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While waiting for the patch, put my '41 campaign aside and tried the '44 campaign.

So after weeks of playing as Allies just hoping for a paint scratch against IJN ships, I thought "Butt-kickin' time is HERE!!!"

Ooops. Not quite.

1. Sent my 7 CVs with 8 CVLs on a "World Tour" of Ponape, Truk, Satawal pounding airfields, before I realize "Daggummit, gotta pound Saipan before the invasion!" and set off for Saipan. But the deadly triangle of Palau, Yap, Ulithi beckons. "Come on, plenty of easy pickin's here!" I heed the siren call and think 120 F6Fs is enough cover and detach the Enterprise, Lexington (CVs), Princeton & San Jacinto (CVLs) group to pound the enticing triangle, to this welcome:

Day Air attack on TF at 55,65
Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zeke x 100
D4Y Judy x 67
B6N Jill x 53

Allied aircraft
F6F Hellcat x 50

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zeke: 80 destroyed, 5 damaged
D4Y Judy: 42 destroyed, 27 damaged
B6N Jill: 20 destroyed, 23 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F6F Hellcat: 60 destroyed, 11 damaged

Allied Ships
CV Enterprise, Bomb hits 2
CVL Princeton, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
CVL San Jacinto, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1
CV Lexington
CA Indianapolis
OK, not too bad, should be fine!
---------------------------------------------------------------

Day Air attack on TF at 55,65

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zeke x 22
D4Y Judy x 16
B6N Jill x 8

Allied aircraft
F6F Hellcat x 11

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zeke: 6 destroyed
D4Y Judy: 10 destroyed, 11 damaged
B6N Jill: 4 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F6F Hellcat: 10 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied Ships
CV Lexington, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CV Enterprise
OH NO, not Lady Lex! Well, maybe she can recover planes . . .
-------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 55,65

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zeke x 14
D4Y Judy x 18
B6N Jill x 8

Allied aircraft
F6F Hellcat x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zeke: 4 destroyed
D4Y Judy: 5 destroyed, 12 damaged
B6N Jill: 2 destroyed, 7 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F6F Hellcat: 12 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Enterprise, Bomb hits 3, on fire
CV Lexington, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CVL San Jacinto, Bomb hits 1
C'mon Captain Kirk, get Scotty's ass in gear!!!
------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 55,65

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zeke x 114
D4Y Judy x 39
B6N Jill x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
D4Y Judy: 6 damaged
B6N Jill: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
CV Enterprise, Bomb hits 7, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CVL San Jacinto, Bomb hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CA Indianapolis, Bomb hits 1
CL Birmingham
&*%$#@&%%*$$&#!!!!!
*****************************************************
End result, with everybody still in range:

Entereprise 99-82-49
San Jacinto 99-56-49
Enterprise 41-65-39 (go Scotty go!)
Princeton reef-bait

I can see part of my problem, in my exuberance of playing the Superior Allies in 44, I was sadly lacking in in-depth planning, as when the invasion forces got to Saipan with only 1 day of Air bombardment:

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Naval Gun Fire at Saipan (63,64) - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 6 destroyed
G4M2 Betty: 2 destroyed
Ki-57-II Topsy: 2 destroyed
Ki-21 Sally: 2 destroyed
Ki-61 KAIc Tony: 5 destroyed
Ki-84-Ia Frank: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
A-36A Apache: 2 destroyed

270 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Allied Ships
LCI(G) LCI-69, Shell hits 16, on fire, heavy damage
LCI(G) LCI-68, Shell hits 12, on fire, heavy damage
LCI(G) LCI-67, Shell hits 13, on fire, heavy damage
AK Fomalhaut, Shell hits 2
AK Prince Georges, Shell hits 13, on fire, heavy damage
AK Leonis, Shell hits 16, on fire, heavy damage
AP Fremont, Shell hits 5, on fire
AP Herald of Morning, Shell hits 9, on fire, heavy damage
AP Winged Arrow, Shell hits 15, on fire, heavy damage
AP Cavalier, Shell hits 6, on fire
AP Custer, Shell hits 4
AP Harris, Shell hits 13, on fire, heavy damage
AP Heywood, Shell hits 12, on fire, heavy damage
ML Keokuk, Shell hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
DE Baron, Shell hits 8, on fire, heavy damage


Allied ground losses:
1201 casualties reported
Don't look too "suppressed" to me, damn flyboys!
------------------------------------------------------------

Then, I had assigned a bunch of CVE task forces to provide air cover to the landing forces and assigned them "Follow TF" tasks. Man, it was just like those fog-shrouded 200 car pileups. These STUPID CVE say "Ooh, is that a coastal gun, lemme get a look at it!!!" and boy did they look:

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Naval Gun Fire at Saipan (63,64) - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

21 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Allied Ships
CVE St. Lo, Shell hits 13, on fire, heavy damage
actually got 60 miles from Saipan before sinking!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval Gun Fire at Saipan (63,64) - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

46 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Allied Ships
DD Laws, Shell hits 2
DD Bullard, Shell hits 1
CVE Gambier Bay, Shell hits 6, on fire
CVE Kitkun Bay, Shell hits 5, on fire
Both will make it back home, but with about 60 Sys damage
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[:-] So, no matter WHAT scenario, you still gotta PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!!!

Don't feel too bad. In the 45 scenario I thought it was OK to have a Bombardment TF with a 27k AA value get near the home islands without aircover. Didn't lose anybody but had 6 BBs put out of action for the rest of the game.

Good reminder about complacency!

Thanks for sharing - many would never have dared to show that!

Steve.

ROFL

We've all done it at least once, and most of us have done it far more than that, in UV if not WITP. Now tell me that wasn't fun.[:D]

Hey, it was a blast!! Overdose of adrenaline after doing '41 for 2 monthes:
"send supplies, send supplies, run away, run away!!"

Hi, That looks exatly like what I plan to do as Japan in 1944. [X(][:D][:D]

ORIGINAL: Mogami

Hi, That looks exatly like what I plan to do as Japan in 1944. [X(][:D][:D]

I would think by '44, your myriad of allied opponents would have:
A) conceded
B) Japan Autovictory
C) holed up in Hobart for their big push

So no need for me to take over Task Force Planning!

Hi, I pick C. And then I'm to do the other thing to them when they come north.

ORIGINAL: dr. smith

ORIGINAL: Mogami

Hi, That looks exatly like what I plan to do as Japan in 1944. [X(][:D][:D]

I would think by '44, your myriad of allied opponents would have:
A) conceded
B) Japan Autovictory
C) holed up in Hobart for their big push

So no need for me to take over Task Force Planning!

The options don't seem too different as Japan against Mogami as the Allies...

I wish you would have told me this 4 turns ago. [:)]

In the "grand" scenario I decided to have my CVs "stretch their legs" at Bikini about a week after New Years '42 (for the obvious reason, despite the fact that it hadnt been invented yet). Ended up losing the 'Prise to 4 torpedoes from your friendly neighborhood LBA (although I did put 24 bombs in the Hyuga, I dont think I even scratched the paint).

From now on, I think I'll stay in Pearl, at least until I can count my Essexes on the fingers of more than one hand. [:)]

I forgot one day in '42 that AI might just move its betties to follow my CVs - so I move out of range of the base the G4M had flown from and which I had cut down, and decide to be nice to my boys and standown the F4s for well earned rest before we get to port to speed up turn around...

ah...you can fill in the gaps yourselves. Luckily I do not have the combat report still but it is embedded in my brain

Ai might be dumb but sometimes I'm dumber.

Yes indeed.... LIke the time after my F4F's at Lunga had wiped out most of the the Vals and Kates on the Jap CV force, which was definitely ripe to be shark bait. And the GM4's out of Rabaul had done nothing for a week or more. Good time to send the "Hornet/Wasp" Task Force to finish off the Jap CV's, I think.... suddenly those GM4's came back to life..... I'm trying to forget the rest.

Woohoo woohoo! There is hope [:D]

As you say my friend complacency will get your ass bitten.

I am planning on starting a PBEM Campaign 42B after the patch comes out. There is hope with Jap afterall. Maybe [;)]