The Power of Inexperience / GreyJoy(A)-Rader(J)

[GreyJoy]

Hi Soros, nice to have you back
 
Well, those fighters were probably out of ammo and full of fatigue by the time those betties arrived. They had been fighting through the whole morning against neverending waves of zeros and i'm pretty sure that's the cause. When the base isn't swept with those numbers my fighters always prevail and give his bombers a nice welcome, but when he soften first my defences with 4/5 different sweep missions, then the upcoming bombers have an easy mission...
 
What makes me sick is the uneffectiveness of my Flak...my US AA units are all equipped with 90mm guns and, despite that, flak only claimed 4 bombers (kates!)...that's pretty discouraging
 
 

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: Graymane

Thanks for the great AAR GreyJoy! I dusted off my copy and started playing again. I really wouldn't get down on yourself. This is a massively complicated, involved game and you are doing well. Consider that you are playing a great player, this is your first time, and you are playing with 1 arm tied behind your back with this scenario.

I appreciate that you are posting this for all to see. I'm sure most of the posters here have all felt the same way at some point! While you are making mistakes, those will get corrected as you become more experienced. It is hard to plan multiple operations at the same time, let alone execute them and manage them. That will get easier with practice.

A lot of the advice here is very good to excellent (probably most of it). On the other hand, I think a lot of it is geared toward how that person would run a campaign given their experience. There is something to be said for just doing the simplest thing that will work because that requires fewer decisions and negates the decision making cycle advantage that your opponent has. Karachi has shown that in spades. Once you no longer had a lot of decisions to make, things got simpler.

Please hang in there! I think this is actually one of the best AARs ever done in WITP or AE simply due to all of the top players coming in here and giving such great advice. Not only for you, but for the rest of us as well!

Glad you like it mate!



I'm following CR's advice and am prepping an invasion force for Marauke (ok ok...i don't have the map with me...the spelling is uncorrect, i know, so please forgive me) composed of a para unit, a division and 4 seabees. Don't know when we'll be ready for that, however units will soon be moved to Cairns, along with some transport ships

[Saros]

At least you can take solace in the fact that losing Netty pilots HURTS. They are the toughest plane type to maintain a pool of trained pilots for as they need a minimum of decent skills in NavT, NavB and NavS and its takes a long time to train up all three skill on a single pilot. Its further compounded by the limited number of training squads available and the fact that you will be competing for pilots with all the navy 1E plane types. At least Val pilots only need NavB skill.

[Miller]

ORIGINAL: Saros

At least you can take solace in the fact that losing Netty pilots HURTS. They are the toughest plane type to maintain a pool of trained pilots for as they need a minimum of decent skills in NavT, NavB and NavS and its takes a long time to train up all three skill on a single pilot. Its further compounded by the limited number of training squads available and the fact that you will be competing for pilots with all the navy 1E plane types. At least Val pilots only need NavB skill.

The only skill needed for Nettys is NavT, NavB and NavS are irrelevant as no sane IJN player would employ them out of Zero escort range.

If anything, replacement Val pilots are harder to train as there are less training sqds in the home islands for DB pilots compared to TB pilots!

[Zeta16]

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

Hi Soros, nice to have you back

Well, those fighters were probably out of ammo and full of fatigue by the time those betties arrived. They had been fighting through the whole morning against neverending waves of zeros and i'm pretty sure that's the cause. When the base isn't swept with those numbers my fighters always prevail and give his bombers a nice welcome, but when he soften first my defences with 4/5 different sweep missions, then the upcoming bombers have an easy mission...

What makes me sick is the uneffectiveness of my Flak...my US AA units are all equipped with 90mm guns and, despite that, flak only claimed 4 bombers (kates!)...that's pretty discouraging

I don't get the Flak. In many games I have been in 4 or 5 Japanese bombers will go down at Singapore in late 41/early 42 to Flak.

Remember AAR's on the site are just a tiny persent of all games, the KB is not unstoppable. I have had many games where I have lost 3 or 4 of the KB cv's to maybe one ot two Allied ones in mid 42. I KB becomes even better if you let it add the CV's to it that come in 42 and 43, to me you need to start to knock some of them off or it will be like 12 on 12 to 15 in early to mid 44 and his pilots on KB will still be good as he seem to be a better job of protecting those pilots. So just don't think that because you get many more CV's in mid to late 44 that it just changes the balance.

[GreyJoy]

Dec 18, 19 1942
 
The Lunga odyssey continues. Again hordes of planes swept the base, followed by Netties and Helens. They found no opposition and hammered the base again. This time my flak didn't score a single hit...and they flew at 10k...[8|]
 
The KB remained near Shortlands this turn...wonder if he's ready to counterinvade...
 
An Army HQ and a Guards Division are reported to be moving towards Buna... I think i woke up the Giant....[:'(]
 
I decided to move my CVs back to PH for the moment...hope not to be spotted by the dreaded jap subs....
 
Today we lost 13 more planes on the ground at Lunga...it's a pain to see my Cactus force grounded and hammered like a baby seal...[:o]

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: Zeta16

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

Hi Soros, nice to have you back

Well, those fighters were probably out of ammo and full of fatigue by the time those betties arrived. They had been fighting through the whole morning against neverending waves of zeros and i'm pretty sure that's the cause. When the base isn't swept with those numbers my fighters always prevail and give his bombers a nice welcome, but when he soften first my defences with 4/5 different sweep missions, then the upcoming bombers have an easy mission...

What makes me sick is the uneffectiveness of my Flak...my US AA units are all equipped with 90mm guns and, despite that, flak only claimed 4 bombers (kates!)...that's pretty discouraging

I don't get the Flak. In many games I have been in 4 or 5 Japanese bombers will go down at Singapore in late 41/early 42 to Flak.

Remember AAR's on the site are just a tiny persent of all games, the KB is not unstoppable. I have had many games where I have lost 3 or 4 of the KB cv's to maybe one ot two Allied ones in mid 42. I KB becomes even better if you let it add the CV's to it that come in 42 and 43, to me you need to start to knock some of them off or it will be like 12 on 12 to 15 in early to mid 44 and his pilots on KB will still be good as he seem to be a better job of protecting those pilots. So just don't think that because you get many more CV's in mid to late 44 that it just changes the balance.

Don't get the flak either...both at Karachi (where i have a HUGE concentration of 3.7mkII) and here at Lunga (where the best US flak guns are present) my boys are doing bad...while my 4Es got annihilated even flyin at 23k....he can easily fly at 10k without any losses...weird!

I know Zeta...but Rader is always carefull with his KB...he doesn't stay much without the cover of his LBA umbrella and with 2 days-turn it's difficult to find the appropriate situation to strike back...
His pilots are not anymore better than mine me thinks. He has lost a lot of them in India, while my navy pilots keep on training...However now i have to send the Illustrious back so i will only have 4 operational CVs (Sara and Hornet are repairing from the torpedos they ate)...really too little to go on the offensive without a most favourable situation

[Zeta16]

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

ORIGINAL: Zeta16

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

Hi Soros, nice to have you back

Well, those fighters were probably out of ammo and full of fatigue by the time those betties arrived. They had been fighting through the whole morning against neverending waves of zeros and i'm pretty sure that's the cause. When the base isn't swept with those numbers my fighters always prevail and give his bombers a nice welcome, but when he soften first my defences with 4/5 different sweep missions, then the upcoming bombers have an easy mission...

What makes me sick is the uneffectiveness of my Flak...my US AA units are all equipped with 90mm guns and, despite that, flak only claimed 4 bombers (kates!)...that's pretty discouraging

I don't get the Flak. In many games I have been in 4 or 5 Japanese bombers will go down at Singapore in late 41/early 42 to Flak.

Remember AAR's on the site are just a tiny persent of all games, the KB is not unstoppable. I have had many games where I have lost 3 or 4 of the KB cv's to maybe one ot two Allied ones in mid 42. I KB becomes even better if you let it add the CV's to it that come in 42 and 43, to me you need to start to knock some of them off or it will be like 12 on 12 to 15 in early to mid 44 and his pilots on KB will still be good as he seem to be a better job of protecting those pilots. So just don't think that because you get many more CV's in mid to late 44 that it just changes the balance.

Don't get the flak either...both at Karachi (where i have a HUGE concentration of 3.7mkII) and here at Lunga (where the best US flak guns are present) my boys are doing bad...while my 4Es got annihilated even flyin at 23k....he can easily fly at 10k without any losses...weird!

I know Zeta...but Rader is always carefull with his KB...he doesn't stay much without the cover of his LBA umbrella and with 2 days-turn it's difficult to find the appropriate situation to strike back...
His pilots are not anymore better than mine me thinks. He has lost a lot of them in India, while my navy pilots keep on training...However now i have to send the Illustrious back so i will only have 4 operational CVs (Sara and Hornet are repairing from the torpedos they ate)...really too little to go on the offensive without a most favourable situation

Most of my games are stock not Beta, so maybe that explains the flak. He has lost a lot of pilots but how many of them have been KB pilots.

[GreyJoy]

A good number i'd say. For sure at Karachi, during the first phases of the siege, the KB tried to close the AF there, resulting in a carnage... i know his KB pilots are good, but mines are not bad either. They are all in their 70s in the dedicated skills and i'm training as much as possible using replenishments groups and the Kingfishers ones...don't think i'll be unprepared in terms of pilots when the time of battle will come

Don't know if beta has tweakened down the allied flak...but for sure there's something that isn't right at the moment.

Edited to change the subject title

[pws1225]

Edited to change the subject title

An excellent choice for your title! Keep it up my friend.

[GreyJoy]

Dec 20, 21 1942

Were two bad days for the conquerors of Port Moresby.
The same treatment reserved to Lunga just 4 days ago today was given to PM.
120 Zeros from Buna kept a LRCAP over the base, while hordes of Tojos, A6M3s and Oscars swept the base (that, however, was not defended by any allied fighter). Then they came with Betties and Helens. 250 bombers mauled the base for two days in a row andleft the strips burning and closed.
Transport planes from CookTown got intercepted while bringing supplies to the base and we lost 3 of them.
At Buna 36k men are massing and they seem to be moving towards PM by land[8|]...As far as i can tell the 14th Army is moving to Buna, along with the 4th Guards Division. These two LCU are prepping for Lunga....so it could be a feint or, more simpler, Rader's plans to counterinade Lunga were changed due to my surprise assault on PM.

Either way i'm happy to have taken PM. Now he has to jump hitting PM or Lunga and this clearly slow his hammer...he cannot concentrate only on one of the two so, overall, i think the move to PM was a good one. Now i need to find a way to reinforce and resupply PM....not easy with the KB stationed at Torobika and with so many bases full of planes right on the other coast of NG...any ship approaching would be noticed at attacked and he can easily LRCAP PM....i think i may need to scratch my pools a little bit more and upgrade an american squadron based in SOPAC to P-38s...that way we should be at least able to sweep PM in order to fight that damned LRCAP.... am i able to sweep my own base?...I really hope so...

[Roger Neilson II]

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy


At Buna 36k men are massing and they seem to be moving towards PM by land[8|]...As far as i can tell the 14th Army is moving to Buna, along with the 4th Guards Division. These two LCU are prepping for Lunga....so it could be a feint or, more simpler, Rader's plans to counterinade Lunga were changed due to my surprise assault on PM.

If he manages to get a combat force of anything like 36K across the Owen Stanleys in any state to fight then my only conclusion is there is something very wrong with the supply system. In reality we are talking trails of one man width up amazing mountain ranges..... This would worry me. I am already worried about the endless fuel supplies in the mountains of China in a game of mine where the Jap tanks are rolling round like Guderian's forces on the open plains of france.

Roger

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: Roger Neilson II

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy


At Buna 36k men are massing and they seem to be moving towards PM by land[8|]...As far as i can tell the 14th Army is moving to Buna, along with the 4th Guards Division. These two LCU are prepping for Lunga....so it could be a feint or, more simpler, Rader's plans to counterinade Lunga were changed due to my surprise assault on PM.

If he manages to get a combat force of anything like 36K across the Owen Stanleys in any state to fight then my only conclusion is there is something very wrong with the supply system. In reality we are talking trails of one man width up amazing mountain ranges..... This would worry me. I am already worried about the endless fuel supplies in the mountains of China in a game of mine where the Jap tanks are rolling round like Guderian's forces on the open plains of france.

Roger

Roger, if you go back to the first pages of this aar you'll see what a real blitzkrieg is... Japan conquered the WHOLE China in 2 months, using entire armies of tanks, supported by thousands of bombers...he never had any supply issue at all...not even moving through trails or on mountains...

However we're elaborating a new plan to put up a fight in SOPAC and SWPAC. We still have 20 spits VIII at Karachi. We'll downgrade them and give those CRACK pilots some well deserved rest in TRACOM. We'll equip a crack australian group with Spits VIII. These will be backed up by 32 Spits Vc and they'll be moved to PM as soon as the base becomes usable again.
At the same time we'll wait Jannuary in order to start equip the first USMC Corsairs group at Lunga...if he wants to have the air superiority over these targets he will have to pay for it!

Also planning to move the P38s from Karachi to SOPAC. Karachi's defence will be left to P-40Ks, P-39s and Hurri MkIIc. Considering he won't advance no more i don't mind losing some air firepower...

[ADB123]

am i able to sweep my own base?...I really hope so...

No, you aren't.

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: ADB123

am i able to sweep my own base?...I really hope so...

No, you aren't.

I feared that...[:o]

Well that would be a problem...mmmmmm....so the only way is to keep a CAP there...but does my CAP fight his LRCAP?

[ADB123]

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

ORIGINAL: ADB123

am i able to sweep my own base?...I really hope so...

No, you aren't.

I feared that...[:o]

Well that would be a problem...mmmmmm....so the only way is to keep a CAP there...but does my CAP fight his LRCAP?

If you put CAP at PM he'll likely sweep you into oblivion. Instead, wait for his troops to start to move and then sweep them. He will lose his fighters and you will be able to bomb his troops daily. By the time any troops get over the mountains they will be out of supply and useless.

BTW - have you captured that other dot base on PNG that is just up the coast from PM? If not, do so immediately (use paras that contain engineers) and start to build it. The long range sweeping will wear out your P-38s fast so a closer base is a plane-saver.

[LoBaron]

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy
...we'll wait Jannuary in order to start equip the first USMC Corsairs group at Lunga...if he wants to have the air superiority over these targets he will have to pay for it!

Just as a reminder: the early Corsairs have service level 3.
So if you intend to use them as CAP fighters be aware that when upgrading from Wildcats you actually reduce
your strenght in the air because its much harder to keep em flying.

They are nice offensive weapons though, as long as the target is not so far away.

[bbbf]

I doubt the RAAF can use the British Spits - IIRC, Australia produces it's own Spitfires.

[Roger Neilson II]

Yes I know what happened at the start, I read your AAR because its really good, full of insights form the contributors, but more and more I swear as someone who wants to play something that has a nodding acquaintance with the history I'm going to steer well clear of this variant. Having said that I'm being blitzkrieged in a Scenario 1 game - but soem of that is me ignoring China for the first 6 months!

Roger

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: ADB123

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

ORIGINAL: ADB123



No, you aren't.

I feared that...[:o]

Well that would be a problem...mmmmmm....so the only way is to keep a CAP there...but does my CAP fight his LRCAP?

If you put CAP at PM he'll likely sweep you into oblivion. Instead, wait for his troops to start to move and then sweep them. He will lose his fighters and you will be able to bomb his troops daily. By the time any troops get over the mountains they will be out of supply and useless.

BTW - have you captured that other dot base on PNG that is just up the coast from PM? If not, do so immediately (use paras that contain engineers) and start to build it. The long range sweeping will wear out your P-38s fast so a closer base is a plane-saver.

Thx ABD.

The dot base you mentioned is empty and in japanese hands...but i really don't see how i can supply and support it. All the bases in the other coast of NG are full of planes, among which 3 Daitais of Vals...even if i manage to build it up to lvl 1 AF he will have easy time closing it for good...

It's a bit strange however that he's not trying to land at PM...i mean...with the KB fully supporting...with all those close-by LBA bases...why he needs to march through the Owen Stanley mountains!?!? pretty weird i'd say