No that they think Herr K looks like Alan Turing. My comment was, perhaps, badly worded. I blame the fact I'm currently suffering from the Motaba virus.Mangudai said:What, that they are shapeshifters and/or that they look like Alan Turing?
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Competition We have a perfect answer from Wolfhound (after editing) but I guess that really he just wins on speed since LIFO clearly knows all about it too. (I expect there are plenty of others)
I win LIFO's competition (makes a change ) but only after Wolfhound found us the alternative view. From the improved view the vehicle is clearly an APC and has post war running gear so the obvious first port of call is Canadian APCs. That quickly gets us to the Bobcat. The only spoilers are that the vehicle looks like a rubbish design so it is hard to believe but then the M113 isn't much better. I had a slight worry it might turn out to be some engineering variant but the lack of extra equipment makes that unlikely.
I appreciate all the discussion of trees, ugly tanks and paint jobs. This is the sort of lateral thinking that the allied AI could do with. I can just imagine the conversation...
"What's that"
"Well it looks like a Panzerkampfwagon IV F2, or it might be a G. I'm not sure, if we move round there to get a better view we sho..." - squelch :wacko:
Or the simpler lateral version
"It's a German tank with guns pointing at us... Let's take cover... now"
I am slightly concerned about the obsession with Alan Turing. Just to put you minds at rest this is the secret identity of Kanitatlan
Not entirely similar and not entirely disimilar.
I suspect Lynx Rufus is not a good name within the context of the current AAR although it mught have been sensible for Edge of Darkness.
I win LIFO's competition (makes a change
) but only after Wolfhound found us the alternative view. From the improved view the vehicle is clearly an APC and has post war running gear so the obvious first port of call is Canadian APCs. That quickly gets us to the Bobcat. The only spoilers are that the vehicle looks like a rubbish design so it is hard to believe but then the M113 isn't much better. I had a slight worry it might turn out to be some engineering variant but the lack of extra equipment makes that unlikely.I appreciate all the discussion of trees, ugly tanks and paint jobs. This is the sort of lateral thinking that the allied AI could do with. I can just imagine the conversation...
"What's that"
"Well it looks like a Panzerkampfwagon IV F2, or it might be a G. I'm not sure, if we move round there to get a better view we sho..." - squelch :wacko:
Or the simpler lateral version
"It's a German tank with guns pointing at us... Let's take cover... now"
I am slightly concerned about the obsession with Alan Turing. Just to put you minds at rest this is the secret identity of Kanitatlan
Not entirely similar and not entirely disimilar.
I suspect Lynx Rufus is not a good name within the context of the current AAR although it mught have been sensible for Edge of Darkness.
December 1942 – Convoy warfare against the Petal Throne
00:00 1st December 1942
The beginning of a new month brings a profound change in the Petal Throne supply arrangements. The cause is not entirely clear since it appears to be associated with a game reload but would normally be due to new units landing. The effect is quite significant as we see a move to Haiphong of the main AI convoy terminus and in future checks all the other supply dumps have completely disappeared. This requires a major redirection of convoy raiding and a nice definite location where convoys can be hit.
03:00 1st December 1942
The US transport fleet seen at the end of November has escaped with limited losses. The results are a little disappointing as it is always nice to sink a pile of loaded transports. Later US TP losses in the Gulf of Tonkin provide proof that they are loaning units to the Petal Throne in SE Asia.
Further anti-convoy in December is relocated northwards to the coast of Vietnam and the Malayan area is left to the naval bombers who have already demonstrated that there is still some sort of convoy running up the Malacca straights. Beyond this point I will post an anti-convoy round up later in the month.
17:00 2nd December 1942
Both secondary dumps are completely gone by 6th with everything stockpiled at Haiphong and the situation appears to be remaining stable after this point. Monitoring of losses throughout the month does suggest that convoys may still be running to Kuala Lumpur and Kra and after some thought I could speculate that the supply convoys are running to those two locations with the resource convoy running from Haiphong. It is rather difficult to verify this since there are no true telltale areas for shipping losses for convoys to Kra. The continuing success from convoy bombing in the Malacca Strats is a very good indication that a convoy to Kuala Lumpur persists.
Total enemy losses for the month are 201 transports and 45 escorts with losses concentrated in the Gulf of Tonkin area but with the largest individual losses being from fleet interceptions further out. The main fleet interceptions could easily be convoys going to Kra and Kuala Lummpur. It is likely that the lower losses this month are due to the days lost redeploying the u-boat force to the Gulf of Tonkin. This suggests that my anti-convoy actions remain just as effective as previously.
This leaves me with an interesting choice at the end of the month but with continuing success sinking convoys in the Gulf of Tonkin I plan to keep the u-boats concentrated there.
During the month I have reorganised the u-boat fleet due to being turned away from some convoys. By the end of the month I am operating 4 x 30 unit u-boat fleets with 5 u-boats in port repairing. This leads into a steady background exchange of repaired u-boats for slightly damaged ones as the convoy attacks do lead to a little bit of damage to my ships. All the u-boats are operating from Zhanjiang, which is immediately adjacent to the Gulf of Tonkin making the exchanges very quick and efficient.
Accumulated losses
November 260 43
December 201 45
Total 461 88
Defensive Convoy Operations
Little has been happening in the way of defensive convoy operations and we must hope it stays that way. On the 6th 3 US subs were sunk off Singapore which is a clear indication that we are not entirely safe. The naval bombing operations by the Luftwaffe are our primary defence.
00:00 9th December 1942
This image shows the convoy routes that are active after a complete reorganisation on the 7th. I cancelled all convoys in the Far East and let the AI set up new supply convoys. This has caused a switch from India to China for a lot of destinations but has also meant that the convoys have become less widespread. Previously they were all set up at different times and this process has allowed the supply source ports to be rationalised.
11:00 28th December 1942
The European theatre has been completely quiet for some time but this move shows that it cannot be forgotten about. After the attack a rapid scheduling of bombing managed to sink the US submarine. Currently the CAS in Europe are normally being kept grounded due to a lack of targets and this loss shows the consequences. Keeping the CAS grounded does save on fuel and supplies which is worthwhile due to the severe lack of targets.
02:00 30th December 1942
This enemy attack is completely unsubtle and it is immediately obvious it is an air attack. Oddly enough you cannot usually tell. It does some a bit odd that a convoy cannot tell whether it has been attacked by submarines, surface gunfire or aircraft.
05:00 30th December 1942
Revenge, in this case, is rapid and profoundly effective with maybe 250 naval bombers shot down before they can escape. See air superiority report for more details.
00:00 1st December 1942
The beginning of a new month brings a profound change in the Petal Throne supply arrangements. The cause is not entirely clear since it appears to be associated with a game reload but would normally be due to new units landing. The effect is quite significant as we see a move to Haiphong of the main AI convoy terminus and in future checks all the other supply dumps have completely disappeared. This requires a major redirection of convoy raiding and a nice definite location where convoys can be hit.
03:00 1st December 1942
The US transport fleet seen at the end of November has escaped with limited losses. The results are a little disappointing as it is always nice to sink a pile of loaded transports. Later US TP losses in the Gulf of Tonkin provide proof that they are loaning units to the Petal Throne in SE Asia.
Further anti-convoy in December is relocated northwards to the coast of Vietnam and the Malayan area is left to the naval bombers who have already demonstrated that there is still some sort of convoy running up the Malacca straights. Beyond this point I will post an anti-convoy round up later in the month.
17:00 2nd December 1942
Both secondary dumps are completely gone by 6th with everything stockpiled at Haiphong and the situation appears to be remaining stable after this point. Monitoring of losses throughout the month does suggest that convoys may still be running to Kuala Lumpur and Kra and after some thought I could speculate that the supply convoys are running to those two locations with the resource convoy running from Haiphong. It is rather difficult to verify this since there are no true telltale areas for shipping losses for convoys to Kra. The continuing success from convoy bombing in the Malacca Strats is a very good indication that a convoy to Kuala Lumpur persists.
Total enemy losses for the month are 201 transports and 45 escorts with losses concentrated in the Gulf of Tonkin area but with the largest individual losses being from fleet interceptions further out. The main fleet interceptions could easily be convoys going to Kra and Kuala Lummpur. It is likely that the lower losses this month are due to the days lost redeploying the u-boat force to the Gulf of Tonkin. This suggests that my anti-convoy actions remain just as effective as previously.
This leaves me with an interesting choice at the end of the month but with continuing success sinking convoys in the Gulf of Tonkin I plan to keep the u-boats concentrated there.
During the month I have reorganised the u-boat fleet due to being turned away from some convoys. By the end of the month I am operating 4 x 30 unit u-boat fleets with 5 u-boats in port repairing. This leads into a steady background exchange of repaired u-boats for slightly damaged ones as the convoy attacks do lead to a little bit of damage to my ships. All the u-boats are operating from Zhanjiang, which is immediately adjacent to the Gulf of Tonkin making the exchanges very quick and efficient.
Accumulated losses
November 260 43
December 201 45
Total 461 88
Defensive Convoy Operations
Little has been happening in the way of defensive convoy operations and we must hope it stays that way. On the 6th 3 US subs were sunk off Singapore which is a clear indication that we are not entirely safe. The naval bombing operations by the Luftwaffe are our primary defence.
00:00 9th December 1942
This image shows the convoy routes that are active after a complete reorganisation on the 7th. I cancelled all convoys in the Far East and let the AI set up new supply convoys. This has caused a switch from India to China for a lot of destinations but has also meant that the convoys have become less widespread. Previously they were all set up at different times and this process has allowed the supply source ports to be rationalised.
11:00 28th December 1942
The European theatre has been completely quiet for some time but this move shows that it cannot be forgotten about. After the attack a rapid scheduling of bombing managed to sink the US submarine. Currently the CAS in Europe are normally being kept grounded due to a lack of targets and this loss shows the consequences. Keeping the CAS grounded does save on fuel and supplies which is worthwhile due to the severe lack of targets.
02:00 30th December 1942
This enemy attack is completely unsubtle and it is immediately obvious it is an air attack. Oddly enough you cannot usually tell. It does some a bit odd that a convoy cannot tell whether it has been attacked by submarines, surface gunfire or aircraft.
05:00 30th December 1942
Revenge, in this case, is rapid and profoundly effective with maybe 250 naval bombers shot down before they can escape. See air superiority report for more details.
Well that is a shortcoming of this approach. The different reports compliment each other but give things away when they are posted separately.LIFO said:Am I wrong or Taiwan join Fatherland in December?
December 1942 - French Africa
09:00 2nd December 1942
On December 2nd we see a variety of activities going on in the French African theatre. I have 32 strategic bomber squadrons, 16 tactical bomber squadrons and a variety of ground units with the main force being in Brazzaville.
Throughout the month the two infantry divisions in central Africa, supporting by the TAC air fleet, skirmish with advancing French units and attempt to get the “chickens” to expose themselves. The 16 TAC bombers spend a significant amount of time bombing units to destruction but also end up grounded for days at a time due to lack of targets. The usual cycle of interdiction, attack by ground units and then ground attack is effective at removing units but the French only advance with small numbers of divisions and although they can cause problems for my very small ground force this allows my TACs to bomb them down. The combination of ground and air units makes for a very powerful dynamic defence. There is a growing suspicion the French should be classed as “turkeys” rather than “chickens”.
The strategic bombers are operating in two air fleets. One fleet is on permanent naval attack off the coast and is picking up quite a few targets. The other group has cleaned out the ports of Libreville and São Tomé with the loss of many enemy ships (all ships cleared by 18th) and is standing by to bomb any French units moving into the Congo area.
The main ground force at Brazzaville provides airfield security and attacks any French divisions that try to advance south along the coast providing security for the territories and airfields further south including the major airbase at Banana.
On December 4th Coquihatville in the Congo was successfully reoccupied and the French have decided not to dispute the territory. This leaves all of the Congo in German hands for the rest of the month.
Intelligence reports are showing the following French strength changes
Start 55 Inf 24 ships
End 59 Inf, 1Arm 15 ships
The ground strength is thought to be unreliable due to the very variable delivery of US expeditionary forces. This makes it impossible to tell whether operations are reducing actual French strength or not. The port attacks have significantly depleted their navy and the naval bombing at sea has sunk a wide variety of ships from many nations.
This theatre remains in a “satisfactory” state but offers no great successes. I could send large ground forces here and destroy the French army but they will just start accumulating in their overseas territories instead. At least if they stay here I can be fairly confident they aren’t building up elsewhere.
December 1942 – SE Asia
02:00 10th December 1942
The Burmese theatre is the only active zone with this attack in Moulmein and a later attack in the Shan States. Both attacks are related to providing ground targets for the Luftwaffe – note that both provinces are part of South Burma and hence are in a separate target zone to the other enemy provinces.
On the Chinese flank of SE Asia the only change is the arrival of infantry divisions to replace the mobile divisions that are being moved away to go to Australia.
This leaves SE Asia also in a “satisfactory” state but it is yielding little towards the general victory. The Fallschirmjäger force remains concentrated at Mandalay but the high density of enemy forces in Siam makes offensive operations rather unattractive.
09:00 2nd December 1942
On December 2nd we see a variety of activities going on in the French African theatre. I have 32 strategic bomber squadrons, 16 tactical bomber squadrons and a variety of ground units with the main force being in Brazzaville.
Throughout the month the two infantry divisions in central Africa, supporting by the TAC air fleet, skirmish with advancing French units and attempt to get the “chickens” to expose themselves. The 16 TAC bombers spend a significant amount of time bombing units to destruction but also end up grounded for days at a time due to lack of targets. The usual cycle of interdiction, attack by ground units and then ground attack is effective at removing units but the French only advance with small numbers of divisions and although they can cause problems for my very small ground force this allows my TACs to bomb them down. The combination of ground and air units makes for a very powerful dynamic defence. There is a growing suspicion the French should be classed as “turkeys” rather than “chickens”.
The strategic bombers are operating in two air fleets. One fleet is on permanent naval attack off the coast and is picking up quite a few targets. The other group has cleaned out the ports of Libreville and São Tomé with the loss of many enemy ships (all ships cleared by 18th) and is standing by to bomb any French units moving into the Congo area.
The main ground force at Brazzaville provides airfield security and attacks any French divisions that try to advance south along the coast providing security for the territories and airfields further south including the major airbase at Banana.
On December 4th Coquihatville in the Congo was successfully reoccupied and the French have decided not to dispute the territory. This leaves all of the Congo in German hands for the rest of the month.
Intelligence reports are showing the following French strength changes
Start 55 Inf 24 ships
End 59 Inf, 1Arm 15 ships
The ground strength is thought to be unreliable due to the very variable delivery of US expeditionary forces. This makes it impossible to tell whether operations are reducing actual French strength or not. The port attacks have significantly depleted their navy and the naval bombing at sea has sunk a wide variety of ships from many nations.
This theatre remains in a “satisfactory” state but offers no great successes. I could send large ground forces here and destroy the French army but they will just start accumulating in their overseas territories instead. At least if they stay here I can be fairly confident they aren’t building up elsewhere.
December 1942 – SE Asia
02:00 10th December 1942
The Burmese theatre is the only active zone with this attack in Moulmein and a later attack in the Shan States. Both attacks are related to providing ground targets for the Luftwaffe – note that both provinces are part of South Burma and hence are in a separate target zone to the other enemy provinces.
On the Chinese flank of SE Asia the only change is the arrival of infantry divisions to replace the mobile divisions that are being moved away to go to Australia.
This leaves SE Asia also in a “satisfactory” state but it is yielding little towards the general victory. The Fallschirmjäger force remains concentrated at Mandalay but the high density of enemy forces in Siam makes offensive operations rather unattractive.
December 1942 - Operations
08:00 1st December 1942
The Marines have landed in Hainan forcing the resident Petal Throne fleet back out to sea. This is very much an out of the frying pan and into the fire sort of experience for them as the fleet is rapidly and totally destroyed. I am slightly surprised that they didn’t get away quicker since I was allowed two days bombing. This again leaves the IPTN at a new record low point.
02:00 3rd December 1942
The first major operation of the month sees our marines achieving a landing in Taiwan. The operation is not particularly difficult and the usual high intensity naval support makes the landings relatively easy.
22:00 9th December 1942
A week later most of the marines have been retrieved and they launch a landing in Okinawa. Again the operation is relatively painless and enemy naval intervention is no more than a few destroyers.
02:00 14th December 1942
After landing the marines are able to attack and eliminate forces in Amami but it proves impossible to complete the advance due to incessant enemy naval suicide missions.
05:00 15th December 1942
One Kriegsmarine SAG has been sent to New Guinea to support the small transport fleet there. The intention is to start sea-mobile operations into the Solomon Islands and especially to grab the naval and airbase facilities at Rabaul. The arrival of the SAG sees a series of small naval battles all around this sea zone over the next few days with the usual results.
17:00 18th December 1942
After apparently clearing the zone the full local forces have advanced towards Rabaul with a single marine division. The USN response has been very rapid and very deadly with half their carrier fleet turning up. This enemy force contains 23 carriers, mixed models IV and V. My SAG closes rapidly to CA range but this isn’t going to help too much. The enemy attack isn’t too effective at night but then … the sun rises…
This is a little unfortunate
We can’t retreat for four hours but first chance I get we are off as quickly as possible. The retreat is a little disorderly and the SAG has to wait for the transports to give them a little protection. Both fleets make their way back to Hollandia as quickly as possible and hide there. Still, at least I have some spare names for the next wave of new CAs.
08:00 20th December 1942
It soon becomes apparent that the USN carrier force is retreating as well and they don’t really intend to stay around. The Luftwaffe seems to have managed to sink one ship – quite likely to be a CV – but the USN has definitely won this one and don’t intend to let me get my own back. All amphibious operations in the area are cancelled – more or less permanently.
13:00 25th December 1942
To avoid the constant straits interdiction the marines are landing in Amami by sea. Once ashore I will have secured my position to the south of the Japanese islands and established some good forward bases for later operations.
20:00 30th December 1942
This isn’t really an operation but this is the state of the force build up near Timor ready for the invasion of Australia. The undefended coast is beachless so that doesn’t help. When it comes to time to land I am going to need fairly good air and naval support since the defences are fairly strong. The actual invasion requires one more run of the entire transport fleet to complete the build up.
08:00 1st December 1942
The Marines have landed in Hainan forcing the resident Petal Throne fleet back out to sea. This is very much an out of the frying pan and into the fire sort of experience for them as the fleet is rapidly and totally destroyed. I am slightly surprised that they didn’t get away quicker since I was allowed two days bombing. This again leaves the IPTN at a new record low point.
02:00 3rd December 1942
The first major operation of the month sees our marines achieving a landing in Taiwan. The operation is not particularly difficult and the usual high intensity naval support makes the landings relatively easy.
22:00 9th December 1942
A week later most of the marines have been retrieved and they launch a landing in Okinawa. Again the operation is relatively painless and enemy naval intervention is no more than a few destroyers.
02:00 14th December 1942
After landing the marines are able to attack and eliminate forces in Amami but it proves impossible to complete the advance due to incessant enemy naval suicide missions.
05:00 15th December 1942
One Kriegsmarine SAG has been sent to New Guinea to support the small transport fleet there. The intention is to start sea-mobile operations into the Solomon Islands and especially to grab the naval and airbase facilities at Rabaul. The arrival of the SAG sees a series of small naval battles all around this sea zone over the next few days with the usual results.
17:00 18th December 1942
After apparently clearing the zone the full local forces have advanced towards Rabaul with a single marine division. The USN response has been very rapid and very deadly with half their carrier fleet turning up. This enemy force contains 23 carriers, mixed models IV and V. My SAG closes rapidly to CA range but this isn’t going to help too much. The enemy attack isn’t too effective at night but then … the sun rises…
This is a little unfortunate
We can’t retreat for four hours but first chance I get we are off as quickly as possible. The retreat is a little disorderly and the SAG has to wait for the transports to give them a little protection. Both fleets make their way back to Hollandia as quickly as possible and hide there. Still, at least I have some spare names for the next wave of new CAs.
08:00 20th December 1942
It soon becomes apparent that the USN carrier force is retreating as well and they don’t really intend to stay around. The Luftwaffe seems to have managed to sink one ship – quite likely to be a CV – but the USN has definitely won this one and don’t intend to let me get my own back. All amphibious operations in the area are cancelled – more or less permanently.
13:00 25th December 1942
To avoid the constant straits interdiction the marines are landing in Amami by sea. Once ashore I will have secured my position to the south of the Japanese islands and established some good forward bases for later operations.
20:00 30th December 1942
This isn’t really an operation but this is the state of the force build up near Timor ready for the invasion of Australia. The undefended coast is beachless so that doesn’t help. When it comes to time to land I am going to need fairly good air and naval support since the defences are fairly strong. The actual invasion requires one more run of the entire transport fleet to complete the build up.
There must be some concern that the US will interfere with the Australian operations. Will you be bringing down the carriers groups from near the Sea of Japan and Taiwan to help the landing forces? Although I don't think there is enough time to utilize the paras for the initial landing it may useful to get them to this theater for futher activity.
btw - If the DAK notices the French troops looking up at the rain and not turning away until they actually drown, then they can be called "turkeys"!
btw - If the DAK notices the French troops looking up at the rain and not turning away until they actually drown, then they can be called "turkeys"!
So maybe don't comment December till January begins (and so on).
Just a thought.
It saves you some time. I assume that you will post month-reports.
Actions possible in SE Asia, probably waste of time:
A. Wenshan - Jiangshin offensive. As far I see, with actual petal locations is possible to cut off petal in yunan.
B. Malay penisula clearance. You capture some supplies from depot and destroy some divisions also gain some IC and resources, but It could be hot when bangkok forces interfere.
Happy landings in New Year!!!
Any plans for 1942 summary?
Just a thought.
It saves you some time. I assume that you will post month-reports.
Actions possible in SE Asia, probably waste of time:
A. Wenshan - Jiangshin offensive. As far I see, with actual petal locations is possible to cut off petal in yunan.
B. Malay penisula clearance. You capture some supplies from depot and destroy some divisions also gain some IC and resources, but It could be hot when bangkok forces interfere.
Happy landings in New Year!!!
Any plans for 1942 summary?
Seems like the end of 1941 is seeing a lot of good and successful operations, but the quick and powerful appearance of the USN in the area around Australia is dangerous news indeed. If they continue to be around when you are about to launch the Australian invasion I think there are really two think we can do.
1. Cancelling the Australian operation until the USN is defeated (something that won’t happen for very long seeing their production rate)
2. send all naval and air forces you have around to the Australian coast and then fight the battles out with the USN, this will certainly be very bloody and costly both for the German and the American forces, but if one side are able to win the decisive victory here it might be worthy the great cost. But the danger is of course that with the American production rate any victory won here will be made up for during the next six months as the Americans will have launched new ships and divisions
No matter what is going to happen at the current time I think the invasion of the Japanese Home Islands might have a higher success factor than the Australian one seeing as you have naval and air superiority and also a lot more forces in the Japanese area of operations, but then again I guess a decisions between Japan or Australia is needed because of transport and supply issues/problems…
Any way I am sure you will make a good choice and I look forward to see what will happen next, I just hope General Lord E will be allowed to take part in the operations
1. Cancelling the Australian operation until the USN is defeated (something that won’t happen for very long seeing their production rate)
2. send all naval and air forces you have around to the Australian coast and then fight the battles out with the USN, this will certainly be very bloody and costly both for the German and the American forces, but if one side are able to win the decisive victory here it might be worthy the great cost. But the danger is of course that with the American production rate any victory won here will be made up for during the next six months as the Americans will have launched new ships and divisions
No matter what is going to happen at the current time I think the invasion of the Japanese Home Islands might have a higher success factor than the Australian one seeing as you have naval and air superiority and also a lot more forces in the Japanese area of operations, but then again I guess a decisions between Japan or Australia is needed because of transport and supply issues/problems…
Any way I am sure you will make a good choice and I look forward to see what will happen next, I just hope General Lord E will be allowed to take part in the operations
Manziel Airdrops in Australia are pretty precluded due to the redeployment and org recovery time. Given how long it is actually taking to get to the invasion it would have been practical some time back but I didn't set anything up so you can forget it. landing won't be too bad anyway.
WhisperingDeath I don't think any amphibious landing will be carried out for a long time to come without most of the Kriegsmarine nearby. Even Taiwan and Okinawa had massive fleet presence at least nearby.
I am also assuming the front will move fast enough in Australia to make paratroops pointless.
LIFO I don't feel there is any real point in attacking SE ASia until I am ready to destroy it completely. Isolating a few troops for movement purposes is useless since they stay in supply through the blocked provice boundaries anyway. Invading Malaya no longer seems to offer any big supply dumps as everything now sits at Haiphong.
SEG-CISR To paraphrase - 1943 is coming up
Lord E Concern about USN intervention is probably exagerated. The Darwin area is actually a very long way by sea from the disputed area around Rabaul and I am kind of assuming that the presence of 5 task forces (alright, the whole fleet) will make the landing fairly safe. I feel far less exposed landing in Australia than I do around the coast of Japan. The biggest issue is massive uncertainty about where the USN fleet is based but the various sightings place them of to the northeast of Rabaul.
The intervention by the USN is difficult to manage as previously they have intervened when they wanted to. The only way to force them out is via amphibious action. I rather suspect I will be able to land in Australia OK but will experience major intervention when I try for the Solomons again.
WhisperingDeath I don't think any amphibious landing will be carried out for a long time to come without most of the Kriegsmarine nearby. Even Taiwan and Okinawa had massive fleet presence at least nearby.
I am also assuming the front will move fast enough in Australia to make paratroops pointless.
LIFO I don't feel there is any real point in attacking SE ASia until I am ready to destroy it completely. Isolating a few troops for movement purposes is useless since they stay in supply through the blocked provice boundaries anyway. Invading Malaya no longer seems to offer any big supply dumps as everything now sits at Haiphong.
SEG-CISR To paraphrase - 1943 is coming up
Lord E Concern about USN intervention is probably exagerated. The Darwin area is actually a very long way by sea from the disputed area around Rabaul and I am kind of assuming that the presence of 5 task forces (alright, the whole fleet) will make the landing fairly safe. I feel far less exposed landing in Australia than I do around the coast of Japan. The biggest issue is massive uncertainty about where the USN fleet is based but the various sightings place them of to the northeast of Rabaul.
The intervention by the USN is difficult to manage as previously they have intervened when they wanted to. The only way to force them out is via amphibious action. I rather suspect I will be able to land in Australia OK but will experience major intervention when I try for the Solomons again.
December 1942 – Naval operations – Air and Surface
All significant surface operations are in the general operations report but there is a constant stream of minor engagements yielding steady destroyer losses for the enemy. Policy is to include ALL battles with German losses in the general operations report and to leave out all minor battles altogether.
Throughout the period most Kriegsmarine fleets are assigned to convoy attack except when temporarily assigned to cover amphibious landings. This has proved essential for maintaining the level of enemy convoy losses.
Large numbers of German NAVs and TACs are operating in the Far East against naval targets. The general allocations are
8 air groups (32 TAC) flying mixed convoy attack and naval bombing around the Malaysian peninsula
12 air groups (48 TAC) flying naval bombing around the sea areas between SE Asia and the Philippines. They are performing the key strategic role of suppressing any attempted anti-uboat activity by the allies. This is necessary since the fleet is not carrying out this mission. A fleet put on convoy attacks will avoid enemy fleet units (including transports – very amusing) and a fleet on naval patrol will ignore convoys. This all seems a little strange but the difference applies to air units too. It would seem more sensible for naval interdiction/bombing to apply to all types of ships.
00:00 4th December 1942
With the prospect of the invasion of Australia on the horizon I have started to pay more attention to the operations around New Guinea that have been running on autopilot. The local naval bombing is finding significant local naval forces and a slow air build up is being started to try and prepare the way for the invasion. Starting resources are 16 TAC split 50:50 between north and south coasts.
00:00 8th December 1942
I had to include this brief battle since it is a perfect example of the AI doing something daft. The key factor is that they have launched a port strike during a tropical storm that renders their already feeble force almost totally ineffective. The targets ships are completely undamaged although they do seem to have caused significant damage to the port facilities. Since I’m not repairing anything this is actually of no consequence. I rather suspect the storm has made the 16 TAC bombers in the defence ineffective as well which I guess is a big org saver for the USN.
00:00 23rd December 1942
Whilst there are many air strikes in the period I have picked this one out as a lovely example. The AI has really hit the nail on the head sending a lone CV into the midst of the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. A bit like trying to capture Berlin in 1942 by sending one tank.
Throughout the period naval bombing has been taking a steady toll on enemy fleet units although this is dominated by light ships due to the absence of the USN. The only significant sign of even CAs is in the Australian forces seen from New Guinea.
Note that some naval bombing also features in the general operations report.
December Naval Battles
This is a full list of the December naval battles. I have included the end of November to make things look a little more respectable since December is rather a bleak month for the Kriegsmarine. This is probably a little unfair since they do have credit for a large number of enemy convoys and escorts.
December WTF
This is the highlight of the month with two US carriers being sunk by one model III destroyer. I didn’t spot this battle at the time and must have been an attack on my transports since that is where all the model III destroyers are allocated.
By the end of the month significant redeployments have occurred with 16 TAC groups (64 TAC) operating in the Timor / New Guinea area in preparation for the invasion of Australia.
All significant surface operations are in the general operations report but there is a constant stream of minor engagements yielding steady destroyer losses for the enemy. Policy is to include ALL battles with German losses in the general operations report and to leave out all minor battles altogether.
Throughout the period most Kriegsmarine fleets are assigned to convoy attack except when temporarily assigned to cover amphibious landings. This has proved essential for maintaining the level of enemy convoy losses.
Large numbers of German NAVs and TACs are operating in the Far East against naval targets. The general allocations are
8 air groups (32 TAC) flying mixed convoy attack and naval bombing around the Malaysian peninsula
12 air groups (48 TAC) flying naval bombing around the sea areas between SE Asia and the Philippines. They are performing the key strategic role of suppressing any attempted anti-uboat activity by the allies. This is necessary since the fleet is not carrying out this mission. A fleet put on convoy attacks will avoid enemy fleet units (including transports – very amusing) and a fleet on naval patrol will ignore convoys. This all seems a little strange but the difference applies to air units too. It would seem more sensible for naval interdiction/bombing to apply to all types of ships.
00:00 4th December 1942
With the prospect of the invasion of Australia on the horizon I have started to pay more attention to the operations around New Guinea that have been running on autopilot. The local naval bombing is finding significant local naval forces and a slow air build up is being started to try and prepare the way for the invasion. Starting resources are 16 TAC split 50:50 between north and south coasts.
00:00 8th December 1942
I had to include this brief battle since it is a perfect example of the AI doing something daft. The key factor is that they have launched a port strike during a tropical storm that renders their already feeble force almost totally ineffective. The targets ships are completely undamaged although they do seem to have caused significant damage to the port facilities. Since I’m not repairing anything this is actually of no consequence. I rather suspect the storm has made the 16 TAC bombers in the defence ineffective as well which I guess is a big org saver for the USN.
00:00 23rd December 1942
Whilst there are many air strikes in the period I have picked this one out as a lovely example. The AI has really hit the nail on the head sending a lone CV into the midst of the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. A bit like trying to capture Berlin in 1942 by sending one tank.
Throughout the period naval bombing has been taking a steady toll on enemy fleet units although this is dominated by light ships due to the absence of the USN. The only significant sign of even CAs is in the Australian forces seen from New Guinea.
Note that some naval bombing also features in the general operations report.
December Naval Battles
This is a full list of the December naval battles. I have included the end of November to make things look a little more respectable since December is rather a bleak month for the Kriegsmarine. This is probably a little unfair since they do have credit for a large number of enemy convoys and escorts.
December WTF
This is the highlight of the month with two US carriers being sunk by one model III destroyer. I didn’t spot this battle at the time and must have been an attack on my transports since that is where all the model III destroyers are allocated.
By the end of the month significant redeployments have occurred with 16 TAC groups (64 TAC) operating in the Timor / New Guinea area in preparation for the invasion of Australia.
Air Superiority Operations
00:00 12th December 1942
I have been expressing concern about air superiority for some time and during December it starts developing into a proper air war. This is just the beginning with waves of well organised enemy bombers coming over and attacking. Fortunately there are no good targets so the air strategy is based on achieving air superiority rather than protecting anything. There are now interceptor groups all across China gathering org for this battle.
04:00 13th December 1942
The USAAF has started a strategic bombing campaign in eastern Siberia with a force of 5 strategic bombers. Initially I have to leave them to it but manage to field an interceptor group a few days later. This force manages to destroy the lone bomber squadron in a two hour battle and then sufficiently damage the main bomber group to put it out of service for the time being.
02:00 18th December 1942
This battle shows the northern end of the disputed area with allied bombers striking from Manchuria into northern China.
23:00 26th December 1942
Even my now island bases require air cover to protect them. Fortunately I got in first and my interceptors already have operational levels of org before the first raid occurs.
Throughout China the primary issue is org recovery from the transfers used for the interceptors to get here. This is expected to be at least a medium term issue although losses in air battles are now starting to have a little impact. There is a real struggle to find enough interceptor groups to properly cover the whole theatre and I am beginning to think there might have been some use in building more.
In this AAR it is always nice to periodically discover that the normal situation where you can have too much of something really isn’t true. I don’t feel I have too much of anything.
00:00 12th December 1942
I have been expressing concern about air superiority for some time and during December it starts developing into a proper air war. This is just the beginning with waves of well organised enemy bombers coming over and attacking. Fortunately there are no good targets so the air strategy is based on achieving air superiority rather than protecting anything. There are now interceptor groups all across China gathering org for this battle.
04:00 13th December 1942
The USAAF has started a strategic bombing campaign in eastern Siberia with a force of 5 strategic bombers. Initially I have to leave them to it but manage to field an interceptor group a few days later. This force manages to destroy the lone bomber squadron in a two hour battle and then sufficiently damage the main bomber group to put it out of service for the time being.
02:00 18th December 1942
This battle shows the northern end of the disputed area with allied bombers striking from Manchuria into northern China.
23:00 26th December 1942
Even my now island bases require air cover to protect them. Fortunately I got in first and my interceptors already have operational levels of org before the first raid occurs.
Throughout China the primary issue is org recovery from the transfers used for the interceptors to get here. This is expected to be at least a medium term issue although losses in air battles are now starting to have a little impact. There is a real struggle to find enough interceptor groups to properly cover the whole theatre and I am beginning to think there might have been some use in building more.
In this AAR it is always nice to periodically discover that the normal situation where you can have too much of something really isn’t true. I don’t feel I have too much of anything.
Production, Technology and Intelligence
00:00 5th December 1942
The outstanding upgrades are declining to a very low level and there is, at least temporarily, a major supply surplus building up. This is quite useful since forthcoming technology is going to raise the upgrade costs to a massive level again. For now I need to leave this surplus and not redirect the ICs so as to avoid disrupting the later upgrades.
00:00 11th December 1942
Finally we have our first deployed turbojet tactical bomber (well according to my notes it is). I quite like this version of the Blitz bomber, I think it looks a lot better with four engines. The jets introduce an interesting switch in bomber aircraft design since there is a general move in all types away from large numbers of defensive guns towards simply relying on speed. The game doesn’t reflect any such change and this aircraft is simply rated as bigger and nastier than its predecessors.
The squadron upgraded is one of the few TAC squadrons with no escort fighters attached. Currently these are the only aircraft being upgraded. The ones with escorts are blocked so that the escort upgrades can be done as a two step upgrade to save ICs.
00:00 14th December 1942
This is a nice development that did get some discussion earlier when it was first spotted in the research list. Now the research is complete and all the naval bombers are added to the upgrade list. I guess we can say goodbye to the supply surplus already.
00:00 16th December 1942
A production review shows that despite the new upgrades we can still operate a significant supply surplus. The TC is also finally in the green as the strategic movement queue is getting towards empty. This is having two effects, it reduces the TC cost from strategic movement but it also reduces the partisan load since there are a lot of garrisons arriving in China.
20:00 20th December 1942
Intelligence operations are not being pursued very reliably with an average of 2.5 spying cycles per month instead of the 4 that could be fitted in. It remains very difficult to remember to do it every week. This is a pity as funding is such that I can easily afford it. Current spy levels have reached 6 in every country in the world with 10 in all countries of any significance. Canada remains a good target for air doctrines which is a little surprising.
Production has finally supplies back in decline with a proper number of aircraft now being upgraded. Most naval bombers have been temporarily grounded to aid progress.
00:00 5th December 1942
The outstanding upgrades are declining to a very low level and there is, at least temporarily, a major supply surplus building up. This is quite useful since forthcoming technology is going to raise the upgrade costs to a massive level again. For now I need to leave this surplus and not redirect the ICs so as to avoid disrupting the later upgrades.
00:00 11th December 1942
Finally we have our first deployed turbojet tactical bomber (well according to my notes it is). I quite like this version of the Blitz bomber, I think it looks a lot better with four engines. The jets introduce an interesting switch in bomber aircraft design since there is a general move in all types away from large numbers of defensive guns towards simply relying on speed. The game doesn’t reflect any such change and this aircraft is simply rated as bigger and nastier than its predecessors.
The squadron upgraded is one of the few TAC squadrons with no escort fighters attached. Currently these are the only aircraft being upgraded. The ones with escorts are blocked so that the escort upgrades can be done as a two step upgrade to save ICs.
00:00 14th December 1942
This is a nice development that did get some discussion earlier when it was first spotted in the research list. Now the research is complete and all the naval bombers are added to the upgrade list. I guess we can say goodbye to the supply surplus already.
00:00 16th December 1942
A production review shows that despite the new upgrades we can still operate a significant supply surplus. The TC is also finally in the green as the strategic movement queue is getting towards empty. This is having two effects, it reduces the TC cost from strategic movement but it also reduces the partisan load since there are a lot of garrisons arriving in China.
20:00 20th December 1942
Intelligence operations are not being pursued very reliably with an average of 2.5 spying cycles per month instead of the 4 that could be fitted in. It remains very difficult to remember to do it every week. This is a pity as funding is such that I can easily afford it. Current spy levels have reached 6 in every country in the world with 10 in all countries of any significance. Canada remains a good target for air doctrines which is a little surprising.
Production has finally supplies back in decline with a proper number of aircraft now being upgraded. Most naval bombers have been temporarily grounded to aid progress.
1942 – End of year round up
Yet again the end of year has failed to be a distinctive moment in operations. One thing we can say is that it was not the year of Stalingrad, Operation Torch or El Alamein. When the year started we were in the early stages of the Indian campaign. The Kriegsmarine was skirmishing in the Malacca Straits and the Luftwaffe was bombing everybody everywhere. Through the year we have conquered India, Southern Africa, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and a selection of extra islands. We have eliminated Britain and Russia from the war. We have destroyed the Petal Throne navy reducing it from world power status to pitiful remnants outnumbered by half a dozen lesser allied nations. We have destroyed hundreds of enemy divisions and yet our immediate enemies retain potent land forces.
Actual major changes in intelligence reports
Removal of UK, Soviet Union, South Africa, Philippines, Netherlands, Belgium, Vichy France
Almost complete destruction of IPTN
Major reduction in USN smaller ships
Major increase in US army
Despite this apparent lack of statistical progress we have actual progressed significantly. In areas where we have achieved simply stability in enemy numbers this represents substantial success.
1942 January
1942 December
This goes some way to illustrate why maintaining stasis in enemy numbers is a success. The German armed forces are all growing with a 10% increase in army numbers, 50% increase in the navy and 40% increase in the air force. Towards the end of the year growth has eased off as we go into a period of upgrades but this will just make 1943 the year of technological advantage. Upgrades will continue for some time but major expansion of manpower reserves has offered the opportunity for some further army expansion.
Before
After
Africa has shown dramatic change with the removal of everything except for French Central Africa. This means that Germany has certainly taken everything worth having although even that is barely worth having. At the end of the year we see a much lower force presence than at the start except this theatre is acting as the training ground for our strategic bomber force.
Before
After
Asia too has seen dramatic change with a series of campaigns eating through allied territory. At the end of the year the Empire of the Petal Throne lies in tatters with their core Chinese territory taken leaving them holding on in what would have been Japanese territory anyway. This doesn’t mean they are defeated as the Manchurian adventure demonstrated but their position is far weaker than it was.
The most dramatic changes of the year are in the naval operations. At the beginning the Kriegsmarine had free reign over the Indian Ocean and was encountering “interesting” campaign sized battles in the eastern areas. Following this the Kriegsmarine found itself unable to project naval superiority into the China Seas and has spent the entire year obtaining total naval dominance around the SE Asian archipelagos. At the end of the year we see a broken IPTN and a somewhat fragile looking USN albeit again equipped with a massive carrier force that remains superior to ours.
Yet again the end of year has failed to be a distinctive moment in operations. One thing we can say is that it was not the year of Stalingrad, Operation Torch or El Alamein. When the year started we were in the early stages of the Indian campaign. The Kriegsmarine was skirmishing in the Malacca Straits and the Luftwaffe was bombing everybody everywhere. Through the year we have conquered India, Southern Africa, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and a selection of extra islands. We have eliminated Britain and Russia from the war. We have destroyed the Petal Throne navy reducing it from world power status to pitiful remnants outnumbered by half a dozen lesser allied nations. We have destroyed hundreds of enemy divisions and yet our immediate enemies retain potent land forces.
Actual major changes in intelligence reports
Removal of UK, Soviet Union, South Africa, Philippines, Netherlands, Belgium, Vichy France
Almost complete destruction of IPTN
Major reduction in USN smaller ships
Major increase in US army
Despite this apparent lack of statistical progress we have actual progressed significantly. In areas where we have achieved simply stability in enemy numbers this represents substantial success.
1942 January
1942 December
This goes some way to illustrate why maintaining stasis in enemy numbers is a success. The German armed forces are all growing with a 10% increase in army numbers, 50% increase in the navy and 40% increase in the air force. Towards the end of the year growth has eased off as we go into a period of upgrades but this will just make 1943 the year of technological advantage. Upgrades will continue for some time but major expansion of manpower reserves has offered the opportunity for some further army expansion.
Before
After
Africa has shown dramatic change with the removal of everything except for French Central Africa. This means that Germany has certainly taken everything worth having although even that is barely worth having. At the end of the year we see a much lower force presence than at the start except this theatre is acting as the training ground for our strategic bomber force.
Before
After
Asia too has seen dramatic change with a series of campaigns eating through allied territory. At the end of the year the Empire of the Petal Throne lies in tatters with their core Chinese territory taken leaving them holding on in what would have been Japanese territory anyway. This doesn’t mean they are defeated as the Manchurian adventure demonstrated but their position is far weaker than it was.
The most dramatic changes of the year are in the naval operations. At the beginning the Kriegsmarine had free reign over the Indian Ocean and was encountering “interesting” campaign sized battles in the eastern areas. Following this the Kriegsmarine found itself unable to project naval superiority into the China Seas and has spent the entire year obtaining total naval dominance around the SE Asian archipelagos. At the end of the year we see a broken IPTN and a somewhat fragile looking USN albeit again equipped with a massive carrier force that remains superior to ours.
1942 will be remembered as a banner year! Amazing gains against very sizable foes.
As I read over your latest updates I was struck by the drastic increase in oil use. As of Dec 5 the Reich had over 13 years of oil supplies; the next pic shows a large increase in usage and a corresponding reduction in supplies to some 5 years and 9 months; with the finally screen shot demonstrating even further usage and an alarming reserve of only 2 years and 7 months (or so)! Is this trend expected to continue or (as I fear) worsen with the advent of more tech advanced units which are notoriously oil hungry?!
As I read over your latest updates I was struck by the drastic increase in oil use. As of Dec 5 the Reich had over 13 years of oil supplies; the next pic shows a large increase in usage and a corresponding reduction in supplies to some 5 years and 9 months; with the finally screen shot demonstrating even further usage and an alarming reserve of only 2 years and 7 months (or so)! Is this trend expected to continue or (as I fear) worsen with the advent of more tech advanced units which are notoriously oil hungry?!
Wow, I've just spent a lot of the day reading this thread, getting up to page 50 before noticing that I was reading posts from 2006 (!) And after reading the most recent page I see only 3.5 game-years have passed in the last 1.4 real years. Yikes. That's only 2.5:1. Not that I'm complaining, 'cause I'm obviously not in a position to Just observing.
Just observing.