Creating Steady Supply

[Rogue188]

One aspect of the game I am struggling with is creating a steady supply for Australia. Cape Town is awesome as the route is fairly safe (at least against the AI) whereas California seems to be longer with a constant threat of attack from beginning to end. I am still early in the war (mid-March '42) and I am still struggling to find a balance between the transports I need to move troops, supplies, and fuel to all points on the map. In the end, Australia keeps running out of fuel and/or supplies and I keep draining Cape Town trying to resupply it.

I have been trying to keep Cape Town supplied via the East Coast, but those convoys take a month to get back and forth. I have been also using LA to help, but I keep running out of transports. What is the best method for keeping things balanced?

[btd64]

One thing that you can do is go into the economic system and turn off the heavy industry for all locations in Australia and New Zealand. This will stop the fuel disappearing problem. Otherwise you are going to have to wait for more shipping....GP

[RangerJoe]

I use APs and AKs to keep Cristobal and Cape Town filled with supplies. I keep them safe until they can upgrade to APAs and AKAs, although the slow 12 knot ones do not upgrade. I also use xAKs from the UK, big Canada, and a few from the East Coast to send supplies to Cape Town. Send more supplies than you need to since you will get more ships at Cristobal that you can load there, tankers that arrive in Cristobal need fuel at Cristobal as well, and ships arrive at Cape Town for Australia and India/SEAC. Since there is no worry about U-boats you won't have to escort them. Yes, it will take awhile but I don't like to send unescorted convoys from CONUS to places in the Pacific.

[Rogue188]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I remember reading somewhere that ship endurance between UK, US, and Cape Town doesn't matter as the ship's refueling between the bases is abstracted. Is that true or wishful thinking? So if my 11000 endurance cargo ship can't make it to Cape Town and back, resulting in its endurance displaying red for the trip, it is not a problem as the ship is considered to be fueling somewhere between the two points.

Thanks for the tip GP! I will do that.

[RangerJoe]

I think that only the on map portion of the trip uses fuel, the off map refueling is done automatically but it does not completely refuel the ship. Essentially, only the on map portion uses fuel. Damage does not occur or worsen for the off map portion of the voyage as well, a consideration for heavily damaged ships.

If you turn off the heavy industry, then the heavy industry will NOT produce the needed supplies.

[Yaab]

I first haul supplies by small xAKs from Bombay (India) to Colombo (Ceylon). Then I load this supply in Colombo on medium xAKs with deck guns and dump these supplues in Perth (Australia).

[PaxMondo]

One aspect of the game I am struggling with is creating a steady supply for Australia. Cape Town is awesome as the route is fairly safe (at least against the AI) whereas California seems to be longer with a constant threat of attack from beginning to end. I am still early in the war (mid-March '42) and I am still struggling to find a balance between the transports I need to move troops, supplies, and fuel to all points on the map. In the end, Australia keeps running out of fuel and/or supplies and I keep draining Cape Town trying to resupply it.

I have been trying to keep Cape Town supplied via the East Coast, but those convoys take a month to get back and forth. I have been also using LA to help, but I keep running out of transports. What is the best method for keeping things balanced?

Send them in a straight line to Sydney so the my I-boats can get a good bead on them!

[RangerJoe]

One aspect of the game I am struggling with is creating a steady supply for Australia. Cape Town is awesome as the route is fairly safe (at least against the AI) whereas California seems to be longer with a constant threat of attack from beginning to end. I am still early in the war (mid-March '42) and I am still struggling to find a balance between the transports I need to move troops, supplies, and fuel to all points on the map. In the end, Australia keeps running out of fuel and/or supplies and I keep draining Cape Town trying to resupply it.

I have been trying to keep Cape Town supplied via the East Coast, but those convoys take a month to get back and forth. I have been also using LA to help, but I keep running out of transports. What is the best method for keeping things balanced?

Send them in a straight line to Sydney so the my I-boats can get a good bead on them!

If they are unescorted, it is good training for the TBs before they convert to other escorts as well as other weaker destroyers not to mention the light cruisers with float planes for searching. The CS class with Jakes are good for this as well although they run out of sorties fast. If not otherwise used, the CVEs with enlarged TB units are also good for this. Of course, this is a killer against the AI.

[PaxMondo]

One aspect of the game I am struggling with is creating a steady supply for Australia. Cape Town is awesome as the route is fairly safe (at least against the AI) whereas California seems to be longer with a constant threat of attack from beginning to end. I am still early in the war (mid-March '42) and I am still struggling to find a balance between the transports I need to move troops, supplies, and fuel to all points on the map. In the end, Australia keeps running out of fuel and/or supplies and I keep draining Cape Town trying to resupply it.

I have been trying to keep Cape Town supplied via the East Coast, but those convoys take a month to get back and forth. I have been also using LA to help, but I keep running out of transports. What is the best method for keeping things balanced?

Send them in a straight line to Sydney so the my I-boats can get a good bead on them!

If they are unescorted, it is good training for the TBs before they convert to other escorts as well as other weaker destroyers not to mention the light cruisers with float planes for searching. The CS class with Jakes are good for this as well although they run out of sorties fast. If not otherwise used, the CVEs with enlarged TB units are also good for this. Of course, this is a killer against the AI.

Yeah, even Ironman won't last long against that tactic. Of all of the faults of the AI, this is the one that is SO hard counter from the AI POV.

I mean think about it; as a player your counter to this is a trap: create a convoy and then have a CVTF shadow it and when the shark bites, the killers swoop in. Hard enough to do as a player, writing this as a script? Been trying different ideas on and off now for a few years and I still don't have a good AI solution. If I ever come up with a way to create a naval trap, that will move the AI up a BIG step. I don't believe the current script will ever allow for a CAP trap, so there isn't much to do for the air war. As for land war, yeah, you can do traps there, at least in Ironman where you have the (extra) units to do it. They aren't great mind you, but still, they are there and even though I coded them they are still a bit of a surprise to me when they show up.

[Bella]

I first haul supplies by small xAKs from Bombay (India) to Colombo (Ceylon). Then I load this supply in Colombo on medium xAKs with deck guns and dump these supplues in Perth (Australia).

I do this, too. Most of Australia’s fuel is coming from Abadan, supply from Cape Town.

[RangerJoe]

I first haul supplies by small xAKs from Bombay (India) to Colombo (Ceylon). Then I load this supply in Colombo on medium xAKs with deck guns and dump these supplues in Perth (Australia).

I do this, too. Most of Australia’s fuel is coming from Abadan, supply from Cape Town.

I haul supplies to Cape Town and then to Perth to unload. Load smaller xAKs at Perth and then to Java, sometimes the xAKs unload and go back for more. Otherwise they form up with escorts and go to Manila and/or Hong Kong. This was in 1942, things might change now that I have Shanghai . . .

But develop Cochin and demand supplies there, load for Ceylon or pause there before forming up with more escorts to go to Australia.

[Sardaukar]

What AUS/NZ needs is fuel.

Allied TKs are in bit of short supply in early war, tho. In a pinch, you can ship fuel with xAKs, but it's quite inefficient compared to TKs.

I have fuel supply route LA - Auckland - Sydney and Cape Town - Perth. CT does not always have much fuel to spare, though.

[RangerJoe]

What AUS/NZ needs is fuel.

Allied TKs are in bit of short supply in early war, tho. In a pinch, you can ship fuel with xAKs, but it's quite inefficient compared to TKs.

I have fuel supply route LA - Auckland - Sydney and Cape Town - Perth. CT does not always have much fuel to spare, though.

Ship fuel from Canada/East Coast to Cape Town. Canada has the shorter route. Some fuel can come from the UK but not much.

Then there is Abadan to Karachi route, pick it up at Cochin and on to Australia with fuel. I usually don't use this route.

[Sardaukar]

Yea, India also needs fuel, so Abadan -> Karachi is good route.

[RangerJoe]

Yea, India also needs fuel, so Abadan -> Karachi is good route.

Then by picking it up in Cochin and thence to Columbo for use there or on to Australia it is quicker and a more efficient use of the tankers. That is, if your opponent doesn't target shipping in the Indian Ocean.

[Bella]

Yea, India also needs fuel, so Abadan -> Karachi is good route.

Then by picking it up in Cochin and thence to Columbo for use there or on to Australia it is quicker and a more efficient use of the tankers. That is, if your opponent doesn't target shipping in the Indian Ocean.

When the Wellington 1c squadrons arrive. Put them to watching the approaches to Colombo. Good ASW and range.

[RangerJoe]

Yea, India also needs fuel, so Abadan -> Karachi is good route.

Then by picking it up in Cochin and thence to Columbo for use there or on to Australia it is quicker and a more efficient use of the tankers. That is, if your opponent doesn't target shipping in the Indian Ocean.

When the Wellington 1c squadrons arrive. Put them to watching the approaches to Colombo. Good ASW and range.

Remember that the ASW range is half the range rounded down and that Naval Search will spot and attack subs. Also ASW search aircraft will attack surface ships if they are spotted. But the Hudsons/A29s are great for ASW and Naval Searches with their range. A spotted submarine is very ineffective.

[Sardaukar]

I put Naval Search air units to ASW 10%, Naval Search 50%.

This requires adding some reserve planes and pilots to unit for plane/pilot fatigue. Works really only for units with over 10 planes, small 4-6 units, don't bother, choose either for those, not both.

With even just 10% ASW, you'll find ASW skill of pilots go up quite decently.

[Cavalry Corp]

Plenty of U Boats in Indian Ocean as game progresses in my mod