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That was quite neat...and I think costly mistake! [8D]

Very cool to see the Japanese BBs dueling it out with the defenses.

Sardaukar: Lets hope we nail or at least seriously damage the remaining BB's too. These must be damaged and I had 3 PT squadrons plus 4 DD's refitting in Manila.

The hex side is 40km and thus I don't see how these ships can go through Bataan without having to going through heavy duel.

Oh.. and I do not have any illusions that these "mistakes" will become regular events.

Erik: Yeah. At first I thought those big guns would not fire at all.

Also I think Dave tried to neutralize my fighter force gathered at Clark Field. Without those guns he might have succeed it since the airfield dagame levels are +20 after those bombardments.


China (15th and 16th)


Ok. I had time to do this post tonight.

Blue circle = Artillery / Morfars heading out to key bases. These were divided by importance of the base.
Red circle = Ichang & Sinyang and Nanchang.
Orange arrows = Chinese movements in general.
Green arrows = Japanese trying push out.

If you look at the map I think Dave might have made an mistake by moving +10 units into Ichang. He has there +1000av so the base itself is immune for immediate recapture.

However Ichang is kind of far forward from any other Japanese bases. If you look at the map the supply routes there are far and between. It is basically blockaded or as we Finns call it is nearly perfect "Motti". I don't know how much supplies there were initially but not much I gather and those troops need supplies.

If he chooses to withdraw his troops out of Ichang than I'am more than happy to take control of it. Since I have decent amount av power sieging the city.

By putting up pressure simultaneously Sinyang I'am trying to force him to make his moves. He has 5 units there at the moment and I would assume it amounts to 300-400av points. I should know this next turn since two units entered the base. This is also almost an "Motti" too.

The similar factor is that both cities can be made to starve. I have no idea what his initial plans where or if there are huge amount of infantry units moving in sooner than I think. At least we will get an reaction from Dave.

As said I have split several smaller Chinese units into 3 batallions/guerilla units. These will venture far into behind the enemy lines thus making supply runs/flow hard to keep up. The goal here is to at least hinder his offensives and if everything goes well destroy some divisions.

I rather make him react than be forced to react myself.

I have and still do expand a lot of fortifications in several bases. I have read it might not be good idea but than again key bases cannot have fortification levels of 0!!! So, the rule is if I'am soon short of supply than he will be too... and I rather be short of the supplies with decent amount fortifications to retreat to if necessary.

No airfields are expanded yet nor is there any resource repairs ON mode.

Lets see how this plays out...

aztez, great AAR so far! Sorry about losing those 2 CVs, but that should be a cautionary tale for Allied players; the mistake you made I think was picking a rendevous spot within a day's sail of KB. You can't afford a CV engagement in December under any circumstances; a better idea is to flee south to clear the area ASAP, and cut back east when you think they are gone. The Japanese player can hang around, retreat north toward the AOs, or retreat south toward where you were, so there is always a 1 in 3 chance of getting killed just like you did.

Besides Wake, I think a more tempting target if I was the Allies would be that big Replenishment TF, but going after that is a very risky move, since the Japanese player will probably be merging that with KB pretty quick.

Interesting that you are choosing a frontal defense in China. The Jap AI tore through all those Chinese units that start the game "out front." I thus ended retreating to the Nanning-Liuchow-Changsha-Ichang-Nanyang line.

The Chinese can have a lot of fun "running around out front". It is quite possible to cutoff major chunks of the Japanese front. For instance, cutting off Hankow/Wuchang is very do-able and even sustainable for a while. But the Chinese player must be careful else he will ultimately lose more than he gains. For example note that little Chinese dot 2 hexes WSW of Chuhsien. A Japanese unit is already there and hence this city will probably fall the next turn, threatening to isolate the Chinese units to the East. So, even while the Chinese player is "running wild" he needs to protect his rear, especially for his larger units. The small "25 point Corps" can be considered to be throw away units" but the larger 100-200 point corps cannot be just thrown away due to VP cost. And the more active the Chinese are during this phase the better. If the Chinese are playing against a lazy, or otherwise occupied Japanese player, things could get embarrasing for the Japanese. On the other hand, if the Japanese player is playing "toe to toe" with the Chinese, then the Chinese player may need to get more cautious. At a high level this is not so different from stock. Chinese in AE seems to be a "revolving door" for both sides - but things can become unbalanced if one player or the other makes a mistake - same as stock. Just in AE there are more bases, more area, to cover. more room to mess up!!!
[:)]

Hi..

Nice ebb and flow going on now....You are putting up a good fight for the PI and I suspect it will force more Japanese to be committed to the operation than was initially intended which will save other areas as well as being more than a minor irritant. It was definately a high risk strategy trying to run the guns at Bataan but may have been a result of seeing the failure of Betties to damage Clark Field to any degree.

On the other side I also appreciated the stranglehold around Davau and Borneo put on by Tojo.That was an excellently co-ordinated move.

I would totally support the emphasis of jrlans on Noumea and the supply route to Oz, and its good to know you are confident on the state of things in the Sth Pacific.

Loving the AAR.

Now finish off those BB at Manila !!!

Best wishes
Ian

I am anxiously waiting about fate of those those BBs in Manila/Bataan too! [8D]

Hyuga, Ise and Fuso vs Fort Drum! [:D]

China: Have you determined if it is cost effective to slowly repair the light industry at Chungking?? You need more supply long term.

High Endurance AP/AK: If possible, I would change their refueling option to "Do Not Refuel" when they go between USA and Hawaii. Even to Pago Pago, if possible. The initial problem with the Allies is getting the fuel out of the USA with limited TKs and AOs. If they go to a forward base, you don't want them to drink up the fuel you are trying to stockpile.

Australia: How many fighters from the USA/Hawaii are in transit?? There are none here and with those in Luzon restricted to die in place, they are needed there asap.

BBB (Big Bad Boise): She needs to go to Soerabaja to reload those 6" shells. Found out that Balikpapan is not big enough the hard way. [:(]

B-17s: I would consider putting them on night time AF missions to keep your opponent on his toes.

Just my $.02 from limited time with AE.

Q-Ball: Thanks. Good and bad things happen. Yeah, I wasn't aiming for an duel with KB. Just rolled the dice and thought KB would sail toward home islands. As said I don't know whether those +30 dauntless dive bombers hit anything since FOW kind of vanished the mission. At the moment I have no idea where KB is... best guess would be Truk.

Wake has fallen. As expected Dave just storm the place once I got no CV cover left.

jimh009: Yes and no. I'am not going fight it out men to men in "frontal" areas. Allthough I'am not going abandon it alltogether. It will be kind of skirmish. When thing heat up too much time to get out and fast. That is the plan anyway.

Ichang is "gone" as you can see it. Instead maybe we starve him out of there since his frontline isn't exactly flat.


jwilkerson: Definately. I will take an hard look at China when the next turn comes. To me at least the whole theatre is way diffrent and actually gives a lot possibilities to both sides.

The map alone does it. More room here means so many variable strategies to play out. I bet this theatre will be diffrent in pretty much every PBEM we will see in the future.

I will pay attention and try not get cut off, This goes both ways, I have actually splitted up those bigger corps units too (at least many of them). Never done that before and it might be briliant move or end up in total disaster.

The problem here I see is the lack of fighters and I'am having trouble getting those out of the north due to their short range.

Dave definately is not lazy. He is actually bombing the hell out of few bases already and not much I can do about it.

Hmmm, pretty much everybody is warning me againts supply shortage but I'am still committed to building forts. Chinese really need them to my opinion at least.

What I have read about ground combat.. leaders + artillery units can play big diffrence. So, I did try to think through how divide those meger units I have at my disposal.


devoncop: That is exactly what I'am hoping for too but with this new FOW you really cannot be sure what the damage actually is.. (you will notice when I post an report from Luzon and Kuantan soon) I don't have the actual turn but ran the combat replay though.

Pretty much speechless what happened at Davao. That was an textbook execution of that plan with minimal forces committed. I doubt my surface fleet could have done anything useful there.

I have units and aircraft underway towards southern pacific. Allthough, I have made couple of big blunders and will post about them later on too. I will fight it out at Noumea, Pago Pago, Christmas Island and Fiji's. Also moving supplies and fuel into Tahiti.


Sardaukar: Sorry to report but there was no 2nd round of Fort Drum duel! I guess those US soldiers got drunk and missed the Japanse TF.. not to worry it wasn't all bad. More about that in a bit.


ny59giants: Welcome and nice to see you here too. Actually those reparis are OFF at the moment. I need those supplies to build up initial forts. To be honest I haven't made up my mind one way or the other. I'am glad we have the houserule for no resource bombings here for either side.

Intresting. This is one are I'am struggling to get my mindset correct. This has really changed hasn't it. Pretty much all my transports are on DO NOT refuel orders but this basically means they are lightly escorted. Need get this sorted though for sure. Other area that is really hammering my brain is the withdrawals of units. Quite confusing at the beginning but once I get the hang off it I think this is nice feature with some strategic possibilities.

As for Australia. Actually the amount of fighters moving there is flat 0! I need to secure those key islands first and once that is done move aircraft into Oz. I doubt Japan is able to launch anykind of offensive there for longtime... and hopefully I'am correct.

BBB is live and well. It sailed into Soerebaja and is an flagship for 1 surface combat TF.

Night missions? Hmmm, I haven't even remotely consider this option. I might give it a whirl to see what it does.


I do appreciate all the feedback and comments you guys made. I will post an summary based on combat.txt since I do not have the turn as stated earlier,

Luzon (december 17th and 18th)

I awaited for sequel battle Bataan vs IJN BB's. Unfortunately did not happen and at least some of the ships slipped away. I don't know the extent of IJN damage. The FOW system is so diffrent that I'am starting to 2nd guess every report I get from the frontline.

Here is how the PT and DD TF interception went. These events are in chronological order.


Night Time Surface Combat, near Clark Field at 79,76, Range 1,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1
BB Ise
BB Hyuga, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
PT-44
PT-45
PT-46
PT-47
PT-48



Reduced sighting due to 0% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Overcast Conditions and 0% moonlight: 1,000 yards
Range closes to 2,000 yards...
Range closes to 1,000 yards...
Ishizaki, Noburu crosses the 'T'
PT-48 engages BB Hyuga at 1,000 yards
BB Fuso engages PT-48 at 1,000 yards
Range increases to 2,000 yards
BB Ise engages PT-48 at 2,000 yards
BB Hyuga engages PT-47 at 2,000 yards
BB Hyuga engages PT-46 at 2,000 yards
Task forces break off...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Clark Field at 79,76, Range 1,000 Yards

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
No Japanese losses

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso
BB Ise, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
BB Hyuga, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 1

Allied Ships
PT-31
PT-32
PT-33
PT-34
PT-35, Shell hits 6, and is sunk



Reduced sighting due to 0% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Overcast Conditions and 0% moonlight: 1,000 yards
Range closes to 1,000 yards...
BB Hyuga engages PT-35 at 1,000 yards
BB Ise engages PT-35 at 1,000 yards
PT-35 sunk by BB Fuso at 1,000 yards
Ishizaki, Noburu orders Japanese TF to disengage
Range increases to 2,000 yards
BB Hyuga engages PT-34 at 2,000 yards
BB Ise sunk by PT-33 at 2,000 yards
Task forces break off...


...the ghost of BB Ise was there. It was still in action and reported sunk yet again. By looking at the ranges here 1000-2000 yards than maybe this is quite an accurate report. Thus meaning BB Fuso and BB Hyuyga being hit yet again. Lets hope this assumption is correct.

Now this leads me to 2nd issue here. I had subs placed on the escape route of this TF but none made any attacking runs. Another disappointing performance at Vigan too. Few misses and 1 AK hit. ASW caused more damage than my offensives here. Luckily I had PT squadron to hit this beachead and they did good joob hitting 2-4 ships anchored there.

In Clark Field the enemy airraids were repulsed nicely.

I cannot give more accurate information without the turn so this is the best I can do.

(Lets leave this combat report from a pic regarding ship repairs at Pearl Harbour. It really shows that I need to start adjusting things here immediately).

Malaya (december 17th and 18th)

Not that this pic is from previous turn. The search is working very diffrently. Notice that I do not have any clue that an enemy will start conducting amphibitious offensives at Kuantan next day.

Yellow circle = Enemy seize Alon Star.
Orange circle = IJN landings at Kuantan.
Orange arrows = Commonwealth troops retreat in good order towards Johore Baru and Singapore.
Blue arrows = Large RAF bomber strikes againts those transports.

I was very suprised to see him land at Kuantan. I think the idea is to get an airbase nearer to Singapore since it causes less fatigue and thus damage.

I was very pleased by RAF launches from Singapore. I think it those bombers flew 10-15 missions which is nice and some co-ordinated ones too.

I gathered those succesfull runs. (Keep in mind that there were several unsuccesfull ones made too)

Morning Air attack on TF, near Kuantan at 51,79

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 24 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes


Allied aircraft
Swordfish I x 5


Allied aircraft losses
Swordfish I: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
xAK Koryu Maru, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk
xAK Kashiwara Maru, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage



Aircraft Attacking:
5 x Swordfish I launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Mk XII Torpedo

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Kuantan at 51,79

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes


Allied aircraft
Vildebeest III x 10


Allied aircraft losses
Vildebeest III: 1 destroyed, 9 damaged

Japanese Ships
CA Suzuya
DD Fubuki, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Yahiko Maru
CA Mikuma, Bomb hits 1



Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Vildebeest III bombing from 5000 feet *
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 lb SAP Bomb
5 x Vildebeest III bombing from 5000 feet *
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 lb SAP Bomb

Heavy smoke from fires obscuring DD Fubuki

Air attack on TF, near Kuantan at 51,79

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 43 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes


Allied aircraft
Vildebeest III x 3


Allied aircraft losses
Vildebeest III: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
CA Mogami, Bomb hits 1
DD Fubuki, heavy damage



Aircraft Attacking:
1 x Vildebeest III bombing from 5000 feet *
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 lb SAP Bomb
2 x Vildebeest III bombing from 5000 feet *
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 lb SAP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Kuantan at 51,79

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 21 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes


Allied aircraft
Vildebeest III x 10


Allied aircraft losses
Vildebeest III: 1 destroyed, 6 damaged

Japanese Ships
CA Mikuma, Bomb hits 3, on fire



Aircraft Attacking:
10 x Vildebeest III bombing from 5000 feet *
Naval Attack: 1 x 500 lb SAP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Kuantan at 51,79

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 35 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 23 minutes


Allied aircraft
Swordfish I x 4


Allied aircraft losses
Swordfish I: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
xAK Awazisan Maru
xAK Neikai Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage


...so if this is not again total FOW than maybe it cost an CA + DD and couple of transports to venture into Kuantan. Too bad we did not hit BB Kongo and BB Haruna. RAF made several attacking runs but all these missions failed miserably.

The general retreat is underway. I have replaced those AT Tank commanders which were miserable to say at least. Hopefully these will make a big diffrence.

The fortifications are coming along nicely at Johore Baru and Singapore.

AE ouch for oldtime Witp player (Lesson 1)

Ok. I decieded to post this and you can see there is a lot wrong here.

Force Z sailed with Full Speed. This really was not necessary at all so I should have changed it cruise speed.

It did refuel in Batavia but I really was not paying enough attention due to million other things.You really need to check (doublecheck) the fuel or as you can see it causes a lot of sys damage.

Oh well I can say that lesson learned. I did this same mistake with 1 PT squadron and also with an transport TF (It had 2 DD's escorting and had to send these 2 towards WC in order to make the distance)

This is very diffrent from Witp. You really could ignore this or at least not to pay enough attention to this area of the game.

This is closely tied up with troop transports from WC and off map bases.

In my brief experience with AE vs AI, I've seen the drastic effects of putting a TF at full speed. Use only to get into OR out of trouble.
 
I'm waiting for the first patch before I jump into the deep end of the pool. Games like yours will "hopefully" lessen the learning curve for those of us waiting a little longer. [;)]  I'll have three PBEM games to get started once it does.

The good news there is that System damage does repair faster now, but I agree, Full Speed only when necessary.

Reduced sighting due to 0% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Overcast Conditions and 0% moonlight: 1,000 yards

Hmmmm,

Typical, BB's bottles up in Manila Harbour and you get a pitch black night and they manage to (at least partially) slip away[:D]

Given the FOW and a dark knight you may find that BB Ise manages more comebacks than Sinatra [:)]

Interesting the Sig Int failed near Malaya.... the unpredictability of the AI is a big plus and although I am also waiting on the first patch for technical reasons before jumping in I can see the reason the game has developed such obsessive fans (and developers !!!.....sorry Eric !)

Cracking job on the AAR.

Ian

ny59giants: Definately. This is just one of those things you need to change in your mind once you jump into AE. It ain't always easy task.

We could have waited for the patch but than again we are not too far ahead once it arrives. My personal opinion is that there really isn't that much wrong with AE from the get go. Most of the "problems" are in your own mindset and troubles try to think out of the box.

Oh... 3 PBEM's!!! How on earth are you going to manage? Personally I was thinking about starting 2 PBEM games but really have to cancel the other. (I hate that) If the allied side turn now consumes as much as it does than think about the amount of work you need to do when starting the offensive "years". Scary thought!!! [:D]

Erik: As said lesson learned! [:D] This is not the only one so far and I doubt one can imagine how many of these still surfaces.

devoncop: Lets hope "Sinatra" get an permanent flu so "he" can't sing again!

Yeah, typical luck with me! [:D] There was an 1 000 000 dollar chance to cause havoc for IJN... and now I can't be certain. Also hate when I don't know where the KB is "surfing". Somehow I have an feeling it might pop up near Luzon or Java.

I kind of like the new FOW and search values. You really cannot be certain even if the ship is shown in the "sunken" list.

I highly recommend you start an PBEM. This is way more rewarding and really makes you think a lot more through turns.

ORIGINAL: aztez


I highly recommend you start an PBEM. This is way more rewarding and really makes you think a lot more through turns.

I'll say. No longer do I have the ole "15-20 minute turns". Right now everything is taking about 1.5-2 hours.

Good AAR, look forward to learning a lot by reading.

I'm a mobile crisis counselor for children and work from home. I go out to assess a child if they are suicidal and/or homicidal and decide what is the best intervention at that moment. I go into the office on Wednesday and maybe one more time a week for a limited time. Thus, I can manage 3 PBEMs, I hope. Two of the games are restarts of ongoing games (both on hold as we all learn this new toy) and will be two day turns with me as Japan. Hopefully, the game will be easier to manage as the learning curve decreases. For me, this game is my stress releif.

Actually I have cracking time against AI. Bloody hell, those scripts are good. According to Andy Mac, there are 13 major scripts and AI will pick one in random. I expect that to go up to max 99 in future, when modding starts.

I am now in July 42 in Dec8 campaign..and AI is still giving me scares. Bloody carrier raids and TF sightings. I just did sortie CV Wasp (all other carriers are in So/SWPac trying to keep Port Moresby alive etc), because there was carrier raid against Midway and surface TF was reported to close in too. Thus, with heavy heart, I sent Wasp CVTF and SCTF of 4 BBs to at least contest possible landing. Turned out to be just a raid and my response was into thin air...

I recommend everyone to at least play few months against AI, just to get used to new system. It and new AI are something else even for me who has played WitP since 2004.