Allies Set-up Spreadsheet for AE

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

If the ship is at sea, you can't change the commander.

And in small ports, you cannot check the commander ratings until you dock the ship or disband it in port. I don't know why that is so when you can check LCU and ACU leaders any time, and change them when you want. It is a real PITA when your flagship gets torpedoed and you cannot check which captain in the remaining ships has the best Naval Skill to lead the TF.

[Rondor11]

Ok, I know I am shameless but has anyone ever shared a savegame file that has all of Kull's amazing work done?

Don't beat me up too bad for asking.

[Kull]

ORIGINAL: Rondor11

Ok, I know I am shameless but has anyone ever shared a savegame file that has all of Kull's amazing work done?

Don't beat me up too bad for asking.

I did, like 10 years ago (lol), but that file contains the moves from the first version of the spreadsheet, and most have been improved upon since. Plus - as I've noted many times - you won't learn anything from using this, since it will simply transfer your Day 2 confusion to Day 3! However, it might still be helpful as a reference, in case you weren't certain about some of the instructions and wanted to see what they would look like in-game.

[Rondor11]

Thank you, very kindly. It does offer some insights for me.

I thank the wargaming gods for Youtube every day. This game is especially deep and has a ASL level-of-commitment, feel from a naval perspective

[LGKMAS]

Okay, things are going reasonably well. The blasted AI keeps popping up with little landing forces everywhere and I am running around trying to plug gaps.
Managed to get most of the DEI merchant fleet out and I only seem to lose one AK or similar per week. So my merchant fleet seems to be growing, but so does the number of units I need to ship. Spent most of yesterday trying to work out who goes where and how to get them on ships. The initial rush to plug gaps with whatever I had now means a rather complicated reshuffle of forces to bring fragments together and replace the fragments with viable forces, rather than just a speedbump.

I have had some good turns, some due to extremely good luck and others I would like to hope because I saw a need to put forces there.

I was worried about PNG etc and established 3 cruiser groups rotating through the area. When my Naval Search spotted ships near Rabaul, I chanced a bombardment. That blundered into three different and largely unescorted Japanese landing groups and I managed to sink most of them, about 15 over two days of running battles. Then he keeps coming for Port Moresby and I am having a great time rotating those three Cruiser groups between refuelling/rearming and going to and from a Patrol zone near Milne Bay. He regularly runs into my cruiser patrols about once a week and the worst I have suffered is the loss of 2 DDs overall while he seems to lose 2-3 AKs plus an escort or two every time.

Then I thought to send a 2 CV TF to SoPac. I was just two days away from Canton when he tried to land there. Well, the garrison held him off and I managed to run in and sink another 4 or 5 AKs and to my surprise SORYU!!. He pulled out and ran. I needed fuelling so I had to hang around Canton for a few days. Then he turns up at Viterapui with another lightly escorted Amphib force. Off I go and sink another 5 AKs and misc.

At the same time, over in the Bay of Bengal, my POW/Repulse SCTF has run in to do a bombardment and bumped into a 6 AK force at Moulmein, sinking them all, and then on the way out hit another AK force headed out of Rangoon and sank anther 5 AKs.

This has got me thinking. On my estimation, based on the Int reports and realising they are open to FOW, I think I have sunk about 25% of his starting AKs and a sizeable number of AKLs. And it is only March 1942! What effect is this going to have on him? Short term, possibly means he has enough resources stockpiled in the HI to manage for a while but all these supply ships sunk should mean that his Amphib forays must be getting a bit difficult. And in the longterm, it must surely have an impact on his production chains and supply ability?
Any thoughts on this?

[traskott]

Against AI you should let it take the historical zone of influence. A seasoned player can begin the Reconquista 1/1/42 preventing Japan even to take DEI/Singapore. And you are making good progress too, may be too much for the poor AI. Let them take P.M., Rabaul, maybe Canton, Tabiteua and all DEI and Birmania. Then at 06/01/42, begin the push. Take your time .

[LGKMAS]

The AI already has Rabaul, Palembang has fallen as has the Celebes and Ambon, Parts of Dutch New Guinea are also gone. Batavia is Japanese as is Burma. Bandoeng is fighting but should fall shortly. PI are down to Bataan and Manila and both of those are on their last legs. Airfields shut, no supplies etc.
Ocean Is and Nauru are long gone and Baker is Japanese. There are Japanese parties at Shortland and also at Lunga and Tulagi, although no bases there as yet. Madang and Gasmata are Japanese.
Midway suffers raids and of course Wake is long gone. The AI tried a landing at Noumea but was crushed. although the landing ships managed to escape.
I am using the next harder than Historical. I would have thought this was a good result for the AI, apart from losing all those AKs?
I must be rolling good on the dice as my Dutch, RN and USN S Boats are taking a regular toll on shipping and every now and then the other USN subs manage a hit. More often they do a gun action.
The IJN heavies have yet to suffer, although, as I said I did manage to sink Soryu. However, the Int report now does not list that as a sinking so I might be mistaken. They have lost, according to the Int report, one CA and 4 CLs and that is all for the main battle line. Again, this looks to me like a good result for the IJN AI!
As to waiting until June to do anything, I think it will take to at least then to get things properly organised. My turn checklist is now up to 42 items and growing.

[LGKMAS]

The time seems to be approaching Monsoon season in Burma, or so a number of people have told me. Apparently this is both a good thing in that Japanese will find it harder to keep supply up and to move cross country and bad in that I suffer from the same as well as affecting air missions.
Yet, try as I might, I cannot find what monsoon actually does. I have looked at the Manual under Weather and Air missions and weather. I have scanned movement and combat. But I cannot seem to locate what Monsoon actually does.
Any hints or pointers to the manual?

[Yaab]

LGKMAS, please post your question in the General Forum. I have tried searching the manual using "Monsoon" as the keyword and got no results.

[51st Highland Div]

What an amazing piece of work. As a returning player from the start this will be super handy
in getting set up as an Allied Player.[&o]

PS has anybody tried to print this out (apologies in advance)

[LGKMAS]

I did but first I took out all the Soviet units. That cut it down considerably to about 2/3rds of the original. I decided that the Soviets were unlikely to come into play until historical time in most cases so I could worry about them 1600 turns down the track. By which stage I would hope the war was decided one way or the other. I don't have the luxury of a split screen or a separate screen so printing was the only way to go.
Be aware if you do try this that a number of cells do not have word wrap enabled, especially over to the right where it lists where they should go or the patrol pattern or the search arc. and unless you are looking out for them, you may miss a few things. I discovered this after I had printed everything and was trying to place items in the right Ops Mode or search arc or whatever. Mt fault for not checking first.
While I may now decide to send a few units to different locations than Kull, I did agree with the general strategy Kull adopted, although I have modified it a bit as time went on and things developed. However, it was a great boost to be able to look at a unit and be able to make a decision about it.

[51st Highland Div]

Excellent, thanks for the reply LGKMAS [:)]

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: LGKMAS

I did but first I took out all the Soviet units. That cut it down considerably to about 2/3rds of the original. I decided that the Soviets were unlikely to come into play until historical time in most cases so I could worry about them 1600 turns down the track. By which stage I would hope the war was decided one way or the other. I don't have the luxury of a split screen or a separate screen so printing was the only way to go.
Be aware if you do try this that a number of cells do not have word wrap enabled, especially over to the right where it lists where they should go or the patrol pattern or the search arc. and unless you are looking out for them, you may miss a few things. I discovered this after I had printed everything and was trying to place items in the right Ops Mode or search arc or whatever. Mt fault for not checking first.
While I may now decide to send a few units to different locations than Kull, I did agree with the general strategy Kull adopted, although I have modified it a bit as time went on and things developed. However, it was a great boost to be able to look at a unit and be able to make a decision about it.

You don't have to do much with the Soviets because you cannot move the units anyway. Just decide which bases you want to grow bigger or fortify and set that, then leave the land units to help build or rest/train in place. Set air units to train in GrdB or NavB/NavT etc. Range 0, 100% training. Done.

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: LGKMAS

I did but first I took out all the Soviet units. That cut it down considerably to about 2/3rds of the original. I decided that the Soviets were unlikely to come into play until historical time in most cases so I could worry about them 1600 turns down the track. By which stage I would hope the war was decided one way or the other. I don't have the luxury of a split screen or a separate screen so printing was the only way to go.
Be aware if you do try this that a number of cells do not have word wrap enabled, especially over to the right where it lists where they should go or the patrol pattern or the search arc. and unless you are looking out for them, you may miss a few things. I discovered this after I had printed everything and was trying to place items in the right Ops Mode or search arc or whatever. Mt fault for not checking first.
While I may now decide to send a few units to different locations than Kull, I did agree with the general strategy Kull adopted, although I have modified it a bit as time went on and things developed. However, it was a great boost to be able to look at a unit and be able to make a decision about it.

You don't have to do much with the Soviets because you cannot move the units anyway. Just decide which bases you want to grow bigger or fortify and set that, then leave the land units to help build or rest/train in place. Set air units to train in GrdB or NavB/NavT etc. Range 0, 100% training. Done.

Add pilots when they become available.

[LGKMAS]

When it was a choice of printing out 600 sheets or 400 sheets, I'm afraid I went for the cheaper option. As I said, I assumed that if the soviets had to come in on this, the Wallies were screwed.
And I plead guilty in that I was a first timer who really had no idea what effect the Soviets had on the game. Yes, as a military Historian, I know what did happen but assuming the WItp lasted to late 1945 was not a good outcome for me as the allied forces.
I also thought that if the Soviets had to come eventually, early 1942 was not essential for them.

[51st Highland Div]

I think I'll pass at printing out all those pages and just select what i need [:D]

[Kull]

ORIGINAL: 51st Highland Div


I think I'll pass at printing out all those pages and just select what i need [:D]

Good plan! Printing this thing out would consume a small forest. Highly recommend that you use either a second monitor or a second PC and review the spreadsheet on one while updating the game on the other. It also helps to change the cell color in column B to indicate which rows you've completed - this is going to take a while and you don't want to waste time trying to figure out which moves you made and which you didn't! Good luck.

[Nowi Ribak]

F+uck me the setup takes so long, I started yesterday afternoon and am not yet finished (~70%).

@Kull
Just started a campaign & your spreadsheet is a godsend. Thank you very, very, very much for your detailled work and the many hours you surely put in to create this document.
Best regards to the US! [:)]

[rustysi]

the setup takes so long, I started yesterday afternoon and am not yet finished (~70%).

As IJ the first turn can easily take me a week.

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: rustysi

the setup takes so long, I started yesterday afternoon and am not yet finished (~70%).

As IJ the first turn can easily take me a week.

That is because of nap times and times, you old Geezer!