Question on a ongoing game

[Ketza]

My opponent and I are playing a stock scenario 15. As the Allies I decided not to run and we had a helluva fight over Java. naval losses for both sides are relatively light but air losses are another story. It is near the end of March and he finally has a foothold on the island with a stomp stack of 36 units so I feel the end is finally near. My guess is the ISland will be cleared out by 2nd week of April.

My question is for you players that have gone long term if the losses I put on the Japanese player were "worth" it. He has lost some 1400 planes to my 2400. His Zero losses are around 475. My 4e wings are still in good shape but my fighter pool is decimated.

I have sunk a BB and a CVL and put a hurting on another CVL and at least 6 other of his BBs should be in 15-20 non float damage area or more.

I am hoping the damage inflicted and the slowing down of his offensive was worth it.

Any thoughts?

[n01487477]

Anything that bites into the Japanese - is good. Attrition is the worst enemy to the Japanese, they just cannot sustain the pilot losses nor the planes. The longer you hold him up the less likely he will want to launch into India/Australia and the less work you will have to do in the long term.
1.7:1 Air losses are acceptable against the Japanese at this stage.

I am a proponent of fighting the good fight - it makes for a better PBEM & certainly as I have found in my own PBEM, to my detriment, there are no limits to what the Allies can achieve in '42 if the right pressure is placed.

Good Luck...

[Shark7]

And the bad thing as Japan is if you fly, you suffer ops losses, so the only way to really preserve your good pilots is not to fight at all, which also isn't plausible.

Even the early war allied fighters will can turn the air war into a meat grinder against mediocre or poor skill japanese pilots.

[Misconduct]

Sounds like you put a major crush on his naval offense, and air offense remember he can't restock his pilots with experience as you can, most likely your advance did you better the him.

Taken from my campaign, I ambushed an enemy CV off Guam, sank a CV, CVL and BB. He sent a task force from truk to Lunga hoping to catch my CV as I returned to Lunga to restock where I have been hiding mostly. He lost another CV and CVL leaving truk and entire NewG Area without any serious naval threat. We both based our game around the mobility of naval, and so far he's pretty much left to stocking Truk with Betties and NewG area with Japanese army fighters with no quality at all vs my corsairs and P38s.

[engineer]

I'd say good work as long as he's not running wild elsewhere.  The Japanese players have their best chance to sprint most of the way to an auto-victory in the first six months of the game and then carefully go over the top in the latter part of 1942.  It looks like you've bloodied the Japanese enough that is not likely to be in the cards.
 
Ditto the comments above on attrition.  Typically, there is something like the historical Midway sometime in the middle two quarters of 1942.  If the Allies win, then the tide starts to turn pretty swiftly.  If the Allies lose, then the Japanese will either lock-up their 1943 auto-victory or the march toward Tokyo just gets reset to sometime in 1943.
 

[Ketza]

He hasnt really run wild anywhere else. He has PM and LUnga and advanced as far as Tarawa. Aluetians are quiet as well.

[Feinder]

1.7:1 Air losses are acceptable against the Japanese at this stage.

Yes. That rate is fairly "punishing" for Japan. Frankly, up until about August, a ratio of 2.5:1 (against you as Allies), is fairly acceptable in my book. 3:1 you're bordering on just training his pilots. But at 1.7:1, it's definately worth it.

-F-