The Leader Debate!

[Jeremy Pritchard]

Hi, I am just going to post up a few leaders left in 2.3 that I think could be removed and used for others...

1. Admiral Hart

- Frankly I never knew why the Asiatic Fleet was included in the game at all! Would have much perferred to have the 1st Australian Army! Of course, then this removes the option to use him in other theatres, but was that historically an option?

2. Major General Brereton

- He was quickly promoted and sent to the Medeterranean in early 1942. Since there is no way in 'transferring' generals out of the theatre (except death or injury!) his appearance in the game is not necessary, and can be 'filled in' by Brett.

3. Major General Lynd

- All accounts state that he became an inspector general and never really left the US West Coast. I am of two minds wether or not to remove him, since he was the air commander of the 4th USAAF, and getting rid of him means that if you want to defend the air of the West Coast (now 4th Army) you have to use a Pacific commander.

4. Major General Corlett

- He commanded the 7th Infantry Division, but then left and became XIX Corps commander for the Normandy invasion and Northern France. He never commanded more than a division in the Pacific.

5. Brigadier General Chennault

- Since there is no more China, should Chennault be there? He commanded the Chinese Airforce, while Stratemeyer commanded the USAAF in the CBI theatre.

6. Rear Admiral Palliser

- Was C-in-C to the British China Squadron, then was assistant to the Eastern Fleet HQ. His only in field service took place with the 1st Cruiser Squadron, in the Medeterranean, and this occurred after he left the Pacific. Since he never performed militarily in this theatre, and only served there for a few inactive years, why include him? He is, to me, like Helfreich. He was there, but didn't do much that Pacific War can represent!

7. Vice Admiral Layton

- I am not quite sure about what to do with this guy. He was sort of like Palliser, that he never directly commanded, but he was instrumental in commanding the defence of Ceylon throughout the war.


Possible additions?

1. Vice Air Marshal Williams

- Commanded Air Forces in the 14th Army region. Both the IJNAF, IJAAF, USMC and USAAF have leaders in the game responsible for their air forces (Brett, Kenney, Tazoe, etc..) while the British only have one (General Pierse). Possibly to give the RAF another air commander would result in better late war performance of the RAF?

2. Rear Admiral Moody

- Replaced Rear Admiral Bode as the Far East Carrier Commander in 1943. He commanded all carriers in their strikes in the East Indies in late 1944 and early 1945 before the CV's were taken by Rawlings and Vian to the Pacific. He was then in command of the CVE force.

3. Rear Admiral Patterson

- Commanded Cruisers in the British Far Eastern Fleet in 1944-45.

3. Rear Admiral Pownall (Or was he Vice?)

- Originally included in the game, I removed him because he only served for a while. However, being incompetent does not mean he should not be included! (heck Homma is still there!). He led the Carrier forces in the Marshall Island operation, and badly at that. Who is to say that you would remove him or not?



I really would like to only have Leaders in pacific war (due to the severe limitations on numbers) who actually commanded forces either extremely important or larger than one unit. Including leaders who were just divisional commanders seems to be a waste, since rarely does one use a leader to command only one LCU. Leaders that controlled larger numbers of troops (Corps commanders), or an entire invasion force (Like the South Seas Force commanded by Horii) should have precidence over those that commanded only one division in the theatre (like Corlett).

Any suggestions on some more US commanders who fit into this? I find searching for US Army commanders to be difficult, as only a few ever commanded more than just their division, since relatively few were removed from command! Generals who commanded corps formations in 1942 went on to command Armies in 1944. They were replaced by a few commanders who rose up from Divisional Command, but the US Army did not have a large number of leaders used! You will notice that many leaders that took part in the Battles of 1942 were still in command in 1945. Very few replacement leaders were needed, as I can only find a small few that fought in the Pacific as force commanders.

Are there some larger formation (like Corps) commanders that I have not included in the game? I was thinking about adding Parker back into the game, but since I removed many leaders who did not do much in the early part of the war (Heath, Parker, etc...). I am looking for leaders with longevity, those that would start off early and last long, and even those who appear late, but are very powerful.

I was thinking possibly adding some of the "Operation Coronet" commanders, since I did add their divisions as arriving in mid 1945 (to allow the US player some forces for a last ditch assault on Japan in late 1945). Sure, they were not supposed to arrive until 1946, but I thought since the game arbitrarially ends in January 1946, why not give the US an actual cance of invading? I figure that the game was warped to give Japan a chance at winning through casualty rate increases in 1944/45, then why not give the US a fair chance in invading in 1945?

The 1st US Army, along with some Corps from Europe were stlated for the invasion. Can anyone add some leaders that were assigned from Europe to the Pacific for the Invasion of Japan?

[Solinari]

Hi,
I was wondering in terms of corps commanders, why not give the Brits more?? For example, some like Sir Frank Messervy was promoted from divisional commander to head 4th or wassit 15th corps later in the war. The problem is that Brits have many divisions but few commanders. I have only Scoones, Stofford and mayb Alex and Pownall. Christision i use as air commander for 14th Army. Another corps level commander would be Wingate. AZfterall, his Chindits had 6 Bdes and should b equilvalent to a Corps foirmation.
Other British leader would include Sir Peter Gliffard who was in command of Indian forces in India( isit 11th Army Group) and Lesse who went in in 1944 to command the group. As for air commanders, can we have some English air commanders? Sir Kieth Park was the SEAC air commander late in the war and the Brits also have a few commanders in charge of air ops. If the US have a few air commanders, why not the Brits?
Well, i sound Anglophile....thats because i use the Brits a lot in the game and usually, by 1944, my troops have reached Haiphong and Taiwan:)
I hope my comments are worth hearing out