Liquidating the gaijin

[Chickenboy]

First off, an explanation is in order for the title of this new AAR. There's a fascinating wikipedia entry on the word origins of gaijin. Not all interpretations are impolite, merely pointed.

Secondly, Noobs are welcome here. Remembering back to my WiTP days, I very much enjoyed lurking on the forum reading some of the excellent AARs produced. I remember feeling somewhat sheepish about posting or contributing to any discussions on the forum because I feared I would ask too many dumb questions. There are no dumb questions here, folks. I enjoy the interplay with noobs and I learn a heck of a lot from other's views of the game. Skeptics, heretics and the rest of the lot are welcome to chime in when it suits them.

Thirdly, my honorable PBEM opponents: Crimguy, USSHenrico and now AW1Steve are asked to not partake of this AAR further. They're all upstanding gents, so I don't have any concern about this, but it's good to put this request in writing.
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This AAR is my take on a PBEM that I'm starting with AW1Steve. Steve may or may not elect to start his own AAR at a later time.

A word about my opponent: he's a seasoned veteran of WiTP and a regular forum rat like myself. I'm fortunate to have him as my honorable foe. Steve is going through a move in the near future, so we'll likely have a slow start to the campaign. That's OK by me, as it gives me the epoch that I need to plot the Japanese first turn. The blood won't really start flowing for a few weeks, but I'd like to start discussing some options for early IJ moves now.

A bit about myself as a gamer. I have always relished the defensive struggle in wargames. Were I asked to identify my strengths (if any), I would put rank defensive warfare, logistics and offensive prowess in that order. As an Allied player in WiTP, I found the first months to be my favorite. A furious struggle against overwhelming odds, with the hope of future redemption if I could just...hold...on. I think that is what is drawing me towards the Japanese side in this game. Call me sick, but I look forward to the defensive reposte that will inexorably come. I find that I do a better job managing fewer resources than I do more resources, and can use them more effectively. I can't wait until I get kamikazes. [8D]

Before getting into the nitty gritty of settings and whatnot, I wanted to give a tip of the hat to some of the other AARs on this and the WiTP forum. I learned a ton from Wobbly / Andy Mac vs. PzB, Canoerebel v. Miller and now Q-ball v. Cuttlefish. Once you can read through the backstory and humor [:D], Captain Mandrake and Sprior, et. al. is also very informative. There have been some Some great writers and strategists in that lot.

A particular nod goes to Cuttlefish, Q-ball and Canoerebel for their AAR format. Very easy to read, insightful and informative summary of various theaters. No offense, gents, but I'm going to steal your format-it's just right. [&o] I just hope to do it justice.

I hope that some lessons for some of the more advanced games can be applied / re-applied to those starting out under patch III. There are some obvious differences in gameplay that I'll touch on in a later post or two, but I'm looking for retrospective analysis from those that wish they could have done something different in hindsight.

I will not be using WiTP tracker (I've tried and failed) in this game. My (mis)management of the IJ economy will be by rough calculations, dead reckoning and Kentucky windage. I don't go nuts on expansion of HI or a/c frames or factories, so I'm not anticipating too much of a problem. In general, I try to dump as much oil, fuel and resources into the home islands as I possibly can and hope for the best.

Right. 'nuff said already. The setup:

Patch III AE:

Scenario 1
PDU on
non-historical turn
Japanese surprise on
One day turns
USN historical (read: defective) torpedoes
+/- 15 day historical ship arrival
Advanced weather effects

HRs:

1. PP paid for LCU movement out of restricted command borders. Exception: I'm going to allow myself to use the four Thai Army 'divisions' within 4 hexes of the Thai border. Steve will have the same option for the (foreign) Indian troops around Burma. Anything more than that and we've gotta pay the PP.

2. No strategic bombing before 1943. No strategic bombing before 1944 in China.

3. Reasonable altitude settings for a/c to avoid "Stratosphere sweep" phenomena. In general, I'll rarely fly Oscars or Zeroes higher than 25,000 feet, Nates will be restricted to 15,000 feet. Hurricanes will be OK to the higher altitude, whilest P39s and P40s will be restricted to 15,000 feet and 20,000 feet, respectively.

4. Turn 1: Allies may not change existing default CAP units. No TFs may be created. Those already in existence, may be moved (e.g., Force Z). I don't insist the Allies conduct the pointless death ride.

5. Limited 'expand to fit ship' functionality for IJNAF, USN, RN. Exception: USN CVE-R units.

Not many house rules, really. We tend to play a 'gentleman's game'-if something is irreversably borked, we agree to change the gameplay. Not afraid of house rules as a patch in the interim.

Strategy for first few turns:

1. Manila strike with KB.

I'm working on the rest...[8|]

Welcome forumites and please enjoy!

[Canoerebel]

Good luck, Chickenboy.  I like your house rules (especially politcal points and strategic bombing).  May the game give you countless hours of challenging, invigorating, and sometimes tense fun.

[thegreatwent]

Subscribed. Good luck Chickenboy[:)]

[Capt. Harlock]

Those already in existence, may be moved (e.g., Force Z). I don't insist the Allies conduct the pointless death ride.

Very sensible HR. British Intelligence found out about the Japanese invasion of Malaya while the troop transports were still at sea, so the RN should be allowed to react as the commander judges fit.

[Chickenboy]

I spent an hour and a half this morning giving orders to those units on just Hokkaido and the Kuriles. [8|] This first turn will take a while.

First orders for this region does bring up the question about what to do with KB and support.

I'm thinking of splitting KB up for the Manila strike. My thoughts are to have 5 of the fleet carriers there (minus Kaga) deliver the goods (with LBA from Formosa) to Manila. The main KB will stick around for a day or so to polish off stragglers from Manila or Hong Kong and / or reapply administrative punishment to Manila.

Since I don't plan on using too many torpedoes versus Manila, I may be able to stretch the operational envelope with KB. Two days worth of strikes on Manila will likely use only 50% of my sorties for the TF, leaving me with plenty against other shipping in the region.

I was considering spliting off Kaga and a small contingent (maybe 1 BB, a couple DDs) to rendevous with mini-KB around Saipan, then moving this body to Truk. Since I'm leaving PH intact, this group could serve to counter any uber-aggressive move against Kwajalein or the rest of the Marshalls. I would keep this group near Kwajalein or Truk, hoping to keep it under the fighter and torpedo shield of Kwajalein, for example.

Questions:

1. Would this be sufficient deterence?

2. With the main KB body: after smacking Manila and stragglers around for a turn or two, then what?

I'm tempted to go for an early landing of Palembang and Southern Malaya with the added coverage. Risky, but if successful, it would cut off any evacuation of Northern Malayan troops while also cutting off egress / evacuation for some of the Singapore garrison. This could be reasonably done in the first 7 days.

[anarchyintheuk]

You should be able to finish it by Sunday. [;)]

[Chickenboy]

One more bit of philosophy.

The AAR title reflects my goal in the game. Kind of an alternate history. I want to know what the war would have looked like if all defensive fights would have been as bitter and nasty as Iwo Jima, Pelileu and Okinawa were. What if Kuribayashi had more say in the conduct of the defensive war beyond Iwo Jima?

Instead of squandering a good year and a half of the war on half measures of defense and underestimating the enemy, I'm looking for places from day one where I can bleed him dry and kill him.

Defensive goals-in order of priority:

1. Kill LCUs. Badly damaging them is OK, but with mountains of supply and ample reinforcements available to the Allies, I'd much rather kill them. Manuever warfare to ensure surrender en masse will be very important. I will also be looking at places to set up early 'reinforcement traps'-allowing him to reinforce a key point early in the war with his meager ground forces so as to give me more forces to kill with overwhelming strength. I envision some island landings with the explicit goal of just killing support units and then withdrawing.

2. Sink ships. I consider this the primary aim of the IJNAF and KB. Although I'm only to late April 1942 in one of my PBEMs, I consider port raids to be an important part of this philosophy for the KB. Sinking 40-50 ships in Manila and dozens in Perth, Colombo and (maybe) Sydney / Brisbane is, I believe, a good use of the KB in the early going.

3. Forward deploy for unrestricted submarine warfare. The IJN submarines seem to be an effective tool which I intend to use aggressively for interdiction.

4. Start digging in and setting up defensive perimeter now. The IJ construction battalions need a lot of pick and shovel time to effect decent defensive fortifications. I intend to site these critical battalions in terrain with terrain modifications along likely lines of advance.

5. Spoiling attacks. Capturing North and NW Australia, for example, will be done as a means of prolonging the timetable for the defensive battle. If I can 'buy' 4-6 months more for DEI, this effort could be a worthwhile goal. Similarly for Chittagong or E. India-I'm only interested in the defensive diversion.

[Ketza]

It is my experience when you hit Manila to hit it from the Japanese Islands side and launch one hex from the coast for best results. For some reason striking from the the other side is much less effective. I dont know why this is.
 
Also you dont need to bomb Iba. Just send a bombardment TF of about 8dds in and they will level the place.
 
Use every other plane in range to bomb Clark and Manila of course.
 
I use all of the main CVs for the strike. I figure if I am doing this to sink subs I might as well get them all and I typically do get 90% of them. Sometimes I have found after extensive testing the Betties from Takao just dont get that many hits on the ships. If your making the major up front commitment dont take a risk on bad dice rolls. Besides once you split the KB up after this you can be back in the Cent Pac in a few days if you send the faster ships there.

[Mynok]

Well...I don't like the Manila gambit personally, but I'll admit I've not played the AE GC. Scenario 1 I presume?

Those Pearl BBs will be a thorn in your side pretty soon.

[Canoerebel]

BB don't seem particularly effective in AE from what I've seen and from what I've read of other's games.  They do serve as good torpedo magnets/sponges in carrier TFs, which is an important role, but the utility of the slow BBs isn't particularly great in AE.
 
A Manila strike was very effective in WitP.  From the few I've read about in AE the same seems to hold true.  The "Shipwreck of their Hopes" AAR is a good example.

[topeverest]

Chickenboy,

Good luck,

I really struggle with the Manila vs PH gambit. Quite frankly, I find even the idea of leaving 8 BB's and the remainder of the fleet intact a bitter prospect.

Please help me understand the tradeoff you are making. I think I understand the downside. What do you think you will gain, or what do you hope to gain from a geography or allied losses perspective?

Thanks in advance...and BANZAI!

[Mynok]

Well, to expound on my perspective...those subs at Manila are handicapped by ineffective torps for their entire useful life. They really don't pose much of threat. Certainly not as much as the later subs with real torps. Meanwhile, the US has an intact fleet with which he can oppose any invasion not fully supported by the KB...which cannot be everywhere.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: topeverest

Chickenboy,

Good luck,

I really struggle with the Manila vs PH gambit. Quite frankly, I find even the idea of leaving 8 BB's and the remainder of the fleet intact a bitter prospect.

Please help me understand the tradeoff you are making. I think I understand the downside. What do you think you will gain, or what do you hope to gain from a geography or allied losses perspective?

Thanks in advance...and BANZAI!

Thanks topeverest...

There's a thread I started in the War Room ("Pearl versus Manila-a new Paradigm"). It has a really interesting back and forth on the subject. I'd encourage you to check it out to see the differing POV both pro and con.

In a nutshell-although the friendly Martian Jap Fanboy is right about the torpedoes, it's a choice about whether to take out 40-50 ships (including around 25 submarines) out of the Asiatic fleet or to sink a few and damage a larger number of BBs and other ships at Pearl. I just think killing Allied subs while you can is a more efficient means of protecting IJN shipping in the long run.

The beauty of this game is to allow a reasonable approximation of an alternate history.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Ketza
Just send a bombardment TF of about 8dds in and they will level the place.

A bombardment fleet of 8 dds? Really?

[Ketza]

My test runs averaged 150 runway hits. I add a CL in there to now that I think about it.

[Onime No Kyo]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

ORIGINAL: Ketza
Just send a bombardment TF of about 8dds in and they will level the place.

A bombardment fleet of 8 dds? Really?

Dude! Stop talking and play the game. [:'(]

Good luck! [:)]

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Ketza

My test runs averaged 150 runway hits. I add a CL in there to now that I think about it.

Ketza,

Didn't you comment in the other thread about your experiences with Allied players that get way too aggressive way too early as a result of having more of their shiny battleships unscathed? I think you said that you can nip that in the bud with an aggressive defense early.

Kind of like this? (from one of my PBEMs today):

January 15, 1942

Morning Air attack on TF, near Rekata Bay at 114,132

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid spotted at 36 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 17
B4Y1 Jean x 10
B5N1 Kate x 30



Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
B4Y1 Jean: 4 damaged
B5N1 Kate: 1 destroyed, 15 damaged

Allied aircraft losses

Allied Ships
BB Pennsylvania, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
BB California, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
BB Tennessee, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 2, on fire
CA San Francisco
BB Arizona, Torpedo hits 1
DD Ralph Talbot

[Chickenboy]

Incremental changes to first turn preparation. Today was "Manchuko and Korea" day. I gave first turn orders to units in Manchuko and Korea. Mostly, they fell into three categories:

1. Shipping: Ordered the small number of ships in coastal Korean ports to sortie. A number of small xAKLs will be sent to small ports on the Home islands with repair shipyards. These (mostly Kiso-class) xAKLs will be converted to much more useful PBs at these small HI ports.

I've ordered transport ships in Keijo to begin loading resources with CS: orders to the mainland. Port Arthur shipping will be similarly divided. Small xAKLs will be sent for conversion. CMs and cCMs will be sent to Nagasaki with orders for 'no mine laying'. I'll use those mines elsewhere, where they'll be more useful.

Theres a few ACMs that start in ports that don't need them. These will be redistributed to support other minefields. There's one at both Shimonoseki and Port Arthur that could use some ACM support.

2. Base preparations: Probably not needed now. I am making note of which Korean and / or Manchuko LCUs I'd like to buy out with PPs later. In the meantime, bases will not expand fortifications or airfields in this region.

3. Aircraft: Mostly training.

A. I've gone through the leaders of the groups and switched out a number that were subpar. I look for *at least* 50+ in Inspiration, Leadership and Air categories. Seems like most of the IJNAF commanders have aggression of >60, so that's kind of a gimmee.

B. Overstuffed the groups with replacement pilots until I could stuff no more. I've set the pilot draw to 'replacements'.

C. Weeded out some quality pilots for immediate integration into the general reserve pools. For fighter pilots, these would have AIR skills of >68-70. High EXP and DEF are bonuses. This yielded maybe 10-15 fighter pilots. For bomber pilots, the bar is set lower. Anyone with a GROUND bombing skill of 65+ makes the cut for integration into the pool.

D. Set the balance to training. 90% training, short (1) range, moderate to low altitude. Here's an example of my group training setting:






The small floatplane Daitai in Southern Korea will be tasked with Naval Search covering the approach to the straits between Shimonoseki and Nagasaki.

Summary: All told, these changes took about an hour to make. Since Manchuko and Korea will form the backbone of the IJAAF training cadres, I felt it important to get these areas on automatic pilot from day one.

Tidbit for JFBs: Three of your KB CV Captains are actually pretty poor in 'naval' skill. I think they're around 35 or so. Since the ability to steer one's ship is pretty important for individual CV captains, they're worth changing out ASAP.

You can do this before the onset of hostilities. Since KB is at anchor in Etorofu Jima, alternate KB Captains can be selected for immediate replacement. It's worth the PP cost, since so much success will be riding on the efficiency of this offensive group.

Tomorrow: China preparations.

[Chickenboy]

Well, it wasn't 'tomorrow', but here's my plans for China on turn one:

1. Northeast (bordering Mongolia): I've got plenty of decent LCUs here that aren't really necessary to hold in place. I'm reordering these forces Southwest and prepping them for one of my central China targets. More below.

2. Central China: My initial thrust in China will take place here. The goal: liquidate the gaijin in the triangle Chengchow-Loyang-Nanyang.

These bases are ripe for early plunder. Taken together, I intend to rupture my opponent's left flank, opening the road to Sian. With maximum effort, these three bases can be captured within the first month of the campaign. I'm not convinced of the merits of investing Sian, but I am convinced of the merits of him *thinking* that's where I'm going. A regional withdrawal to support Sian on his part would be welcome.

Such a defense (Chinese withdrawal / retreat to Sian) also leaves Changsa in a precarious salient. I encourage the growth of this salient.

All non-essential defensive LCUs will make best available speed towards rail junctions of Suchow with Kaifeng as jump off goal. Kaifeng is a nice jump off hex-armored units can use the road hex to the Southwest to destroy pockets of enemy rabble running around the countryside and, eventually, sweep NW to cut off Chengchow from retreat to Nanyang.

Infantry and artillery support will be given to Ichang. Some aggressive Allied players invest this city almost immediately with the units surrounding. I don't know if Steve will attempt this yet, but it is my intent to hold Ichang.

Available IJAAF units will begin bombardment of troop concentrations in the open.

3. Southern China: Organization / consolidation of defense. Many bases have too many garrison troops. This surplus will be consolidated and sent forward towards Kaifeng or West to Chuhsien or Nanchang, clearing the route along the way.

Surplus LCUs from Nanking / Shanghai will be sent West to Chuhsien or Nanchang.

4.Southwest China: The usual Hong Kong assault will take place. This stack is set to 'move' to make up more ground initially. I'll set them to 'combat' when they get closer. Hong Kong Port will be attacked by the bombers available at Canton. I'm not expecting much out of this attack, but it's better than nothing, I suppose. I'm ordering Naval Search for the larger recon unit (8 planes)-that should give me a good feel of where the scattered ships that flee Hong Kong will wind up. The other recon unit will recon Hong Kong proper.

By consolidating needed garrison troops, I've managed to scrape up a regiment and a light armored unit. These will proceed due North from the vicinity of Amoy to Kanhsien. My hope is to cut off road supply in SW China. The longer I do this, the harder it gets for my opponent to extricate his LCUs intact.

[Q-Ball]

Good luck Chickenboy, I am interested in seeing that China move now with all the Patch changes.

Certainly, clearing that Central Plain is a good idea, it's tough for the Chinese to defend, and there is supply production there. Also clearing the rail line to Hankow is an excellent idea.

The other area is Wenchow and that area "South" of Shanghai (well, WEST on the map). That pocket also needs to be eliminated.

If those two things are accomplished, you can set up a pretty stout MLR, or keep going.