Quisling! An AFB does Japan (No PanzerKat)

[John B.]

And here is the secret plan. You have to have a go for the gold shot at the moon as the Japanese and I'm aiming for Perth. To me, the 100% critical place is Kalgoorlie. If I can seize that before reinforcements come it's a looooong hot march up the rail line through the desert to get to Southwestern Australia. And, under the steady gaze of Japanese bombers since there are no airbases to fly CAP from.

To get to Kalgoorlie first, I plan to land a raiding regiment in the first wave, fly in transports, and do a drop into Kalgoorlie by day 3. No one is planning for any of this as it needs complete surprise. A couple of questions. Not sure if I could hold this to the end of the game but, while I'm there I'm killing high point aussie and american troops and distracting Scott from heading up the Central Pacific for at least a little while And, it's a long way from the US.

Does he draw rail supply while he's marching up the railline? I would assume so since that's how it works for roads but I don't know if trains require bases.

I"m about to take Batavia and once that happens, the next stop is the Perth area (no desire to land in Perth given the forts).

[Aurorus]

If he has built a monster stack of units in China, you have him. Units use supply each time they fire in the combat phase. If a unit fires in the air-combat phase, it uses supply. If it fires twice in the air-combat phase, it uses supply twice. If it fires in the air combat phase twice, and in the ground combat phase once (as in a bombardment attack) it uses supply 3 times. For each attack, supply use increases.

Against a Chinese "big stack" strategy, you do not want to isolate that stack immediately. Instead you want it to draw supply for a time, and bomb, bomb, bomb that big stack from altitudes that ensure that units fire in the air combat phase until that one stack draws out all the supply in China. Then isolate it and destroy it.

[Aurorus]

To compliment this strategy, make sure that stack has a difficult supply path so that big stack loses a lots of supply en route. I.e. cut off the main roads to that stack if possible, but be sure to leave open a supply path that crosses jungle, rough, etc... .

[John B.]

Oh, good point. I don't think I can isolate him big stack since it's across the river but I'll give it a shot. He has minor roads to Chengtu and then the major road to Chungking so I don't think his supply line is too bad but it's nice to think of all that supply getting burned up.

By the way, I realize I should have done this before but I'm going through my plane R&D and I think I'll ax the Ki-119, Ki-115a (Tsunugi), the H-8K2L (Emily) , the Ki-54c (Hickory), and the Ki-61-10 (Tony). They either show up too late or are pointless additions to the transport/light bomber force.

[Aurorus]

In PDU:on, you really only should only build a few models and convert everything to those models: one transport plane model, one recon model, and so forth. Change the rest of the factories into size 30 R&D factories for planes you want: mostly fighters. I think it is a good idea to retain some diversity in bombers in PDU:on at least through 1943 so that you can choose payload and how much supply you want to use per mission. For example, Sonias are very supply efficient in ground attacks against soft targets in clear terrain: getting 4 x 50KG bombs. Whereas, the heavier bombs are needed for armor or heavily fortified units.

As to fighters, I like Tony, but you should put all Tony R&D into the 61a and then upgrade all but one factory to the next model once the 61a becomes available. Tony has 2 center-firing, very accurate cannons. It is a good heavy bomber killer, better than Tojo. I like to use Tony, Tojo, and Frank in conjunction (but I play PDU:off, so I use every type of aircraft). Tojo is fantastic as the low layer of a layered CAP, because of its good climb rate. It will climb and join the other fighters to engage en masse. Tony is a good 4-E killer, and Frank is your air superiority fighter.

[paradigmblue]

ORIGINAL: John B.

I've had this strategy used against me as the allies (Japan paradropping Kalgoorlie), and from experience I can say that it can work. My opponent also brought some tanks to the Perth invasion, which helped him quickly reinforce Kalgoorlie before I could move any outlying units in to oust the paratroopers.

[Aurorus]

ORIGINAL: John B.

Here is the current situation in China. Scott has a HUGE army behind the river but my plan is to ignore that for now. I'm going to screen it and head up the mountains to Lanchow. I figure he has no river to hide behind on the way there so if he wants to stand I'll batter him with artillery and if he runs away I take Lanchow. One point to Aurous's excellent analysis of VP's available in China is that any city one takes from the Chinese is worth 10 VP per upgrade point. So, the little dot cities, you take in the opening days can (if I am doing this right) be build up to be worth 80 VP with a level 8 airbase. That's more than a CA. Lanchow is worth 50 VP so it can be built up to being worth a CV. Good points that are hard for the allies to retake that can balance off losses elsewhere. At lease IMHO.

But, that huge army can always come out spoiling for a fight.

Cross the river northwest of Sian and take up positions in the mountain roads. That will force the supply for his big stack to go through diffificult terrain. Then bomb, bomb, bomb... especially with Sonias... that way you use less supply bombing than he does shooting AA. You opponent seems to have gone to the Carroll O'Connor military strategy school... "Ahhh flanks... Would you forget about your flanks!"

[Bif1961]

I see what you mean about not getting as much VPs from sinking Allied ships as your loses are about 9 points per ship, 67 Japanese sunk for 617 points but his are 271 sunk for 1458 or 6 points per ship. That would suggest you policed up a lot of fleeing vessels during the early phase of the game and you will soon lose your amphib bonus.

[John B.]

Sorry for the delay in posting, I was in Capetown to investigate the allied dry dock there and it's not very impressive.

So, not much has changed on the map except that Scott abandoned Lanchow (much to my surprise) so I picked up a free 300 VP plus oil and light industry. Since those airfields are worth 50 points each you can bet that the constructions crews will get to work. This presents an interesting dilema in China as my goal up there was Lanchow (and the coal mines at Sining which are also worth 300 VP aka CV ). I feel a bit stuck given his huge army in that area so perhaps I should take out a couple of divisions and, coupled with the hopefully soon to be freed up Wenchow forces and try some other place in his line?

As noted Still a siege at Wenchow and Bataan and I'm mopping up in Burma. He has not run out of supplies at Wenchow but Bataan has been on short rations for quite a while. Basically, I attack, rest myself up to disruption under 5 and fatigue down to 25 and then attack again. The ships and troops are gathered in Soerebaja for my southwest Australia operation and I intend to load up and head out in the next week. A couple of questions.

First, how long does the amphib bonus last? I thought it was six months (thus ending at the start of June).

Second, it's my understanding that as factories upgrade they don't lose out on production if they are part of the normal upgrade path (e.g. a 40 point Oscar Ic factory would automatically convert to a 40 points Oscar IIa factory when that model became available with no loss of production). Well, I've just completed the Helen and Nick research but there are no existing planes that convert to Helens or Nicks. So, do I have to take the hit of converting a Sally or Oscar factory to Helen or Nicks in order to get those planes going? Or, am I missing something?

@Bif. I have taken out a LOT of his AKLs. For example, he lost 15 in a surface action at Darwin. Those seem to be his ship of choice and it drives down the per ship average. He has not really gotten the sub war going so my losses tend to be higher value ships.

[Aurorus]

The amphibious bonus expires at the end of March. So, for any further amphibious ops, you want to use ships that have good operations points for amphibious operations: military AKs (not xAKs), APs, and your few LSDs (especially). APDs are good for this too. It is my understanding that ships can "share" op points, so having a mix of AKs and APs is helpful so that the APs can give op points to the AKs after the troops are unloaded and the long offload of supplies begins.

Yes. Nothing upgrades to Nick Ia or Helen Ia, so you will need to convert an existing factory. You start the game with a 14-point Helen factory ready to roll. If you have not changed this factory, you can expand it, without losing the 14 points you already have. If you have changed this factory, then you will need to convert another factory. You also start with a small Nick factory, which can be expanded, if you have not changed it.

[John B.]

I don't need no stinkin' amphib bonus! [:'(]

So, Scott began his counter offensive today by sending an amphib TF to retake Espiritu Santo. I only have a naval guard unit there so it should not be too hard for him to push me out and my loses will be light. This is good news because it means that the marines will be on an island when I hit perth. And, the first part of my plan was put into action today. Looking at the map, I think that there is a better way to cut off SW Oz than hoping to get paratroops into Kilgoorie in time. And, that is a bolt from the sea to take Port Augusta. All the rail lines run through there and it starts the game with only a base force. My guess (hope) is that Scott has not put any real units there. If I can take it and hold it for a few days that will let my invasion near Perth unfold without interference from east Oz and give me time to take Kilgoorie from the south with tanks. The way that God intended. [:D]

This turn may also see the demise of Wenchow. I've moved in another division so I'll have four ready to go. His forts are gone and the troops cannot be in good shape. No shock attack, just nice and steady deliberate assaults.

I must have changed the Helen and Nick factories. Lesson learned. I did see that My Lily factory is now producing but shaded in blue. I know what being shaded in blue on the RD screen means, but not what it means on the production screen.

And, thanks for all of the answers thus far. It makes my initiation into the Empire of Japan much easier!

[Aurorus]

Lol... spoken like an AFB. You will find that, after the amphibious bonus ends, the empire lacks the allied ability to unload large amounts of troops quickly without using large TFs with good amphibious ships. Just keep in mind that conducting several large amphibious operations simulaneously as Japan after March usually means long unload times. Try to keep your moves focused and in force. Also, invasions of heavily defended atolls and small islands become much more difficult. Did you take Wake yet? It can be a real bear after March.

One thing that you want to note about the empire, however, is that many of their lighter units, including regiments and even brigades are completely air mobile and do not contain large devices. While amphibious ops become more difficult, you still retain the ability to move troops very quickly in follow-ups with fast transport TFs and air transport. (Don't forget that your Mavis can air-transport long distances).

[John B.]

I did not take Wake. Since I opted for the Phillipines for the initial air raid I figured that the allied CVs could come and smash the Wake invasion force in short order. It was a compromise decision but I don't think it's on the table anymore. I do think I'm done with invading small islands unless something drastic happens. My last big invasion push is set for the Perth area. I hear what you're saying regarding the spreading out of invasion efforts and I'll have to consider that.

That is a very good point about the airmobility of Japanese regiments. One trick I'm thinking of is to air assault Kunming. I'm not putting recon on it now to not draw attention to it, but it's in easy air range of burma and northern Thailand. Not only could I fly in airborne units but it's interesting that I can also get more troops in there. Given my airlift capability, I can get more in there faster than Scott. And, at the very least cut a great deal of production out of China's meager resources.

[Dirtnap86]

I think Wenchow produces its own supplies. Enough to keep the corps that starts there able to reinforce. (I'm trying it in a AI game I'm playing right now, the Corps there is up to 407 raw AV and thanks to the 2 forts, tying up two full IJA divisions)

[John B.]

Dirtnap,

It would produce it's own supplies but factories and resource/oil items in a hex won't produce if there is an enemy unit in the hex. So, assuming I understand the rules correctly, if you have a Japanese unit in the Wenchow hex those factories should be sitting idle. I actually took wenchow this turn. One way to hasten its demise is to bombard it from the sea every night. I used two DDs (but use what you need) based out of Shanghai. The DDs could rearm in Shanghai and bombard Wenchow each day. That makes the chinese use up ammunition and disorganizes them each turn.

[Aurorus]

The resources will not produce if you have a unit in the hex. The factories will still produce (assuming that they have resources). One strategy for Wenchow is to leave a unit in the hex and isolate it, which will starve the industry of resources and no supplies will be produced.

[John B.]

Aurorus, as always, is correct! [&o] I just checked Kwelien and my resources there are not producing but the brave lads in the ammo factories are still toiling away. That makes life more interesting!

It is early april and here is the latest score. Again, I don't think that there is really anything out of the ordinary here other than I think ship losses are a bit low on both sides. Scott has used his P-40Es more than I did so I think I'm a little out in front in terms of plane VPs but, these numbers are so low that in 1944 they won't really matter. I only have one more big bank of land unit VP and those are the soldiers in Bataan. They have run out of supplies and now I attack, refresh, and attack. Even at 1-2 odds I'm killing about 6-7 times the number of troops that he is so it's only a matter of time.

Scott did retake Espiritu Santo. I only had a naval guard unit there and he can pretty much go all the way up the Solomans since I have no naval assets over there at all. And that's because. . . .

[John B.]

Operation Oz is underway. The 164th regiment is loaded and headed to Port Augusta, You see the trail heading away since the destination of the TF is Colombo but it's going there via way points that take it near Port Augusta. If he should read my radio traffic and determine that the 164th is on a convoy heading to Colombo well, that would just be too bad wouldn't it. [:D]

I'll put 3 inf. divisions ashore north of Perth and 4 tank regiments ashore south of Kilgoorie. The armor has to take Kilgoorie before Scott can clear me out of Port Augusta to prevent any reinforcements getting to Perth. Of course, I have to hope there is not much in Port Augusta and that some damn fishing trawler doesn't see me when I'm in the Bight but such are the fortunes of war.

[Aurorus]

I am very impressed with your use of your air force. I have a game going in late March 1942, so I can compare. Your sortie numbers and operational losses are quite low and your score is very good. So you are making very efficient use of your air force. You will have to teach me how to be more efficient with my air force. I tend to use more sorties and have much higher operational losses. I think that I overuse my air force. Learn something new every day on these forums, and it is always helpful to see an allied player, with allied habits, play Japan. I can learn a few lessons from this (i.e. be more focused).

[John B.]

@ Aurorus, thanks for the compliment but I can't think of anything that I do to consciously keep operations losses down. I do rest units that get fatigue below 90 and I try very hard to have more aviation support squads than needed (don't want that number in the red). Also, if there is no reason to bomb, then I don't do it. Remember that I do not have a lot of naval sorties. The KB, for example, has been in port for about a month pending development of the Australia operation. So, the sortie number may be about to increase.

Speaking of navy, one of my RO's just scored a CL off of Brisbane. Nice shootin' there Tex![8D] Scott sent two DDs into Roi Namur (next to Kawjelien) for a bombardment mission. I suspect he may land there soon. All very excellent. The further away his assets are from OZ the more time I have to get ashore and head for Perth.

Scott just took Long Son in Vietnam activating my VM milita. They're not very helpful but they do free up an IJA unit from garrison duty. He is also poking around with minor thrusts. But, so am I. I do think it was a mistake to give up Lanchow and the entire Gobi desert. I just netted 800 VP for no cost (or almost three CV's worth) and I can build up Lanchow and that big coal mine place in the mountians and rake in another 400 VP or so.

I just saw a heavy concentration of radio signals in Colombo. I wonder if he thinks there's a large invasion force heading that way. [:D]