Summary Jazon (Japanese Empire) against Petisch (Allies)

[Petisch]

First of all, this is a summary from memory and it is the second MP duel in the scenario (also as Allies)

December 41:
• The Japanese bomb the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, sinking three battleships
• An impressive landing in Malaysia succeeds, two Japanese units immediately lay siege to Singapore. Battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Renown have no chance against the Japanese air and naval forces ready
• The landing in the Philippines is also impressively successful. The corps that is supposed to cover the mine at Luzon is quickly surrounded, partly bypassed
• Things remain comparatively quiet in China
• Japan has not declared war on Thailand
• The few American ships in the Philippines are not noticed or ignored by the Japanese

Reactions and considerations of the Allied High Command:
• The Supreme Commander looks really stupid because of the situation in Singapore
• First basic thought: the British and Australians can never hold out on their own. They absolutely have to work together - no matter which side is attacked. It is assumed that Burma and India will become the focus. So Australian troops should be moved to India as quickly as possible
• An attempt will be made to evacuate troops from Malaysia after the remaining English destroyer has been able to pass through the Malaysian Strait. The choice must be made between the squadron of fighter aircraft and the corps near Singapore. Funds could only be made available for a transfer (by deselecting the "heavy bomber" research). The choice falls on the corps because the fighter can be bought back "at a reduced price".
• The ships near the Philippines can only retreat; the only issue is the escape route. The two southern units are to try their luck across the Makasser Strait and reach Australia, the northern units across the "strait" near Leyte Gulf and then between Iwo Jima and Saipan... - off to Pearl Harbor. The cheaper units are to scout out the route as far as possible, the more valuable units are to continue to follow the marked course with a "forced march".
• The commander in chief want to carry out a moral counterattack as quickly as possible, and the Doolittle attack is planned. It should be carried out quickly and as far north as possible (and necessary). The plans for the escape from the Philippines and the Doolittle maneuver are based on the assumption that the Japanese will need their ships everywhere else and less in this area.
• The remaining battleship in Pearl Harbor should make an honorable escape to the USA. The route is being scouted with the available fighters.
• The commander in chief is very pleased with himself

End of 41/beginning of 42:
• The evacuated Singapore is conquered without resistance, the commander-in-chief begins to doubt his decisions
• The commander-in-chief is embarrassed that he is as stupid as a brick. The fighter cannot be bought back at a reduced price because its supply has fallen below 5 (Singapore is gone if you evacuate it...), the evacuated corps has disbanded because it is a unit of a "minor" and not a "British" unit. The money provided and organized has thus been wasted senselessly. Singapore probably fell in absolute record time.
• The escapes of the American naval units have been successful, it is decided to continue the journey without "forced marches".
• A meeting point north of Midway is set for the two US carriers and escort ships in order to launch Doolittle north of Japan
• The land units in the Philippines are fighting a hopeless battle and are reinforced as often as possible. When they go down, the only question that remains is where the freed Japanese units will be deployed
• The two northern naval units evacuated from the Philippines run into a Japanese submarine and are then sunk by other Japanese naval units. The commander-in-chief is speechless, "what are they doing here?" He becomes hysterical and breaks off Doolittle because he suspects a trap.
• The Japanese attack the Dutch East Indies. The operation is very slow, however, the landings do not seem to be coordinated and are too far apart to take Batavia together. Batavia can be held for quite a long time.
• One of the southern evacuated naval units is sunk by the Japanese, the commander-in-chief underestimated the situation and took too long - the commander-in-chief sulks.

Further considerations of the Allied High Command:
• The US war economy should initially focus on research into "espionage and reconnaissance" and long-range aircraft.
• The first units to be purchased should be HQs, fighter planes and naval bombers.
• In China, they believe they have some time, as the Japanese are probably moving troops in Manchuria, so they will initially save up for an HQ. It will be deployed in northern China.
• The same consideration leads to a similar decision by the British. The two divisions near Rangoon are intended to provide the necessary time to set up first an HQ and then a corps in order to carry out a long, delaying battle in the difficult terrain in Burma. The Supreme Commander considers himself simply brilliant.
• The expected Australian units should be deployed as follows: the division in New Guinea. The HQ to India, the special unit to "secure" the Solomon Islands.

Mid/late 42:
• The Japanese have almost effortlessly cleared the two divisions in Burma out of the way and quickly crossed Burma, quickly approaching Calcutta and Nepal because setting up the British units takes far too long. The commander-in-chief has serious doubts about himself.
• The Japanese have attacked and taken Midway. The commander-in-chief decides to carry out Doolittle again because he sees this as the explanation for having encountered the naval units so far north on the way there.
• After a long time, the Japanese have also taken Rabaul. In the Solomon Islands they have to make increased efforts due to Australian resistance, but New Guinea falls quickly.
• Tough fighting develops in China, with Changsha apparently the focus

Further considerations of the Allied High Command:
• US troops, which were originally supposed to secure the Hebrides and New Caledonia, are hastily sent back to Hawaii. The landing at Midway causes unrest among the Commander-in-Chief
• Overall, the US Navy is still considered too weak to take any risks. The Commander-in-Chief wants to avoid fighting for the time being until it is clear how the Japanese Navy will behave.
• The first Australian units are being deployed to India. A wild mix of British and Australian corps and garrisons are supposed to somehow stop the Japanese from Calcutta. The ports in the East Indies are also to be secured, as is Ceylon. The decision as to which ports should be secured first is not easy. Ceylon is chosen. The British, American and Australian naval units are to avoid fighting and scout the routes for Australian land units.
• Focus research by the British and Australians: anti-aircraft weapons, infantry weapons and, as a "bonus", artillery weapons. Both are also supposed to "treat themselves" to their artillery units. The commander-in-chief thinks this is a smart move.
• Through espionage and reconnaissance, a Japanese aircraft carrier is reported in a northern Japanese port. It is clear that a trap is being planned and "Doolittle" is expected.
• The commander-in-chief decides to carry out the operation anyway, as a moral victory is urgently needed. The units turn south, risking proximity to Saipan and Iwo Jima. Spoiler: The operation is successful and all the ships used are able to escape unseen.

Early 43:
• the Hebrides and New Caledonia were defended, the Japanese quickly called off a landing
• It was clear to both sides that a counterattack would soon follow, and the goal also seems to be clear to both sides.
• But the Japanese submarine spotted the invasion fleet too late and was sunk while attempting to set up an ambush. The landing in the Solomon Islands was well planned and, above all, well prepared. Air forces with HQ support in the Hebrides and New Caledonia secured the landing operation. The airfield was quickly cleared, and the anti-aircraft guns stationed there were destroyed by the landing units. Kuckum was quickly surrounded, and the two Japanese special units were practically cut off. The supplies via the airfield and the HQ provided in the rear area secured the sparse supplies. The Americans therefore had the longer breath.
• New Guinea was recaptured relatively quickly in comparison. The only problem, there are no more ressources for a landing at Rabaul.
• The Americans are ordering the first stronger ground units to be trained. Mechanized infantry, tanks and paratroopers, the motto is "it's better to have than to need"
• In India, the Japanese have landed on the beaches, but can only take over places without ports.
• The Japanese troops are stuck in the swamps off Calcutta and cannot catch up with the landing units. There is a kind of stalemate, with slight advantages for the Japanese, who have the navy and air superiority.
• In China, the Japanese focus shifts to the north. A second artillery unit is making life difficult for the defenders.

Further considerations of the Allied High Command:
• Two special units are ready in Hawaii to conduct a landing on the Marshall Islands. This is primarily intended to weaken Japanese morale, which should somewhat reduce the strong advantage, especially over the British and Chinese forces.
• The consideration is also based on the fact that the operation can be sufficiently secured by the US Navy, since the Japanese Navy is active both in the Solomon Islands and in the Indian Ocean and does not act as one or wait at one point.
• In India, the motto is "just hold on somehow", but this gives the commander-in-chief sleepless nights. The British Navy is too weak to engage in a fight; it is supposed to secure the routes for troop reinforcements from Australia.
• ​​The commander-in-chief hopes to be able to conduct a landing quickly with the expected strong American ground units near Java. Target Batavia. Additional air forces are also being ordered for this purpose. Overall, the Japanese are to be forced to withdraw troops from Burma and India.
• All available submarines are sent to the South China Sea to divert Japanese naval units from the Marshall Islands and damage the Japanese economy.

Mid 43:
• The landing at the Marshall Islands is complicated, two invasion units were simply not enough. Kwajalein can be taken. The airfield and its harbor cannot. Two Japanese battleships and a cruiser slow the advance even further, bombing the Allied Kwajalein and the harbor. Above all, they prevent the special forces from embarking again.
• Only after these are sunk, the Gilbert Islands can be conquered.
• The same goes for Eniwetok, Ponape and Nauru.
• Through a "daring action" a special force can be embarked unnoticed in New Guinea and conquer the previously unnoticed, freely scouted Babelthuap without a fight. The Americans have thus quickly moved closer to the Philippines.
• Rabaul, on the other hand, is besieged in a comparatively complicated manner and recaptured again in a tough manner.
• A disaster is feared in India, the Japanese are barely able to gain any ground, but are inflicting heavy attrition losses on the Allies, with fewer and fewer losses of their own.
• In China, the situation in the north is becoming increasingly tense. In the south, however, the Japanese have not made any breakthroughs and are also unable to build the railway line between Changsha and Nanning.

Further considerations of the Allied High Command:
• The Supreme Commander had a kind of "revelation". He now wants to abort the landing at Java and instead have the troops continue on to India. Since Japanese ground units were spotted near Timor, it is assumed that a conquest via this route would take too long to have an effect on India in time.
• The situation in India appears hopeless in the long term without further help, despite massive support from the Australians.
• Nevertheless, the Americans are to be kept hidden in India for as long as possible. There are plans to massively rearm here, with HQs ground and air units.
• In the Pacific, the next targets are to be the Marianas and Guam. The Supreme Commander suspects that the enemy is most likely to expect the next attack at Pelileu and perhaps even the Philippines.

End of 43:
• Saipan can actually be conquered without resistance.
• The American units gradually arrive in India and move further north to save money on relocations. Air units are only to be relocated at the last moment. Only when the additional HQ can be landed unnoticed.
• The pressure in India is increased by further landings. The landings are also necessary, because the defenders were able to temporarily encircle the attackers. The maneuver, however, demands high casualties; the anti-aircraft positions sometimes have to be pushed to the front line as the last defenders and withstand blows from the Japanese. The Japanese are still unable to conquer ports. British and Australian losses are critical; all reserves are needed permanently to replace them or to replenish them.
• Pelileu, Guam and the remaining Marianas can be conquered.
• A landing on the Philippines is successful; bridgeheads at Legaspi, Leyte and Ilyolo can be conquered. Davos only after a siege and further advancing forces. Manila is secured by the Japanese due to the close land connections, but the bridgehead at Appari is destroyed by the Japanese.
• The largest naval battle of the war follows, with a clear victory for the USA, including the sinking of four Japanese carriers and the Queens Yamato and Musashi. The Americans' most painful losses are their own battleships. Nevertheless, the balance of power has clearly shifted.
• The Japanese reinforce Manila, two armies, two special units, anti-aircraft positions and fighter planes are placed under the HQ there.
• The Americans, for their part, bring in heavy forces, tanks, heavy tanks, rocket artillery. However, it quickly becomes clear that no breakthroughs can be achieved due to the narrow headland. Further landings are to follow south of Manila in order to break up the front.
• The Japanese Navy catches the Americans off guard, who have too carelessly parked the landing unit south of the Philippines. All three are sunk. The commander-in-chief is sharply criticized
• The Japanese Navy pays a high price, further heavy units are destroyed, with comparatively few losses of their own. A few remaining Japanese ships manage to escape, as the American ships themselves are badly damaged and some have been sent to Australia for repairs.
• Communist China capitulates, remaining units defect to the regular Chinese units.
• Yan’an and Xi’an are lost.

Further considerations of the Allied High Command:
• The newly deployed strategic bombers are also to be moved to India. They are intended to speed up the recapture.
• The Supreme Commander wants to make people forget the shame of the lost landing ships and has the remaining special forces embark south of the Philippine Islands, but this time with some protection from the naval units.
• After sending off his turn, the Supreme Commander thinks that he should place a unit in Nepal soon, as he has noticed the Japanese paratroopers.

Beginning of 44:
• The Japanese paratroopers land in Nepal, the commander-in-chief complains that he is so mentally slow...
• Nepal can be recaptured quickly, the American mechanized units and tanks that are ready inflict heavy losses on the Japanese, as does the American Air Force.
• The Japanese landing units can be encircled again, suffering heavy losses because the British and Australian forces can now concentrate on them, the Japanese Navy also suffers losses, including an aircraft carrier. An escort carrier can only retreat to Rangoon out of reach with difficulty, riddled with holes.
• It becomes clear that the invasion units are lost to the Japanese, the effect on the Japanese high command cannot be overlooked.
• Manila can be completely surrounded in an absolutely successful move, the Japanese HQ is hopelessly stuck there, the remaining Japanese units are badly damaged. The bombing of the port at Appari means that rescue or retreat is impossible.
• The Japanese respond with kamikaze planes. The aircraft carrier Saratoga is sunk, and surrounding escort ships also suffer considerable damage.
• Manila falls afterwards, however, and the Philippines are liberated.
• Overall, however, it is clear that the Japanese need forces elsewhere and are withdrawing from China, giving the Chinese a breathing space to reorganize their units.

Further considerations of the Allied High Command:
• The kamikaze missions made a strong impression on the Supreme Commander
• Nevertheless, naval superiority should be used, the convoy routes should be put into focus.
• The American ground units in India should be re-embarked and land in Sumatra and Java. The target is again Batavia and the surrounding oil fields
• The British and Australians should gradually recapture lost territory, the strategic bombers should destroy the defenders' supplies.
• The Russians should change their focus from research to the provision of ground and air units.

Mid 44:
• The Americans land near Java and completely surround Batavia, the defenders cannot counter the number and quality of the attackers. Batavia falls, the sea routes from the south into the South China Sea are open and largely secured.
• Ports on the convoy routes are blocked or bombed, while the routes are plundered by naval units.
• The Japanese respond by deploying their aircraft and kamikaze planes
• The Americans, in turn, try to eliminate them in advance with their own aircraft and carrier aircraft, with tough and moderate success and their own losses.
• The morale and fighting spirit of the Japanese is still impressive, although the times of their offensives are definitely over.

Further considerations of the Allied High Command:
• The Supreme Commander has a lot on his to-do list. The number of units is now considerable.
• The next targets are to be Okinawa and Iwo Jima.
• After that, a landing in Japan itself will take place. It is noticeable that the large cities and priority targets cannot be reached directly by landing units. The Supreme Commander remembers the difficulties in the Solomon Islands, but the probability of counterattacks by the Japanese is significantly higher here.
• He chooses Kagoshima and Nagasaki as his first targets

By late summer 1945:
• The British and Australians work their way to Bangkok, Thailand is conquered.
• Okinawa and Iwo Jima are conquered by the Americans
• The Japanese cannot stop the numerical superiority of the Americans despite the greatest sacrifices, the landings at Kagoshima, Nagasaki and Hiroshima are gradually successful
• Japanese morale dwindles to zero due to the losses, the capitulations of the Axis powers in Europe, the declaration of war by the USSR and ultimately the dropping of atomic bombs in Japan, Japan surrenders.

Further thoughts from the Allied High Command:
• The Supreme Commander does not yet have a concept for the rematch with the roles reversed.
• Overall he thinks the Japanese are the more challenging side

@Jazon, thanks for the game! It was fun.

[Jazon]

HI!
Thanks for detailed AAR, after reading this I recall some of the situations I missed. Honestly, those brilliant Japanese landings in Singapore and Philippines was made based on plan provided by Tendraline user. They worked perfectly! However my landing in Dutch East Indies slugged, becasue HQ wasn't ready in time.

I recall one thing you guys can use to quickly conquer Burma: when you got Rangoon, and Burma surrenders, all its teritory turns Axis. Next turn, if there are no Allied units suddenly "surrounded" by Axis teritory, you can operational (by rail) transport your units from Rangoon to Mandalay. It saves two turns, in advance, and you Pop up near Kohima and Imphal instantly. Makes Allied player speechless.
Also taking Midway just few turns after Peral Harbor is possible, because you have Japanese SF unit nearby. Easy NM points and pressure on Allied player.

Another reflection of mine, if you play as Japan, and you are advancing on land, do not get yourself in war of attrition for longer then few turns. In long turn Japan just can't afford it. Later in the game delay in research in fighters and long range planes revanged on me badly. So, avoid "choke points" at any costs! My idea of sea invasion on India was good I guess, it was the execution that failed. General conclusion is, if you play as Japan, is a must be condition to try to elimnate either China, either India or (in favorable circumstances) Australia. Problem for Imperial Army is...geography. To conquer India you need to past through jungles in Burma and, even if you succeed as I did, that's not enough, because marshes in Ganges Valley again canalize your advance. The same in China, those mountain ranges, "supply deserts" make it a sluggish struggle.

With Navy, to be honest, I was never a "navy guy" and didn't know how to bite "great sea battle" subject. For me Navy was just a taxi and air support for my ground troops. Maybe soembody got an idea how to use it. I guess Japan needs to play aggresively at the beginning when they have superiority in Naval weapons tech. But how to do it, inflict heavy losses on Americans, without loosing much of your forces remains a mystery for me. Japanes Navy is intresting strategic feature: as long as you have it, even if you are not using it, the sole exsitence of it influences the Allied player strategy. As soon as you lose your main vessels, Allies can play bold!

Last thing for Axis player: You have no idea, how everything will start to collapse quickly. My peak was capturing Nepal with Paras, taking Xian, and Yanan, with Americans still being at Guadalcanal. Half year later, Americans broke the Island Chain, I lost most of my carriers, and was forced to withdraw from India, where superior in tech and supply American fighters took the air superiority and turned my supply with use of Strategic Bombers into shatters. Japan is not piece of cake. And beware of initial "diziness from Successes"! It may be fatal.

Cheers all,
Thanks for Game Petisch!