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So you are playing one of the Grand Campaign scenarios, and Day 1 is the historical sequence. You watch, nod your head, and then Day 2 arrives and you look around for your opening moves. We're talking potentially 1000's of things you should do or need to do. It's a bit overwhelming, to put it mildly. But presumably some of you folks out there have analyzed this in excuciating detail, and have written down all those "must do" items in some form of document or spreadsheet.

I'm not concerned so much with combat-related orders, as those will vary widely from player to player. There's no such thing as the "optimal choice" since it completely depends upon your strategy. But logistics is different. What fuel, oil, and supply convoys should be established at the start, and where should they be going? I would have to think there are some "best practices" out there which would reduce the trial-and-error factor enormously among those who are just getting their feet wet in one of the various GCs. And, obviously, you'd need at least two different documents (one for Allies and another for Japan), and the Japanese one should probably address things like production system tweaks.

Also, how do folks approach that Day 2 turn? Do you go through one region at a time and touch every base, applying both combat and logistics orders? Or do you set up all your logistics first and then go back through to handle combat ops?

Alternatively, I would also like to see a series of posted "Day 2" saved game files (i.e all your changes in place and just ready to hit the "end orders phase" button). Describe which of the GC's you are playing and give a brief synopsis of what your goals were in setting everything up as you did.

Having been wupped by the AI a couple of times, here are a few observations for turn 2 for the Allies.
1. The Japanese AI is very aggressive. Get Enterprise and Lexington out of harms way.
2. You have lots of shipping, mostly in places where it isn't useful. I start on one side of the map and work across, checking every port. Get your shipping moving to where its needed.
3. While doing #2, set up ASW and local mine sweeping TF patrols.
4. While doing #2, set up air search and air ASW patrols.
6. You have lots of small bases that start the game with low supplies. While doing step #2, note these and send them a resupply TF (usually a single AKL).
5. Colombo can run out of supplies quickly. Get resupply TFs moving.
6. The Japanese AI will move against your routes to Australia very early. Decide where you want to defend, and get troops and base forces moving.

I have never played as the Japanese, so I can not comment on them. I have, however, been playing the Allies quite a bit, playing a few weeks here, seeing what works, what doesnt, starting over, and repeating. Trying to get a feel for the game, mostly. What I usually do is as follows:

-Get resupply TFs from SF moving to all bases with little to no supplies, especially around Australia, as the Japanese in every game I have played make moves on Rabaul/Guadalcanal quite fast.
-Get Troops and Air Units from SF moving to these bases you have supplied (Port Moresby, Port Darwin, ect...) These areas will be in desperate need quite fast for both.
-Instead of sending Enterprise and Lexington to retreat, I use them to try to defend Wake until I can get supplies to it. This has worked quite well with excellent results a few times, sinking some Japanese transports, and in one case, a DD and seriously damaging a CL. In one case, I lost use of the Lexington for a few months, took some serious damage from an air strike. [;)] (EDIT: See below)
-Start to move around troops in India to get into a Defensive position around Rangoon as fast as possible. Once Manila and Singapore falls, the Japanese seem to be hell bent on taking Rangoon with all the forces they had around these areas. At the sametime, I move my troops and air units all to Seorabaja (spelling?) and take up defensive positions there. This helps with delaying the Japanese in fully controlling this region. (Beware that once this region - Java area - falls, the Japanese are very aggressive toward the Port Darwin area and west of Australia they conduct Air Combat and Surface Combat raids on shipping)
-Retreat any and all Combat Vessels and other craft from Manila, Palembang, and Java area. Get them out, and FAST. The forces that sweep down on you there are WAY to overwhelming for you to even TRY to make a stand. Get them to either Columbo, via Seorabaja, or to Sydney to be ready for the inevitable raids that will take place around PM in a while.
-Phillipines: I would highly advise trying to defend Clark Field with all your troops instead of Manila. Clark Field can be retreated to Bataan if you get overwhelmed fast, and you can make another stand there. In Manila, the case is different. The Japanese will usually fully surrounf it leaving you with no retreat route. What this does is buys you more time where the Japanese will have to dig you out of 2 bases raher than 1.
-Alaska area: Get supplies and troops moving here soon. The Japanese will eventually makes moves in this area to attain Attu and a few of the other islands here. Be ready with some Air Units and some smaller ships, CA, CL, and DDs. (This is usually about 8+ months into the game, but it is better to be repared than trying to get troops there once they are already landed).
-Get the Yorktown, Hornet, and Wasp (once you recieve the latter ships) over to PM to add some extra air units and TFs to the area. This area will be CRAWLING with japanese ships once they start making moves here. If you have supplied this area properly, this will be a great hunting ground for your Subs and Air Units. Use Enterprise and Lexington to stand guard in the Midway/Wake area or as back up CVs if you happen to lose any early on (which will be devistating to you for quite a while if this happens).
-SUPPLY COLUMBO! This is a MUST if you decided to retreat the ships from Malasia to here! If you do not supply it, you will find yourself stuck and waiting for your supply TFs to trickle in prescious fuel and supplies while the Japanese run rampant around Rangoon with no TF support. Be warned, this area, once Singapore falls, will be extremely demanding on supplies and fuel. Your TFs will be under constant attack from the air and surface TFs if you decide to send TFs to help Rangoon. The Japanese throw an impressive amount of resources at this area at the sametime they are attacking PM area.
-Begin to upgrade bases around PM, to include PM itself. Upgrade Rangoon also and Alaska area. Midway and Wake will need them too, once all these bases have been supplied.
-Do NOT take supplies from Sydney to PM/Guadalcanal unless you have a lot of supplies coming from SF to Sydney. This base, like Columbo, will run dry extremely fast, and if you havent supplied it, PM will be the only base in this area with supplies and fuel, but will be utterly useless as a TF base, due to MASSIVE amounts of Air Units the AI will move into Rabaul and surrounding bases it takes. You have been warned.

There are other moves I tend to make for furture plans, as I remember them, I will post here. I hope this is what you were looking for.

EDIT NOTE: In my current scenario I am playing, using this tactic, I was able to attack the TF that usually tries to take Wake. I managed to sink 3 CLs, 5 DDs, and numerous transports. In doing so, I have drastically increased the odds of successfully maintaining control of Wake.

Kull, I could answer your question but every time I start to type a reply I get distracted by your avatar.[X(]

I was compiling a "Allied To-do" list that has the most immediate concerns of what to do on day 2.  I like to do a 1 day turn, then change to either my normal 2 or 3 day turns, so my list generally covers concerns for the first few days.  But the list is on my home computer, here's a few ones I remember off the top of my head:

• Evac ships from highly threatened ports = Hong Kong, Naga, Guam, Georgtown
• Increase (max out) demand for Supplies for your "Last Ditch" bases = Singapore, either Clark/Manila/Bataan (pick ONE!!)
• Start fortification effort in Burma/Malaysia/Philippines/DEI to at least burn up supplies
• Prepare Pearl in case KB loiters.
• Decide on plan for your CVs - hit Wake, go south, go north, etc.
• ANY TF created that will unload troops at tiny ports (2 or less), make Amphibious.  If Size 3, dependent on whether offloading supplies there also, then also Amphib.
• Assemble Surface Strike TFs from scattered pieces - Houston, Boise, Marblehead @ Balikpapen --Dutch @ Soerbaja -- Limeys at Batavia
• Create ASW TFs whereever you can, send to patrol off main bases - earlier you start the better, IJN subs have a big head start.
• Create Minesweeping TFs at front line bases - they may be "Bettied" but they'll clear some mines that have been snuck in.

Will add the rest tonight.

Here we go, got some more detail:

Evacuate Merchantmen from the MOST Endangered Ports

1. Guam (AM)
2. Davao (AVD, 2 xAKLs – whatever’s floating)
3. Hong Kong (3 DDs, 8 MTBs in TFs; 9 xAKs, 6 xAKLs)
4. Naga (TK, 2 xAKs, 5 xAKLs)
5. Georgetown (2 xAPs, 3 xAKs, 1 xAKL, 4 HDMLs)
6. Kuching (xAKL)
7. Sambas (1 hex W of Kuching = AVP)

Prepare/Begin Evac of Less Endangered Ports

1. Manilla (27 SS should be out of port pronto!, 6 AMs MSW patrol, 9 PTs, 4 DDs & 3 PGs) (3 AS – keep 1 in port, AV, AVP, 2 AOs, 2 TKs, 3 xAPs, 5 xAKs, 9 xAKLs) EVAC routes, early=SW to DEI, later – E towards Midway/Pearl once mini KB is out of way and Legaspi landings over.
2. Singapore (2 CLs, 5 DDs, 2 MLs, 1 PG, 2 AMs, 2 AMCs, 2 HDML, 5 TKs, 5 xAPs, 6 xAKs, 5 xAKLs)
3. Other Philippine (Cagayan – 2 xAKLs; Dadjangas – 2 xAKLs, Tacloban – 2 xAKLs, Puerto Princessa – AVP)
4. Tarakan – AVP, AG, AO, TK, PC, CM
5. Rangoon – 5 HDMLs, 3 xAKs, 4 xAKLs
6. Ternate - AVP

Most of these come under Air threat fairly early.

Assemble/Gather Surface Elements to form Strike TFs

1. Borneo-Philippines -Balikpapen– CA Houston (Iliolo), CL Boise (Sulu Sea), Manila DDs (later), CL Marblehead + 5 DDs
2. Java – Dutch - Soerbaja – CL DeRuyter + 4 DDs, Soerbaja – 1 DD, CL Trump (Java Sea), 4 DDs (Java Sea), CL Java + 2 DDs (W Java port – Kalidjati)
3. Brits assemble Palembang/Batavia– 2 CLs Palembang, remnants Force Z, 1 DD (Singapore), 1 CL + 4 DDs in damaged state (Singapore), Hong Kong DDs

Turn Off Repair of Factories on ALL bases requiring a garrison, the bolded ones do NOT meet the garrison requirement initially - imperative Factory Repair is turned off immediately. Had this in nice 3 columns, formatting here is a problem. First Number is Garrison AV requirement, 2nd is actual garrison AV:

INDIA
Ahmadabad 50/39
Ambala 20/33
Amritsar 50/33
Bangalore 50/54
Bombay 100/133
Calcutta 225/170
Cawnpore 50/60
Dehli 60/67
Howrah 20/0
Hyderabad 100/92
Karachi 50/165
Lahore 120/149
Luchnow 60/83
Madras 100/140
Rawalpindi 60/140

To turn off repair of industry, go to base, then click on each industry/resource symbol at the bottom - screen will then show screen with "On" highlighted in yellow under "Repair" - click on On til it says Off.

Turn Off Repair on ALL bases requiring a garrison, those in italics have NO industry/resources - only damage would be to supplies/AF. Again, only Lashio does not meet garrison:

BURMA
Bassein 5/7
Lashio 5/2
Magwe 5/17
Mandalay 5/7
Mektila 5/12
Moulmein 5/60
Myitkyna 5/6
Pegu 5/41
Prome 5/26
Rangoon 150/208
Shwebo 5/9
Taung Gyi 5/48
Toungoo 5/5

Kalemyo is a dot base just inside Burma on the Imphal road – it has a garrison requirement of 5, but has no industry/resources/airfield - so you can ignore it.

Turn Off Repair on ALL bases requiring a garrison:

CHINA

Changsha 100/551
Chengchow 50/175
Chengtu 150/155
Chungking 150/718
Kunming 50/217
Lanchow 50/29
Sian 50/730
Wenchow 50/409
Wuchow 50/30


DEI

Batavia 50/246
Soerbaja 50/127

ORIGINAL: Raverdave

Kull, I could answer your question but every time I start to type a reply I get distracted by your avatar.[X(]

My girlfriend. Not only cute but also thoroughly fascinated by the in-depth nature of games like this one. I once took her through the steps involved in setting up CAP over a base, and she was just amazed at how everything fit together. She thinks the guys who designed this are geniuses.

ORIGINAL: dr. smith

I was compiling a "Allied To-do" list that has the most immediate concerns of what to do on day 2.  I like to do a 1 day turn, then change to either my normal 2 or 3 day turns, so my list generally covers concerns for the first few days.  But the list is on my home computer, here's a few ones I remember off the top of my head:

Good stuff Doc, thanks! If you could post the actual file, that would be very cool!

Still compiling "To Do" list, finished base by base N. America last night, need to work on making it succinct and clear, need to do some consolidating (like one list showing all non-restricted Ground Units in US available for shipment, to make it easy to plot what goes where).

Also one surprise is there are ALOT of Base Forces with NO engineers! Seemingly US Army BF rarely have them. With WitP, one BF was all you needed to build and support, not in AE.

Several Australian engineer units start in useless locations in the interior, numbered ones I think. There is one on a dot hex and another on Kangaroo Island off the south coast, as well as a few more scattered around. These should be moved to useful locations to start building up airfields in the northeast or the port in Perth to receive convoys from Capetown.

ORIGINAL: USS Henrico

Several Australian engineer units start in useless locations in the interior, numbered ones I think. There is one on a dot hex and another on Kangaroo Island off the south coast, as well as a few more scattered around. These should be moved to useful locations to start building up airfields in the northeast or the port in Perth to receive convoys from Capetown.

Good suggestions.

Here is what you start with on the West Coast - it is vital to realize not all Base Forces have Engineers!
Plan what to put where, form up TF (Amphib if destination is a small port) and get them going!

West Coast

Ground Units Unrestricted  [/i]
HQs[/b]
I US Amphib Corps – 180 Spt - San Diego[/i][/i]  [/i]
Base Forces + Support[/b]
101st USN BF – 27 AvSpt, 50 MotSpt, No Engineers - San Diego[/i] [/i]
110th USA BF – 16 AvSpt, 50 Spt, [/i][/b]no Engineers - San Diego[/i][/i]
111th USN BF – 36 AvSpt, 100 NavSpt, 8 Eng, 4 EngVeh - San Fran[/i][/b]
112th USA BF – 16 AvSpt, 50 Spt, NO Engineers! [/i][/b]- San Fran[/i][/b]
113th AF BF – 30 AvSpt, 50 MotSpt, 6 Engs - LA[/i] [/i]
47th Constr Rgt – 29 MotSpt, 26 Engs, 10 EngVeh - San Fran[/i][/b]
808th Eng Av Bn – 14 Engs, 8 EngVeh, 13 MotSpt - March Field (1 hex NE of LA) - with more ships in SF, it doesn't cost more than a day or two to send this unit to SF by RR instead of LA - it goes 8 hexes a day once loaded onto rail[/i]

B Det USN Port Svc – 10 AvSpt, 30 NavSpt - Seattle[/i][/i]
C Det USN Port Svc – (1)9 AvSpt, 30 NavSpt- San Diego[/i]

Two important but very isolated reinforcements happen in 11 and 23 days when the E Det Port Svc and the A Det Port Svc arrive at Christmas Island and Penrhyn Island - I've been lucky and have had some Aussie xAKs nearby and have peeled off some to take these guys where they're needed.
[/b]
 
Fighting Forces (so little)[/b]
San Diego - 8th Marine Rgt/2nd MarDiv – 122 AV, (8)37 MotSpt, (35)145 Spt, (1)8 Engs
San Fran - 34th Inf Rgt/24th InfDiv – 117 AV, 81 Spt, 81 MotSpt, 3 Engs, 1 EngVehs
San Fran - 198th Fld Arty Bn – 14 MotSpt, 155mm guns
San Fran - 56th Cst Art Rgt – 17 MotSpt, 17 Spt, 155mm guns – withdrawn in 83 days![/b] so put them in a place that is only threatened early.
Tacoma - 205th Fld Arty Bn – 14 MotSpt, 75mm guns – SWPac
Seattle - [/b]206th Cst AA Rgt – 16 MotSpt, 12 Spt

If there is insufficient ships to take the units where you want them, I normally pick a port (SF) to be the main port for transhipments and send all land units there to be put aboard ships instead of having to parcel out TF to pick units up at various places.

Naval Assets by Base

San Diego

• CV, CL, 6 DDs (form up as TF to send to CenPac/SoPac;
• 6 SS (send to Pearl – to be assigned)[/b]
• AS, AVD, AVP, 2 AG, APD – load up and send to theater of choice[/b]
• 2 AP, 4 TKs, xAP, 8 xAK, 4 xAKL, AK, AO, ACM[/b]

LA

• PC, 2 YPs – form ASW TF
• 1 AP, 1 xAP, 10 xAK, 2 xAKL, 2 AO, 6 TK – form 1 TF to take the 113th AF BF, rest to SanFran

Alameda

• 1 xAK = to SanFran

  Mare Island

• PC, AD, AVP, ACM, AP – to San Fran for further movement

San Francisco [/b]

• 5 SS – send to Pearl for assignment[/b]
• 3 AG, 1 AE, 5 AO – load up then send to forward bases[/b]
• 9 DDs (some for escort), 6 APs, 9 xAP, 20 xAK, 3 xAKL, 3 TK[/b]
• 1 ACM, 2 AMc[/b]

Portland [/b]

• AMc, ACM, PC, TK – move last 3 to SanFran

Seattle

• 2 BBs (put in Shipyard Repair),
• 5 DDs, ACM, 2 AMc, PG, AP, 10 xAK, 5 xAKL, 6 TK, AO.

Victoria [/b]

• 2 KV, AMc – the Canadian KVs and AMs have an ASW of 4, making them your best assets on the entire North American coast

Vancouver [/b]

• 2 AMC, 3 KV, 5 AM – these boats will form 2 full ASW TFs – transfer them to Victoria and assign patrols for them off the coast.  AMC to San Fran to provide protection vs. I Boat surface attacks.

Prince Rupert [/b]

• 1 AM – transfer to Victoria to combine with the Victoria ASW TF.

 

West Coast Air Assets by Base[/b]  [/b]
San Diego

• 4 Patrol

March Field

• 18 Ftrs = belong to 10th USAAF, which is under SE Asia Cmd - set to train

LA

• 9 OS2U-3s – set to ASW

Fresno

• B18s –withdrawn in 38 days, so transfer them to the coast, set on ASW.

Alameda

• 6 Patrol

San Francisco[/b]

• P-36 (17 AC), P-40 (2 AC) Hawaiian AF (pack ‘em up and say aloha)[/b]
• B-26, B-18 in 11th AF (Alaska based)[/b]
• 3 B-17 Sqdns in V US Bomber Cmd, HQ Sqdn in Pearl – V US Bomber is under SWPac – rest of V US Bmbr Cmd in EUSA – B-26 sqdns.[/b]

EUSA

• 44 B-26 of V US Bmbr Cmd – send to SF area for ASW work, eventual shipment to SWPac
• 52 P-39 of II US Ftr Cmd (under SWPac) – move to west coast for possible deployment

Boise  

• 28 LB of IV US Bmbr Cmd – Restricted – use for ASW once moved to coast

Pendleton [/b]

• 30 LBs of IV US Bmbr Cmd – Restricted –withdrawn by Feb – use for ASW.

Tacoma[/b]

• 13 LB, 14 Recon – all restricted, LBs withdraw in Feb – use ASW

Seattle [/b]

• 6 Patrol – Move to Hawaii (via Dutch Harbor) for use

 
Canada
First two are closely associated with Seattle and can provide extra hard to come by resources for the ASW, both in the air and on sea.  

Victoria [/b]

• 4 LBs, 4 Patrol – since Patrol uses Stanraer II, and nobody else does – max out sqdns with planes and assign to ASW.  Same for the LB, Bolingtrokes

  Vancouver [/b]

• 6 Patrol – fill out and assign to ASW as in Victoria.

  Alliford Bay [/b]– island S of Prince Rupert

• 12 Patrol AC – wait til all operational – shift down to Victoria area – not much Sub activity this far north.