BB1.4 THE BLUNT EDGE-->Lexington Sunk in wild multi-CV battle

[n01487477]

My opponent is going to be away for a few days ... so I'm stuck in a loop of endless indecision ...

While I'm here let me talk about my production choices ...
1. You can see from the WITPDecoder screen that I've just gone positive with Oil and Resource production ... I have a lot of a/c factories turned off at present so as I turn them back on we'll see what happens ..
2. Arm / Veh .. expanded Arms to its present level and will continue to expand the smaller factories first as supplies allow ... Veh, didn't really need to expand in hindsight, but maybe it's a good investment for the future...
3. Naval: with this in mind ... Accelerating ships costs its original points + 2* original points. So a DD normal = 22 ;accelerated = 66
Naval build points are for SS,CV,CVL,BB,DD,CL
Merchant for CVE,AR,AV,(all aux),CS,AS,AO,TK,MSW,AK,AP.

I expanded a little of both Naval and Merchant ship building capacity ... then ...

I decided to accelerate CV junyo and one CVL, I turned off shinano, and many of the non-plane capable SS's and one of the BB's for now.

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A/C prod..
Naval Fighters … going to jump to A6M3a’s try to skip the short range variant except for squadron arrivals. I think if I turn off before the conversion date, and then back on after the conversion date, I can keep those factories on M2’s … I don’t see the point of converting everything for a plane which has little to offer me.

Army Fighters … my Nates are all training, I was going to convert a few more to Oscars, but I’m starting to think it’s a waste. They’re only good against the Dutch … I converted 2-3 squad’s for the smaller range advantage, but really I’m plowing research into Tonies and Tojo’s. Plan is to convert one factory to Oscar 2, build enough to then cycle convert to Tonies and Tojo’s each squad that comes through.

Heavy Bombers: G4M1’s – went a bit crazy in the beginning as we had “Auto airgroup upgrade off”, now I’m building a little, and will convert / stop when I see my losses at Palmyra.

DB & Torp: Vals & Kates are humming along fine. Sonia is a waste, just producing a few to cover.

Float/Patrol:E13A1 Jake and F1M2a Pete are my choice here … although some convert to A2zero float variant

Light Bombers: Sally’s are stopped and converting to Helen’s ( a bit slow at the moment but is improving slowly)

Recon: Kept 3 C5M squads & the rest are being converted to J1N1 IrvingR or the better choice Ki46 DinahII

Transport: converting slowly to L2D2 (great load), some H6KL2 (1/3 the load but added range).

[n01487477]

Just 100 days of Oil and Resources left in Japan, but I'm adequate elsewhere ... once Java is taken and my ASW Sally / Helen plan aided by ASW surface patrols comes into effect, I'm hoping I can build this a bit ...

[n01487477]

Just started the plane comparison pivot chart in my Access DB ... as you can see in BB1.4 and elsewhere the Japanese birds have better speed, manuever and endurance, pity about armour and durability ...

Weapons seem to favour the US planes ...

[Big B]

ORIGINAL: n01487477

Just started the plane comparison pivot chart in my Access DB ... as you can see in BB1.4 and elsewhere the Japanese birds have better speed, manuever and endurance, pity about armour and durability ...

Weapons seem to favour the US planes ...

Hi,
Just a quick FYI about those stats,
Durability was calculated equally at 1 point per 200lbs of dry weight, with 2 points added for radial engined aircraft.
Maneuverability was a comparative calculation based on seconds to turn a 360 circle (with all fighters benefiting from an across the board increase of 5 points, some of the stock ratings are pretty close to this measurement method)
The rest of the aircraft stats are self explanatory.

Guns -
Accuracy is calculated by the square root of 'rate of fire' multiplied by the square root of 'muzzle velocity' - divided by 100.
(Japanese aircraft with all nose gun armament were given a bonus for centerline fire (Claude, Nate, Oscar), as well as the F4F-3 getting a bonus for double the ammunition load of standard .50 armed US fighters, = 450rpg to 270rpg).
Comparative effect is calculated by projectile weight multiplied by muzzle velocity, multiplied by rounds per second to come up with a comparative "energy per second". As an example (numbers rounded down), the .50 browning equates to '53', while the Type 99-1 would equate to about '57' as measured in grams and meters per second.

So yes, Japanese aircraft have higher performance, but are at a distinct disadvantage in firepower and durability, but...as they say - 'it is what it is'.

B

[n01487477]

Thanks Big B for your comments, it's really interesting to understand the equations behind the mod. Thanks and my PBEM partner, often states in his emails that this is the best and most interesting mod he has played ... he especially liked the strained state the allies faced at the beginning of the war and the scramble he has had to make to get some balance.

Quick Update 21/2/42:
Palmyra, tomorrow is D-Day, Mines unknown - but I'm sure there are loads, 15 000 troops and 250+ guns ... it's going to be a bloody day.
4 Days of G4M1 attacks was fruitless, and has had to halt as my forces are decimated. I go into tomorrow thinking I'm throwing away my advantage, it's moments like these that I think about real world leaders and what big cahoona's they must have. Or is it just ego ?

22/2/42 D-Day Palmyra: As the morning fog starts to lift, the morning calm is shattered by the BB guns raining fire on this tiny atoll. Coastal gun fire, started to range in on the 3 transport TF's, 2 ships can be seen smoking badly on the horizon, with one listing to port. As troops start unloading, another 2 are rocked by mines. The fighting soaks the beach red, as 5 units start to proceed inland ... The first shock attack, bloody as it was, left the defenders reeling, their defences compromised, they pulled back into their last fort ... night falls as the Allies counter with an ineffective bombardment attack. It's dark and damp, the occasional flare, lights the night sky, there will be little sleeping this night.

[n01487477]

Palmyra DDay +1:
Inland, at first light, the battle rages as Japanese troops running out of supplies and ammo launch wave after wave of human bullets at well defended positions ...
Meanwhile a frightened TF commander, strictly against any logic, decided to up anchor and steam out without unloading reinforcements ... he has not been offered the honorable way out, courts martial will deal rough justice, soon enough.
As dusk approaches, the US forces, start bombarding our positions and we get news that the 51st Naval Guard & 6th NLF Unit are Wiped Out by attrition!!!
At sea, American Dauntless' and buffalo's strike hard at fleeing AP's, 2 are heavily damaged and will limp home...
So as night descends, the troops pray for reinforcements, and dig in ...

[n01487477]

Another quick look at my Database, as it progresses, this is the plane upgrade matrix, it still has some small errors ,and addiions to make ... but I hope you can see what I'm trying to achieve ...

[n01487477]

23/02/1942 D-Day+2 Palmyra

Out in the horseshoe atoll, a PC and a MSW hit mines in quick succession, the tropical birds had only just settled back on their perches when an AK took a torpedo up the skirt, followed by a PG ... meanwhile overhead the buzz of dauntless's finally got a hit on a DD, which had been zig-zagging like crazy.
Japanese troops were seen later collecting coconuts, were they out of food ? or ammo ? A late US bombardment did nothing to cheer the spirits of the depleted Japanese forces...

[n01487477]

SITREP
24/2/1942: Palmyra --- taking PG, PC and DD losses to SS's and mines.

Noumea: Had been thinking that my un-escorted AK's were fine ... wrong ! Got jumped by his CV's, the first time I have seen them in this game ... all AK's will be a tourist attraction to future divers. Sent a few sqd's of GM4 Betty's to Noumea, to see if I could get at him... hope they fly tomorrow and exact revenge.

Java: no action, but with Singapore falling tomorrow, it's only days till I launch an invasion. Actually have a Div steaming to Merak, one hex north of Batavia... they will be my advance force ... I pulled them out of Hanoi some time ago.

Burma: 1 day away from having troops attack Rangoon, I have no air operations in play in Burma, except ASW. It's allowing him to build up forces, but lack air eng / base forces (as I was building them up in Tokyo) ... they are on their way, 12 days I estimate.

China: I've got Yenen under seige, more troops on the way. I figure fighting North will give me some leverage later in Burma.

My CV's have been steaming near Palmyra, covering my AP/AK's returning to Kwaj, Akagi is also nearing Kwaj, having repaired down to 4, unfortunately the pilots are now crappy.

A/c numbers are good:
G4M1 - 80
A6M2 - 80
Val and Kate 100 each

pilot replacement are however none.

[n01487477]

25/2:

Palmyra: My secret DIV from Korea, had to be used, but didn't unload the main force of this or my 6th Base force, they remain on badly damaged ships ... after 1078 coastal shots were fired and my ships were peppered with holes ... I decided to remove this tf from the hex, get some more escorts and then send it back to unload ... of course, it could get sunk by a/c in that time ... Damn I was stupid, light losses earlier lulled me into a false sense .. all the tf's you see below are damaged in one way or another ...

[n01487477]

Singapore finally fell ... completely damaged and weeks away from repair.

1 Day away from my Java invasion ... (pic below is my invasion plan)
I was thinking of just marching down the Island, he has consolidated his forces in 2 main bases, but realised I should invade from multiple points. And although I'm now worried he has split his CV force and is steaming around Oz ...I think that I had better attempt to surround his forces with multiple landing points ,timed for the first few days of March.

[n01487477]

26/2: Only thing of note is my unopposed invasion of Java... and how ineffective my attack at Yenen was ... sorry for Combat report ... 3-1 troops and 1-250 assault odds ... cool maths !!!

Attacking force 88767 troops, 910 guns, 145 vehicles, Assault Value = 1780
Defending force 33369 troops, 57 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 866
Japanese max assault: 32 - adjusted assault: 8
Allied max defense: 909 - adjusted defense: 806

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 5) ...

Just calculated that I need about 33000 assault value (about a million troops), I know you want to tell me about ground combat, I'm just having a laugh ... and will cut off supply etc ...

[n01487477]

27/2/42:
Palmyra - the main force of Naval guards and my Inf Div have arrived by ship (each is on one ship each)after reinforcing them with CL's, to land tomorrow. The fragment's are already on Palmyra, under supplied and not doing so well. His air force didn't fly today, but I expect tomorrow to be bloody again.

Rangoon has been assaulted by 60 000 Japanese troops Vs 15000 he has stationed, I reduced his fort by one, but am now facing the fact that I don;t have enough troops to surround him and cut him off ... Day attacks continue on Moulmein by B-17E's, which are destroying my resource base. I have to wait a few days until I get engineers in place, for a better CAP.

Singapore is repairing quicker than expected, but I'm waiting for more replenishment of troops, before I load them and send them to Java, Manila & Burma.

Have a load of troops waiting in Tokyo, but am unwilling to move them till they fill out a bit more.

I have some Aviation Reg on route to Noumea, but it is 3-4 days away, and until then I'm worried he will jump me.

CV Akagi made it to Kwaj, but am unlikely to commit it till a bit later... although will reposition it to Noumea area, when Soryu is repaired (currently 10 sys).... His CV's are no longer spotted around Noumea ... I had moved loads of planes there which didn't fly for 2 turns... but I'm sure he will want Noumea back shortly.

[n01487477]

1/3/1942: Good news from Palmyra:- The day broke & saw the last of our troops unloaded, they moved quickly inland and the ensuing shock attack reduced the fort to 0. News flowed through the ranks that tomorrow might see the rising sun fly over the Island, but boy's from the Div force that landed a few days ago, look ragged and hitching their belts a little tighter.

Meanwhile ...

At Rangoon, 3 Inf Div's with a HQ, are taking no time to reduce the fort and instill fear into the Colonial Div's. They are looking for a way out, but our commander is firmly committed to making them All POW's by the end of the month.

[n01487477]

2/3/42: Feeling rather disillusioned today ... I still haven't given him a bloody nose, he has spent the last 3 months, ducking and diving, and now, I'm in bad shape after my Palmyra experience ...

Palmyra, my quagmire, supply ships sunk, 30+ ships damaged and now my troops desperate for any sustenance ... I think I'm going to lose some to attrition soon ... my next supply convoy is 3-4 days away ... can I hold out ?

PM also got it's first taste of B-17E's today ...In Burma, his air force rules the skies, Moulmein can't defend itself as it has no a/c engineers there ...

I have a nasty feeling his CV's are near Java and will destroy my forces enroute ... I'm completely out of position for this ...

Manila is still a long long road ...
Nothing positive today, more positivity tomorrow ...

[n01487477]

3/3/42: Burma Another black day for my air arm..

I tasked 5 groups of A2M6 Zeros to fly LR Cap over the skies of Moulmein ...

56 Japanese aircraft engaged 54 Curtis H81-3A PR x 3 and a few Blenheim's and Hudson's, it was a decisive victory for the allied forces. 23 Zero's destroyed, for 8 losses to the Allies ...

Another stupid move in a litany of stupid moves lately. I will wait until I have some engineers there and try again to CAP from bases there ... I just hope that there is an airfield left to land them.

more tomorrow

[n01487477]

4/3/42: A quieter day, 3 Base forces finally arrive on Noumea, which will amply support 2 Zero,2 G4M1 and a H8k airgroup. I see that he has begun to reinforce Norfolk Is ... I'll be bombing that port and TF's next turn, weather permitting.

At Palmyra, his Dauntless's flew again today damaging a DD, which had been of ASW duty, with 3 others. My supplies are one day away, and my troops are desperate for those AK's to enter the LZ.

Java: My troops are unloading at Merak, I have 4 Div's in Singapore prepping, as well as some engineer units which are repairing the repair dock and HI. Another TF is one day from Tijiltjap, with 3 tank reg. The other force going for Kragen, is 2-3 days out ... one last special force will be loaded from Banjarmasin to Kragen in the next day or two ... His Dutch airforce are no longer a potent threat but, it's too hard to close all his airports ... so I will accept some losses. I'll need those airports anyway and I don't want to be fixing everything ...

Burma: Decided to start airlifting a Base Force to Moulmein, it should be complete in 2-3 days as I'm using half my transport planes to do this ... Burma can't wait too much longer with me letting him get total air superiority.

[n01487477]

6/3/42:
Palmyra attack was a failure, my Div has halved it's assault points and I'm deeply worried about future attacks ...

Moulmein: Air dropped a Base Force, and now have moved about 130 Zero's to have a go at his air attack tomorrow ... my airbase is slightly damaged, but I can no longer have him continue it's demise. (should be very interesting and my focus for AAR tomorrow)

Java: As per my orders troops have landed ... strategy to encircle forces at Batavia ... Div's at Singapore are improving day-by-day. I'll give them 1-2 more days and start tasking them.

[n01487477]

Just a quick look at Kyoto Dry-Dock ... Soryu, has had a pregnant pause with her repairs, due to 2 reasons I think ...
1. Lack of supplies (seems to help repair)
2. Damaged AK's unloading supplies there ...
Am going to improve this history and give some detailed analysis when 20 turns have been completed ...