April 28th 1942
Iron rice bowl
Kungchang fell today. I had two divisions against two thirds of a Chinese corps, the lack of supply did the job. To my surprise, both units retreated in the mountains, instead of marching back towards Lanchow. This is good, just getting back into the game will take them a long time.
I have three divisions in Kungchang. One will march on Lanchow, to clear the road and reopen the supply line. There are now twelve units in Lanchow, and reinforcements are arriving from Sining. Apparently, the enemy is planning to make a stand there. Once my division arrives, I will bombard to see what I am facing. But there is no rush.
A few hundred miles east, my troops from Sian are taking position between Sian and Tianshui. The goal is to cross the Wei, isolate Tianshui, and then take the crossroad (Baoji, I presume) that connects Northern China to Sichuan. The goal of this maneuver is less to prevent my opponent from reinforcing Ankang (I don’t think he has much troops to bring) than to complicate retreat from the Sian stack. If this happens fast enough, I might send a tank column towards Kienko and the Sichuan plains.
Last gamelan in Java
In Batavia, an attack reduced the forts (at last) and achieved 1:1 odds. The defenders are probably close to 150 AV now. My troops are disrupted and fatigued. I am trying one more time, and I rest. But it seems clear that Batavia will most certainly fall in the beginning of May.
In Tjilatjap, my tank regiment is slowly damaging the enemy. An SNLF battalion from Surabaya is on its way. Again, I believe the place will be mine in the first week of May.
So far, all enemy units on Java were destroyed. There will be no pockets or remnants, save perhaps a few base forces around Tjilatjap. Overall, Java will have been Japan’s easiest conquest.
Supply woes
Enemy base points are down again. Every day makes the supply situation in Singapore worse. I will probably be supplied in a week, and since the troops will be rested, there is a good chance that the city will fall first try.
The situation in Singapore reveals a major flaw in my logistical planning. Since the beginning of the game, I have been supplying China from Japan (using the return cargo of resource convoys from Shanghai and Korea). As a result, China is well supplied (there are about 700k supply points there), but supplies do not flow south of Shanghai, towards Bangkok and Singapore. Everything seems to remain stuck in Port Arthur.
I also have underestimated the need to send supplies from Japan to the DEI. At this point most of the stocks I had in the beginning of the game are depleted. The situation is not catastrophic, since most of my expansion phase is over now. Yet, the lack of supply delays industry repairs, and needs to be corrected at once.
I am trying two methods, and will report on them:
- In China, try to use the supply draw to pump stuff out of Port Arthur, and down to Malaysia.
- In Japan, set up a couple of large supply convoys, probably to Formosa, which I will use as a depot (being an island, this prevents unwanted movement of stocks to some port the system decided was in want of supplies, because it is large, eg Port Arthur)
Now when the land rings with the clash of arms –No soliinvictus please
Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
What version are you running? Last official patch or the beta? The beta has made a number of very good changes to resource/supply flow to address this and other issues.ORIGINAL: fcharton
April 28th 1942
Supply woes
...but supplies do not flow south of Shanghai, towards Bangkok and Singapore. Everything seems to remain stuck in Port Arthur.
Pax
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
@Pax Mondo: we’re in the “c” beta (ie the one current around last Christmas when we started the game). As such, I suspect the new features about supply flow don’t work. We did try to update several weeks ago, but difficulties with Tracker derailed the attempt. I am trying again this week end.
April 29th and 30th 1942
Singabore
I’ll miss the Singapore slugfest once the city falls… On the 29th, my troops there were supplied, quite unexpectedly I must say. Not wanting to waste those good bullets, I ordered a shock attack the next day, which reduced the forts (again), killed an enemy unit, destroyed about 130 enemy squads (for 150 mine, why did I shock attack?). And now, I’m good for a good rest, a long wait for supplies…
The only good thing with this attack was that it brought enemy supplies to a new low. VP went down by almost 700, which suggests the city has almost no supplies left. My supply convoy to Mersing should arrive tomorrow. This means I should be able to attack in three or four days.
The end is near, but slowly so…
The return of the Reds
North of Sian, the Red Army, retreating from Yenan, marching through mountains and woods, finally crossed the Yellow River, back to the road to Lanchow, and right into the arms of a waiting IJA division. Sometimes, life is unfair.
Ground combat at 83,39 (near Sian)
Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 1610 troops, 58 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 38
Defending force 13665 troops, 124 guns, 92 vehicles, Assault Value = 482
Allied assault odds: 1 to 999
I am counterattacking tomorrow. I wonder whether they will retreat or surrender.
All the northern bank of the Wei is now safely in Japanese hands. Apart from the Yenan boys, a lone unit, probably the third fragment of the corps I defeated in Kungchang a few days ago, is in the mountains between Sian and Kungchang. I will deal with them soon.
My division from Lanchow should join the troops in Lanchow the day after tomorrow. Overall, I have about six divisions in the regions, which could meet in Lanchow in about ten days.
West of Sian, my main stack (now 4200 AV strong) is crossing the Wei, they should arrive on the road from Ankang to Tianshui, and isolate the latter, in three days.
Base building report
As of today, Japan holds 567 bases (vs 552 on the 15th of April, and 541 at the beginning of the month, the "666 base at the end of the year objective is still in sight). 235 of those (vs 224 and 217) have engineers and are being built.
Half my bases (284) are fortified. Over the last two weeks, 42 fort levels have been built. We have:
75 level one forts (-7)
102 level two forts (+12)
83 level three forts (+7)
16 level four (+1)
5 level five
3 level six
We have 337 ports (+3), and 755 port levels (+7)
162 level 1
77 level 2 (+3)
44 level 3
21 level 4 (-1)
12 level 5 (+1)
5 level 6
7 level 7
1 level 8
4 level 9
4 level 10
There are 355 (+10) airbases, and 921 levels (+37)
142 level 1 (+1)
69 level 2 (+6)
48 level 3 (-1)
43 level 4 (-1)
24 level 5 (+3)
10 level 6 (-1)
13 level 7 (+3)
3 level 8
3 level 10
April 29th and 30th 1942
Singabore
I’ll miss the Singapore slugfest once the city falls… On the 29th, my troops there were supplied, quite unexpectedly I must say. Not wanting to waste those good bullets, I ordered a shock attack the next day, which reduced the forts (again), killed an enemy unit, destroyed about 130 enemy squads (for 150 mine, why did I shock attack?). And now, I’m good for a good rest, a long wait for supplies…
The only good thing with this attack was that it brought enemy supplies to a new low. VP went down by almost 700, which suggests the city has almost no supplies left. My supply convoy to Mersing should arrive tomorrow. This means I should be able to attack in three or four days.
The end is near, but slowly so…
The return of the Reds
North of Sian, the Red Army, retreating from Yenan, marching through mountains and woods, finally crossed the Yellow River, back to the road to Lanchow, and right into the arms of a waiting IJA division. Sometimes, life is unfair.
Ground combat at 83,39 (near Sian)
Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 1610 troops, 58 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 38
Defending force 13665 troops, 124 guns, 92 vehicles, Assault Value = 482
Allied assault odds: 1 to 999
I am counterattacking tomorrow. I wonder whether they will retreat or surrender.
All the northern bank of the Wei is now safely in Japanese hands. Apart from the Yenan boys, a lone unit, probably the third fragment of the corps I defeated in Kungchang a few days ago, is in the mountains between Sian and Kungchang. I will deal with them soon.
My division from Lanchow should join the troops in Lanchow the day after tomorrow. Overall, I have about six divisions in the regions, which could meet in Lanchow in about ten days.
West of Sian, my main stack (now 4200 AV strong) is crossing the Wei, they should arrive on the road from Ankang to Tianshui, and isolate the latter, in three days.
Base building report
As of today, Japan holds 567 bases (vs 552 on the 15th of April, and 541 at the beginning of the month, the "666 base at the end of the year objective is still in sight). 235 of those (vs 224 and 217) have engineers and are being built.
Half my bases (284) are fortified. Over the last two weeks, 42 fort levels have been built. We have:
75 level one forts (-7)
102 level two forts (+12)
83 level three forts (+7)
16 level four (+1)
5 level five
3 level six
We have 337 ports (+3), and 755 port levels (+7)
162 level 1
77 level 2 (+3)
44 level 3
21 level 4 (-1)
12 level 5 (+1)
5 level 6
7 level 7
1 level 8
4 level 9
4 level 10
There are 355 (+10) airbases, and 921 levels (+37)
142 level 1 (+1)
69 level 2 (+6)
48 level 3 (-1)
43 level 4 (-1)
24 level 5 (+3)
10 level 6 (-1)
13 level 7 (+3)
3 level 8
3 level 10
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
be sure to put the updated pwsdll.dll into your tracker folder. The beta pwsdll.dll is different from the last official patch. Tracker should run fine then, does for me.ORIGINAL: fcharton
@Pax Mondo: we’re in the “c” beta (ie the one current around last Christmas when we started the game). As such, I suspect the new features about supply flow don’t work. We did try to update several weeks ago, but difficulties with Tracker derailed the attempt. I am trying again this week end.
Pax
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
Hi Pax,
I tested it this morning, and it did work fine. Last time, the problem was with some Windows update that had not been done, apparently.
The only problem, so far, is that all the resource/oil/fuel flow network has changed. In the "c" version, Keijo, in Korea, was the "resource sink": everything in northern China flowed there. I had built the port, brought naval support and set convoys in accordance. Now, everything seems to flow to Port Arthur.
Francois
ORIGINAL: PaxMondo
be sure to put the updated pwsdll.dll into your tracker folder. The beta pwsdll.dll is different from the last official patch. Tracker should run fine then, does for me.
I tested it this morning, and it did work fine. Last time, the problem was with some Windows update that had not been done, apparently.
The only problem, so far, is that all the resource/oil/fuel flow network has changed. In the "c" version, Keijo, in Korea, was the "resource sink": everything in northern China flowed there. I had built the port, brought naval support and set convoys in accordance. Now, everything seems to flow to Port Arthur.
Francois
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
PA is a sink due to size. You can get stuff to flow to Keijo or Fusan, but it takes persistance, use of the hoarding switches, and remembering the flow sequences (how many days/week).
Pax
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
May first 1942
Around Sian, May Day commemorations featured an attack on the Red Chinese. Of the nine units that escaped from Yenan, seven are presnet. Two construction regiments vanished during the retreat.
The battle was just as lopsided as yesterday’s. Odds ended at 31:1, and three of the seven units surrendered (the base forces mostly, which is good since they don’t respawn). We’ll try again tomorrow.
That was pretty much all for today. Most of the IJA was probably parading on the streets of occupied towns, behind red banners, shouting “workers of the world unite” or something like this. Mayday, you know…
That month of April
April was a pretty good month for the Japanese. In the East Indies, most of Java was captured. In China, the southern front was stabilized (with the capture of Nanning and Liuchow) and Sian and the northern bank of the Wei were occupied. The enemy still holds Singapore and Clark Field, but both are unsupplied, and should not be able to resist long.
Over the month, Japan’s VP went up 2400 points, from 13 100 to 15 500, while Allied VP, which had increased from January to March, went down from 9 600 to 8 800. VP ratio is now around 1.75:1. It should improve a lot in May, once Singapore, Batavia (and perhaps Clark) fall.
Since the beginning of the game, Japanese victory points have been progressing very linearly. If we go on along this trend, Japanese VP should hit 35 000 by the end of the year. This is probably not enough for auto-victory : lost bases will probably bring the Allied total close to 7000, but Japanese losses will most certainly bring it over 10 000 by the end of the year. And, of course, this assumes my VP go up along the same trend, which is far from certain.
Ground losses were a bit high this month. Japan has lost 720 points, for 6500 allies, a 9:1 ratio. The fall of Singapore and Batavia should bring this back to parity.
Air losses went down this month. We lost 150 planes (vs 220 in March), most to operational losses. The enemy only lost 70 planes. They have more sorties than we do, and lose fewer planes in the process. I most certainly need to work on this. Ship losses were extremely low. Six Japanese and three allied ships are reported sunk this month…
Resourcewise, the situation is good, despite the heavy damage on captured oilfields (Surabaya was entirely destroyed, and Palembang is operating at one third of capacity). Resource stocks went up from 10.2 to 10.6 millions, oil were down by 90k points, at 4.360k. At this rate, my oil stocks will last four years. Fuel situation is almost stable (stocks went down 13k fuel points this month, I could last until 1980 at this rate…)
The only worry is supplies. Because of base building, stocks went down almost 140k this month, down to 5 225k. Nothing dramatic, mind you. At this rate, my stocks will last three years. But it might be worth repairing, and perhaps developing light industry in China.
The perimeter today
Overall, the situation is pretty good in China. The enemy is unsupplied. The defense of Sian (which probably mobilized half of his forces) has failed. My troops are regrouped in the North. I hold a continuous line, with almost no enemy troops left behind.
The conquest of the East Indies is almost over. I don’t think I handled it very well (loss of time in Singapore, destroyed oilfields), but there were no major setbacks. In the end, I’m pretty much on schedule.
Burma used to worry me. I am spread very thin there, but it seems my opponent did not opt for an early counterattack there. I think it is too late now. An armored division is on its way, and the fall of Singapore should provide reinforcements. I will have four divisions there soon, probably enough to hold for a while.
My main weakness, at present, is in the Gilberts and Solomons. Garrisons are not very strong, supply is limited, and base building has not really started. This is probably where my opponent will launch an early counterattack. My intention is to make this a very costly endeavour: the busier he is on Guadalcanal, the easier it gets elsewhere.
Around Sian, May Day commemorations featured an attack on the Red Chinese. Of the nine units that escaped from Yenan, seven are presnet. Two construction regiments vanished during the retreat.
The battle was just as lopsided as yesterday’s. Odds ended at 31:1, and three of the seven units surrendered (the base forces mostly, which is good since they don’t respawn). We’ll try again tomorrow.
That was pretty much all for today. Most of the IJA was probably parading on the streets of occupied towns, behind red banners, shouting “workers of the world unite” or something like this. Mayday, you know…
That month of April
April was a pretty good month for the Japanese. In the East Indies, most of Java was captured. In China, the southern front was stabilized (with the capture of Nanning and Liuchow) and Sian and the northern bank of the Wei were occupied. The enemy still holds Singapore and Clark Field, but both are unsupplied, and should not be able to resist long.
Over the month, Japan’s VP went up 2400 points, from 13 100 to 15 500, while Allied VP, which had increased from January to March, went down from 9 600 to 8 800. VP ratio is now around 1.75:1. It should improve a lot in May, once Singapore, Batavia (and perhaps Clark) fall.
Since the beginning of the game, Japanese victory points have been progressing very linearly. If we go on along this trend, Japanese VP should hit 35 000 by the end of the year. This is probably not enough for auto-victory : lost bases will probably bring the Allied total close to 7000, but Japanese losses will most certainly bring it over 10 000 by the end of the year. And, of course, this assumes my VP go up along the same trend, which is far from certain.
Ground losses were a bit high this month. Japan has lost 720 points, for 6500 allies, a 9:1 ratio. The fall of Singapore and Batavia should bring this back to parity.
Air losses went down this month. We lost 150 planes (vs 220 in March), most to operational losses. The enemy only lost 70 planes. They have more sorties than we do, and lose fewer planes in the process. I most certainly need to work on this. Ship losses were extremely low. Six Japanese and three allied ships are reported sunk this month…
Resourcewise, the situation is good, despite the heavy damage on captured oilfields (Surabaya was entirely destroyed, and Palembang is operating at one third of capacity). Resource stocks went up from 10.2 to 10.6 millions, oil were down by 90k points, at 4.360k. At this rate, my oil stocks will last four years. Fuel situation is almost stable (stocks went down 13k fuel points this month, I could last until 1980 at this rate…)
The only worry is supplies. Because of base building, stocks went down almost 140k this month, down to 5 225k. Nothing dramatic, mind you. At this rate, my stocks will last three years. But it might be worth repairing, and perhaps developing light industry in China.
The perimeter today
Overall, the situation is pretty good in China. The enemy is unsupplied. The defense of Sian (which probably mobilized half of his forces) has failed. My troops are regrouped in the North. I hold a continuous line, with almost no enemy troops left behind.
The conquest of the East Indies is almost over. I don’t think I handled it very well (loss of time in Singapore, destroyed oilfields), but there were no major setbacks. In the end, I’m pretty much on schedule.
Burma used to worry me. I am spread very thin there, but it seems my opponent did not opt for an early counterattack there. I think it is too late now. An armored division is on its way, and the fall of Singapore should provide reinforcements. I will have four divisions there soon, probably enough to hold for a while.
My main weakness, at present, is in the Gilberts and Solomons. Garrisons are not very strong, supply is limited, and base building has not really started. This is probably where my opponent will launch an early counterattack. My intention is to make this a very costly endeavour: the busier he is on Guadalcanal, the easier it gets elsewhere.
- Attachments
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- PerimeterMay.jpg (56.64 KiB) Viewed 372 times
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
May 2nd and 3rd, 1942
Slow mops
In the Indies, enemy resistance is crumbling.
In Singapore, supplies seem to be exhausted. There was no increase in Allied VP the day after the last attack (which would show supply levels are just below needs). My troops are ‘half supplied’ today. I am waiting one more day, and will attack again.
On Java, the forts in Batavia are gone, the enemy is now around 100 AV. I am attacking again, but might need to wait a few day then, to rest disruption and fatigue. In Tjilatjap, forts are level one, terrain is what keeps the base from falling.
In the Philippines, daily attacks in Cebu have reduced the forts. It might take a while to end, though, since we are in the jungle. In Clark Field, enemy AV is now below 1900. I will probably try another deliberate attack in a couple of days.
The only interesting action happened in northern Sumatra. On the third, two parachute units were dropped on Langsa and Tandjoengbalai (the two bases north and south of Medan, on the straits of Malacca). Both bases fell. I will now reinforce them, and march on Medan.
Solomon gambit
It seems very obvious now that the Allied path for reconquest is through the Solomons. This was suggested by the strong buildup in New Caledonia (Noumea and La Foa, now have large airfields, and Noumea has a level 5 port). Since the beginning of the month, enemy transports have been detected in Kirakira, south of Tulagi. I suspect they are unloading a couple of engineers, to set up a small airfield to provide cover for an invasion of Guadalcanal. My Nells from Rabaul flew, but did not manage to hit. KB was in the area, but her planes did not fly (in this alternate timeline, KB planes seldom fly, anyway).
I do not have strong enough bases in the area to prevent such moves. I could play mischief with KB, but I think this is an unnecessary risk. If the enemy wants Guadalcanal in May, let him have it. Meanwhile, I am building New Britain, the northern Solomons and the Milne Bay area. From there, I can probably make any early presence in Guadalcanal (or an early attempt at Shortlands) very costly.
Port Moresby was bombed, by B17E from Australia (not sure where). One bomber was damaged by the flak on the first day, a destroyer, being repaired in the port was hit on the second. I am sending fighters on long range CAP, but I suspect this was made possible by the former PM garrison moving back into town. Now, they have almost nothing left, they are being attacked (and defeated) daily, but take a while to die since we’re in jungle terrain, yet they can act as spotters for heavy bombers from Australia… Seems a bit too much, if you ask me. But then, it is not as if they did a lot of damage, so.
To Tienshui and beyond!
North of Sian, the Yenan garrison was defeated again. One base force surrendered, the three others (one infantry corps, a cavalry corps and an headquarter) retreated to the woods north east of the road. They’ll be back in a month, I’m sure… I am now marching on the last enemy roadblock, and then to Lanchow. There, my three divisions bombarded, to test the water. It appears that the enemy has 1800 AV. I have six divisions, about 2500 AV, a week away, and will probably commit a couple more from Sian. Whether Lanchow can resist will depend upon the forts and supply those units can muster.
On the third, my troops crossed the Wei between Tienshui and Ankang. The KMT garrison was routed. I now have 1200 AV there (and lots of artillery), and 3000 more crossing the river tomorrow. Those troops will split. The largest part will move towards Ankang, to cut the road from Sichuan, and then to try and pocket the units south of Sian. A smaller group will move towards Tienshui. I don’t intend to attack there, just to pocket them and finish them later.
Sinks
After the version change, I had noticed the resource stocks in Keijo (my main port for convoys to the home islands) had fallen from 400k to 200k. Well, they’re back today at 600k. I believe I need to wait a few days for the new algorithms to get steady.
Slow mops
In the Indies, enemy resistance is crumbling.
In Singapore, supplies seem to be exhausted. There was no increase in Allied VP the day after the last attack (which would show supply levels are just below needs). My troops are ‘half supplied’ today. I am waiting one more day, and will attack again.
On Java, the forts in Batavia are gone, the enemy is now around 100 AV. I am attacking again, but might need to wait a few day then, to rest disruption and fatigue. In Tjilatjap, forts are level one, terrain is what keeps the base from falling.
In the Philippines, daily attacks in Cebu have reduced the forts. It might take a while to end, though, since we are in the jungle. In Clark Field, enemy AV is now below 1900. I will probably try another deliberate attack in a couple of days.
The only interesting action happened in northern Sumatra. On the third, two parachute units were dropped on Langsa and Tandjoengbalai (the two bases north and south of Medan, on the straits of Malacca). Both bases fell. I will now reinforce them, and march on Medan.
Solomon gambit
It seems very obvious now that the Allied path for reconquest is through the Solomons. This was suggested by the strong buildup in New Caledonia (Noumea and La Foa, now have large airfields, and Noumea has a level 5 port). Since the beginning of the month, enemy transports have been detected in Kirakira, south of Tulagi. I suspect they are unloading a couple of engineers, to set up a small airfield to provide cover for an invasion of Guadalcanal. My Nells from Rabaul flew, but did not manage to hit. KB was in the area, but her planes did not fly (in this alternate timeline, KB planes seldom fly, anyway).
I do not have strong enough bases in the area to prevent such moves. I could play mischief with KB, but I think this is an unnecessary risk. If the enemy wants Guadalcanal in May, let him have it. Meanwhile, I am building New Britain, the northern Solomons and the Milne Bay area. From there, I can probably make any early presence in Guadalcanal (or an early attempt at Shortlands) very costly.
Port Moresby was bombed, by B17E from Australia (not sure where). One bomber was damaged by the flak on the first day, a destroyer, being repaired in the port was hit on the second. I am sending fighters on long range CAP, but I suspect this was made possible by the former PM garrison moving back into town. Now, they have almost nothing left, they are being attacked (and defeated) daily, but take a while to die since we’re in jungle terrain, yet they can act as spotters for heavy bombers from Australia… Seems a bit too much, if you ask me. But then, it is not as if they did a lot of damage, so.
To Tienshui and beyond!
North of Sian, the Yenan garrison was defeated again. One base force surrendered, the three others (one infantry corps, a cavalry corps and an headquarter) retreated to the woods north east of the road. They’ll be back in a month, I’m sure… I am now marching on the last enemy roadblock, and then to Lanchow. There, my three divisions bombarded, to test the water. It appears that the enemy has 1800 AV. I have six divisions, about 2500 AV, a week away, and will probably commit a couple more from Sian. Whether Lanchow can resist will depend upon the forts and supply those units can muster.
On the third, my troops crossed the Wei between Tienshui and Ankang. The KMT garrison was routed. I now have 1200 AV there (and lots of artillery), and 3000 more crossing the river tomorrow. Those troops will split. The largest part will move towards Ankang, to cut the road from Sichuan, and then to try and pocket the units south of Sian. A smaller group will move towards Tienshui. I don’t intend to attack there, just to pocket them and finish them later.
Sinks
After the version change, I had noticed the resource stocks in Keijo (my main port for convoys to the home islands) had fallen from 400k to 200k. Well, they’re back today at 600k. I believe I need to wait a few days for the new algorithms to get steady.
- Attachments
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- Sian030542.jpg (81.16 KiB) Viewed 372 times
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
May 4th, 1942
The one before one before last
Cebu fell today, much to my surprise. My troops were fatigued, the enemy was still supplied, not really outnumbered, and in the jungle.
Ground combat at Cebu (80,86)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 5111 troops, 47 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 160
Defending force 3496 troops, 48 guns, 54 vehicles, Assault Value = 112
Japanese adjusted assault: 128
Allied adjusted defense: 53
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Cebu !!!
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), fatigue(-), experience(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
97 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Allied ground losses:
1584 casualties reported
Squads: 202 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 254 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 24 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 63 (63 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 69 (69 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 2
Only two bases are left in the Philippine Islands: Iloilo and San Jose. On Luzon, I have repaired all the AV lost to the last deliberate attack in Clark Field. I am trying again tomorrow. I am not expecting the base to fall, but I think it will help reducing the defenders.
Jungle hell
In Port Moresby, Zeroes from Rabaul prevented further damage from the B17. For the third day in a row, and IJA regiment attacked the remnants of the three units defeated long ago. Odds are impressive (8:1 today), the enemy is unsupplied, disrupted, badly led, fatigued, unexperienced discouraged, you name it… yet no damage is done.
Japanese assault odds: 8 to 1
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), disruption(-), fatigue(-), morale(-)
experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: fatigue(-)
Allied ground losses:
44 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
But when the IJA fails, nature sometimes comes to the rescue.
49th Australian Battalion Wiped Out at Port Moresby by attrition!!!
Allied Unit(s) surrounded at Port Moresby
And the next day, only one unit was left…
As the game progresses, I notice that there are large parts of the system I don’t understand and therefore never use. So, in the hope of improving, and to fill this AAR which is about to become even duller as the expansion phase is ending, I am beginning this series of “things learnt”.
A small caveat for experienced players: I am but a newbie, so you probably know all this already.
A lesson a day : ops losses and fatigue
Looking at the operation reports for today, I noticed this:
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai crashes on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
And the next day, I had:
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
The 24th Sentai is based in Appari (a level four airfield, with plenty of air support), and flies escort missions for the bombing runs over Clark Field, not a very dangerous mission these days. Most of its pilots have high experience (in the 70s).
Yet, this unit has the lowest morale in all my air force (32!!!), its pilots are also the most fatigued. Why is this so? I am of course to blame for never looking at fatigue, and never setting the pilots to rest. But, believe me, I am consistently incompetent, and have several squadrons in the same case, some with much harsher tasks than just escorting bombers against no opposition…
Why the 24th, then?
Looking at pilot fatigue, I notice this is mostly an issue with fighter pilots. Bombers, patrols, transports seem to accumulate less fatigue. It also seems to be a non linear process: once fatigue sets in, it gets worse and worse, very fast… And then morale falls. Once a squadron rests, fatigue falls fast, but morale takes a while to restore.
What produces fatigue in the first place? Regular long range CAP does, I knew that already, but it is not the case here. I suspect the absence of CAP or training percentage plays a role. A fighter squadron on escort, with no CAP, is probably flying more, and this gets tiring in the long run. Weather probably plays a role too. There was bad weather in China lately, and my squadrons were grounded (and rested) a bit more. I have also noticed that the closer you are to the base you attack, the less you abort. This, again, means more fatigue.
But there does not seem to be a single reason for the current situation.
I’m standing down the 24th, that’s for sure, but I am planning to experiment with the CAP, Training and Rest settings, for fighter squadrons on escort duty. I will post my observations here (if any).
The one before one before last
Cebu fell today, much to my surprise. My troops were fatigued, the enemy was still supplied, not really outnumbered, and in the jungle.
Ground combat at Cebu (80,86)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 5111 troops, 47 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 160
Defending force 3496 troops, 48 guns, 54 vehicles, Assault Value = 112
Japanese adjusted assault: 128
Allied adjusted defense: 53
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Cebu !!!
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), fatigue(-), experience(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
97 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Allied ground losses:
1584 casualties reported
Squads: 202 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 254 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 24 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 63 (63 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 69 (69 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 2
Only two bases are left in the Philippine Islands: Iloilo and San Jose. On Luzon, I have repaired all the AV lost to the last deliberate attack in Clark Field. I am trying again tomorrow. I am not expecting the base to fall, but I think it will help reducing the defenders.
Jungle hell
In Port Moresby, Zeroes from Rabaul prevented further damage from the B17. For the third day in a row, and IJA regiment attacked the remnants of the three units defeated long ago. Odds are impressive (8:1 today), the enemy is unsupplied, disrupted, badly led, fatigued, unexperienced discouraged, you name it… yet no damage is done.
Japanese assault odds: 8 to 1
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), disruption(-), fatigue(-), morale(-)
experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: fatigue(-)
Allied ground losses:
44 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
But when the IJA fails, nature sometimes comes to the rescue.
49th Australian Battalion Wiped Out at Port Moresby by attrition!!!
Allied Unit(s) surrounded at Port Moresby
And the next day, only one unit was left…
As the game progresses, I notice that there are large parts of the system I don’t understand and therefore never use. So, in the hope of improving, and to fill this AAR which is about to become even duller as the expansion phase is ending, I am beginning this series of “things learnt”.
A small caveat for experienced players: I am but a newbie, so you probably know all this already.
A lesson a day : ops losses and fatigue
Looking at the operation reports for today, I noticed this:
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai crashes on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
And the next day, I had:
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
Ki-43-Ic Oscar from 24th Sentai is damaged on landing
The 24th Sentai is based in Appari (a level four airfield, with plenty of air support), and flies escort missions for the bombing runs over Clark Field, not a very dangerous mission these days. Most of its pilots have high experience (in the 70s).
Yet, this unit has the lowest morale in all my air force (32!!!), its pilots are also the most fatigued. Why is this so? I am of course to blame for never looking at fatigue, and never setting the pilots to rest. But, believe me, I am consistently incompetent, and have several squadrons in the same case, some with much harsher tasks than just escorting bombers against no opposition…
Why the 24th, then?
Looking at pilot fatigue, I notice this is mostly an issue with fighter pilots. Bombers, patrols, transports seem to accumulate less fatigue. It also seems to be a non linear process: once fatigue sets in, it gets worse and worse, very fast… And then morale falls. Once a squadron rests, fatigue falls fast, but morale takes a while to restore.
What produces fatigue in the first place? Regular long range CAP does, I knew that already, but it is not the case here. I suspect the absence of CAP or training percentage plays a role. A fighter squadron on escort, with no CAP, is probably flying more, and this gets tiring in the long run. Weather probably plays a role too. There was bad weather in China lately, and my squadrons were grounded (and rested) a bit more. I have also noticed that the closer you are to the base you attack, the less you abort. This, again, means more fatigue.
But there does not seem to be a single reason for the current situation.
I’m standing down the 24th, that’s for sure, but I am planning to experiment with the CAP, Training and Rest settings, for fighter squadrons on escort duty. I will post my observations here (if any).
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
Interesting comments on fatigue. I've also see it build up, but like you never fully understood all of the causes. Watching your notes here with great interest. Thanks!
Pax
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SqzMyLemon
- Posts: 4239
- Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
- Location: Alberta, Canada
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
I echo Pax's comment. My Ops losses are through the roof in my PBEM and have been trying to figure out why. I can often lose 10+ a day just to Ops alone. Fatigue was not something that crossed my mind to check. Morale of my air units is good and every one of them is set to a minimum of 10% rest or more in some cases, yet the losses continue to mount. I'll be sure to see what the fatigue levels are and which units seem to be affected the worst from Ops losses and see if fatigue could be the common denominator.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
May 5th, 1942
Tjilatjap
… fell today, and its garrison surrendered (that’s about 300 squads lost). Batavia is the last enemy holdout on Java now. I need a few more days to rest, but the Dutch have nowhere to go. The Campaign of Java is almost over.
On Sumatra, the former defenders of Palembang, and those of Bengkalis are now being push northwards, along the west coast of the island (ie towards Sibolga). My paras are still being transferred to the bases on the east coast, and a supply convoy with an additional SNLF is on its way.
Clark Field
Another tough battle there… The enemy is unsupplied, and odds are 1:2 (better than the raw AV odds, despite the forts and terrain). Losses are disablements, mostly. I still need a couple of weeks, but it seems clear that there will be no need to move large reinforcements in once Singapore falls.
I believe this long siege is the right approach to conquering Luzon if the Allies choose to defend Clark. I have lost a couple of weeks in January, trying a direct approach. Correctly handled, this probably means Luzon falls in May, and it does not mean a very high commitment of troops. Once the siege is in place, and bombardment has started damaging the defenders, 500 AV is probably enough to keep the enemy in place.
Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 28803 troops, 540 guns, 533 vehicles, Assault Value = 905
Defending force 58506 troops, 830 guns, 795 vehicles, Assault Value = 1877
Japanese adjusted assault: 582
Allied adjusted defense: 1564
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2)
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
5806 casualties reported
Squads: 10 destroyed, 358 disabled
Non Combat: 19 destroyed, 387 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 79 disabled
Vehicles lost 183 (10 destroyed, 173 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
851 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 67 disabled
Non Combat: 14 destroyed, 86 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 29 (4 destroyed, 25 disabled)
A lesson a day : ground unit morale and experience
In Manchukuo, it was nice to see that one unit I had put to rest at the beginning of the game has greatly benefited from it. The Ninth Manchukuo Infantry Brigade begins the game at 25 experience and 25 morale. I put her to rest, and by mid-March, she was exp 47 and morale 99. She’s now 52/99.
Yet, rest/training does not seem to be such an important factor for morale building. The 7th Manchukuo Infantry Brigade, that also began the game at 25/25 is now at 52/99 too, without having been put to rest (nor engaged in any action). Comparing, it seems units in Combat mode increase experience a little faster, whereas units in Rest mode improve morale at a better rate.
This is an interesting lesson. Most collaborationist units (Manchukuo units, Mongol division, RGC, NCPC, Thais, Vietnamese militiae) start the war with bad experience and morale, but all it takes is three or four months, and they become decent outfits (experience around 50, and morale maxed at 99). Right now, almost two third of my units have 99 morale.
It also shows that, without committing to battle, experience of those units cannot go much over 50 (with combat, they can increase : one of my RTA divisions, involved in the siege of Singapore, has now 69 experience…), but their morale will increase.
… or not…
This is yet another mystery. Whereas, for most units, morale will improve over (inactive) time, for some it will either remain unchanged, or even drop down.
Take for instance the four VM divisions. Those are static Vietnamese units that appear when Chinese units cross the border.
In Hanoi, the first VM, went, over time, from 44/44 to 49/44.
In Haiphong, the second went from 37/37 to 45/45
In Luangpranbang, the third went from 38/38 to 48/99
In Hue, the fourth went from 42/42 to 50/34
As you can see, all of them got their experience improved, towards a maximum value which should be around 50 (it is in the manual), but their morale changed in less predictable fashion.
Why would morale go up or down? Again, fatigue is the most likely suspect.
At present, I have 1000 active units. 600 of them have 99 morale, and those units have an average fatigue of 2. 100 have a morale between 91 and 98, and an average fatigue of 13. 200 units have a morale between 51 and 90, average fatigue is 17. And the 100 units with morale below 50 have an average fatigue of 25.
In fact, those units, like the fourth VM, that seem to lose morale over time are those who never seem to recover from fatigue (ie remaining in the high 20s).
This seems to be a cumulative process: once morale starts improving because fatigue goes down, it keeps getting better. On the other hand, if fatigue remains high, morale goes down and fatigue is not recovered. There probably is some kind of “feedback” in the game mechanism (ie morale depends on fatigue, which depends on morale), which explains this tendency of morale to “go for the extremes” instead of stabilizing around some average value (which is what most natural processes do).
The situation of my VM divisions might be the result of early fatigue/morale rolls, which sent the 3rd VM on a nice improving orbit, and the fourth on a downwards trend.
This strikes me as a design flaw (having 99 morale in two third of my units is not serious). But it is a typical one in wargames (board and computer). Game systems have a strong tendency to overestimate the willingness of paper soldiers to go to war, and their ability to recover or become crack troops once properly trained. I suspect a careful inspection of the pilot training system would reveal the same : every pilot, given enough time, can become a crack pilot in some category. I do enjoy this as a player (and it does sound nice from a moral standpoint), but it strikes me as very unnatural. Real life (and especially war) is much less deterministic than our game systems.
But I am rambling …
Back to the system as it is, there are two lessons here:
1- Check those long term morale/fatigue trends. Most of the units will be all right, but you need to take care of those who are not. Sorting all ground units by increasing morale will easily find the weaker ones.
2- This is probably where rest/training has a role, since it helps morale back (and probably fatigue down)
At this point, I probably need to read what the manual says about fatigue recovery…
An interesting side not is that there does not seem to be much correlation between experience and morale. No matter how morale changes, experience will increase to 50.
Tjilatjap
… fell today, and its garrison surrendered (that’s about 300 squads lost). Batavia is the last enemy holdout on Java now. I need a few more days to rest, but the Dutch have nowhere to go. The Campaign of Java is almost over.
On Sumatra, the former defenders of Palembang, and those of Bengkalis are now being push northwards, along the west coast of the island (ie towards Sibolga). My paras are still being transferred to the bases on the east coast, and a supply convoy with an additional SNLF is on its way.
Clark Field
Another tough battle there… The enemy is unsupplied, and odds are 1:2 (better than the raw AV odds, despite the forts and terrain). Losses are disablements, mostly. I still need a couple of weeks, but it seems clear that there will be no need to move large reinforcements in once Singapore falls.
I believe this long siege is the right approach to conquering Luzon if the Allies choose to defend Clark. I have lost a couple of weeks in January, trying a direct approach. Correctly handled, this probably means Luzon falls in May, and it does not mean a very high commitment of troops. Once the siege is in place, and bombardment has started damaging the defenders, 500 AV is probably enough to keep the enemy in place.
Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 28803 troops, 540 guns, 533 vehicles, Assault Value = 905
Defending force 58506 troops, 830 guns, 795 vehicles, Assault Value = 1877
Japanese adjusted assault: 582
Allied adjusted defense: 1564
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2)
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
5806 casualties reported
Squads: 10 destroyed, 358 disabled
Non Combat: 19 destroyed, 387 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 79 disabled
Vehicles lost 183 (10 destroyed, 173 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
851 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 67 disabled
Non Combat: 14 destroyed, 86 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 29 (4 destroyed, 25 disabled)
A lesson a day : ground unit morale and experience
In Manchukuo, it was nice to see that one unit I had put to rest at the beginning of the game has greatly benefited from it. The Ninth Manchukuo Infantry Brigade begins the game at 25 experience and 25 morale. I put her to rest, and by mid-March, she was exp 47 and morale 99. She’s now 52/99.
Yet, rest/training does not seem to be such an important factor for morale building. The 7th Manchukuo Infantry Brigade, that also began the game at 25/25 is now at 52/99 too, without having been put to rest (nor engaged in any action). Comparing, it seems units in Combat mode increase experience a little faster, whereas units in Rest mode improve morale at a better rate.
This is an interesting lesson. Most collaborationist units (Manchukuo units, Mongol division, RGC, NCPC, Thais, Vietnamese militiae) start the war with bad experience and morale, but all it takes is three or four months, and they become decent outfits (experience around 50, and morale maxed at 99). Right now, almost two third of my units have 99 morale.
It also shows that, without committing to battle, experience of those units cannot go much over 50 (with combat, they can increase : one of my RTA divisions, involved in the siege of Singapore, has now 69 experience…), but their morale will increase.
… or not…
This is yet another mystery. Whereas, for most units, morale will improve over (inactive) time, for some it will either remain unchanged, or even drop down.
Take for instance the four VM divisions. Those are static Vietnamese units that appear when Chinese units cross the border.
In Hanoi, the first VM, went, over time, from 44/44 to 49/44.
In Haiphong, the second went from 37/37 to 45/45
In Luangpranbang, the third went from 38/38 to 48/99
In Hue, the fourth went from 42/42 to 50/34
As you can see, all of them got their experience improved, towards a maximum value which should be around 50 (it is in the manual), but their morale changed in less predictable fashion.
Why would morale go up or down? Again, fatigue is the most likely suspect.
At present, I have 1000 active units. 600 of them have 99 morale, and those units have an average fatigue of 2. 100 have a morale between 91 and 98, and an average fatigue of 13. 200 units have a morale between 51 and 90, average fatigue is 17. And the 100 units with morale below 50 have an average fatigue of 25.
In fact, those units, like the fourth VM, that seem to lose morale over time are those who never seem to recover from fatigue (ie remaining in the high 20s).
This seems to be a cumulative process: once morale starts improving because fatigue goes down, it keeps getting better. On the other hand, if fatigue remains high, morale goes down and fatigue is not recovered. There probably is some kind of “feedback” in the game mechanism (ie morale depends on fatigue, which depends on morale), which explains this tendency of morale to “go for the extremes” instead of stabilizing around some average value (which is what most natural processes do).
The situation of my VM divisions might be the result of early fatigue/morale rolls, which sent the 3rd VM on a nice improving orbit, and the fourth on a downwards trend.
This strikes me as a design flaw (having 99 morale in two third of my units is not serious). But it is a typical one in wargames (board and computer). Game systems have a strong tendency to overestimate the willingness of paper soldiers to go to war, and their ability to recover or become crack troops once properly trained. I suspect a careful inspection of the pilot training system would reveal the same : every pilot, given enough time, can become a crack pilot in some category. I do enjoy this as a player (and it does sound nice from a moral standpoint), but it strikes me as very unnatural. Real life (and especially war) is much less deterministic than our game systems.
But I am rambling …
Back to the system as it is, there are two lessons here:
1- Check those long term morale/fatigue trends. Most of the units will be all right, but you need to take care of those who are not. Sorting all ground units by increasing morale will easily find the weaker ones.
2- This is probably where rest/training has a role, since it helps morale back (and probably fatigue down)
At this point, I probably need to read what the manual says about fatigue recovery…
An interesting side not is that there does not seem to be much correlation between experience and morale. No matter how morale changes, experience will increase to 50.
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
May 6th and 7th, 1942
The great naval battle of Kirakira
You might remember, dear reader that the enemy had landed troops in Kirakira, south of Tulagi, a couple of days ago. On that day, I had sent a small cruiser force to bombard the place. Their mission was threefold:
- Gather information on the troops that occupied the island
- Catch any ship that might be left unloading in the harbor (it was a dot base, so unloading would be slow)
- Make sure my opponent does not feel like he owns the area
Today, light cruiser Tatsuta, together with two destroyers (Shiranui and Hamakaze), arrived in Kirakira, and found four enemy ships in port, an auxiliary (AM Townsville), a light cargo (xAKL Hamakua) and two Dutch transports (xAP Rochussen and Rooseboom). The four Allied ships were sunk.
Later, bombardment of the island revealed the presence of the 1/198th Coast AA Battalion. I suppose an engineer unit is there too, and an airfield is being built.
Another victory in New Guinea
Well, yeah, sort of… Today, in Port Moresby, the last enemy unit was finally eliminated.
Ground combat at Port Moresby (98,130)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 3994 troops, 42 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 136
Defending force 416 troops, 0 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 12
Japanese adjusted assault: 55
Allied adjusted defense: 1
Japanese assault odds: 55 to 1
Allied ground losses:
465 casualties reported
Squads: 31 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 36 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1
Hunger in Singapore
Another attack there reduced the forts to level one. Apparently, the enemy is not rebuilding anymore. Enemy AV is now around 450.
Chinese maneuvers
Around Kungchang, the last roadblock between Sian and Lanchow was repulsed with heavy losses. We can now move on Lanchow.
Between Ankang and Tienshui, my troops are finally getting into position. We will bombard tomorrow to test enemy strength. It seems that the enemy has evacuated Tienshui. I am ordering tanks to take the base
A lesson a day : fun with air upgrades
Since the beginning of the game, I had three squadrons of Claudes, in the Gilberts and Carolines that never seemed to be able to upgrade to Zeroes (we’re PDU off, and they all promote to zeroes). I have enough Zeroes in the pool, but I never seemed to have large enough airfields, or enough supplies to allow upgrades.
A few days ago, I started moving them, from base to base, into Japan, in order to convert them. And thus, the Chitose Ku S-1 squadron went from Roi Namur, to Ponape, to Truk, to Tinian, to Pagan, to Haha Jima… (lots of hops since Claudes are very short legged)
There, I was expecting to transfer to Japan, but, lo and behold, next time I checked, they had upgraded to Zeroes. Now, Haha Jima is the last base where this could happen : level 1 airfield, just a little air support, and supplies around 3000…
And, even more surprisingly, on the same day, my two other Claude squadrons, in Pagan and Tinian upgraded as well.
I don’t understand what happened (why all three on the seventh of May?) But it seems that some planes can upgrade automatically without satisfying the “upgrade now” requirement (ie 20k supplies, and some airfield size).
The great naval battle of Kirakira
You might remember, dear reader that the enemy had landed troops in Kirakira, south of Tulagi, a couple of days ago. On that day, I had sent a small cruiser force to bombard the place. Their mission was threefold:
- Gather information on the troops that occupied the island
- Catch any ship that might be left unloading in the harbor (it was a dot base, so unloading would be slow)
- Make sure my opponent does not feel like he owns the area
Today, light cruiser Tatsuta, together with two destroyers (Shiranui and Hamakaze), arrived in Kirakira, and found four enemy ships in port, an auxiliary (AM Townsville), a light cargo (xAKL Hamakua) and two Dutch transports (xAP Rochussen and Rooseboom). The four Allied ships were sunk.
Later, bombardment of the island revealed the presence of the 1/198th Coast AA Battalion. I suppose an engineer unit is there too, and an airfield is being built.
Another victory in New Guinea
Well, yeah, sort of… Today, in Port Moresby, the last enemy unit was finally eliminated.
Ground combat at Port Moresby (98,130)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 3994 troops, 42 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 136
Defending force 416 troops, 0 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 12
Japanese adjusted assault: 55
Allied adjusted defense: 1
Japanese assault odds: 55 to 1
Allied ground losses:
465 casualties reported
Squads: 31 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 36 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 1
Hunger in Singapore
Another attack there reduced the forts to level one. Apparently, the enemy is not rebuilding anymore. Enemy AV is now around 450.
Chinese maneuvers
Around Kungchang, the last roadblock between Sian and Lanchow was repulsed with heavy losses. We can now move on Lanchow.
Between Ankang and Tienshui, my troops are finally getting into position. We will bombard tomorrow to test enemy strength. It seems that the enemy has evacuated Tienshui. I am ordering tanks to take the base
A lesson a day : fun with air upgrades
Since the beginning of the game, I had three squadrons of Claudes, in the Gilberts and Carolines that never seemed to be able to upgrade to Zeroes (we’re PDU off, and they all promote to zeroes). I have enough Zeroes in the pool, but I never seemed to have large enough airfields, or enough supplies to allow upgrades.
A few days ago, I started moving them, from base to base, into Japan, in order to convert them. And thus, the Chitose Ku S-1 squadron went from Roi Namur, to Ponape, to Truk, to Tinian, to Pagan, to Haha Jima… (lots of hops since Claudes are very short legged)
There, I was expecting to transfer to Japan, but, lo and behold, next time I checked, they had upgraded to Zeroes. Now, Haha Jima is the last base where this could happen : level 1 airfield, just a little air support, and supplies around 3000…
And, even more surprisingly, on the same day, my two other Claude squadrons, in Pagan and Tinian upgraded as well.
I don’t understand what happened (why all three on the seventh of May?) But it seems that some planes can upgrade automatically without satisfying the “upgrade now” requirement (ie 20k supplies, and some airfield size).
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RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
They might have gotten in range of command HQ. IIRC, HQ levels lower AF requirements for upgrades.
Pax
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
Hi Pax,
That might explain the upgrade in Haha Chima (even though I believe it is too far off Japan to be in command range), but not those, on the same day, in Pagan and Tinian, two bases where Claudes had been based the previous days, and did not convert.
Thinking about it overnight, I was wondering whether there could be some "auto-upgrade" feature in the game. Past a certain date (in this case 5 months after the game begins), all squadrons with a certain plane set to "upgrade" a certain plane do so automatically, without the usual conditions applying. This is the only explanation I can find for the three upgrades happening at the same time. If it were some kind of die roll, or a condition being true in the Bonins, only one squadron would have gotten its zeroes, wouldn't it?
Francois
That might explain the upgrade in Haha Chima (even though I believe it is too far off Japan to be in command range), but not those, on the same day, in Pagan and Tinian, two bases where Claudes had been based the previous days, and did not convert.
Thinking about it overnight, I was wondering whether there could be some "auto-upgrade" feature in the game. Past a certain date (in this case 5 months after the game begins), all squadrons with a certain plane set to "upgrade" a certain plane do so automatically, without the usual conditions applying. This is the only explanation I can find for the three upgrades happening at the same time. If it were some kind of die roll, or a condition being true in the Bonins, only one squadron would have gotten its zeroes, wouldn't it?
Francois
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
Maybe, but I'm not aware of any auto-upgrade "feature". Have you moved the 5th Fleet? Where is she now? You really only have 2 mobile command HQ's: Southern and 5th.
Pax
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
@Pax Mondo
Southern Fleet is still in Saigon, Fifth in Ominato. I didn’t know what to do with them when the game began, and now, I’m waiting for the conquests to stabilize to transfer them.
May 8th to 11th 1942
This AAR is a bit lagging behind. I’m on holidays, busy with way too many things. This longish installment is meant to catch up with the game.
Five months after Pearl Harbor, Japan is now very close to achieving all its first phase objectives, and the game is now moving towards a much slower consolidation/exploitation phase.
Slow wars in the DEI
There are about 420 AV left in Singapore, and no forts. The enemy is still barely supplied, but his losses are mounting. On the eight, a deliberate attack destroyed 120 squads, the next one, on the eleventh took 80 more. Fortunately for the Allies, supply still flows very slowly, and I can only attack twice a week. Late as I am already, I don’t feel any need to rush.
On Sumatra, my troops around Medan are now supplied and have begun to move to isolate the base. I would love to take the base undamaged, but I know myself… It will probably be 80% broken, anyway.
On Java, Batavia has no forts left, and about 100 AV in the garrison. Disruption is making the battle last, but like Singapore, it stands on the edge of collapse.
An empty Christmas Island (IO) was captured on the eleventh. The Cocos are the next target, together with the small islands of the west coast of Sumatra.
In the Philippine Islands, Iloilo fell on the tenth. San Jose is the last enemy base. On Luzon, bombardment is steadily wearing off the enemy. AV are now close to 1700, against 1900 at the beginning of the month. Meanwhile, my troops are recovering their disablements from the last deliberate attack…
That is pretty much all for this theater. I am waiting for Singapore and Batavia to fall. Then, I need to finish northern Sumatra and the Andamans, and the islands due north of Darwin. I am also planning to move my HQ from Indochina and Borneo to more forward positions (Java, Sumatra).
In the South Pacific, little is happening. I have been reinforcing the small bases between Rabaul and Port Moresby, and sending a couple of troops to Truk. Lots of building is happening now around Milne Bay, Woodlark Island, Buna…
I am still very weak in the Solomons. I want to reinforce the area, but not too much. In my opinion, Guadalcanal is just too far away to be adequately defended. I am a bit clueless about this area. For now, I think I will build reserves in the region, and decide later on the best way to deploy them. When in doubt, think again.
The road to Chungking
In northern China,enemy forces have been regrouping on the road between Ankang and Tienshui.
In Tienshui, it seems the enemy has changed his mind. After concentrating about 2000 AV in the base, they retreated south. There are now nine infantry corps, for a total of 2400 AV due south of Tienshui. The road before them is cut, and several tank regiments have moved into Tienshiui and captured the base. This stack is not isolated, since they can retreat across country south or west, or even move East to reinforce the other stack, but they are useless as a fighting force. They will make a good roadblock, though.
Due East, ten units defend the road to Sichuan. A first bombardment, on the eight, revealed 2000 AV, six infantry corps, most of them pretty strong, and four headquarters, and more (15 units) one hex away, moving north. I believe this is a good part of the strategic reserve my opponent kept in Sichuan.
Most of my artillery is there, and my first attempt at bombardment was quite successful. Three squads were destroyed, eight disabled. This caused complaints from my opponent about the unreality of bringing so much heavy artillery to bear in a mountain hex, over a secondary road. I have to say I agree with him, but then, fielding half a million men (probably more, on both sides) in such a hex, hundreds of miles away from the closest base, during a battle that will probably last for weeks, if not months, doesn’t seem less fantastic to me…
I still do agree that heavies bombarding in mountains is not correct. I have decided not to use them (heavies being defined here as “independent artillery units with ‘heavy’ in their designation”). I doubt it will make much difference anyway, and I see no reason to ruin a very nice and gentlemanly game over such an affair.
I am also planning to enforce, as much as I can, a second rule: no artillery moving across country over forests, mountains or jungles. Not sure if armor should be concerned as well. This is of course imperfect, since artillery and armor inside infantry divisions will not be restricted, I suppose we could say it represents the grunts helping tow the guns (yeah, you bet!)
Back the the mountain hex, on the ninth, the Japanese were reinforced, and fielded seven infantry divisions (Stacking? what do you mean?). Since enemy reinforcements had not arrived yet, I launched a deliberate attack. It only came at 1:2 odds, but destroyed 20 enemy squads, disabled 350, and revealed that the enemy is unsupplied already. Bombardment, the next day, put AV at 1800.
Since then, I have been sending all my bombers there, and have been bombarding (without the heavies) on a daily basis. On the eleventh, the hex had been partly reinforced, to 2070 AV. I expect something like 4000 AV in a few days.
What then? I will conduct aerial reconnaissance of Chungking and Chengtu soon, but I am pretty certain that the enemy have mobilized their reserves. I am also confident that their supply situation is abominable.
I intend to continue bombarding and take my time wearing them off. Meanwhile, my troops will go and take Lanchow and Sining, and I will develop airfields in the region (Sian, Tienshui, Kungshang, and Ankang if I can take it) to conduct an air bombardment campaign over the cities of Sichuan.
This means the war will probably slow down in China, now.
A lesson a day, air unit morale and fatigue revisited
Remember those Oscars in Appari, with very high fatigue and low morale? After they were stood down, fatigue went down from 41 to zero in two days, and morale went from 32 to 84 (!!!) in a week. This is happening consistently. In Chengchow, a squadron of zeroes had its morale go up from 50 to 99 in a few days, in Magwe, two days were enough to max another fighter group.
It seems that, unlike ground units, which need a lot of time to recuperate, air squadrons, only need a couple of days rest.
Does this have an effect on ops losses. I believe so, even though this is too early to judge.
Southern Fleet is still in Saigon, Fifth in Ominato. I didn’t know what to do with them when the game began, and now, I’m waiting for the conquests to stabilize to transfer them.
May 8th to 11th 1942
This AAR is a bit lagging behind. I’m on holidays, busy with way too many things. This longish installment is meant to catch up with the game.
Five months after Pearl Harbor, Japan is now very close to achieving all its first phase objectives, and the game is now moving towards a much slower consolidation/exploitation phase.
Slow wars in the DEI
There are about 420 AV left in Singapore, and no forts. The enemy is still barely supplied, but his losses are mounting. On the eight, a deliberate attack destroyed 120 squads, the next one, on the eleventh took 80 more. Fortunately for the Allies, supply still flows very slowly, and I can only attack twice a week. Late as I am already, I don’t feel any need to rush.
On Sumatra, my troops around Medan are now supplied and have begun to move to isolate the base. I would love to take the base undamaged, but I know myself… It will probably be 80% broken, anyway.
On Java, Batavia has no forts left, and about 100 AV in the garrison. Disruption is making the battle last, but like Singapore, it stands on the edge of collapse.
An empty Christmas Island (IO) was captured on the eleventh. The Cocos are the next target, together with the small islands of the west coast of Sumatra.
In the Philippine Islands, Iloilo fell on the tenth. San Jose is the last enemy base. On Luzon, bombardment is steadily wearing off the enemy. AV are now close to 1700, against 1900 at the beginning of the month. Meanwhile, my troops are recovering their disablements from the last deliberate attack…
That is pretty much all for this theater. I am waiting for Singapore and Batavia to fall. Then, I need to finish northern Sumatra and the Andamans, and the islands due north of Darwin. I am also planning to move my HQ from Indochina and Borneo to more forward positions (Java, Sumatra).
In the South Pacific, little is happening. I have been reinforcing the small bases between Rabaul and Port Moresby, and sending a couple of troops to Truk. Lots of building is happening now around Milne Bay, Woodlark Island, Buna…
I am still very weak in the Solomons. I want to reinforce the area, but not too much. In my opinion, Guadalcanal is just too far away to be adequately defended. I am a bit clueless about this area. For now, I think I will build reserves in the region, and decide later on the best way to deploy them. When in doubt, think again.
The road to Chungking
In northern China,enemy forces have been regrouping on the road between Ankang and Tienshui.
In Tienshui, it seems the enemy has changed his mind. After concentrating about 2000 AV in the base, they retreated south. There are now nine infantry corps, for a total of 2400 AV due south of Tienshui. The road before them is cut, and several tank regiments have moved into Tienshiui and captured the base. This stack is not isolated, since they can retreat across country south or west, or even move East to reinforce the other stack, but they are useless as a fighting force. They will make a good roadblock, though.
Due East, ten units defend the road to Sichuan. A first bombardment, on the eight, revealed 2000 AV, six infantry corps, most of them pretty strong, and four headquarters, and more (15 units) one hex away, moving north. I believe this is a good part of the strategic reserve my opponent kept in Sichuan.
Most of my artillery is there, and my first attempt at bombardment was quite successful. Three squads were destroyed, eight disabled. This caused complaints from my opponent about the unreality of bringing so much heavy artillery to bear in a mountain hex, over a secondary road. I have to say I agree with him, but then, fielding half a million men (probably more, on both sides) in such a hex, hundreds of miles away from the closest base, during a battle that will probably last for weeks, if not months, doesn’t seem less fantastic to me…
I still do agree that heavies bombarding in mountains is not correct. I have decided not to use them (heavies being defined here as “independent artillery units with ‘heavy’ in their designation”). I doubt it will make much difference anyway, and I see no reason to ruin a very nice and gentlemanly game over such an affair.
I am also planning to enforce, as much as I can, a second rule: no artillery moving across country over forests, mountains or jungles. Not sure if armor should be concerned as well. This is of course imperfect, since artillery and armor inside infantry divisions will not be restricted, I suppose we could say it represents the grunts helping tow the guns (yeah, you bet!)
Back the the mountain hex, on the ninth, the Japanese were reinforced, and fielded seven infantry divisions (Stacking? what do you mean?). Since enemy reinforcements had not arrived yet, I launched a deliberate attack. It only came at 1:2 odds, but destroyed 20 enemy squads, disabled 350, and revealed that the enemy is unsupplied already. Bombardment, the next day, put AV at 1800.
Since then, I have been sending all my bombers there, and have been bombarding (without the heavies) on a daily basis. On the eleventh, the hex had been partly reinforced, to 2070 AV. I expect something like 4000 AV in a few days.
What then? I will conduct aerial reconnaissance of Chungking and Chengtu soon, but I am pretty certain that the enemy have mobilized their reserves. I am also confident that their supply situation is abominable.
I intend to continue bombarding and take my time wearing them off. Meanwhile, my troops will go and take Lanchow and Sining, and I will develop airfields in the region (Sian, Tienshui, Kungshang, and Ankang if I can take it) to conduct an air bombardment campaign over the cities of Sichuan.
This means the war will probably slow down in China, now.
A lesson a day, air unit morale and fatigue revisited
Remember those Oscars in Appari, with very high fatigue and low morale? After they were stood down, fatigue went down from 41 to zero in two days, and morale went from 32 to 84 (!!!) in a week. This is happening consistently. In Chengchow, a squadron of zeroes had its morale go up from 50 to 99 in a few days, in Magwe, two days were enough to max another fighter group.
It seems that, unlike ground units, which need a lot of time to recuperate, air squadrons, only need a couple of days rest.
Does this have an effect on ops losses. I believe so, even though this is too early to judge.
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SqzMyLemon
- Posts: 4239
- Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
- Location: Alberta, Canada
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
ORIGINAL: PaxMondo
Maybe, but I'm not aware of any auto-upgrade "feature". Have you moved the 5th Fleet? Where is she now? You really only have 2 mobile command HQ's: Southern and 5th.
Is Combined Fleet HQ a Command HQ? That can also be moved.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
@SqzMyLemon: Combined Fleet is a Naval HQ. according to the manual, those mostly help with loading/unloading and ship repair. With the game not being very naval so far, I left it in Hiroshima.
May 12th 1942
Air bombardment
Most of my bombers in Northern China are now attacking the “mountain stack”, between Ankang and Tienshui. It seems to be quite efficient. Here are the attacks for today, weather was moderate rain, not even excellent:
Morning Air attack on 18th Chinese Corps, at 81,40 , near Ankang
Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 16
No Japanese losses
Allied ground losses:
35 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Morning Air attack on 18th Chinese Corps, at 81,40 , near Ankang
Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-Ic Sally x 9
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 3
Ki-48-IIa Lily x 5
Ki-49-Ia Helen x 36
No Japanese losses
Allied ground losses:
135 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 18 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Morning Air attack on 87th Chinese Corps, at 81,40 , near Ankang
Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-Ic Sally x 34
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-Ic Sally: 1 damaged
Allied ground losses:
60 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Morning Air attack on 100th Chinese Corps, at 81,40 , near Ankang
Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-IIa Lily x 20
No Japanese losses
Allied ground losses:
20 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Altogether 250 casualties are reported, about 20 combat and 30 non combat squads disabled.
And then there was the regular bombardment.
Ground combat at 81,40 (near Ankang)
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 95938 troops, 1383 guns, 772 vehicles, Assault Value = 2910
Defending force 66717 troops, 268 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2403
Japanese ground losses:
16 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Allied ground losses:
152 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
The stack was reinforced : the enemy had 2000 AV at first, which went down to 1800 after my first attack, and the back to 2000 and now 2400 thanks to reinforcements. 13 more units are arriving from Kienko.
I’m happy with this state of affairs. On the 13th, the daily bombardment of this hex reported 2384 AV, with the same units present. A 1% attrition rate per day, for no casualties on my side (in fact, my units are repairing disablements) looks like a pretty good deal.
A small riddle, now. Some troops in the enemy stack are reported to be moving eastwards, towards Ankang. Why would the enemy do so? A counterattack seems very unlikely, I suppose my opponent will reinforce the roadblock east of Ankang, but he could also be sending support units (army/war area HQ) towards the big 35 unit defeated stack, to help them recover.
This is another interesting aspect of daily ground bombardment : it provides intelligence about what units are present, and their nominal strengths (whether this is realistic and historical is anyone’s guess, of course…)
Almost there
In Lanchow, ground bombardment confirmed enemy strength at 1800. The fact that those bombardments cause Japanese casualties, but not a single disablement of KMT troops suggests high fort levels. Lanchow and Sining are one of the few places in China that might still be supplied. Lanchow does not produce oil and resources (since I have been occupying the hex for several months), but Sining does, and both have light industry.
I will have 2600 AV in the city the day after tomorrow, we shall see, very soon…
In Batavia and Singapore, my troops are rested (just a bit) and supplied (just a little). I’m attacking again tomorrow. Whether none, any, or both of those bases will fall, or hold for a few more days, is pretty much up to a lucky die roll.
A lesson a day : recovery
For quite a while, I have been wondering how fast ground units recover lost strength. Like most sensible questions, this one has a short, correct, and useless answer, which is “it depends”. But using Tracker, I thought I’d try to figure some long, imprecise, but useful solution.
By the way, this ability to look at turn by turn statistics is in my opinion the most important aspect of Tracker. Most of its other functionalities can be found in the game, but this one cannot (well unless you want to load all turns one by one).
So, for what it is worth (probably not much), here are stories of units that were badly damaged in battle…
The 52nd Infantry Brigade fought in Wenchow, and ended the battle at 12 AV (vs 120 nominal), and 32% of its TOE. After the battle, it remained in Wenchow, in Combat mode. Disruption (26) and fatigue (47) fell in a week. It was back at 55% TOE after fifteen days, 75 after 30, and 93 after 50 days.
The 4th Independent Infantry regiment fought in Palembang, and ended at 53% of TOE (43 AV vs 120 nominal). Disruption and fatigue, both in the 50s, fell over the first week, but never quite repaired (climate?). It was at 69% after 15 days, 80% after a month, and 91 after two.
The 3rd Infantry division was at 55% strength at the end of the battle for Sian. Fatigue was in the 80s, and took a week to fall. After seven days, it was at 61%, 65 after two weeks, and 70 after a month.
The 37th Division was mauled during the river crossing to Sian. When the city fell, it was under 20% of nominal. It was at 35% after 10 days, and 50% after a month.
The 3rd Infantry regiment was at 13% at the fall of Sian, 33% ten days later, and 60% after a month.
What do I make of this?
Generally speaking, recovery is an exponential process: the amount you recover the first week is about the same as the one you recover during the next two, which is about the same as the amount you recover during the next four, and so on.
With supplies and in controlled hexes, a unit will recover about 30% of its losses in 15 days, 60% in a month, and 90 or more in two months. Recovering all losses takes about two months. In enemy held hexes, the process is much slower. In Lanchow, for one division, it was more like 10% in two weeks, 20 in a month, and 30 in two. Now this is for disablements. Being in a base is important if many squads were lost. Finally, fatigue and disruption seem to take about a week to fall down, in base, out of base, marching even…
The rule of thumb I plan to use for now on is :
- One week for fatigue
- Two weeks to be out of trouble
- Four to be in fighting shape
- Eight to be back at full strength
May 12th 1942
Air bombardment
Most of my bombers in Northern China are now attacking the “mountain stack”, between Ankang and Tienshui. It seems to be quite efficient. Here are the attacks for today, weather was moderate rain, not even excellent:
Morning Air attack on 18th Chinese Corps, at 81,40 , near Ankang
Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 16
No Japanese losses
Allied ground losses:
35 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Morning Air attack on 18th Chinese Corps, at 81,40 , near Ankang
Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-Ic Sally x 9
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 3
Ki-48-IIa Lily x 5
Ki-49-Ia Helen x 36
No Japanese losses
Allied ground losses:
135 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 18 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Morning Air attack on 87th Chinese Corps, at 81,40 , near Ankang
Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-Ic Sally x 34
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-Ic Sally: 1 damaged
Allied ground losses:
60 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Morning Air attack on 100th Chinese Corps, at 81,40 , near Ankang
Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-IIa Lily x 20
No Japanese losses
Allied ground losses:
20 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Altogether 250 casualties are reported, about 20 combat and 30 non combat squads disabled.
And then there was the regular bombardment.
Ground combat at 81,40 (near Ankang)
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 95938 troops, 1383 guns, 772 vehicles, Assault Value = 2910
Defending force 66717 troops, 268 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2403
Japanese ground losses:
16 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Allied ground losses:
152 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
The stack was reinforced : the enemy had 2000 AV at first, which went down to 1800 after my first attack, and the back to 2000 and now 2400 thanks to reinforcements. 13 more units are arriving from Kienko.
I’m happy with this state of affairs. On the 13th, the daily bombardment of this hex reported 2384 AV, with the same units present. A 1% attrition rate per day, for no casualties on my side (in fact, my units are repairing disablements) looks like a pretty good deal.
A small riddle, now. Some troops in the enemy stack are reported to be moving eastwards, towards Ankang. Why would the enemy do so? A counterattack seems very unlikely, I suppose my opponent will reinforce the roadblock east of Ankang, but he could also be sending support units (army/war area HQ) towards the big 35 unit defeated stack, to help them recover.
This is another interesting aspect of daily ground bombardment : it provides intelligence about what units are present, and their nominal strengths (whether this is realistic and historical is anyone’s guess, of course…)
Almost there
In Lanchow, ground bombardment confirmed enemy strength at 1800. The fact that those bombardments cause Japanese casualties, but not a single disablement of KMT troops suggests high fort levels. Lanchow and Sining are one of the few places in China that might still be supplied. Lanchow does not produce oil and resources (since I have been occupying the hex for several months), but Sining does, and both have light industry.
I will have 2600 AV in the city the day after tomorrow, we shall see, very soon…
In Batavia and Singapore, my troops are rested (just a bit) and supplied (just a little). I’m attacking again tomorrow. Whether none, any, or both of those bases will fall, or hold for a few more days, is pretty much up to a lucky die roll.
A lesson a day : recovery
For quite a while, I have been wondering how fast ground units recover lost strength. Like most sensible questions, this one has a short, correct, and useless answer, which is “it depends”. But using Tracker, I thought I’d try to figure some long, imprecise, but useful solution.
By the way, this ability to look at turn by turn statistics is in my opinion the most important aspect of Tracker. Most of its other functionalities can be found in the game, but this one cannot (well unless you want to load all turns one by one).
So, for what it is worth (probably not much), here are stories of units that were badly damaged in battle…
The 52nd Infantry Brigade fought in Wenchow, and ended the battle at 12 AV (vs 120 nominal), and 32% of its TOE. After the battle, it remained in Wenchow, in Combat mode. Disruption (26) and fatigue (47) fell in a week. It was back at 55% TOE after fifteen days, 75 after 30, and 93 after 50 days.
The 4th Independent Infantry regiment fought in Palembang, and ended at 53% of TOE (43 AV vs 120 nominal). Disruption and fatigue, both in the 50s, fell over the first week, but never quite repaired (climate?). It was at 69% after 15 days, 80% after a month, and 91 after two.
The 3rd Infantry division was at 55% strength at the end of the battle for Sian. Fatigue was in the 80s, and took a week to fall. After seven days, it was at 61%, 65 after two weeks, and 70 after a month.
The 37th Division was mauled during the river crossing to Sian. When the city fell, it was under 20% of nominal. It was at 35% after 10 days, and 50% after a month.
The 3rd Infantry regiment was at 13% at the fall of Sian, 33% ten days later, and 60% after a month.
What do I make of this?
Generally speaking, recovery is an exponential process: the amount you recover the first week is about the same as the one you recover during the next two, which is about the same as the amount you recover during the next four, and so on.
With supplies and in controlled hexes, a unit will recover about 30% of its losses in 15 days, 60% in a month, and 90 or more in two months. Recovering all losses takes about two months. In enemy held hexes, the process is much slower. In Lanchow, for one division, it was more like 10% in two weeks, 20 in a month, and 30 in two. Now this is for disablements. Being in a base is important if many squads were lost. Finally, fatigue and disruption seem to take about a week to fall down, in base, out of base, marching even…
The rule of thumb I plan to use for now on is :
- One week for fatigue
- Two weeks to be out of trouble
- Four to be in fighting shape
- Eight to be back at full strength
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
I do not beleive so, just a 9 hex Naval HQ. But not a Command HQ.ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon
ORIGINAL: PaxMondo
Maybe, but I'm not aware of any auto-upgrade "feature". Have you moved the 5th Fleet? Where is she now? You really only have 2 mobile command HQ's: Southern and 5th.
Is Combined Fleet HQ a Command HQ? That can also be moved.
Pax