A couple of question from a new player

[TAIL GUNNER]

ORIGINAL: Peruna

Thanks, Roguesmc.

Final couple of questions for awhile.

1) I set up an AV on non-base island and had a Catalina squadron fly from there for naval search purposes. However, now it's showing that half the squadron is damaged and the other half are in reserve with no active planes and it is not changing. Nor does it change when I try to transport the squadron back to a functioning base. How can get these planes back?

2) I'm about to embark on an invasion of Guadalcanal. Do I land my APD directly on Lunga, the Japanese occupied area, or on the empty adjacent beach hex and have my units march to Lunga and attack from there?

1. You need some supplies there too....and the AV has to stay parked at the base....

2. Any of those options will work...

[LoBaron]

2) dont forget that your troops get fatigued fast in a malaria zone without a large base. so if you are strong enough attacking lunga directly is the better option. if you have a really strong force AND naval/air superiority you could additionally invade the 2 other hexes on guadalcanal to cut off retreat/resupply paths for the japanese.
if you invade one of the other hexes you should include engineer units to build forts and bases and have to be aware that it takes bout 2 weeks to march through the jungle to lunga. when you arrive there you can be sure that your troops will be down to 75% combat effectiveness because of fatigue/dmg.

[anarchyintheuk]

Minor point, but if you land at Lunga, most people consider it weasel-like to land a raider battalion at tassafronga or the other one to block the line of retreat.

Nice to see another person from the metroplex.

[LoBaron]

only those people who neglect to cover their retreat paths i guess...
[;)]
land warfare is much about encirclement and if you invite someone to do it its your own fault.
period.

[Peruna]

Another question has cropped up. I started receiving HQ units. Such as the II Amphib, I Corps, I Aus Corps, 5th AF, etc.

None of my units are attached to these corps, so how can I tell which units will receive a proximity bonus from their presence? I assume II Amphib is Marine units, I Corp US Army in Australia, and I Aus Corp Australian Army, and 5th AF US air units in Australia. Is this correct?

Also, how do people utilize these units? Right now they are all in the rear with the gear for me. Is that their proper place?

[LoBaron]

IIRC every HQ unit has units attached to it. it could be that the HQ´s recently arrived and the sub units are still on their way.
but divisional HQ´s are sometimes attached to higher HQs.
e.g. as japan you have 35 brigade, 65 division (just an example not sure if its the correct units) and so on attached to 17th army HQ.
these HQ´s have longer range of influence on moral and support (japan 3 hexes, US 3, sometimes 6 hexes).

[anarchyintheuk]

As far as I remember, any corps level command will affect any unit within its command range. Try to keep all your important bases (including forward ones) w/ at least a div hq and w/i a corps level hq.

There isn't a strict chain of command from theatre hqs -> corps hqs -> div hqs -> lcus. Would have been cool if there was.

BTW, LoBaron yer right about keeping your line of retreat open IRL. However, in UV it's probably something that should be discussed w/ your opponent in a pbem prior to playing.

[LoBaron]

i think youre right with HQ.
SOME of them are attached though. like divisions attached to 17th or 18th army as japan.
in my version of UV i got OOB´s attached as pdf files where you can trace the operational structure of both sides. it helps a lot.

ok i also agree that it could be discussed prior to the game if you dont want to use encirclement.
but i dont see any exploits that result by using encirclement tactics.

i like house rules like limiting ASW TF´s and no 90% CAP over carriers and so on cause it takes realism out of the game.
this is not a land warfare game so the land compat models are too simplyfied compared to the rest and you got a point there.

but since by covering your retreat path you force the enemy to split forces or try to take a weak point if not strong enough and - as in RL - the defender doesnt have the initiative and has to defend probable targets which - as in RL - hands over initiative to the attacker which can be countered by building up fortifications and using tactical reserves - as in RL - such an agreement takes "land warfare fun" out of the game. (what a screwed sentence but i hope you understand what i mean...)
but thats just my opinion.

[pasternakski]

ORIGINAL: LoBaron

i think youre right with HQ.
SOME of them are attached though. like divisions attached to 17th or 18th army as japan.
in my version of UV i got OOB´s attached as pdf files where you can trace the operational structure of both sides. it helps a lot.

Yeah, anarchy is right (jeez, I love saying that). A land HQ lends its bonuses to any LCU within command range (and, strangely enough, a range of "1" means "in the same hex," not "in an adjacent hex," so you count distance by pointing at the HQ's hex and say, "one").

I'm the idiot who wasted his time creating those land OOB files, which I submitted to Matrix as Excel spreadsheets before I understood that they don't mean a doggone thing (somebody redid them to include more information and posted them on Spooky's site, if you want them. I think they just became a confusing mess, but who am I, other than the guy who re-invented the square wheel?). Besides, when they converted 'em to PDFs (I'm sure you noticed this), the scale was so attenuated that you have to zoom - and zoom - and zoom some more - before they're big enough even to read.

The color scheme was fun, though.

[TAIL GUNNER]

I'm the idiot who wasted his time creating those land OOB files, which I submitted to Matrix as Excel spreadsheets before I understood that they don't mean a doggone thing

Huh, and people say you've never contributed anything positive...

Those files were pretty handy when I played this game back in the day and I'd still recommend them if you're one of those goobs like me that like to keep his digital armies nice and organized.
Here's the link for the Spook's site:

http://mathubert.free.fr/

[Miller]

CAP levels of 80% were the norm during the 42-44 carrier battles. Hiryu had around 40 Zeros onboard after the sinking of her compatriots yet only sent six to escort each strike she launched.

Likewise the US strikes consisted of only 18-20 Wilcat escorts, I believe the US carriers had almost 90 between them at the start of the battle......

[LoBaron]

yupp youre right. [8D]

on the other hand in UV you can use the 90% cap/all bombers on naval search to rip the enemy attack apart and counter with heavy escort the next day. thats an exploit of the combat system.

@pasternakski: nah you did well. its not the best example for "easy reading" but it helped me a lot back then starting to understand the operational structure of the ground units. so as long as im concerned no time wasted.

[Peruna]

Such an unforgiving game. I restarted playing scen 19. Using the tips from this thread I felt like I was doing very well. I spot several Jap cv tfs near Bunta and a lone CV group near Guadalcanal. Using a fast reaction CV TF I set up in Lungavilla, I try hit the lone carrier group only to fall into the Japanese trap. I get a couple of bombs on Jap carriers, but lose the Lexington and the Enterprise barely limps home.

Thanks for all contributors in here for making this great game even more interesting.

[LoBaron]

dont forget that a carrier TF reacts to enemy CV´s nearby by closing to strike distance. seemed like this has happened to you.