The Hive - Cruft PBEM (Japan, Scen 2 Beta + Stacking Limits)

[Miller]

I have seen one single kill credited to a Betty sqd despite playing well over a thousand turns of AE.

[Captain Cruft]

The kill was acquired flying the Emily.

Talking of which I have been testing out the Mavis and Emily as kamikazes. They're pretty darn good. Expensive though

[Cribtop]

They would certainly make a big BOOM if they hit anything.

Speaking of kamis, did historical multi-engine planes used as kamis carry full crews or just pilot and co-pilot?

[Captain Cruft]

16 Jan 1944

A Deliberate Attack at Bangkok last turn reduced the forts to 3. Therefore I have initiated the evac plan for the 21st and 55th Divisions. As you can see two Amphibious TFs (equipped with 18kt AKs) have arrived to extricate the troops. A fistful of Tojos is flying LRCAP from Battambang, which remains untouched. These suffered large losses to P-47 Sweeps but did successfully achieve their purpose which was to protect the ships, downing 15 unescorted Vengeance dive bombers in the process.

[Captain Cruft]

Kuriles

I recently acquired an unrestricted Air Flotilla which I really couldn't see a use for. OCD prevents me from stacking more than one Air HQ at a base.

Well it is now destined for Etorofu. None of the Kurile Islands has an airfield but perhaps we can play Floatplane Arena in the vicinity.

[Captain Cruft]

17 Jan 1944

Both 21st and 55th Divisions are now fully loaded on to the ships and will head for Singapore and Hong Kong respectively.

I am very pleased with this evac. No troops or ships lost, just lots of Tojos and mediocre pilots. The loading rate of the AKs in the Amphibious TFs was key since it enabled the divisions to get loaded in a single day without even docking. There are 9 AKs in each TF.

[Captain Cruft]

19 Jan 1944

Bangkok has fallen. It may soon be time for Fortress Hainan, which is sort of a rehearsal for Fortress Formosa which is definitely a rehearsal for Fortress Kyushu.

I am really not sure whether it is worth fighting for Singapore. He can take Soerabaja and Batavia which amount to more or less the same thing and then controlling the Malacca Straits is irrelevant. Needs more thought ...

[Captain Cruft]

20 Jan 1944

A huge day for fans of the Oscar. Massed Sweeps over Ubon in eastern Thailand result in 6 x P-51a destroyed for 3 x Ki-43-IIIa. These are 1st Air Army units which I am forward basing at Kiungshan for some live fire training.

Industrially speaking I find I have already been able to shut down a few Naval Shipyards and still keep building everything I want, including the Musashi. This is very good news.

My opponent is getting slightly annoyed that I keep running away all the time.

[Captain Cruft]

Partially O/T

Changsha has very recently achieved size 7 forts. Due to worries about supply consumption I have now stopped building forts, and instead have started work on something else.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_City

[Captain Cruft]

Chinese forts

I was just flabberghasted by that building, and why in Changsha of all places? A city that no-one who is not Chinese or a WitP player will ever have heard of. Or perhaps that's the point ...

Anyway, back in game world I am going to basically stop building excess forts in China beyond what is already happening. So Changsha will stay at 7, Wuchang will go to 7 and Hankow will go to 8. Only Nanking and Shanghai will go to 9, if there is time. Both are currently at 6. Hong Kong is also at 6 and will go as far as it can before it becomes besieged. Canton is at 6 and will stay at that level.

Outside the major cities there are very few places below 6, and those that are not will soon get there. All in all a lovely morass for the Allies to wade in to, or at least that's the plan.

[Captain Cruft]

Production

I have run out of Nakajima Ha-45 engines, which are used to power the Ki-84a Frank, N1K1 George and P1Y1 Frances. A boost to the factory at Yokohama has been initiated but I have also temporarily turned off production of the latter two aircraft, which are just "nice to haves" rather than being mission-critical like the Frank.

Supply at Tokyo has dipped below 200,000 for the first time.

[Cribtop]

If they are going for tallest building on Earth it could be an effort to steal the title from the current record holder in Taiwan, which is a record Beijing is probably not thrilled to see on the books.

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Cribtop

If they are going for tallest building on Earth it could be an effort to steal the title from the current record holder in Taiwan, which is a record Beijing is probably not thrilled to see on the books.

The tallest now is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ta ... _the_world

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Captain Cruft

Production

I have run out of Nakajima Ha-45 engines, which are used to power the Ki-84a Frank, N1K1 George and P1Y1 Frances. A boost to the factory at Yokohama has been initiated but I have also temporarily turned off production of the latter two aircraft, which are just "nice to haves" rather than being mission-critical like the Frank.

Supply at Tokyo has dipped below 200,000 for the first time.

building past level 6 is very costly to supply. There was a table floating around recently that made me think it not wise to do this unless absolutely sure the base would be a defensive lynchpin and that those extra levels might help.

[Captain Cruft]

Yes. I am reducing the fort building activity somewhat. You also have to take into account whether an additional level can be reached before the Allied hordes arrive. If it can't then you have wasted loads of supply for nothing.

The game is quiet now. He is consolidating again. I did win another Mustangs vs. Oscars battle though. Lovely

[Captain Cruft]

25 Jan 1944

Babeldoab reaches size 9 forts.

Oscars of the 1st Air Army destroy 10 P-51As and 6 P-47D2s over eastern Thailand, at a cost of 33 of their own. Near enough 2 to 1

[Captain Cruft]

26 Jan 1944

He has moved the US CV fleet adjacent to Manado. I didn't see them coming and lost some AOs and Es as a result which were heading to Tarakan from the Carolines. In addition he has landed an Aussie division at Ternate.

The carriers are a mere 6 hexes from Dadjangas. He has not flown recon over Mindanao or anywhere else in the vicinity. Therefore I have moved my IJA kamikaze units to the size 4 airfield at the base to see what they can do. This is 2 x 12 Ki-43-IIIa Oscar units and 1 x 12 Ki-30 Ann unit which will hopefully be escorted by some 30 x Ki-45 KAIa Nicks and 60 x Ki-43-IIIb Oscars. Everything will fly at 15,000ft. Cruising speeds are 273 for both Oscar variants, 232 for the Nicks and 236 for the Anns so co-ordination has a chance to be reasonable.

I do not have high expectations for success given the number of planes he will likely have on CAP, but it will serve as both a test and statement of intent.

The two IJN kamikaze units are at Babeldoab awaiting an opportunity.

[Cap Mandrake]

Your opponent is mirroring our access of advance......12 months later.[:)]

Mindanao looks like quite a bastion. Watch out for Jolo. It's a useful base.

[Captain Cruft]

27 Jan 1944

Well the kami attack went better than I thought it would. The Anns went astray but 12 Oscars got through and one managed to ram CVL Monterey. Of the escorting fighters 14 Oscars and 6 Nicks were lost.

Ternate also fell, with virtually no casualties inflicted to either side. This is possibly because the morale of the naval guard unit there was in the toilet.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Manado at 76,99

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 114 NM, estimated altitude 19,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 23
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 61
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 11
Ki-45 KAIb Nick x 22

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 196

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 13 destroyed
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 2 destroyed by flak
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 8 destroyed
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 1 destroyed
Ki-45 KAIb Nick: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Bunker Hill
CV Hornet
CVL Monterey, Kamikaze hits 1
CV Enterprise
CVL Belleau Wood
CV Yorktown

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar flying as kamikaze
Kamikaze: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
6 x Ki-43-IIa Oscar flying as kamikaze
Kamikaze: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

[Captain Cruft]

I have converted some more navy air groups to kamikaze. A6M2 Zeros and B6N1 Jills, which are plentiful. These are some of the many units which have to withdraw by 10 July 1944, and which were training up at various locations. Perhaps using noobs on suicide missions will be more productive than waiting for them to train up. At the very least it will drain the huge pilot replacements pools a bit. These along with Naval Shipyards are my only real industrial worries.

None of my core non-withdrawing air groups will be frittered away in this manner. These are to be used in the Decisive Battle (TM) and only then.

My opponent's reaction to the advent of the kamikaze war will be interesting.