I had a more detailed first post but it got deleted because i tried to post it with a link and i didnt save it in a text file , lesson learned!
Hi everyone i decided to do an AAR , i have been setting up my game its mostly ready following Kull's spreadsheet. I have a few spots i would like veteran inputs at.
Lets start with preferences screen ;
Realism options
Fog of war=On , Adv Weather=On , Allied Damage Control=On , PDU=On , Historical First Turn=Off
December 7th Suprise=Off , Realistic R&D=On , Reliable Torps=Off Unit Withdrawal=Off(This was for testing and didnt realize i cant turn it on untill i was 6+hours into setup)
Game options
Automatic Subs=Off , TF Move Radius=On ,AG Move Radius=On , AI Diff=Hard , Turn Cycle=1 , Auto Convert Obselete Devices=On , Combat Report=On
I have played the first week from both sides to understand the game mechanics better and in my save Kido Butai liked Hawaii weather too much they decided to stay a bit longer and pulverize the island completely since i cant discuss house rules with AI i have decided to turn off December 7th Suprise. This is where i need veteran input , my options ;
1)Turn the suprise back On and accept KB's extended beating
2)Bravely run away and evacuate the island
3)Stupidly try to face KB
4)Face KB with limited units and run away with the rest
Plan with carriers; Lexi and Enterprise will move at full speed for 1 turn stop the invasion at Wake Island-Raid Truk-Move to DEI. Not sure what to do with Saratoga might go North to cover Dutch Harbor or South to Christmass Island.Hermes will be convoy escort.
Theatres;
China:Setup accorging to Kull SS , dont know what to do with rest
Burma:Reinforce as much as i can try to keep the road open , gonna move some B-17's from Philippines to supress Nell's and Betty's at Bangkok , gotta keep the sea lane open to Rangoon..
Singapore:Try to evac Aussie brigades and pull back everything
DEI: Dont know how to do fortress palembang yet so i will try to delay Japs as much as possible
Philippines: Retreat to Clark-Manilla-Bataan triangle and make a last stand
OZ:Reinforce PM-Perth-East Coast
US West Coast: Training and Convoys
India: Garrison and Convoys
Pacific islands: Make truck stops for convoys and create patrol plane bases so we see the boogeyman before they strike
Thank you for your time and may RNG be with us
Just Another Noob(A) AAR vs AI(J) - help is welcome
Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition
RE: Just Another Noob(A) AAR vs AI(J) - help is welcome
First some advice about long posts - the forum will often eat them because you only have so many minutes to complete a post before the forum considers it timed out. Updates of the forum server can also cause dead posts. Always copy your long post test to your clipboard before posting. If the post dies, just start a new post window and paste in your saved text.
It is too bad that you turned on the auto-convert obsolete devices. Now you will have to turn that feature off nearly unit by unit. If you let the game do the upgrades it will tend to go with the index number of the unit and availability of supply or size of base to decide which units to upgrade with the new devices first. Almost always, new devices are in short supply and you want them in your front line units first, not in in rear area units that might be permanently restricted. Always start with that switch off so you can choose which units to upgrade and when.
PH surprise/no historical first turn - it is not a sin to have them turned off. KB cannot launch aircraft until after both naval movement phases, so your TFs can go after KB before it launches. Set sub patrols in the area first, flank speed. Sometimes this works and sometimes not (Air Combat TFs retreat from threats quite adeptly). I have succeeded in hitting KB by forming two BB TFs (leave Pennsylvania behind - it is lacking fuel or ammo and will use up all its operations points fixing that), a CA TF, a Brooklyn class CL TF, a small CL TF, and two DD TFs. I sent them out shotgun style to try and blanket the area KB is likely to be and make it harder for KB to avoid combat. All TFs have react settings and patrol orders so they will try and close on KB once it is detected. I also put in good captains and TF commanders. Bear in mind that the Allied side only gets one phase of movement even with surprise and historical first turn off.
Meanwhile, get at least half your fighters up on CAP and save a few of the longer ranged ones for escort duty. Set your Cats to carry torpedoes on naval strike to range 10. Set your bombers to naval attack at 2000 feet and 20% of the squadron on naval search. You want to get hits - losses be damned.
Send your AMs and other small ASW capable vessels out to suppress the IJ subs. Send your other valuable shipping south from PH to Hilo using coastal setting to stay in the shallows. All LCUs in combat mode of course. Transport aircraft are useless first turn, so I send them to Lahaina.
All I can think of at the moment - separate post for your other theaters.
It is too bad that you turned on the auto-convert obsolete devices. Now you will have to turn that feature off nearly unit by unit. If you let the game do the upgrades it will tend to go with the index number of the unit and availability of supply or size of base to decide which units to upgrade with the new devices first. Almost always, new devices are in short supply and you want them in your front line units first, not in in rear area units that might be permanently restricted. Always start with that switch off so you can choose which units to upgrade and when.
PH surprise/no historical first turn - it is not a sin to have them turned off. KB cannot launch aircraft until after both naval movement phases, so your TFs can go after KB before it launches. Set sub patrols in the area first, flank speed. Sometimes this works and sometimes not (Air Combat TFs retreat from threats quite adeptly). I have succeeded in hitting KB by forming two BB TFs (leave Pennsylvania behind - it is lacking fuel or ammo and will use up all its operations points fixing that), a CA TF, a Brooklyn class CL TF, a small CL TF, and two DD TFs. I sent them out shotgun style to try and blanket the area KB is likely to be and make it harder for KB to avoid combat. All TFs have react settings and patrol orders so they will try and close on KB once it is detected. I also put in good captains and TF commanders. Bear in mind that the Allied side only gets one phase of movement even with surprise and historical first turn off.
Meanwhile, get at least half your fighters up on CAP and save a few of the longer ranged ones for escort duty. Set your Cats to carry torpedoes on naval strike to range 10. Set your bombers to naval attack at 2000 feet and 20% of the squadron on naval search. You want to get hits - losses be damned.
Send your AMs and other small ASW capable vessels out to suppress the IJ subs. Send your other valuable shipping south from PH to Hilo using coastal setting to stay in the shallows. All LCUs in combat mode of course. Transport aircraft are useless first turn, so I send them to Lahaina.
All I can think of at the moment - separate post for your other theaters.
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
RE: Just Another Noob(A) AAR vs AI(J) - help is welcome
China - the Chinese cannot stand up to tanks or aircraft or heavy arty (lack of heavy weapons) so they need to be in good terrain to fight well. Get them out of clear territory ASAP and if possible into +3 terrain (Heavy Urban, Wooded Rough) or +4 (Mountains) terrain. Get supply to Rangoon ASAP so that some gets to China before the IJA cuts the Burma Road. Build forts only in cities you intend to defend, Do not build airfields. Do not build ports. Do not let units take replacements or upgrade devices until you decide which units will fight well and have good leaders. Morale is important here.
Burma is nearly indefensible because supply cannot get there easily (poor road system, Japanese ships and aircraft destroy supply convoys). Defend only in good terrain like the Chinese situation. Be prepared to withdraw northward. Don't expect much from your B-17Ds - they do not have adequate defensive armament and IJ fighter will easily destroy them. AA is another danger.
Singapore: you have very little time to do the withdrawals before IJ ships and aircraft interdict your ships. Try to airlift out cadres of key units so they can rebuild elsewhere. Decide what to do with Force Z. Going north is suicide, but some have had success interdicting IJ transports around NW Borneo. Basically keep them out of range of Netties and plan where you will refuel and rearm them. You need a level 7 port, a good sized AE/AKE or some combo of port+ naval support to rearm PoW and Repulse.
Fortress Palembang is possible if you bring in the 18th Brit Division, already on ships bound for Singapore, AND if you interdict some of the IJ transports headed for Borneo and then Sumatra. I.E., you have to slow down the IJ timetable. Also consider how you will get enough supply into Palembang if the Japanese destroy supply generation there. Consider this one a snap decision you will try to be in position to make if there is an opportunity.
DEI - Try to bring in outlying garrisons by small xAP or Patrol aircraft and establish mountain redoubts on Java. Use supply draw and stockpiling to get as much supply there as you can.
Philippines: Fly out cadres of key units like the USN Base forces, 4th Marines and 31st Infantry. Rebuild in Oz or India when you can get enough supply to them.
OZ - be aware that you have NO fighters for some time. Send some right away and put your AA where it is most needed. Turn off HI until you have enough fuel in OZ for all the ships you have to refuel there.
USA - Turn off all air unit upgrades until you can figure out which ones are permanently restricted - non deployable. Downgrade good aircraft in the restricted units to get the newer aircraft in the pools for unrestricted and front-line air units. Ensure your key industrial cities have very strong restricted army units defending them against invasion.
India - optimize your garrisons to the size required to free up larger units for movement and deployment. Build forts in key cities. Ceylon is toast if the AI goes after it in a big way. keep arriving British units in India until you have air and sea superiority around Ceylon. Do not keep important RN ships in the Bay of Bengal - it is a pocket trap if KB comes calling.
Pacific Isles - pay close attention to the SPS value of the bases you choose to build up. It takes forever to build a single point of port where the port SPS is (0). Same for airfields. Use Lexington and Enterprise in the first few turns to attack the IJ transports at wake and in the Marshalls/Gilberts towards Tarawa but save your fighters for CAP against Netties.
Burma is nearly indefensible because supply cannot get there easily (poor road system, Japanese ships and aircraft destroy supply convoys). Defend only in good terrain like the Chinese situation. Be prepared to withdraw northward. Don't expect much from your B-17Ds - they do not have adequate defensive armament and IJ fighter will easily destroy them. AA is another danger.
Singapore: you have very little time to do the withdrawals before IJ ships and aircraft interdict your ships. Try to airlift out cadres of key units so they can rebuild elsewhere. Decide what to do with Force Z. Going north is suicide, but some have had success interdicting IJ transports around NW Borneo. Basically keep them out of range of Netties and plan where you will refuel and rearm them. You need a level 7 port, a good sized AE/AKE or some combo of port+ naval support to rearm PoW and Repulse.
Fortress Palembang is possible if you bring in the 18th Brit Division, already on ships bound for Singapore, AND if you interdict some of the IJ transports headed for Borneo and then Sumatra. I.E., you have to slow down the IJ timetable. Also consider how you will get enough supply into Palembang if the Japanese destroy supply generation there. Consider this one a snap decision you will try to be in position to make if there is an opportunity.
DEI - Try to bring in outlying garrisons by small xAP or Patrol aircraft and establish mountain redoubts on Java. Use supply draw and stockpiling to get as much supply there as you can.
Philippines: Fly out cadres of key units like the USN Base forces, 4th Marines and 31st Infantry. Rebuild in Oz or India when you can get enough supply to them.
OZ - be aware that you have NO fighters for some time. Send some right away and put your AA where it is most needed. Turn off HI until you have enough fuel in OZ for all the ships you have to refuel there.
USA - Turn off all air unit upgrades until you can figure out which ones are permanently restricted - non deployable. Downgrade good aircraft in the restricted units to get the newer aircraft in the pools for unrestricted and front-line air units. Ensure your key industrial cities have very strong restricted army units defending them against invasion.
India - optimize your garrisons to the size required to free up larger units for movement and deployment. Build forts in key cities. Ceylon is toast if the AI goes after it in a big way. keep arriving British units in India until you have air and sea superiority around Ceylon. Do not keep important RN ships in the Bay of Bengal - it is a pocket trap if KB comes calling.
Pacific Isles - pay close attention to the SPS value of the bases you choose to build up. It takes forever to build a single point of port where the port SPS is (0). Same for airfields. Use Lexington and Enterprise in the first few turns to attack the IJ transports at wake and in the Marshalls/Gilberts towards Tarawa but save your fighters for CAP against Netties.
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
RE: Just Another Noob(A) AAR vs AI(J) - help is welcome
FWIW, my recommendations:
1. Play with surprise on. It's historical, and especially against the AI will help get them off to a good start.
2. After the first turn you should be able to set up enough protection at Pearl to make the subsequent days not nearly as effective for the Japanese. It will be tense, but that is a good thing. And if the KB stays at Hawaii, you have a free hand with your carriers elsewhere.
3. I like the South Pacific, rather than North Pacific, for Saratoga, because there is more room to flee if necessary.
4. Japanese subs are extremely dangerous in the beginning. Put lots of escorts with your carriers or anything else you really care about.
1. Play with surprise on. It's historical, and especially against the AI will help get them off to a good start.
2. After the first turn you should be able to set up enough protection at Pearl to make the subsequent days not nearly as effective for the Japanese. It will be tense, but that is a good thing. And if the KB stays at Hawaii, you have a free hand with your carriers elsewhere.
3. I like the South Pacific, rather than North Pacific, for Saratoga, because there is more room to flee if necessary.
4. Japanese subs are extremely dangerous in the beginning. Put lots of escorts with your carriers or anything else you really care about.
RE: Just Another Noob(A) AAR vs AI(J) - help is welcome
ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
First some advice about long posts - the forum will often eat them because you only have so many minutes to complete a post before the forum considers it timed out. Updates of the forum server can also cause dead posts. Always copy your long post test to your clipboard before posting. If the post dies, just start a new post window and paste in your saved text.
It is too bad that you turned on the auto-convert obsolete devices. Now you will have to turn that feature off nearly unit by unit. If you let the game do the upgrades it will tend to go with the index number of the unit and availability of supply or size of base to decide which units to upgrade with the new devices first. Almost always, new devices are in short supply and you want them in your front line units first, not in in rear area units that might be permanently restricted. Always start with that switch off so you can choose which units to upgrade and when.
PH surprise/no historical first turn - it is not a sin to have them turned off. KB cannot launch aircraft until after both naval movement phases, so your TFs can go after KB before it launches. Set sub patrols in the area first, flank speed. Sometimes this works and sometimes not (Air Combat TFs retreat from threats quite adeptly). I have succeeded in hitting KB by forming two BB TFs (leave Pennsylvania behind - it is lacking fuel or ammo and will use up all its operations points fixing that), a CA TF, a Brooklyn class CL TF, a small CL TF, and two DD TFs. I sent them out shotgun style to try and blanket the area KB is likely to be and make it harder for KB to avoid combat. All TFs have react settings and patrol orders so they will try and close on KB once it is detected. I also put in good captains and TF commanders. Bear in mind that the Allied side only gets one phase of movement even with surprise and historical first turn off.
Meanwhile, get at least half your fighters up on CAP and save a few of the longer ranged ones for escort duty. Set your Cats to carry torpedoes on naval strike to range 10. Set your bombers to naval attack at 2000 feet and 20% of the squadron on naval search. You want to get hits - losses be damned.
Send your AMs and other small ASW capable vessels out to suppress the IJ subs. Send your other valuable shipping south from PH to Hilo using coastal setting to stay in the shallows. All LCUs in combat mode of course. Transport aircraft are useless first turn, so I send them to Lahaina.
All I can think of at the moment - separate post for your other theaters.
First , thanks for the detailed replies appreciate it! I have turned off that auto upgrade and replacements for all units (land/air) gonna go do it manually for the frontline units now.
I have decided to engage KB but i will switch to ai and switch their strike package to naval strike instead of them attacking empty port.I think its a good compromise , i will still lose some BB'S like in the first day but support ships and DD's should survive and hopefully KB will leave after getting a bloody nose
RE: Just Another Noob(A) AAR vs AI(J) - help is welcome
You are sharing great wisdom , thank you!ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
China - the Chinese cannot stand up to tanks or aircraft or heavy arty (lack of heavy weapons) so they need to be in good terrain to fight well. Get them out of clear territory ASAP and if possible into +3 terrain (Heavy Urban, Wooded Rough) or +4 (Mountains) terrain. Get supply to Rangoon ASAP so that some gets to China before the IJA cuts the Burma Road. Build forts only in cities you intend to defend, Do not build airfields. Do not build ports. Do not let units take replacements or upgrade devices until you decide which units will fight well and have good leaders. Morale is important here.
Burma is nearly indefensible because supply cannot get there easily (poor road system, Japanese ships and aircraft destroy supply convoys). Defend only in good terrain like the Chinese situation. Be prepared to withdraw northward. Don't expect much from your B-17Ds - they do not have adequate defensive armament and IJ fighter will easily destroy them. AA is another danger.
Singapore: you have very little time to do the withdrawals before IJ ships and aircraft interdict your ships. Try to airlift out cadres of key units so they can rebuild elsewhere. Decide what to do with Force Z. Going north is suicide, but some have had success interdicting IJ transports around NW Borneo. Basically keep them out of range of Netties and plan where you will refuel and rearm them. You need a level 7 port, a good sized AE/AKE or some combo of port+ naval support to rearm PoW and Repulse.
Fortress Palembang is possible if you bring in the 18th Brit Division, already on ships bound for Singapore, AND if you interdict some of the IJ transports headed for Borneo and then Sumatra. I.E., you have to slow down the IJ timetable. Also consider how you will get enough supply into Palembang if the Japanese destroy supply generation there. Consider this one a snap decision you will try to be in position to make if there is an opportunity.
DEI - Try to bring in outlying garrisons by small xAP or Patrol aircraft and establish mountain redoubts on Java. Use supply draw and stockpiling to get as much supply there as you can.
Philippines: Fly out cadres of key units like the USN Base forces, 4th Marines and 31st Infantry. Rebuild in Oz or India when you can get enough supply to them.
OZ - be aware that you have NO fighters for some time. Send some right away and put your AA where it is most needed. Turn off HI until you have enough fuel in OZ for all the ships you have to refuel there.
USA - Turn off all air unit upgrades until you can figure out which ones are permanently restricted - non deployable. Downgrade good aircraft in the restricted units to get the newer aircraft in the pools for unrestricted and front-line air units. Ensure your key industrial cities have very strong restricted army units defending them against invasion.
India - optimize your garrisons to the size required to free up larger units for movement and deployment. Build forts in key cities. Ceylon is toast if the AI goes after it in a big way. keep arriving British units in India until you have air and sea superiority around Ceylon. Do not keep important RN ships in the Bay of Bengal - it is a pocket trap if KB comes calling.
Pacific Isles - pay close attention to the SPS value of the bases you choose to build up. It takes forever to build a single point of port where the port SPS is (0). Same for airfields. Use Lexington and Enterprise in the first few turns to attack the IJ transports at wake and in the Marshalls/Gilberts towards Tarawa but save your fighters for CAP against Netties.
Burma; i plan on hitting enemy airfields at night because ai is also doing it and i cant discuss house rules with it [:D] and plan to LRCAP convoys as they get close , hopefully i can hold it for some time
FP; I will bring that division to palembang and if japs hit the supply i could use Carriers for convoy protection if KB is not around i guess ?
Force Z;My plan was to bring Force Z towards Philippines and engage invasion forces to the south but i feel like its gonna be too late so i will try to interdict Borneo invasions and later meet with carriers for AA support
OZ: I will bring that marine F4F's from wake and some planes from west coast with ships
India: Thanks for the Ceylon warning never thought of KB moving there , will evac important ships from that port
RE: Just Another Noob(A) AAR vs AI(J) - help is welcome
Moving Saratoga south as suggested , is 4 DD escort enough or would you recommend more ?ORIGINAL: jwolf
3. I like the South Pacific, rather than North Pacific, for Saratoga, because there is more room to flee if necessary.
4. Japanese subs are extremely dangerous in the beginning. Put lots of escorts with your carriers or anything else you really care about.
RE: Just Another Noob(A) AAR vs AI(J) - help is welcome
More is better, but you probably won't have them for a while.