Allied initial strategy advice

[Nikademus]

Morale i have no clue on. Some units can seem to go through hell and back and keep their morale intact. others suffer a drop, some have low morale to begin with. During the LCU testing for the current executable it was discovered that EXP was not being gained or lost however. This was supposed to be fixed but as mentioned, didn't have time to put it through it's paces.

[Halsey]

I also meant exp too. It seemed to stay at the level it was when I withdrew the cadre.

Noboby else has done this? It seemed like a logical way to create cadres. It just takes time to get them built back up. Money in the bank.

Gamey or not? This is learning the mechanics of the game. Even if they came back as green troops, it would still be worth saving them. After all, units destroyed in combat usually were reformed again. It was bad for public morale to think of a unit as dead.[;)]

[PeteG662]

Halsey.....you only pulled out a fragment? Did that fragment then become the parent unit?

[Halsey]

I only loaded what one S-boat could carry. So one sub per ground unit is what I used. After the parent unit was destroyed, it started to rebuild into a full strength unit. ( I think it was one inf sqd and two mortars on each boat).
Station the cadre near the area HQ, with plenty of supplies. It took the two Aussie Bdes 9 months to get to full strength. They also upgraded all of their equipment. Rebuilding rate is determined by the replacements available in the pool. So others might take longer.

The Indians are taking a longer time. Must be that Ghandi chap![:D]

This should also work for the Japanese. Providing they still have submarines available to use later on in the war.[;)]

[Halsey]

Went back to my game and did a check Nik.

I pulled a one submarine cadre from the 4USMC Rgt out of Manila. Manila fell 7/42, it is now 10/42. The USMC Rgt is at 50% strength, EXP 96, MOR 82. All equipment is upgraded.

Yes, you still have to spend the PP's to change their HQ's.

[OG_Gleep]

I thought you couldn't remove troops from those bases?

[freeboy]

you must pay pp to change their affiliation hq

[The Dude]

It seemed like they kept the same morale as at the time I withdrew them. I pulled those two Aussie units out before they got hammered.

I always thought those two units got shafted by Churchill. Veterans of North Africa sent to their doom at Singapore. I always try to save them. It's the least I can do.

The 8th Aus Inf Div was practically untrained when sent to Singapore. Same state as the Canadian guys sent to Hong Kong. Piss and vineger and youthful enthusiasim dont make up for poor training and equipment

[Jim D Burns]

In the PI I march 3 divisions to Naga (all PA Divs) right away and march all the baseforce and pure engineer units I can to Manila or Clark. I then march everything combat related I can to Lingayan from Bataan, Manila and Clark. Lingayan is Jungle terrain and gives you the 2 odds shift in combat, so it's better to fight there than in Clarks clear hex.

I leave 1 USMC unit in Bataan and a PA Div in San Marcelino. The two PA divs that start in Tuguegarao stay there and fight for as long as they can hold out (this base produces supply each turn so it's worth the fight). I place a regimental sized unit in the mountain hex between Lingayan and Tuguegarao, which I swap out with battle weary units from Lingayan once in a while for refit periods.

The 26th PS Cav and 43rd PS combat teams go to Lamon Bay to guard against invasions there. I then create two small PT task forces and place 1 in San Marcelino and 1 in Lingayan with a reaction range of 6 set. I try not to engage anything enroute, these guys are there to discourage Japanese invasions.

I create a bunch of single ship cargo task forces from the Philippine AK fleet and send one to each nearby island that has supplies stockpiled on them. I then load at least 500 supplies on each task force and send them to Manila. Trying to load more then 500 supplies I find takes too long since tonnage starts loading less and less each turn as the available supplies at the base drops. 500+ seems a good trade off between time to load vs. risk of attack.

Eventually you'll want to send a fresh PA div to Naga, I usually send the reinforcing PA Div there to replace the worst worn down Div which goes to Manila. Since this is a long attrition battle that you will eventually lose, you'll want the now experienced Div to have some time to recover in Manila before Japanese units get there, so the fresh division will allow it that needed additional time.

Transfer the bomber group out as soon as possible as it doesn't accomplish much and it uses valuable supply (I send it to SE Asia to help bomb Japanese supply lines in Burma). Set your fighter air groups to not receive replacements since they will start to fill up as your supply level gets a temporary boost when the Ak's arrive and put Manila’s supply stockpiles over 30k.

You'll want to swap these fighter groups to SW Pac or SE Asia commands eventually, and the fewer aircraft in the units the cheaper the PP cost. Once you change their command feel free to switch back to receive replacements if you want to spend the supply on them and keep them in the PI’s for a while longer. I keep the largest fighter group and the patrol group in Manila, the two smaller fighter groups in Clark. This makes it hard for the Japanese to totally shut down your CAP, but allows the concentrated baseforce units to get those needed fortifications built faster.

Speaking of forts, turn off all building except forts in Lingayan, Clark, Manila and Naga. Any others simply won't get big enough in time to help, so it's a huge waist of supply just building 1 or 2 levels before they’re attacked. Your final stand will be at Manila since it gives you a 4 odds shift for terrain vs. the 2 or 3 for Bataan (not sure if it's jungle or mountain).

Anyway against the AI I find this strategy works well, a human will be MUCH harder to stop. It’s currently 2/12/42 in my Game and I still hold the Manila – Clark – San Marcelino –Bataan diamond. Manila is at fort lvl 8 and Clark fort lvl 6. I still have about 13k in supplies stockpiled between the 4 bases and I have 30 subs bringing in about 400 supplies every couple weeks plus the supply produced at Clark and San Marcelino.

My guess is I’ll be able to hold out till late March if things go well.

Jim

[PeteG662]

Halsey,

When the original unit gets wiped out, does your cadre turn into the original unit then or does the cadre you evacuate become the original unit and the left behind unit the remnant?

[Halsey]

Is what I've seen is:
The unit fragment that was evacuated becomes the cadre after the parent unit is destroyed. It will then start to draw troops and equipment from the pool. After 6-12 months the unit will be a full strength unit with the TOE of the original unit that was destroyed, plus new equipment upgrades.[8D]

[PeteG662]

So, in effect, the fragment then becomes the parent unit....no /1 or anything after the name etc?

[khelvan]

Halsey, when do you do your transport missions? Early on, there aren't nearly enough PP's to do this, are there? I mean, it costs a ton of PP's (over 50?) per unit, does it not?

Also, doesn't changing the HQ reduce their effectiveness in defending against the Japanese attacks?

[Halsey]

I did the Singapore units first. Since I was going to leave those units in SEAC. That gave me time to build up extra PP's. I only pulled 3 combat cadres out of the Phillipines. The USMC Rgt, the Army RCT, and the PS Rgt. They all went to the SWPAC. I didn't change their unit affiliation till it looked like the end was near in Manila, so the effects of different commands didn't matter any more.

When using PP's the size of the unit determines the cost. After they get beat up some, they won't cost as much to change. This also applies to air units. Don't let them get replacements till you decide where you want them. It's a lot cheaper, in PP's, to change their command when they are small. Four points per aircraft I think is the cost.

You can also do this for the air units in the Phillipines. Change their command and move them out when they are small. After the rest are destroyed, the smaller unit will build back up to a full unit. It will be green in experience, but who cares! It's better to have a unit than none at all.

Hope this helps .[8D]

[Milman]

What I must change for troops in PH and Sing to transport them with subs? I can't load any troop from South Australia , do I need to change something here or what ?

[Feinder]

Change the HQ to which they are assigned. It's on unit info screen, in the upper left-hand corner (it should be light green).

You have to change the HQ to SEAC, SWPac, SoPac, or CentPac (maybe others) in order to load them.

-F-

[Halsey]

If I was you, I wouldn't change any of the Aussie command units to load them by subs. You really only want to do this if they are going to be isolated and destroyed.

Most subs only carry 18 load points, except the Argonaut. After the first upgrade it can carry 84 load points.

This is only good to do if you want to save a cadre to rebuild later, after the parent unit is destroyed.

18 load points comes out to be around 1 inf sqd and 2 mortars. This isn't very much.
It is enough to keep the unit alive for rebuilding though.[;)]

[tsimmonds]

I find this thread fascinating[;)]

[Halsey]

Some of this thread can also be applied by the Japanese player later in the war. Providing they have any submarines left![:D]

[tsimmonds]

Providing they have any submarines left!

Not counting on it....[:'(]....but we shall see.