RHSCVO Reaping the Whirlwind

[okami]

Opponent=Mistmatz
More to follow.

[okami]

From the Personal Journal of Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku:
 
Today July 14 1941 the world changed forever. At an audiance with His Imperial Highness, everything changed. Since the disaster of Kalkin Gol in 1939 the Army has had to walk lightly in the presence of the Sun. Today the Whirlwind Reaped. The Emperor presonally took the head of General Tojo. If I had not been there I would not believe it could have happened. Not since the the Restoration has a member of the Imperial family taken direct action against the ruling government. Although it is well within his perview, it is just not done. And to execute a high ranking officer in front of the High Command, the message was clear. The world had changed. "From today the forces of the Imperial Army and the Fleet shall be under my personal direction. No general order for the assumption of hosilities will be directed to any military force without my prior authorization. Admiral Yamamoto I have read your proposal on an attack against the Americans at Pearl Harbour. This plan will be implimented no later than November 14th. We are in dire straits. The oil embargo will cripple our nation inside of a year. General Tojo said the Americans would not react to our moves in Indo-China, he was wrong. I suggest that you also may not wish to be wrong. Dismissed.

[okami]

From the Personal Journal of Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku:

Nov 14th !941- Need in my wildest imaginations as a child did think that one day I would not only work with but actually side by side with the Son of Heaven. Carrier Divisions 1,2 and 5 have left Home waters on their journey to the Hawaian Islands. I was surprised in the early morning when the Emperor showed up unannounced aboard the Battleship Nagato. This has become a habit of His and I for one am not very fond of it. The conversation when something like this.
SofH: Sit, sit... So Admiral they are off then?
Y: Yes on schedule for the strike on Dec 8th. The carriers have sailed in three groups by division and will strike the American fleet at anchor just after 7:00 am. As you know we could never be sure of the modifications to the torpedoes for the initial wave of attack and so I have instructed that bombs be carried by our B5N1 naval bombers.
SofH: I would prefer that you leave that decision to the wing commander as they may have worked the bugs out by the time they arrive.
Y: Of course, I will have a communicay sent at once to that effect. Fighters from Akagi and Kaga are to sweep the skies ahead of the first wave. Fighters from Hiryu will actually escort the first wave to their target. B5N1 main target is battleship row and the flying boat houses. D3A2's of the first wave have been assigned the airfields. There will be no divebombing attacks on the American fleet. The follow on wave from Shokaku and Zuikaku have the same mission. Soryu's planes have been given the task of finding and sinking any and all shipping in the water in and around Pearl Harbour.
SofH: The plan is good Admiral I am pleased. How long?
Y: Huh... What do you mean how long?
SofH: How long can we fight them? You have been to America. How long can we fight them?
Y: I will run wild for six months no more.
SofH: See that you do.

[BigBadWolf]

ORIGINAL: okami

Today the Whirlwind Reaped. The Emperor presonally took the head of General Tojo.

For a moment there I thought you were metaphoricly speaking [:'(][&o]

[1EyedJacks]

Aghhh - Christmas present! Thank you for the AAR - it looks like it will B a fun read. I'm playing EOS with GoodBoyLaddie (and rather impatiently waiting for a turn [:D]); can I ask which flavor of RHS you and Mismatz are laying?

Will this AAR be along the lines of Cuttlefish or will you be discussing stratagy, battles, and production?

[goodboyladdie]

It says CVO right at the top Mike. How much have you had to drink? If the answer is plenty, open your inbox and play the turn - I need all the help I can get...

[1EyedJacks]

ORIGINAL: goodboyladdie

It says CVO right at the top Mike. How much have you had to drink? If the answer is plenty, open your inbox and play the turn - I need all the help I can get...

<laughter> Now that's a tad embarassing... [8|]

[okami]

ORIGINAL: 1EyedJacks

Aghhh - Christmas present! Thank you for the AAR - it looks like it will B a fun read. I'm playing EOS with GoodBoyLaddie (and rather impatiently waiting for a turn [:D]); can I ask which flavor of RHS you and Mismatz are laying?

Will this AAR be along the lines of Cuttlefish or will you be discussing stratagy, battles, and production?

I am not the writer that Cuttlefish is so this unfortunately can not be like his. The focus of this AAR will be at the strategic level. Battle reports, production and focus of war efforts.

[okami]

From the Personal Journal of Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku:
Nov 18th 1941 the day is raining. Today I had an argument with the Emperor, in as much as one can have an argument with someone who by their very nature is always right. The problem is two fold, according to the General Staff, partisan activity in China is on the rise. And yet operations in the SRA and the Philipines will see the shift of some nine divisions away from the area of conflict. It can not be helped. We will have to hold on in China while these formations are used elsewhere. The 38th and 104th&nbsp;Divisions have been tasked with the capture of Hong Kong. In phase two the 38th will be reassigned to either the Philipines or Java depending on how operations are moving. 104th Division will remain in the Canton area. I have convinced the Emperor, for now at least, to release troops from the Kwangtung Army for use in North Central China. How many troops I can get will be depend on his mood on the day of movement. I am riding the Dragon without a saddle.

[okami]

From the Personal Journal of Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku:
Luzon we must secure this island. To that endevour have been committed the following forces. In the first wave the 3rd Tank Company will land at Vigan to secure the port on Dec 8th. Following on in quick succession will be the 48th Motorized Division, the 65th Brigade, the 2nd and 4th Divisions. All units are components of 14th Army. From the south the 16th Army will contribute the 16th Division in a landing at Legaspi on the 10th of December. One Hundred and Eighty-Four of our best and newest fighter the A6M2 will clear the skies of the Philipines and escort G series bombers on missions over Luzon. The objectives are Clark Field and Manila. I expect this will only take two to three months to complete as recon flights estimate the Americans and their Philipine allies have some 200,000 fighting men all ranks and service. If only I had more time. Time is a luxury I do not have.

[okami]

From the Personal Journal of Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku:
Operations in Malaya will be carried out by 25th Army. Khota Barhu will be attacked by 18th Motorized Division on Dec 8th. Meanwhile 5th Division, 3rd Tank Brigade, and 14th Tank Regiment with some eleven artillery units will land at Singora. There immediate objective is Alor Star and Georgetown followed by a stead drive down the peninsula towards Singapore. As with the Philipine operation, this should be completed in a two month time frame. To cover the flank of this operation 15th Army made up of 33rd, 55th and the 2nd Guards Divisions will drive towards Moulmein and Rangoon in Burma. There will also be mop up operations in Cochin-China.

[Gen.Hoepner]

Hi Okami. What about Mindanao? Are u planning to land here in the first days or simply bypassing it?

[okami]

Editors notes: For those of you who hate the first turn "teleport" move of the Japanese, you will not see it in this game. I informed Mistmatz that I would only be doing the original landings on the first day, with only one ecception. I will not be landing on Wake on Dec 7th and there will only be two landings instead of three on Luzon on the first turn. As to the teleport it may be excessive but it has basis in historical fact. It is a simulation of the sailing of three separate invasion fleets in the weeks before Dec 7th. The US navy tracked two of these and fail to inform both the British government and Gen MacArthur. I personally have no problem with the "teleport" as it rids us of the fact that the allies get to act from 20/20 hindsight in the first weeks of the war instead of acting like deers in the headlights or chickens with their heads cutoff like they actually did IRL. I am not using it because I see this first CVO game as a playtest of Sid's and companies concepts of how the war started and so I want to see the purity in the Japanese actions to see if the model they have built actually works. I am a very aggressive player and I will take greater casualties then the Japanese did in the first weeks of the war. But I expect that I will also cause more than they did. Ships are going to sink. Well that is my opinion and it is free. Feel free to express your own here as well.

[okami]

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner

Hi Okami. What about Mindanao? Are u planning to land here in the first days or simply bypassing it?

56th Brigade is marked to deal with Mindanao but only after the fall of Amboina which is it's first task. I will be isolating the Philipines by targeting Tarakan and Manado in the first week of the war. Good to here from you, welcome aboard.

[Gen.Hoepner]

I'd suggest not to care much for Mindanao. 56th Bde can be usefull to conquer Timor and the rest of the southern DEI. Mindanao won't bother you much once it's cut out from supply routes. Once Luzon falls Mindano will fast be conquered without any problems imho

[1EyedJacks]

Does CVO have 1 para unit for Japan at the start of the game which is stationed in Siagon? I sent my Raiders into Miri for the oil center... The base is undefended in EOS.

CVO, if I remember right, has the best carrier fleet of the RHS mods for Japan. Can you share a little on what you start out with and how soon you'll be seeing your carrier fleet augmented with new CVs/CVLs/CVEs? Will you have the opportunity to convert Yamato to a CV later in the war?

I kept a pretty standard turn 1 also, only pulling back the attacks in New Britain. In truth, there was really nowhere else to send all of those LCU transports that are near Kwajalein then to invade Hawaii... <laughter>

[okami]

Rest assured GH that I will be lazy in my taking of Mindanao. Timor is the focus of my strategy in phase two in the DEI. I am striving for a realistic aproach to my invasions. I assess what would have to be attacked and what could be bypassed. In phase one Amboina and Kendari must be taken to open the way for the invasion of Timor. Also Manado and Tarakan must be taken to isolate Mindanao and open the way for the invasion of Balikpapan in phase two.

[okami]

1EyedJacks: In CVO there are three para units. One stationed at Kwajalein which I moved to Palau. One stationed at Truk which will para into Gasmata on Dec 8th. The Raiders are on Haunan Island China and are useless until you move planes with range to them. You could use them to para into China if you wanted to. I don't know if you get a convertion of Yamato in CVO. If you do I will not be doing so. I have found allied player to be sloppy in their play as the war progresses. Battleships can cause a great deal of havok when employed properly. I have read that Japanese CL's are nothing but big DD's, and while this is true, a bigger Japanese DD is just how I use them. In CVO you must increase your military shipyards if you expect to use any of the late war carriers. There are a lot of them. I have already gathered all the CVL and CVE's into the KKB(Kiddy Kido Bhutai). As the first turn has already been done I can tell you they have already been a stelar success. CVO has no respawning so we will not be seeing the Marblehead or Boise ever again.[:D][:D][:D][:D]
&nbsp;
Note to ny59giants: I know she is your favourite ship but as a Japanese player she just is a pain in the ass. I am glad to be rid of her.[8D]

[okami]

From the briefing of the Joint High Command: Dec. 8th 1941
&nbsp;
Hostilities between the forces of Imperial Japan and those of Great Britain, the Neatherlands and the United States of America began at&nbsp;0300 this morning. Our invasion force off the coast of Malaya was attacked by a British submarine. No casualties were suffered and the task force moved off to make their landings. Landings at Khota Bharu began at 0430 under light to medium resistance. The 18th Division is ashore and moving inland. At 0530 this morning the submarine RO-33 reported putting two torpedoes into the USS Boise off the coast of Zamboanga. Minelaying operations off the port of Manila have been successfully concluded. Carriers from CVD 3and4 report the sinking of the USS Marblehead off the&nbsp;coast of Borneo near the port of Tarakan. The 12th Corps made up of 38th and 104th Divsions and supporting elements have invested Hong Kong. No report yet on Nagumo's force out at Pearl Harbour.&nbsp;

[okami]

I have gone light on changing the Japanese economy until I can tell where the problems are. I know I have to increase Naval Construction and will do so slowly and in stages so as not to eat all of my generated supply. First of the major over hauls was airframe construction. I looked at the number of engines of each type being built and how many of them I actually needed. I increased Nakajima engines and the ones for the Betty. You start off with two factories producing Zero and alot of factories producing garbage. I converted seven factories and will be producing 232 airframes within 30 days. Another plane you need but do not produce is the L2D2. It is not as good as in CHS but you get alot of reinforcements and you start will about 50 of them but no production. I converted one factory to build these. I increased the Betty as you again do not have enough of these to fill out all squadrons or cover reinforcements. I have not changed armament or vehicle factories yet and will await to see if it is needed. And the golden rule in Witp game is.... DO NOT USE AUTOCONVOY. Can't stress that enough.