Treespider vs Dixon - Treespider's Mod v1.2

[treespider]

Treespider’s Mod Version 1.2

After a brief e-mail exchange Mr. Mike Dixon and I are planning a new game using Treespider’s Mod Version 1.2. Hopefully we will not uncover too many kinks…EDIT : Already found 1 as I was reviewing my potential first turn orders....forgot to edit out the 8th Route Army --- they will be sent on the long road to Urumchi.

This is intended to be a PUBLIC AAR with comments from Treespider and Mike Dixon about the mod.

Treespider - Allied
Mike Dixon - Japan

Surprisingly Mike wanted to play Japan again. Before starting we agreed on some preliminary House Rules –

1. The mod was designed with the intent that no Restricted units be allowed to leave Manchukuo or Korea unless paid for with PP. So the rule is - No restricted units out of Kwantung/Korean Army...unless paid for with PP. This should prove difficult until much later around Jan 44.

2. Mike suggested - No allied forces into Thailand, or if they do then the Thai's are released from staying in Thailand (not sure if the Allies actually did move into Thailand in Dec 41 - if they did then cancel this one). Actually the Allies did have plans to advance into Thailand from Malaya but not from Burma...so that was agreeable - no Allied units into Thailand lest the Thai's be freed.

3. Mike also suggested - Japanese must undertake the initial Wake invasion (since it will probably fail then without this condition as as Japan I wouldn’t attempt it). However no allied carrier's around Wake whilst this first attempt occurs. I countered with - your choice...IMO...the first "invasion" was nothing more than a bombardment run by the CL's and DD's. Rest assured my CV's won't approach Wake until January at the earliest.

4. Mike also suggested - No Allied cruiser intervention around Tarawa etc whilst the pre-planned invasions go ahead. To which I agreed – this “tactic” is only possible because of pre-game Allied Intelligence.

5. I added - No Allied 4E bombers on 6,000' Ground Attack missions...they were "strategic assets" and should be used as they were historically - Patrolling, Airfield Attacks, Port Attacks, Naval Attacks, City Attacks. I contemplated switching a number of these to Patrol Type aircraft which eliminates the Ground Attack Mission from the profile. In the end I opted not to do this…


As far as settings:
1 day turns
+/- 15 day Reinforcement Variability

Fog of War - On
Weather -On
Allied Damage Control - On
PDUs – Off
Historical 1st Turn
December 7th Surprise – On
Reliable USN Torpedos – Off
Realistic R&D – On
No Unit Withdrawals - Off


We have exchanged the first turn…and I’m sure Mr. Dixon is currently diligently pecking away at the Japanese “1st” Turn.

Now onto an in depth discussion of the mod itself –

1. The Kwantung Army – Making use of Japanese Monograph No. 77: Japanese Prepartions for Operations in Manchuria 1931-1942 I was able to identify troop movements to and from the Kwantung Army. Surprisingly enough, unlike many of our games, the Kwantung Army was actually reinforced through 1942 and 1943. Most of the units assigned to the Kwantung Army that transferred out did not leave until 1944. To “simulate” this I have temporarily “Permanently Restricted” many of the units in the Kwantung Army. “Permanent Restriction” means that the unit cannot change its HQ even with the expenditure of Political Points. So you might ask - how is this a temporary restriction? In the case of divisions – I added a sub unit for the division that does not arrive until the time the division can be released. When the sub-unit arrives the division can be combined….and the parent unit is not “Permanently Restricted”. For other units the unit is scheduled to be withdrawn and then is replaced by an exact duplicate reinforcing unit.

2. China – I added a large number of Chinese dot bases, repositioned Chinese and Japanese Units, and added significant garrison requirements for the Chinese.

2.1. Dot Bases - In reality the Japanese only exerted control over the major transportation routes in China. Historically the Chinese had large numbers of troops “behind the front” that we see develop in most games. The reason for adding the dot bases stems from the fact that in most games the Chinese have no way to supply themselves when positioned behind “the front line”. If you were to examine a map you would see that most of the North China plain has several major towns per hex. By adding in these dot bases the Chinese will now have positions from which to supply themselves when behind “the front”.

2.2. Unit Position - Chinese and Japanese units were repositioned based on information I have from various sources regarding where units were in late 1941 and early 1942 ...as well as to account for the additional dot bases.

2.3. Garrison Requirements – Historically, Chiang was preoccupied with the communists as well as “bandits”. Large numbers of Nationalist Units were tied down in communist overwatch and bandit suppression campaigns. As such that are now much larger Chinese garrison requirements.

3. Airfield SPS Values – AE was designed with the concept that the US could develop any base just about anywhere into a B-29 bastion. In my opinion, airfields can be developed much more quickly and to a much larger extent in back waters than they were in history. As such I went through every base and adjusted the SPS value systematically. The SPS value is now based on terrain type with hexes that have more inherent support features able to support larger Airfield sizes. For example -the SPS of a jungle is 2, a cultivated hex 4, and light urban 6. Island size was also into account. I also made allocations based upon historical precedent…ie the Marianas were slated early on to become B-29 bases. The effect should be that it will now take much longer and will be much more expensive to expand bases to larger sizes everywhere, and the historical signifacance of many bases, such as Kendari, has returned.

4. Dutch Garrisons – I have added garrison requirements to some of the Dutch bases. Would it surprise you to learn that the Dutch actually had to reinforce Sumatra with a battalion after the commencement of hostilities because the natives became restless?

5. Map Data – Singapore is now classified as a clear hex. Historically Singapore capitulated shortly after the final assault on the island…yet more than a fair number of games sees an extended siege occurring in the Singapore hex. One thing that the game does not account for is the presence of the civilian population which led to the decision to surrender early rather than to fight a protracted battle. To simulate this aspect Singapore and IIRC Batavia have now been reclassified as clear terrain.

6. Malaya – the initial starting position of a number of Allied units in Malaya have been altered to conform with the positions reported in S. Woodburn Kirby’s account of the Malaya campaign in Volume 1 of The War Against Japan.

7. Aircraft Data – I have grouped the devices into weapons packages. This will hopefully tone down just a bit more some of the air combat results and “normalize” the difference between some aircraft types. As a result most fighters may now only have two MG devices as opposed to 8 or 12.

[Mike Dixon]

Dec 7th 1941 Midget sub Ha-19 scores several torpedo hits on the West Virginia,
which was seen to sink in the follow up attack by carrier planes. All eight Battleships,
and numerous cruisers and destroyers were bombed and torpedoed, many are
believed sunk or sinking. All Pearl airfields were rendered unusable and Vice
Admiral Nagumo is currently debating whether to launch a second strike on the
imperialists at Pearl or hunt down the two missing carriers, which are believed to be
near by.

Landing forces are currently on their way to Tarawa, Makin and Wake, where it is
believed resistance will be slight. Other missions will include Rabaul, Moresby and in
the long term the capture of Nomeau, Suva, Canton island and others atolls including
Midway and Palymra are being contemplated.

In Malaya, landings at Kota Bahru proceed unhindered, meanwhile land forces from
Thailand, are proceeding towards Alor Star. At sea, the British warmonger Churchill
has received a grievous blow, with the sinking of the Prince of Wales and Repulse.

A pre-emptive strike in the Philippines has brought nothing but woe to General
MacArthur, with numerous strikes on Clark and other airfields. Philipino sources
indicate MacArthur is already packing his bags as the Americans are fleeing the
righteous onslaught of liberating Japanese forces.

The day of reckoning of the western imperialists has happened! The greater Japanese
co-prosperity sphere will soon be established over the enlightened peoples of East
Asia! The American and their British lackeys have received a stunning blow of
imperial Japanese might!

Ok all this is my account of the first day of my game against Forest Webb, playing his
new mod. As described above, it is a highly detailed update to the full campaign
scenario, with major revamping to the Chinese area of operations, amongst many
other changes.

As I am playing the Japanese side, my comments will of course be totally unbiased,
further accurate instalments will be forthcoming and revealing insights into Japanese
strategy will also be included. Allied propaganda can of course be discounted…..[:D]

[treespider]

Dec 8th sees -

Bunches of ships stumbling into the Japanese minefield laid just outside Manila Bay. (Allied commander forgot to create the minesweeper TF first thus increasing the likelihood of it leaving first from having a lower TF number.)

Active Japanese submarines torpedo several vessels after they depart Manila Bay.

Civilian transport Ipoh torpedoed in the Malacca Straits.

Japanese TF observed off the north coast of Luzon.

Betty's sink resource laiden cargo ships at Hong Kong.

Dogfights over Clark field.

Khota Bharu falls.

--------

Unfortunately I stumbled across my second big data entry oversight....I forgot to update aircraft weapon slots 11-20 to reflect the new weapons packages...so aircraft on extended range missions will still be using the old weapons.

Currently in the process of updating the scenario data and will include the update after we identify any other data bugs.

[Mike Dixon]

December 8th 1941 After much debate, Vice Admiral Nagumo decides against a second strike on Pearl. In light of the near total destruction of the main American battlefleet, Nagumo has named sinking the American carriers as number one priority.

In Malaya Kota Bahru falls and armoured units push towards Alor Star.

A minefield laid by I-124 sinks at least three US subs and as the American abandon the Philippines, many ships are sunk fleeing from Manila. AV Langley is reported to be sinking after many hits by Kate aircraft. Japanese aircraft now have air superiority over Clark and Manila.

Makin in the Marshall Islands falls to the Japanese.

As Forest mentioned previously, we are going for a fairly historical start, I’m committed to a historical Wake invasion, whilst Forest will not interfere with the Tarawa and Makin operations. Wish I knew where those two American carrier are!

[treespider]

After a few days we have uncovered a couple issues - one being very significiant...

"The "auto-switch"" base capture will cause havoc with the dotbases in China.

As a result I have modded the mod and introduced "static" Chinese "political sections". The consist os a static "political section" device a squad, a mortar, a MMG and some support. These units cannot move. However they will insure that "vacant" dot bases do not "auto-switch" to the other side....

I have also altered some of the Garrison values.

And I changed the map in Malaya to conform with the accounts I am reading of the malaya campaign...screenshots will be forthcoming.

As a result Dixon and I have have agreed to restart starting today with the changes I've mnade...

[treespider]

Note changes to Road/Rail net in Northern Malaya

[treespider]

This screenshot shows the changes in Northern China...in addition to what you see here the Chinese have significant garrison requirements added across China -

Sian - 600
Chungking - 320
Chengtu - 240
Patung - 200
Changsha - 160
Kienko - 120
Tienshui - 100
Three Bases - 80
Five bases - 60
Eleven Bases - 40
Ten bases - 20

The "problem" for the Japanese - if they decide to try and occupy these "rear area" dotbases they will need to bring in additional forces to supplement already overstretched garrison.