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19th Dec 41
PI US Torpedo boats found a HUGE landing fleet at San Fernando but withdrew from combat. Fair enough, there was 0% moonlight so I guess it was too dark but I expected a bit more as I had just paid PP to give the task force an aggressive commander. An IJN sub chaser hit one of the mines I laid at Batan island. I'm pretty sure she sunk. B-17s hit Japanese troops concentrations in the north of the Philippines causing 127 casualties. A few more attacks like that and I'm sure they'll just go home...:O: Singers A big sweep came over but resulted in only one aircraft lost each. Juha didn't follow up with a bombing raid, though. I wonder whether weather was a factor. Java Force Z should be back in the early hours and will refuel. I'll keep her here for a little longer just in case a juicy target shows up. An empty troop convoy is about to get underway for Singapore to pick up a couple more units. Hopefully they'll get in and out without too many problems. Wake At Wake nothing happened. But it happened suddenly, mark you! I might send a Marine defence unit to the island. It is rated as an atoll so can only hold a maximum of 6000 troops before over-stacking penalties kick in. There are several sizes of islands and Atolls are the smallest. It tends to make invading them very difficult indeed because over-stacking penalties are most keenly felt with the inability to supply troops adequately. I wonder if I was right about where the air raid came from. I may move a Cat squadron down here even though I'm lacking enough support to have them and the wildcats here at the same time. |
I don't really have any strategic wisdom to add here, but I just wanted to say that I enjoy following this thread immensely. Gripping stuff :salute:
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I've sent Emperor Happy Times my turn and I'll be back in a bit with some exciting screenies and the details. |
OK. Not much to report today.
Oz Big news is that 2 squadrons of US divebombers have arrived in Brisbane. If only they were something other than A-20 Banshees. Nevermind, they have gone into a crash course of naval attack training so they might be able to do something when the bad guys show up. Below is a map of the northern Oz area: http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/1334/northozcopy.jpg Between Coen, Normanton and Merauke I plan to build a nicely interlocking umbrella of air supremacy. Normanton is central to my plans for northern Austrlia and, later, the DEI because it is so easy to get supplies and troops too. Going overland to Darwin is a non starter. I plan to get some coastal defence guns into place as soon as I have some as well as some AA. Cavite Island naval force, who are currently heading for Perth, will end up here. India http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/824...ontiercopy.jpg The main line of defence along the border will receive the bulk of my troops in India. The four bases will be built up as large as they can get, will have a heavy fighter presence and will be supplied by air during the Monsoon season when transport by roads pretty much halts. Of course, the way the game is modeled means that air supply is likely to be affected my the monsoon as well but I won't have any real option but to try. The Mandalay area in Burma will be Juha's aim. It would be mine. I see no reason to push beyond these towns; they have oil wells and resources which are important to his industry, and north of them nothing much other than unpleasant biting insects and snakes. Of course, he could decide to go for India but He will know the chances of doing anything here are pretty much nill. Experienced WiTP players have come a cropper here. I refer interested parties to look over the now abandoned AAR of Canoerebel versus Q-Ball over at Matrix. Q-ball is a very experienced IJ player and although arguments could (and have) be advanced that he made some fundamental mistakes I still think it is too difficult a proposition. The Royal Navy I've said little about the RN so far. The main RN base is at Colombo in Ceylon. I can easily see Juha trying a strike here with the KB at some time in the next few months. There are currently a light carrier (Hermes) and half a dozen cruisers here, but no destroyers. Great. I've always struggled to use the RN ships in the past. Usually they end up isolated from the real war being fought elsewhere but I am determined this time to actually use them as much as possible. One of the big problems, though, with regards to their carriers, is that the RN seem to have had a rather, err, avant-guard approach to carrier air groups. The USN flat tops are great: uniform aircraft of decent size and type, more than able to go toe to toe with the best the Japanese can throw at them. The RN? Well, who else thinks that sticking a squadron of 6 swordfish on a carrier in 1944 represents great military thinking. Of course, the USN takes time to get good and the RN certainly improves as the war goes on also, but nowhere to the extent that I would trust them to go up against even the Baby KB without losses. I've always felt that the RNs thinking on carriers was muddied at best. It seems odd to me that a country with such widely scattered and important assets as the British Empire would, for the larger part of their existence, seem to think of threats in terms of what was floating near by on the North Sea. Still, the RN has the best ship names ever, so kudos for that! :salute: http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/4841/xwing.jpg This is a good reason for not having X-wings on the Long Island. There was some problem with the arrestor cables. Should have used Snow speeders, IMO; those harpoon thingies could have come in useful. |
Well I remembered the screenshots but forgot the details.
Pearl The big supply convoy that got there yesterday has unloaded and started heading back to SF. The dock worker laddies, (if anyone knows what those dudes were officially called please let me know - I've forgotten,) must have been going for some sort of record because I don't think I've ever seen a big convoy turn around that quickly before. The fuel convoy will probably take a couple of days. Enterprise and Lexington will arrive home during the night, barring anything like a last minute sub attack. PI The PT boat task force have been sent back to see whether they can do anything against the landing fleet this time around. You never know, maybe the Japanese ship will get spooked and crash into each other. Oz Ships move around and that's about it. I would love to take advantage of the fact nothing has arrived in the Coral sea area and get some units into Moresby, but I simply cannot afford the PP cost just now. The troops there already will have to make do with supplies coming in. The Australian cruisers are still at Townsville awaiting orders. I'm surprised Juha hasn't moved on Rabaul. My air patrols spot ships moving north of the admiralty islands now and again but nothing has actually made a move yet. Java Force Z due in tonight. A minelayer is planting a field between Batavia and Oosthaven in order to try and block off that route into the Indian sea to enemy subs. Thoughts Two things come to mind: 1: Where are his submarines? I've had reports of Glens off the west coast but this could easily be over enthusiastic spotters misidentifying US aircraft. I've not seen a single boat east of Pearl yet and aside from Pearl I've only seen them around Java. My ASW air patrols aren't up to speed yet but I would have expected to see more of them by now. Even at Pearl I have only had trouble with I-4. What's he up too? poor tasking away from my prospective routes? In transit? Difficult to say, but I'm happy enough for the time being. 2: Softly softly catchee monkey? Juha is taking his time, it seems, in various places. If I was him I would have had the Baby KB down towards the Java sea hitting scarpering ships as I attempted to clear the area. I would certainly have moved on Rabaul by now. Mind you, knowing my luck the moment I commit troops to the defence of Moresby the Japanese deathstar will turn up and sink the lot of them. |
20th Dec 1941
PI The PT boats run into a destroyer screen and lose two of their number without doing any damage to the enemy. At dawn a powerful naval bombardment is launched against Lingayen by the Japanese as they begin landings. Allied forces shell the landing beaches to little effect. He has elements of a tank regiment and two infantry regiments on the sand so far, with more to follow. B-17s out of Clarke are ordered to do what they can. Sargo is driven under by destroyers near Viggan and takes some depth charges for her troubles. Damage is light and she remains on station. Betties from Bootledebomp attack a small convoy fleeing the Philippines. I had forgotten about them but they got away unscathed. Hopefully they can clear the area and make for Soerabaja. Singapore. Several sweeps are launched and we lose 7 Buffaloes to 1 all day. Not good enough. The remaining ships at Singers receive orders to run for it. Batavia first and then on the Oz. The three torpedo bomber squadrons have been transferred to Batavia and will move on to Darwin as soon as they can. It'll take a few days as they don't have great range and will need to hop from base to base. Oz Another quiet day, mostly. The big convoy that is heading from Sydney to Pearl has a moment of excitement when An xAK zigs instead of zags and slaps into HMNZS Achilles. Damage is fairly light, which is good. It would have been an inglorious end to a ship that tangled with the famous Graf Spee two years before. The steamer skipper will be soundly beaten by irate Kiwi sailors I imagine. Many of the ships fleeing the DEI have arrived at Perth. Something like 70,000 tonnes of fuel will be unloaded here in the next few days. I may send some tankers north again. Pearl The aircraft carriers make it home and are refueling. Lexington may start upgrading dive bombers if there are enough of them. CenPac Convoys supplying Christmas island. The Patrol plane tender is about a day away from Baker. As soon as she arrives I'll transfer a squadron of cats from Christmas. They'll be living in tents on the beach but it can't be helped. The Wake resupply ship is a couple of days back. There have been no repeats of the air raid from a couple of days ago. China. Horrible. I'll say something about China when I've worked out what I want to say about it. Some SB-IIIs bombed a few IJA troops near Wuchang but inflicted few casualties. Java I-156 attacks but misses a steamer off the coast of Soerabaja. The small ASW force I had on patrol is, and please pardon my French, fannying about to the north of the sub. When they get back to port, there will be some shouting. West Coast The aircraft carrying convoy at SF is loaded but is awaiting a fleet oiler filling up before she leaves. I'm adding the AO because I want her to get to Australia and a couple of her ships are pretty small. This allows her the convoy to refuel on the way, although ships will take fuel for each other if they need it and there is any spare, this method is quicker. SUBS! My sub related witterings in the last post have come back to haunt me! :D Sub spotted off San Diego. Sub spotted off Noumea Sub spotted off MIlne bay (PNG) Sub spotted in Bismarck Sea. All I have available on the west coast just now are small Yard Patrol boats whose ASW capabilities seem to be a rating dropping hand grenades over the side. Still, it's all I've got and I've formed a few patrols up and down the coast. Two Canadian KVs will do the same further north. Theyu have a ASW rating of 4 and are actually pretty good, if I'm going on past experience. |
Hey Egan, as an up and coming WitPAE player (playing allies) I am very thankful for the effort you take in writing this up.
I'm now understanding what there about I need to do in order to set myself up and seeing as I have played through the 22nd I may restart and snag your ideas a bit early. Time will tell though and good luck on the high seas! |
Hey got a question. Does the number of engineers make any difference with the speed in which ports or airbases are built? In other words if I am wanting to build up a main base somewhere in the DEI would it behoove me to have quite a few engineers? Also what ships would help in this?
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If you want to build a base up quickly I believe you need 200-300 engineers present. I'm not sure whether this represents an optimum number or not but is the one i've seen mentioned a couple of times. Also worth remebering that engineering vehicles are equal to five engineers and are therefor worth their weight. By mid 42 you're going to have a few seebee units available and they are absolutely invaluable.
Also worth remembering that it takes a long time to build a level 0 port or air strip to level 1: remember to plan ahead. as for ships, none directly help you build bases up bit you wil need good supply to construct. In the DEI early game i would hold off building anything more than forts, unless you're planning to stand and fight long term. The ports and airfields should be enough for you're needs just now and anything else is just doing Japan's work for him. |
This is quite an amazing AAR, and I'm really enjoying reading it. :yep: It's the pondering of what he's going to do next. I imagine he is trying to figure the same. :yep:
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What he's doing next is flooding the Philippines with invasion fleets...:wah:
I lost track of the KB a few days ago. One of the real problems with the game from allied side is that we can't have a sub conduct harbour recon. It would make it easier to keep tabs on some of his big ships. There are several places he could use the KB now: Come down hard on the Coral sea/SWpac area, to provide cover for invasions in the DEI, or raid shipping lanes in CenPac. I don't think it's the last one and I have a gut feeling the next time I see it will either be off Rabaul or Darwin. Besides, it's the Baby KB I'm worried about just now. I have no idea where it is. It WAS off the Philippines but it has been gone for the best part of a week now and it never came too far south. He could have picked off a lot of shipping if he'd pushed a bit further. |
22nd Dec 41
Singers Sweeps take out 5 more Buffaloes for the loss of 3 zeroes. In the afternoon a bunch of sallies came over and attacked the port, sinking an HDML. My Hudsons continue to refuse to fly. It's been raining pretty hard, I suppose.... PI His main thrust is here for the time being. B-17s from Clark bombed the invasion fleet at Viggan and scored hits on two xAK, and a cat got a lucky hit on a destroyer there as well. Further south he has begun landing troops at Panay. The PT boats at Manila are being sent out again to see whether they can do a bit more than last time. CenPac I-26 attacked the SF-Pearl convoy as it headed back to the west coast. She took a hit but damage will be light. The convoy is fine so far. The Seaplane tender has reached Baker island and a squadron of cats arrived later in the day. For some reason the ship's organic air support isn't showing up under the islands totals. I check again next turn. This is important because without functioning air support I'll soon end up with a lot of grounded aircraft. The cats have patrol patterns that will allow them to see over Makin, Tarawa and other islands in the area. Oz Subs off Brisbane. Every boat with even a small ASW capability is being sent out to patrol up and down the coast. I'm thinking of airlifting a couple of independent companies to Moresby but I haven't decided yet. One of them is embarked to travel to Townsville by rail in possible preparation. Hong Kong A couple of air raids are followed up by a ground attack in which Juha loses another 750 troops. I think he needs more infantry here because the guys he's got aren't doing much. West Coat. Another sub appears near San Diego. I really wish I had some decent ASW assets here. Subs My fleet boats have been rubbish. Aside from the torpedoes they are failing to engage in any strength and that is driving me crazy. I seem to remember that the USN went through a period after he start of the war where many of the sub skippers were replaced by more aggressive men. That's what I'm seeing here. I need better skippers. I plan to start looking at it as soon as some boats get back to port. Thoughts. Not much to do but build up and sit tight. Bases across the map continue to improve their defences and facilities. I'm thinking of a raid somewhere with my carriers in order to at least feel I'm being proactive. I won't risk much, it'll be no more than a quick in and out, but it might throw some doubt Juha's way. I think he's playing a solid, methodical game so far. There are a couple of things I would have done sooner but if he continues to throw the same sort of overwhelming force at the DEI he as thrown at the PI, things could get sticky very quickly. Oh, I forgot: A task force was 'spotted' south east of Japan. I have a feeling this was the KB but I can't prove anything. Now, if it was the KB, is she going home or coming out? Hmmmm... |
Carriers
In WW2, US carrier pilots had a simple motto found scrawled on bits of paper in various locations on board their ships. The motto was simple: 'Get The Carriers!' The Japanese carrier fleet in WiTP is the empire's premier form of force projection. The full 6 flat top Kido Butai is awesome to behold, and eminently capable of ruining your day, your week or, indeed, a large part of your war. In real life, of course, the Japanese carrier fleet took some licks early on and never recovered the initiative. The Coral Sea and Midway battles seem even more important in hindsight, I suppose, and every half decent IJN player in the game knows how important it is to keep the 6 big ships together. Tethered to this is an element of the game which has caused a certain amount of controversy: The Japanese player in the game seems able to keep pumping out good quality pilots for far longer than could be done in real life where as, the Allied player tends to struggle to train Naval aviators. I am currently using float plane squadrons to train USN pilots in fighter tactics. Yes, it's fairly gamey, but the consensus is that there is no other real method available. In this respect, the game is a bit unbalanced. That's life, however, and an Allied player must do what he can to keep training new men. There is a second issue. The Japanese player has almost full control over important elements of his economy. He can concentrate on building far more carrier capable aircraft than could ever be done in the real war. Again, the Allies are hamstrung here. If i am supposed to get 10 Helldivers in March 44, I will never get a single airframe more or less than those 10 Helldivers in March 44. Tie-ing the Allied player to historical figures when the IJN player is far less limited doesn't really seem overly fair to me, but it is the decision the dev team went for and there isn't really anything I can do about it. My one big advantage is in numbers. By the end of 43 I will have Essex class carriers arriving on an almost monthly bases. I will also have RN carriers arriving fairly frequently and literally dozens of escort carrier plus a few light carriers too. The air craft I will start receiving such as Corsairs, Hellcats and Helldivers are some of the finest seen in the PTO. But until then I don't get nearly enough of anything. I will receive Yorktown in about 14 days. By the summer of 42 I will - god willing- have six fleet carrier and a couple of escort carriers available to me. Even then it will be all but impossible to go toe to toe with the KB. It will remain strong far longer than it did historically and proves a problem when it comes to strategic planning. I plan on limiting the use of my carriers to small scale raids until I need to cover invasions. when I do move them, I hope to use them under a substantial umbrella of land based air. Interlocking bases and 'dirt' carriers will be the only way I can usefully operate for a long, long time. Whenever a Japanese player moans about Allies running away and hiding their carriers I wonder 'But what else can we realistically do?' I am well aware that the US operated with only one carrier in the Pacific for while. I don't want to do that. I want to attrit his flat tops and I want to attrit his flight crews too. Anything to even things up. Once I get Marine dive bombers and torpedo aircraft, They will be going to those interlocking bases. There may also be times these types of aircraft will be removed from carriers altogether and based somewhere were they can do harm. Hopefully, this way, I can keep up my own force projection in the PTO until the big, beautiful Essex Class start coming out of the yards. From that point on the Japanese are mine for the taking, but that's a long way away. |
23rd Dec 41
CenPac. The supply ship reaches Wake and starts unloading. To the south, in Baker, I can't seem to get the AV's organic air support to work. I am trying a couple of things so we'll see next round. Singapore. Japanese sweeps continue to play havoc with the buffaloes and another three get shot down without answer. On the plus side the Hudsons' finally fly and bomb IJA troops away to the north doing - wait for it - 5 casualties! Maybe they fell off their chairs in surprise at the Hudsons doing anything. I know I nearly did. More importantly at Singers, I finally ponied up the PP to buy out the two Australian brigades. They are loading onto some Dutch xAP along with another Indian brigade and some anti-tank units. They will head to Darwin to start with (or Perth depending on whether anyone unpleasant descends upon the Java sea.) The Indian unit will eventually get back to India. This may take a while. Now we wait to see whether they load up and scram before more bomber turn up and ruin everyones morning. Borneo A TF turned up outside the British base of Kuching. I have moved one of the Vilderbeast squadrons from Soerabaja to Singkawan where they can hopefully knock some sense out of the Baddies. There isn't enough supply at the base, nor is ther an air HQ, so no Torpedoes. Let's hope they remember how to drop bombs. Australia I'm getting anxious without any air cover. Kevvo is a lovely dog but should be sleeping on a shaded porch instead on howling at silhouettes of Zeroes in Mr. Eccle's aircraft recognition guide. The big convoy on the west coast will leave tonight with orders to refuel at Pearl and then steam onto Oz. I don't usually like to force a convoy to go the entire way across the pacific but I need those fighters ASAP. Once the two independent companies reach Townsville they will either be airlifted or sail to Moresby. I would like to send the two Singapore Oz brigades here but I have a feeling they will be needed in Darwin. Subs. I just discovered that I had 'Auto sub ops' switched to ON in the game preferences. I have no idea why I had it set like this as I have never used it in my life. I only noticed because several subs had disappeared off on patrols I hadn't remembering ordering and, sure enough, when I checked, a number of them were set to COMPUTER CONTROLLED. Hmm. I'm going to blame my utter lack of any sub success so far on this. Oh yes I am. Question. Does anyone with the game know what key allows you to see all ordered patrol areas at the same? I know it came in a patch so it's not in the manual but I can't for the life of me find it written down anywhere. We might get in another turn tonight but I don't know. We'll see. |
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