My second AAR (again)

[yvesp]

The air to air combat is a joy for the Japanese, who shoot down plane after plane...

[yvesp]

Again and again...

[yvesp]

But the Japanese bombers are cut down by the powerfull US flak.

[yvesp]

While some US bombers manage to get through.

[yvesp]

The damage on the US fleet is unsignificant...

[yvesp]

As it is on the Japanese fleet.

However, production-wise, this fight, a clear strategic Japanese victory which will force the US fleet back for some turns, is not that much of a victory: it will take about a turn of full production to replace the losses. Not so for the USA, for whom the losses amount to only a fraction of their production. Furthermore, the real loss is counted in pilots rather than obsolete planes...

Still, the China sea is likely to be clear of enemy units for a short while. Possibly as long as 8 months... The time required to refill all the aircraft carriers! (the US reserve pool has no class 4 planes... only old class 1 and brand new class 5! that's not for lack of producing them!)

[composer99]

IMO the CW needn't bother trying to port strike the idle German surface fleet as long as they have naval air power at sea in the Bay of Biscay; those planes might be better put to use helping ground strike or strat bomb the German army/economy.

I would also say the US erred in letting itself fight an air-to-air combat at a -3 disadvantage; I realise that was partly a result of including the land-based planes, but at least -1 or -2 is still in the range of rough parity.

[yvesp]

ORIGINAL: composer99

IMO the CW needn't bother trying to port strike the idle German surface fleet as long as they have naval air power at sea in the Bay of Biscay; those planes might be better put to use helping ground strike or strat bomb the German army/economy.

That's a question of taste imho.

Getting rid of these German ships is still useful, in particular the amph, even though a attack on Britain itself looks unlikely. With no German amph, Britain could use some of the land units it keeps garrisonned just in case... The ships go with this: should Germany ever attempt a (desperate) attack, it would very likely need ship support. See these attacks as a kind of insurance against something that might not be nice. And most of these planes are only good for naval attacks, not ground support or strat bombing.

I would also say the US erred in letting itself fight an air-to-air combat at a -3 disadvantage; I realise that was partly a result of including the land-based planes, but at least -1 or -2 is still in the range of rough parity.

I don't think so. Preventing the Japanese from reinforcing is more important than accumulating more and more power. Economically speaking, this Japanese victory is a loss for Japan. Furthermore, if you watch the rolls, they were quite severe against the USA which hardly got a result to get through: at +3 the chance of getting through are 28%, and 19% at +4! If the rolls had been more in line, that's about 3 or 4 naval bombers that should have gone through, not merely 2: certainly enough to warrant a 1X result, possibly enough for a 2X...

I'm even considering the possibility of trying a second round of attack by not pulling the US fleet away. There are strong arguments in favor of doing so, one of them being that there still is a chance of soing what I should have done in the first place had I not clicked too fast: not attack the fleet, but the convoys and land based support (now inexistant.) ; in case of a meeting with the Japanese fleet, the Japanese air power is mostly in fighters, and it should not harm too much the US fleet (baring strong surprise, always possible) in naval air ; and in surface combat, the US fleet would lose more cruisers... oh well!

[yvesp]

After some thoughts, the US admiral takes the risk and stays in the sea area.
Unfortunately, he is badly surprised by the Japanese fleet (9 surprise points), and another of his carriers get damaged, for no gain.

[yvesp]

Being persistant pays off! The US fleet locates the convoys and destroy them piecemeal.
It can now abort the combat, its duty fullfilled.

For some obscure reasons (because a turned down sub in the sea area ???) the fleet is unable to return to Rabaul and must instead head to Singapore. Not the best choice for returning to the USA!

[yvesp]

In the North Sea, the American fleet helped by some British battleships meets the German fleet that was trying to reorganize itself.

Despite the apparent allied advantage, the German ships pack much more power and should do greater damage.

[yvesp]

The Germans suffer some damage. The old Schliessen battleship is sunk.

[yvesp]

As it turns out, the allied fleet suffers less than the German fleet. But the old Trenton cruiser is sunk.

[yvesp]

And finally, the German ships in the Bay of Biscay manage to escape unseen.

[yvesp]

While the British now take the opportunity opened by the returning good weather, the USA still take a combined: they still have troops to shuttle through the Atlantic, and the French a naval to move the Richelieu in the bay of Biscay.

Good choice, as the allied fleet now locates the German escaping ships.

The axis air cover is blown away.

[yvesp]

and the German ships cannot go further.

[yvesp]

Trying to soften up the German defenses for the forthcoming attack, our now famous Hampden falls... It had seen most important combats from the start of the war, from France to Egypt and Spain...

[yvesp]

The US artillery does a good job and disrupt and Italian corp.

[yvesp]

While the Wellington, the other survivor bomber from 1939 manages to disrupt a German corps.
Even if no attack is done there, this should limit the risks of counter attacks.

[yvesp]

In Britany, the USA prepare a an attack against the Italians. The Luftwaffe comes to the rescue.