Spanking Lowpe (NJP72 vs Lowpe (A))

[Lowpe]

Task Force Eaton in action at Cagayan.....saved pilots lives...

How did sinking xAKs and an XAP with no troops aboard save pilots' lives? Elimination of supply?

Japan left three burning wrecks as bait in harbor....for a Deathstar naval strike via air, like the day before and this time with all the fighters up over the ships. So, I sank the three ships with destroyers instead, and swept the base with Hellcats. No air naval strike required.

Now those three ships were going to burn up anyhow most likely....

As Japan you have to really master the naval cap trap because it one of the most favorable manners to use your fighters against the USN/USAAF. His mistake, a big one, he should have put the burning ships one hex at sea and LRCAP'd them thus avoiding the Hellcat sweep. To prevent that from happening is why I sent the desron. My pilot pools aren't deep.

[Lowpe]

I guess I am the only one in this war that gets excited over SPS 3 ports in the Pacific. They are few and far between:

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[RangerJoe]

Task Force Eaton in action at Cagayan.....saved pilots lives...

How did sinking xAKs and an XAP with no troops aboard save pilots' lives? Elimination of supply?

Probably by sinking the ships before the air units attacked. There are Japanese air units at Cagayan.

[Lowpe]

I probably should explain why I like sps3+ ports so much. As a JFB I don't rearm the Yamato class anywhere but size 7+ ports....which makes them exceedingly sweet. Manilla can become a size 9 port, and is very protected, but no on my short list of future conquests....so I will take two level 7 ports instead -- their there for free basically.

Look at the jump in port capabilities....

The inherent repair function isn't that great...there might be some small improvement on minor craft but for basic repair points you are better off with ARs etc. Except for firefighting! where port size makes a huge difference.

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The above chart goes to show why I was laughing at Japan trying unload 30 merchants/troop ships at Cagayan a level 2 port with 69 damage.

[Lowpe]

Never really sure the marginal impact of leadership on recovery etc....Get did some fine statistical work on unit recovery but there is still some grey area...or that is my bias as I generally roleplay leader traits (it makes me feel better and is easier to remember).

II Australian Corp HQ to Davao or Cotabato to help with unit recovery...but we are still in the push stage so our troopers will have to work tired unless they get shattered.

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For those interested this from a developer....about as good as it gets.


1. friendly base with greater than 2x supply helps and having excess support at that base plus any corps HQ in range with a leader with high admin helps.
2. unit with 1x+ supply helps
3. rest mode really helps
4. unit with high exp helps
5. no enemy in hex helps
6. temperate hex really helps
None of these are manditory but they help.

Through it all though thare are lots of randoms that determine whether or not you can repair any devices and when I stepped into the code to watch a HQ try to repair its disabled squads I'll be damned if it didn't fail one of the randoms blowing any chance of repair and this was a unit that had really good chance at it for that turn so, it is not guaranteed.

[Lowpe]

If you take a little extra time each turn, you can do some fun things...better than subs would be to run a Fletcher squadron in.

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a.jpg (312.32 KiB) Viewed 663 times

[BBfanboy]

Never really sure the marginal impact of leadership on recovery etc....Get did some fine statistical work on unit recovery but there is still some grey area...or that is my bias as I generally roleplay leader traits (it makes me feel better and is easier to remember).

II Australian Corp HQ to Davao or Cotabato to help with unit recovery...but we are still in the push stage so our troopers will have to work tired unless they get shattered.

a.jpg

For those interested this from a developer....about as good as it gets.


1. friendly base with greater than 2x supply helps and having excess support at that base plus any corps HQ in range with a leader with high admin helps.
2. unit with 1x+ supply helps
3. rest mode really helps
4. unit with high exp helps
5. no enemy in hex helps
6. temperate hex really helps
None of these are manditory but they help.

Through it all though thare are lots of randoms that determine whether or not you can repair any devices and when I stepped into the code to watch a HQ try to repair its disabled squads I'll be damned if it didn't fail one of the randoms blowing any chance of repair and this was a unit that had really good chance at it for that turn so, it is not guaranteed.

The key leader characteristic in recovery is Admin. Get them the bandages, hot food, hot showers, good beds and latrines with lids and they will thrive! (Nurses still off-limits, sorry!)

[RangerJoe]

Never really sure the marginal impact of leadership on recovery etc....Get did some fine statistical work on unit recovery but there is still some grey area...or that is my bias as I generally roleplay leader traits (it makes me feel better and is easier to remember).

II Australian Corp HQ to Davao or Cotabato to help with unit recovery...but we are still in the push stage so our troopers will have to work tired unless they get shattered.

a.jpg

For those interested this from a developer....about as good as it gets.


1. friendly base with greater than 2x supply helps and having excess support at that base plus any corps HQ in range with a leader with high admin helps.
2. unit with 1x+ supply helps
3. rest mode really helps
4. unit with high exp helps
5. no enemy in hex helps
6. temperate hex really helps
None of these are manditory but they help.

Through it all though thare are lots of randoms that determine whether or not you can repair any devices and when I stepped into the code to watch a HQ try to repair its disabled squads I'll be damned if it didn't fail one of the randoms blowing any chance of repair and this was a unit that had really good chance at it for that turn so, it is not guaranteed.

The key leader characteristic in recovery is Admin. Get them the bandages, hot food, hot showers, good beds and latrines with lids and they will thrive! (Nurses still off-limits, sorry!)

I think of high admin as a pencil pushing supply officer . . .

[Lowpe]

Hey guys, I like to think inspiration helps too! But in reality, I doubt it.

[BBfanboy]

Hey guys, I like to think inspiration helps too! But in reality, I doubt it.

Inspiration does come into it when morale is threatened. E.G. it might prevent your beleaguered troops from breaking and running, or rally your pilots to carry out a mission despite recent losses.

[Lowpe]

June 25th, 1943

George shows up....sweeps at 40k, our patrols are at 15K. Advantage George.

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Morning Air attack on Digos , at 79,92

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 15 NM, estimated altitude 41,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 14

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K1-J George: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 4 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x N1K1-J George sweeping at 40000 feet

CAP engaged:
VF-35 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 35 minutes
VMF-111 with F4F-4 Wildcat (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 15000.
Raid is overhead
VMF-122 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes
VMF-123 with F4F-4 Wildcat (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 15000.
Raid is overhead
VMF-212 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 32 minutes
VMF-213 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 34 minutes
VMF-214 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes
VMF-224 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 15000.
Raid is overhead
VMF-215 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 15000.
Raid is overhead
VMF-441 with F4F-4 Wildcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 15000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes

[Lowpe]

In fact lots of sweeps over Digos...which finally bumps up to runway 1. But we do well on the day.

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[Lowpe]

A much quieter turn, Sorong taken (sps 2 port) and another IJA Infantry regiment sent into the jungle:

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[RangerJoe]

Hey guys, I like to think inspiration helps too! But in reality, I doubt it.

Inspiration does come into it when morale is threatened. E.G. it might prevent your beleaguered troops from breaking and running, or rally your pilots to carry out a mission despite recent losses.

Inspiriation:

"Remember the Alamo!"

and this this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8lT1o0sDwI

[Lowpe]

June 26th, 1943

Very quiet day, although I am getting replay errors so I will have to read the printed report.

Runways are operational on our main axis of advance, and Jolo autoswitches! Another SPS 3 port just for the taking.

Time to hunt down the IJN SAGs...but where will they go? Their air cover isn't great....and at times they seem suicidal.

Plenty of fuel in the SRA for them to use and fleet in being argues for returning to Kendari....IJN aggressiveness argues for a run around the horn of New Guinea or raid on Morotai and returning to Babeldoab. Returning to Manado seems the least likely.

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[Lowpe]

Another attack at Chungking, and the forts hold! The four best Japanese LCUs are present...how long can I tie them up here?

Ground combat at Chungking (76,45)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 113078 troops, 1493 guns, 2706 vehicles, Assault Value = 3702

Defending force 152801 troops, 45 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 4056

Japanese adjusted assault: 2763

Allied adjusted defense: 4837

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
6597 casualties reported
Squads: 59 destroyed, 593 disabled
Non Combat: 53 destroyed, 140 disabled
Engineers: 8 destroyed, 51 disabled
Guns lost 67 (10 destroyed, 57 disabled)
Vehicles lost 349 (99 destroyed, 250 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
5772 casualties reported
Squads: 131 destroyed, 323 disabled
Non Combat: 22 destroyed, 206 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 4 (1 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Assaulting units:
23rd Tank Regiment
9th Tank Regiment
3rd Tank Regiment
15th Tank Regiment
3rd Tank Division
19th Tank Regiment
11th Tank Regiment
104th Division
37th Division
2nd Tank Division
17th Division
18th Tank Regiment
1st Tank Division
36th Division
15th Division
39th Division
Guards Tank Division
4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
4th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
6th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
12th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
1st Mortar Battalion
52nd Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
3rd Hvy.Artillery Regiment
5th Ind.Hvy.Art Battalion
North China Area Army
6th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment
Botanko Hvy Gun Regiment
1st Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
4th Mortar Battalion
51st Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
1st Army
7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
13th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
14th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
11th Field Artillery Regiment

[RangerJoe]

That is a lot of tanks that he can't quickly get out of there to the open areas of China if I recall the ground situation correctly!

A very good job done by the Chinese and Allied forces which they are still doing.

But what I don't see there are any anti-aircraft units. Do you think that he has CAP over the base?

[Lowpe]

But what I don't see there are any anti-aircraft units. Do you think that he has CAP over the base?

He does have LRCAP, as evidenced by the bomber runs, but they don't have the legs to intercept the heavy bombers dropping supply daily. I have just started transports dropping supplies to the jungle/rough road hex to the south so our supply situation will be doing better.

Not mentioned is that all of the infantry units without supply were in reserve no pursuit mode and stayed there.... c1000 av. If I can feed them then the Japanese attack will fall back to 1-3 or even 1-4.

[Lowpe]

The odd things an aspiring AFB enjoys...task force composition.

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[Lowpe]

They start rolling off the piers tomorrow...that is a lot of sea lift. There is probably fifty units at Pearl that need lift...and I am pondering converting another forty or so. The reinforcement list is staggering. We might be pinched for supplies but oh well....

I am stripping all cargo ships from West Coast/Balboa to Pearl or Canton or Christmas runs to Pearl/Canton/Christmas runs forward to New Guinea. Ships that arrive will resume the West Coast/Balboa runs to Pearl/Canton/Christmas. The USN is truly blessed.

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