Late war Japanese incentive( No Galliver)

[davidgillsol]

Playing a PBEM as Japan and we have reached end of April 1945, which is furthest I have got in a PBEM, (and against AI.).Want to keep going until the at least the end of the real war, but looking for some encouragement/advice as feeling pretty dispirited/PO'd at the moment.
Strategic situation is that I have lost the Phillipines, got all of China still apart from Chungking which I have no hope of taking, never really got going in Burma but his counteroffensive is held up in Moulmein, and I have just lost Saipan after a 7 month war of attrition over it, and he is currently destroying the units I had on that Island.
In good shape on well trained pilots ( 70+) in both IJA and IJN, but they dont appear to be able to hit a barn door from 5 ft. He is doing 6 DD bombardment raids against my bases down in the Java /Borneo/Celebes region, and quite frankly whilst if I did that his planes woudl sink mine in the daylight, my DBs and TB's cant hit his at all. My navy is effectively gone, whittled away by bomber attacks, save for 4 fleet carriers left and a few destroyers, which are slowly being whittled down.
I have been flying the Frank for well over a year, and am on the A6M8 zero. Any fighter v fighter combats I do OK at. Have a stockpile of some 800k HI points, but cant get any tankers through from Palembang so that is coming down and supply situation is bad in China and the Home Islands.
I cant keep any airfield open that he targets, because no matter how many fighters I have his 100 bomber raids get through, cause huge damge to to the base, and the stacked A/C groups which then mean nothing flies against the follow up groups on the same day, so my air group gets stuck there.He has only relatively recently stated night raids, with the superfortress and again no matter how many NF I have up they are causing huge damage. Any Port raid , day or night, just sinks everything in the port, with my couple of remaining CL and DD receiving countless bomb hits if they happen to be in the port . His death stars have yet to raid the Home Islands but they are coming, and I have no hope of breaking through 100-200+ fighter cover over them. Feels like I am just waiting for my remaining carriers to be found in port and sunk. Everyt turn feels like I am just watching another bomber raid destroying numerous planes and ships. I havent activated kamikazis yet as my view was to hope that having reasonably up to date planes and well trained pilots would negate the need.
Any encouragement- do I just take solace in the occasional report of one of my planes shooting down a bomber, as opposed to losing one of my aces against his bombers?
I

[Platoonist]

Having held out until 1945 I would say you have done pretty well. A lot of Japanese players tend to just throw in towel early. I guess the critical question is what is the victory point situation like?

[Cavalry Corp]

Which scn are you playing - TBH sounds very historical but its not much fun i know...

M

[JanSako]

IMO Japan needs to do late game what Allies are doing early game - hit them where they ain't.

Attacking a deathstar head-on is folly (glory to the exceptions to that rule!), so you pick the smaller targets - CVE's, supply convoys etc. It is about creating the illusion that he needs to be careful & smack him around a bit if he is not.

Sounds like you are 'a bit' low on surface assets so Kamis are your only real option now.
They will deal with the raiding DD's for sure, especially if these have weak CAP. Your bombers miss because Allied AAA messes up the formations a lot. Kamis are not scared of flying into the thick of the AAA fire.

About the suppressed airfields - same advice, essentially. You cannot stop the 4E's head-on if he really concentrates his force. What you need is to pick a spot where you can cover one base from several. Then your planes, those that survive can land & replenish etc. The Home Islands are great for this, as you can potentially concentrate a critical mass of fighters/bombers & Kamikaze to actually punch through even a several hundred strong CAP.
China sea & the waters around PI are not bad, if you built up enough airbases ahead of time.
Thing is Japan player must plan for this ahead of time, now you may not have the supply to build airports & get the Air support in place. Level 2-3 are just fine for Kamis though.

Be the water, flow around, envelop & strike when he goes too deep. (sorry!). There are some good pointers in the 'spanking Lowpe AAR, there is one from each side.

[davidgillsol]

Thanks.
Have been trying to do the "hit them where the deathstar isn't", but lost two fleet carriers last time I tried that when a fleet carrier and a couple of CVE's showed up where I thought there were tankers..Needed better intelligence.....
Very low on surface assets!
We are doing standard scenario, historic pearl harbour ( ie started the day after).
Points position is ( having just lost Okinawa), Allied 96,564 v 81,885, just into May 45

Now put in place a HR about no 4E port bombing as I was seeing hit rates of 25-33% per bomb on ships in harbour

Havent been using Kamikaze as hoped well trained pilots in late war might stand a chance against allies without throwing away young lives.( As I said first time I have got this far and first time Kamikazes have even been available.). I may have to change that approach as you say.

Thanks for the AAR recommendation , I will take a look.

What supply stock should I have in the home islands at this stage reasonably? ( as much as possible!) I know I am low, and have been profligate, although HI points at 850k feels reasonable. Been making lots of notes about what not to do to waste supply going forwards into another game.

One issue on resources and LI- As Japan I have huge stocks of resources, which I will never use. ( some 19million).I may have over convoyed back home! Given their only unconstrained use is in LI, and everyone says you should never build up ( or even repair) LI as the payback is so long at 1000 days per point repaired, longer if you expand, before you are in credit, (just in time to see them destroyed by a bombing raid!), is there a good strategy for them? I know they are needed for HI but the real constraint on HI I have found is getting fuel/oil to the home islands, not resources.

[Platoonist]

Given their only unconstrained use is in LI, and everyone says you should never build up ( or even repair) LI as the payback is so long at 1000 days per point repaired, longer if you expand, before you are in credit, (just in time to see them destroyed by a bombing raid!), is there a good strategy for them? I know they are needed for HI but the real constraint on HI I have found is getting fuel/oil to the home islands, not resources.

It's too late for this game, but I've heard it stated in the past that expanding some light industry in Manchuria is a viable strategy for Japan. It's usually very late in the game before that part of Asia is in Allied bomber range so you might get some return on your investment.

[RangerJoe]

By building LI in Fusan, more resources will naturally flow there which will then save fuel if you haul them to the Home Islands.

Against the AI, I also expand the Heavy Industry in Manchuria, Korea (if any are there), and parts of China. The fuel demand will help bring in fuel from Urumchi, oil can be sucked out of Port Arthur to get Urumchi oil to flow there, plus there is no need to haul resources there. I do this instead of expanding Heavy Industry in the Home Islands since only the targets in the Home Islands give VPs.

I would seriously consider reducing the cost of the LI from 1100 per expansion down to 6-700 or something like that. To me, that represents home and cottage industries being mobilized for the war while the Heavy Industry would be the factories, foundries, and such like with the heavy equipment.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Hit them where they ain't in order to force your opponent to be more prudent and assign assets to cover his tear. Raid deep into his LOC when his CVs are tied-down in invasion support. I have attacked Pearl Harbour once more on Dec 7 1944 and got away with it. Prepare a massive mixed conventional and Kamikaze ambush of the Allied DS from interlocking big airfields on the Home Islands, Formosa or Luzon. Massive means 4k planes minimum. They will take horrendous losses but eventually will wear down enemy CAP and start getting hits. I have sunk multiple US CVs that way - see here.

[PaxMondo]

Playing a PBEM as Japan and we have reached end of April 1945, which is furthest I have got in a PBEM, (and against AI.).Want to keep going until the at least the end of the real war, but looking for some encouragement/advice as feeling pretty dispirited/PO'd at the moment.
Strategic situation is that I have lost the Phillipines, got all of China still apart from Chungking which I have no hope of taking, never really got going in Burma but his counteroffensive is held up in Moulmein, and I have just lost Saipan after a 7 month war of attrition over it, and he is currently destroying the units I had on that Island.
In good shape on well trained pilots ( 70+) in both IJA and IJN, but they dont appear to be able to hit a barn door from 5 ft. He is doing 6 DD bombardment raids against my bases down in the Java /Borneo/Celebes region, and quite frankly whilst if I did that his planes woudl sink mine in the daylight, my DBs and TB's cant hit his at all. My navy is effectively gone, whittled away by bomber attacks, save for 4 fleet carriers left and a few destroyers, which are slowly being whittled down.
I have been flying the Frank for well over a year, and am on the A6M8 zero. Any fighter v fighter combats I do OK at. Have a stockpile of some 800k HI points, but cant get any tankers through from Palembang so that is coming down and supply situation is bad in China and the Home Islands.
I cant keep any airfield open that he targets, because no matter how many fighters I have his 100 bomber raids get through, cause huge damge to to the base, and the stacked A/C groups which then mean nothing flies against the follow up groups on the same day, so my air group gets stuck there.He has only relatively recently stated night raids, with the superfortress and again no matter how many NF I have up they are causing huge damage. Any Port raid , day or night, just sinks everything in the port, with my couple of remaining CL and DD receiving countless bomb hits if they happen to be in the port . His death stars have yet to raid the Home Islands but they are coming, and I have no hope of breaking through 100-200+ fighter cover over them. Feels like I am just waiting for my remaining carriers to be found in port and sunk. Everyt turn feels like I am just watching another bomber raid destroying numerous planes and ships. I havent activated kamikazis yet as my view was to hope that having reasonably up to date planes and well trained pilots would negate the need.
Any encouragement- do I just take solace in the occasional report of one of my planes shooting down a bomber, as opposed to losing one of my aces against his bombers?
I

How about an update after a couple of months? Where are you now?

[davidgillsol]

Currently at 28th May 1945. No real change to situation outlined above, just slowly been whittled down by bomber raids and landings. Saipan has now fully fallen, as has Okinawa which was his next target., and I am dreadfully low on supply points everywhere. Havent been able to sneak any fuel or oil supplies in from the Dutch East Indies, which I still hold, as his 2E bombers are laying waste to anything that gets into their range, and I cant get enough supply to enough bases to keep enough fighters flying to give any ships LR cover.
Burma is still the same, save my Moulmein defence has started to crack ( thats what no supply does for you)

Spending my time amassing some plane pools and using the numerous Japanese training sqdns you get in 1945 ( why not in 1943!) to train my pilots into low naval bombing experts to improve their chances of hitting anything when I do eventually unleash some kamikaze sqdns. Only got enough fuel in the HI to sortie the Kido Butai remains once more, so just looking for a good soft target...
Amasing my China Troops against Chungking, as whilst it is hopeless trying to take it, effectively its my only chance or amassing some VPs, so potentially may be a last minute suicide attack or three

Think he is planning a Japanese invasion, or maybe China as his next move.

TBH just playing to get to end of real war now, so I can compare the position.

Also just posted into Tech help as his last go is crashing back to desktop before saving the "run" go.

[JeffroK]

Be Happy, the Russian Bear is joining soon

[PaxMondo]

Currently at 28th May 1945. No real change to situation outlined above, just slowly been whittled down by bomber raids and landings. Saipan has now fully fallen, as has Okinawa which was his next target., and I am dreadfully low on supply points everywhere. Havent been able to sneak any fuel or oil supplies in from the Dutch East Indies, which I still hold, as his 2E bombers are laying waste to anything that gets into their range, and I cant get enough supply to enough bases to keep enough fighters flying to give any ships LR cover.
Burma is still the same, save my Moulmein defence has started to crack ( thats what no supply does for you)

Spending my time amassing some plane pools and using the numerous Japanese training sqdns you get in 1945 ( why not in 1943!) to train my pilots into low naval bombing experts to improve their chances of hitting anything when I do eventually unleash some kamikaze sqdns. Only got enough fuel in the HI to sortie the Kido Butai remains once more, so just looking for a good soft target...
Amasing my China Troops against Chungking, as whilst it is hopeless trying to take it, effectively its my only chance or amassing some VPs, so potentially may be a last minute suicide attack or three

Think he is planning a Japanese invasion, or maybe China as his next move.

TBH just playing to get to end of real war now, so I can compare the position.

Also just posted into Tech help as his last go is crashing back to desktop before saving the "run" go.

To get supply when you don't think have any, you have to be draconian. So to start, turn OFF all supply usage and then you slowly turn on only that you gotta have. Gotta have is the operating phrase here.

Turning Off Supply usage
Start with air ops. Ground all LBA. you can do that in one click, go to the LBA screen, bottom right, ground all units.
On same screen stop all replacements to all groups.
Next, put all land units to rest. Again, two clicks, go to the unit screen, at the bottom choose rest and click all to rest.
Next on same land screen, stop ALL reinforcements and upgrades
Factories, stop all repairs.

Now your supply usage is nerfed. If you use tracker, you can see how much supply and where you are generating it.

1. See if there is enough to allow you to get some AK's from PAL in .. probably not, but check it. If you can, maybe you choose to do this. If you can't, then you don't worry about it again. Its all dead (probable decision, so don't worry).
2. this means only locally generated supply applies to both the HI and china. Go to tracker and tally up how much supply you are still generating. Whatever it is, that is what you have. Keep track of that as you start to spend it.
3. So, now you need to protect your supply generation that is still intact. Go to those bases and get the AA, radar, and fighters back online by putting the units to combat and CAP.
4. disperse your supply around the HI. use the base supply settings to pull it to out of the way bases. don't let it concentrate at targets like Tokyo/Osaka. When they get nuked, your supply gets nuked too. Keep enough to effectively defend, but don't hoard at those targets. Watch base detection levels, when they get high, incoming is likely. react accordingly. disperse your supply away from those locations.
5. Pick your fights, you can't defend everything. Rather than defend everything with no supply, choose where to allow supply to give your troops that edge ...
6. You should never repair a factory now ...

This is just the tip of the end game tactics, but you should be able to see how/where to go from here.

Hope this helps ...

[davidgillsol]

Thanks.

Think I have done virtually all of those already. Bombers have been grounded, ground troops put on rest save for aircraft support and AA, and factory repairs switched off. Havent switched off plane replacements, so if we can get the game working again then will look at that as my next step.

[RangerJoe]

Since your ships can refuel from the xAKS, that is one way to refuel your aircraft carrier units. Suck those cargo ships dry . . .

[PaxMondo]

... ground troops put on rest save for aircraft support and AA....

Take a hard look at the bases where you have these in combat mode. Be sure that these are No.1 priority, not a base that has already been nuked. If nuked, leave some units there, but in rest. Shift AA and fighter coverage to bases with high detection.

How much supply are you still generating? You can get that either easily from Tracker or a bit more work from the factory screen.

Where is that supply being generated? Just lump the sum into 3 areas: HI (home Isles), China/Korea/Man, Other.

[davidgillsol]

Supply produced on last turn (from Tracker) was approx 14k in HI, 5k in China/Korea/Manchucko, and roughly 2k elsewhere.

As noted game is on pause till we can sort out why we have a crash to desktop

[PaxMondo]

OK, that is still pretty good supply generation. seriously, this is good ... wait until it gets bad.

Take a save game and copy to a new witpae install directory. open it up as single player to do some testing. You need to demonstrate to yourself that you can free up some supply both in the HI and in CHI/MAN/KOR.

In the HI, pick a base like Niigata or somewhere off the beaten path and try and get 10K there in 2 turns. You should be able to. Figure out what you need to do to make that happen.

Then in KOR, pick a small base and do the same thing, except your goal is 5K supply. Again, work through the progression given above until you get it within 2 turns.

Now you know how to move the supply around in late game. It is something that an IJ player has to be good at.