LoBaron + Robbrennan vs Offenceman, allied secret AAR

[LoBaron]

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK

Quiet day for the US except for a couple of inconclusive Sub/ASW engagements without casualties and
the usual B-24 raid against Torokina.

1st August .. NOT so quiet or inconclusive.

I agree old friend!

Aug 1, ´43:

A working MK14 smacked conclusively into the broadside of CV Unryu West from Guam, she was reported moving SE with a slight list.
Although overeager sailors reported heavy damage and some intel guys try to convince me she went to the bottom
I allow myself a slight margin of doubt...



Still, she might need yardtime, so it is clearly a good thing. I did not change any sub orders as I had no more sightings
or sigint reports on her location, but the area is quite flooded with subs anyway, so maybe I got the chance for another
run. If not it is still a nice success.

[LoBaron]

Aug 2, 43

Operation Vodka has its first success before it even starts.
I tried to infiltrate Grampus into the Sea of Japan to create a new threat
in the Japanese rear.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Wakkanai at 121,47

Japanese Ships
xAK Omi Maru, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage
TK Akitsushima Maru
xAK Zinzan Maru
xAK Nissho Maru
xAK Totori Maru
xAK Calcutta Maru
PB Shonan Maru #2

Allied Ships
SS Grampus



SS Grampus launches 6 torpedoes at xAK Omi Maru
Grampus diving deep ....
PB Shonan Maru #2 attacking submerged sub ....
SS Grampus eludes ASW attack from PB Shonan Maru #2
SS Grampus eludes PB Shonan Maru #2 by diving deep
PB Shonan Maru #2 cannot reach attack position over SS Grampus
SS Grampus eludes ASW attack from PB Shonan Maru #2
PB Shonan Maru #2 fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Shonan Maru #2 fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Shonan Maru #2 fails to find sub, continues to search...
PB Shonan Maru #2 fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


Interestingly if you set patrol zones its possible to refuel (rearm?) at SU ports, I wonder if this is intended.
Comments on gameyness are welcome.

If this is intentional I got 2 more SS which will join the fray in 1-2 weeks.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Interestingly if you set patrol zones its possible to refuel (rearm?) at SU ports, I wonder if this is intended.
Comments on gameyness are welcome.

New one on me completely , could you load up some WORKING Soviet torpedoes[;)]

Personally I'd ask Mike (our opponent) about this as it seems a bit cheesy to me ..

my 2p worth

[LoBaron]

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK

Interestingly if you set patrol zones its possible to refuel (rearm?) at SU ports, I wonder if this is intended.
Comments on gameyness are welcome.

New one on me completely , could you load up some WORKING Soviet torpedoes[;)]

Personally I'd ask Mike (our opponent) about this as it seems a bit cheesy to me ..

my 2p worth

Sadly I kinda agree.

We are talking about a time where the non-aggression pact between japan and SU was still honoured.
The SU would not refuel US submarines in the Japanese backyard, rearm is out of question anyway.

Before I make any decisions though, I will find out if this even works. Currently the only indication
that it could work is the option "full refuel" selectable when setting a patrol zone in a SU
port. As it is possible to select that in an open sea hex as well, it might have no impact.

If the sub refuels/rearms I will stop the patrol and post in the tech forum.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Seems like the fairest thing to do.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Aug 03, 43

Not a Lot ..

WE did take a small island north of darwin to make it 4 new/potential airbases

Afternoon Air attack on 74th Chinese Corps, at 78,51 , near Chihkiang

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 9 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 2 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 24
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 20



No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
39 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


WE have 4 very fast AP's doing these runs and i am loathe to lose them , so after this we will return to Perth for the Java invasion and
send up 4 slower and more expendable ones.

One question re the new CW aircraft sharing rules

Do the Brits get access to the Australian spitfires in 9/43 when they get them themselves ?



Reason I'm asking is for the upgrading of the brit hurricane groups in Burma when we do some smoke and mirrors stuff in early sept to draw
attention away from Java. Now NG is happily commonwealth with no further realistic land advances due to terrain, I have downgraded our best
fighter groups to free up more airframes for both the Yankees and brits in Burma .

No piccie as i didnt take one.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Seems like the fairest thing to do.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Aug 03, 43

Not a Lot ..

WE did take a small island north of darwin to make it 4 new/potential airbases

Amphibious Assault at Saumlaki (78,117)

TF 148 troops unloading over beach at Saumlaki, 78,117


Allied ground losses:
14 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

WE have 4 very fast AP's doing these runs and i am loathe to lose them , so after this we will return to Perth for the Java invasion and
send up 4 slower and more expendable ones.

One question re the new CW aircraft sharing rules

Do the Brits get access to the Australian spitfires in 9/43 when they get them themselves ?



Reason I'm asking is for the upgrading of the brit hurricane groups in Burma when we do some smoke and mirrors stuff in early sept to draw
attention away from Java. Now NG is happily commonwealth with no further realistic land advances due to terrain, I have downgraded our best
fighter groups to free up more airframes for both the Yankees and brits in Burma .

No piccie as i didnt take one.

[Rob Brennan UK]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Aug 05, 43

General news

Japan has restarted its bombing and arty attacks in China once more, I'm guessing he has a large supply surplus and also
wants some free attack training for his bomber crews. This is just south of Chihkiang, where we have plenty of AV to stop
Japan advancing any further. No other Japanese movement seen in the china theatre. That said we have 0 recon ac or even bombers
in China ATM. All Chinese fighters are the obsolete variety and the new P40's and B25's are a trickle. Good news is that
Chihkiang is home to the 14th USAAF Air HQ , which allows me to operate upto 180 US/brit aircraft from here. With RAF
Air support in the capital chungking we have a corridor for better fighter to fly in and operate in China. Allis are
in the process of returning the no-longre-needed P47's from New Guinea to the pools allowing the elite US groups in Burma
to upgrade and in a week or so fly into China and hopefully give Mike a nasty surprise.

Port Blair ..Received some very unwanted attention from Japanese BB's during the night and we lost 4 xAP's and 2 escorts
as they finished unloading. Basically Japan turned up, shot the snot out of 4 xAP's, hit the air fields hard, then shot up
the local minesweeper on the way out. SS truant did nothing sadly. extended her patrol further south now. I was somewhat
surprised i had no notice as hudsons were on nav search, this have been overlapped with longer range PBY's from now on.
Additionally just flown in are a few Vengeance Dive bombers with high NavBomb skills (only 10 so far) just in case
we get the opportunity to hit back.

Truthfully the only surprise here is Japan doesn't do this more often. Although he can't know ALL my BB's are in refit until
the end of August and most of my fleet is in Cape town. 2 old R class are in Colombo (with good escorts) so we will
eventually force a night engagement in a few weeks (I hope as I love naval clashes) .

The losses shown for a/c are hugely exaggerated , 3 P40's 1 hudson and 0 PBY's actually lost and no pilots either.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Port Blair at 46,58, Range 6,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Yamashiro
BB Ise
CA Takao
CA Aoba
DD Oyashio
DD Hatsukaze
DD Hayashio
DD Maikaze
DD Isokaze
DD Hagikaze

Allied Ships
xAP Adelong, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Allara, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
xAP Colac, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
xAP Corio, Shell hits 4, and is sunk
ML No. 201, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
ML No. 202, Shell hits 3, and is sunk

Night Naval bombardment of Port Blair at 46,58

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson IIIa: 23 damaged
Hudson IIIa: 2 destroyed on ground
P-40K Warhawk: 21 damaged
P-40K Warhawk: 1 destroyed on ground
Catalina I: 12 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Ise
BB Yamashiro
CA Aoba
CA Takao


Allied ground losses:
490 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 17 destroyed, 41 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled
Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)


Airbase hits 14
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 52 This is a mess , and closed for now

Supply's not an issue tbh , didn't have a record of before/after so cannot compare. We still have ample and I have no
intention of stopping the small AKL supply runs , IF they get caught c'est la guerre.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Port Blair at 46,58, Range 3,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Yamashiro
BB Ise
CA Takao
CA Aoba
DD Oyashio
DD Hatsukaze
DD Hayashio
DD Maikaze
DD Isokaze
DD Hagikaze

Allied Ships
AMc Patna, Shell hits 1, and is sunk

WE do have a minefield at Port Blair of 85 mines and will be dropping in the last of the ones i have in a few days (upto about 200)

Finally we have sent in B24's to the admiralty islands (with P47 sweeps) as recon suggested a DD was in port , over 4 days we hammered
a Japanese AS (it must be sunk by now) 6 bomb hits in total.

Morning Air attack on Manus , at 101,119

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes


Allied aircraft
B-24D1 Liberator x 11


Allied aircraft losses
B-24D1 Liberator: 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
AS Yasukuni Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage

Japanese ground losses:
9 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

[LoBaron]

Aug 09/10, 43

This was a busy turn for the US. The focus of action was in two areas, the northern CentPac and,
surprize, surprize, Rabaul and the Shortlands.

Lets start with the CentPac op first:

2 weeks ago Raider Force I departed PH with a small but important mission:

Force composition:

CVE Santee and Anzio
BB Idaho
6 DD

1) Evaluate Japanese NavS capability N of Marianas and the Bonin Isl. area.
2) Show flag in the Northern CentPac in case sighted.
3) If breakthrough is possible proceed into the Phillippine sea and sink some.

The first attemt to break through the NavS umbrella was about 10 days ago. The TF
was sighted only 80nm after passing Marcus Isl., so I decided not to risk a breakthrough
but to preoceed on a Northern course and purposely remain in Japanese search range.

Four days ago Raider Force I refuelled at Adak and then turned back SW again.
Again they were sighted but this time much closer to Iwo Jima. Sadly the composition
of the raiding force already decloaked as Avengers attacked a small convoy SEE from Iwo Jima,
sinking 2 AKs.






The raiders will now make a bold turn to the NNE, try to sink some more and then hopefully
disappear to the E between Bonin and Torishima.
If KB is in Tokia I might be dead, if KB is in Truk this has a good chance to succeed. Luck
and time will tell.


The other action was seen at Rabaul. As promised, with Shortlands operational and growing to
a lvl5 airfield soon, I intend to ramp up the pressure against Rabaul.
Mike really got a fighters nest there, and a great coverage with several layers of high
alt CAP. Because of this the Lightnings have a tough time going in alone as I pointed out
a couple of days ago.

So I came up with a new plan:

Like a boxer doing some jabs and then a knockout punch I set up my forces like this:

The Jabs:

I used Shortland fighters (USMC Wildcats and Corsairs) to pull Mike´s CAP down to "reasonable"
altitude, and increase fatigue, reaction time, and a/c availability.
As expected these attacks suffered badly, below is an example:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 49 NM, estimated altitude 23,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 69
Ki-61-Ia Tony x 45



Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 15


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 destroyed


The unit involved suffered roughly 40% losses during tha last 2 days and desperately need R&R.


The knockout punch:

My collection of Twintaildevils, as the Japanese liked to call the Lightning, was waiting
for this at Munda. Perfectly coordinated they hit Rabaul out of clear air while the defenders were
still recovering from their duels against the F4F/F4Us.
The results were very much in our favor, and only 2 P-38 fell victim to the IJA/IJN CAP mix.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 69 NM, estimated altitude 42,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 34
Ki-61-Ia Tony x 40



Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 21
P-38H Lightning x 44


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 8 destroyed
Ki-61-Ia Tony: 4 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning: 1 destroyed


Still, it will be some time until air superiority will be secured over Rabaul.
But in total I estimate about 50-60 Japanese fighters killed over the last 2 days.






Ground fighting took place at Torokina, where another assault by the 32nd Division on the Japanese defenders failed,
although I was valiantly supported by CW force airstrikes.
The 32nd got herself a bloody nose and will need a few days to recover, well no rush there.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Torokina (109,130)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 10040 troops, 211 guns, 228 vehicles, Assault Value = 387

Defending force 10352 troops, 102 guns, 24 vehicles, Assault Value = 286

Allied adjusted assault: 68

Japanese adjusted defense: 385

Allied assault odds: 1 to 5 (fort level 3)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker: fatigue(-)

Japanese ground losses:
520 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 48 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 9 (2 destroyed, 7 disabled)
Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
607 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 75 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Vehicles lost 10 (1 destroyed, 9 disabled)

[castor troy]

I may be beating a dead horse, but with months, if not years discussion about strato sweeps and you literally being 100% the opposite of me when it comes down to the oppinions on it, why do I always see your fighters coming in at 40000ft+ on sweeps? And exxageration or not, why do I see one of those super kill rates as a result of that strato sweep? What you are doing is something I would do (going with my experience and my view on things) but that just doesn't correlate with what you have been saying since the game came out. [&:]

What's your oppinion on it?

edit: knowing how sensible everyone is, this is not meant to start a fight and I refused from posting in the past, but the norm seems to be to use ceiling sweeps more or less always which makes me think the participating players seem to have found it to be the best way to go, well knowing it is ridicoulos compared to real life and it was pointed out by the airteam lead it would be an exploit, which makes me even more curious.

[LoBaron]

CT, for the sake of keeping this AAR without extensive debates, lets please leave it with one response and no follow up.

But as for your question:

No, going in with stratosweep alone cannot result in what you see in the last combat, at least not against a defender who knows
what he is doing, and Mike definitely is such a person.

This result was achieved because I already engaged the CAP before the high alt attack from Lightnings and so forced the CAP to disperse, attrit,
and be left at the wrong altitude and the wrong situation to effectively engage my high alt sweepers.

For comparision of a pure strato sweep against dedicated CAP without distinct numerical superiority, please check my post #436. As you can see there the kill:loss
ratio against Mike´s CAP there was not even 3:1, although my Lighting squads are elite - meaning the best US pilots I can muster. Had I continued
this habit the only reasult would have been a war of attrition in Mike´s favor.

The reason for this turn´s success is due to:

- the timing and combination of med alt and high alt sweep while accepting that my lower flying units will bear the brunt of the losses (which they did).
- the numerical superiority achieved by 99morale/0 fatigue expert pilots flying Lightnings over target (which was a wanted sideffect of the earlier sweep by F4F and F4U units)
- the fact that of the 2 airframes on CAP over Rabaul only one is able to compete with the P-38 face to face (the Tony), while the other airframe (the A6M3a) is
completely outclassed.
- the assumed med-high fatigue and med-low morale of the defenders of Rabaul who already suffered a number of defeats in the SWPac in the past weeks.

This is not a result of any indefensible high alt sweep, but a result of tactics, numerical superiority, higher airframe quality and better pilot condition and
- but not exclusively - altitude advantage.
Mike performs well, this is the first time where I really was able to achieve a combat result over Rabaul skies I can without second thoughts classify as victory.


And before you ask: Yes, I would also know how to defend against such a situation, but this is another story. [;)]

[LoBaron]

Just to underline what I explained above:

The direct comparision, and this is what the Japanese in the real war found out too (late), shows that a P-38
using boom and zoom tactics is always in a position of advantage and can enter and exit a battle at will.
These tactics were used in WWII in exactly the same way: engaging more nimble a/c from a position of E-advantage,
and keeping this advantage by extending after an attack, climbing back to alt, and repeat throughout the battle.

Anybody, who has played realistic flight simulations and knows a bit about air warfare, is aware that the Zero is unable
to counter this situation, except if the Lightning pilot accepts a turnfight.

This is not exaggerated as you say, but this was the real problem the Japanese faced in the second half of the war.
It is unneccesary to point out that Japan dominated A2A engagements in a similar style, with slightly different
variables involved, in the early months.

[castor troy]

my only reply will be: go in at realistic alts then and don't do what the airteam lead pictured as: game exploit [:'(]

no worries, I won't continue from that point on, I just found it nice to have those ongoing discussions on the main forum, and then to find constant strato sweeps in the AAR.

[LoBaron]

I see a high chance, that Iain had one single reason to finally agree with you, after previousely pointing
out several times what you are doing wrong when interpretating a situation.
He accepted that its a waste of energy and time to further try to argue with you, and this seemed like the best way to stop it.

So. Yes CT, its an exploit. The same kind as in WWII: every party tried to exploit an advantage to further increase the same.


The only two people I need to justify any actions ingame for, is my ally and my opponent. I would apprechiate if you leave your
suggestions somewhere else.

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: LoBaron

I see a high chance, that Iain had one single reason to finally agree with you, after previousely pointing
out several times what you are doing wrong when interpretating a situation.
He accepted that its a waste of energy and time to further try to argue with you, and this seemed like the best way to stop it.
So. Yes CT, its an exploit. The same kind as in WWII: every party tried to exploit an advantage to further increase the same.


The only two people I need to justify any actions ingame for, is my ally and my opponent. I would apprechiate if you leave your
suggestions somewhere else.

lol, you can't be serious.

edit: nevermind, forget the rest, otherwhise this is going where I don't want it to go in an AAR

[LoBaron]

Aug 11/12, 43:

Another good day for the Allies, lots of rumble in the jungle in Burma and the RN again
had a small surface engagement, but this is Rob´s story to tell.

Mine is further East and concerns Raiding Force I:

After the first strike close to Iwo Jima on Aug 10, Raider Force I continued on
a NE heading in search for another target. With success. For two days the Avengers
pounded a northbound AK convoy, sinking an estimated 5 transport and damaging a few
more:

xAK Asahisan Maru, Torpedo hits 1
xAK Seizan Maru, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Nissen Maru #3, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
xAK Saiho Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Kokuryu Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAK Tsukuba Maru, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Mikasa Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK Aso Maru, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk

This concludes the raid, as remaining longer in the Phillippine Sea would expose the raider
force for too long, an unneccesary risk. Course E has been ordered, if all goes well we
should be out of Japanese naval search range in 48 hours.

Screenie is with MS Paint this time because I have no Paint.NET installed on this PC sadly:



The total damage done is not completely clear to me, although I estimate about 8 AK sunk
and another 2-5 with dangerous levels of damage. Good job for such a small TF.


Other news:

Buka was captured by Paradrop, as planned:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Buka (109,128)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 70 troops, 3 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 7

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0

Allied adjusted assault: 4

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Buka !!!

Combat modifiers
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-)



Assaulting units:
503rd Parachute Rgt /1

I got 3 SST at Shortlands which will take over supply operations of the dot base until
releaved by a smal squadron of APD now leaving Lunga for their new assignement.

Buka is perilousely close to Rabaul, so the next 2 days my P38´s will fly LRCAP to protect
the transport planes dropping more men and supplies.

[LoBaron]

Aug 13/14, 43:

Another good day, or better NOT a bad day, which is probably about the same.

To summarize, it was a good idea to:
- choose the location of my raid in an area where I knew Mike did not have lvl4 airfields
capable of supporting torpedo armed Netty raids.
- decide to abort the raiding mission after the successes of the last turn to not
expose the TF for too long and risk running into a trap.

Mike racted fast and vigorous to the breach in his Northern Pacific defenses.
He rebased a Nell group with Zero and Rufe fighters to Chichi-jima and ordered
a full scale attack on the retreating TF.
As expected my CAP was unable to stop the attack, although I hopefully killed
some experienced Zero drivers. The attack on Raider Force I went in at 15k, not
sure why Mike decided to stay high.
As I rather expected a low level attack run, so my CAP was set to 4k with obvious
negative effects on the intercept.

Bottom line is: If I ever decide to return to these hunting grounds I will have to pack
more punche to thwart a similar attack. Also I will not repeat this mission for a while
because Mike definitely will be alert in this area for the next weeks.
I suspect there was a small carrier group on an intercept course as well...

The result was enhanced by the fact that my fighter pilots where highly fatigued
after providing CAP and strike escort over the course of 4 full days.

Btw: I do not experience what GreyJoy mentioned in his AAR, that fighters not
set to CAP do not engage. My fighters were turned around fast and the scrambling
as well as the standby fighters finally took part in the engagement, although
attacking in small groups which reduced their effectiveness.

It is very possible that this is either because of the small strike size in my case,
or an issue with the tests he performed, or a result of the modified exe GJ and rader
are using.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Chichi-jima at 115,72

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 29 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2-N Rufe x 9
A6M3a Zero x 15
G3M3 Nell x 13



Allied aircraft
FM-1 Wildcat x 32


Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2-N Rufe: 3 destroyed
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed
G3M3 Nell: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
FM-1 Wildcat: 4 destroyed

Allied Ships
CVE Anzio
BB Idaho



Aircraft Attacking:
13 x G3M3 Nell bombing from 14000 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb

Otherwise a quiet turn.

[LoBaron]

Btw, we had a small exchange on the last sweeps over Rabaul, I do not think Mike
objects if I post a part of his response here:

"Altitude exploit: One of the maxims of ACM is to have an altitude advantage. Any pilot who not does want the bounce is a fool! While it may be true that the majority of missions, especially in the Pacific were not flown at extreme altitudes, the effective operational altitudes that were flown in reality were analogous of how the game works. Instead of 39k sweeps in AE, reality had 25k sweeps but the relative performance differences between the various aircraft were the same. i.e. If a P38 was 10% better than an A6M5 at 39k it was probably at least 10% better at 25k. Obviously that is oversimplified and a generalization, but I am convinced of it. America and the Brits developed aircraft that were marvels of high altitude engineering. The Axis powers and Russian largely did not. Do I like the 39k sweeps vs my Zeroes? NOOOOOOOO!!! lol but they are what are and just as IJ has so many advantages in early war, the Allies have advantages later. The challenge for IJ is how to counter those advantages, conserve strength, project power in efficient ways, and make any allied offensive costly."

I see it the same way.

Yes, setting units to high alt may be ahistorical if you don´t think out of the box. Its only unrealistic if you are unable
to abstract the situation in a way so that it again reflects real problems and solutions applied in the war.
In my opinion, if you implement houserules limiting the players to alt bands fought in the war, you lose
the part of the game which simulates the exploit of advantages of one side and the methods of counter of the other side.

Each to his own...


I think this is a good opportunity to thank my ally and my opponent for this great PBEM! Both, Rob and Mike,
are inquiring minds, very creative in their operations and extremely fast and flexible when reacting to a threat.
It is a honour to play this game with them! [&o]

[Alfred]

ORIGINAL: LoBaron

... I think this is a good opportunity to thank my ally and my opponent for this great PBEM! Both, Rob and Mike,
are inquiring minds, very creative in their operations and extremely fast and flexible when reacting to a threat.
It is a honour to play this game with them! [&o]

As a practice run for the Academy award acceptance speech, it falls quite short.

No mention of:

• your mum and dad
• your spouse
• the dog
• the game developers
• your "shrink"
• fraulein Braun from kindergarten

etc

Alfred

[bigred]

Very refreshing...

Yes, setting units to high alt may be ahistorical if you don´t think out of the box. Its only unrealistic if you are unable
to abstract the situation in a way so that it again reflects real problems and solutions applied in the war.
In my opinion, if you implement houserules limiting the players to alt bands fought in the war, you lose
the part of the game which simulates the exploit of advantages of one side and the methods of counter of the other side.

[LoBaron]

[:D]

Apologies, Alfred. And thanks for pointing out the details where I got room for improvement.

Although, personally, I would not list my "shrink" and Fräulein Braun from Kindergarten right
next to each other. Could lead to misunderstandings. Although this applies to mum and dad, the
devs, and the dog as well.

Difficult decisions...