The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

[Canoerebel]

1/31/43

Battle of Sumatra: January goes out like a lamb. No Japanese sweeps. No bombardments. No pressure on the ground troops. Subs do pick off two empty xAKs departing Sabang.

Battle of Burma: No Japanese ground attacks agains the temporarily isolated army SW of Magwe. Many bombers targets the stack, do little damage. The relief unit is 30 miles into the march that will open the hexside allowing retreat into the jungle - probably four days out. John still hasn't bombed this unit (or this hex), leaving it to travel unmolested. That's either an oversight on his part or he doesn't mind (for reasons of his own) if the Allied army escapes into the jungle.

Elsewhere: Allied 4EB and 2EB target Tennant Creek and little things are going on here and there. SigInt reports 56th Div. is heading to Ndeni. For reasons I won't go into, I hope this is true. I had previous indications that 6th Div. was bound for Lunga. I think both divisions came from Noumea. John probably left a brigade to garrison that base.

[Canoerebel]

Gents, tell me if my understanding of how bombing of ships at bases (Sabang, in this instance), disbanded or not, interplays with CAP and flak. Here's my simple (and probably ignorant) understanding:

1. For ships at dockside or undocked in port, they are covered by base CAP. Enemy strike aircraft inbound will tangle with the CAP and the ship's (TF's) AA, but aren't affected by land AA units at the base.

2. Ships disbanded in port will be covered by base CAP and by land AA units (I think they are also protected by their own AA, but I'm not sure).

What I'm toying with is the idea of occasionally resting a good bit of my fighter cover, disbanding the ships in port and relying on the AA units to provide cover. (John isn't currently targeting the base with strike aircraft.)

[poodlebrain]

You should hardly be forgetting the possible consequences of an enemy port strike against your base if you have inadequate CAP and all of your ships disbanded in port. Keeping them in TFs requires your opponent to make naval strikes, and it limits the number of targets each strike can attack as each strike will focus its attack on a single TF in all likelihood. You can spread your high value ships among several TFs to spread the risk. It is time consuming to go about forming the various TFs and issuing orders, but it can reduce the risks of catastrophic losses.

[BBfanboy]

My understanding is that disbanded ships suffer a penalty to their AA strength.
I have no idea about land bases AA.
CAP should cover everything in the hex.
Ships in TFs and not docked have freedom of maneuver so are harder to hit. Docked and disbanded ships are sitting ducks.

[Canoerebel]

Poodle, that's a factor I'll be plugging into the equation.

But I need to know if land-based AA units fire on strike aircraft attacking ships disbanded in port. I'm nearly certain that they do, but need "confirmation" (yea or nay) to make an informed decision.

There is one set of circumstances where I can use this effectively, I think.

[Lowpe]

Sure, local AA protects ships disbanded in port. Simply have a second day strike at Pearl to realize this![:D]

[Lecivius]

Land-based AA units do in fact fire on strike aircraft attacking ships disbanded in port.

[Canoerebel]

Thanks, gents. That's helpful to know "for sure."

[Canoerebel]

2/1/43

It's February! We resumed the game four weeks ago, game time. The activity has been mostly hot and heavy, but the last few days have been blessedly quiet, which I'm thankful for.

Battle of Sumatra: No enemy raids by air or by sea. An IJ fast transport TF is unloading another attack force on a Nicobars island, this one defended by 75 AV of the 132nd USA RCT. Allied fighter strength is back over 300, after dipping dangerously low (210) about ten days ago. I'm thinking John will unleash all his might sooner rather than later. But what I'm really hoping is that he is momentarily distracted by Burma. 1st Marines at Sabang are recovering from the devastating defeat at Medan several weeks back. AV is back over 100 and growing steadily, and upgraded devices, like '43 squads, are coming in.

Battle of Burma: Japanese bombers and fighter escorts concentrate on the (tempoarily) isolated Allied army, doing insignificant damage. The "cavalry" is 35 of the 46 miles needed to open the hexside, meaning three more days (the unit is making 5 miles per day). Once the hexside is open it will take the Allied units a week or more to evacuate the hex, though John's army may grow stout enought to attack and drive them from the hex. I hope he doesn't, though. The longer this fray draws John's attention, the better.

SWPac: Peanut 1 (26), Peanut 2 (34), and Peanut 3 (2).

Raiders: All have returned to Perth and Pearl Harbor, fixing repairs and upgrading. So those raids didn't result in any Allied casualties and sank 5 xAK, 3 xAKL and one PB.

Sumatra Analysis: In two months, Hellcats come online at 130 per month. If Sabang is still operational at that time (a very big if), that may turn the tide of battle. I doubt John can recapture Sabang inside of two months (absent direct invasion, which is possible but very unlikely given the huge minefield - I can't see John willingly incurring huge ship losses). I certainly think he can reduce and pulverize the base by air by then, making it no longer tenable or defendable. He'll have to overcome the CAP to do so. It's a tough battle, but it's still within his power. He's shown a marked reluctance to engage in a prolonged campaign (with reason, since his pilot casualties must be high), but I think he'll employ this tactic eventually, and probably fairly soon. He can also invade Langsa and try an overland campaign. That might succeed too, but it would probably take a long time. So the air war is possibly his best bet.

[Lecivius]

Also, your subs are gonna become more than an exercise in futility soon. As has been noted, John loves his ships

[Canoerebel]

Allied subs have wreaked havoc in 1943 thus far. I think the subs are responsible for two of the four CA sinkings. But they've been regularly successful in sinking xAKs and TKs around Borneo, the Philippines and Japan. I think it's the best month I've ever had with subs.

[Canoerebel]

I have a question about pilot training. The question involves how to get Reserve pilots into frontline aircraft units that are short on pilots. Apparently there were changes in the routine while I was away on my two-year sabbatical. I think I've figured it out, but I'm not positive.

As an example, I have a P-39 fighter unit at Sabang. It has 23 aircraft but only 17 pilots. When I click "Request Veteran Pilots," it shows available pilots, but they are all in the same Fighter Group. I don't want to draw from elsewhere in the Group since all of the units need their pilots.

So, I go to the main Intelligence screen, click on "Pilot Pools," and see a button at the bottom for Reseve Pilots. I click on that and find that I have 1300 pilots on Reserve! Plenty of them are USAAF fighter pilots. Do I click to "Release Top 5" (or Top 10, or whatever) to free up that many pilots? Can I then draw on those pilots to fill out the pilot slots on my P-39 unit?

[Canoerebel]

Never mind. I figured it out. The steps I listed above weren't right. What I needed to do when I clicked "Request Veteran Pilot" was to then toggle off "Group" to "Reserve Pool" to select the pilots.

[Mike McCreery]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Never mind. I figured it out. The steps I listed above weren't right. What I needed to do when I clicked "Request Veteran Pilot" was to then toggle off "Group" to "Reserve Pool" to select the pilots.

Yep...

[Canoerebel]

This hasn't been a problem because all my fighter units (except that one P-39 outfit at Sabang) have far more pilots than aircraft. The vast majority of the time, my fighters are engaged over their own bases while defending. So, I've lost alot of aircraft, but not many pilots.

[BBfanboy]

If you are using the latest official patch or any of the Betas issued since then, the unit screen for Pilots has another option for Transfer besides "Group" and "Reserve" - you can now get the transfer to "Active" to take resting pilots out of the Group pool and let them fly again. This lets you reactivate up to 10 at a time rather than two clicks to return each pilot to action. And you don't have to be exact - if you only have six pilots to reactivate, just click the "transfer 10 pilots" button and you get the six with no problems.

[Canoerebel]

Yeterday, recon from Ramree Island found IJN support ships at Tavoy with no CAP. I figured there was a 50% chance John missed the recon during the replay (it's easy to do when there's so much going on). So I targeted the port with B-24s from Assam and Sabang. They did a fine job.

[Canoerebel]

02/02/43

Battle of Sumatra: Another quiet day - not sweeps, bombings or bombardments by the IJN or IJAF. A few more fast transport missions - I think these are dropping supplies at islands still controlled by the Allies. An IJN sub picks off an empty xAK leaving Sabang. I noted that John's most recent AAR post is titled "Next." This could mean lots of things, but I'll assume it means he's about to employ a new plan for Sumatra. But at the moment the Allies configuration (defenses) are the best I can come up with. Fighter numbers are up to 311. That's 100 more than about a week ago, when fighters were depleted by escorting the strikes against the IJN cruisers near Langsa. Forts at Sabang just went to 4. The airfield is at about 8.6, though I have so much support there I've never had any problems handling however many aircraft are sent to the base.

Raid at Tavoy: A bright spot for the Allies. There was at least one magazine explosion and the sound of at least one ship sinking.

Battle of Burma: The IJA stack deliberate attacks the isolated Allied stack only getting 1:1 odds. The relief force is six miles, but two days, from opening the hexside. The isolated units need supply, so I hope that will be addressed. Most of the IJ airforce in Burma is hitting this stack every day, still to little real effect. I think John would love nothing more than to retake Ramree Island. That would be hard for him to do. More importantly, to me, it would take a long campaign and much attention.

KB: No signs of IJN carriers since Shark missed a shot at Zuikaku, east of Soerbaja, four or five days back. If the carriers are heading for the Ceylon/Sabang sea lanes, they should arrive soon. If they're heading to do something sparkly in SoPac, it shouldn't be too long before they show up. If they're headed for Japan or Manila or wherever to upgrade, I won't see them for awhile.

IJ Patrols, Subs and Aircraft: I'm seeing a lot more Nav Search and ASW by Japanese aircraft around the Sunda Straits, Philippines, Taiwan and Japan. John's attending to matters more carefully now, dispersing his air force a bit. I'm also seeing a lot of IJ subs off Townsville (I have no idea why - John must see something there) and at Sabang (for good reason). I haven't seen a sub in CenPac or North America since we resumed the game. The Allies are actively reconning IJ bases in New Guinea and the Aleutians. In response, John has based more fighters and dive bombers in these areas. I have a hunch the KB will be coming this way, though I can't imagine it going anywhere but Sabang/Ceylon sea lanes.

[BBfanboy]

John does love sinking ships, no matter what kind, so if he thinks your supply is coming from Cape Town direction I would bet on KB going there.
I can't see him withdrawing all the carriers at once for upgrades - he likes to keep the pressure on you.

[Canoerebel]

02/03/43

Battle of Sumatra: All quiet on this front - no sweeps, bombardments, or ground pressure. Sabang airfield is 8.7. Supplies 275k. 1st Marines AV up to 117 as that unit grows stronger. Japanese engineers have Sinabang airfield up to level three (I thought these guys were supposed to be slow!). Maybe John is working on airfield proximity before he resumes sweeping. He should retake Phuket tomorrow. The cordon is tightening, but time is trickling by. Recon shows 47 fighters based at Tavoy after the recent raid. He's got his fighters pretty spread out now.

SE Borneo KNIL Battalion: This unit marches overland and retakes Bandjermasin. An insignificant matter, but John will need to check all his bases.

Battle of Burma: A modest number of Tojos (no more than 30) sweep Ramree - the first time since we resumed the game. The RAF holds it's own. Japanese bombers continue to work the isolated Allied stack SW of Magwe to little effect. 25th IJA HQ is prepping for Ramree. I do think John has his cap set for retaking this base. I'd like a long campaign here, so I hope so.

1st Gloucestshire Battalion: This unit is 45 of the 46 miles needed to open the route-of-egress hexside for the isolated army. I'm hoping supply will begin to flow to the isolated stack so that it doesn't get too mussed up by the fighting and bombing. Beginning with the next turn, I'll start the stack moving towards the jungle. John can probably evict it by attacking. I hope he doesn't, because I'd like him to focus on this for as long as possible.

KB, Where Art Thou? No sign of the KB. My spidey senses, which are dull after two years of inactivity, seem to think John is going raiding somewhere. So I've been attending to ships here and there, making sure I don't get caught with 67 vulnerable merchants in some likely port. With that attended to, John can circumnavigate Oz or raid deep into SoPac or CenPac with my full blessings. I'm really hoping KB shows up far away from the Ceylon/Sabang sea lanes, so my spidey senses are more likely a case of wishful thinking.

SWPAC: Peanut 1 (29), Peanut 2 (37), Peanut 3 (5).