Official 1939 World At War AAR/Walkthrough

[mcaryf1]

I was interested to see the comment that an Italian land based fighter unit would have stood no chance against RN carrier aircraft. In reality of course the RN carrier planes were extremely poor in air to air conflict and only had success at Taranto because they were night capable whilst the Italian planes could not operate at night.

This brings me to a more general question about AOD - are all country units the same in terms of combat values, disregarding tech levels, or has there been any attempt to match the underlying units to country capability? Thus are Japanese carrier aircraft inherently longer ranged or does that capability require them to start with better tech? The difficulty with that is that Japanese army fighters were actually short ranged at the same time as Japanese navy were long ranged but tech levels potentially makes the capability available to both types.

Regards

Mike

[Bill101]

Japanese Medium and Strategic bombers do have a slightly longer range, and Japan has level 1 in Long Range at the beginning, and will almost certainly have level 2 by the time of Pearl Harbor. So yes, the Allies will need to invest in Long Range or they will be at a noticeable disadvantage in the carrier battles in the Pacific.

[mcaryf1]

Hi Bill

Thank you for your answer - I interpret it as meaning that differentiation is principally by means of tech levels rather than by adjusting the underlying unit characteristics for different countries. It does of course get very complicated to model historic advances by using tech levels as IJN carrier fighter advances after 1942 to improve defence, (e.g. armour to protect the pilot) actually resulted in reduced range due to increased weight.

Regards

Mike

[abukede]

mcarfy1,

I disagree with Jim on the value of Italian fighter... in this game and others like standard Gold there are a lot of people who feel it is useless unless upgraded. Many people only bring it up to strength right before it goes into action. Doing it that way you can not build enough morale and experience for it to do any real good. To make it really effective put it in one of Italy's major cities, attach it to an HQ, strength it up and take the time to build that morale and readiness up... if the allies come calling with carriers I think you will be surprised at how well it does... in addition over the period of the game... focus on resaearching fighter tech. Add in a German fighter and naval units with anti-aircraft tech and you have a real defense going.

The italians in many ways are like the Canadians... the UK over time gets a good core of canadian units. Many people never ever build a canadian HQ and a few other Canadian units... that is a mistake. You really have to use what you are given in this game and take advantage of every edge no matter how small.

[SeaMonkey]

So... how about some CTVs for the new units, like CVLs and medium bombers?

[abukede]

Seamonkey,

Ask for CTV’s... I give you CTV’s.

First up is the medium bomber. Upgraded this baby is very deadly… alone the de-entrench ability is invaluable.

Here is the light carrier. I have also included a normal carrier below for comparison purposes. I love the Light Carrier. They are cheap… only 200 and take only 6 months to build. You can include them with the main body of your fleet and easily use them to recon out the enemy for the main carriers to strike. They are also great to provide a little extra punch for a small task force without any main battle carriers. Light carriers are also fantastic tools in working with DDs to hunt down and destroy enemy submarines. Light carriers are an essential tool for the Japanese, US and UK. By the time the Japanese enter the war… they should have all of their Light Carriers deployed and upgraded… Don’t discount them… upgraded they are very useful… but also at the same time incredibly vulnerable to enemy attack.

In comparison… the main battle carrier everyone is familiar with… takes 18 months to build… is much more powerful and it hurts to lose one.

[SeaMonkey]

Too good, but I'm never satisfied(the quest for the unattainable, perfection), how about the tech categories for upgrades.........please!

[Happycat]

I was interested to see the comment that an Italian land based fighter unit would have stood no chance against RN carrier aircraft. In reality of course the RN carrier planes were extremely poor in air to air conflict and only had success at Taranto because they were night capable whilst the Italian planes could not operate at night.

This brings me to a more general question about AOD - are all country units the same in terms of combat values, disregarding tech levels, or has there been any attempt to match the underlying units to country capability? Thus are Japanese carrier aircraft inherently longer ranged or does that capability require them to start with better tech? The difficulty with that is that Japanese army fighters were actually short ranged at the same time as Japanese navy were long ranged but tech levels potentially makes the capability available to both types.

Regards

Mike

I should elaborate on my earlier comment a bit: while it is true that the Italian fighter unimproved can more than hold its own when intercepting RN carrier air, even for its full two interception allotment, Marc has a nasty habit of also ground striking fighters before (if possible), and certainly after the fighter has intercepted. Therefore, I submit that the Italian fighter, after it has run two interceptions and been either bombed, bombarded by naval gunfire, or both, will be shattered. It served me much better in its role in France, and so I think I was right not to risk it.

As events unfold over the next few turns, we'll know better, but right now I think I'm happy with my decision about the fighter.

Thanks for your comments; it certainly makes posting an AAR more fun when readers take an active interest in things---and as I said earlier, I'm happy to hear people tell me if they think I make a mistake. Based on my track record, and the law of averages, the chances are pretty good that if someone says I made a mistake, that they will be right

[Happycat]

(GAME NOTE: Axis forces had another successful run across the Med to North Africa. While the British may have wrecked the Italian fleet, the Italian air arm is doing an awesome job of recon in the Med, spotting where the danger lies and thus allowing transports to avoid the enemy. It helps that the French Navy is out of play now. For my usual secretive reasons, no pictures of anything from North Africa this turn, sorry)

[abukede]

Not much to report this turn... other than Jim is flooding Africa with reinforcements running the RN blockade. I decided to play it safe and pulled the UK forces back in the direction of Egypt.

Nothing else I would care to comment on as I have some surprises in store for Jim. No pictures either. FYI... we are now in mid september.

[Happycat]

(GAME NOTE: One British cruiser paid the price for sticking its nose into Axis business at Tobruk. Otherwise, fairly quiet this turn for the Axis. The Axis is preparing for new operations in eastern Europe. Some air units currently in Africa will soon need to rebase back in Europe, but I am happy if I get a shot or two at British naval units, and also there is the option, time permitting, of bombing some land targets in Egypt, should I decide to move the airbases closer to Tobruk. In China, the Japanese are still adding to their strength there, but otherwise didn't do much this turn except launch a new submarine.)

[mcaryf1]

Thank you for posting the stats for the medium bomber, CVL etc. I guess there would be an argument for giving the CVL a single strike otherwise it seems to be at too much of an advantage in terms of MPP's invested as compared with a land based medium bomber. Thus players would have to deploy the units in pairs if they are to have a strike accompanied by an escort.

I am also doubtful that a full blown CV should have better anti-land unit target stats as well as twice as many strikes as a medium bomber. I guess it depends how many aircraft you think a carrier unit includes as compared with a medium bomber unit. If a carrier TF consists of 2 x real US CVs then it is a maximum of 200 planes (UK would be much less) a number of which are fighters not bombers. The US alone deployed around 6,000 medium bombers in 1943 and 9,000 in 1944 so unless the US has more than 18 medium bomber units each one would represent around 500 aircraft so at least twice and probably 3 or 4 times as many bombers as a 2 x CV TF and each individual land bomber would typically carry about twice as much ordinance as its sea-launched equivalent.

Regards

Mike

[Bill101]

Hi Mike

The Medium Bomber is really a softening up weapon, as the 30% demoralization it inflicts on a target unit makes it a very powerful weapon against units you want to then attack directly.

Carriers main role against land targets is in the Pacific where it is generally a hit and run weapon, which will probably take damage, sometimes a considerable amount, during its attacks. So it is on average engaged for a shorter period of time, whereas the Medium Bomber can, again on average, continue operations for a longer period of time.

Carrier repairs are also more expensive, and if lost it cannot be bought back at reduced cost and time, unlike the Medium Bomber.

I hope this helps explain where the differences in stats come from.

Bill

[abukede]

Turn wise... nothing really to report from the Allies. Jim hammered my cruiser with all of the air he brought down to Libya, 3 tactical bombers and 1 medium. He has invested a lot of money into Libya. I am still not convinced it will pay off for him in the long run. I have a very large force, including armor waiting for him in Egypt. The Soviets finally began purchasing units this turn. I invested in production tech early... they are at level 2... with more chits invested in that research... so long term it should really pay off.

No action elsewhere. Oddly quiet in Asia.

mcarfy,

Think of the carrier strike aircraft being more tactical in nature... such as divebombers and the medium bombers being designed to hammer rear areas/communication, airfields, etc.

[Amadeus]

..., as the 30% demoralization it inflicts on a target unit ...

Does this demoralization also works on marine units? That would be very new then.

[Happycat]

As October fades into November, 1940, the Japanese forces in China were frustrated by poor weather, which has further delayed the long-awaited "Operation Shinsai" (English translation for Shinsai = Earthquake).

(GAME NOTE: No action in German and Italian areas, although it is likely something will happen soon, now that both Romania and Hungary have seen fit to join the Axis. So far I am not regretting giving France to Italy. It does of course mean a very different plan of action for both countries, but I hope that it will prove entertaining for everyone following this AAR and it will certainly demonstrate the flexibility and capabilities of AoD-WaW.

One bit of bad luck this turn---one of my U-boats "found" a British DD. I had another, level 2 U-boat nearby and attacked the DD, but although damage to the DD was significant, the U-boat suffered worse. Guess I now know the answer to a question I had asked myself: i.e. can a level 2 U-boat badly hurt a DD?" )

[mcaryf1]

Hi Bill and abukede

I guess I need to wait until I see the whole array of unit types, relative strengths and relative costs until I comment too deeply. Also I do realise that I am probably more interested in historic comparisons of weapon systems than I am in acheiving game balance so my point of view is not necessarily the same as most players.

Regards

Mike

[SeaMonkey]

If we could revisit that 3 X TAC + medium bomber airstrike that took out the UK cruiser TF, what were the air unit losses taken to complete the mission?

[abukede]

Not much action to report this turn. Jim had an airstrike in the med intercepted by fighters... the British continue to build up and prepare for his attack into Egypt... I have a number of intiatives going on around the globe.... a couple of dastardly surprises for him.

One he bumped into this turn. He found one of my DD's... then brought another sub in to try to kill it... not realizing I had 3 other DD's nearby. Poor weather kept me from killing them but I did manage to give him a wakeup call. I think the UK now has 8 DDs deployed. Once I start building Light Carriers his U-Boat force is in trouble.

[Happycat]

If we could revisit that 3 X TAC + medium bomber airstrike that took out the UK cruiser TF, what were the air unit losses taken to complete the mission?

Minimal, but classified (seriously, very minimal)

[Happycat]

DATELINE BERLIN: Another raid by Axis aircraft in the Mediterranean north of El Alamein damaged a British cruiser, although estimates of how much damage was incurred are unreliable. One German medium bomber flight took moderate damage as it flew without escort. Subsequent sorties by tactical/naval bombers and a fighter group against the same target appeared to cause further damage to the naval vessel, but our own losses were very slight.

In other news, the Kriegsmarine announced that German submarines operating southeast of Iceland appeared to be in trouble, but after inflicting some damage on another British DD, successfully escaped.

Our Italian allies issued a press release, announcing advancements in infantry weaponry. Soon they expect that their infantry formations will be as well armed as our own!

DATELINE TOKYO:

[abukede]

Jim airstruck a cruiser pretty hard this turn... though 2 UK fighters stationed in Egypt were able to intercept for all 3 strikes. It is clear that Jim upgraded both the italian and German tactical units with naval 1. I am going to have to watch that. The British are also planning an offensive in 2 areas. In China Jim unloaded on an entrenched division for minimal effect. Intelligence shows that he intends a major push once the weather turns fair.

I love the German propaganda.

Note the last two turns for losses. Also you can see the effect giving France over to the Italians has had on German income. Germany should be over 300 income by now. The question is... will Germany be able to keep up with the losses on the Eastern Front after the initial push? My guess is not... unless he secures an extra source of income... perhaps Vichey, Yugo, Greece... maybe Spain too?

[Happycat]

DATELINE BELGRADE: The Yugoslav nation has accepted the gracious offer by the Third Reich to protect it from the predatory British. It was unfortunate that some elements of the Yugoslav army saw fit to make a misguided and feeble stand in Belgrade. Artillery, infantry and tanks make such a mess at times---but our brave paratroopers are now in the city to restore order, eliminate any Bolshevik influences, and then hold a nice parade for the citizens of Belgrade.

We note that the Greek government, for some inexplicable reason, has entered into a defensive alliance with Britain. Considering how well that worked out for Poland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, France and Yugoslavia, the Greeks must feel very safe now

His Imperial Majesty's aircraft carrier Kaga launching aircraft during the recent operation over central China.

[abukede]

Nothing really that I want to show this turn. The Chinese smacked a Japanese corps pretty hard that got too close to the front lines. One of the problems in Southern China is a lack of HQ's... making it pretty easy for the Japanese to push southern China early. Jim gave me over a year and a half with no real action there... as a result there are now 2 additional high level chinese HQ's buffing up my line. This in turn I hope will lead to heavy japanese casaulties when he gets around to attacking.

We are in January... and the weather is pretty terrible everywhere. There are several operations I am planning as soon as the weather turns fair.

[Happycat]

As noted above, Japan is starting to show its operational intentions for the Changsha area with a little more clarity now. For the first time, Chinese fighters intervened with our aircraft, but to little effect.

We note with amusement that the Chinese speak of "planning operations" when the weather is better. Japanese soldiers fight in ALL kinds of weather, equally effectively. Doctor Tojo also plans "operations", but they are of a type that the "patient" will not survive

(GAME NOTE: Significant events for Japan as outlined in the two event notifications below)