Scn 2 Durbik VS Khyberbill NO Durbik

[khyberbill]

We are playing scenario 2. I don't recall the rules but I think there 4E naval attack below 10k is verboten. This is a holdover from WITP vanilla and probably doesn't apply in AE. In fact, I don't fly my 4E's below 10k for any reason because I seem to lose more per day than I build when I fly at less than 10k.

Pawel (Durbik) has started an AAR and I personally find reading both sides of a conflict more interesting than just one side (with the exception of reading Mandrake and Sprior). I am not going to start with any great strategy because the only one at work right now is shifting/conserving assets.

The attack on PH went well from my perspective, no BB's sunk and he also hit Manila but only a few SS's sunk. 95% of the ships from DEI and Singers made it to safety. For some reason Pawel doesn't like the Filipinos and only about 20% of the ships from Manila will make it out to the West Coast. His air force is pounding the bejesus out of Manila (where my wife is from) but all the troops are either in Clark or Bataan. We will make our stand in Bataan.

Pawel is very aggresive but not gamey. For instance, he took Attu by the 17 Dec. but still hasnt invaded Mersing. He also has taken Shortlands so I doubt if there is going to be any great Guadacanal battles in the near future. At this stage in the war he can take as many as the Aleutians as he wants.

His aggressiveness leads me to believer he will either invade Ceylon/Eastern India or Northern Oz and I sent the Singers troops to Ceylon. There is not much one can do early in the game regarding Oz other than reinforcing Darwin. On the other hand, the replacement rate for Oz is so low that the best place and use of the troops is in defense of the homeland.

[vaned74]

What...no contest in the Aleutians?!  You will probably lose the eskimo vote in 1944...

[khyberbill]

You have taught me the futility of slugging it out in the Aleutians.

[khyberbill]

It is the 27th of December and Palembang has already fallen. Damage to the oil was 767(134) and to the refinery was 889 (152). Not as good as I would have liked but enough to hurt. Mines were discovered in Darwin harbor causing a stir among the population. Civilians are heading south. Beach front property is pretty cheap there now.

The last of the ships leaving Davao etc have reached Oz. I delayed their departure for a few weeks and this gambit worked. In any PBEM, I expect all ships in Hong Kong and most from the Philippines to be sunk so any that make it are a bonus.

KB has disappeared. I have the Cats looking but they aren't spotting anything but turbulence in the water and oil slicks.

[khyberbill]

Manila and Clark have now fallen to the yellow horde. I am holed up in Bataan. In WITP Manila was the preferred place for a last stand but in previous PBEM's with AE, I was quickly destroyed there. I will try to evacuate a the US forces from Bataan to Darwin. Especially the Marine and USA brigades.

Most of the troops in Malaysia have made it to Singapore and are busy digging trenches and turning the cannons around to shoot the other way.

The two Dutch airbase groups with high (90?) a/c support have made it to OZ. Now I just need to get some fighters and bombers to Oz.

The Lexington was hit by a torp early on and finally made it to Sydney. It wasnt a severe hit and will only be in the yards for 11 days. I am going to probably base all my CV's down south until I determine where KB and mini-KB are located and then go hunting after that.

[khyberbill]

The last day of the year and Legaspi and Naga in Luzon have fallen. Only Bataan remains. What is interesting about AE is how the game can be involved in your life. My brother in law lives in Legaspi. I have been to both Legaspi and Naga. Naga has the current distinction of being the only town of any size in the Philippines that is not corrupt. A well run place.

Durbik has invaded several more bases in DEI. His speed is remarkable, however, with this speed comes a cost. He is not doing much pre-bombardment and the land forces are hitting his AKs. The Dutch subs have gotten in a few licks as well.

Durbik also has his subs active on the west coast of the US and the Aleutian Islands. I sent some ACMs (the type that doesnt carry mines) to the area to provide a presence and now they are providing a reef.

The Pollack has hit two AKs near TSU and the torpedoes actually exploded! That probably used all my luck for a month.

[khyberbill]

We are up to 4Jan42 and mini-KB is off the coast of Australia between Sydney and Brisbane. Not sure where it is headed next. I dont have much in the area so we are just sitting on the beach and watching the sun rise.

Several subs are sitting off of San Diego where the Yorktown is now holed up. I am not in a hurry to send the Yorktown anywhere so my ASW forces will get some practice.

Balikpapan has fallen as well as Sorong. Intel doesnt report any invasions. The last of the ships fleeing Manila have made it to Frisco. There are still some large convoys of ships from Australia to arrive and then we can start thinking about sending troops and supply to the Southwest Pacific.

[khyberbill]

Well the KB caught Lexinton in the yards and sank her. It is worse to lose one CV early than to lose 3 or 4 later in the war. I once lost 8 CV's in one battle in a WITP PBEM and still managed to eek out a victory.

In other news, a task force has appeared off of Darwin. It is the 14th of Jan 42 and an invasion is imminent. This seems a little gamey to me in that he hasn't taken Bataan yet, does not even have troops in Singapore, Sumatra is only partially subdued and no action at all in Java or Timor. This invasion is not a total surprise. I have lots of troops motoring up from Alice Springs. Unfortunately, I guessed he would invade Ceylon and sent all the Rangoon/Singers relief forces there. Now I will have to pack them up and send them to Oz. Darwin invasions tend to be boring. You just know the LYB's are not going to go south of the Brisbane. I have played two different foes that invaded Darwin in the first game we played and have not in the second.

I have two questions for those reading this AAR.

1) Do you think invading Darwin so soon in a game is gamey? Should I raise this issue with my foe?

2) Where should I draw the line in Australia? I am considering a fighting withdrawal starting at Katherine with the expectation that he would push me back to Alice Springs. I don't know if he is going to also attack the west coast of Oz but I do have strength there. Or an attack on the east coast is also possible. Decisions, decisions.

[anarchyintheuk]

1) Irl any commander proposing an attack on Darwin w/o first subduing Java and Timor would have been asked to commit seppuku. As to gamey . . . it's his loc he has to defend, unfortunately for you he knows you don't have the airpower to do much about it. Taking advantage of an opponent's oob may require an omniscience not available to a rl commander but it's not gamey imo.

2) I'm a wuss. I usually don't leave the Sydney/Melbourne area until 2-3/42. I'd start at Brisbane.

[khyberbill]

1) Irl any commander proposing an attack on Darwin w/o first subduing Java and Timor would have been asked to commit seppuku. As to gamey . . . it's his loc he has to defend, unfortunately for you he knows you don't have the airpower to do much about it. Taking advantage of an opponent's oob may require an omniscience not available to a rl commander but it's not gamey imo.

2) I'm a wuss. I usually don't leave the Sydney/Melbourne area until 2-3/42. I'd start at Brisbane.

Thanks for the answers anarchy. I had anticipated the possibility of a Darwin invasion at some point in Feb or March and so I do have troops strung out on the road between Alice Springs and Katherine. If he heads south, I will try to hold the line at Alice Springs and if he turns towards Cloncurry then I will re-think my strategy.

[khyberbill]

I will bring folks up to date soon. This message is for Donnie Vanelli. Your email server is rejecting my emails with turns.

[khyberbill]

Well dear readers, the war has progressed slowly. Durbik did invade Northern OZ in early January and is now closing in on Tenant Creek. He invaded Darwin one day before a CD battery arrived in Katherine. If I had been able to get to Darwin, he would have paid a bigger price. One cant really stand and fight that far north so I will wait until we get into rough ground around Alice Springs or Clonclurry to try and make a stand. Horn Island and PM have also fallen. Not sure if he will invade the east coast or just push down from Darwin. All but one of the Australian divisions have been rejoined and are sitting in Sydney waiting to go to where needed.

I am playing four PBEM's, one foe has invaded New Zealand, one has invaded Alaska and now Australia so we are learning to play on all fronts. The problem has been to remember which front I am losing when doing a turn.

If I understand him correctly, Durbik states it is his intention to take all of Australia which might be possible in Scen 2 with the extra divisions and pilot experience that he gets. Certainly the extra troops that arrive in Aden and Capetown if he does cross the trip wire south of Brisbane aren't really going to be able to help in Oz. However, they will be useful elsewhere. I am not going to worry about that now. I am just sending supply to Australia and re-inforcing the sea lanes with what little assets are available. I was able to extract fragments of the 4th Marines and 31st Infantry from Manila to Oz which will help in the defense. I used a method that Yamato Hugger taught me in WITP. I wish he hadn't left the forum.

[khyberbill]

We are now up to 1 March 42. Pavel has started to take some of the bases he bypassed with his early land grabs. I continue to reinforce Australia from the West Coast and India from Aden. He hasnt pushed very far south yet and I wonder about his intentions.

In the Aleutians, he has taken a few of the western most islands. He can have them. My father was on Adak, Attu etc in WW2 and always wondered why anyone would want those islands. I still have some negatives of B-17s landing at one of the islands. He was an engine mechanic for B-17s for part of his tour there.

ASW is still weak for the good guys in white hats. Pavel knows when ships from Balboa should arrive and plants an aggressive submarine right on the board exit hex. I then put some ASW there but all they do is throw garlands into the sea as he torpedoes my merchants.

He continues to advance in China. Sian was just evacuated and the Brits were kicked out of Swebo. I really hate Chinese land war.

[khyberbill]

Pavel has now invaded Akyab with a small infantry force. Unfortunately, I had a smaller force there and so lost the city. I will keep an eye on this invasion, but I don't think it is a prelude to a large land war in India. He also invaded Luganville. I suspect Noumea is next. All quiet in Australia. Most of the action is in China. We should name this game, Land War In China.

[SoliInvictus202]

ORIGINAL: khyberbill

We should name this game, Land War In China.

welcome to the club - my game is pretty much the same [:D] - has its advantages and disadvantages....

[khyberbill]

welcome to the club - my game is pretty much the same - has its advantages and disadvantages....

Thank you for commenting.

I just hate to spend the time in China trying to defend with the worthless units we have there. there shouldnt be any VP for destroyed Chinese units. And the supply situation is so low that no reinforcements are filling the ranks.

On to other news, three separate CV TF's show up, one near Suva, one near Noumea and one near Colombo. Some ships are sunk, but the losses are tolerable. More ships are seen at Akyab. An Indian Division is destroyed near Katha. It held fine the first day of a shock attack but it appears as if they ran out of curry or chapatis over night and really took a whipping the next day. I dont mind land war in Burma, soon, he will run into just jungle fighting and I will end up tying down a large land force with few troops.

[khyberbill]

Not much to report. Durbik continues to slaughter peasants by the thousands in China-one third of his total score is infantry losses. A Dutch boat badly damaged or sank an AKV in Akyab is the only good news we have had for several turns. The next turn we will be in 4/42 and my subs and DD's will get some nice upgrades, not that it will help the subs at this point in the game but the DD's will get better at ASW.

[khyberbill]

A long time between updates but the game continues slowly and not much has happened until recently.

Durbik appears to want to party in Sydney by the end of the year and has a full blown invasion in progress and has invaded Cairns and Geralton. There are over 30 units reported in Cairns. Then an invasion behind my lines at Rockhampton was attempted but a Rapid Action Force of two divisions motored in and put an end to that. The first big battle will occur at Townsend-I have moved most of the supply from there to Sydney. I now have 3 US divisions and the 18th Brit Div ashore in Oz to help out and more units are arriving from the West Coast in four weeks or so. I am moving AK/AP's to Aden to handle the large influx of units when Durbik gets below Brisbane and triggers the reinforcements. I am hoping to slow him down in the forests between Brisbane and Townsend.

[khyberbill]

This game still limps along. We are now up to August 1942. For the longest time we were only getting in one turn a week. Now we are briskly moving along at the rate of two turns a week! I think in real life Durbik is the Prime Minister of Poland.

On to the action. The Godless Japs were stopped just north of Townsville and have pulled back to Cairns. Tennant Creek is now back in good hands and many of the west coast towns except Perth and a few small towns (which should be retaken in the near future). The 5th Guards Division was severely mauled trying to do an amphibious assault on Geraldton which had just been taken. A large Japanese force is in Perth and there is not enough strength to take it at this point, however, the opportunity exists to keep the pressure on this city and sink supply ships etc.

[khyberbill]

Durbik has again moved his forces south to threaten Townsville. I should not have any trouble stopping him in the wooded hex just north of the town. On the west side of Australia an enemy CV TF is moving east just south of Esperance. I am not sure of the real make up of this group but intel has provided the following. If true, it is too strong a force for me to tangle with. Wasp had been in that area but moved back towards Sydney to upgrade the torpedo bombers.



Does anyone know how accurate these estimates are?