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- PACIFIC WAR PLAYER CHECKLIST and TACTICS
-
- (All HOTKEYS are listed on the HELP MENU (press / or ?)).
-
- A. REPORTS SUBPHASE
-
- 1. Review last turn's battle reports (alt/B).
-
- a. To move a little faster do not follow the screen
- combat, but rather wait until it's done and use <Alt/B> to check
- out what happened.
-
- b. When a base is captured all of the supply is lost but
- half of the fuel is captured. When a base is captured many of
- the ships in the port will escape into a Task Force (TF) and head
- for the nearest friendly base. The remaining ships will be
- destroyed in port.
-
- c. Moderate damage to a supply depot should destroy
- about 20% of the fuel and 20% of the supplies at the base.
-
- d. LCUs with HIGH ENTRENCHMENT levels will take few
- losses from air bombardment. Air strikes against entrenched LCUs
- can only hope for DISRUPTION (reduced readiness). Disruption is
- not indicated on the after action Combat Report. The rules on
- base disruption should read: Base Disruption is reduced to ZERO
- before the start of each Execution Phase. Bases that receive TWO
- levels of disruption may not be supplied by routine convoys (they
- will show up on the ISOLATED BASE display). A base will never
- exceed level 2 disruption.
-
- 2. Use SIGINT to review enemy Task Forces (TFs), bases, and
- land combat units (LCUs) that have been spotted (F5).
-
- a. The information you receive by clicking an enemy TF
- is FREE SIGINT. However, not all enemy TFs will be displayed
- because only those TFs (randomly) detected by radio traffic will
- show up. TFs are also SPOTTED in the execution segment (if you
- watch on higher detail levels you will see what TFs are spotted).
-
- b. To use SIGINT put the cursor on an enemy port, TF or
- LCU and hit F5. Then hit the key corresponding to what you want
- to know about (P--Port, A--Airfield, R--Army, H--HQ, T--TF).
-
- 1) The best selections have been to ask about enemy
- HQ's, because sometimes you get a message that the HQ is planning
- an operation and what the target is (no dates). Use SIGINT to
- locate the important HQs, then check on them each turn to see
- where they are targetting. Once you know what the HQs plans, you
- can count on it sticking to the plan for awhile and spend some
- SIGINT watching TFs that support that HQ.
-
- 2) Use SIGNIT to check ports for task forces and
- troops. You can click on a TF and select SIGINT. Hit the 'T'
- and sometimes it will Using SIGINT on an enemy TF tells you where
- a TF is heading, what it is carrying and the names of specific
- ships in the TF.
-
- c. The only way for the Japanese player to get intel on
- enemy bases is to attack them. Only the Allies can get info from
- SIGINT.
-
- d. The Japanese usually keep their CVs in support of
- their main effort.
-
- 3. Check losses/score (F9).
-
- 4. Check sunken ships (F8).
-
- 5. Check ship pools (F4).
-
- a. Ships in the pool are automatically allocated during
- the Routine Convoy Phase. Japanese Routine Convoys (RCs)
- originate in NAGOYA. Allied RCs originate in LOS ANGELES and
- from the map edge south of INDIA. All ships that participate in
- RCs will end their turn in Nagoya, Los Angeles or Calcutta. For
- ESCORTS to participate in RCs they must START their turn in
- Nagoya, L.A. or Calcutta. Ships that are used in RCs may not be
- used by the player that turn. BEWARE: escorts that are sent to
- one of the above cities will become unavailable to the player as
- long as they see RC action. Version x2 solves this problem by
- making escorts available for removal from RC duty during the
- first week of each month.
-
- b. The Commonwealth ships are colored differently than
- the U.S. ships in the ship pools.
-
- c. If ALL your MCS units are assigned to TFs then there
- will be no routine convoys. However, it's hard to find a way to
- use all your MCS in TFs. There is not much YOU can do with ships
- in the pool. These ships automatically flow into and out of MCS,
- AP, LST,(etc) units as required.
-
- d. The Allied routine convoy system should be sending
- supplies to Noumea and Suva (assuming that there no supply or
- ship shortage and that the bases are not isolated/disrupted).
-
- B. REINFORCEMENT SUBPHASE
-
- 1. Check for reinforcements (in Sydney, Calcutta, Columbo,
- Kweiyang, Kunming, Soerabaja, Auckland, and Manila if Allied; in
- Tokyo, Shanghai, and Port Arthur if Japanese).
-
- a. Reinforcement ships are automatically activated if
- there are enough shipyard points. They will not show up if there
- are not enough shipyard points.
-
- b. If under 'computer control', the AI will
- 'temporarily disband' badly depleted air groups. These groups
- will show up as reinforcements on the next turn at
- S.F./Tokyo/Calcutta. If you have no use for these groups you can
- disband them. Their aircraft will go into the pool and the group
- will return as a reinforcement in six months.
-
-
- 2. Check replacement pools (F7).
-
- a. Air groups on remote islands will continue to take on
- replacement aircraft as long there are supply points to spend.
-
- b. On the aircraft replacement display, every fifth line
- is highlighted to make it easier to read. The data space set
- aside for aircraft names did not allow completely spelling out of
- P-38F Lightning and SB2U Vindicator.
-
- 3. Cycle through factory cities to see which planes are
- being produced and upgrade to newer models when applicable (F6).
-
- a. In version x5, a new feature, Alt/N can be used to
- toggle HUMAN/COMPUTER factory control. If you do not want the
- computer to automatically update your aircraft production, set it
- to HUMAN FACTORY CONTROL.
-
- C. HQ SUBPHASE
-
- 1. Examine HQs (alt/F).
-
- 2. List HQ units (alt/D).
-
- a. When an HQ is destroyed (such as ABDA or Malaya AG)
- the units subordinate to that HQ will automatically be
- transferred to another HQ.
-
- 3. Relocate HQs (alt/E).
-
- a. To relocate a land HQs (such as SWPAC), place the
- cursor on the NEW location. (The initial HQs location CANNOT be
- isolated.) Place the cursor on a target base (that is under
- SWPAC control), pull down the HQ menu, choose CHANGE BASE and
- then pick SWPAC. Next reselect the target base and pull down the
- HQ menu again and select RELOCATE HQ. The HQ will immediately
- move to its new destination. You an only move an HQ to a base it
- controls. If the HQ IS ISOLATED you can move the leader to a
- SWPAC base by putting him in charge of that base directly. (This
- is how historically MacArthur moved his SWPAC and the Asian Fleet
- HQ back to Australia from the Philippines.)
-
- b. You cannot move an ARMY HQ onto a TF because it
- cannot be located on ships.
-
- 4. Move HQs to TF in the same square (alt/S).
-
- 5. Assign new leader to HQs (alt/L).
-
- a. There currently is no way to examine the leaders
- without losing the one you started with.
-
- b. HQ air leaders should only be selected if their air
- rating is greater that the HQ commander.
-
- c. An HQ's leaders may gain experience. They gain it
- FASTER if they are NEARER to the action. Leader ratings will go
- up if they are involved in a lot of combat actions. There is a
- very small chance that a leader will be promoted.
-
- 6. Set HQ control (alt/K).
-
- a. The key to learning the game is to pick one HQ to run
- and set the others to full computer control. Gradually move the
- HQs to operational control and set their objectives, etc. You
- may never want FULL player control for all HQs.
-
- b. If an HQ is under 'Full Computer' or 'Computer
- Operational' control then the AI routines will automatically send
- reinforcement ships, planes and troops to the base where the HQ
- is located.
-
- c. If the HQ is under 'Computer Operational' control you
- can set the 'target' and the AI will automatically try to capture
- (or defend) the target.
-
- 7. Change base HQ (alt/C).
-
- 8. Set HQ target (alt/G).
-
- 9. List HQ aircraft (alt/X).
-
- 10. Assign HQ air leader (alt/P).
-
- a. The HQ air leader should only be selected if their
- air rating is greater that the HQ commander.
-
- 11. Reinforce HQ (alt/R).
-
- a. Only the HQ that is commanding your MAIN EFFORT
- should use REINFORCE HQ.
-
- b. The REINFORCE HQ routine will send ships and
- reinforcements to ANY non-isolated friendly base.
-
- D. LAND SUBPHASE
-
- 1. Examine land units in sequence (S/W).
-
- a. LCUs automatically gain 1 experience point each turn
- until they reach 50. Units of PHIL, DUT and IND nationality and
- all engineer units only gain experience up to 25. CHIN units
- never gain experience in this manner. Anything under 50
- experience is a BIG risk for LCUs attacking atolls. If the LCUs
- miss a leadership check (or even two) they are history if there
- are any decent Japanese on the island.
-
- b. The routine convoy system should provide enough
- supply to keep army units at 99 readiness. This assumes that the
- base is not ISOLATED.
-
- 2. Divide units as needed (D on unit data display).
-
- a. Dividing an LCU will decrease it's combat
- effectiveness. Prior to separating an LCU division, increase it
- to an oversized division.
-
- b. Fractional LCUs that are stacked with their parent
- LCU may recombine with them automatically during the supply
- phase.
-
- c. The NEW unit you create when dividing an LCU will
- only receive replacements when it fall below 30 squads. The
- parent unit may build back to full strength.
-
- d. Dividing Allied engineer units is especially
- effective. The replacements bring both old and new subunits up
- to workable size quickly.
-
- 3. Activate all LCUs that will be loaded, moved, or that
- will attack (A on unit data display).
-
- a. If there is a '$' sign next to the unit then it is
- NOT ACTIVATED.
-
- b. Activated LCUs may still not attack if the odds are
- bad. However, if the LEADER passes an aggressiveness roll they
- will attack at any odds.
-
- c. You may activate LCUs without the necessary PPs but
- you will lose half of the LCU's readiness in the process.
-
- d. Check the rules on page 41: Special Headquarters
- Movement Restrictions. LCUs subordinate to restricted HQs
- (ANZAC, West Coast, China AG, Kwantung and Imperial GHQ) pay 10
- times the normal activation cost. When activated, these units do
- not change their HQ. SOME LCUs may NOT be loaded onto ships.
- You can move the LCUs in their home country but they take x10 PPs
- to activate. These rules are necessary in order to keep the
- Japanese from pulling all their forces out of China and
- Manchuria, and the Allies from pulling their "Home Defense"
- forces out of Australia and the U.S.
-
- e. At various times during the game, ANZAC LCUs will be
- transferred to the SWPAC HQs. To ensure the ANZAC LCUs transfer
- occurs, you may need to put the Southwest Pacific HQ under
- computer control for one turn (either operational or total
- control). You will need to do this each time an ANZAC LCU is
- scheduled to be transferred to SWPAC. (Until ANZAC releases
- LCUs, take a division from Central Pacific Command, break it into
- smaller units, and use them to garrison the Solomons and New
- Guinea.) When an ANZAC LCU activates it wiil switch to SWPAC
- control and may arrive as a reinforcement in Sydney. Listed
- below is the ANZAC transfer schedule:
-
- 1) Apr 42 1st AUS Engr.
-
- 2) May 42 7th AUS Inf Div.
-
- 3) Sep 42 6th AUS Inf Div.
-
- 4) Nov 42 9th AUS Inf Div.
-
- 5) Jul 43 3rd NZ Inf Div.
-
- 6) Aug 43 8th NZ Inf Bde.
-
- f. In the last year of the war the Japanese started
- transferring divisions out of China and Manchuria for use in the
- Western Pacific. The divisions transferred out of China will
- show up in Shanghai (probably attached to 14th or 35th Army). The
- divisions transferred out of Manchuria will show up in Port
- Arthur.
-
- g. When an LCU is ACTIVATED it will become attached to
- the same HQ that controls the base. This is not true for LCUs
- that are attached to RESTRICTED HQs (such as ANZAC).
-
- h. Inactive LCUs will always DEFEND in land combat.
- Activating an LCU does not help it's performance while defending.
-
- i. A computer controlled HQ may activate some of your
- LCUs.
-
- j. Engineers DO NOT need to be activated in order to
- build airfields and ports.
-
- 4. Assign leaders to land units (F1 on unit data display).
-
- a. If there are LCUs belonging to various HQs at a
- location and there is no onsite leader then the leader will be
- chosen randomly from among the represented HQs.
-
- b. There currently is no way to examine the leaders
- without losing the one you started with.
-
- 5. March LCUs overland (alt/W).
-
- a. Marching to another base requires the LCU to start
- with at least a 50 readiness. An LCU can march to a connected
- location only if either the starting OR ending location is FREE
- OF ENEMY LCUs. EXCEPTION: if the LCU starts in an enemy
- controlled base then it may always march to an undisputed
- friendly base.
-
- 6. Call for immediate sealift forces (alt/T).
-
- E. AIR SUBPHASE
-
- 1. Check which enemy bases are exerting Air Zones Of Control
- (AZOCS) (alt/Z).
-
- a. Each time an undetected TF enters an enemy AZOC it
- will trigger searches by all enemy air groups in range.
-
- b. Air Combat TFs will only cancel enemy AZOCs if THEY
- ENTER THEM. The AZOC will be cancelled AFTER the Air Combat TF
- triggers any reaction combat or movement. As an example, in
- order to perform an effective amphibious assault in an enemy
- AZOC, you may need to send a Combat Air TF to the enemy base and
- set the STANDOFF RANGE to ZERO. This may CANCEL the enemy AZOC.
- Your transport TFs will then follow and may be immune to reaction
- air strikes. Of course, your carriers will have to withstand the
- full brunt of enemy air power.
-
- c. After an enemy naval force retires they can no longer
- be targeted by aircraft in the normal combat phase - they may
- only be subjected to reaction attacks as they move towards their
- home port.
-
- 2. Check which friendly bases are exerting AZOCs (shft/Z).
-
- a. Repeated bombing of a base will reduce the
- effectiveness of it's AZOC. A group of aircraft may not be
- enough to generate a AZOC at a disrupted base. Try moving more
- bombers to the base and see if a AZOC appears. AZOCs exerted by
- TFs are not shown (either friendly or enemy). Only AF AZOCs are
- displayed.
-
- 3. Examine airfields in sequence (Z or A).
-
- a. The big-wigs in the Pentagon plan to send all B-17s
- to Europe starting late 1942.
-
- b. The larger the airfield rating of a base, the harder
- it will be to destroy aircraft at that base. The high airfield
- rating implies MORE air strips and a better ability to disperse
- the air groups.
-
- c. The engineer construction rate of airfields is
- unpredictable. Some airfield levels may increase from two to six
- in eight weeks while other bases with more engineers, supply, and
- better terrain may take up to three to four months. Building
- bases up to an airfield level of four allows you to stage bombers
- from the U.S. to Australia, and points in between, by successive
- air transfers from base to base. Also, the bigger the base the
- more aircraft that are active in your squadrons.
-
- d. The maximum size for a land based fighter group is
- fifty aircraft.
-
- 4. Set priority target base (B).
-
- a. To get rid of an unwanted Airfield Target assign the
- AF to target itself. This should cause the airfield to perform
- normally during Execution and also to cancel the target flag by
- the next turn.
-
- 5. Set missions (D, N, NI, SA, OA, AB, T, D on air unit
- display).
-
- a. When viewing air groups, following the group
- name/number there is a designation in parentheses such as (D-USA)
- or (T-USMC). The T designates a Training unit and only holds
- four aircraft each. The "D" stands for Day Combat, "NI" stands
- for Naval Interdiction, and so on. Each AIR MISSION has a letter
- code. When you see (D-USMC) at the top of the air group display
- the 'D' stands for DAY mission (T=Training, N=Night, etc).
-
- b. You are not required to set a group's air mission.
- All groups will start with a mission already set - usually Day
- Combat. If nothing is next to the air group data on the display
- then the group has a Day Combat mission. An air group will
- remain active and perform it's assigned mission every turn
- without spending PPs every turn.
-
- c. Air groups with Naval Interdiction missions should
- only attack naval targets. EXAMPLE: a carrier has F4Fs, SBDs and
- TBFs - if the SBDs have an NI mission then only the F4Fs and TBFs
- would be allowed to attack an airfield. The TFs target
- priorities would not overide this. American and Japanese ARMY
- bombers will not attack ships unless they have a Naval
- Interdiction mission. Bombers with NI missions should perform
- reaction attacks against enemy TFs that enter nearby AZOCs.
-
- d. When torpedo bombers attack from MAXIMUM range they
- will carry bombs instead of torpedoes. This does not apply to
- TBDs.
-
- e. Air groups with Training missions will not perform
- any combat. They should be moved to the rear areas.
-
- f. There is no reason to put patrol aircraft, such as
- seaplanes, on Night missions.
-
- g. With the exception of HEAVY BOMBERS, aircraft are
- reluctant to fly missions against targets defended by CAP unless
- they have a fighter escort.
-
- h. If you do not want fighters to move away from their
- airfield, put them on naval interception (NI) missions. Fighters
- may provide CAP over the base. Starting with version x3,
- fighters will no longer strafe/attack COMBAT TFs. The only
- mission they will perform other than CAP, is strafe/attack are
- NON-COMBAT TFs.
-
- i. Transport aircraft, at a well supplied base, can
- airdrop supplies to ALL undersupplied units. They can supply up
- to two times their normal aircraft travel distance. Transport
- aircraft can airdrop supplies up to their maximum allowable
- distance to LCUs (to increase their readiness up to 49%) located
- with an enemy unit. This is handy as long as you can neutralize
- the AZOCs. Transport aircraft supply function is controlled by
- the computer.
-
- j. Changing an air groups mission requires PPs. If you
- do not have enough PPs, the mission can be changed but all the
- aircraft in the group become damaged.
-
- k. Planes over their own bases perform almost 3 times as
- effectively in kill rates.
-
- 6. Transfer air units (alt/A).
-
- a. Adding a patrol air group to an airfield should not
- count toward the maximum allowable number of units. As an
- example, a level four airfield can have four air groups, not
- counting transport or patrol planes, and each air group can have
- up to forty undamaged active aircraft. But if there are already
- four air groups at the airfield, you cannot add another
- non-patrol/transport airgroup (even if all four of the others are
- patrol/transport). In order to add a non-patrol/transport air
- group, move out one group to reduce the number to three, transfer
- the non-patrol/transport group to the airfield and then bring
- back the patrol/transport unit. This appears to apply with all
- sizes of airfields.
-
- b. The only aircraft that can be based at a size 1
- airfield are Patrol types.
-
- c. For version x4, air groups may be moved around
- within China (those bases attached to China Exp. Force).
- However, air group may not transfer OUT OF or INTO China or
- Manchuria. Also, air groups in China and Manchuria will not be
- allowed to disband.
-
- 7. Upgrade older plane types (C on air unit display).
-
- a. The choice of fighter upgrade aircraft is as follows
- for the early part of the war (thru May, 1943): British LBA -
- Hurricane II changing to Spitfires as soon as possible, SEA - F4F
- Wildcats followed by Seafires (possibly F6F Hellcats) in the
- future (when the Brit CVs return), ANZAC Air - Same as British
- LBA Army Air Force - GET RID OF THE P-39s and use P-40s for most
- squadrons. Introduce the P-38Fs as soon as possible (note that
- the Spitfire VIII and Seafire are superior fighters to the P-38F)
- and later replace with P-47s and P- 38Js, Marine Air - F4Fs
- followed by F4U Corsairs, Navy Air - F4Fs followed by F6Fs.
-
- 8. Transfer aircraft factory control from computer to human
- or vice-versa (ALT/N).
-
- a. Make sure you leave one factory of each type of
- aircraft active unless the computer has switched that same type
- of aircraft factory to a newer one. If you want to tinker,
- change them until a couple turns before a new type becomes
- available, then switch back. Otherwise you're apt to not get the
- newer a/c on time, if at all.
-
- F. TASK FORCE SUBPHASE
-
- 1. Examine ports in sequence (O or P).
-
- a. In Campaign 41 or the Rising Sun Campaign, when you
- decide not to use the historical first move, there is a chance
- that some of the US Fleet will put to sea.
-
- b. When a port is expanded it may receive more supplies
- during routine convoy supply and TFs based at large ports will
- receive more PPs. The maximum fuel/supply level at a base is
- 50,000.
-
- c. To find out the OIL & RESOURCE levels press the F7
- key - they are displayed at the bottom of the screen. Unless OIL
- & RESOURCE centers are isolated, the routine convoy system will
- automatically ship the entire production of those centers back to
- Japan every week! Heavy Industry consumes oil each week at a
- rate of 25 oil per heavy industry point. Oil reserves are
- converted into fuel (1 oil converts to 4 fuel). The fuel is used
- to stock the depots in Japan. Fuel is used whenever aircraft fly
- or ships move. If a city in Japan has fuel fall below 10,000
- then 1000 will be subtracted from the oil reserve and 4000 will
- be added to the city's fuel depot. Forming TFs to do transport
- oil or resources is a waste of PPs. Historically, the Japanese
- experienced an oil shortage AFTER they captured the oilfields and
- BEFORE the Allied subs started taking their toll. In the game
- there is nothing you can do to prevent this except CONSERVE FUEL.
-
- d. The Preparation Point Allocation System is very
- complicated. Preparation Points (PPs) are allocated to TFs at
- the start of each EXECUTION PHASE. This means there NO way to
- see how many PP's the TF in question has. The PP number seen
- when clicking on a port is for the HQs commanding the port. A
- shortage of PPs reflects exhausted resources or unpreparedness
- (at the start of the war). Only NAVY HQs will provide TFs with
- PPs. All PP allocation is done by the computer. The players
- have no control PP allocation.
-
- 1) A TF which has a DESTINATION that is the same as
- it's HQ's TARGET will receive an additional 20 PPs.
-
- 2) A TF will receive both the 5 and 10 point bonuses
- if it has moved less than 30. A TF patrolling around it's home
- port (DEST=HOME PORT) does not receive a bonus for moving less
- than 30.
-
- 3) A TF receives PPs based on the TASK FORCE
- LEADER'S rating. If the leader has a high naval rating the TF
- receives more PPs. If a TF's HQs has less than 10 PPs then the
- TF will not receive the 5+ Naval Leader Rating bonus but will
- receive all the other PPs listed. If more than 10 PPs are left
- in the HQs you will get the 5+ Naval Leader bonus and 10 PPs will
- be subtracted from the TF's HQs.
-
- 4) The headquarters will never spend more than 10
- PPs on a single TF. However, if the HQ has ZERO PPs then the TF
- will ONLY receive PPs equal to it's leader's rating (a maximum of
- 9 TOTAL). A TF will ALWAYS drain at least 1 PP from it's parent
- HQ each turn.
-
- 5) TFs do NOT retain unused PPs from one turn to
- another.
-
- 6) If a TF's headquarters is low on PPs then the TF
- will also have reduced PPs. However, a minimum of 5 PPs is
- allocated to all TFs.
-
- 7) Staying in port all turn does not add extra PPs
- to a TF. But if a TF starts a move their home port, it will
- receive PPs 2x the port size (so base at larger ports).
-
- 2. Examine existing TFs for damage, fuel, and threat levels
- (N/G).
-
- a. You can determine the vital statistics of any ship by
- examining the ship display. Find the ship in question on the
- TF/PORT display. Point the arrow at the ship and click the left
- mouse button. Dimmed or different color ships are actually
- British, Australian or Dutch ships.
-
- b. The number of asterisk(s) displayed after a bomb,
- torpedo, or gun hit reflects additional or critical damage has
- been inflicted. Each asterisk represents about 20% damage to the
- ship.
-
- c. Repairing ships in shipyard facilities may cause a
- delay in receiving 'new construction' reinforcements. Ports with
- a lot of repair points will NOT expend their repair points over
- and over again on the same ship until all their points are gone.
- If a port has sufficient repair points, it will automatically
- repair one damage point per turn on each damaged ship in port.
- Then each damaged ship in port will undergo two random checks
- with the chance of removing one additional point each. As an
- example, the maximum a battleship can repair in 1 turn is THREE
- damage points. Even though a port may have a number of repair
- points remaining after performing repairs on the battleship it
- will not USE them if there are no other damaged ships in port.
- The maximum number of damage points that will be removed in this
- example is 3 but the odds are only 1 or 2 will be repaired.
-
- d. Computer-controlled TFs disband when they complete
- their missions. Human-controlled TFs do not disband.
-
- 3. Unload TFs at destination bases (U).
-
- a. Transport TFs will only unload if their standoff
- range is zero. Both Transport and Cargo TFs should unload
- automatically. The Unload TF feature is useful if you load a
- ship and then change your mind.
-
- b. Oil cargo has one purpose in the game - to feed
- Japan's Oil Reserves. Therefore the only place Oil can be
- unloaded is in Japan.
-
- c. Unloading a TF containing an air group which
- overloads an airfield will increase the number of damaged
- aircraft. Until the situation is corrected, you will not have
- the FULL USE of any of the air groups at that airfield.
-
- d. When ships unload supplies in support of an
- amphibious assault, the supplies may be used in two different
- ways: If the assault units capture the base then the supplies
- are unloaded at the port. These supplies go into the base supply
- depot and may be used normally by LCUs, air groups and ships at
- the base. If the assaulting units failed to capture the base
- then the supplies are unloaded 'over the beach'. These supplies
- must be used immediately to raise LCU readiness (to a maximum of
- 49) or replace losses in the LCUs. Those supplies that are left
- over are lost.
-
- 4. Replenish TFs if possible (Y) .
-
- a. CVs will always attempt to replenish their air groups
- while in port. You can get replacement A/C for CVs by returning
- to a well supplied friendly port, or via a replenishment CVE
- group with ac:r as their load. The port will require enough
- supplies for the normal replacement costs for the a/c types
- involved (generally 2-3 supply points per replacement aircraft)
- plus a buffer so the port isn't unsupplied.
-
- b. CVEs may replenish carrier air groups while AT SEA.
- If the carrier has depleted air groups and the Replenish TF has
- CVEs loaded with replacement aircraft ([ar:r]) are within range
- (usually about 10 hexes) the transfer should occur. When you go
- to replenish, select the AC TF to be replenished, then pick
- "Replenish" from the menu. The CVE TF should automatically move
- to the AC TF. Now select "Replenish" a SECOND time. There is no
- special message to inform you that replacement aircraft are being
- transferred. Oilers and tankers can also refuel TFs in this
- manner.
-
- 5. Transfer damaged (or undamaged) ships to new TFs (T).
-
- 6. Scuttle badly disabled ships (S on ship display).
-
- 7. Disband TFs at destination ports (R).
-
- 8. Check for isolated bases that may require special convoys
- in order to receive adequate supplies (alt/O).
-
- 9. Create Transport TFs (and/or Tokyo Expresses, if
- Japanese) to resupply (isolated) bases in range of enemy air or
- sea zones of control (C).
-
- a. Create supply TFs when building an amphibious assault
- force (include MCS ships in TF) and to supply ISOLATED bases.
- Also create TFs to move some supply to a base that has engineers
- doing construction work, but only if the base has a supply level
- less than 1000. If a base is not isolated, supply will get there
- fine, either by routine supply convoys or overland. Locations
- where your HQs are located receive large amounts of routine
- supply.
-
- b. The GET TRANSPORT function will automatically send
- ships and reinforcements to ANY NON-isolated friendly port. The
- GET TRANSPORT function will NOT work at a base that is isolated.
- When GET TRANSPORT is used, the ship units come from the nearest
- eligible base. The NUMBER of ships in the unit may be adjusted
- by moving ships into or out of the ship pool.
-
- 1) Activate a LCU before you AUTO-SELECT the
- Transport TF. It should form a TF with an AP or LST unit of
- exactly the correct size to load the LARGEST ACTIVE LCU at the
- base.
-
- 2) GET TRANSPORT should only take units from areas
- subordinate to the requesting HQ or areas subordinate to computer
- controlled HQs.
-
- 3) GET TRANSPORT moves AP, APD and/or MCS units
- directly into the desired port. These ships should be
- immediately formed into TFs to prevent them from being moved the
- next time you use the GET TRANSPORT function. You should receive
- extra MCS units each time GET TRANSPORT is used.
-
- 4) If a British HQ uses the GET TRANSPORT command it
- will try to find a BRITISH AP unit. If all British APs have been
- sunk or assigned to TFs then you will not receive any APs. The
- same applies to APDs.
-
- b. For Transport TF's, the number of PPs will effect the
- READINESS level of combat troops that are unloaded. This is very
- important for Amphibious Assaults.
-
- c. Ships used in routine convoys may not be used by the
- player during the same turn. A delay flag is set to prevent it
- from being added to a TF. If you access a port display, and see
- a # sign next to a transport ID, this means that that transport
- was used for routine convoy duty that turn and will be
- unavailable for any missions. If you want to verify this, access
- the unit data for that transport and you will see a one turn
- delay next to it.
-
- d. Only JAPANESE CLs and CSs can load troops.
-
- e. You cannot change the mission of a TF. You must
- disband it in port and reform it with a new mission.
-
- 10. Create Cargo TFs to resupply bases in rear areas (C).
-
- a. Cargo TFs behave exactly like Transport TFs with one
- exception: Cargo TFs will never enter an enemy ZOC unless there
- is no other way to return to base. Cargo TFs will always try to
- avoid enemy ZOCs. Unless you are PLANNING to penetrate into
- enemy areas you should send your troops and cargo in Cargo TFs.
-
- b. To load an air group onto ships select a CARGO TF
- and load the group onto MCS, CVE or CS type ships.
-
- 1. When an air group is loaded onto MCS type ships
- they must be taken apart and CRATED for the journey. Thus when
- they arrive they are NOT READY to fly (they are damaged).
-
- 2. Single engined aircraft that are loaded onto
- CVE or CS type ships are not crated. CS ships may only be used
- to transport LAND based air groups. CVE and CS ships can move
- single-engined air groups without damaging (disassembling) them
- and are very useful in doing quick reinforcement jobs to
- airfields. CS ships are also a bit more survivable than typical
- MCS units, though not enough to send them into harm's way without
- escort.
-
- 3. AP type ships may not transport air groups.
-
- c. To get ships from Columbo to S.F., create a Cargo TF,
- give them a Destination of Perth and a Home Base of Suva. When
- they get to Suva they can be routed anywhere on the east side of
- the map.
-
- 11. Create Replenishment TFs (C).
-
- a. Only CVE type ships may carry reserve aircraft to
- replenish carriers at sea. In order to get reserve aircraft on a
- CVE, you can manually assign the ship from a port (it must start
- the turn manually attached to a port with an adequate supply
- level) and add the CVE to a Replenish TF. You can also
- AUTO-SELECT a Replenish TF and get CVEs in the TF pre-loaded with
- replacement aircraft (ac:r). Oilers and tankers also come loaded
- with fuel when selected in this fashion. After a replenish
- mission, you have to go back to a port, disband the TF and create
- a new replenish TF. Aircraft replenish missions seem to be a one
- time deal. If a CVE is in a TF or shows aircraft squadrons, it's
- in escort mode, and you can't load replenishment aircraft.
- Whenever CVEs are NOT carrying reserve aircraft they will be able
- to operate with their normal complement of 2 squadrons. CVEs
- may carry replacement aircraft equal to DOUBLE their capacity.
-
- b. CS ships do NOT perform replenishment missions. CS
- ships do NOT have the ability to LAUNCH fighters, dive-bombers
- and torpedo bombers from their decks. CS ships could only launch
- float planes. CS ships may TRANSPORT land based air groups.
-
- 12. Create combat TFs at friendly ports (C).
-
- a. For Air Combat TFs the number of PPs will determine
- the number of FULL airstrikes the TF can launch and chances of
- achieving surprise.
-
- b. For Surface Combat TFs the number of PPs will effect
- the chances of achieving surprise and which TF fires first.
-
- c. For Bombardment TFs the number of PPs will effect the
- TF's chances of firing TWO bombardments instead of one.
-
- 13. Assign leaders to TFs (F1 on TF display).
-
- a. There currently is no way to examine the leaders
- without losing the one you started with.
-
- b. You should always assign a leader to a TF that is
- performing a combat mission. This includes Amphibious Transport
- TFs. There are BIG combat penalties for not having a leader in a
- TF. Leaderless TFs will frequently abort their missions if
- attacked by a handful of bombers. Leaderless TFs can be badly
- outclassed in surface combat (being surprised or the opponent
- will get the first shot).
-
- c. You can include an American ship in a TF in a ANZAC
- TF and make it the flag giving you access to the American
- commanders for that TF or vice versa for other nations. It
- helps to toss in a few American merchant ships in ANZAC TFs so
- that you can use some aggressive invasion commanders.
-
- 14. Load TFs with troops, supplies, or fuel (L).
-
- a. When LCUs are loaded onto ships a percentage number
- will appear for each ship unit. This represents the percentage
- of the combat unit that can be loaded onto that ship unit. The
- LCUs lift capacity of a CS is 5 times its printed (aircraft)
- capacity.
-
- b. Here is a list of transport costs for all types of
- aircraft:
-
- 1) 20 for fighter, fighter-bomber, dive-bomber and
- torpedo bomber.
-
- 2) 30 for tactical bomber.
-
- 3) 40 heavy bomber, transport and patrol.
-
- c. British transports can only carry British troops.
- You can use any nationality ship to carry supplies.
-
- 15. Set TFs' destinations (D).
-
- a. The DEFAULT <D> feature is intended to make it easier
- to give multiple TF groups the same destination, home port or
- target. It remembers the last destination picked. As an
- example, if you assign 5 TFs to hit Guadalcanal, you target the
- first TF normally. With the second TF, you hit <D>estination and
- the screen shows "...or <D>efault: Guadalcanal." It eliminates a
- lot of mouse-work (especially if your destination is a long way
- from your starting point), as well as making it easier to switch
- the home port of a TF to the next target destination. You can
- target the TF, then <H> to change home Port and then <D> to set
- home port at the default destination.
-
- b. When steering your ships around enemy bases it is
- best to retain as much control as possible. Set the Destination
- and Home Base so that your TFs dogleg around enemy bases.
-
- 16. Set TFs' functions/move options (F).
-
- a. If a TF starts it's move in it's Home Port then it
- will receive a PP bonus based on the size of the port.
-
- b. Bombardment TFs will only bombard if their standoff
- range is zero. Bombardment TFs will never initiate surface
- combat. Surface Combat TFs will both initiate surface combat AND
- bombard. A Surface Combat TF may only fire ONE bombardment
- during a turn. If you want to keep your options open, you should
- assign Surface Combat missions even to those TFs you expect to
- bombard.
-
- c. Setting a Surface Combat TF standoff range to GREATER
- than ZERO will greatly REDUCE the chances of having surface
- combat with an enemy TF. The best way to get a surface combat is
- to send your Surface TFs to friendly bases that you expect will
- be invaded or use SIGINT to see where an enemy fleet is headed,
- and set your destination there. As long as enemy carriers or AFs
- are around, going straight for a major enemy port with a Surface
- TF could be problem. Surface Combat TFs are fairly immune to air
- attacks (compared to carriers and merchants) since the enemy
- aircraft tend to go for the larger, more heavily armoured, ships
- as priority. On the other hand, one critical hit can kill a
- battleship. Surface combat opportunities are increased after one
- or both sides have their carrier forces exhausted. Unless you
- achieve SURPRISE, an enemy Transport TF will always abort and
- withdraw BEFORE your Surface Combat TF can attack them. It is
- possible to catch an Air Combat TF in surface combat. However,
- this should be a VERY RARE occurance. It is hard to force a
- surface combat with carriers. In all of WW2 it only happened
- twice (Norway 1940 and Leyte 1944).
-
- d. A TF will have a STANDOFF RANGE only if it's
- destination is different from it's home port. If you set the
- MOVE OPTIONS for a TF whose destination is different from the
- home port, then you will set a STANDOFF RANGE and give
- RETURN/REMAIN ON STATION orders. A TF, whose destination is
- their home port, will have a REACTION RANGE. A TF that is
- eligible to react does NOT have a STANDOFF RANGE.
-
- e. A TF whose destination is the same as the home base
- is eligible to REACT. If you set MOVE OPTIONS for this TF you
- will only set the REACTION RANGE. A TF will not perform a
- reaction move to a distance greater than it's reaction range (the
- MAXIMUM reaction range is 15). Reaction MOVES are NOT automatic
- when enemy TFs enter a ZOC within reaction range of a Combat TF.
- The enemy TF must be spotted before there is even a chance of a
- reaction move and the chance decreases with range. For a
- reaction to be triggered, it is usually necessary for the enemy
- TF to plow through friendly AZOCs (be detected) or move very
- close to the reaction TF. No reaction combat or movement will
- ever be triggered by an undetected TF. If a TF is eligible to
- react, but never gets the chance, then it will never leave it's
- home port hex.
-
- f. In the x5 version, TFs will be able to react while ON
- STATION, even with a destination different from their home port.
- A TF REACTION should happen if the RETURN OPTION is set to
- LEADER'S DISCRETION. The TFs REACTION RANGE will be equal to
- their STANDOFF RANGE. Since reaction moves ONLY happen in
- friendly AZOCs there should not be too many situations where
- reaction moves are suicidal.
-
- g. The best way to get surface TFs to react is to:
-
- 1) set destination the same as home port.
-
- 2) set the reaction range to 15.
-
- 3) assign an aggressive leader to the TF.
-
- 4) surround the area with friendly AZOCs. (Reaction
- moves may only occur when enemy TFs enter friendly AZOCs and are
- detected).
-
- h. Air Combat TFs ON STATION will perform REACTION AIR
- STRIKES against TFs that enter nearby AZOCs. It is possible for
- more than one air combat TF to do a reaction strike against an
- enemy TF. They would do so one at a time. The first TF would
- react and resolve combat and then the second TF would react, etc.
-
- i. If an Air Combat TF is supporting an invasion, set
- the standoff range to 0 or 1. If raiding an enemy base set the
- standoff range to 2 or 3. Make sure that the standoff range does
- not exceed the range of any of the aircraft on the carriers.
-
- j. If an Air Combat TF has a priority target set to
- attack a port, has more than 45 Prep Points and the enemy
- airfield at the target poses a threat, then the carriers will
- send their FIRST STRIKE to hit the enemy airfield.
-
- k. If there are TOO MANY carriers in a TF, then there is
- a problem of coordinating effective airstrikes. What happens is
- that some or all of the carriers in the TF will launch HALF or
- QUARTER strength strikes. There is a similar problem with
- coordinating large numbers of CAP.
-
- l. A Transport TF's decision to 'Retire' and not unload
- is based on the TF leader's aggressiveness rating compared to the
- number of bombers that attack the TF. If the TF has more than 9
- PPs then the aggressiveness rating is squared. You should allow
- retiring TFs to return to port before redirecting them back to an
- enemy base because these TFs are very low on PPs.
-
- m. Do not ignore your Patrol Crafts (PCs) when playing
- the Allied side. Put the PCs on "reaction" status in small non-
- priority friendly ports that you do not want to lose too quickly.
- Unless the enemy arrives with firepower, the transports will
- abort their mission. The Japanese tend to keep trying with the
- same force until some larger capital ships are in the area or air
- power. PCs are also great for soaking up land-based air attacks
- such as damaging or shooting down a bunch of Betties.
-
- n. The best way to soften up a beachhead for an
- amphibious assault is in two turns. On the first turn, put the
- enemy base under a friendly AZOC and bombard it with Air Combat
- TFs and Surface TFs. The carrier AZOC keeps the enemy troops
- from receiving supplies to boost their readiness. Air and
- surface bombardment tends to help wipe out enemy supplies.
- During the second turn, bring in the troops ships. Land combat
- occurs at BOTH the beginning AND at the END of the execution
- phase. Activated LCUs will not attack during the first phase
- unless they can get good odds or make a leader aggressiveness
- check. Since all damage during the phase is cumulative, most
- tough battles happen at the end of the execution phase.
-
- o. Move MCS's to San Francisco (SF) instead of moving
- them to Los Angeles (LA). LA tends to accumulate many more MCS's
- than it could ever use, and every so often run a large convoy up
- the coast so the ships will be at SF where they're needed. Also
- scour out the rear area islands every month or two, sending the
- extra MCS's back to SF. Get Transport works, but it tends to
- give you 40-odd ship units, which is a waste for carrying a small
- squadron of F4Fs to Oahu or Tonga. Sending the ships to SF by
- hand uses your merchant ships more efficiently.
-
- 16. Reset TFs' home bases as necessary (H).
-
- 17. Adjust submarine patrol locations (alt/M).
-
- a. Shipping lanes are in a constant state of flux.
- Watch the opponent's merchant convoy routes during the turn
- execution phase, look for long delays, and place subs accordingly
- as reasonably close to the action. Move the subs appoximately
- every five turns at least one hex. Moving subs too often means
- they're off patrol too much and too little means they will get
- destroyed. You can also figure out where the busy areas are by
- moving subs to an area and checking the number of 'attacks' they
- make.
-
- b. Watch the resolution of enemy sub battles (since
- these don't show up on the battle reports) and pick out the main
- zones where they are patrolling. Shift engineers, bombers and
- maybe even some hunter-killer groups to the area. The engineers
- will expand airfields, the planes will extend AZOCs over the area
- and the hunter-killers will make the subs move off your convoy
- route. Hunter-killer groups refer to Air Combat Task Forces.
- Use a stand-off range to settle an AC TF (and their zone of
- control) right on the subs if a group is getting too many
- transports. This is tactic is probably only viable for the
- Allies later in the war when ample AC TFs are available. Be sure
- carriers have plenty of ASW support. Also shift some escorts to
- the main convoy ports as mentioned in the manual (Los Angeles,
- Nagoya, etc). A group of Destroyers with a surface combat
- mission can be used as ASW decoys if sent from port-to-port in
- areas of high sub activity.
-
- c. Japanese subs were extremely effective during 1942
- directing their efforts against American capital ships. Allied
- ASW technology improved as the war went on and by 1943 Japanese
- sub successes were rare.
-
- d. Control of your subs is not determined by HQ control.
- Press the 'E' key to toggle SUB CONTROL (Computer/Human). This
- will determine who controls ALL of your subs.
-
- 18. Rebase all subs as necessary (alt/M, R).
-
- a. In order to change the Home Port of a sub you must
- first move the sub into it's new port. To do this, move the sub
- onto the new port's hex. Then enter SUB MODE (Alt/M) and press R
- or click the REMV button. On the next turn the sub should be
- available to return to patrol at the new home port.
-
- 19. Remove TFs that completed their missions (Alt/Y).
-
- a. Starting with version x2 the Alt/Y routine will move
- the cursor to each TF that is in port and ask if you want to
- disband it. It will put the TF icon display on the screen to
- give you an idea what you are disbanding. You should use this
- routine BEFORE you start forming new TFs. A ship is sitting in
- port (NOT in a TF) may still be damaged by bombers that are
- attacking the port.
-
- b. Do not release troopships to rear areas. Try placing
- cargo task forces into rear area HQs so that they do not soak up
- carrier and combat forces PPs. This appears to be more of an
- issue with the Japanese than the Allies as they are more
- restricted on PPs in the long run.
-
- E-Mail Play
-
- 1. To play an E-Mail game, zip up the three save files
- (SAVEA, SAVEA.MD, SAVEA.CD for example) and put them in your
- opponents mail box.
-
- 2. The honor system for E-Mail games is desirable. When
- playing E-mail games the players should alternate watching the
- Execution Phase.
-
-
- The number and types of aircraft assigned to carriers varied
- wildly during the war. The number of aircraft aboard a carrier
- seldom matched it's capacity. (Carrier plane loads may run
- approximately 12 planes below capacity.) The capacity of the
- carriers is used, somewhat indirectly, to determine the size of
- the air groups on board. Here are some of the AC complements you
- can expect at various times during the war:
-
- FOR YORKTOWN/ESSEX CARRIERS
- early 42: 27 VF, 36 VB, 12 VT
- late 42: 36 VF, 37 VB, 15 VT
- 1943: 36 VF, 37 VB, 18 VT
- 1944: 43 VF, 27 VB, 18 VT
- 1945: 53 VF, 18 VB, 18 VT
-
- FOR SHOKAKU CLASS CARRIERS
- early 42: 24 VF, 24 VB, 24 VT
- late 42: 27 VF, 27 VB, 18 VT
- 1943-44: 27 VF, 27 VB, 18 VT
- 1945: 27 VF, 18 VB, 18 VT
-
- PLAYER CHECKLIST
-
- REPORTS SUBPHASE
-
- Review last turn's battle reports (alt/B).
- Use SIGINT to review enemy Task Forces (TFs), bases, and land
- combat units (LCUs) that have been spotted (F5).
- Check losses/score (F9).
- Check sunken ships (F8).
- Check ship pools (F4).
-
- REINFORCEMENT SUBPHASE
-
- Check for reinforcements (in Sydney, Calcutta, Columbo, Kweiyang,
- Kunming, Soerabaja, Auckland, and Manila if Allied; in Tokyo,
- Shanghai, and Port Arthur if Japanese).
- Check replacement pools (F7).
- Cycle through factory cities to see which planes are being
- produced and upgrade to newer models when applicable (F6).
-
- HQ SUBPHASE
-
- Examine HQs(alt/F).
- List HQ units (alt/D).
- Relocate HQs (alt/E).
- Move HQs to TF in the same square (alt/S).
- Assign new leader to HQs (alt/L).
- Set HQ control (alt/K).
- Change base HQ (alt/C).
- Set HQ target (alt/G).
- List HQ aircraft (alt/X).
- Assign HQ air leader (alt/P).
- Reinforce bases (alt/R).
-
- LAND SUBPHASE
-
- Examine land units in sequence (S/W).
- Divide units as needed (D on unit data display).
- Activate all LCUs that will be loaded, moved, or that will attack
- (A on unit data display).
- Assign leaders to land units (F1 on unit data display).
- March LCUs overland (alt/W).
- Call for immediate sealift forces (alt/T).
-
- AIR SUBPHASE
-
- Check which enemy bases are exerting AZOCS (alt/Z).
- Check which friendly bases are exerting AZOCs (shft/Z).
- Examine airfields in sequence (Z/A).
- Set priority target base (B).
- Set missions (D, N, NI, SA, OA, AB, T, D on air unit display).
- Transfer air units (alt/A).
- Upgrade older plane types (C on air unit display).
-
- TASK FORCE SUBPHASE
-
- Examine ports in sequence (O/P).
- Examine existing TFs for damage, fuel, and threat levels (N/G).
- Unload TFs at destination bases (U).
- Replenish TFs if possible (Y) .
- Transfer damaged (or undamaged) ships to new TFs (T).
- Scuttle badly disabled ships (S on ship display).
- Disband TFs at destination ports (R).
- Check for isolated bases that may require special convoys in
- order to receive adequate supplies (alt/O).
- Create Transport TFs (and/or Tokyo Expresses, if Japanese) to
- resupply bases in range of enemy air or sea zones of control (C).
- Create Cargo TFs to resupply bases in rear areas (C).
- Create Replenishment TFs (C).
- Create combat TFs at friendly ports (C).
- Assign leaders to TFs (F1 on TF display ).
- Load TFs with troops, supplies, or fuel (L).
- Set TFs' destinations (D).
- Set TFs' functions/move options (F).
- Reset TFs' home bases as necessary (H).
- Adjust submarine patrol locations (alt/M).
- Rebase all subs as necessary (alt/M, R).
-
-
-
-