Andy Mac v PZB This time India will Stand !!!!

[castor troy]

Have seen the same thing a couple of times already. Despite more than 500 Hellcats on Cap and pre warning times of more than an hour, when the enemy then shows up you start with a couple of dozen fighters, never really getting beyond 150. [8|] Recently, when I whiped the floor with KB I had roughly 1200 fighters (Hellcats and British Corsairs), the enemy not even brought halve of them to the fight and the enemy shot down as many of my fighters as we did with a 3:1 or higher numerical superiority during the engagements. Then on the other hand, CVE TFs with some 150 fighters took out strike after strike. It can go both ways and sometimes it´s rather weird, no matter what you say as there´s just so much randomness in an engagement of hundreds of Hellcats meeting a strike with ample pre warning time but the fighters then do nothing. That seems weirder than what could happen in real life IMO.

[Andy Mac]

Zekes have been easy meat so far so KB didnt really have me worried against a straight concentrated USN Carrier fleet with Hellcats and Corsairs I expected to crucify Japanese strikes
 
Part of the issue is I hate detail stuff like pilot training bores me to tears never mind everything else - need to work out next steps after the next turn I expect to get gutted tomorrow as well

[Andy Mac]

ps I blame the AI for my poor play - to much time spent on that not enough practicing [:D][:D][:D]

[castor troy]

pilot training wouldn´t have helped you here, I´m only fielding fully trained pilots but that doesn´t mean you actually see your fighters go after the enemy, it only means those that attack do better.

[Andy Mac]

oh dont get me wrong all pilots in all sqns were 70+ exp/70+A2A and 70+ Air defence I aint totally stupid I may hate it but I made myself do it

[ADB123]

Andy -

I have some questions about how your CAP and CV TFs were set up:

1 - What altitude was you CAP at? Did you go for maximum altitude or some different altitude?

2 - Were any Fighter groups on CAP at different altitudes?

3 - What percentage CAP did you have set? Did it vary from ship to ship?

4 - Were all of your CV TFs in the same hex or different/adjacent hexes?

5 - Did your Search planes find the KB? If so, when?

6 - Did your CV TFs attempt to move into range of the KB?

7 - How many carriers did you have per TF, and how big were your CV TFs?

Thx -

[Andy Mac]

ORIGINAL: ADB123

Andy -

I have some questions about how your CAP and CV TFs were set up:

1 - What altitude was you CAP at? Did you go for maximum altitude or some different altitude?

12 - 16k - Martlets at 12k hellcats 14k or 16k

2 - Were any Fighter groups on CAP at different altitudes?

Yes

3 - What percentage CAP did you have set? Did it vary from ship to ship?

50% acrosas the board

4 - Were all of your CV TFs in the same hex or different/adjacent hexes?

Same Hex

5 - Did your Search planes find the KB? If so, when?

No not in the turn some from Warangai did find them

6 - Did your CV TFs attempt to move into range of the KB?

No

7 - How many carriers did you have per TF, and how big were your CV TFs?

3 TF's were 2 x USN CV's and 1 x USN CVL
others were in one TF (3x RN, 1 x USN and 1 x CVL)
All CVE's in 1 TF each TF 17 - 18 ships

Thx -

[kfsgo]

Is there a particular reason for the 8 v 7 hex thing? Seeing it used systematically does kinda strain credibility a bit (purely from an 'audience' perspective)

[ADB123]

Andy -

Thanks for the answers. They're useful, and they lead to a few more questions:

1 - Did you have any of your Avengers set to some percentage "search"? If so, how many squadrons?

2 - How many hexes did you more your CV TFs between the previous turn and this turn? Were your CV TFs continuing along the same route as in the previous turn?

3 - Were your CV TFs spotted at night by any Japanese subs or surface TFs?

4 - Was the KB spotted at night by any Allied subs.

Once again, thanks for your answers. I'm trying to learn from all of this.

[ADB123]

All CVE's in 1 TF each TF 17 - 18 ships

Oops - I should have asked this before - what do you mean by this? Did you have all of your CVEs in 1 big TF, or each CVE in an individual TF with 17 or 18 ships total in each CVE TF?

Thanks again -

[Speedysteve]

Hi Andy,

I sympathise. I personally think it's a total BS combat result. PzB did well but then it's down to the engine. I'd be fuming if I was you. Not sure what to advise. I think you're right though W had had it. Get out remnants of what you can and wait 9 months! Sheesh. Bummer to say the least....

[erstad]

ORIGINAL: Andy Mac

Cannot even post combat replay basically KB nailed me with another 8 hex attack

What was the reaction setting on your CV TFs?

[Andy Mac]

0
 
Just watched next turn - carnage does not even describe it Hellcats just dont seem able to get the job done at least they tried today but it wasnt enough.
 
Have lost lots of good ships and am going to lose a lot more.
 
Not going to say much if you want to read what happened go read PZB's side I am sure he has posted it.
 
I shouldnt have done the last turn while still raw from the fiasco of the previous turn.
 
My fleet is now in tatters
 
No idea what to do next.
 
I attack in the line islands - fail
I attack in SEA - fail
 
Not a good report card
 
I never quit so we go on but with little hope at present as this was a total fiasco

[Andy Mac]

Just finished the turn losses were excrucuating 2 CV's dead and 3 CVE's more crippled and more to follow today.
 
Lastgame v PZB I got all the luck looks like the tables have turned

[String]

Finally managed to recall my forum login \o/

But it was painful to read the last few turns Andy. It seems like you've had terrible luck against both me and PzB in the AE PBEM's. Hopefully it'll get better in the future.

[Speedysteve]

It's a shocking combat result. IMO the worst I've seen. Would feel very pissed

[viberpol]

ORIGINAL: Andy Mac
Cannot even post combat replay basically KB nailed me with another 8 hex attack that killed mutliple carriers in my fleet and totally screwed me despite over 400 aircraft on CAP the jap bombers waltzed through my CAP.

ORIGINAL: Andy Mac
Despite my aircraft ranging to 10 - Hellcats, Avengers and SBD's are restricted to max 7 hex range
japan gets to hits to 8 anyone who says this game is an AFB's wet dream has never played it.

You didn't upgrade with the data patch that limits D4Y range to 6/7, did you?
That strike from 8 hexes away, not even saying about 500-kilo bombs would be impossible if you did.

[Andy Mac]

I thought we did t be honest.
 
Even when I was in range and got literally hundreds of strike aircraft through the KB CAP they didnt hit a damned thing compared to PZB guided missiles.
 
I dont abandon games so I will keep going but the last two turns are totally 100% nuts.
 
I feel really screwed
 
Strategically I had made the mistake of hitting Warangai and not following through and I knew that mistake would cost me but I was 2 turns away from fixing that with 5 Divs at sea to land at Koeplang and 2 at Roti which would have transformed position
 
My frustrations of the last few turns
 
1. Helen II's on ASW killing every sub I put to sea
2. 24/7 round the clock bombardment TF's 5 days in a row that nuke my base
3. Allied SCTF's that achieve nothing despite being better ships witht he best leaders I have
4. Useless PT Boats
5. 8 Hex v 7 Hex strike range that a Japanese player can try to manipulate to force a decisisve result.
6. Allied CAP that achieves ZERO
7. Allied Strikes that achieve nothing
 
This whole campaign has left a seriously bad taste in my mouth - a lot of the above I cannot mention to John because it would appear as sour grapes when he has played magnificiently but I have no idea why my ships have and air groups have performed so miserably.
 
 

[Speedysteve]

FWIW I agree on the CV battle stuff. Crazy results and your attack doing diddly squat. You've made strategy errors but this tactical part and what does or doesn't hit or does or doesn't intercept you have little say in....even I'm annoyed for you!

[Andy Mac]

p.s. if you want a list of my strategic mistakes to go with my gripes above well here it is.
 
1. To much distance between TF W and TF K and E this was a real killer I should have taken the extra week and went in intact only sprinting with the fast TF when spotted that was the plan and would have left me all TF's hitting at the same point probably a week later
2. Kicked off my diversion to early one of the reasons I rushed 1. was that I though the TF's loading at PH story was starting to get old and PZB would smell a rat.
3. Allowing PZB to get inside my deciison loop when I reinforced Warangai rather than invding Roti witht he 2nd wave
4. Trying to invade omn the run (albeit with 100% prepped troops) I should have taken a few weeks to get North Australia sorted out before I attacked i now have 1000 auircraft how much easier would it have been to close the big AF's When PZB wasnt ready
5. Delay in Indian Ocean attacks - I am ready to hit objectives inIndian Ocean and Sumatra but am waiitng on a few ships
 
Basically overall I got buck fever and rushed the offensive without needing to and everything flows from that.
 
If I had hit Warangai in force then two days later captured Endeh and Roti.
 
7 days after that hit Koepang and Andaman Islands PZB would have probably had to back off.
 
Instead utimately it was faulty strategic execution thats got me where i am today