Spanking Lowpe (NJP72 vs Lowpe (A))

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Trying to find a use for Port Stanley...so far only a lone xakl delivering supplies on a milk run.

Any ideas? It is a long way. I guess if I fed it fuel it might make for a safe tanker/Cargo run to New Zealand? Seems a lot of trouble to setup though. I am going to try it...

Pt. Stanley is the emergency last alternative to ship stuff along the extreme southern part of the map. That happens if the Japanese take Tahiti or Samoa/Pago Pago. It requires setting up tankers to get fuel to Pt. Stanley, and possibly using short ranged ships to haul supply to PS so that long ranged xAKs can take it to NZ and Oz. I am not sure that is any more efficient than hauling to Cape Town and hauling on-map using a southern waypoint entry to get to Oz. At least if both options are available it complicates any Japanese efforts to interdict the last gasp LOC.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Trying to find a use for Port Stanley...so far only a lone xakl delivering supplies on a milk run.

Any ideas? It is a long way. I guess if I fed it fuel it might make for a safe tanker/Cargo run to New Zealand? Seems a lot of trouble to setup though. I am going to try it...

Pt. Stanley is the emergency last alternative to ship stuff along the extreme southern part of the map. That happens if the Japanese take Tahiti or Samoa/Pago Pago. It requires setting up tankers to get fuel to Pt. Stanley, and possibly using short ranged ships to haul supply to PS so that long ranged xAKs can take it to NZ and Oz. I am not sure that is any more efficient than hauling to Cape Town and hauling on-map using a southern waypoint entry to get to Oz. At least if both options are available it complicates any Japanese efforts to interdict the last gasp LOC.

Thankyou...starting to set it up better now. My guess is that Japan will head for Tahiti in the upcoming months.

[Ambassador]

Cape Town - Eastern USA is 170 hexes long, while Port Stanley - Eastern USA is only 162, but Cape Town starts as size 7 (and can be built up to 9) while PS starts as Port size 3 (and can only be built to 5)(both based on the SPS of Scen#1, but I don’t think it’s different in your mod). PS should then only be used as refueling point rather than loading port.

However, Auckland - Port Stanley is 189 hexes long, while Cape Town - Perth is only 139 hexes long, so the Eastern USA - Perth via CT is 309 hexes long while Eastern USA - Auckland via PS is 351 hexes long. Sydney via PS is 385 (Sydney - Port Stanley is 223).

For information, CT-Melbourne is 185 hexes and CT-Sydney is 198 hexes, or as much as 230-240 if you hug the bottom of the map to avoid Perth neighborhood. CT-Wellington is 225, or around 235 if you hug the border of the map, so Eastern USA - Wellington via CT is 395 (at the shortest, so add 10 if keeping clear from Oz), longer than through PS by over 40 hexes. But Eastern USA - Sydney through CT is 368 (or maybe 30-40 more by going south) while the same through PS is 385, so about the same as Melbourne.

So, it all depends on the risks of interception and whether Perth is safely accessible, or whether you build up in Australia or New Zealand. Cape Town has a repair shipyard and some daily supply generation though (if the mod is similar to Scen #1 on that account), while Port Stanley has none.

And no, the bottom left corner of the map (where « Gary Grigsby’s War in the Pacific » is written) is not accessible, you can’t hide your convoys there.[:D]

ÈDIT: Balboa - Auckland is 184 hexes, or up to 200 if you go south of the islands. But Balboa-Eastern USA is only 60 hexes, and you can exit from the Panama off-map area as south as hex row 182. This is south of Tahiti, and the exit point is over 40 range from the closest islands. I never found any use for Port Stanley, given those distances.

[RangerJoe]

If nothing else, stockpile supplies and fuel both in Panama and Cape Town. A great use for those 6k endurance ships as well as hiding your APs and AKs. If those ships are not in the playing area, they can't be attacked and they don't need escorts.

If you need more supplies in India or just want to stockpile them elsewhere for India later, Cape Town to Karachi will be a nice run with very little exposure on the map. The directly to Karachi and just dump the supplies there. A useful way to get units to India as well that is safer than going to Columbo, Bombay, Cochin, or directly to Karachi.

[Ambassador]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

If nothing else, stockpile supplies and fuel both in Panama and Cape Town. A great use for those 6k endurance ships as well as hiding your APs and AKs. If those ships are not in the playing area, they can't be attacked and they don't need escorts.

If you need more supplies in India or just want to stockpile them elsewhere for India later, Cape Town to Karachi will be a nice run with very little exposure on the map. The directly to Karachi and just dump the supplies there. A useful way to get units to India as well that is safer than going to Columbo, Bombay, Cochin, or directly to Karachi.

You can also detour by Aden, and from there go to Karachi, to further minimize the presence on-map, but the biggest risk is if he takes Socotra.

Anyway, after May ‘43, the Mediterranean way is open...

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: Ambassador

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

If nothing else, stockpile supplies and fuel both in Panama and Cape Town. A great use for those 6k endurance ships as well as hiding your APs and AKs. If those ships are not in the playing area, they can't be attacked and they don't need escorts.

If you need more supplies in India or just want to stockpile them elsewhere for India later, Cape Town to Karachi will be a nice run with very little exposure on the map. The directly to Karachi and just dump the supplies there. A useful way to get units to India as well that is safer than going to Columbo, Bombay, Cochin, or directly to Karachi.

You can also detour by Aden, and from there go to Karachi, to further minimize the presence on-map, but the biggest risk is if he takes Socotra.

Anyway, after May ‘43, the Mediterranean way is open...

Actually, I meant go to Aden then Karachi. My mistake.[:(]

I am smelling coffee but I haven't had any yet. [:(]

[Ambassador]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: Ambassador

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

If nothing else, stockpile supplies and fuel both in Panama and Cape Town. A great use for those 6k endurance ships as well as hiding your APs and AKs. If those ships are not in the playing area, they can't be attacked and they don't need escorts.

If you need more supplies in India or just want to stockpile them elsewhere for India later, Cape Town to Karachi will be a nice run with very little exposure on the map. The directly to Karachi and just dump the supplies there. A useful way to get units to India as well that is safer than going to Columbo, Bombay, Cochin, or directly to Karachi.

You can also detour by Aden, and from there go to Karachi, to further minimize the presence on-map, but the biggest risk is if he takes Socotra.

Anyway, after May ‘43, the Mediterranean way is open...

Actually, I meant go to Aden then Karachi. My mistake.[:(]

I am smelling coffee but I haven't had any yet. [:(]

This is torture !

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: Ambassador

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: Ambassador



You can also detour by Aden, and from there go to Karachi, to further minimize the presence on-map, but the biggest risk is if he takes Socotra.

Anyway, after May ‘43, the Mediterranean way is open...

Actually, I meant go to Aden then Karachi. My mistake.[:(]

I am smelling coffee but I haven't had any yet. [:(]

This is torture !

My lack of coffee is now fixed![:D]

[Ambassador]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: Ambassador

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe




Actually, I meant go to Aden then Karachi. My mistake.[:(]

I am smelling coffee but I haven't had any yet. [:(]

This is torture !

My lack of coffee is now fixed![:D]

[&o]

Now that I think about it, what could NJP think about all those posts accumulating in that AAR ? He might start to worry about even more surprises coming his way...[:D]

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: Ambassador

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: Ambassador



This is torture !

My lack of coffee is now fixed![:D]

[&o]

Now that I think about it, what could NJP think about all those posts accumulating in that AAR ? He might start to worry about even more surprises coming his way...[:D]

Maybe someone could convince CanoeRebel to post a picture of a tree here so we can get 6 pages of posts! [:D]

[Lowpe]

Ambassador -- [&o] Really useful information.[:)]

[Ambassador]

Taking some notes on distances between several key points is something I’ve been doing nearly since the beginning. It helps to organize the convoy routes... and realize how close some places really are.

[ny59giants]

You MUST have 2x TF carrying supply from Eastern USA to Cape Town throughout the game. If not, you can easily run low on supplies in India/Burma when 44/45 rolls around. Been there, done that! [;)]

[CaptBeefheart]

I've activated Port Stanley playing a Nasty, Nasty etc. Ironman where Andy Mac's IJ forces went deep. In that case, you need to send some early engineers and base forces with naval support to Port Stanley. Port Stanley to Christchurch convoys work pretty well on autopilot expect when KB fragments cruise the waters near NZ or further east.

Usually Balboa to NZ (or the Tahiti area) works better due to the shorter distance, but sometimes you really need to go low.

EDIT: Ambassador: Many thanks for the distance information. That's better than working on gut feelings.

Cheers,
CB

[Encircled]

Tend to use all the routes when I play

Just makes it a lot harder for the Japanese to interdict, as they can't be everywhere

[Lowpe]

Great Discussion...many thanks.[&o]

I am planning on attempting to use them all...I am such a single ship fanboy for CS convoys that is my preference.

Single ship convoys from Port Stanley. Will need some Micro to establish, but should avoid having to send lots of Naval Support there, but I will task at least one unit there. It can at least take restricted units I believe.

Slightly larger convoys from Balboa. I think to feed Balboa by Eastern US to Cristobal runs.

Convoys from West Coast to Pearl Harbor. Three -- to four ports or more on the West Coast.

Will work on establishing the longer runs every day, while sending larger emergency convoys out to hotspots.

[Lowpe]

World wide task forces...

The Hobart destination supplies and fuel started when it looked like Perth was lost. I think I will re-route them to Port Augusta.

I have 70 ships at Auckland, 25 at Hobart, Wellington, 55 in Sydney...but that will drop to 2-5 after today.

[Ambassador]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Great Discussion...many thanks.[&o]

I am planning on attempting to use them all...I am such a single ship fanboy for CS convoys that is my preference.

Single ship convoys from Port Stanley. Will need some Micro to establish, but should avoid having to send lots of Naval Support there, but I will task at least one unit there. It can at least take restricted units I believe.

Slightly larger convoys from Balboa. I think to feed Balboa by Eastern US to Cristobal runs.

Convoys from West Coast to Pearl Harbor. Three -- to four ports or more on the West Coast.

Will work on establishing the longer runs every day, while sending larger emergency convoys out to hotspots.

I like single ships too. What I usually do is to route the less valuable ones closer to the « front line » than the most valuable ones, who hugged the border of the map in PBEM (not really hugging in fact, one or two hexes away). That way, losses are less severe and they serve as a trigger line for raider KB (or surface/submarine raiders). However, the distances involved mean a lot of system damage is accumulated, you really have to watch that. To avoid having to click too many times to set waypoints, I checked the WC and off-map ports every day, transferring ships to ports while transferring a ship from the port to the TF, rather than disbanding them. It saves a lot of time otherwise spent to a tedious, repetitive task.

Feeding Balboa and Cape Town is a good use of the future APA/AKA too.

Decoy convoys (worthless xAK with strong ASW escort, followed by an ASW TF) put on the most direct routes between the WC ports and Pearl also too a heavy toll on my friend’s submarine force, as well as the same on a route all the way south. It led my opponent to believe I relied on very few, very large convoys, and it took a long time for him to realize most of my ships carrying supply, fuel and troops were out of the beaten paths.[:D]

[Lowpe]

Turn is away...Saratoga and and Light Cruiser SAG are exploiting the Australian coastline...

Moving on Chittagong...

Sending British 2pdrs by air to Kweiyang...

Some sub tactics at work today too...

[mind_messing]

One suggestion to rationalise your West Coast coastal patrols that I've found useful is to really lean on Prince Rupert exclusively to support the North Pacific theatre, once you've expanded the port sufficiently.

This really cuts down on the coastal traffic, and coastline that needs patrolled, as rather than having ships going North/South, everything is East/West from San Fran or Prince Rupert.

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

You MUST have 2x TF carrying supply from Eastern USA to Cape Town throughout the game. If not, you can easily run low on supplies in India/Burma when 44/45 rolls around. Been there, done that! [;)]

I'd actually have far more working this route IMO. And move fuel as well. As RangerJoe says, there's plenty of ships for it.

I think in an ideal world, I'd look to use xAK's, mostly running off map to fuel the entire western half of the map and leave as many tankers as possible free to support fleet operations in the Pacific/Oz.