Shattered Vow

[Canoerebel]

ORIGINAL: anarchyintheuk
If they don't hit you on Day 1, your cap is going to be fatigued for Day 2. Tough call, do you have any % set on rest?

No, none set to rest.

[paullus99]

That's a lot of fighters. I can't imagine, at this date (even with this particular scenario), that he'd be able to come out on top. Of course, you are only going to get stronger, whereas he will be getting progressively weaker.

[Canoerebel]

5/3/44 and 5/4/44
 
Kendari:  A nice, quiet turn as the Allied landings commence at Kendari.  The concentration of carrier-based air did pick off a bunch of small Japanese land-based air strikes.  The next big decision will be whether to withdraw my ships, now that they are mostly unloaded, rather than chancing a battle with fatigued pilots (my guys are probably much more tired after flying 60% and 70% CAP for two days).
 
KB:  Remained near Tawi Tawi.  Two moderate-sized Allied LBA raids from Manado tangled with the CAP (277 Zeroes).  The Allies lost a perhaps twenty aircraft over two days without accomplishing anything.
 
Balikpan:  Allied 4EB really clobbered this airfield, destroying more than 100 aircraft on the ground over the two-day turn.
 
Waingapu:  3rd Marines takes this base from a tank unit.
 
Thailand/Burma:  No real changes here yet.  The Allies continue the sieges of Tavoy and Bangkok.
 
China:  I think Miller will move on Kweilin now, but he could also (or instead) move south to Nanning.

[Canoerebel]

We came closer to clashing than I had realized - upon opening the turn file I found the KB positioned NE of Balikpan and just SW of Dongala, Celebes.  We ended up about 15 hexes apart. 
 
I am nearly ready to give battle, but after two days of 60%-70% CAP, my pilots are at 30% fatigue.  So I'm going to retire to Darwin to (1) refresh carrier missions sorties; (2) replace aircraft losses; and (3) rest the pilots.
 
The Allies will have about 1350-1400 AV at Darwin.  The garrison consists of a Guards division and an Infantry division - a total of about 900 AV.  I probably don't have enough unless the prolonged bombing campaign against Kendari has left the garrison low on supplies.

[Canoerebel]

5/5/44 and 5/6/44
 
KB:  IJN carriers take position near Balikpan where the 300 Zero CAP takes on some Allied 4EB.  Surprisingly, this time the Zeros handle the B-24s pretty well.
 
Allied carriers:  Will arrive at Darwin in a day or two.
 
Kendari: Nearly all Allied troops have arrived at scene.  With 1400 AV to 950AV, I'll try a probing deliberate attack tomorrow.
 
Breaking the Ice:  It's probably time to take on the KB if I can do so in an area where Miller can't fully employ an air ambush like the one he has orchestrated at Mindanao.  Two possibilities come to mind - (1) send a big juicy transport convoy to the Kolako/Watampone area near Makassar or even at Makassar, or (2) a smaller amphibious force to land at Dongala, Celebes.  Well ahead of the transports, station the Allied carriers in the big gulf east of Dongala.  To transit the Makassar Strait the KB would have to pass close to the Allied carriers. Need to give that some thought or see if I can come up with something better.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Balikpan:  Allied 4EB really clobbered this airfield, destroying more than 100 aircraft on the ground over the two-day turn.

That's huge. Good shootin' Tex.

[eloso]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

But answer me this: Why can't we have a game where if you order carriers not to react they don't?

Rhetorical question?

A game designer, for some sick reason, may think it makes the game more exciting by removing control from a player. I don't understand this argument since the series (UV, WITP, AE) is about giving the player total control over minute details that other games don't even come close to offering.

I'm sorry, but I cannot share your frustration since my experiences have been different.

[Canoerebel]

My opponent sent the last turn late yesterday afternoon with a note that he was "out all day tomorrow so next turn will be Saturday morning."  I'm not sure what happened to Friday in the equation, but we're on leave today and possibly tomorrow.  I just hope my opponent hasn't gotten lost in some kind of time warp in which he has lost a day.  May England has a Daylight Skipping Day analagous to America's Daylight Savings Time.  It would permit the English to bypass the horrors of summer so that they could really savor the long, dreary, dank and cold autumn and winter months.

P.S. 

P.P.S.  Miller has been my opponent in UV, WitP, and AE.  Without exception he has been amazingly regular in flipping turns....except for the one three-week period during which he had no internet during a move.

P.P.P.S.  While he's gone I'm scouring the map trying to figure out how to break the logjam in the DEI.

[JohnDillworth]

My opponent sent the last turn late yesterday afternoon with a note that he was "out all day tomorrow so next turn will be Saturday morning." I'm not sure what happened to Friday in the equation, but we're on leave today and possibly tomorrow. I just hope my opponent hasn't gotten lost in some kind of time warp in which he has lost a day. May England has a Daylight Skipping Day analagous to America's Daylight Savings Time. It would permit the English to bypass the horrors of summer so that they could really savor the long, dreary, dank and cold autumn and winter months.

P.S.

P.P.S. Miller has been my opponent in UV, WitP, and AE. Without exception he has been amazingly regular in flipping turns....except for the one three-week period during which he had no internet during a move.

P.P.P.S. While he's gone I'm scouring the map trying to figure out how to break the logjam in the DEI.

thanks, The Against the Wind AAR report is heating up nicely for those of you wishing for alternative viewing!. these are my 2 favorite AARs:

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2254468

[Canoerebel]

5/7/44 and 5/8/44
 
I didn't expect Miller back until tomorrow, but he showed up this afternoon.  So we're back in the saddle.
 
KB:  The IJN carriers leave Balikpan and head north.  SS Salmon misses with a salvo of torpedoes fired at CV Zuikaku - Miiler's been leading a charmed life for the past three weeks as the KB has steamed in heavily-patroled waters.
 
Allied Carriers:  Have now refueled, replaced lost aircraft, and in some cases upgraded.  These ships will probably depart Darwin tonight to assist with upcoming operations or to battle the KB.
 
Pending Operations:  (1) The Dadjangas-loaded transports are at Morotai, but with the KB in the area they won't go anywhere until their is an opportunity; (2) Transports have been moved to Ternate to load troops for Dongala, a base at the midpoint of Celebes.  Dongala is lightly held and I will risk a quick in/quick out amphibious assault if I get a window.  (3) Troops prepping for Bandjermasis are at Manado, but I need some time to get transports in and out of that advanced, and therefore exposed base.  (4) Finally, two divisions prepped for Balikpan are aboard transports that have just passed Suva.

[Canoerebel]

5/9/44 and 5/10/44

KB: Moves through the central Philippines Islands and takes station northeast of Mindanao.

Allied Carriers: Departed Darwin and took station west of Babar. A sub put a TT into Saratoga (FLT damage 9, so no problem keeping her with the fleet at the moment). The sub was destroyed. The carriers are in good position to protect additional landings at Kendari. Tomorrow the carriers head to a point west of Ceram. If the KB doesn't move south, the Allied carriers will remain there momentarily.

Kendari: The Alies should have all troops and supplies ashore within two days. Then the Allies will try their first probing attack.

Bandjermasin: This important base is held by two Japanese units. The Allied troops prepping for this base are at Manado - a forward base. I've detailed a handful of xAPs to report to Manado, load these troops, and shift them to Boela where an invasion force can assemble.

Dadjangas: The troops prepped for this base remain aboard transports at Morotai.

Thailand/Vietnam: Miller has landed a host of reinforcements at Saigon and is threatening from the east (good move by him, but his supply of units seems inexaustable).

Carrier Battle: Should the KB sally forth into the Makassar Straits again the Allies will give battle.

[Canoerebel]

5/11/44 and 5/12/44
 
Ouch! The Allies had a bunch of transport convoys landing troops at Kendari, Kolako, Watampone and Potato (well, this base north of Makassar isn't spelled "Potato," but it is something like that).  I had a combat TF providing protection to the Watampone and Potato groups, and the carriers were just east of Kendari.  But Miller slipped in a CL/DD force that managed to interdict both the Kendari and Kolako shipping - and the Japanese ships just kept coming and coming and coming.  I lost a bunch of xAK and a few more valuable ships including a DD, and LSI(L), and an xAP or two.
 
Carriers:  The KB has retired to Butuan on Mindanao's north shore.  This gives the Allies a bit of breathing room to finish the landings on southern Celebes (covered by more combat ships this time).  I'm also going to send a loaded transport TF from Ternate to Gorontalo (it's been there awaiting a window for several weeks now).  This TF will unload engineers and a CD force and extract the 7th Marine detachment that took the base.  The Allied carriers will move north to a point between Ternate and Gorontalo - so if the KB suddenly moves far to the south we could have an engagement.
 
 

[Canoerebel]

5/13/44 and 5/14/44
 
Chicken, boy!  Miller and I are engaged in a game of "chicken" - I think.  The Allied carriers will move a hex closer to Ternate while the KB has moved to the a point off the east coast of Mindanao.  That means the two carrier forces are in close proximity.  If either gives chase there will be a big battle.  As noted, my carriers remain essentially in place with CAP supplemented by perhaps 10 land-based fighter units.  I've also flooded the waters between Morotai and Mindanao with PT TFs and a few combat TFs in an effort to create "mayhem" conditions should the IJN carriers move south to strike.
 
Gorontalo, Celebes:  Most of the engineers and garrison troops have made it ashore.  A few ships will remain to complete unloading and then pick up a detachment of 7th Marines, so there's some exposure over the next two days.
 
Southern Celebes: Reinforcements continue to land at the southern Celebes bases:  Watampone and 'Potato' are now in good shape; the troops at Kendari will try their first probing attack in three days.
 
Burma:  Allied attacks at Tavoy have dropped forts to two, so the Allies may take this base.
 
Thailand:  The Japanese garrison at Chaing Mai (spelling) in northern Thailand has pulled out after taking some beatings recently.  This will free up a few Allied units to reinforce the attack at Nikon Richtisima (spelling) in eastern Thailand.  The Japanese are landing reinforcements at Saigon, so no more "quick and easy" conquests here, and the siege of Bangkok may get more difficult.
 
China:  The Japanese have isolated a Chinese stack that just pulled back from Nanning.  This suits me because I want to disperse these units and create an appearance of weakness in China. I don't want Miller to have the least concern about coastal China, because the Allies (beleive it or not) expect to be in a position to mount amphibious operations there in the not-to-distant future.

[Canoerebel]

5/16/44 and 5/17/44
 
No massive carrier battle as the KB remains in position off Mindanao's east coast.
 
Cagayan:  Allied 4EB hit this big airbase for the first time, meeting stiff resistance from mainly Tojo fighters.  The raid succeeded in destroying 63 aircraft on the ground, but it was a tough battle in which the Allies lost alot of 4EB.
 
Gorontolo and Manado:  The absence of Japanese carriers from this area permitted the Allies to finish offloading engineers at Gorontalo and to load both 7th Marines there and, at Manado, the troops prepping for Banjermasin.
 
Southern Celebes:  The Japanese CL/DD TF came to Watampone and tangled with an Allied DD TF.  The Allies got the better of the action, sinking one DD and setting two more afire.  A Japanese SNLF recaptured Madjene from the Aussie paratroops, but that will be temporary. With the Allies airbases at Kolako and Watampone building nicely, the Allies will soon control this region.
 
Borneo:  The Banjermasin-prepped troops will disembark at Ambon tomorrow and then combat load on transports.  If the KB remains near Mindanao, this invasion will take place within the week.  Also, two divisions prepped for Balikpan are nearing the end of the long journey from San Diego to Darwin.  Additional troops are scattered around the DEI.  If the Allies take Banjermasin, the invasion of Balikpan would follow shortly thereafter.
 
Kamikaze:  One gave his life for the emporer to take out a PT boat near Talaud Island.

[JohnDillworth]

Southern Celebes: The Japanese CL/DD TF came to Watampone and tangled with an Allied DD TF. The Allies got the better of the action, sinking one DD and setting two more afire. A Japanese SNLF recaptured Madjene from the Aussie paratroops, but that will be temporary. With the Allies airbases at Kolako and Watampone building nicely, the Allies will soon control this region.

Hi,
Shouldn't you have a pretty significant lead in DD's, CA's and CL's? Toss in the Brits and you should have 2-3 times as many. How does Miller continue to get uneven matchups in small surface actions? I know he can pick the time and place but you big lead in ships and the restricted attack space makes this pretty annoying no?

[Canoerebel]

I have a big lead in CA/CL, but the balance of power in DDs I'm not sure about.  I think I have an edge, but I'm not positive.
 
I currently have a bunch of combat TFs spread over the the DEI - at least three accompanying my carrier TF, at least three at Morotai protecting invasion transports, and several more at interior bases also providing protection (they steam for to provide protection for shipping that stops at forward bases like Sorong or Manado).  Then I have two or three helping protect advanced bases like Watampone/Kendari or for raiding forward Japanese bases.
 
Miller's use of combat ships has declined dramatically over the past three months.  He has the one CL/DD fleet operating in the southwestern DEI (possibly out of Banjermasin, Soerabaja, or Semereng) and it got beaten up by an Allied DD force.  As noted before, combat ship numbers is his biggest vulnerability at the moment, and sooner or later the Allies will stumble across more of his ships in a big way and that will really sting him.

[Canoerebel]

5/18/44 and 5/19/44
 
Two more turns of quiet as the time for new Allied offenses nears.

KB:  remains stationed near Mindanao.

Allied Carriers:  retired temporarily to quiet waters south of Ceram so that I could give my fighter pilots some rest (fatigue was in the high 20s).  If I can get the Banjermasin invasion force together in short order, the carriers will remain in place and then escort that invasion.  If it looks like the invasion won't occur for a week, I'll probably send the carriers forward a bit.

Burma:  An Allied deliberate attack at Tavoy drops forts to one, but the Allies take considerably more casualties.  We'll try again in a few days.

Kamikazees:  Miller lost five Judy kamikazes which missed in their efforts to hit a PT TF.  That's gotta be driving Miller nuts.

[Canoerebel]

5/20/44 and 5/21/44
 
KB: Remains at Mindanao, which helps me immensely.
 
Allied carriers:  Retired to Darwin to refuel and to permit the pilots to rest a bit before the next campaign gets underway. 

Borneo Invasions:  Allied transports are about to begin loading troops prepped for Bandermasin, Sampit, and Ketapang (spelling?) - three bases on Borneo's south coast.  I think all three are lightly held.  The Allies will definately land at the first two, but I'll wait to see how things look before sending a Marine regiment to Ketapang.  Also, the transports carrying the two Balikpan-prepped divisions have just arrived at Darwin.  They are unloading and will then combat load.  Alot will happen over the next few weeks if the KB remains stationed way up around Mindanao.

Kendari:  The first Allied probing deliberate attack lowered forts to five, came off at 1:8 odds (not good!), but inflicted as much damage on the Japanese as suffered by the Allies (that's a sign that the IJA garrison must be very low on supplies).  It may take awhile to reduce the base, but it's fall should be inevitable as I don't think there's any way for Miller to bring supplies to this now very isolated base.

Burma:  The Allies will try another attack at Tavoy tomorrow.

Superforts:  The mass of Superforts that arrived at Aden nearly two months ago are still trying to get their act together at Karachi.  They were transported there by xAK and getting them all assembled and into flying shape is an exercise in patience.  But patience is a virtue because the pilots are at about 50 experience now.  Once these squadrons are air-worth (if ever) I'll probably move them to Ambon or Manado and await a nice chance to hit some oil or ships in port at a relatively remote base.

[Canoerebel]

Update regarding the KB:  That last post was made from the combat report and before I actually saw the turn file.  When I opened the turn file I found that the KB had disappeared from the map.  No sign of it.  This was disconcerting, so I actually watched the combat replay - the first time I've done that in three or four months of game play (and, gracious, it seemed to take FOREVER).  Anyhow, I think doing so gave me an accurate picture of what happened.
 
On day one of our two-day turn, an Allied sub sighted two BB TFs a hex or two NE of the KB's previous position. Also, patrol aircraft reported a large concentration of combat ships further NE.  By day two, there were no further sightings.
 
So it appears that the KB retired to the NE from Mindanao.  From there, Miller can swing around the top of Luzon and head for Java.  ETA would be about six days.  Other options:  (1) the KB is retiring for some rest and refit; (2) the KB is moving east into CenPac or SoPac to raid; or (3) this is a temporary move and the KB will return to the Philippines shortly.
 
The Allies will shorlty be in a position to move whichever way appears free from the threat of the KB - (1) invade Dadjangas, Mindanao, with the force that has been ready for that objective for months now (and which is currently at Ternate); or (2) the newly created force that will hit Bandjermasin, Sampit, and possibly Ketapang on Borneo's south coast (this force is currently boarding transports at Ambon). 

[Canoerebel]

The situation in the DEI as we near late May '44: