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Just started a new Grand Campaign playing the Allies against the AI (I don't have the time to devote to a PBEM). Now I've been playing this game since it came out and thought I was reasonable against the AI, BUT this campaign has already got me on the defensive.

Lost Prince of Wales and Repulse on the 8th Dec.

Then on the 11th - OMG!!
Night Time Surface Combat, near Miri at 64,84, Range 9,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Nagato, Shell hits 2
BB Mutsu, Shell hits 3
CL Kitakami
DD Yugumo
DD Sagiri
DD Minekaze
DD Sanae

Allied Ships
DD John D. Ford, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
DD Peary, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
DD Pillsbury, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Pope, Shell hits 7, and is sunk
PG Isabel, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
PG Asheville, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
PG Tulsa, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
AVD Childs, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
AM Finch, Shell hits 11, and is sunk
AM Bittern, Shell hits 1
AM Tanager, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
AM Quail, Shell hits 9, and is sunk
AM Lark, Shell hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
AM Whippoorwill, Shell hits 3

And to add insult to injury, my CVs returning to Pearl via a southern route ran into the KB

Morning Air attack on TF, near Taongi at 143,106

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 77 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 28
B5N2 Kate x 117
D3A1 Val x 87

Allied aircraft
F2A-3 Buffalo x 15
F4F-3A Wildcat x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 5 destroyed, 10 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 2 destroyed by flak
D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F2A-3 Buffalo: 3 destroyed
F4F-3A Wildcat: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
CA Chester, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
CV Enterprise, Torpedo hits 5, and is sunk
CA Northampton, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Salt Lake City, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CV Lexington, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Astoria, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage
CA Chicago, Torpedo hits 2, on fire
DD Lamson, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Porter, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
DD Balch
DD Flusser, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Portland, Bomb hits 2, on fire
DD Drayton
DD Mahan
DD Dunlap
DD Craven, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Maury
DD Gridley

AND
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Taongi at 143,106

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 56 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 20 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 28
B5N2 Kate x 94
D3A1 Val x 115

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
SOC-1 Seagull: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
CA Chicago, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Craven, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
CA Portland, Bomb hits 12, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Astoria, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
CV Lexington, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Gridley, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Maury
DD Dunlap
DD Benham, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CA Northampton, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Salt Lake City, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Flusser, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Fanning, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Ellet
DD Drayton, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
DD Balch
DD McCall
DD Mahan, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk


Lexington subsequently sunk[X(] and I only inflicted 1 bomb hit on the Shokaku in return.

This leaves me with Saratoga and Hermes as the only carriers and nothing bigger than a CA in the whole Pacific and Indian Oceans.

I think this is going to make for a very interesting game as it gives the AI a real opportunity to make gains before I can build up my forces and strike back. For the time being I'm going to have to conduct a fighting retreat to prepared positions, use my subs to scout out the major Japanese forces and try to gain minor naval and air victories on his merchant shipping to reduce the AIs ability to produce arms. Or maybe I should fall on my sword [:D]

So what are your worst starts to a campaign and how did you recover.

I have nothing in comparison. But I hope you will start an AAR so we can all follow your progress. Scariest of all, this could have been the historical outcome.

What scenario are you playing and what setting is the AI on? Good luck.

This is Scenario 2 with all settings set to historical e.g. US torpedoes, production etc

If I have time, I'll look into an AAR but it will be slow as I don't get a lot of time these days to devote to the game.

That's the kind of stuff that makes an Allied player "clench in the tight spots." Ouch!

I've had some bad beginnings and middles. The one thing I have the sharpest memory of: In my first WitP game versus John III, this about 2007, I ordered Death Star to proceed east from New New Zealand, knowing that KB was up somewhere around the Samoas or Fiji. An IJ search aircraft or Glen picked up an Allied CA, setting John's heart to racing. And my TFs ran out of fuel! They were limping east at two hexes per day (back then, I don't think Sys damage accrued when ships were out of fuel) when John found them. You can imagine what happened next. You can imagine what John said next.

THE AI or IA or [:'(]..does join Cvs task forces¡ [X(]

what it does is not withdraw PH 4 times and i quit...(quit the cheessee that i was eating)

Is there a surrender button in the game?

Fred

You should know by now that we Brit's never surrender -

we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender

W.S.Churchill, June 1940

Ooops, sorry - I thought you were playing the US (and allies).

So, I have been misinformed about Singapore..., etc...Oh, well, that isn't "our island" so y are probably right. OTH, "our island" wasn't in the Southeast Asia or Pacific, either....[;)]..

Fred

Not exactly at the beginning of the scen (Allied against Ironman AI), but not less shocking: 12th May 42 battleship Revenge at Noumea sunk (Allied TF with 1 BB, 2 CA, 2 CL, 6 DD)against a Jap TF with ONE SC and ONE AMc attacking with torpedoes!!!!!! Same day lost BB Arizona near Pearl on its way to repairing facilities at Seattle due to flooding (level was 30), because I forgot to change "mission speed" to "cruise speed"...[X(][X(][X(]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

That's the kind of stuff that makes an Allied player "clench in the tight spots." Ouch!

I've had some bad beginnings and middles. The one thing I have the sharpest memory of: In my first WitP game versus John III, this about 2007, I ordered Death Star to proceed east from New New Zealand, knowing that KB was up somewhere around the Samoas or Fiji. An IJ search aircraft or Glen picked up an Allied CA, setting John's heart to racing. And my TFs ran out of fuel! They were limping east at two hexes per day (back then, I don't think Sys damage accrued when ships were out of fuel) when John found them. You can imagine what happened next. You can imagine what John said next.

BANZAI!

Oh....such sweet memories....

That is a fine start. You will learn more, by doing more with less.[:)] Whenever I play the AI I always lose the POW (2 day turns). The carriers present a challenge, rise to it!

My favorite start was once, years ago, playing the old WitP where KB didn't attack Pearl Harbor on 7 Dec. They sailed all the way there and decided, I guess, to have a big party the night before. The pilots all slept in and forgot to launch. Ahh, the memories...

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

That is a fine start. You will learn more, by doing more with less.[:)] Whenever I play the AI I always lose the POW (2 day turns). The carriers present a challenge, rise to it!

Agreed. Especially against the AI.

ORIGINAL: AndyDuke

This leaves me with Saratoga and Hermes as the only carriers and nothing bigger than a CA in the whole Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Aren't you happy that the initial Allied clickfest gets reduced with every sinking?

[:D]

One of my first PBEM's involved me wasting my crack IJ pilots fighting the AVG over Singapore then breaking the back of the KB in a carrier engagement off Java in early '42. That said, it was a good learning experience but it was pretty apparent from the get-go that I had a great deal still to learn at that point.

Had a campaign start once where absolutely NO TTs were dropped at Pearl. The Kates carrying those 800KG then proceeded to missed most of the time. Only think about 12 of those big bombs hit. NASTIES!