Never Thought I'd Start Another One - tc464 (A) vs. Mike (J)

[PaxMondo]

24 Mar 43
China

For the second day in a row, the bombers didn't fly. The bombardment destroyed 24 squads.

I've got to find my link to Herb's secret sauce that he shared in one of his AAR's ... to paraphrase: he follows these rules and he has NEVER had an air attack not launch correctly ... not in all of his many AAR turns ...

I do follow them, and while I'm not quite as perfect as he is, air attacks not flying are rare events strictly related to weather over target ... there are a lot of PP's involved to do this though ...

Wow did not know that was even possible would love to see this as well.

Tanaka,

I've posted a link before, I think in my aborted AAR, and in some other AAR's ... and of course it is in Herb's AAR that he originally wrote ... having said that, I will look for it again ...


Found it:


https://forums.matrixgames.com/viewtopi ... 5#p3477665

Long post of his, but my all time favorite line is this:

"This, I confidently say, after 4 years of war, works."

I wish I could state that about anything that I have done!

[Tanaka]

I've got to find my link to Herb's secret sauce that he shared in one of his AAR's ... to paraphrase: he follows these rules and he has NEVER had an air attack not launch correctly ... not in all of his many AAR turns ...

I do follow them, and while I'm not quite as perfect as he is, air attacks not flying are rare events strictly related to weather over target ... there are a lot of PP's involved to do this though ...

Wow did not know that was even possible would love to see this as well.

Tanaka,

I've posted a link before, I think in my aborted AAR, and in some other AAR's ... and of course it is in Herb's AAR that he originally wrote ... having said that, I will look for it again ...


Found it:


https://forums.matrixgames.com/viewtopi ... 5#p3477665

Long post of his, but my all time favorite line is this:

"This, I confidently say, after 4 years of war, works."

I wish I could state that about anything that I have done!

Very interesting thanks!

This is how I do it.

1/ I spend vast amounts of PP on making sure that squadrons are assigned to air HQ's in range
2/ I try to never, ever overstack a field
3/ for a big day like todays effort:
I first stand down every group in the game
Then, in the order I want planes to fly, I issue the orders, ie Ogowas' eagles to sweep, then the bombers , I select a bomber group, select its fighter group, always from the same field. I always start closest to the target, working out in range.

If groups are over 10 fatigue, they are not selected!

If groups are under 80 moral, they are not selected!

This, I confidently say, after 4 years of war, works.

[Mike Solli]

Hi Guys. Sorry I've been MIA the past week. I caught the flu from hell (probably from a grandson) and was pretty much out of it. I'm much better now, but still have a nasty cough. We traveled to visit my wife's mom yesterday and will be there for most of a week. I just got the 3 Apr turn off to Ted, so things have been progressing slowly...

[Mike Solli]

30 Mar 43

Sub War - Definitely a busy day here under the water.

Some of the volumes of ASW near Rennell Island caught I-36, damaging her enough with near misses to send her home for repairs.

SSX Ha-23 was caught at Lunga and sunk without getting off a shot.

In the morning, I-174 was hit by a DC off Rennell Island. Later in the day, she was caught again and sunk. Boo.

The I-11 torpedoed and sank an xAK off Karachi.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

Dauntlesses, 2 & 4E bombers all focused on Lunga today.

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

Nothing to report.

China

Started bombing various pockets of Chinese.

Other Stuff

Reinforcements
Sasebo 7 SNLF, 4 Fleet, destination not yet decided
22 Field Construction Battalion, 14 Army, headed to the Philippines
Takao Naval Base Force, Takao, of course

[PaxMondo]

Hi Guys. Sorry I've been MIA the past week. I caught the flu from hell (probably from a grandson) and was pretty much out of it. I'm much better now, but still have a nasty cough. We traveled to visit my wife's mom yesterday and will be there for most of a week. I just got the 3 Apr turn off to Ted, so things have been progressing slowly...

Sounds more like COVID ... my eldest has it (again), and it's pretty bad this year ....

Welcome back!!!

[Mike Solli]

31 Mar 43

Sub War

The Albacore put a torpedo into an Aden class SW of Nagasaki. Later in the day, Barb put 2 more into her sinking her. She was one of 4 Adens hauling resources from Amami Oshima to the Home Islands.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

Tulagi was bombarded by 3 old BBs, 3 CA, 5 CL and 2 CLAAs. That base is officially trashed.

A minelaying sub dropped some mines at Tassafaronga. Unfortunately, some DD and DMS arrived and cleared them.

Lunga was hit by a bunch of enemy bombers again today. Lunga has to be the target. I'm just curious when the invasion is coming.

I still see the US CV TF and the CVE TF sitting in Rennell Island. Between the two TFs and the land-based fighters, there are over 350 enemy fighters there.

The Betties didn't fly the night mission against the carriers again today.

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

Nothing to report.

China

No bombers flew today. Must have been the weather. I have them spread out over several airfields.

Other Stuff

Reinforcements
Sasebo Ku T-2, 4 TB, 12 Air Flotilla, training
TK Mirii Maru, Type-1 TL, 11,600 capacity, first of 6 to be converted to AO to support MKB
SC CHa-1, shallow hex ASW

[Mike Solli]

Hi Guys. Sorry I've been MIA the past week. I caught the flu from hell (probably from a grandson) and was pretty much out of it. I'm much better now, but still have a nasty cough. We traveled to visit my wife's mom yesterday and will be there for most of a week. I just got the 3 Apr turn off to Ted, so things have been progressing slowly...

Sounds more like COVID ... my eldest has it (again), and it's pretty bad this year ....

Welcome back!!!

Could very well be. I'll survive it.

[Mike Solli]

1 Apr 43

Sub War

Nothing to report. That's good after yesterday.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

Well, 7 of the night flying Betties attempted an attack early today. They launched their torpedoes against BB Washington and CV Lexington. All the torpedoes missed and a Betty went down to flak, but this is the first time this game I actually spotted a US CV by name. We're getting there...

More air bombing of Lunga with 8 B-17s diverted to Tulagi.

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

Nothing to report.

China

Bombing here and there.

I have some divisions headed to Changsha to take that base with 20 LI still in Chinese hands.

The main part of the Chungking Army is headed to Sian to take that base.

I'm starting to move into some pockets to start bombardment in addition to the bombing. I figure it'll be pretty effective given the lack of supply for the Chinese.

Other Stuff

Nothing to report.

[Mike Solli]

2 Apr 43 - Really quiet day.

Sub War

Nothing to report.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

A TF of 3 Aobas escorted by 7 Fubukis tried to attack some enemy light forces at Tulagi, but ran into a sub and dropped some DCs on her then retreated.

A few enemy bombers hit Lunga, but most didn't fly today.

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

Nothing to report.

China

Some bombing here and there. Tomorrow, some armor is attacking up north and some bombardment will commence.

Other Stuff

Reinforcement
SC CHa-15, shallow hex ASW

The N1K5-J George R&D advanced to 6/45 and is expected to become operational 9/43.

The A6M5c Zero R&D advanced to 5/44 and is expected to become operational 7/43.

The Ki-84a Frank R&D advanced to 5/43 and will become operational 4/7/43. Yay!!! Fifteen of the 18 R&D factories are fully repaired. When it becomes operational, 8 will remain operational and 10 will upgrade to the Ki-84r R&D. The Ki-84r is expected to become operational 8/43.

[PaxMondo]

1 Apr 43

I'm starting to move into some pockets to start bombardment in addition to the bombing. I figure it'll be pretty effective given the lack of supply for the Chinese.

My experience is YES. Generally only takes a few days of bombing and the ground units will have used up all of their supply in useless AA ... then a couple of days ground bombardments to wreck their morale and set some disruption. After that they fall pretty quick. You can rack up some serious exp for your LCU's if you work on it ....

[Mike Solli]

1 Apr 43

I'm starting to move into some pockets to start bombardment in addition to the bombing. I figure it'll be pretty effective given the lack of supply for the Chinese.

My experience is YES. Generally only takes a few days of bombing and the ground units will have used up all of their supply in useless AA ... then a couple of days ground bombardments to wreck their morale and set some disruption. After that they fall pretty quick. You can rack up some serious exp for your LCU's if you work on it ....

I am doing exactly that. I'm bombing my next targets and moving troops to those targets. My goal is to clear the last two remaining enemy bases that produce supplies: Sian and Changteh.

[Mike Solli]

3 Apr 43

Sub War

Nothing to report.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

Lunga was the recipient of 38x 4E, 31x 2E and 17 Dauntlesses. I can't figure out what's stopping him from invading.

I'm not countering the enemy bombers yet. I can temporarily base ~50 fighters at Buin, but only for a short period of time. I'm (probably) going to wait until I have a sentai of Franks available before I try something. That probably won't happen until near the end of the month. If an opportunity presents itself, I'll try something.

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

The RAF won't engage me in the air. I have a CA/CL TF that's headed to Chittagong to say hello. Ted did learn from his mistakes in the past and only about 20 fighters at Chittagong, with about 120 more at Comilla. Both air bases are 8(7).

China

Bombing and bombarding. I'm beginning to attack here and there. My. infantry and artillery is still moving into position but I have armor attacking here and there. The 2 tank divisions and 2 tank regiments are pushing NE out of the Chungking plateau driving the one Chinese Corps ahead of it. It's leading the way toward Sian with the bulk of the infantry and all the artillery following a couple hexes behind.

To the south, 4 infantry divisions are heading toward Changteh to meet up with some more infantry to take that base. They're still about 260 miles out, so it'll be awhile.

Other Stuff

Not much to discuss. This turn, along with the next few are pretty sparse concerning action.

[Mike Solli]

4 Apr 43

Sub War

Nothing to report.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

Similar numbers of bombers hit Lunga (primarily) and Tulagi (a little bit).

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

Nothing to report.

China

Changteh has an enemy raw AV of 644, and is slowly declining from bombing and bombardment. When the army arrives, the Japanese raw AV will be ~2000.

Other Stuff

All of KB's TBs have been upgraded to the Jill, 102 in all. The DBs are still Vals (of course) and the Zeros are a combination of the A6M3a (escort) and A6M5 (CAP).

Reinforcements
xAKs Knish Maru and Tokuhei Maru, both Std-B, converting to TKs
SC CHa-6, shallow hex ASW
SC CHa-41, shallow hex ASW
16 Ship Engineer Regiment, General Defense, will remain in the Home Islands

[Mike Solli]

5 Apr 43 - Another really quiet day today.

Sub War

Nothing to report.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

All the bombers hit Lunga today. Still no sign of the invasion fleet.

The CV and CVE TFs are still sitting in Rennell Island. There is a lot of air power there (Fighter/Bomber/Auxiliary):

CV TF: 184/178/28 (5 CVs?)
CVE TF: 37/22/0
Airfield: 119/49/33

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

Nothing to report.

China

Just bombing and bombardment, along with the army plodding along.

Other Stuff

Reinforcement
SC CHa-2, shallow hex ASW

[PaxMondo]

I am doing exactly that. I'm bombing my next targets and moving troops to those targets. My goal is to clear the last two remaining enemy bases that produce supplies: Sian and Changteh.

Ach, sorry, old-timers hit me again ... keep thinking about my game, not yours. In mine, I have to take Xian ASAP due to an external rule ... Changteh also falls on my way to CK ... forgetting that you are playing a REAL game and don't have those silly rules that I do ... SORRY!!!

Since the CHI still have some supply coming in, they will be a bit tougher to take down. You will need more forces to take out those two. I forget, have you taken Kunming yet? If not, again, there will be some supply trickling in even after you take those two bases ...

[PaxMondo]

3 Apr 43

China

Bombing and bombarding. I'm beginning to attack here and there. My. infantry and artillery is still moving into position but I have armor attacking here and there. The 2 tank divisions and 2 tank regiments are pushing NE out of the Chungking plateau driving the one Chinese Corps ahead of it. It's leading the way toward Sian with the bulk of the infantry and all the artillery following a couple hexes behind.

To the south, 4 infantry divisions are heading toward Changteh to meet up with some more infantry to take that base. They're still about 260 miles out, so it'll be awhile.

So what is the plan after the CHI mop-up? You're still early in '43 so no reason to cede the initiative yet, right?

[PaxMondo]

4 Apr 43

xAKs Knish Maru and Tokuhei Maru, both Std-B, converting to TKs

How are your TK losses? I've really never had to convert much to TK, so just wondering.

[PaxMondo]

5 Apr 43 - Another really quiet day today.

Reinforcement
SC CHa-2, shallow hex ASW

With all the recent SC's arriving, you should have a good handle on your ASW to/from the HI along the CHI coast ... with FP ASW/NavSearch ... or not?

[Mike Solli]

6 Apr 43

Sub War

Nothing to report.

5 Fleet

Nothing to report.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

Other than a dozen B-17s hitting Tulagi's port, the rest of the Allied bombers hit Lunga again. Still no invasion.

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

Nothing to report.

China

The armor shock attacked across the river on the east side of Kienko trashing the defending Chinese Corps. They'll chase them up the road while the main body of the army (15 infantry divisions and 26 artillery units) plods along attempting to catch up.

Other Stuff

Reinforcements
SC CHa-7, shallow hex ASW
SC CHa-11, shallow hex ASW
SC CHa-13, shallow hex ASW

I'm finally getting a nice pile of ASW platforms. They're not great, but they work in the proper environment. It'll allow me to move the deep water capable platforms to areas where they are desperately needed.

[Mike Solli]

I am doing exactly that. I'm bombing my next targets and moving troops to those targets. My goal is to clear the last two remaining enemy bases that produce supplies: Sian and Changteh.

Ach, sorry, old-timers hit me again ... keep thinking about my game, not yours. In mine, I have to take Xian ASAP due to an external rule ... Changteh also falls on my way to CK ... forgetting that you are playing a REAL game and don't have those silly rules that I do ... SORRY!!!

Since the CHI still have some supply coming in, they will be a bit tougher to take down. You will need more forces to take out those two. I forget, have you taken Kunming yet? If not, again, there will be some supply trickling in even after you take those two bases ...

No problem. I have a hard enough time remembering my game let alone the other ones I'm following.

Yes, I've taken Kunming. The Allies control only 3 Chinese bases: Sian and Changteh, which provide 100 and 20 supply respectively, and Kanhsien, which provides nothing and is home to 5 isolated Chinese units. In all, there are ~100 Chinese units scattered around the map. A couple more were bought out early and are somewhere in India.