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Pre-Game Notes:
AE 1096e
Scenario 2
Opponent - Fionn (Nemo121)
Game-style will be an anything-goes try-to-break-the-bank game
I'll be playing the Japanese side of the board.

My intent is to use this AAR as a learning forum and to discuss strategies for Japan.

So I'm looking @ 3 possible opening moves with my carrier forces:

1. Hit PH with TB on naval/port attack and DB on airfield attack. Fighters will perform CAP/Escort/Airfield Attack/Sweep missions. KB will loiter for 2-4 days so I can gain as many possible points from sinking BBs and ground-killing air units as possible. After T0 DB would split on Airfield/ASW missions.

2. Hit the Philipines with TB on port attack @ Manila and DB on Airfield attack of Clarke. Fighters will perform CAP/Escort/Airfield Attack/Sweep missions for Manila/Clark. This attack would be enhanced with LB and Zeroes from Formosa. The intent here is to sink as many subs as possible, gain immediate air superiority of the Philipines, and speed up my invasion of the Philipines.

3. Hit Singapore, Malaya with TB on port attack and DB on Airfield attack. Fighters will perform CAP/Escort/Airfield Attack/Sweep missions. This attack would be enhanced with LB and Zeroes from Indochina. The intent here is to sink as many ships as possible @ Singapore, destroy as many aircraft as possible in the Malaya/Sumatra/Borneo area, and speed up my invasion of this area.

For ground units I'll be working any artillery advantage I can get (Fionn knows this and expects it). I'm hoping that Ground attacks from LB as well as Bombardment attacks from my navy will be equally effective. So I'll be gutting Manchukuo of Artillery, Armor, Engineers, air units, and AA units. I'll also toggle off replacements for my Kwantung Army forces. I want to make a strong push in China, Philippines, Borneo, Malaya, and the DEI. I'll want to try and create an island ring with lotsa AA, fighters, Betties, and probably use subs on patrol as a forward picket. I wonder how bad I'll get hamstrung with garrison duties in China? Although I won't need to spend PP I want to do some experimenting to see what kind of effects HQ has.

For subs I plan to heavily patrol the Java Sea, Makassar Straight (for the 1st month or so), the Southeast coast of Oz, and the west coast of the US. So I'll need supply depots and AS ships to service my sub operations. Truk, Babeldaob, Kwajalein, and Saigon will probably be my initial home ports for sub operations.

I'm very weak on Japanese production in AE. Does anyone have some absolutely-Japan-has-gotta-do moves geared towards production for T0? Are there any ports/airfields you would start building up from T0? And why? I plan to bump up production of Zeroes, Sally-IIs, Oscars, and Bettys. I'll look for something that is

TF Commander vs Ship CO vs Squadron Commander - how do these three "characters" impact flight operations - does anyone know? I assume TF Commander is used to see how many aircraft fly from a squadron - some kind of a fatigue/moral check?

On all of the carriers the CO has a high AIR rating which makes me wonder why? Their AIR rating is used for dice rolls too?

Things 2 Remember List:

1. Don't Disband TFs on T0. I had disbanded TF3 on T0 trying to upgrade Claudes to Zeroes. After I did this brilliant move all of my TFs from TF3 downward lost their 1st turn move bonus.

2. Don't prep a LCU for Strategic Move and expect to use it on an Amphibious TF. LCU need to be in Combat mode.

Notes on Dive Bombers

Clipped from the forums and posted by Michaelm – www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2347631

Mission: Bombing
A/c Type: DB
• Altitude 10-15k
o Diving attack
• Altitude 16-19k
o Glide Attack
• Altitude <1k
o Low level attack
• Altitude 20+ or >1 & <10
o Normal horizontal attack

Diving attacks have a better chance of hitting then the Glide attack
Primary pilot skill NAVAL_BOMB increases chance to hit shipping
Glide attacks have a better chance to hit then a horizontal attack

Diving attack exit altitude is 1-4k
Glide attack exit altitude is 2-5k

Notes on Fighter Tactics
Game Date 12.28.41 – regarding stats below:

Altitude Ranges---->------------->--------------- <10/15/20/31/>32
P40B------GV14--SPD352--Range14/06/05-------19/19/15/11/07----------ALT(32,400)
P40E------GV18--SPD354--Range26/4(5)/5(6)---16/16/11/06/02----------ALT(29,000)
Buflo------GV12--SPD313--Range16/6/5----------17/17/14/11/08----------ALT(30,500)
H81-A3----GV14-SPD345--Range14/6/5----------19/19/15/11/07----------ALT(32,400)

A6M2------GV12--SPD331--Range35/9(14)/7(11)-33/33/27/21/10--------ALT(32,810)
Claude----GV04--SPD270--Range14/4(6)/3(5)----44/35/26/17/08--------ALT(27,500)
Oscar 1c--GV06--SPD305--Range31/6(12)/5(10)-46/46/37/28/19--------ALT(38,500)
Ki-44Tojo-GV10--SPD360--Range11/5(5)/4(4)----25/25/20/15/10--------ALT(35,500)

I’ve been running my Zeroes @ 14k to 15k based on what I’ve read from some of the posts I read regarding best range bands to be in for airframe performance. My thoughts were that if I fly my Zeroes in their best performance band and with superior pilots that I’d be pretty much invincible during the onset of the war. So far I’ve found this to not be the case.

I’ve lost 93 zeroes in air-to-air losses as of 12.28.41. They are as follows:
04-----------Airfield Attack------------------ >01%
12-----------CAP/LRCAP--------------------- ~10%
24-----------Escort--------------------------- ~30%
53-----------Sweep--------------------------- ~60%

Fionn’s estimated air-to-air losses over 2 weeks (Based on Tracker Stats):
** There’s really no way to tell but my WAG is that losses are probably around 95% CAP/LRCAP.
P-40E-------------078
Buffalo I----------048
P-40B-------------024
P-35A-------------022
P-26A-------------015
H81-A3-----------014
B-339D-----------007
Blenheim IF------005
CW-21B----------004
75A-7 Hawk-----003
--------------------220--------------Note also - Allied LB A2A losses r ~66------- & Float Planes ~13 losses

Right now I’m running slightly better than a 2:1 ratio in enemy fighter kills verses zero losses. The problem with this is that from the airframe stats and current pilot skill levels I think this should really be somewhere around a 7:1 ratio or higher.

Although it’s hard to estimate, I’d say that roughly 1/5th of the Japanese zero losses have been when the odds were in favor of the allies (ie Fionn was able to field more fighters to the engagement then I was).

About 85% of my losses were over enemy territory.

About 65% of my zero losses were in the extended range, which I think is a strong contributing factor to the loss of 24 airframes listed as Operational losses.

Fionn’s tactics seem to be to climb his fighters up to 30k to get the bounce. My initial thoughts were that this tactic would be ineffective while I'm flying better airframes with better pilots in their preferred altitude range.

With the loss of ~250 allied fighters (a WAG while factoring in ground kills and operational losses) Fionn has to be hurting for fighters. I’d bet the majority of his fighters are now near Palambang providing CAP over Singapore.

I think for the next 2 weeks I’ll modify my fighter tactics to the following:
• Zero/Oscar 1c aircraft on Sweep will run with a majority @ an altitude of 32k
o This should give me a distinct advantage from pilot VS pilot skill and from airframe VS Airframe
• I’ll try some combo sweeps with Zeroes & Oscars @ high altitude and at staggered altitudes to see which is more effective
• LB will fly @ 10k with escorts matching location/Altitude settings
o I’ll try to sweep B4 bombing

I am currently having my first real go as japan in an AI game , but the industry doesn't change.

Must do's

Kate production = 0 .. ramp it up or swap to Mabels (if pdu off make kates)
Zero+oscar increase to as near 100 as possible.
Ha-35 engines . can't get enough of them.
same old advice re nates + old army crud, swop it out to your preferred eary war mix.

Japan really needs more of everything at game start, the knock on to the HI i cant help with as i dont know yet.

Must get = hotfix for patch 2 else japan runs its supplies into Tokyo and you get horrible wastage while factories elsewhere don't expand. Note - i cant upgrade to hotfix yet as im in mid PBEM scenario. Im sure others will have more detailed info for you.

good luck finding ( i mean fighting) nemo [;)]

Subs - Allied aircraft are very weak in the ASW experience levels (30 and below) for their PBY and FP. You can get away with aggressive deployments. Just don't send them into major Allied bases as most start with defensive minefields. Watch your reaction range as they could follow ships into those minefields if their reaction range is too high. [:-]

Ports - Look at large ports like Soerabaja as high on your list to attack with LBA and/or carrier aircraft asap. Why?? If your "favorite" Allied CL gets loose and runs out of 6" ammo, Ms. Boise will need to head to Soerabaja for re-loading. Port size + Naval Support + Support ships = determining factor(s) for re-loading large guns (6" or larger). Manila and Singapore are on that list of large ports, but it will depend on well you can suppress them from Nemo using them.

Recon and Naval Search may require more micro-management than you want, but knowledge is king!!

Good Luck, sir!!

My goal on T1 would be killing as many allied planes ( sweeps better than air since you want pilots) then subs then old battleships. I dont thinks spending a lot of time around Pearl achieves a lot , go hunting for his CVs which often show up at Wake maybe break Tone from Kb to go looking.

If you can do 2 port strikes i see no point sending KB to PI .

Id go LBA for PI , sweep Manilla and Clarke , maybe 1 airfield attack on Clarke by 2 engine , use your land based air and mini KB to hit Manilla. Sweep Manilla with your claudes , he main sweeps on clark should suck his cap . Again your not going to get mny planes turn 1 but you will get more pilots and light ships.

For PH id put most of the Vals on port and repair yards ( repair yards take a long time and are expensive to repair) lighter ships and subs maybe be hit , maybe 4 Chutai on AF as there seem to be decreasing returns on scale. Sure you may get a few airframes with the Vals on airbase but nothing like WITP and its the pilots your after , if you send zeros sweeping and a few on ari base attack you will get more pilots.

Singapore scares me , i always seem to get heavy air losses.

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK
good luck finding ( i mean fighting) nemo [;)]

Bumping up Zeroes & Oscars sounds like good advice and was much in line with my thoughts. I hadn't thought about Kates tho - that sounds like a good call.

It is a might big map but...






<grin>

TTFN,

Mike

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Subs - Allied aircraft are very weak in the ASW experience levels (30 and below) for their PBY and FP. You can get away with aggressive deployments. Just don't send them into major Allied bases as most start with defensive minefields. Watch your reaction range as they could follow ships into those minefields if their reaction range is too high. [:-]

Ports - Look at large ports like Soerabaja as high on your list to attack with LBA and/or carrier aircraft asap. Why?? If your "favorite" Allied CL gets loose and runs out of 6" ammo, Ms. Boise will need to head to Soerabaja for re-loading. Port size + Naval Support + Support ships = determining factor(s) for re-loading large guns (6" or larger). Manila and Singapore are on that list of large ports, but it will depend on well you can suppress them from Nemo using them.

Recon and Naval Search may require more micro-management than you want, but knowledge is king!!

Good Luck, sir!!

Thanks for the luck Michael - I'll probably need some of it - lol. This game moves a lot slower tho - not that rapid T0 deployment that I so enjoy when playing Japan. Any advice on the Japanese economy? I'm thinking I'll be wishing I had more DDs in mid 42... Have you played much with Japanese DB performing ASW missions? Nemo should have close to 30 subs thathe can deploy in the South China Sea... I know he has crappy torps starting out but it looks to me like every xAK/AK is gunna be worth their weight in gold if I want to keep Japan's economy in the black.

I'm also debating a push into Russia. It looks like a very quick tap for oil/resources... I just don't think I have the military strength to add that front to the war. It also looks like the only chance to take Russia is if I start out on Day 1 and mass my arty with a heavy commitment of air support.

You have a point about ports and if I can sink that PITA Pocket-Battleship Boise, well, I consider that a partial victory in and of itself!

TTFN my friend,

Mike

ORIGINAL: bklooste

My goal on T1 would be killing as many allied planes ( sweeps better than air since you want pilots) then subs then old battleships. I dont thinks spending a lot of time around Pearl achieves a lot , go hunting for his CVs which often show up at Wake maybe break Tone from Kb to go looking.

If you can do 2 port strikes i see no point sending KB to PI .

Id go LBA for PI , sweep Manilla and Clarke , maybe 1 airfield attack on Clarke by 2 engine , use your land based air and mini KB to hit Manilla. Sweep Manilla with your claudes , he main sweeps on clark should suck his cap . Again your not going to get mny planes turn 1 but you will get more pilots and light ships.

For PH id put most of the Vals on port and repair yards ( repair yards take a long time and are expensive to repair) lighter ships and subs maybe be hit , maybe 4 Chutai on AF as there seem to be decreasing returns on scale. Sure you may get a few airframes with the Vals on airbase but nothing like WITP and its the pilots your after , if you send zeros sweeping and a few on ari base attack you will get more pilots.

Singapore scares me , i always seem to get heavy air losses.

Hi Bklooste - thanks for your thoughts.

I hadn't noticed a decrease in scale of returns for a large attack with Vals (although I do notice that some turns they cause more famage then others -lol). I was just chalking up the difference to a roll of the dice.

Altitude and leadership seem to make a significant difference with DB/LB attacks. What I haven't had a chance to gauge yet is the impact of altitude on an air unit's moral or what the increase in AA effectiveness will be like. With fewer airframes then I'm accustomed to at the start of the game (or at least it certaintly feel like that - lol) I'm loath to deploy them unless they are given every opportunity to suceed. Also - it looks to my like those P-40s are a little tougher against the Zero then what I've experienced in WiTP.

It really looks like I need to do two things at the same time from the very onset of war: Be as aggressive as hell in capturing the DEI and establishing a defensive peremeter in the Pacific along with transporting resources/oil to the home islands in what looks like a futile attempt to sustain an economy and production model that cannot keep up with the allies.

TTFN,

Mike

Another thing , ship conversions. You'll have a lot of small AK-l's that convert to PB's for escort duties (ok they are rubbish but japan needs every ship it can get with a DC launcher) they also convert to ACM's to tend defensive minefields, i'd reccomend getting a few of those too as your mine supplies are very limited.

The war room has a lot of multi page threads regarding A/C production and the economy as a whole. I'd highly reccomend reading those too. Its a lot to take in and your a brave soul starting out PBEM without trying vs the AI first , kudos.

Your also going to need a LOT of small trasport TF's to get the needed 1 million resources /day japan needs (its one scary number) chack out mike sollis AAR early pages for advice.
Link - http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2280485

thats should keep you busy reading for a week or so [:D]

P.S liked the piccie .. although i think this nemo isn't a clown by any measure [:D]

ORIGINAL: 1EyedJacks

Hi Bklooste - thanks for your thoughts.

I hadn't noticed a decrease in scale of returns for a large attack with Vals (although I do notice that some turns they cause more famage then others -lol). I was just chalking up the difference to a roll of the dice.

Altitude and leadership seem to make a significant difference with DB/LB attacks. What I haven't had a chance to gauge yet is the impact of altitude on an air unit's moral or what the increase in AA effectiveness will be like. With fewer airframes then I'm accustomed to at the start of the game (or at least it certaintly feel like that - lol) I'm loath to deploy them unless they are given every opportunity to suceed. Also - it looks to my like those P-40s are a little tougher against the Zero then what I've experienced in WiTP.

It really looks like I need to do two things at the same time from the very onset of war: Be as aggressive as hell in capturing the DEI and establishing a defensive peremeter in the Pacific along with transporting resources/oil to the home islands in what looks like a futile attempt to sustain an economy and production model that cannot keep up with the allies.

TTFN,

Mike

With the Vals attacking the airfields if i break them down in CHutai i seem to get better results maybe due to better chance of avoiding a bad result ( note however leaders) , i also note results against airfields are lower than WITP. DOnt forget the repair yards as each hit takes a day and 1000 supplies , 50-100 hits is a major headache for him..

Those P40s are tougher against the zeros however its the best ratio your going to get . Nates and Oscars do perform better than in WITP so all those Nate engine may be used in China to train pilots.

First turn must be all out , everything in the sky less chance of AA etc. Please read the AAR Joe (world domination) where the Japanese player husbanded their units and by March 42 the allies now have experienced air units and are making life impossible in Burma. You need to grind them down ASAP while you have the better planes and numbers. Any pilots left will be in better planes and with more numbers in mid 42 giving you a lot of trouble. Note i repeat getting air frames is not that important getting the pilots is.

If the rules are anything goes can you still buy a home command Zero or Kate Chutai and put them on KB ?

Agree on being aggressive as hell , expend your ships and pilots , 41 and early 42 is the best its going to get try to get a good return because byt the end of 44 all your start pilots and ships WILL be dead or sunk and your only chance is to get his carriers and prevent his airforce getting experience. I do like keeping 75+ pilots in reserve and grinding him down with the 50-60 exp guys using better air frames , recon and numbers you have at the start. Like all japanese players create a massive training command , expand the small CHutai on ships ( esp the size 3 one) and put some on land put these pilots and all home pilots in reserve bar 2 per squad and fill with new guys and start training. You can to the same with your Manchuko and Chinese pilots you dont really need them and create more training units.

Speaking of aggressive ,personally im a big fan of sending 3 Brigades ( ~5 regiments) to Hawaii ,not to capture PH but to focus his attention , interdict/isolate Pearl , destroy all his planes there ( trapping the pilots for a while ) , sink anything in the harbour and grind it down with LBA . When it gets hairy send KB and abandon it. You can do PI with a division less until you get the excellent 38th after Hong Kong goes down. WHile he worries about saving/reinforcing PH you get a nice run elsewhere and he may commit a carrier at the wrong time.

Should put a patch on one eye of that shark [:)]

ORIGINAL: bklooste

Should put a patch on one eye of that shark [:)]

<grin>

Turn sent last night.

Although I toyed with the idea of Russia (and Fionn was kinda trying to egg me on - lol) it puts too many more pieces on the board for him and splits my forces further then I'm comfortable with.

So Fionn is free to move in China and command TFs that are alread out to sea. I'm curious to see what he does in China & @ Hong Kong. He's not a sir-robin type but there are no PPs required to move troops. I kinda expect a thrust by him with a mass of LCUs - perhaps towards Shanghai. If I try to defend the whole front my line is deluted. I'll try to push his lite LCU past the river to use it as a defense while trying to drive towards Chungking. It should be kinda like a game of chicken - we'll see who flinches first.

As to Hong Kong & the S. China Sea, I've seen a few aggressive players that have used the DDs there to try and hit Formosa or TFs in route to the PI. I've set a few traps about to see if I can snare him... Fionn does have a slight habit of being bold - lol.

I'm also gunna try to achieve air superiority in Malaya/Sumatra/Borneo/Java. I'll try to bleed down his fighters in the PI quickly with sweeps & airfield attacks and then hopefully deploy fighter squadrons along planned pushes of North and South Borneo. I want oil and refineries. Everything should move me towards taking Singapore and Palembang in a rapid fashion and allow me to concentrate forces into the DEI.

I'll try to be very aggressive with sub warfare on both ends of the spectrum. Fionn will probably try to work a cat-n-mouse game on me with his TFs so if I can deploy subs in his back areas it should provide me with soft kills of transports plus intel on TFs like Force Z.

One if the challenges I feel is time management. Things seem so sloooow in AE. And there are so many things to manipulate with the units themselves.

I'm building up Zeroes/Oscars/Sallys & Mabels (thanks 4 the suggestion bklooste) and will try to add a few AS into the building program. I've also ramped up some port and airfield construction on some of the island bases to aid in a stronger air defense and provide better service to TFs.

Are forts worth building? I was reading accounts of Arty taking down fort levels in rapid fashion. I take it you no longer really need the engineer units to nock down fort levels?

Well - that's all 4 now - I'm looking 4ward to getting the turn back from Fionn.

TTFN,

Mike

You certainly still need engineers to take down forts, the problem was that units in forts were taking massive casualties from artillery bombardment, but this should have been fixed by now. Forts are certainly worth building in any place that you want to defend.&nbsp;

One if the challenges I feel is time management. Things seem so sloooow in AE. And there are so many things to manipulate with the units themselves.

First few turns are a killer esp for Japan, it gets better after that.

I'm building up Zeroes/Oscars/Sallys & Mabels (thanks 4 the suggestion bklooste) and will try to add a few AS into the building program. I've also ramped up some port and airfield construction on some of the island bases to aid in a stronger air defense and provide better service to TFs.

Your training command is the best contribution you can make to the war at this point , the more pilots on board in planes trainiing the better. Having experienced pilots in restricted command squadrons doing nothing is a waste.
Id restart the Kate factory as well , Mabels are good on land and Baby KB but prefer kates with the better maintenance on my Cvs I also have a habbit of changing a few Val squadrons for Kates on KB eventually they become carrier capable and Vals make good squadorns for my attacks ( require a small base) and ASW . You can argue you should have one type but you already have 2 with Kates on KB.

Consider building out the Nates ( leave the factory running) since you have the engines they are very very cheap , you can use them in China and for your training command you will still be using them for training in 44 so they are good value. Ops losses are low. Dont go to crazy on the Oscars you need them but they are not much better than Nates . Tojo and Tony are good though Tonies are the first plane id go crazy with in terms of building up production (Tojo still lacks armour and its not long till you get the Tony) . Converting your IJAAF to Sallies is a big job and productive , the fighters can come later. You can never have enough Zeros .

Are forts worth building? I was reading accounts of Arty taking down fort levels in rapid fashion. I take it you no longer really need the engineer units to nock down fort levels?

Art wsnt taking the forts down they just killed everyone in the fort . It looks like forts and terrain now reduce bombardments big time ( well for 3+ and esp 6+) , this will force him to assualt so certainly worth it for key locations but only key locations which can be defended by overlapping air eg Rabaul , Lae , Kuriles , the Jimas , Okinawa etc. The Pacific islands are undefendable IMHO .. but some fringe islands with good ports/ fields are worth it .

Ooh singapore attack ...

Hi bklooste,

Yup - Singapore. All I can say is it seemed like a good idea @ the time. Seriously tho - the whole intent of Japan regarding a PH attack was it wanted to trash the US CVs. And we know with 20/20 hindsight that there are no CVs @ PH.

This isn't a historical game between Fionn & I. The intent is to test out AE for Fionn to port over his EA mod. Now, in spite of the test being the primary reason, I still want to win <grin>. And I'm sure he does too. This is a no-holds barred do whatever you can come up with to kick ass and win. So the next question is where can I hurt Fionn the most with a T0.

Benefits to this T0 include the allies don't move anything plus the December 7 Surprise Bonus. This is kinda like standing upright with your hands behind your back and your chin thrust out and letting your opponent take his best shot.

So I did.

Even so - in the grand scheme of things - I haven't really done anything more on T0 then "Awaken the sleeping giant," as Isoroku Yamamoto noted.

Training looks like it needs to be a major part of my blueprint but I also need to take bases with resources needed to keep the wheels on my war machine and find a way to get those resources from point A to point B. And I need to get Fionn on his heels and keep him there for as long as possible.

So - a few things I noticed in prepping a T0 this way...

- In about 6 test-runs of T0 where KB was deployed either to Singapore or the east coast of the PI, SSx Ha-14 scored a hit on the West Virginia every time. And always the same process - it gets attecked by an allied ASW TF, evades it, hits the BB, and then flounders and sinks.

- When I moved KB to the East side of the PI for an attack of Manila I could move all of the remaining CVEs/CVLs to the East coast of the PI too to really put the spurs to Manila. And if I left KB @ to hit PH I could also move all of the remaining CVEs/CVLs to the PI too. But as soon as I set Singapore as the location for KB none of the CVEs/CVLs could get a move bonus to end up on the East coast of the PI.

- The standard attacks are pretty much what I'm stuck with on T0. I mean - I can repurpose an amphibious TF to hit a different enemy base or what not but - there is still the whole issue of loading troops from a base onto ships to hit other bases. And there are too few PPs available to take some of those INF Divisons assigned to the Defense Army and transfer them to the SSA Army and redeploy to the PI or Malaya...

Oh well - in spite of everything I'm having a jolly good time. These first few turns are wearing down my eyes - lol. But it's good to be back into a game.

TTFN,

Mike

I'm against early air attacks on Burma. Maybe that's because I play against AI, and AI has bigger plane pools than a living opponent, but still, not only you don't have suitable airfields for that at the beginning, there are only two Oscar and one Zero unit in the theatre, and they are needed in Malaya. Look at AARs around, Allies can repel early air raids on Rangoon, and flying from Bangkogk is sure to be costly. IMO, it is best to build up Chiang May there December and switch your fighters there once Malaya campaign is decided (if you're willing to take risks and land at Mersing, this might happen quickly).

As about the planes, I advise to expand Oscar production massively. Ki-43-Ic is way better than Nate, both in armament and in ability to fight above the first altitude band, and you have a lot of units to upgrade. And in general, planes are very cheap, compared to armament and naval production, so any economy is negligible. I still plan to build Nates in Harbin until I'm out of engines, mostly for kamikaze attacks late in the war.

ORIGINAL: 1EyedJacks


- In about 6 test-runs of T0 where KB was deployed either to Singapore or the east coast of the PI, SSx Ha-14 scored a hit on the West Virginia every time. And always the same process - it gets attecked by an allied ASW TF, evades it, hits the BB, and then flounders and sinks.

Your using the same random number generator ...In 2 player they are Sync versus the AI exit and reload.

ORIGINAL: FatR

I'm against early air attacks on Burma. Maybe that's because I play against AI, and AI has bigger plane pools than a living opponent, but still, not only you don't have suitable airfields for that at the beginning, there are only two Oscar and one Zero unit in the theatre, and they are needed in Malaya. Look at AARs around, Allies can repel early air raids on Rangoon, and flying from Bangkogk is sure to be costly. IMO, it is best to build up Chiang May there December and switch your fighters there once Malaya campaign is decided (if you're willing to take risks and land at Mersing, this might happen quickly).

As about the planes, I advise to expand Oscar production massively. Ki-43-Ic is way better than Nate, both in armament and in ability to fight above the first altitude band, and you have a lot of units to upgrade. And in general, planes are very cheap, compared to armament and naval production, so any economy is negligible. I still plan to build Nates in Harbin until I'm out of engines, mostly for kamikaze attacks late in the war.

Not sure i agree here..
With regard to Burma i agree a half hearted effort is not worth it if you are going to do it you need to push to the Burma Road and use the required forces ( whihc prob means no PM) , Malaysia can miss a division till singapore as its just a slow grind. The good part of an early Burma is if you take all of it you dont need to fight an airwar there in Feb - June 42 ( just a bit of recon and if you see his units moving to the Jungle you move to the front) this has to be a good thing ..Can you muster the forces ?

I also dont think Oscars are that much better than Nates they are ok vs Buffalos but not Huricanes and F4 . While the guns are beter than the Nate they are still crap so you still wont get many kills against armoured allied fighters ( note Nates and Oscars do ok as incterceptors as they scare bombers away they just dont get many kills ) . That being said you need some ... But remember the moment you get Tony or Tojos they are completely outclassed in the mean time get zeros to do the work.

Mike,
Once you take Tavoy and Victoria Point, the next important objective is Port Blair. This is a case of denying Fionn a base rather than it to be an primary objective of yours. It is important for you, but right now it is more important to him. It is the only way he will be able to get his short legged Buffalos (16 hex transfer range) from Malaya to Burma/India. Another reason why I favor a rapid capture of Timor (Koepang with an Air HQ is nice [:)]), Kendari, and Ambon on the other end of the SRA. I want to keep what is there, there.
Don't forget that Fionn loves to use his patrol and transport planes to transport troops to and fro. Plan appropriately. &nbsp;

ORIGINAL: bklooste

ORIGINAL: FatR

I'm against early air attacks on Burma. Maybe that's because I play against AI, and AI has bigger plane pools than a living opponent, but still, not only you don't have suitable airfields for that at the beginning, there are only two Oscar and one Zero unit in the theatre, and they are needed in Malaya. Look at AARs around, Allies can repel early air raids on Rangoon, and flying from Bangkogk is sure to be costly. IMO, it is best to build up Chiang May there December and switch your fighters there once Malaya campaign is decided (if you're willing to take risks and land at Mersing, this might happen quickly).

As about the planes, I advise to expand Oscar production massively. Ki-43-Ic is way better than Nate, both in armament and in ability to fight above the first altitude band, and you have a lot of units to upgrade. And in general, planes are very cheap, compared to armament and naval production, so any economy is negligible. I still plan to build Nates in Harbin until I'm out of engines, mostly for kamikaze attacks late in the war.

Not sure i agree here..
With regard to Burma i agree a half hearted effort is not worth it if you are going to do it you need to push to the Burma Road and use the required forces ( whihc prob means no PM) , Malaysia can miss a division till singapore as its just a slow grind. The good part of an early Burma is if you take all of it you dont need to fight an airwar there in Feb - June 42 ( just a bit of recon and if you see his units moving to the Jungle you move to the front) this has to be a good thing ..Can you muster the forces ?

I also dont think Oscars are that much better than Nates they are ok vs Buffalos but not Huricanes and F4 . While the guns are beter than the Nate they are still crap so you still wont get many kills against armoured allied fighters ( note Nates and Oscars do ok as incterceptors as they scare bombers away they just dont get many kills ) . That being said you need some ... But remember the moment you get Tony or Tojos they are completely outclassed in the mean time get zeros to do the work.

I am planning to push up to Rangoon/Moulmein and then, based on how things are going down south I expect to either push upwards or squat.

I think sweeps are pretty important in this game (or at least thats my currant WAG - lol) so I wanna exploit the firepower of the Zero. A really nice feature of the Oscar is its longer range but I want to try and keep it in the 16-20k altitude window as there are no allied fighters with comparible stats. What I want to do is experiment with a double sweep - Oscars high and Zeroes a range lower - but coordination really seems to suck if the altitudes of seperate flights are not in the same range.

If someone else had done this I'd be interested in their observations. I really don't want to reinvent too many wheels - lol.