Rearming Japanese BBs in the early game

[BaitBoy]

I have just started playing a game as Japan against the AI. I ran the historical first turn, and there is a bombardment group that attacks Malaya. Where is the best place to rearm this group? If I am reading the manual right, there is no base big enough short of going back to Japan until you take either Manila, HK, or Singapore. What would a more experienced player recommend I do with this battlegroup?

[Sardaukar]

Have you checked if Saigon or Bangkok are big enough?

[Lokasenna]

Find any nearby naval support - refer to the tables in the back of the manual that tell you what port size + naval support that you need to rearm those guns. I would guess that Cam Ranh Bay is big enough (with the naval support that I think starts there).

You will probably take Hong Kong within the first 2 weeks of the war, so that's not too bad either.

Failing both of those, Takao or the Pescadores. You could also transport more naval support from those places (or from Japan) to get you over the hump locally.

And failing all of that - look for AKE ships that you can put in a port, which will allow your battleships to replenish ammo from them so long as they have enough supplies loaded and are of sufficient size to reload the battleship guns.

[Sardaukar]

Ah, Cam Ranh Bay, forgot that.

[ITAKLinus]

Saigon is up the river IIRC.

Cam can do the trick but you have to ship there three NavalHQs and probably some more NavSupp (like a BF)

[Ambassador]

From my notes, you indeed need to move Naval Support to Cam Ranh Bay to be able to rearm the 36cm/45. Table 20.1.2.2 Ship Rearmament at Port lists for that weapon either Port 6 with 454 NS, or Port 5 with 544 NS (and no NS required for Port 7 and higher). No single base in the Pacific or in Indochina/Thailand/Formosa has that much naval support, and you’d have to go to Shanghai (Port 7) to rearm (or, more probably by the time you get near China, Hong Kong). However, 2nd Fleet HQ, which can be transported in one xAP (or two to be safe from interception), starts in Samah, and has enough Naval Support to bring Cam Ranh Bay above the threshold. If you then keep 2nd Fleet and Southern Fleet together, with 9th Base Force, you can move them as a group to have enough NS for any Port 5 (or even any port size, if you don’t have too many disabled NS squads). Or you may conquer Soerabaja (or Singapore, off course).

Manila is not big enough by the way, and you don’t want to run the Corregidor gauntlet to resupply in Manila anyway.

Even Truk only has 450 (Port 6), with some disabled devices (but there’s a 5th Base Force with over 100 NS in Saipan, which can be brought in a few days).

You also have one AKE in Hiroshima, pay attention to where you deploy it.

By the way, remember the rearming of a ship’s ammo consumes supply, calculated as such : (Rearm cost * number of guns * ammo per gun)/2000. For a Kongo-class BB, for example, it would be 2.970 *8 *12 /2000 = 143 supplies. For one ship, and main guns only. The Ise/Fuso-class have 50% more guns, so 50% higher cost per bombardment run. So, take that into consideration when you want to use them for shore bombardment, don’t do it just because they’re available.

[dasboot1960]

At the very beginning iirc, Shanghai is the closest without shipping in various to wherever. However I just learned (of course) 14" BBs don't require as much 'support' as 16" to reload. (Think 'TRUK')