BACK AFTER YEARS

[wegman58]

ORIGINAL: BillBrown

And you need a size 7 airfield, Calcutta needs some work to get it there.

AHA! It is about to expand.

And HansBolter - I have the air frames. But I didn't realize there was a difference between the requirements for 'withdrawal' and stay. Explains something I had noticed.

[wegman58]

ORIGINAL: BillBrown

And you need a size 7 airfield, Calcutta needs some work to get it there.

ACTUALLY - if you have enough support and HQ and supplies, Size 5 works.

I just brought it up to Size 5 and P-40E!

[wegman58]

I KNOW that McHale's Navy is NOT a good source for historical data, but apparently in WW II they put depth charge racks on PT boats. Does that happen in the game?

[rustysi]

What do you need for your planes to upgrade???

ACTUALLY - if you have enough support and HQ and supplies, Size 5 works.

Add 20k supplies. You can upgrade at a different base that doesn't meet the requirements if you have the units' HQ within range and its base meets the requirements. I don't have the game available right now, but there's a section in the manual that goes into better detail.

[BillBrown]

disregard.

[rustysi]

If you insist. Disregarding.

[Blackhorse]

ORIGINAL: wegman58

I KNOW that McHale's Navy is NOT a good source for historical data, but apparently in WW II they put depth charge racks on PT boats. Does that happen in the game?

No. But you do get LCDR Quinton McHale (leader 12334) himself in-game on March 1st, 1942.

[wegman58]

Another question. Do ships gain experience when they are sailing off-map? Safe, but underway.

[Barb]

ORIGINAL: wegman58
Another question. Do ships gain experience when they are sailing off-map? Safe, but underway.

IIRC, Yes. Condition should be "In TF & not Docked".

[wegman58]

I had a weird one yesterday. Dutch Sub got into some trouble, badly damaged. But at the end of the naval day reports I was told a US sub was sunk. I didn't have any US subs in trouble. Look at 'sunk' list - the Dutch sub was sunk, no US subs sunk. I don't think I was dreaming when I saw the USS (Something - but not Dutch) sunk.

[Trugrit]

You were not dreaming. The game does that all the time. Fog

[wegman58]

Has anyone made a table that tells you how much you have to build up an airfield to get your planes to fly at full capacity? I know there is a formula based on bomb load, but there are LOTS of people who have crafted things.

[Korvar]

Here's the one I made:




Level bombers also need in-range air HQ support for proper bombing, otherwise they'll suffer a 25% offensive penalty (in # of aircraft flown) - separate from the small airfield penalty.

[BBfanboy]

I don't get the Coronado being on the list - it is a flying boat and does not need an airfield.
Are you saying it can operate from inland bases? I always thought amphibian aircraft only used the wheels to get up on dry land for maintenance reasons.

[wegman58]

ORIGINAL: Korvar

Here's the one I made:




Level bombers also need in-range air HQ support for proper bombing, otherwise they'll suffer a 25% offensive penalty (in # of aircraft flown) - separate from the small airfield penalty.

PERFECT!

[wegman58]

I'm playing the AI - trying to learn something about the game. For the 1st time I'm trying to defend Rangoon. I'm learning this is VERY good for destroying Japanese aircraft if you move the Flying Tigers there (I have lots of double ace Brits too). BUT there are no shortage of Burmese infantry. Are there really no replacements after April 1942? Or am I reading something wrong?

[Korvar]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

I don't get the Coronado being on the list - it is a flying boat and does not need an airfield.
Are you saying it can operate from inland bases? I always thought amphibian aircraft only used the wheels to get up on dry land for maintenance reasons.

That's a valid criticism - neither of the in-game variants are amphib capable.

I made this chart while I was beginning to learn the game, and I vaguely recall I made it by looking at the sorted max load data in Tracker. So I had my head buried in the database too deeply to notice the disqualifier.

Thanks - let me know if you spot anything else awry with the chart.

[Korvar]

ORIGINAL: wegman58

I'm playing the AI - trying to learn something about the game. For the 1st time I'm trying to defend Rangoon. I'm learning this is VERY good for destroying Japanese aircraft if you move the Flying Tigers there (I have lots of double ace Brits too). BUT there are no shortage of Burmese infantry. Are there really no replacements after April 1942? Or am I reading something wrong?

Are you speaking of ground units attached to the 'Burma Corps' specifically? Potential reinforcements will still arrive, but they will be part of various Indian Corps, the Eastern Army, and Australian Corps. I say potential reinforcements because these will often show up in other areas (such as Aden, India, etc.) and you'll have to at the very least transport them to Burma. Some of these units may require you to spend PP to reassign the unit(s) to unrestricted commands or to more appropriate commands to take advantage of HQ bonuses.

Organizing and bringing in a few Australian Divisions can be a big boost. Same goes for the Indian Divisions. It helps to look at the Ground Unit menu (G key) and filter by country and for infantry units only. Then browse through the units and look in the lower-left corner of the unit details menu for units which have 'Unit Organization of [insert unit name here]'



Clicking on the arrow icon will bring up this menu:




To form a division, you'll need to bring all the subunits to the same location, make sure they are all in the same mode (combat, move, strategic, etc.), and make sure they all share the same HQ. Keep in mind that forming divisions can be very expensive in PP if you need to reassign subunits to unrestricted/different commands, so plan ahead before you commit to any changes. The 'Unit Organization' menu will mark which subunits have differences from the others (thus preventing combination).

Divisions are more than the sum of their parts, literally and figuratively. They often enjoy enhanced TOEs over the sum of the subunits which create them and there is a 'synergy' about them, for lack of a better term. Basically, they are a self-contained expression of combined arms and can be supplemented by auxiliary units but are pretty effective even on their own.

I found it useful to take stock of what divisions were potentially available (Australian, British, Indian, etc.) and then note which ones would be 'easiest' to form (i.e. subunits closest together and the most homogeneous HQ assignments), also noting which subunits were most needed where they currently were. Wherever possible, I would gather up the various subunits and form the division. Oftentimes the division will be under strength (measured in % of TOE), so you'll need to consider whether it's better to send it to the front immediately or if you can afford to allow the division to build up first in rest mode (it's also ideal to build up units behind the front lines where supplies are more plentiful). Also note that Divisions build up strength more quickly if you subdivide them into their A/B/C subunits after forming them (and staying in rest mode, of course).


You are correct that Rangoon is very useful to the Allies. Try to hold onto it if you can. I did so in my current GC against the AI basically by stocking it with any ground units I could spare, even before I had the 'luxury' of forming divisions. The biggest advantage of Rangoon is that it can be resupplied and reinforced from the sea and has the potential to develop into a very large port. You'll need this feature of Rangoon because the Japanese will very likely make a big push for it. Expect multiple-division strength forces to be committed and a prolonged battle for the city. You may need to temporarily sacrifice other parts of Burma to hold it. Air superiority will critical to keep the sea lanes of supply open. Beware of the IJN showing up as well to intercept convoys.

[wegman58]

ORIGINAL: wegman58

I'm playing the AI - trying to learn something about the game. For the 1st time I'm trying to defend Rangoon. I'm learning this is VERY good for destroying Japanese aircraft if you move the Flying Tigers there (I have lots of double ace Brits too). BUT there are no shortage of Burmese infantry. Are there really no replacements after April 1942? Or am I reading something wrong?

Don't want to quote the larger reply to the 'wrong' question. I didn't phrase it correctly.

I'm wondering if you ever get Burmese squads after April 1942.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: wegman58

ORIGINAL: wegman58

I'm playing the AI - trying to learn something about the game. For the 1st time I'm trying to defend Rangoon. I'm learning this is VERY good for destroying Japanese aircraft if you move the Flying Tigers there (I have lots of double ace Brits too). BUT there are no shortage of Burmese infantry. Are there really no replacements after April 1942? Or am I reading something wrong?

Don't want to quote the larger reply to the 'wrong' question. I didn't phrase it correctly.

I'm wondering if you ever get Burmese squads after April 1942.

Both Burmese and Malay squads are extremely limited, I think because of their small populations. There would be an initial pool of young men to draw on and then very few coming of age to serve in the armed forces. So if the Editor says the squads should stop being available on a certain date that is likely based on historic fact and consideration of population (and possibly Japanese occupation).
There was enough resentment against the British to believe that many of the available young men would believe Japanese propaganda and join them.
You can change the settings in the editor but they should reflect a very low replacement rate - like one squad a month - IMO.