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I'm not sure why it does that exactly. I'm used to it, or perhaps the colors are meaningless as I know what airfield I control and which ones I do not. I use makeelearn's pacifica bellum map or some variant of it, but his airfields don't seem to be the same color. Perhaps it's a peculiarity to the mod. All allied airfields are beige, all Japanese airfields are green.

ORIGINAL: jwolf

As Hans mentioned, the green airfield icons at Japanese bases Jaffna and the one in the center (Dambulla?) look very strange. The one at Port Moresby looks the same, so evidently that is how the Japanese airfields are shown in this mod. Really weird for those of us who are used to the standard colors.

On topic, I just can't believe John would try to bring in unprepped or poorly prepped troops to Colombo when he can easily land at Trincomalee and just march across the island. Ceylon isn't all that large, and the roads are mostly very good.

This is a video controller/switches combination problem that affects some players but not others. I first noticed it about 7 years ago when the mines I had at one of my bases changed 8 different colours as I shifted the map side to side. Then I noticed that it affects other icons as well, the port and AF icons for sure. Once I was assured the Japanese had not actually mined my base, or taken a base waaaayyy behind the lines, I stopped worrying about it.

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: jwolf

As Hans mentioned, the green airfield icons at Japanese bases Jaffna and the one in the center (Dambulla?) look very strange. The one at Port Moresby looks the same, so evidently that is how the Japanese airfields are shown in this mod. Really weird for those of us who are used to the standard colors.

On topic, I just can't believe John would try to bring in unprepped or poorly prepped troops to Colombo when he can easily land at Trincomalee and just march across the island. Ceylon isn't all that large, and the roads are mostly very good.

This is a video controller/switches combination problem that affects some players but not others. I first noticed it about 7 years ago when the mines I had at one of my bases changed 8 different colours as I shifted the map side to side. Then I noticed that it affects other icons as well, the port and AF icons for sure. Once I was assured the Japanese had not actually mined my base, or taken a base waaaayyy behind the lines, I stopped worrying about it.

The annoying part of it is that the Russian and Japanese colors are very close and it becomes difficult to discern an American minefield colored to look like a Russian minefield from a Japanese minefield. I spent two weeks attempting to clear my own minefield!

Back to the presumed Japanese operation at Colombo: if he bombards with the ground troops, can that damage the airfield? Is it possible that he can neutralize the airfield that way, and hold back his big surface ships?

Ground bombardment doesn't affect the airfield.

John III would've marched a division overland to Colombo for any of these reasons: (1) to recon by bombardment; (2) to open a retreat hexside for the units about to amphibious land there (which I don't think is going to happen); (3) as maskirovka; or (4) because he badly underestimated the Allied garrison there or thinks it must be out of supply and badly disabled.

Of those possibilities, (1) and (3) are the only ones that make sense and seem likely to me, with (1) being the most likely.

April 16th, 1943

An interesting day. John, as we thought might, elects to bombard Colombo with his ships (although unexpectedly his land forces later in the day don't do any recon bombardment). In the chaos of the night, however, my combat task forces arrive first and prevent any sort of airfield bombardment. Making use of Allied radar capabilities, they manage to surprise the Japanese task forces and inflict a decent amount of damage on three separate combat forces, including heavy damage to and perhaps destruction of a Kongo-class battlecruiser. The battle is not without its costs, however. A lucky shot on CL Adelaide causes her magazine to explode, making her the only casualty of the night's actions. Moreover, both the BB Prince of Wales and BB Revenge take torpedo hits that damaged them, though neither is any immediate danger of sinking.

In total tally, intelligence believes 1 Japanese BC, 2 Japanese CAs, 1 Japanese CL, and 6 Japanese DDs are destroyed in the battle. The damage might be higher or lower (most certainly only 1 Japanese CA sunk).\



Surprisingly, there are no Japanese naval strikes for the day...This could be due to thunderstorms. If so, it's a shame as CAP at Colombo was set to murder anything that came.

My forces as they are currently at Colombo, including damage to PoW and Revenge. Re-arming for my BBs seems to be an issue, maybe because of supply and the fact that port damage is still at 25. The question is what to do. PoW and Revenge are damaged, PoW more seriously. I can try and bring PoW back to Trivandrum. Revenge can be used as a sacrifice to protect Colombo. I might also want to preserve some DDs and cruisers to re-link with my 6 BBs that will replenish and re-arm at Bombay next turn. Advice?

John still has two SCFs with KB as well as KB itself. I could see him sending those TFs into Bombay again or perhaps going after my forces if they try to return to Trivandrum. Japanese recon also spotted a bunch of my transports in port up at Cochin. John could try and send his KB north again.

A quick read through and this looks like a major Allied victory at sea. Well done.

Can John rearm at Trincomalee? If not, what's his closes port to rearm CAs? What about his BCs and BBs?

He's in trouble now. Now or pretty soon he's going to want to disengage in the presence of strong Allied forces. I bet his mind is a flurry of thoughts.

Regarding your damaged BBs: If they are low on ammo or otherwise seem pretty vulnerable, I'd disband them at Colombo temporarily. Your CAP should offer protection that would bleed John badly if he did send in strike aircraft that managed to get through. Given what just happened to him he'll be highly reluctant to take on what seems to be a mass of quality Allied shipping at Colombo. This assumes he thinks that some/many/all of your DDs and CAs may have ammo (can Colombo re-arm any class?). He's got to make a hard decision now: Attack with everything he has (carriers and remaining combat TFs) or seriously consider standing down and withdrawing. In your shoes, I'd simply put everything possible at Colombo and dare him to try again.

John is bleeding his surface fleet for what is an almost indefensible outpost...he must feel like he'll be able to inflict serious losses on you - but now that you know where a lot of his ships are, this definitely opens up opportunities elsewhere.

Allies usually have lots of AEs/AKEs at this point in the game. Do you have any near enough to flank speed into Colombo?

Nope, through my own lapses, I have most of my AKEs/AEs in the Pacific, Australia, NoPac. Some are on their way to the Indian theater. My best strategy now is to hunker down and battle whatever comes, trying to prevent bombardment by his last two SCFs. Alternatively, John could go for Trivandrum.

My money is on a massive airstrike that was supposed to coincide with yesterday's bombardment. John does not care for damage of his CA's and BC's. I suspect he will not try another surface action. He was not expecting you to be there at all

John warp speeds north....16-17 hexes....into blindness....where he has no recon...finds my carriers 9 hexes west of Goa....they all sink except one damaged CVL. The frustration, carrier loss syndrome - I am very frustrated. Stupidity on my part...blind luck on Johns. This victory for me has turned into a great victory for John. I will not be posting for awhile. [:@][:@][:@][:@]

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory can be very disconcerting and demoralizing. It looks like he did the unexpected and was rewarded, now was it a blind pig finding a Truffle or the once in a blue moon the Japanese actually get some accurate SIGINT based on at sea radio traffic?

I'll be happy if I can successfully take Ceylon. I don't think John can take it back..yet. One CVL survives for now, unspotted.

Oh man, that sucks [:(]. I may have missed something, but I'd thought from this screenshot of the carrier TF a few pages back that this was actually a pretty small force?



Sudden carrier loss is never nice, regardless of numbers, but if you're 'only' down one CV and CVL, you're still in a very good position in the long and even medium term, and in the short term you've still bled John more or less 1 for 1 so far in the battle for Ceylon.

[&:]

I can't understand why you'd send your carriers away from a base with big CAP. That's asking for trouble when the enemy is in proximity. John was probably using recon + mouseover + nav search + combat report tallies to deduce that you might've sent your carriers or other good ships north. He has good hunches based upon his vast experience with the game.

But don't let a carrier battle loss drive you away from your AAR. It's hard (and, oh, don't I know it!), but you don't want to come across as willing to post when things are going good but vanishing when they turn sour. The sour turns make the good ones all the sweeter (eventually).

Keep on truckin'!

Ouch.
He MUST have had intelligence. How many hexes did that CV fleet move? I would like to know for my own games, this is a very lengthy move across the map.

I have to say, after having read the whole AAR so far, this is THE ONLY one instance where John got one over you.
It's a big one, but it literally is THE. ONLY. ONE. TIME. where John got lucky (unlikely)or got some great intel (likely) and used it in typical John fashion (chaaaarge!!!!) and got you defeated. Every other time you got at least a (imo) a minor victory or gave him a setback.

Game got gud now, now he will REALLY do something silly, invasion of India from the sea is on to try to outflank you. Wut, it's John, gotta expect a move like that in 1943.....

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

[&:]

using recon + mouseover + nav search + combat report tallies

Please explain mouseover to this newbie?
Thanks in advance.