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Oh man, nearly 150 2E and 4E Allied bombers destroyed, including 17 B-24's. Almost as bad as Schwienfurt. Uggh.

ORIGINAL: Cribtop

BANZAI!!! [&o]

Clearly from the description you outguessed him in Burma (and got a bit lucky his sweeps came in late). Did you also outguess him on the other two bases, or have you been waiting with CAP/LRCAP for some time?

Well, to be honest Brad tends to be quite predictable. He follows one or two usual patterns and, as long as you study his way of moving, it's not that difficult to guess what he'll be doing next.
So no, i didn't wait on LRCAP mode. All those missions were performed with a LRCAP from 4 to 7...so one day is more than enough to tire to death my crews.

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Oh man, nearly 150 2E and 4E Allied bombers destroyed, including 17 B-24's. Almost as bad as Schwienfurt. Uggh.

This is exactly those kind of missions i need to slow him down, not only physically, but also psycologically.
His pools aren't infinite. His P-47s pools, for example, are limited and one of these days sucked up almost a full month production of the dreaded P-47Ds...
Now every day counts. Every day i buy is fresh air for my Empire.

Sep 11, 1943

For the first time enemy's DDs approached Hollandia and start to raid our shipping lanes from Biak to Vanimo/Hollandia. This may creates some interesting situations.
Brad rested all his forces today. No air raids in Burma, Saumlaki or Sarmi. In Burma he's seding even more forces from Kalemyo down to the contested hex... but i think this time i may arrive before him with my badly wanted regiment of the 16th Division.
At Rangoon the 1st Tank Division is unloading. Some really needed reinforces for this theatre.

2 days and all but one of my CVs will be operative again. He spotted my CVs at Bab with his damned long range recon... while i think i've found his ones at Daboyne Island (near Milne Bay). Will be interesting to see if he's gonna use his CVs in support of any further push north of Wewak or not....

Wow! [X(]

Well done again! Those bomber losses are certainly going to sting! [X(]

I'm very interested to see what he will do once he reaches its zenit in terms of conquests in NG and Bismark Sea (say Wewak and Manus/Kavieng). What will he do next?
Vanimo, Hollandia and Sarmi all have very strong garrisons and plenty of forts (5, 4 and 4).
Considering the stacking limits i'd say he cannot land more than 2 divisions...and i have, in each of them, at least  reinforced division (say a division + some SNLFs, tank regiments, cbt engeneers etc), with the 17th Army HQ in charge of the front. Don't think he can advance much further here without first having gained a complete air superiority.
 
North of Darwin the situation is pretty stuck. Molu is strong, but too isolated to be of any use for him. He needs another base and needs to overcome Saumlaki, where 500 japanese AVs, well supplied and behind 4 forts, are doing a great job holding 20,000 americans on the beaches.
 
Now it's time for me to fortify Sorong area. Need an Air HQ there and some more engineers. I think lately i gained enough time to be able to do that.
 
In the meanwhile the J2M3 and the N1K2 are online. These will be two great additions... SR=2 should pay off a lot in terms of my ability to fight prolonged air battles...now the N1K1 are really a "one-day" weapon

However i'm pretty happy about how my airframes are fighting back the allies. Clearly the P-38s, the Corsairs and the P-47s are vastly superior to my combos Tojo-Frank-George, but, with low fatigue, good pilots, good leaders and a wise chosing battle attitude, i've been able so far to fight back on more-or-less equal terms.
The key, however, is to save the pilots. Fight always over your owned hexes. Force him to be the one who sends his planes in very long and risky missions above enemy's territory. I can lose the airframes...who cares!? But if i can save the pilots, it is a winning strategy!

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

However i'm pretty happy about how my airframes are fighting back the allies. Clearly the P-38s, the Corsairs and the P-47s are vastly superior to my combos Tojo-Frank-George, but, with low fatigue, good pilots, good leaders and a wise chosing battle attitude, i've been able so far to fight back on more-or-less equal terms.
The key, however, is to save the pilots. Fight always over your owned hexes. Force him to be the one who sends his planes in very long and risky missions above enemy's territory. I can lose the airframes...who cares!? But if i can save the pilots, it is a winning strategy!

I think he has been doing a mistake not attriting your airforce. Of course the allies are still at this stage of the game fighting with limited pools and tend to be extra careful, but he has to deplete your pilot pools. He doesn't want you to still be able to field 70exp IJAAF pilots in Franks in the big decisive battles of 44 that should be breaking your back for good. Even if it means horrendous losses on his side, he needs to get you to commit somewhere and just attrit the hell out of you. there are many ways of doing this, including using his CVs offensively not for Amphibious support but for AF raiding.

The longer he let's you have quality pilots, the harder it will be for him to get the ball rolling. Once the allies have that quality edge the difference shows very quickly. In that sense he has been too conservatvie and loss conscious I think.

can't believe your opponent is using the Beaufort VIII to bomb a base when it's one of the very few Allied land based torpedo bomber with a replacement rate of 18 per month. [8|] what a waste

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

However i'm pretty happy about how my airframes are fighting back the allies. Clearly the P-38s, the Corsairs and the P-47s are vastly superior to my combos Tojo-Frank-George, but, with low fatigue, good pilots, good leaders and a wise chosing battle attitude, i've been able so far to fight back on more-or-less equal terms.
The key, however, is to save the pilots. Fight always over your owned hexes. Force him to be the one who sends his planes in very long and risky missions above enemy's territory. I can lose the airframes...who cares!? But if i can save the pilots, it is a winning strategy!

Exactly. Also, he is not concentrating effectively and is using a bad proportion of escorts to sweeps. Should be many more sweeps.

You are definitely picking spots well and concentrating, so even if he does sweep it will be a bloodbath for both sides, and as you say, over your own bases that is fine.

[&o]

ORIGINAL: veji1

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

However i'm pretty happy about how my airframes are fighting back the allies. Clearly the P-38s, the Corsairs and the P-47s are vastly superior to my combos Tojo-Frank-George, but, with low fatigue, good pilots, good leaders and a wise chosing battle attitude, i've been able so far to fight back on more-or-less equal terms.
The key, however, is to save the pilots. Fight always over your owned hexes. Force him to be the one who sends his planes in very long and risky missions above enemy's territory. I can lose the airframes...who cares!? But if i can save the pilots, it is a winning strategy!

I think he has been doing a mistake not attriting your airforce. Of course the allies are still at this stage of the game fighting with limited pools and tend to be extra careful, but he has to deplete your pilot pools. He doesn't want you to still be able to field 70exp IJAAF pilots in Franks in the big decisive battles of 44 that should be breaking your back for good. Even if it means horrendous losses on his side, he needs to get you to commit somewhere and just attrit the hell out of you. there are many ways of doing this, including using his CVs offensively not for Amphibious support but for AF raiding.

The longer he let's you have quality pilots, the harder it will be for him to get the ball rolling. Once the allies have that quality edge the difference shows very quickly. In that sense he has been too conservatvie and loss conscious I think.

I think my overall situation concerning pilots is pretty decent. I have several hundreds fighter pilots in their 70s A2A Skill. While fighter pilots with 70 exp are pretty rare, a part those who are already in online groups, i still think that, for defensive missions, 70 A2A is what i need. The exp and the def sill will grow up fighting wisely.

For escort missions i'm keeping a good number of sentais with low quality pilots that will be wasted in ablative armour duties. My idea is to keep a strong core of crack pilots fighting on the best available planes and always committ them only in favourable conditions. I strongly agree with you that i have benefitted a lot from his lack of offensive missions against my air force but it's also true that, at the present state, any offensive mission against one of my major AFs will surely end with a bloodbath on his part...and he only has a handfull of planes able to stand against the combo "Tojo-George-Frank-Jack", so there isn't an "easy way"

Sure there isn't an easy way, but longterm he can cope with a bloodbath, not you. he needs to seek your Airforce and engage it with Sweeps, sweeps, sweeps, sweeps and then blast the AF. He should be using his CVs for that if needed. CVs are not only an amphibious device, they are an airsuperiority and interdiction tool as well. He should be using them in that role to support his LBA.

GJ, I will say again that you are growing as a player, and that growth is accelerating. This AAR is a good learning tool for the mid to end game.

Also, note that it's fall of '43. Q-Ball isn't late yet, but if he can't make a push past New Britain or into the DEI or Thailand within about six months, he will start feeling the clock tick.

ORIGINAL: Cribtop

GJ, I will say again that you are growing as a player, and that growth is accelerating. This AAR is a good learning tool for the mid to end game.

Also, note that it's fall of '43. Q-Ball isn't late yet, but if he can't make a push past New Britain or into the DEI or Thailand within about six months, he will start feeling the clock tick.

I know Crib. QBall is in a very good strategic position, compared to the RL timings. Possibly he's even in advance. It's fall 1943 and he has already annihilated Rabaul and the whole PGN. Look at Obvert's game... Joc is in the same position of Brad and it's one year later exactly!!!

However, Sep 14-15, 1943

Brad got lucky once again. He had accumulated a HUGE number of TFs at Hansa bay (inlcuding 3 CVEs and several cruisers) and 2 big amphib TFs were unloading at Wewak... the KB arrived exactly 8 hexes from both locations...ready to strike. 200 fighters were ordered to sweep Wewak skies so to clear the path for the bombers. 80 LBA Judys were also set to naval attack... could have been a massacre.... instead storms prevented ANY of the strikes to take off.... not a single one... DAMN!!!!

Now my CVs are moving back again in the shades.... while a strong SAG is covering a supply TF unloading at Hollandia.


In Burma, a artillery unit finally arrived in the contested hex. Tomorrow will arrive the other regiment of the 16th Division. I think we've secured the place, finally!

The plan to shrink the perimeter in Burma remains. Now i will secure the center (south of Kalemyo) and will slowly move back from Mytikina and Wazrup, while Akyab will slowly be abbandoned in the next months.

I've also settled down a plan to reinforce the Kuriles in the upcoming winter. Wanna add at least two divisions up there

My BBs bombed Molu again, doing a good damage and sinking 8 more PTs. One of my DDs hit a mine but it should make it.

Weather is the third player in every game. [:D] Your can spend days setting some up air operations (with or without CVs) and then have what happened to you happen. C'est la guirre!

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Weather is the third player in every game. [:D] Your can spend days setting some up air operations (with or without CVs) and then have what happened to you happen. C'est la guirre!

that is very very true!!!

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Weather is the third player in every game. [:D] Your can spend days setting some up air operations (with or without CVs) and then have what happened to you happen. C'est la guirre!

that is very very true!!!

I had the exact thing happen a few turns ago during an Allied amphibious reinforcement. It sucks. Nothing you can do.

While air power controls the game, it can also leave you hanging, and there always has to be a balance between air, surface and ground forces to be successful. This is yet another reason Japan suffers as the game moves on. There isn't enough of those three to be everywhere at once.

Sep 16, 1943
 
2 Enemy fletchers TFs arrived at Hollandia, tangling with my CA/DDs and forcing them to retreat to Biak, leaving uncovered my fat xAKs TF.... who got slaughtered[:o]
several more PT TFs popped up at Hollandia... now those waters are offlimits and i'll have to rely only on air transport....[:(] Too fast... i really let him advance too fast and now i'm paying an heavy price for that.
 
ACHTUNG: Enemy CVs popped up near Darwin...and my CVs are out of position.... another transport/amphib TF popped up north of Darwin... so he may be trying to land at Saumlaki soon... need to get my CVs back to the DEI ASAP!
 
Another TFs popped up in the Bay of Bengal, southeast of Colombo...moving S/E.... moving my SAGs and a mini KB to Sebang...just in case

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

Sep 16, 1943

2 Enemy fletchers TFs arrived at Hollandia, tangling with my CA/DDs and forcing them to retreat to Biak, leaving uncovered my fat xAKs TF.... who got slaughtered[:o]
several more PT TFs popped up at Hollandia... now those waters are offlimits and i'll have to rely only on air transport....[:(] Too fast... i really let him advance too fast and now i'm paying an heavy price for that.

ACHTUNG: Enemy CVs popped up near Darwin...and my CVs are out of position.... another transport/amphib TF popped up north of Darwin... so he may be trying to land at Saumlaki soon... need to get my CVs back to the DEI ASAP!

Another TFs popped up in the Bay of Bengal, southeast of Colombo...moving S/E.... moving my SAGs and a mini KB to Sebang...just in case

Man he goes fast! This certainly hasn't deterred him lately. I think he's moving a bit too fast considering what has happened, and although he can possibly make small gains with quick moves, you still have the forces to give some critical wounds if he isn't both careful and lucky.

Man he goes fast! This certainly hasn't deterred him lately. I think he's moving a bit too fast considering what has happened, and although he can possibly make small gains with quick moves, you still have the forces to give some critical wounds if he isn't both careful and lucky.

If you haven't looked at the Allied OOB in this mod, then you don't understand the shear number of construction engineers and vehicles the Allies get. It is easy to place at least 600 engineers (engineers + engineer vehicles) in a hex. It takes less than 21 days to get a 0(6) to 6(6). Q-Ball can do this move forward with the number of engineers he has right now.

You bet he goes fast! Hansa Bay, from level 0 AF it has already reched level 5 Af and level 2 port...in less than 10 days!
 
However my role is not to complain. My role is to fight for the Emperor! Till death![:D]
 
I think he won't be able to advance rapidly from now on. He has reached my "line in the sand" and, from now on, he will have to fight against strongpoints. Just like Saumlaki...and i need to be ready.
 
The rest of my CVs are 2 days from Bab... think in 4 days i am able to recombine the KB (all upgraded) at Sorong. So his window of opportunity in southern DEI is closing. He has to go now...or wait untill he can have another chance. And, above all, i know where his CVs are...so i don't think i have to worry much for Sumatra or NOPAC now