RIDERS ON THE STORM-THANK YOU

[Fishbed]

Yep. Night attacks are triggered by allied submarines in the same hex from what we know (from what we saw in Pzb's game). If you have a big fat VP to spare, you may put a good bunch of Catalinas on night naval attack. With so many subs out there, you can expect to trigger several strikes, even though you can't expect a lot of kills (but well Catalinas carry torpedoes on such missions, right? Even if you hit only once, that will be a great hit).

[Gen.Hoepner]

Fishbed, i understand what u mean, but, as a long term japanese player, i've faced too many times HORDES of 4Es killing huge numbers of planes on ground during night raids without any chance for Japan of doing anything about it...it's depressing and unfair. Night bombings are too accurate in this game. I feel they are fair only when some NF groups arrives on both sides.
Beside that Mlees is right. Our HR about night bombings is very clear. if converted to night bombers, those units cannot be used at day anymore...so maybe in the future, when i'll have some more bombers to spare...not now. it would be absolutely foolish!
 
PBY attacks are allowed...i'm already trying to do that. I'm just waiting my best Catalinas squadron arrives at 80 exp (now at 79)...

[Gen.Hoepner]

ORIGINAL: Fishbed

Yep. Night attacks are triggered by allied submarines in the same hex from what we know (from what we saw in Pzb's game). If you have a big fat VP to spare, you may put a good bunch of Catalinas on night naval attack. With so many subs out there, you can expect to trigger several strikes, even though you can't expect a lot of kills (but well Catalinas carry torpedoes on such missions, right? Even if you hit only once, that will be a great hit).

Yes, exactly, but from my exp you need to get at least at 80 exp in order to have a chance of delivering a fish into a major ship...Troll won't be happy about that[:D]

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner

I've ordered my 3 operative CVs to get back at SF. I need to be able to get the wildcats upgrade (from 27 to 36) ASAP.

Squadrons will resize at Pearl Harbor too - any port with a theater level HQ present.

[Jim D Burns]

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner
Night bombings are too accurate in this game.

I'm pretty sure this was changed in a patch. You're lucky to hit anything in a night raid now.

Jim

[mdiehl]

Our HR about night bombings is very clear. if converted to night bombers, those units cannot be used at day anymore...

Why ever did you agree to that? It is completely unreasonable when viewed in historical framework. USAAF bomber units in the PTO regularly engaged in both daylight and night ops, especially in the late war.

[Gen.Hoepner]

ORIGINAL: mdiehl

Our HR about night bombings is very clear. if converted to night bombers, those units cannot be used at day anymore...

Why ever did you agree to that? It is completely unreasonable when viewed in historical framework. USAAF bomber units in the PTO regularly engaged in both daylight and night ops, especially in the late war.

Unluckly i agreed on many strange HRs that at that time didn't seem so important (like "no action in north pacific untill the soviets enter into the war".-....).
Troll made a serie of HRs and i, willing to play, signed a "blank paper"

[Fishbed]

Fishbed, i understand what u mean, but, as a long term japanese player, i've faced too many times HORDES of 4Es killing huge numbers of planes on ground during night raids without any chance for Japan of doing anything about it...it's depressing and unfair. Night bombings are too accurate in this game. I feel they are fair only when some NF groups arrives on both sides.

Yes I know, but don't you dare forget PDU is on [;)]

[Gen.Hoepner]

ORIGINAL: Fishbed

Fishbed, i understand what u mean, but, as a long term japanese player, i've faced too many times HORDES of 4Es killing huge numbers of planes on ground during night raids without any chance for Japan of doing anything about it...it's depressing and unfair. Night bombings are too accurate in this game. I feel they are fair only when some NF groups arrives on both sides.

Yes I know, but don't you dare forget PDU is on [;)]

Well,PDU doesn't let you swicth from daylight fighters to nightfighters.
So to say you cannot convert a zero daitai to nicks or to other night fighters.
You're simply stuck with the NF groups that arrives as reinforcement from summer 42 on...

However guys, turn sent.
I think we're at a turning point here. If i manage to hold Ponape we could change the balance in the pacific. If he takes it back he'll have time to take Chungking and reinforce with all those dreaded divisions the whole pacific, thus keeping me away from Truk and from its main bases for a long time.
Eventually he could even menace the USSR...but that would be a mistake imho...
4 CVs will anyway let me conduct some little landings in the pacific...i won't risk them as i did at Ponape no more...however it's good to know i still have some platforms at hand.


Just a consideration for Jim...
Jim, in my game vs. 125psi (Herbie so to say), where we're playing chs 157 (nik's normal mod) i'm facing a total annihilation of my hurricanes against his oscars...now i understand what you meant....this mod (Nik's experimental air mod for CHS 159/160) is absolutely better!! Defenetly more balanced!

[Gen.Hoepner]

Some more thoughts...
 
The operation "Babylon" (the sortie of the whole RN from Aden and its transfer to Oz) has been put apart.
The RN will keep on going with its seldom sorties from the Aden Channell, just to keep him honest in India, but the risks connected to that operation are really too much...for too few possible gains.
 
At the same time the sub mining operations at Karachi has prooved to be a complete failure. Not a single mine hits in more than 3 months of naval bombings conducted by the japanese navy....a disaster. Lost 4 subs during these useless operation for no gains.
Now i'll call back my 12 subs operating at Aden and will re-organize them.
The O-19 and O-20 (two minelayer ducth subs) will stay at Aden along with the Nautilus (..mmm..is that one the american sub-mine layer??) and with the coastal ducth subs (i still got 2 of them), while the rest of the sub fleet (the oceanic ducths and the american subs) will be, after few days of R&R at Aden, be sent back to Darwin where they'll join the Darwin submarine force.
 
Despite all my efforts the sub warfare, till now, it's been absolutely a failure. I've lost a huge number of subs (especially during the Manila bombing on the first day of war) for little or no gain.
Now the majority of my hunters are supporting the operations at Ponape, so there's really no chance of getting some success against his merchant shippings in the SRA.
As soon as the Ponape situation will be stabilized, in a way or in another, all my subs will be divided in 3 major groups, operating from Darwin, Addak island (Aleutinas) and Eniwetok...but i really think that, before the upgrades of october 42, their utility will be really despicable.
 
 

[Fishbed]

Well,PDU doesn't let you swicth from daylight fighters to nightfighters.

Well my intervention was more about your "hordes of 4E" stuff [8D]
The moment you'll face "hordes of Georges & Jacks" I hope it won't be too late already [;)]

[jumper]

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner

Nautilus (..mmm..is that one the american sub-mine layer??)

Nope, it is Argonaut IIRC..

[Mistmatz]

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner
...
At the same time the sub mining operations at Karachi has prooved to be a complete failure. Not a single mine hits in more than 3 months of naval bombings conducted by the japanese navy....a disaster. Lost 4 subs during these useless operation for no gains.
Now i'll call back my 12 subs operating at Aden and will re-organize them.
The O-19 and O-20 (two minelayer ducth subs) will stay at Aden along with the Nautilus (..mmm..is that one the american sub-mine layer??) and with the coastal ducth subs (i still got 2 of them), while the rest of the sub fleet (the oceanic ducths and the american subs) will be, after few days of R&R at Aden, be sent back to Darwin where they'll join the Darwin submarine force.
...

The american sub minelayer is the "Argonaut". Unless you have let her upgrade in 42/2 (or somewhen near that date) she carries 68 mines in RHS (should be similar in CHS). If she has been 'upgraded' she looses the mining capacity, apart from the few mines every sub may carry of course.

[TenChiMato]

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner

Troll in one of his mails, last week, asked me with an ironical tone if he was supposed to counter-attack in the marshalls...so i bet he knows that we're waiting for him there and so he won't risk any more assets there...
Kwajalein is been isolated by now...for, what? 4 months? ...yes, almost....daily bombed...i'm quite sure the supplies are almost gone by now...hopefully by the end of the year we'll have some spare LCUs to use there for a general landing.

Actually, with all the other Marshall bases in your hand and expanded I dont believe there will be any interest in assaulting Kwajalein later on. It will be much more useful as a backyard training ground for your airforce just as the allied did with all these isolated outposts late in the war.

By late '42 your spare LCUs would better be sent to Northen Oz and the Solomons.

[Gen.Hoepner]

ORIGINAL: Mistmatz




The american sub minelayer is the "Argonaut". Unless you have let her upgrade in 42/2 (or somewhen near that date) she carries 68 mines in RHS (should be similar in CHS). If she has been 'upgraded' she looses the mining capacity, apart from the few mines every sub may carry of course.

Yes, Argonaut! Thx. I've swicthed it not to upgrade. I'll leave it ar Aden, along with the ducth subs. They'll keep on the mine-laying works. The others will move back to the pacific as stated before

[Gen.Hoepner]

ORIGINAL: TenChiMato

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner

Troll in one of his mails, last week, asked me with an ironical tone if he was supposed to counter-attack in the marshalls...so i bet he knows that we're waiting for him there and so he won't risk any more assets there...
Kwajalein is been isolated by now...for, what? 4 months? ...yes, almost....daily bombed...i'm quite sure the supplies are almost gone by now...hopefully by the end of the year we'll have some spare LCUs to use there for a general landing.

Actually, with all the other Marshall bases in your hand and expanded I dont believe there will be any interest in assaulting Kwajalein later on. It will be much more useful as a backyard training ground for your airforce just as the allied did with all these isolated outposts late in the war.

By late '42 your spare LCUs would better be sent to Northen Oz and the Solomons.

Probably yes, but Kwajalein is an important base none-the-less. We'll see....However It will remain a training camp for a lot months to come, that's for sure!

[Gen.Hoepner]

I have a question now for all you deep witp grognards....
...i remember Jim once posted that if allowed to get replacements the 9.2 CD guns suck a LOT of supplies...so the question is...how much?...he keeps sending his CAs towards Karachi...at Karachi i have 2 bases that have their 9.2 guns destroyed...he keeps sending his bombers only against the AF...so...you know what i mean...imagine the surprise for him if his CAs were to be blown out by some unexpected 9.2 guns?...
i have 220,000 supplies at Karachi left....
 
Any ideas...i'm pretty sure someone knows that[:D]

[Andy Mac]

I am pretty sure its 9999 tonnes i.e. the load cost
 
Andy

[PzB74]

You worry to much General, you have heaps of supplies in Karachi and it will never run dry - believe me.
Dunno how many supplies the guns will draw, but you can afford it!

If you can manage to hurt his bombardment fleet he won't have any replacements to send.

I had picked a day with T-storms and sent the RN into Karachi to intercept his fleets.
The chances that his naval bombers would fly and find your ships in clear weather would be relatively low.

It's wise to play it careful as the Allies in 42, but either you play it completely safe or you
are as reckless as can be - like when you surged in and grabbed Ponape [8D]

No guts no glory [;)]

[Rob Brennan UK]

Re the sub mining ops I had a couple of thoughts, you may have tried this already but ..

1) mine the port hes coming from not the target, as bombardment groups tend to stay well out
at sea and don't encounter mines, however he 'has' to sail through the mine field at his home port.

2) mine the open water hexes he runs through, they degrade fast but less chance of getting spotted in deep water and u cant do worse than o hits in 3 months.

GL , looking forward to your continuing game