The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

[Dirtnap86]

Yowza, 327 kills for that squadron, hooboy. I take it they were one of the ones that attended Sabang?

[Canoerebel]

Yes, that's right. Long-time readers will recall the intensity and length of the Sumatra campaign. I was able to transfer in P-40Ks F4Fs (and some other fighters) via Ramree Island (range 23 hexes). And my carriers also provided staging points for fighters, though eventually I moved the flattops out of harm's way. I didn't have enough pools to sustain the fight, but the Warhawks, Wildcats and Lightnings really performed well. As a result, a number of LBA and carrier fighter squadrons have high kill totals and very good pilots.

[Canoerebel]

4/24/44

A fine day. Most of the details are on the map, but highlights:

Fun House: Landings at Taytay are unopposed.

Burma: The enemy left flank is showing signs of collapse, though John may be able to reinforce and stabilize.

CenPac: KB sighted at Truk, giving me info needed to act on.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: Dirtnap86

Yowza, 327 kills for that squadron, hooboy. I take it they were one of the ones that attended Sabang?

That's it?!? [:D]

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

ORIGINAL: Dirtnap86

Yowza, 327 kills for that squadron, hooboy. I take it they were one of the ones that attended Sabang?

That's it?!? [:D]

Please, I don't even want to know...

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

ORIGINAL: Dirtnap86

Yowza, 327 kills for that squadron, hooboy. I take it they were one of the ones that attended Sabang?

That's it?!? [:D]

Please, I don't even want to know...

I made a mental note to post some screenies of my own later.

[Capt. Harlock]

I wonder if if would be worthwhile to fly some paratroops into Cabanatuan? It does seem to give access to the road and rail routes -- if there's a lightly defended base on the north coast of Luzon, you might be able to bypass Manila and starve it for a couple of months before cleaning up. (If John continues his current level of inactivity [:-])

[crsutton]

Interesting how you distribute your pilots. I rarely put a pilot in a group with an air skill below 70-69. Have plenty enough in the pool by mid 43. Though your pilot experience is high, I always pull experienced pilots with air skills below 69 out of units and send them to train.

[DW]

It might be useful to delve into the rules covering a base auto-flipping.

As you noted, Cabanatuan's flip seems unusual given the size of the Japanese force next door.

Depending on what the rules are, it could reveal some information.

[jwolf]

ORIGINAL: DW

It might be useful to delve into the rules covering a base auto-flipping.

Are there any? Based on this example I'm not so sure! [;)]

[bradfordkay]

The prisoners and Filipino guerrillas must have fomented an uprising.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: DW

It might be useful to delve into the rules covering a base auto-flipping.

As you noted, Cabanatuan's flip seems unusual given the size of the Japanese force next door.

Depending on what the rules are, it could reveal some information.

Well, it means the place was empty... and also that maybe CR has more AV present nearby than John does. That's the general pattern I've noticed, anyway.

[Yakface]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

Interesting how you distribute your pilots. I rarely put a pilot in a group with an air skill below 70-69. Have plenty enough in the pool by mid 43. Though your pilot experience is high, I always pull experienced pilots with air skills below 69 out of units and send them to train.

Also, I notice some of the defence values of those pilots are very low - twenties and thirties. Do you not find that compromises their performance?

[Canoerebel]

4/25/44

Burma: The Allies take Toungoo, and the Japanese MLR may be crumbling. See map for details.

Fun House: A quietly productive day, as Death Star moves SE out of the Sulu Sea (see next map for details). However, the Allied reinforcement TFs at Boela declined to leave port (probably one TF hadn't finished loading). This will slow things down a bit.

KB: No sign of it today, though recon didn't fly Truk due to weather.

[Canoerebel]

Fun House

[Canoerebel]

ORIGINAL: Yakface
Also, I notice some of the defence values of those pilots are very low - twenties and thirties. Do you not find that compromises their performance?

I would benefit from an aide-d'-camp that could point out all the little housekeeping chores that need attending to.

Despite the low defense values for many of the pilots in this squadron it performs very well in combat.

For the most part, Burma has been quiet since mid 1943. The Allies stood down all aircraft from the late spring through the end of the year. When I resumed the bombing campaign on January 2, 1944, John chose not to commit his fighters. He's changed that recently, bringing some in every now and then, but they've mostly gotten chewed up, either in aerial combat or on the ground.

The DEI has been the most hotly contested air space, so more top-notch squadrons and pilots are found there. The same holds true for the Philippines, though to this point the air war hasn't really started. I have 200+ fighters at Legaspi to protect the base, but John isn't attacking.

[Canoerebel]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

ORIGINAL: DW

It might be useful to delve into the rules covering a base auto-flipping.

As you noted, Cabanatuan's flip seems unusual given the size of the Japanese force next door.

Depending on what the rules are, it could reveal some information.

Well, it means the place was empty... and also that maybe CR has more AV present nearby than John does. That's the general pattern I've noticed, anyway.

Even if John has stripped Manila of all assault value (I don't think he has, but it's possible) it would still be impossible to make use of Cabanatuan. He has tons of infantry nearby. Any Allied landings in northern Luzon would be surrounded and probably destroyed.

He's showing reluctance to advance on Legaspi/Naga, which I think is a good call for him. But I believe he has 150+k in Luzon, just waiting for a chance to pounce. So I won't airlift troops to Cabanatuan nor will I be invading Aparri or San Fernando or nearby bases anytime soon.

[jwolf]

That looks like nice progress in Burma. It would sure be sweet to get Rangoon. Fair warning: Rangoon can be built up to a very high level fort. In my AI game the Japanese built it up to level 8! But as you said, if you take Pegu then Rangoon will, eventually, be cut off.

[Canoerebel]

Both sides can claim victory in Burma, I suppose.

John did a good job of creating that MLR from Prome to Toungoo. It held for something like six or eight weeks.

And I'm advancing with a small army, using mostly air power, and drawing in enemy assets (LCU, LBA, and even BBs) that John could use better elsewhere.

The objective is pretty much to just keep applying pressure so that John will respond by committing his assets here.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

ORIGINAL: Yakface
Also, I notice some of the defence values of those pilots are very low - twenties and thirties. Do you not find that compromises their performance?

I would benefit from an aide-d'-camp that could point out all the little housekeeping chores that need attending to.

Despite the low defense values for many of the pilots in this squadron it performs very well in combat.

For the most part, Burma has been quiet since mid 1943. The Allies stood down all aircraft from the late spring through the end of the year. When I resumed the bombing campaign on January 2, 1944, John chose not to commit his fighters. He's changed that recently, bringing some in every now and then, but they've mostly gotten chewed up, either in aerial combat or on the ground.

The DEI has been the most hotly contested air space, so more top-notch squadrons and pilots are found there. The same holds true for the Philippines, though to this point the air war hasn't really started. I have 200+ fighters at Legaspi to protect the base, but John isn't attacking.

Those pilots look like recently-arrived replacements. They have a low mission count. They could be sent back to the pools and replaced using the "Request Veteran" option.