Here come the Rebels! (Canoe v. Q-Ball)

[crsutton]

Get back up and win title again..[;)]

[Canoerebel]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy
I note in your #6 above that you have omitted the potential Allied threat to the IJ western flank at Burma. In your mind, does Brad's effort in India preclude any threat that you can raise to Burma for the forseeable future?

We'll have to see whether my master plan was well conceived or a mess, but from day one of this game my master plan includes Burma playing essentially no role.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

Get back up and win title again..[;)]

40 years later?[;)]

[witpqs]

At the moment, I'm worried, but I'm not perspiring.

Shaken but not stirred. [:D]

Like Chickenboy, I read both so you notice I comment on things like game mechanics and such but never on choices, etc.

[princep01]

witpqs, is there a particular forum where the search arc problem is discussed in more detail?

[witpqs]

Both in Tech support but I think more in the main forum.

[Canoerebel]

4/19/42 to 4/21/42

KB: SS Haddock fired a spread of six torpedoes at CV Soryu, but missed. This action took place just SE of Colombo. So the KB is on the move - could be returning to the Arabian Sea, moving south to cover an invasion of Diego Garcia, or returning to Singapore.

Strange Combat: An Allied base force moving through a dot hex in NE India in strategic mode encountered a Japanese para assault. Oddly, the base force attacked first, failed, and then got booted by the paratroops.

NE India: A detachment of 33rd Division advancing through the jungle took Imphal on the 2nd; 10th Division is presently at Vizagapetum. These are the 6th and 7th IJA divisions on the ground in India at present. Plenty of SigInt reports indicating additional troops bound for Chittagong. Using para-assaults to take a line of bases to the rear of the Imphal-Ledo line, Brad has isolated a few small units of the Burma army. Other units have been cut off in the surrenders of Chittagong and Akyab. But the numbers are small. It is increasingly likely that the main effort is coming in NE India, though I'll maintain my garrisons at Bombay, Surat, Ahmadebad, and Karachi until I'm sure. Viz should fall to the Japanese tomorrow.

South India: Brad has just one division on the ground here - not enough to accomplish anything substantial barring reinforcement. 150 Indian AV will arrive at Madras in nine days - enough to replace most of what has been cut off in the jungles to the northeast.

West and North India: Quiet.

What Brad Knows and Guesses: When he invaded Diamond Harbor a few weeks ago, Brad encountered an Aussie artillery unit belonging to I Corps. Brad's no dummy - he probably surmised that this means at least one Aussie division is present (he can't even be sure about the second division that is currently in Oz, because I haven't used it in combat there). Also, the KB has been absent from the Arabian Sea and Japanese Glens and patrol aircraft have sighted ships in Karachi; so Brad probably believes that the British reinforcements have arrived. He may conclude that a conquest of India under the circumstances is therefore unlikely. But I'm playing it that he's bringing everything he can with the intention of total conquest - until it is safe to play it otherwise.

Allied Carriers Force-in-Being Benefits: There are lots of benefits to the force-in-being concept. I think another is the fact that Brad has been careful in employing combat ships near India. Thus far all my troop transport TFs have been able to come and go from Karachi without interference. if I used my carriers in the Pacific, that would change pronto. The same holds true with ongoing Allied efforts to reinforce and supply Fiji, Samoa, Canton Island, Midway and the western Aleutians.

[Blackhorse]

I'm also reading both game forums, so in the spirit of "loose lips sink ships" I'll say nothing about the game.

But thank you, Canoe, for taking the time to share your thoughts -- writing an AAR can be hard, or at least time-consuming, work. It's well-done, interesting, entertaining, and I've picked up more Allied pilot training hints here than anywhere else on the board.

This Texas-born Yankee is pulling for you. [8D]

[Canoerebel]

4/22/42 to 4/25/42

India: I'm not yet willing to bet the farm on it, but it seems increasingly likely that Brad is concentrating his main effort on NE India. He's landing a ton of troops at Chittagong, and he's been using his paras, as detailed previously, to take dot hexes in order to isolate some of the forward Allied units. By "not yet willing to bet the farm," I mean that I'm still mildly concerned that he may land a force of three to five divisions in my rear, which would really worry me. So I'll keep stout garrisons in place for now, relying upon my forward troops to serve as road blocks. If, indeed, I'm correct, Brad either isn't going for all of India or he's planning for a very, very long campaign - it takes awhile to march from Chittagong all the way across the top of India.

Addu Atoll: Taken by Japanese shock attack on the 24th. The Allies still hold Diego Garcia with a garrison of 110 AV, so Brad will have to commit a decent force to this operation.

China: Things have been very quiet here. I think Brad is shifting troops to the south to threaten Liuchow and vicinity, but it will take him awhile to get his ducks in a row. His guys will take Nanning, held by just one unit, in the near future.

Australia: The Allies recaptured Cooktown on the 25th, thus evicting the Japanese from northeast Oz. I think this is a net swing of about 33 victory points, so it is more significant from an auto-victory standpoint. Now I'll move some engineers forward to begin working on Coen and Portland Roads, but that will take a LONG time. To the west, it appears that the Japanese won't advance further than Daily Waters, leaving the Allies unmolested at Tennant Creek. Further west, the Allies are assembling a small force to advance from Geraldton on Carnarvon.

SoPac: 9th Marines landed at Suva. A Marine CD unit landed at Canton Island.

CenPac: A second Marine CD landed at Midway. Allied transports begin loading the base force at Midway tomorrow. I'll move this to Attu Island, and replace it with an Army battalion when one becomes available.

NoPac: Most of a CD unit finished unloading at Attu, but I'm having to move the remainder to Adak where the docks are bigger. I'll unload, then reload in combat mode, then return to Attu.

Sub Wars: I-157 got an empty xAK near Karachi and I-156 got an empty xAKL.

[anarchyintheuk]

Must feel strange to have a decent amount of f4f and sbd replacements available. Was wondering if you were using the cv air groups for pilot training purposes while they're hanging around ct?

[Canoerebel]

I don't feel like I have enough replacements for any model. I just switched out SBD-2s for the two biplane Helldiver squadrons on Hornet, which was nice. But several carriers are still carrying Buffalos and F4F-3s.

My carriers have been parked in Capetown for months now. Their pilots have been set to 100% training the entire time. Most are very good, but there are a few ragtag flyboys spread amongst them.

About three or four days ago I decided that there was essentially no circumstances under which I would commit my carriers in the next two or three weeks, so most of my combat ships are now upgrading. I made this decision when it became pretty apparent that Brad is concentrating his efforts at Chittagong rather than a big amphbious landing on the west coast. I doubt I would commit them even then, but I'm a bit more relaxed about it now.

[crsutton]

Well, in my game 3/43. I just had my one (rope a dope fanboy here) carrier clash resulting in the loss of about 230 aircraft for each side. And, as a result I am very short of wildcats and SBDs. If you are playing an aggressive Japanese opponent in Scen #2, then you will not have enough airplanes until well into 1943.

After a 16 months of war, I would say I have about a dozen army bomber squadrons equipped with obsolete bolos or no aircraft at all, not to mention the empty marine and army fighter units. It is getting better but there are never enough planes. Not like WITP at all. I am hardly flying my medium bombers at all and still can't fill up the squadrons.

Meanwhile my opponent wakes up every morning and shits out fighter planes by the cartload...[:D]

[Amoral]

The main benefit of your fleet in being is that it means QBall has to cover all his invasions with the KB. But he only has one invasion, so he'd be doing that anyways. I'm not sure you're getting a strategic benefit.

[Canoerebel]

It's early 1942. The Japanese should be advancing on mutliple fronts all over the map. Brad isn't for two reasons - he's tied up most of his forces in India and, I think, he's leary of venturing forward in the Pacific.

The Allies being able to move forward in the Pacific to garrison forward bases at this early stage of the game is a major strategic advantage in my book.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Amoral

The main benefit of your fleet in being is that it means QBall has to cover all his invasions with the KB. But he only has one invasion, so he'd be doing that anyways.

Yes, but that is the whole mind set. You are going to be hard pressed to stop any invasion vs Japan in the first three quarters 0f 1942. He just has too much to bring to the party and if he crushes your carriers (even if he loses a bunch) then he will "run" the table on you. The idea is to force him to keep KB together and focus on one invasion at a time. Japan is going to take territory in 42-nothing to be done about that. The idea is to limit his gains by forcing him into one operation at a time. If the Allied big six are intact then only the boldest Jafanboy will risk splitting operations.

This by no means says you should not be looking for opportunities to smack him down if he gives you an opportunity. My biggest rule is I never commit my carriers to an operation unless I am pretty dang sure of where KB is lurking about. The one thing I don't commit to is a major carrier action before late 1942. Everything else is in play.

[Canoerebel]

4/26/42 and 4/27/42

crsutton: He said it much more eloquently than I did.

Brad's Grand Strategy?: There are alot of troops pouring into NE India, but the real question is whether Brad's ultimate goal is to either (1) isolate and destroy as many troops as possible while taking Calcutta, or (2) doing those things and then moving on to the conquest of India. If it's the first option, he will probably begin to draw down troops soon after he takes Calcutta, using a few "extra" units to push further inland while beginning to evacuate some of the big units to work on his defensive line. I will be interested in seeing which way he goes. I hope it's (2), of course.

Allied Grand Strategy: I have kept this close to my vest, and will continue to do so. I have mentioned a few tidbits recently: (1) Burma is a very low priority, and (2) to utilize any deep penetration into Oz or India to my benefit for deception purposes later in the game. I want to pursue (2) by moving forward in Australia if it appears that Brad has most of his divisions committed to India, with perhaps none in Oz. In about three weeks, a third US Army division (32nd) will arrive in Australia. If conditions remain similar then, I plan to move forward the three US divisions plus Australian troops to try to reclaim NW Oz by a land campaign.

India: Brad is advancing on three vectors: In the south, 6th Guards Division is probably bottled up. Indian divisions are blocking his best routes to the north; In the east, there's alot of empty space, so Brad can advance here almost at will, but there aren't any strategically significant targets close by; In the NE, the massive buildup around Chittagong continues, but it's a heck of a long way from there to western India.

China: 60th IJA Division isn't enough to evict the Chinese defenders at Nanning. Brad will need more, and he has more close by.

SoPac: 32nd Division was originally slated for Fiji, but I would rather put it to use in Oz even if it means Fiji remains vulnerable to invasion. More infantry and marine units will be arriving in the USA in coming weeks, so I'll try to get one or two of them to Fiji to join 9th Marines.

CenPac: The Midway base force has begun loading aboard transports for the trip to Attu Island.

[paullus99]

I can see India & Oz as being just giant attritional campaigns for Japan - and not necessarily in their best interest unless they can close the deal quickly or force you to commit large-scale US forces to either. The Brits, Aussies & Indians aren't war-winners, whereas US Carriers & seapower are, so I applaud your efforts to keep those intact for as long as possible (and create a lot of uncertainty in your opponent, I'm sure).

If you can keep your forces intact in India & force him to react elsewhere (potentially pulling troops out of both OZ & India), you'll be in a good position to take advantage of that. It goes back to this - either Japan has to close out these offensives quickly or by proxie, build a solid defensive line - backed up by the KB, or they will find themselves in deep trouble.

[Canoerebel]

I agree with you 100%, paullus.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

4/26/42 and 4/27/42


Allied Grand Strategy: I have kept this close to my vest, and will continue to do so. I have mentioned a few tidbits recently: (1) Burma is a very low priority, and (2) to utilize any deep penetration into Oz or India to my benefit for deception purposes later in the game. I want to pursue (2) by moving forward in Australia if it appears that Brad has most of his divisions committed to India, with perhaps none in Oz. In about three weeks, a third US Army division (32nd) will arrive in Australia. If conditions remain similar then, I plan to move forward the three US divisions plus Australian troops to try to reclaim NW Oz by a land campaign.

Canoe,

Just be aware that since the last patch or so. Supporting any more than about a corp overland past Daily Waters is very difficult. Supply just does not flow.

[Canoerebel]

Uh oh, that could be a show stopper.