex and then advance to the north, seeking to engage the main enemy force that's currently at the dot-hex just NW of the contested hex. So, at this moment, I envision the Allied army moving into the open terrain rather than moving to isolate and take Shanghai and Nanking. That may change. I'm hoping, though that the Allied army in Thailand can take responsibility for China south of the Yangtze. For the next month or two, the first objective is to seek and destroy enemy ground forces. Then, as the Allied armies draw into proximity, the high-value objectives will become priorities.

[Canoerebel]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

No matter what the CAP percentage is, it is my understanding that if more planes are needed and available then they are sent into the air. You might see something like so many aircraft joining the fight.

If you LRCAP his airbases, that can increase the ops losses. This might be a good use for older but longer ranged aircraft.

As far as his losses go, his pilots may getting more tired which could also explain the ops losses. Remember, when the planes are damaged or there is an ops loss, the pilot will lose an experience point. So even if the pilot is saved, the experience will suffer.

Helpful pointers, Joe, as were your posts yesterday. Thanks!