Matrix Games Forums

IanShaw wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2023 6:27 pm I weakened the DEI forces for the following reasons

1. To help play balance for Allies=human vs Japan=AI

2. It just seems that the at-start DEI forces are stronger than they were historically.


Play Balance:
The last couple of games I've played human Allies vs. AI Japan, I've set the experience bonus to Experienced (+20%) and the logistics to Excellent (+8%), which seems to give a reasonable balance, except for in the DEI; that never falls unless:

a. I weaken the DEI forces (reduce total land strength to about 50% of scenario total and reduce experience from 40% to 35%; DEI AF reduced from 20 SPs to 5)
b. Follow self-imposed 'house rules' where the other Allies do not send land forces to the DEI or set up convoys to them, which in any case seems realistic given the small numbers of Allied troops that were sent there historically and the general disorganisation of the Allies in the first few months of the war.

Without these restrictions the Allies can set up convoys to the DEI, plus sending ground troops if needed. The DEI withdraws divisions from elsewhere to build a full corps at Batavia, the AI tries a few attacks on it and then gives up, more or less guaranteeing that the Japanese never get the oil in Sumatra and Java, and the overall Japanese advance then grinds to a halt when their oil stockpile runs out. The British build a landing ship, an Allied ground unit invades at (ungarrisoned) Surabaya in late 1942, dooming the remaining Japanese troops on Java.

History:
a. Land strength. The Pacific 1941 scenario gives the DEI 5+ full-strength divisions, i.e. approx 80,000 troops, but although sources on the DEI army vary, that just seems too many.
b. Experience. The historical accounts often talk about desertions by indigenous troops, and although I might be wrong, I'm guessing that the Dutch themselves were already demoralised by the defeat of their home country. To reflect both these factors I reduced the experience level of the DEI land forces from 40% to 35%.
c. Air Force. The DEI AF starts off with 20 SP, i.e. the combined strength of the IAF, USAFFE and RAAF. It usually gives the IJN a very hard time, often sinking a battleship and once getting 4 hits on the Yamato. It just seems far too strong, so I reduced it to 5 SPs.