Once Again into the Breach - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A)

[Mike Solli]

Morning Obvert. That is interesting. You are right, it does cost a lot in fuel and supply, and forces, which is basically HI. Unfortunately, the Japanese player must defend this area. If he doesn't, the Allies have a base for a dagger pointing right at the heart of Imperial Japan. One thing I have done from day one was to take a hard look at every base and make several decisions about it:
1. Do I want to occupy it?
2. Do I want to increase the port?
3. If so, by how many?
4. DoI want to increase the air field?
5. If so, by how much?
6. Do I want to build forts?
7. If so, how many?

In this AO, I have built up very few ports and airfields, but a lot of forts. At Munda, I built the fort level to 6 (now at 5), and the airfield to 2. Nothing else. I have a Naval Guard, an engineer company and some AS. The two divisions that have landed there will take it probably the next time he attacks. The cost to me will be everything there, and to him a few planes and most importantly, time. From my point of view, the Japanese player will lose. My goal is to last through September 1945. If I do that, it's a win. So I am playing for time. It is impossible for the Allied player to run out of stuff. Yes, early in the game he can have severe shortages of stuff, but it'll come eventually.

I can slow him down through campaigns like the one going on at Adak. I suspect he figured it would be easier than it is. He originally sent a division and an engineer regiment. No dice. He reinforced with two separate infantry regiments. Still no dice. Yes, I have to destroy them and I'm pushing enough strength (I think) to do that. I believe that eventually he'll give up on the Aleutians. We'll see. He's lost 1-2 BBs plus other small ships there. Yeah, he gets a lot, but that still hurts.

Basically, I feel I need to fight in the SE Fleet area. The more time and resources he expends there, the better for me. That's good stuff not somewhere where it really can hurt me.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

2. Do I want to increase the port?

Ports: Only a very few ports are worth developing. Fusan. Boela and Babo to level 2. Perhaps Guam. Perhaps a select few if you get Yamoto class BB. Hakodate, Ominato.

Maybe something else that services an early offensive...but you probably are better off not.

[Mike Solli]

I agree with you for the most part, Lowpe. I'd add Truk to the list. That base (to me) is probably the most important base in the south-central Pacific. (At least early & mid war.)

There were a handful of other base ports that I increased to support movement of oil/fuel/resources out or in. They were usually modest increases and based on the flow into those bases that are shipping stuff out and the size of the TFs (usually in Japan) receiving the stuff.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli


There were a handful of other base ports that I increased to support movement of oil/fuel/resources out or in. They were usually modest increases and based on the flow into those bases that are shipping stuff out and the size of the TFs (usually in Japan) receiving the stuff.

I know you love that stuff, but spamming multiple small-tiny task forces is more effective if you can keep the subs at bay.

[Annagil]

Since it has been years and I'm getting confused, I've decided to re-read the whole thread and make an index for this while doing it, listing the main management posts, daily reports and interesting, little know, game mechanics.
With 88 pages of posts, it will take a while, tho, so this will be a work in progress, where I will give update announcements with a link to this post. That is, if Mike agrees.

Thread Index

Pre-game
■■■OOB analysis
■■■Resources logistic plans
■■■Merchant navy analysis
■■■Convoy planning
■■■The Singapore-Japan oil train
■■■Ship conversions and use
■■■Air power analysis
■■■Aircraft production
■■■Oil shuffling in the SRA
■■■Pilots' training
■■■Ships conversions and use 2
■■■Aircraft production 2
■■■]Engine production
■■■Factories and shypyards upgrades
■■■Ports and airfields upgrades
■■■Fleet arrangement
■■■Air HQ placement

Game - 1941
Pearl Harbour (after restart)
8 Dec 41
9 Dec 41
10 Dec 41
11 Dec 41
12 Dec 41
13 Dec 41
14 Dec 41
15 Dec 41 - fall of Wake
■■■Aircraft and Engine production 1
16 Dec 41 - fall of Adak
■■■Engines and Airframes - by SuluSea
■■■Upgrades relative to airframes - by SuluSea
17 Dec 41
18 Dec 41 - fall of Hong Kong and Brunei
19 Dec 41 - fall of Mersing
20 Dec 41
21 Dec 41
22 Dec 41
23 Dec 41
24 Dec 41
25 Dec 41 - fall of Rabaul
26 Dec 41
27 Dec 41
■■■On JAAF BF radars - by awaw
28 Dec 42 - CV Soryu torpedoed
29 Dec 41
30 Dec 41 - CV Hiryu torpedoed
31 Dec 41
■■■End of Dec 41 Stats
■■■Ship losses for Dec 41
■■■Airframe and engine production 2

1942
1 Jan 42
2 Jan 42 - fall of Clark Field
3 Jan 42 - Hiryu torpedoed and sunk
4 Jan 42
5 Jan 42
6 Jan 42 - fall of Guam
■■■CM conversion table
7 Jan 42
8 Jan 42
9 Jan 42
10 Jan 42
11 Jan 42
12 Jan 42
13 Jan 42
■■■Airlift Capacity
■■■On the Helen-Sally and aircraft R&D - by PaxMondo
■14 Jan 42 (and aircraft R&D)
■■■Aircraft R&D and upgrade paths
15 Jan 42
16 Jan 42
17 Jan 42
18 Jan 42
19 Jan 42
20 Jan 42
21 Jan 42
22 Jan 42
23 Jan 42
24 Jan 42
25 Jan 42
26 Jan 42
27 Jan 42
28 Jan 42
29 Jan 42
30 Jan 42
31 Jan 42

1 Feb 42
2 Feb 42
3 Feb 42
■■■On training ships in port
4 Feb 42
5 Feb 42 - Action off Merak
6 Feb 42
7 Feb 42 - Strike on Soerabaja
8 Feb 42 - fall of Rangoon
9 Feb 42 - invasion of Sumatra
10 Feb 42
11 Feb 42
12 Feb 42 - invasion of Java
14 Feb 42
■■■On HQ capabilities- by ny59giants and Correction
15 Feb 42
■■■On repair priorities - by Hanzberger
16 Feb 42
17 Feb 42 - air action off Darwin
18 Feb 42
19 Feb 42
20 Feb 42
21 Feb 42
22 Feb 42
23 Feb 42
■■■On sub deployement
■■■On carrier air composition
24 Feb 42
25 Feb 42
26 Feb 42
27 Feb 42
■■■On ship utilization by class
28 Feb 42

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Annagil

Since it has been years and I'm getting confused, I've decided to re-read teh whole thread and make an index for this while doing it with the main posts.
With 88 pages of posts, it will take a while, tho, so this will bea work in progress, where I will give update announcements with a link to this post. That is, if Mike agrees.

Thread Index

Pre-game
OOB analysis
Resources logistic plans
Merchant navy analysis
Convoy planning
The Singapore-Japan oil train
Ship conversions and use
Air power analysis
Aircraft production
Oil shuffling in the SRA
Pilots' training
Ships conversions and use 2
Aircraft production 2
]Engine production
Factories and shypyards upgrades
Ports and airfields upgrades
Fleet arrangement
Air HQ placement

Game - 1941
Pearl Harbour (after restart)
8 Dec 41
9 Dec 41
10 Dec 41
11 Dec 41
12 Dec 41
13 Dec 41
14 Dec 41
15 Dec 41 - Wake fall
Aircraft and Engine production 1
16 Dec 41 - Adak fall
Engines and Airframes - by SuluSea
Upgrades relative to airframes - by SuluSea
17 Dec 41
18 Dec 41 - Hong Kong and Brunei fall
19 Dec 41 - Mersing fall
20 Dec 41
21 Dec 41
22 Dec 41
23 Dec 41
24 Dec 41
25 Dec 41 - Rabaul fall
26 Dec 41
27 Dec 41
On JAAF BF radars - by awaw
28 Dec 42 - CV Soryu torpedoed
29 Dec 41
30 Dec 41 - CV Hiryu torpedoed
31 Dec 41
End of Dec 41 Stats
Ship losses for Dec 41
Airframe and engine production 2

Good for you, Mike should put this into his first post of the AAR![&o]

[MakeeLearn]

Timing... Pull back too early... the Allies are that much closer to the important stuff... too late and Japan has built POW camps that the Allies will put them in.


Japan needs to be Passive Aggressive for the most part. See what intensity and rhythm the Allies are playing at and then call the tune.

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

ORIGINAL: Annagil

Since it has been years and I'm getting confused, I've decided to re-read teh whole thread and make an index for this while doing it with the main posts.
With 88 pages of posts, it will take a while, tho, so this will bea work in progress, where I will give update announcements with a link to this post. That is, if Mike agrees.

Thread Index

Pre-game
OOB analysis
Resources logistic plans
Merchant navy analysis
Convoy planning
The Singapore-Japan oil train
Ship conversions and use
Air power analysis
Aircraft production
Oil shuffling in the SRA
Pilots' training
Ships conversions and use 2
Aircraft production 2
]Engine production
Factories and shypyards upgrades
Ports and airfields upgrades
Fleet arrangement
Air HQ placement

Game - 1941
Pearl Harbour (after restart)
8 Dec 41
9 Dec 41
10 Dec 41
11 Dec 41
12 Dec 41
13 Dec 41
14 Dec 41
15 Dec 41 - Wake fall
Aircraft and Engine production 1
16 Dec 41 - Adak fall
Engines and Airframes - by SuluSea
Upgrades relative to airframes - by SuluSea
17 Dec 41
18 Dec 41 - Hong Kong and Brunei fall
19 Dec 41 - Mersing fall
20 Dec 41
21 Dec 41
22 Dec 41
23 Dec 41
24 Dec 41
25 Dec 41 - Rabaul fall
26 Dec 41
27 Dec 41
On JAAF BF radars - by awaw
28 Dec 42 - CV Soryu torpedoed
29 Dec 41
30 Dec 41 - CV Hiryu torpedoed
31 Dec 41
End of Dec 41 Stats
Ship losses for Dec 41
Airframe and engine production 2

Good for you, Mike should put this into his first post of the AAR![&o]

This top part is definitely useful. Thanks! I've used the pages numerous times to refresh on the beginnings of the war and how to scale up the Japanese economy, not to mention conversions and R & D and other useful stuff.

[Mike Solli]

ORIGINAL: Annagil

Since it has been years and I'm getting confused, I've decided to re-read teh whole thread and make an index for this while doing it with the main posts.
With 88 pages of posts, it will take a while, tho, so this will bea work in progress, where I will give update announcements with a link to this post. That is, if Mike agrees.

Thread Index

Pre-game
OOB analysis
Resources logistic plans
Merchant navy analysis
Convoy planning
The Singapore-Japan oil train
Ship conversions and use
Air power analysis
Aircraft production
Oil shuffling in the SRA
Pilots' training
Ships conversions and use 2
Aircraft production 2
]Engine production
Factories and shypyards upgrades
Ports and airfields upgrades
Fleet arrangement
Air HQ placement

Game - 1941
Pearl Harbour (after restart)
8 Dec 41
9 Dec 41
10 Dec 41
11 Dec 41
12 Dec 41
13 Dec 41
14 Dec 41
15 Dec 41 - Wake fall
Aircraft and Engine production 1
16 Dec 41 - Adak fall
Engines and Airframes - by SuluSea
Upgrades relative to airframes - by SuluSea
17 Dec 41
18 Dec 41 - Hong Kong and Brunei fall
19 Dec 41 - Mersing fall
20 Dec 41
21 Dec 41
22 Dec 41
23 Dec 41
24 Dec 41
25 Dec 41 - Rabaul fall
26 Dec 41
27 Dec 41
On JAAF BF radars - by awaw
28 Dec 42 - CV Soryu torpedoed
29 Dec 41
30 Dec 41 - CV Hiryu torpedoed
31 Dec 41
End of Dec 41 Stats
Ship losses for Dec 41
Airframe and engine production 2

Per Lowpe's suggestion, this post is now at the beginning of this infernal AAR. Thanks so much, Annagil!

[Mike Solli]

ORIGINAL: MakeeLearn

Timing... Pull back too early... the Allies are that much closer to the important stuff... too late and Japan has built POW camps that the Allies will put them in.


Japan needs to be Passive Aggressive for the most part. See what intensity and rhythm the Allies are playing at and then call the tune.

Well said! Fortunately, if the Allies aren't cautious, the same can be said for them. Note the current Allied dilemma at Adak. To use Ted's comments in an email to me this morning, "Adak is problematic."

[Mike Solli]

Question for you guys. I used to know the answer to it but it's locked away somewhere in my old brain...

Been going over available ground units for use and discovered that at Tokyo, I have 210 AS, but it's showing up as 420 available. I know it's accurate, but can't remember why it's doubled...

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

Question for you guys. I used to know the answer to it but it's locked away somewhere in my old brain...

Been going over available ground units for use and discovered that at Tokyo, I have 210 AS, but it's showing up as 420 available. I know it's accurate, but can't remember why it's doubled...

Very large air bases double the AS due to infrastructure.

[Mike Solli]

That's right! Thanks, Lowpe!

[ny59giants]

AF8 = double AS
AF9 = double AS plus ability to base unlimited airgroups there without penalties.

[Mike Solli]

Very good, thanks Michael.

[rustysi]

AF9 = double AS plus ability to base unlimited airgroups there without penalties.

Didn't know this one.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: rustysi

AF9 = double AS plus ability to base unlimited airgroups there without penalties.

Didn't know this one.

The caveat is that you can load up the AF with units, but you still need enough AS to handle all the aircraft maintenance and arming or you get fractured strikes.
It is even possible to induce extreme fatigue on the air support units. I had Aden's support unit in the mid 90s fatigue before I noticed!

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: obvert

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

Yeah, I'm realizing that. I've been reading other AARs and see the futility of the Allies wasting time and resources taking base after base in the Solomons.

In several games where I've played both sides in the SW and So Pac areas, around the Solomons and New Guinea, I've developed a different take on this theatre.

For the Allies this is an economic war in several ways, not just hitting oil and hitting industry. If the Japanese fight in the South, they have to carry everything with them down there. They spend a lot of fuel, a lot of supplies, a lot of airframes (transferring planes or having them sunk on ships) and they end up losing a lot of cutoff troops and other units. Ships have a long way to go for repairs and The Allies benefit from multiple island landing areas, so Japanese strong points can be by-passed.

The Solomons are strategic and economic. If Japan fights there they suffer. If they don't the Allies end up with a lot of quickly developed bases to strike at Cent Pac and move toward the PI.

Ah, but the ROI for the Solomons is time - time to suck more stuff out of the SRA. Just because everything has to be shipped there doesn't mean it isn't economical for Japan to do so.

Also, it's really not that far for Fuel, and it's not that bad to ship supply there either.

The Aleutians, on the other hand... fighting up there is absolutely brutal for Japan. It's far for everything. It's also not strictly necessary, although one then has to hold the Kuriles in strength.

[GetAssista]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna
The Aleutians, on the other hand... fighting up there is absolutely brutal for Japan. It's far for everything. It's also not strictly necessary, although one then has to hold the Kuriles in strength.

Japan has to fortify and garrison the Kuriles regardless. Greyjoy vs Rader became legendary exactly because Rader had neglected southern Kuriles

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

ORIGINAL: obvert

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

Yeah, I'm realizing that. I've been reading other AARs and see the futility of the Allies wasting time and resources taking base after base in the Solomons.

In several games where I've played both sides in the SW and So Pac areas, around the Solomons and New Guinea, I've developed a different take on this theatre.

For the Allies this is an economic war in several ways, not just hitting oil and hitting industry. If the Japanese fight in the South, they have to carry everything with them down there. They spend a lot of fuel, a lot of supplies, a lot of airframes (transferring planes or having them sunk on ships) and they end up losing a lot of cutoff troops and other units. Ships have a long way to go for repairs and The Allies benefit from multiple island landing areas, so Japanese strong points can be by-passed.

The Solomons are strategic and economic. If Japan fights there they suffer. If they don't the Allies end up with a lot of quickly developed bases to strike at Cent Pac and move toward the PI.

Ah, but the ROI for the Solomons is time - time to suck more stuff out of the SRA. Just because everything has to be shipped there doesn't mean it isn't economical for Japan to do so.

Also, it's really not that far for Fuel, and it's not that bad to ship supply there either.

The Aleutians, on the other hand... fighting up there is absolutely brutal for Japan. It's far for everything. It's also not strictly necessary, although one then has to hold the Kuriles in strength.

You can keep the Allies at bay much farther back though without fighting in the Solomons with a bunch of ground troops and masses of heavily built and fortified bases. All you need is the threat of an unseen KB and a few bases to strike form at size 3-4, and some critical points that are defended.

I like fighting here from both sides, but I don't like the kitchen sink in this area for Japan. It has to be considered. And it does take a lot of supply management considering the LOC is mostly open water where Allied subs can actually have an impact as well.