Matrix Games Forums

Hi! The war in my GC against the AI is only 10 days old, but I am starting to plan my future moves. I want to transfer a lot of resources (troops, air groups, fuel and supply) to Australia. How should I proceed? The distance is huge and many routes are too close to the Japs for comfort.

Fuel and supply from Cape Town to Perth (if needed, you can then shuttle fuel with small tankers from Perth to Sydney).

If you take Sardaukar's advice, escort those tankers!  The AI tends to hide a few subs west of Melbourne; I lost a TF of tankers to one of those guys a few turns ago.
 
If you're coming from the West Coast, I'd suggest the Christmas Island/PagoPago/Noumea route.  You'll need some big merchant ships and a few long distance DD's (or expect them to do midocean refueling for smaller ships), but that route is fairly outside IJN range.  If you don't like Noumea, go down to Auckland instead.

Yea, always escort your Tankers, they are prime assets. You can probably get away with it between Cape Town and Perth, but Perth - Melbourne-Sydney needs escort. For example shorter range DDs are fine for this.

By the way, if convoys are coming from West Coast to Sydney, those small and slow AO oilers are very good addition to TF, since they can do on-sea refuelling for TF.

Thanks for all the good advices. One more questio though: what route should I use to transport my troops?

That depends quite a lot where your troops arrive to be transported and what you want to transport. For example, quite a few Australian units arrive in Aden.

I was thinking of transporting troops from the USA (East or West). I could perhaps first transport them to Cape Town and from there to Perth. 

If they're on the WC already, how you ship them depends on where you want to use them.  I ship some to Pearl directly and others straight to Noumea, Suva and Pago Pago.  However, for those last three make sure you've got base support units there first so they will help unload the ships, and build the ports up so your ships won't sit there for weeks waiting to unload.

Thank you. What I am concerned about is the safest route for my transports. I guess that there aren't that many destroyers capable of escorting a transport from San Francisco to Noumea. Should I assign a CV for air cover? Should I use a very southern route so to avoid Japanese planes and TFs?

ORIGINAL: Valgua

Thank you. What I am concerned about is the safest route for my transports. I guess that there aren't that many destroyers capable of escorting a transport from San Francisco to Noumea. Should I assign a CV for air cover? Should I use a very southern route so to avoid Japanese planes and TFs?

It's 177 hexes from SF to Sydney if you go direct. Unfortunately that would run you right through enemy territory

It's also 177 hexes from SF to Penrhyn Island and then on to Sydney. That trip is much safer and all you've generally have to worry about is subs (mostly off the West Coast and near Sydney - but they can show up anywhere).

Unfortunately Penrhyn Island can't be built up enough to be free of spoilage concerns. Still it can be built up to a size 4 port and size 3 airfield. Whether you choose to build up or not, it's a useful nav point. Just be sure to set your TFs to "Do not unload" until they get to their final destination. "Do not refuel" as well so they don't suck the port dry.

My general strategy for AE is to use bigger convoys and never completely unescorted if at all possible. That means, at least for now, that my CVs have to sit in port because they lack DD escorts. They did do a little raiding in the Makin area just to show the flag. Off the West Coast and near OZ, I'm actively hunting subs with KVs, YPs, PGs, AMs and the like. I'm not using DDs for ASW TFs except when they go out to meet convoys to beef up the escorts in the hot spots - I'm not willing to trade DDs for subs. I haven't sunk any subs but I've put the hurt on nearly a dozen in the first 5 weeks of war. They haven't sunk anything since mid-December. It requires a lot of micro-management but I'm enjoying the new challenge.

The sub aspect of AE is the best improvement to gameplay IMO. I feel like I'm play Harpoon, when I'm concentrating on the sub aspect.

Instead of setting a base like Penrhyn Island as the destination and Sydney as the homeport, ala Classic WitP, why not just set a waypoint 1 hex off of Penrhyn Island so you don't have to worry about unloading or drinking all the gas at the base.  [:)]

ORIGINAL: USS America

Instead of setting a base like Penrhyn Island as the destination and Sydney as the homeport, ala Classic WitP, why not just set a waypoint 1 hex off of Penrhyn Island so you don't have to worry about unloading or drinking all the gas at the base.  [:)]

Yes, you can do that. But you can also put an AV, a couple of AOs, a few AMs, and some Kingfisher float planes at Penrhyn. Helps ensure enough fuel for the escorts and guards against the dastardly AI programmer putting multiple subs in the vicinity.

I also find it handy having them stop part way so I can re-evaluate their destination. It's too easy to forget what I sent out weeks past.

Mostly I used it as an easy example. "177 hexes from SF to Sydney via hex 167,159" just doesn't convey very well.

It's good that you pointed out the equally valid alternative. Thank you.

If you park an AO at an island, I would recommend one that is nothing but a rock in the middle of the Pacific, not one that could be built up.  The AI (Andy) already knows which base can become useful and which ones can't, and the subs tend to hang around the useful ones.  If you put your support ships at a rock instead of a possible useful base, the subs don't tend to notice them (and neither will the KB if they take a long cruise).

Im shipping gas out of LA to Auckland--so far its working fine without escorts. I do set waypoints to keep the tfs from venturing into contested waters though.

<Thank you. What I am concerned about is the safest route for my <transports. I guess that there aren't that many destroyers <capable of escorting a transport from San Francisco to Noumea. <Should I assign a CV for air cover? Should I use a very southern <route so to avoid Japanese planes and TFs?

CV escort is probably overkill IMHO it must be only restricted to special convoys AND only if it takes your CV to where you want them to be.

In my experience it's of capital importance never give an order to go directly from PH/West coast to noumea/sydney or viceversa as it takes you too near tarawa to be safe, use waypoints (1 should do the trick) to maintain it south.

What Ive ended up doing after several repeated tries is running supply and gas runs for Australia out of LA to Auckland--no troops. Troops and planes for SouthPac and SWPac run from San Diego to Pearl then to Noumea and Brisbane with escorts. San Fran is for PacArea troops, planes, and supplies leaving Seattle to serve Alaska.

You have to move units around alot on the west coast but by keeping each major port serving only one or two areas it makes it somewhat simpler in the long haul, especially once you get into the latter part of 42 when allied reinforcements really start to show up in quantity.