Spanking Lowpe (NJP72 vs Lowpe (A))

[Lowpe]

Blundered into an Iboat wolfpack between Xmas Pearl and the West Coast...lost an AKV loaded with a P38 recon group. Ouch.

The eastern Australian adventure for Japan is winding to a close...now Broome, Darwin and Kalgoorlie.

[Lowpe]

Japan is looking pretty pathetic here...

[Lowpe]

The overview of the war...and some future plans/ideas. Boy, I can choose to do a lot of different tactics...

I have the option to go for the knockout I think...which would be the 1-2 Marcus/Marianas and ignore the South Pacific. Even in a Scenario 2 game, there is likely no way Japan has them garrisoned this early with China/Luzon/Singers still holding out and with Japan so widely involved (Ceylon/Perth/Darwin/Burma etc.).

Another, less Deathstar intensive option is to use the very porous IJ perimeter to bypass Noumea/PagoPago area...go for Tabituea and west into while we push into the Solomon Sea...

Addu Invasion force is at sea

Push from Kalemyo into northern Burma to link up with Bhamo/Lashio forces...

Ceylon is a POW camp basically, but it does protect the Tavoy area from a deep landing.

A lot I can accomplish without risking the American Fleet Carriers...grabbing and holding small atolls to force Japanese reactions will allow me to pick my battlefields and limit losses and cause Japan to suffer frictional losses or I can choose the Marianas option for a climatic CV showdown in 42 or go for the throat...

[RangerJoe]

Invade the Tokyo prefecture - grab Iwo Jima! [X(]

[Lowpe]

We are approaching the invasion of Addu....are looks deceiving? Does Japan have an Iboat tripwire and is ready to pounce? I would. Hanging out attractive early targets and ambushing the Allies is a great Japanese tactic.

[Lowpe]

Had to withdraw 10 squadrons today...

British and Canadian Hurricanes show up in production in decent numbers this month...

Next month the Chinese Air Force starts getting better frames...and the USAAF gets B24s.

I will probably take my time with this turn...and decide the future direction of the war and catch up on some neglected pilot training.

Generally speaking, I like having my back up against a wall and in a hard place...I hope I don't get really sloppy here.[:)]

[JohnDillworth]

Blundered into an Iboat wolfpack between Xmas Pearl and the West Coast...lost an AKV loaded with a P38 recon group. Ouch.

Ouch indeed. That is a good a poke in the eye that you could have gotten. You never have enough recon and this really hurts in 1942

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: JohnDillworth

Blundered into an Iboat wolfpack between Xmas Pearl and the West Coast...lost an AKV loaded with a P38 recon group. Ouch.

Ouch indeed. That is a good a poke in the eye that you could have gotten. You never have enough recon and this really hurts in 1942

Not really, using some 4Es as recon this early...I think it was 7 planes. Could have been a full fighter squadron which would have been worse.

Losing the AKV hurt though. No doubt about that.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

ORIGINAL: JohnDillworth

Blundered into an Iboat wolfpack between Xmas Pearl and the West Coast...lost an AKV loaded with a P38 recon group. Ouch.

Ouch indeed. That is a good a poke in the eye that you could have gotten. You never have enough recon and this really hurts in 1942

Not really, using some 4Es as recon this early...I think it was 7 planes. Could have been a full fighter squadron which would have been worse.

Losing the AKV hurt though. No doubt about that.

True Recon planes raise the DL of a target by something like 3 points compared to a 'possible' one point for a non-camera-equipped bomber. Those Recon Lightnings are reasonably good at (IIRC) 16 hexes with drop tanks. Would have been good to split the unit over two ships so part of it might have been available to you.

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

One attack at Clark AFB

Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 22094 troops, 423 guns, 824 vehicles, Assault Value = 648

Defending force 32556 troops, 373 guns, 201 vehicles, Assault Value = 977

Japanese adjusted assault: 460

Allied adjusted defense: 2161

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 4 (fort level 0)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
746 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 93 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 21 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 13 (1 destroyed, 12 disabled)
Vehicles lost 91 (3 destroyed, 88 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
286 casualties reported
Squads: 21 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Why is an experienced player doing this? There is no chance to actually achieve something other than disabling his units even more. Wow, 21 destroyed Allied squads! Clark is a 3x defensive multiplier and he attacks with not even 2/3 of your av there. Not that it will really matter considering how trashed the IJA already is all over the map but that's a good way to trash it even more [:(]

[Lowpe]

There is a lot of Japanese tactics I don't understand in this game.[&:]

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: scondon87

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Had an armor unit I got destroyed in Australia respawn at Sydney, then the very nest turn disperses and I have to buy them out again.[:(]

[:D]
I've had that happen a couple of times but not very often.

My anecdotal solution is to leave them in Rest mode for a turn to let them pull supply before trying to move or rebuild them. My guess is they are spawned with zero supply, which makes them vulnerable to dissipation.

You are no doubt correct.[:)]

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

There is a lot of Japanese tactics I don't understand in this game.[&:]

In the game itself or just this opponent?

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: castor troy

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

One attack at Clark AFB

Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 22094 troops, 423 guns, 824 vehicles, Assault Value = 648

Defending force 32556 troops, 373 guns, 201 vehicles, Assault Value = 977

Japanese adjusted assault: 460

Allied adjusted defense: 2161

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 4 (fort level 0)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
746 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 93 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 21 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Guns lost 13 (1 destroyed, 12 disabled)
Vehicles lost 91 (3 destroyed, 88 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
286 casualties reported
Squads: 21 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Why is an experienced player doing this? There is no chance to actually achieve something other than disabling his units even more. Wow, 21 destroyed Allied squads! Clark is a 3x defensive multiplier and he attacks with not even 2/3 of your av there. Not that it will really matter considering how trashed the IJA already is all over the map but that's a good way to trash it even more [:(]

IJ can take replacements and recover disablements where the Allies can't.

IJ can also easily resupply while the Allies will struggle.

It seems a pragmatic approach to wearing down a numerically superior defending force with an inferior attacking force.

That said, agree that there are...questionable...decisions elsewhere on the map.

[Lowpe]

June 2, 1942

No meaningful ground attacks by Japan today...re-took another Australian base against zero defense. Behind the scenes lots of ships moving units, supplies, fuel.

Addu invasion not spotted. Invasion in 2-4 days. I have an DD SAG 8 hexes away and no DL...Mitchells report no planes and one lonely unit at Addu. 1K men, 3 guns and 7 afvs....

China...

[Lowpe]

Finding bases that can hold a fair bit of troops...0 port not ideal, but the Engineers can build it up pretty fast to 3 I think...

I have one full division 100% prepped for Saipan, another brigade for Tinian. Working on Marcus, and of course our Baker Island to Tabby invasion is prepping. I would pull the trigger and invade Canton now...but I don't have the assets yet prepositioned to keep pushing inward to Tabby so we continue to build up and gather intel.

I have started sending air squadrons that withdraw to major supply hubs about a week prior to being disbanded as to not lose any airframes. It is funny sometimes the mouseover shows I will lose the plane, but then the confirmation Y/N has the planes going to the pool. Go figure.

[Lowpe]

Coming to the conclusion, that screwing around the map is kind of pointless for the Allies in the position I am in. They should simply plan to grab the north central pacific and head for either Hokkaido or Marianas & Jimas as soon as possible with every Joe they can scrounge up....but can I gather enough troops and shipping?

Japan has always been like an egg, crack the shell and you can run riot on the interior. Most AFBs fail to see that and regroup and plan their next major invasion in 30-60 days...but of course Japan can regroup faster with interior lines. And Japan has great difficulty in retaking Islands...and most JFBs are good on offense and quite weak on defensive tactics...

Then we come to devices...Marianas aren't as good without B29s...but I always thought Japan can win that air war...rather it is a stepping stone to getting within fighter sweep range of Honshu. Getting there early before the massive AA upgrades/Army Fighter Size in spring 44 is the goal. Triggering a favorable environment CV clash could also be a goal...

So rather than plan one major operation we will have a leapfrog attempt from Marcus to Marianas and Iwo to Hokkaido potentially taking what we can and looking to destroy the IJN as much as possible. Our Baker to Tabby operation will be proof of method.

So, that is the rough game plan...Not sure it is doable as I am unfamiliar with the Allied TOE at this stage going forward...

And I need to do this with broad front pressure. Luckily Japan has given me restricted troops with which to apply pressure.[:)]

[BBfanboy]

Most Allied units get a considerable improvement in anti-armor capability with their 1943 squads. Some also get 40mm AA added to their TOE. And of course 75 mm arty are getting phased out in favour of 105s. Significantly more punch, but more equipment to haul and land during an amphib op.

[witpqs]

Aye, maybe too early for Hokkaido, but the Marianas, as long as you can keep them from being cut off by sea, should be doable in small bites. You'll have to concentrate your limited resources on one island at a time, or at least on any that are stoutly defended.

[Lowpe]

June 3, 1942

Another quiet day...scouring the roster for troops to buyout and assign prep to with an emphasis now on Marcus/Marianas to the Jimas.

Iboat sniffing around Christmas...which is built up now pretty well.

Long Island, CVE, arrived and I can see why I always sink it in 1942...very fragile ship. Figuring out what I want to do with it, now in transit to West Coast. Certainly it doesn't belong anywhere near the front lines...

Moving all troops that I will buy out to LA and that is my shipping hub...except those slated for the Aleutians. I can scroll thru the list and assign prep, check prep easily enough. Not sending anymore combat troops to India or Australia.

Liberty ships moving off map to Balboa and will do a run to New Zealand.