Against the Wind: Cuttlefish (Japan) vs. Q-Ball (Allies)

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: jwilkerson

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish
I am kind of on the fence about the dozens of dot hexes still to be captured. On the one hand it does take time and a certain amount of fuel to capture them and most have no strategic importance at all. On the other hand they can provide my opponent with a bit of free intelligence if I get careless. And of course they break up the nice unbroken field of soothing red dots on the strategic map with their hideous green glow.

We are going to capture all the green glowers. We've found that our opponents like to "hide" large garrisons on them - and the only way to tell if the bad guys are there is to have them as friendlies. But there are lots of them - at the rate we're going - we will still be attacking them into 1943 !!!. Maybe one day we can extend the "auto-capture" feature a bit farther - to say 2-3 hex range - that would help a lot!!!

Even a two hex range would go a long ways towards helping minimize the "clean-up" aspects of conquest.

I may have spoken too soon about the dot hexes having no strategic importance, though. Aside from what you mention about the Allied player "hiding" garrisons in them many of them can be built up into large airfields, though few of them have potential as ports. As an example, almost all the dot hexes in the chain of islands on the Indian Ocean side of Sumatra have an airfield potential of level of 5. That's a lot of possible knives aimed at Singapore and Palembang.

With no possible way to garrison all of the little bases Japan will have to maintain control of the sea and air from key bases in each area. As long as control is maintained it will be very difficult for the Allies to build up a forward base while under attack (though I suppose under the right conditions the Allied player might follow the Guadalcanal model and do it to draw Japan into a battle of attrition). If these key Japanese bases are captured or neutralized the Allied player can build forward bases where he wants.

[Przemcio231]

Hey Cuttlefish i have a question about Resources from my calculations Kwantung Area and Sakchalin produce enough to keep Japan supplied with them is this true??? As for Fuel do you transfer crude oil to home islands to??? 

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

Even a two hex range would go a long ways towards helping minimize the "clean-up" aspects of conquest.

I may have spoken too soon about the dot hexes having no strategic importance, though. Aside from what you mention about the Allied player "hiding" garrisons in them many of them can be built up into large airfields, though few of them have potential as ports. As an example, almost all the dot hexes in the chain of islands on the Indian Ocean side of Sumatra have an airfield potential of level of 5. That's a lot of possible knives aimed at Singapore and Palembang.

With no possible way to garrison all of the little bases Japan will have to maintain control of the sea and air from key bases in each area. As long as control is maintained it will be very difficult for the Allies to build up a forward base while under attack (though I suppose under the right conditions the Allied player might follow the Guadalcanal model and do it to draw Japan into a battle of attrition). If these key Japanese bases are captured or neutralized the Allied player can build forward bases where he wants.

Cuttlefish,

Have you noticed an appreciable malarial effect post patch on these dot hex garrisons? Seems that they should, with limited supply, melt away over time and become combat ineffectives. This should help your dot hex conquest-let the 'skeeters get 'em for you. Clean up should be easier.

Perhaps your dot hex=worthless comment was restricted to the PI, but there are a number of quite valuable dot hexes in terms of resources in the Burma theater (oil) and China (resources) as well. I would argue that a dot hex in China producing 100 resources per turn is quite strategically valuable.

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: Przemcio231

Hey Cuttlefish i have a question about Resources from my calculations Kwantung Area and Sakchalin produce enough to keep Japan supplied with them is this true??? As for Fuel do you transfer crude oil to home islands to??? 

For the first part of your question I think the answer is yes, Manchukuo and Sakhakin Island alone produce enough resources to keep Japan running. The problem with Sakhalin, though, is that there are only two ports there, neither of them large. That makes it hard to pull resources out of there fast enough. The same problem applies to a lesser extent to Hokkaido, which also produces a lot of resources. At them moment I am running several resource convoys each from Sakhalin, Hokkaido, Port Arthur, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Formosa and Korea have also produced a lot of resources for me but for right now I have pretty much drained both of those areas.

For the second part of your question, right now I am only shipping fuel. The Home Islands have some excess refining capacity, though, and could benefit from getting some oil, so I may start shipping oil at some point.

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

Cuttlefish,

Have you noticed an appreciable malarial effect post patch on these dot hex garrisons? Seems that they should, with limited supply, melt away over time and become combat ineffectives. This should help your dot hex conquest-let the 'skeeters get 'em for you. Clean up should be easier.

Perhaps your dot hex=worthless comment was restricted to the PI, but there are a number of quite valuable dot hexes in terms of resources in the Burma theater (oil) and China (resources) as well. I would argue that a dot hex in China producing 100 resources per turn is quite strategically valuable.

Yes, I was talking specifically about dot-island bases. I agree that some of the ones on the mainland turn out to be fairly valuable when you take a look at them. I haven't noticed a strong malaria effect post-patch but that isn't surprising. By this stage of the war any isolated Allied troops I come across are starving anyway; malaria would just add to their misery.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish
malaria would just add to their misery.

You say that like it's a bad thing... [:D]

[Cuttlefish]

[font="Arial"]You can never do too much reconnaissance.[/font]
- George S. Patton: War As I Knew It, 1947

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8/9/1942 – 8/14/1942

The attack at Noumea resumed with odds just short of 1 to 1. That’s a little disappointing for 4 divisions against 1 division plus some smaller units. We will see what kind of progress Japanese forces can make this time, though.

In the meantime I have sent my carriers over towards Suva to do some sniffing around. I looked at my Val units to make some adjustments to their search arcs and got an unpleasant shock. At some point, probably the last patch, all of them had somehow gotten set to 100% training. Not only were the units somewhat fatigued, KB has been sailing around blind and with one arm tied behind its back for days without me knowing it.

And all that training only did a little good, since the pilots are all highly skilled anyway. Ah well, potential disaster averted.

Thinking about search arcs brings up an interesting point, though. Now that the search arc display feature has opened a lot of eyes, mine included, to how searches have always really been done in WITP and AE I have some questions about the best way to set search arcs for carrier groups.

Right now my carrier task forces have eight carriers, all travelling in the same hex. That means I have eight groups of Vals. If I set them all to 10% search each group can cover 40 degrees of arc (20% if the group has 15 or fewer planes – the game seems to round down at 15 or less, meaning that only one plane is assigned to search), or not quite enough to search 360 degrees around the task forces.

Should more planes be added to the search to try to cover 360 degrees? Or should the searches focus be on the likely direction the enemy will approach? Right now I have one group each searching directions considered possible but unlikely for enemy activity (00 to 90 degrees and 180 to 240 degrees) and two groups each searching directions considered likely for enemy activity (90 to 180 degrees). Directions I consider very unlikely (in this case behind the task forces back towards Luganville, with all its aircraft) are not being searched at all.

And of course the heavy cruisers and battleships with the carriers have float planes and they can cover quite a lot of ground too. Some of them (Petes, for instance) only have a range of 4, but Jakes have a range of 10. Do I use these to cover the areas neglected by the Vals or do I use them to reinforce the “best guess” searches?

It might be possible, I suppose, to gain a potentially decisive advantage in a carrier duel by appearing from an unexpected direction, provided one’s opponent is careless in setting search arcs or is looking for your carriers elsewhere. Or does carefully fussing over search arcs not make that much difference? Any opinions about any of this out there?

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Setting the arc for Zuikaku’s Vals as my carriers approach Suva:

[FatR]

Personally, I prefer to put at least one group of Kates entirely on search at range 7-9 (depending on how critical search is, range 9 brings too many ops losses if used continuously, so I use it only when carriers actually wander into enemy waters). The rest of Kates have range set to 6 for routine strikes against shipping and ports, so that they and Vals will fly together as much as possible, while, again, avoiding ops losses. I want to replace all Petes on capital ships to Jakes, to free up torpedo bomber assets, but this is happening slowly. I didn't bother with search arcs. So far, this setup works. AI never had even carrier parity with me, though, so the belief that I'm almost guaranteed to sink anything KB meets, obviously affects my thinking.

[ny59giants]

I see you have captured Tanna. [:)] Are there plans to build up the AF and place Zeros and Nell/Betty there to attack Suva??

Search Planes and Arcs: This is an area of play that will take some more trial and error before a sound doctrine is put in place. Personally, I would focus mainly on likely areas of concern, but have some to cover the full 360 arc with some gaps being acceptable.  The next question is how much of your FPs and carrier aircraft do you start to train up to conduct ASW ops?? Once '43 rolls around, I expect Brad to become more aggressive with his American fleet subs as his dud rate goes down.   

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

I see you have captured Tanna. [:)] Are there plans to build up the AF and place Zeros and Nell/Betty there to attack Suva??

Yes indeed. There is already a JNAF company there and more aviation support and engineers on the way.

[Cuttlefish]

[font="Arial"]Go tell the Spartans, thou who passest by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.[/font]
- Simonides: epitaph carved on the stone placed atop the Spartan burial mound at Thermopylae

8/15/1942 – 8/17/1942

The long battle for Noumea is finally over. The Allied troops there, their defenses in tatters, surrendered on 17 August after holding out for almost two and a half months. The final tally showed over 17,500 American, French, and Australian prisoners and over 500 guns and 500 vehicles destroyed.

The result of this battle has to be counted as a heavy blow against the Allies. The 41st Infantry Division is gone (or will take a long time to rebuild), along with a tank battalion, and Japan has gained a valuable base. However, the gallant stand made by the defenders has pretty much put an end to further Japanese plans for expansion in the South Pacific. I could attack at Suva or elsewhere in Fiji but the time when Japan can undertake major operations with impunity is probably over. The year is getting late and the shadows grow longer every week.

Nonetheless I will do some raiding and recon in the area and see what Allied defenses look like. It’s possible that the presence of KB and Combined Fleet in the area has prevented Q-Ball from sending in major forces.

Other Places: elsewhere the war has been very quiet. Japanese forces are fortifying in Burma and the DEI and are still reorganizing in China. I plan to resume the drive on Liuchow after sending a large force on an arc below Changsa to threaten the cities there and protect the flank of the Liuchow operation.

[ny59giants]

I would not stop my expansion just yet. I would think about landings within the Tonga Island group. There are some nice bases with good AF and Port potential. Why go here?? I would see if you can get Brad to commit his CVs now. This would add considerable distance to him getting forces to NZ/Oz. It may be a short term invasion here (leave by the end of '42. Suva and Pago Pago are probably too tough a nut to crack at this point, but he cannot be strong everywhere. Add in Canton Island and he will need to come in from due East to avoid getting attacked.

Capture Raoul Island and use it for search planes to keep him on his toes trying to get resources to NZ/Oz.

Just a few ideas. [;)]

[Capt. Harlock]

Nonetheless I will do some raiding and recon in the area and see what Allied defenses look like. It’s possible that the presence of KB and Combined Fleet in the area has prevented Q-Ball from sending in major forces.

I find it exceedingly surprising that Q-Ball has failed to make use of the immobilization of the KB for over two months. It shouldn't have been possible to spit off the decks of Akagi and Kaga without hitting an American sub.

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

I would not stop my expansion just yet. I would think about landings within the Tonga Island group. There are some nice bases with good AF and Port potential. Why go here?? I would see if you can get Brad to commit his CVs now. This would add considerable distance to him getting forces to NZ/Oz. It may be a short term invasion here (leave by the end of '42. Suva and Pago Pago are probably too tough a nut to crack at this point, but he cannot be strong everywhere. Add in Canton Island and he will need to come in from due East to avoid getting attacked.

Capture Raoul Island and use it for search planes to keep him on his toes trying to get resources to NZ/Oz.

Just a few ideas. [;)]

I'm certainly going to take a close look at the possibilities. Brad is obviously reluctant to commit his carriers or they would have sortied to try and save his troops at Noumea. If I could force him to commit them before he's ready that would be a good thing.

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

I find it exceedingly surprising that Q-Ball has failed to make use of the immobilization of the KB for over two months. It shouldn't have been possible to spit off the decks of Akagi and Kaga without hitting an American sub.

He certainly tried. I spotted submarines in the area almost every turn and several times KB's screen prosecuted contacts. But I kept moving my carriers around, never leaving them in the same spot more than a turn or two. Some days they would be north of New Caledonia, some days south, some days off to the west, etc.

[Cuttlefish]

[font="Arial"]We have a claim on the output of the arsenals of London as well as of Hanyang, and what is more, it is to be delivered to us by the enemy’s own transport corps. This is the sober truth, not a joke.[/font]
- Mao Tse-Tung: On Guerrilla Warfare, 1937

8/18/1942 – 8/20/1942

Japanese forces are now beginning to move south from Nanchang. They will cross the river and cut south of Changsa. This move should allow the attack on Liuchow to proceed free from Chinese interference.

Provided the supplies hold out, of course. China post-patch is not the playground for Japan that it used to be. Still, I have hopes that this attack might pay off.

At least the post-patch garrison changes do not affect this game. I got a look at those when I started my game with erstad. Yikes! Though this game is not affected by them I think that I will restrict the scope of my future campaigns in China anyway. It feels more accurate and more in keeping with the spirit of the game to do it that way.

Pacific Area: at the moment Kido Butai and the Combined Fleet are heading to Truk to replenish. After that they will conduct a reconnaissance in force around Fiji to try and get an accurate picture of Allied dispositions in the area. Troop transports are heading towards Noumea to either carry future invasions forward or to pull the extra troops there back.

[Cuttlefish]

[font="Arial"]It isn’t paranoia if they’re really out to get you.[/font]
- Author unknown

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8/21/1942 – 8/27/1942

Here in late summer the game has reached kind of a balance point. The result is an extended period of quiet. The only real combat activity has been by submarines and sadly all of the kills belong to Q-Ball. His subs have sunk two freighters and two small tankers during this period. The loss of the tankers is especially painful. I can’t afford to lose many of those.

However…there are signs that something is afoot. A Japanese submarine spotted a task force, including two battleships (one was West Virginia) moving southwest from Pago Pago. A few days later a Glen reported a heavy cruiser and a destroyer down around Tonga and at the same time DD Allen chased off a Japanese submarine south of Wellington.

Taken together these sightings indicate that something, as they say, might be afoot. But there is no way to tell exactly what. KB and the Combined Fleet are now at Rabaul and will be moving towards Fiji shortly. That might prove to be interesting.

Meanwhile Japanese forces continue to dig in and expand facilities. Other than picking off rear-area bases Japanese offensive activity lately has been limited to seizing Merauke, on the south coast of New Guinea. It seemed prudent to deny easy access to such a potentially useful base to the Allies. In China my forces are in place now for the sweep south of Changsa and moving forward. I’ll post a map a bit later as this move develops.

[ny59giants]

What are your plans in the North Pacific?? I've been catching up on other AARs and this seems to be an area of mixed concerns and possible opportunity (depending on which side you are on).  

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

What are your plans in the North Pacific?? I've been catching up on other AARs and this seems to be an area of mixed concerns and possible opportunity (depending on which side you are on).  

I have no interest in offensive operations in the North Pacific but I've been paying attention to defending the area almost since the start of the game. I've moved an extra infantry brigade to Sakhalin, built up Paramushiro Jima, and placed naval guard units on several of the other islands in the Kuriles. In addition I have submarines screening the likely Allied approaches.

The key to my defense of the area, however, is Bihoro on the east coast of Hokkaido. This is now a big airbase with about 60 Netties and 60 Zeros poised to attack anything nearing or passing through the Kuriles. A strong, determined attack would still succeed, I think, but it wouldn't catch me off guard and I might make it expensive. I get about half a dozen fairly strong garrison units next month and am planning on moving two of them into the area as well.

[BrucePowers]

I think the North Pacific would be a miserable place to be stationed.

[String]

ORIGINAL: BrucePowers

I think the North Pacific would be a miserable place to be stationed.