Now when the land rings with the clash of arms –No soliinvictus please

[fcharton]

May 13th and 14th 1942

The fall of Singapore

Don’t look at me like that, gaijin, I am just as surprised as you…

After a first deliberate attack on the thirteenth, which had destroyed two units and the forts, my troops were still supplied, and I decided to press, and the lion city fell.

Ground combat at Singapore (50,84)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 108439 troops, 1125 guns, 406 vehicles, Assault Value = 3624
Defending force 25228 troops, 606 guns, 464 vehicles, Assault Value = 396
Japanese adjusted assault: 1030
Allied adjusted defense: 485
Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Singapore !!!

Japanese ground losses:
2337 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 93 disabled
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 158 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 27 disabled

Allied ground losses:
19995 casualties reported
Squads: 506 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 3215 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 280 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 812 (812 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 533 (533 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 28

This probably is some kind of a record (the slowest conquest of Singapore ever?), but it is sweet nevertheless. The destruction of 28 units materialized in a 1300 point jump in ground losses, and VP ratio jumped from 1.82 to 2.10 today (that’s 18000 to 8600). It will probably improve in a couple of days, once the city is supplied again.

All installations, port, airfield, industry are 100% destroyed, that’s pretty much the norm in this game anyway, but I have lots of engineers, and minesweepers are on their way. I need to wait for supplies to arrive (that should take a few days).

One nice aspect of this long battle is that my troops are in pretty good shape. The lack of supplies forced me to rest them a lot. Apart from high disruption and fatigue levels, soon to be repaired, all divisions and a number of regiments are close to 100% of TOE.

The plan now is to rest the troops and repair the port and airfield. I am giving it a week.

But not of Batavia

The situation in Batavia is similar to that in Singapore. The enemy is outnumbered ten to one, forts are gone. Supply is better here, and disruption worse (malaria zone?). Yet, Batavia did not fall. It is most certainly close, but it did not… I am trying again tomorrow…

The last of the Philippines

San Jose fell today, on first try, both PI units surrendering. All the Philippine Islands (save Clark and Bataan, of course) are now under Japanese control. This frees a couple of units I intend to use to reinforce Clark Field.

Meanwhile, in the Solomons…

… another naval battle took place. At first the match up was a little frightening : three Japanese destroyers, against eight Allied destroyers. The IJN did pretty well. One destroyer was sunk, one is lightly damaged, the last one left unscathed. On the allied side, three DD had heavy fires, and two more were on fire. Will they sink on their way back?

Interestingly, I have a surface task force not far (moving to bombard Kirakira), and the KB is in the area. If other task forces are around, this might be fun.

The same day, a Japanese sub put a torpedo into AP US Grant, off Noumea.


This is pretty much all for today. In China, bombardment continued around Ankang. My troops have arrived in Lanchow, and will launch their first attack tomorrow. In the south, between Liuchow and Tuyun, a tank regiment defeated a lone Chinese base force. Why that important but weak unit was out alone in the big forest is beyond me…

Coprosperous friends from abroad

I don’t often go to general headquarters, but I was in for a surprise today. French (of all nationalities!) guns had been deployed around their offices, in Tokyo, and a regiment (apparently not at full strength) of Vietnamese militia was defending them. Colonel Tran, who greeted me at the check point provided a complicated explanation for his presence in the Home Island. Something about automatic reinforcements, and a version change.

But anyway, two of my command HQ (Kwantung and General Defense), have turned into static VM Militia Divisions a couple of weeks ago. They retain their HQ properties, I’m told, but talk about princes and toads!

[fcharton]

May 15th 1942

The war in China today

The battle for Lanchow has begun. Six IJA divisions attacked today. Forts were at level five, and were reduced to level four at once (waste of Chinese supplies, if you ask me…). Nominal AV were 2600 vs 1800, and odds (despite forts and terrain) ended at 1:2. I need to rest a day, reinforcements are on their way, but I have a good feeling about this battle.

West of Urumchi, the remnants of five KMT units (two infantry, a headquarters and two base forces) surrendered. It seems they were the last enemies west of Kiuchuan. The conquest of Chinese Turkestan is now over.

On the Ankang-Tienshui front, daily bombardments, from the air and on the ground, are taking their toll on enemy forces. The enemy is slowly reinforcing the area. The 34 units in the woods are not moving, apparently, my opponent is trying to rest them. This probably uses supplies, so it is a good thing.

Lots of forces are now moving westwards. About 1500 AV are going to Lanchow, to finish the Lanchow-Sining pocket. I believe my opponent has concentrated most of his units in Lanchow. Once it falls, everything should go fast. In Sian, the airfield is now level four, and an airbase force has arrived. Engineers are moving towards Tienshui and Kungchang. I need large bases there to launch the bombing campaign over Sichuan.

Meanwhile, I will probably launch small raids, to try to force the AVG out of their hangars.

In Southern China, there seem to be quite a few troops in front of Tuyun. I am probing tomorrow with my tanks. I expect to be defeated, but tanks mostly get disabled at impossible odds, and can retreat very fast. I have two objectives, here :
- Get a precise estimation of enemy strength
- Keep the enemy focused, the more troops he keeps in the south, far from Sichuan, the better

Solomons and lack of judgement

Enemy plans for the Solomons are getting clearer and clearer.

A huge pack of submarines was spotted moving north, close to Tulagi. I believe my opponent either wants to make reinforcements of the Solomons difficult, or wants to disrupt exchanges between Truk and Rabaul.

Lots of transports are being spotted (but unless not torpedoed) by my subs between the Samoas and Australia. I’m sending more submarines, on the odd chance I can nail a troop transport. But this suggests the Solomons are not the only target for an early attack (or there would be no need to seen transports to Australia). The presence of transports in Brisbane suggests Port Moresby as the other target. I am now building my bases in New Guinea.

I have bad feelings about this area. Right now, I clearly lack troops, and it will take a while before some of the regiments from Singapore can arrive in this theater. Also, I feel totally clueless about how to defend against sea invasions. This is, somehow, the charm and the bad side of being a newbie. Everything is new, and fun, and surprising, but everything you learn has a cost.

The bimonthly base review

Japan now holds 584 bases, vs 567 at the beginning of the month. We are more or less conquering a base per day. This makes the 666 base evil 1942 objective feasible… 234 have engineers and are being built (235 at the beginning of the month).

295 bases have forts (+11), I now have
72 level one forts (-3)
107 level two forts (+5)
86 level three forts (+3)
22 level four forts (+6)
5 level five forts
3 level six forts

There are 345 ports (+8)
165 level 1 (+3)
79 level 2 (+2)
46 level 3 (+2)
20 level 4 (-1)
12 level 5
6 level 6 (+1)
7 level 7
1 level 8
5 level 9 (+1)
4 level 10

There are 363 airbases (+8)
133 level 1 (-9)
74 level 2 (+5)
49 level 3 (+1)
49 level 4 (+6)
24 level 5
13 level 6 (+3)
13 level 7
5 level 8 (+2)
3 level 10

55 bases (or 10% of the total) are now built at what I consider the “basic level” : port and airfield to SPS, and forts to level three.

Since the fall of Singapore, I have started planning garrisons and air groups for my 666 bases to be. I lack a methodology for this, so it progressing very slowly, but my goal would be to tag all units, presents and future, with a destination, each base being defined by a combination of three factors : AV, air support, engineers.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: fcharton

... my goal would be to tag all units, presents and future, with a destination, each base being defined by a combination of three factors : AV, air support, engineers.

So hard to do as IJ ... there are significant limits of both air support and engr's.

[SqzMyLemon]

+1 to what Pax said. I think Japan doesn't have the ability to defend everything adequately. You just don't have the units available. It's all a matter of priorities. I think you have to think in terms of an elastic defence, bend but don't break. A hard outer shell sounds good, but the Allies' can pierce that shell at any point they choose with overwhelming force. Leave yourself the ability to pull back, base clusters are great, but once they become untenable you have to be able to remove the important support units to man your next line of defence. Build up bases with the intention of eventually garrisoning them, especially the rear areas.

I'm like you Francois, once you've got your perimeter set up, then what? It's definitely a learning experience and in my case it's going to be an especially hard one I think. Keep building, keep looking at the tea leaves and try to focus on where the clues indicate your opponent may hit you, but just realize he can eventually hit you somewhere completely unexpected, or choose to avoid a route of advance that appears too tough of a nut to crack.

[fcharton]

Good points both...

I suspect I'm victim to something I could call the "post-Java syndrome". Done with the SRA, no more amphibious bonus, China is active, but with restricted commands it is a world of its own. The enemy is beginning to move stuff around, and is probably planning his first offensives, be it the Gilberts, the Solomons, northern Oz or Burma.

But somehow, you, the Japanese juggernaut, discover that whereas you have good notions on how to invade, conquer, capture, you're a bit clueless on how, and what, to defend... And when you look at the map, you think you're thin on the ground. It is a bit like the first turns of the campaign, when you need to plan all those troop movements, all over the map. You have more time to do it, of course, but therein lies the trap... if you wait too long...

I agree with the idea of an elastic defense, but I believe the only way to bend and not break is to avoid leaving holes... Basically, most, if not all, of your bases, should be garrisoned: no free lunch. And there should be reserves (the french call it "masse de manoeuvre", maneuver mass, I like this image) in each local theatre. The key, I believe, is to be able to bring a lot to bear over a short period of time. And then on the top of it, you should have a strategic reserve, that you try not to commit... (this is the point of reserves)

I think this distinction between garrison, reserve, and strategic reserve is what I'm trying to achieve.

First, I think I need to list all the bases that make up my perimeter (the evil 666), and associate to each a garrison level I consider necessary. I think garrisons come in three sizes : nav guard size, ie 60 AV, regiment size 120, and brigade and more (200+), and a fourth (no garrison could be added). The first step would therefore be to list all bases and the garrison sizes I want, and then find the units that are supposed to do the job (and get them prepped, and moved, and supplied).

Second, garrisoned bases need forts, at least minimal ones, and for those you need engineers. A level 3 fort is not something difficult to achieve, it only holds that much, but it will probably delay the enemy. I suppose you need to rotate construction companies (there are quite a few). I have been building lots of forts, even well inside my perimeter, because I suspect I will be very happy to find them when I'm retreating (and by then, moving engineers around will be very difficult). I need to identify units with engineer capabilities, and plan their use...

Third, the perimeter must be covered by airbases, for detection, transport and defense. This is mostly a "building job". Planes move around easily, base forces less so.

And then, I need to figure who goes in reserve, and where... (and need ports, and transports, to move them around)

I don't know if this makes sense, but that's the way I am trying to think about it now.

Francois

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: fcharton

But somehow, you, the Japanese juggernaut, discover that whereas you have good notions on how to invade, conquer, capture, you're a bit clueless on how, and what, to defend... And when you look at the map, you think you're thin on the ground. It is a bit like the first turns of the campaign, when you need to plan all those troop movements, all over the map. You have more time to do it, of course, but therein lies the trap... if you wait too long...

Perfect sense to me. You know I'm trying to address many of your issues in my own game, where I too am wrestling with levels of fort construction, force composition and the ability to set up air search for advanced warning of Allied moves. It can be quite overwhelming at times and very easy to drop the ball, as you point out. I agree with you though, no freebies, make them pay for everything, if nothing else it buys you some time and a day or two might really matter at some point.

[PaxMondo]

I would just be cautious building up Air Bases and Ports. You could be saving your enemy a great deal of time when he takes it. Forts are always worthwhile if you have garrisons, as you say they buy you time to get your manouver mass into position.

[fcharton]

The Evil Imperial HQ were on vacation last week, doing lots of un-evil, un-imperial, and un-military things on the French Atlantic Coast. As a result, the game stopped, and the AAR lagged behind. This large installment is meant to catch up with the war, that shall resume today.
May 16th – 19th, 1942

The war at sea that wasn’t

Enemy submarines near the Solomons are sailing north. KB was in the area, and one of them had the Hiryu in her sights. Dud, fortunately… This is the first allied attack on the KB since the beginning of the war.

Very little else is happening on sea. I am busy reorganizing my convoys in the East Indies, since I now hold Singapore and Surabaya. My subs are detecting transports moving South of Fiji and New Caledonia, but that is all they do.

KB is now cruising between the Solomons and the Gilberts. I am still very weak in this region, and want to dissuade any attempt at early attacks in the area. Meanwhile, I am sending mini KB to Surabaya, and reinforcing Timor. I definitely have the feeling the buildup around Guadalcanal is a feint.

I have a good number of new ships in Japan… The Yamato has just arrived, the Junyo a couple of weeks ago, the Unyo in a short while. I am planning to move all of them to Surabaya.

Short term goals for the Navy and Merchant marine :
- Reorganize the convoy system, now that Singapore has fallen.
- Maintain a large reserve (around KB and mini KB) between Surabaya and Truk, their main role is to dissuade enemy action
- Develop forward submarine bases, and start lurking along that Fiji-Sydney line, which seems to be quite used, use Glen equipped subs on the western coast of Australia, to detect possible moves towards Port Hedland

Sumatra, Java and Luzon

The battle for Batavia lingers on. Every day brings more losses to the enemy, but the base will not fall. Meanwhile, a landing on the Cocos islands went unopposed, and Christmas Island was reinforced.

In Northern Sumatra, the siege of Medan is about to begin. Reinforcements will sail from Singapore next week. The campaign for Northern Sumatra should not last long.

We launched another deliberate attack in Clark Field. Despite raw AV ratio being 880 to 1600, 1:1 odds were achieved at once. About 200 AV are arriving from the Philippine Islands. I believe the base has very little strength left.

Elsewhere, small dot bases are being taken, troops from Singapore are on their way to Burma. There is very little to be said about this theater right now.

The siege of Lanchow

In Lanchow, two deliberate attacks, on the 17th and 19th, brought the forts down to level two. Reinforcements should arrive in a few days, and the base is already unsupplied. I doubt it can hold more than a fortnight. By then, I should have over 3000 AV in the city. They will proceed on Sining and then move back towards Tienshui.

Japanese prospects in China look pretty good. Lanchow and Sining will most certainly be ours by the end of June. This means the drive on Chungking could commence in July, and that Chungking could fall, hopefully, by October. The rest of the year would be devoted to mopping up the remnants of the KMT, and shifting all those forces towards other theaters (Burma in particular).

To help soften the Chinese, I will launch a strategic bombing campaign. The battle for Lanchow shows how easy things get once the enemy is unsupplied. This means Chinese industry will need to be rebuilt after it is captured, but since a lot of industry is damaged upon capture anyway better damage them first and deprive the enemy.

My main targets are the cities in the Sichuan Basin (Chengtu and Chungking). Sian is now a level four airfield. Nanyang is almost level seven, Kungchang and Tienshui are being built. I will air transport base forces soon. Bomber squadrons (and a few fighters) will be transferred by the end of the month.

While the bulk of my forces in the north are attacking Lanchow, I can probably muster a few divisions, now holding ground around Sian or Ankang, to launch a few local attacks. This would serve two goals:

- Reduce enemy strength in general. Given the lack of supplies, most destroyed squads will not come back, and disablements will take a while to heal
- Maintain pressure in other sectors of the front.

I am very tempted to launch an attack on Ichang. This is probably an easy capture. It provides a good airfield for bombing Sichuan, further isolates the enemy forces around Ankang, and threatens advance towards Changsha from the west, or through the woods towards Patung and Sichuan.

I am also considering action in the south. I have good numbers in Liuchow and Kanhsien. I might also spare one division or two from Singapore. The Changsha area makes a tempting target.

[fcharton]

May 20t- 24th, 1942
Evil HQ is back from long vacations, and is having a hard time keeping up with the game.

Turn rate has become very low over the last two weeks (mostly by my fault). Long delays between turns have one important consequence: one forgets the specifics of the situation, and therefore needs more time to play each turn, thus delaying even more the whole process… I suspect this is how many games die. At some point, you just lag too much behind, it gets slower and slower, and stops.

But this does have a bright side. By being less aware of the details, one gets a clearer picture of the general situation, which helps formulating one’s strategic objectives.

And this happens at the right moment: I am pretty much done with the “natural expansion phase”, ie the conquest of the East Indies.

So, for what it is worth, here is a strategic review.

Frontlines, friendly situation report

Enemy resistance in the SRA is limited to three areas, northern Sumatra, Batavia, and Clark Field/Bataan. All dot bases and small islands have been captured, except the western coast of New Guinea, the islands between Ambon, Timor and Merauke, the Andamans, and the small islands off the western coast of Sumatra.

The Japanese perimeter goes from the Indian border to the northern coast of Australia and a line going from Milne Bay to Shortlands, and Tarawa (with a few outposts south of it).

In China, the North and West of the country have been taken, save Lanchow (under siege) and Sining, as well as all the coast and the hinterland behind it. The front extends south and west of a line going from Tienshui, to Ankang, to Wuchang, to Nanchang, to Liuchow and Nanning. The enemy has deployed large stacks in defensive terrain to block further advance.

Supply situation is good. The lack of any significant naval moves means my fuel reserves are still very high. Supply reserves are increasing, despite base building efforts, fuel and oil stock are fine, despite heavy damage to installations.

The enemy

Enemy strategy so far can be summarized in two words: regroup and fall back. Burma, Malaya, most of Luzon, the central plains of China were abandoned. In the SRA, the enemy regrouped in Singapore, Palembang, Batavia, and Clark Field. In China, troops were concentrated in front of Sian, and now between Ankang and Tienshui. There were few attempts at counterattack or reinforcement. My opponent is bidding his time.

The enemy has been steadily building New Caledonia and the New Hebrides, suggesting a possible move towards the Solomons. But this seems a little too obvious.

Lots of convoys to Australia have also been spotted, which suggest enemy intentions towards New Guinea (a logical consequence of a strike on the Solomons) or Timor (in which case the move on the Solomons could be a decoy).

Enemy situation in China seems pretty bad, since supply levels are low, but the Chinese army is still very strong.

My playing, and my opponent’s

This is my very first game, and I realize I still have a lot to learn. Besides, I am not a very gifted player. I don’t pay enough attention to details, and I don’t think I am interested enough in the subject matter to take care of all details. I am learning as I play, and only play this game. This means a slow going game like this one suits me fine.

My opponent seems to master the game system much better than I do. He played for a longer time, and is currently playing several campaigns. I also believe he has a better tactical flair and understanding of the subject matter. Judging from what I know of his other games, he seems to be very aggressive and bold.

I think my best chances of outclassing him are on the logistics and strategic level.

A strategy for the Evil Empire

My main strategic objective in this game is the conquest of China. I want the KMT to be out of the war by 1944. This will serve two purposes: provide Japan with a large industrial base, and create a late war reserve with freed Japanese troops.

The plan is to hold Chengtu and Chungking by the end of 1942. Then, the IJA would march east towards Changsha, and south towards Kunming, the goal being to pocket KMT remnants, and prepare troops for an overland offensive into India.

As China is conquered, some units would be bought and sent to reinforce the Pacific, or launch counterattacks if the enemy has started his offensive. I am saving lots of Political Points, to be able to buy all those troops if I need them.

I believe the key to the conquest of China is supply. At game start, the allies have about 20k AV in China, if they rest them to restore some disablements, they probably can reach 25-30k. The Japanese do not have sufficient forces to deal with them. However, once unsupplied, those troops get quartered, which bring their numbers down to 6-7k AV. So far, I was helped by the fact my opponent did not resupply from Burma at the beginning of the game, and allowed his reserves to be wasted on industry repairs. Also, the loss of Northern China and the coast deprives the Chinese from some of their industrial bases.

I believe the KMT now produces less supplies than it needs. My main goal, right now, is to increase this pressure.

What can the enemy do to foil my plan? The most direct threat would be the reopening of the Burma road, or any other mean of supplying the KMT. If supplies flow into China before most of it is conquered, my plan falls. To this effect, I need to reinforce Burma, and possibly move north from there into South China. Holding Paoshan and Tsuyung would close this option for good.

Another threat would be a swift advance in the Pacific that forces me to divert troops from China. An early attack on the Kuriles, or quick move in the Marshalls would make my Chinese strategy very dangerous. On the other hand, a “traditional” counterattack in the Solomons, New Guinea, or even Timor would be fine, for they would mean a slow and methodical advance through the DEI, which gains me time to finish China and free my reserves.

To summarize, to help the conquest of China, I need to prevent, or delay, an early reconquest of Burma, and encourage, as much as possible, my opponent to launch his offensive in the Solomons or New Guinea. So far, all the intelligence reports I have seem to confirm this. Lots of troops are moving towards Eastern Australia, and there is no sign of activity in Burma. The fall of Singapore allows for reinforcements in Burma, I am not too worried about this theater right now. As for the Solomons, I’m looking weak there (I really am, in fact), let us hope that the enemy picks up the hint…

[fcharton]

May 20th-23rd, 1942
Talking about strategy is nice, but there’s a war going on. Here is a brief summary of what happened lately…

At sea, I now have a good number of submarines patrolling between Fiji and Sydney, and many troop convoys are being detected. CL Capetown was hit by two torpedoes on the 23rd, and reported sunk (under a different name). This would suggest preparations for an attack on the Solomons or south New Guinea. But then, those troops in East Australia could as well be railed to Geraldton, and build up there for an assault on Timor… What makes the Solomons more likely is a big submarine concentration East of Shortlands, around Ontong Java. With all those transports in the area, it might be worth sending the KB…

Northern Australia
Bombers from Koepang have been raiding Darwin for a couple of days, destroying a handful of enemy planes on the ground, and damaging the installations. No enemy fighter flew in opposition. There are quite a few units there. I am planning to bomb other northern bases, and perhaps send a few surface task forces there, just in case…

On Java, my troops in Batavia are resting before the final onslaught.

On Sumatra, Medan fell on the 22nd, the oilfield and industry were not too badly damaged, for a change. A several Dutch units are now pocketed south of the city. I am sending reinforcements from Singapore. Then we will march on Sabang, and finish the conquest of the island.

In Lanchow, I now have 3000 AV, against 1500 enemies. Forts were reduced from level five to level two. A deliberate attack showed the enemy lacks supplies. About 1000 AV are now in Kungchang, and will arrive in a few days. I expect the base to fall in the beginning of June.

Between Tienshui and Ankang, the enemy is being bombarded daily, AV are nicely going down, from 2538 on the 20th, to 2497 on the 23rd. I am trying a first deliberate attack tomorrow. Taking that hex would be nice, since it would isolate the units around Ankang.

Finally, strategic bombing of Chengtu and Changsha began. So far, the AVG is nowhere to be seen. I am not sure what I should target. Heavy industry is always a good idea: as it is halved upon capture, you don’t hurt yourself too much. Resources would probably also be a good idea. I have plenty of those, and can live with damaged resources…

[PaxMondo]

Welcome back!!! The coast, nice.

[fcharton]

May 24th and 25th 1942
Turn rate is still very low and, since the situation is pretty static, I am doing my best to remain in the game, but interest is not there and I suspect my opponent is having the same kind of problems. Let us just hope that we can maintain the war alive enough for pace to build up again in a while.

On the 24th, a light surface task force (two light cruisers and four destroyers) reached Ndeni, on a bombardment mission, and had the pleasure of finding two enemy troop transports that had been unloading. It was very lopsided and unfair, as you can imagine. I’m quite fine with such unfairness…

Night Time Surface Combat, near Ndeni at 120,143, Range 8,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Tatsuta
CL Yubari
DD Shiranui
DD Hamakaze
DD Yugure
DD Kisaragi
DD Kuretake

Allied Ships
xAP Klipfontein, Shell hits 15, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAP Wahine, Shell hits 13, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Allied ground losses:
Vehicles lost 8 (5 destroyed, 3 disabled)

The very low ground losses suggest the enemy had almost finished unloading. I believe the vehicles were engineer vehicles, which would confirm my impression that this area is being built in prevision of an early thrust on the Solomons.

My bombers in Timor are continuing their daily raids on northern Australia. On the 24th, Darwin was hit again. Some planes were damaged on the ground, and supply and fuel stocks were hit, but there clearly are no ships in port. On the 25th, raids on other bases (Broome and Port Hedland) caught nothing. If a build up is happening there, it is very well hidden…

Around Malaya, ships are converging on Singapore. I am organizing convoys to bring the oil and resources from Sumatra and Java. One thing I noticed is that small convoys to Malacca or Georgetown (from Medan and Bengkalis) do wonders. You can’t use large ships, but they work very nicely.

In China, a first deliberate attack on the mountain hex between Ankang and Tienshui only achieved 1:2 odds, and resulted in heavy disablements (about 750 squads on my side, for 350 enemies) and a few squads lost. Unsupplied as he might be, the enemy is not ripe for defeat yet. I will bombard more.

Reinforcements for Lanchow will arrive in a couple of days. My reserves sitting in Sian are now moving towards Ichang.

The strategic bombing campaign has begun, Chengtu and Changsha were hit. Enemy fighters are nowhere to be seen… Whither the AVG?

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: fcharton

May 24th and 25th 1942
Turn rate is still very low and, since the situation is pretty static, I am doing my best to remain in the game, but interest is not there and I suspect my opponent is having the same kind of problems. Let us just hope that we can maintain the war alive enough for pace to build up again in a while.

I had the same issues Francois. It's a catch 22 it seems. The Japanese are responsible for expanding and creating the excitement in 1942, but that's only if you pursue some kind of autovictory strategy or an invasion well beyond the historic perimeter. A Japanese player that restricts himself to a somewhat historic perimeter sets themselves up for months of tedious play, especially against a a low aggression Allied opponent. It seems it's very easy for both players to expect the other to do something and because of that, nothing happens.

As was suggested to me. If you find you are done expanding and the Allies are not moving, take this time to really plan out your defence, base building and creation of your reserves. Decide how and where you want to counter the Allied moves in the future. I've found preparing the defence takes as much planning and effort as the initial invading, in fact it's easier to invade than plan the defence in my opinion. Hang in there...plan, move and prepare. I hit the same wall you did and was extremely bored/frustrated, but now I'm back into the game after realizing just how important and time consuming it can be to set up an adequate defence when there's no action going on. It will get better and once the Allies start to move your interest will be rekindled as well.

[fcharton]

Hi SqzMyLemon,

The present case is further complicated by the fact my opponent and I enjoy different aspects of the game. I am very interested in China, and not that crazy about naval warfare. He is just the opposite. In real life, imposing your war, and frustrating the enemy, are good things, except this is a game, which we play for enjoyment.

I’ve been discussing this with my opponent (a very nice person), and we agreed to give the game a chance, while considering starting another one as a team (since we enjoy different aspects of the game…) This creates a very interesting situation where we discuss the game a lot, and exchange information while still fighting each other. This also gives the slightly tedious segment we are playing now a new role, as a testbed for ideas.

And, in case someone is interested, we will probably be looking for an Allied pair for a 2x2 campaign in a couple of weeks/months (we want to take our time to coordinate a strategy, discuss options, and prepare for the ugly first turns, I expect the same would be true for an Allied pair). We might try Reluctant Admiral 3: GC1 seems a bit too harsh on Japan, we have a GC2 going (that seems a bit too nice on Japan), and DaBabes looks like too big to handle… But options are still open. So if you’re experienced, interested and not in a rush, just drop me a PM…

Anyway, the war goes on… We’ve been playing fast (and probably not very seriously) this week end. I believe the goal is to get the game back going.

May 26th-28th 1942

In Batavia, a series of deliberate attacks achieve 1:1 odds, reduce enemy AV (now below 60), but still fail to destroy the enemy. Disruption and fatigue have been mounting, and losses followed suit. I am resting a couple of days, while a regiment which just arrived in Merak moves in.

Over Darwin, bombing raids from Koepang continue, unopposed, and still destroy enemy planes on the ground. Why those were not evacuated is strange.

Clark Field was reinforced. A first deliberate attack did not manage to reach 1:1 odds. Three more regiments will arrive in a week. This should be enough to take the place.

In Kweilin, two tank regiments attacked the city. The funny thing with tanks in China is that they can fight at impossible odds, and still suffer very light losses (but they do get disabled). I am a little too weak to take the place. Two regiments from Liuchow are moving in, but I suspect the base will be reinforced before they arrive.

Over Changsha and Chengtu, strategic bombing goes on, focusing on the resources. No enemy fighters are to be seen, not sure why.

In Lanchow, reinforcements have arrived. I now have close to 4000 AV, against 1500 enemies. This should do the trick. East of Ankang, a deliberate attack chased some of the defenders. This hex will probably fall soon. 35 units are reported in Ankang, most of them being the troops defeated in Sian. Progress is being made. In the mountains between Ankang and Tienshui, daily bombardments cause several hundred casualties. It is a matter of time…

Meanwhile, I have been shifting troops from Sian towards Sinyang, and Hankow. I am planning to recapture Ichang. Once this is done, I could progress towards Patung, or threaten to cut off Changsha, or just leave the place and reinforce Ankang. This will depend on how fast Lanchow and Sining can be dealt with.

Prospects in China are very good. In the north, the last combat-worthy units are getting slowly reduced. Supply level seem awful everywhere. There is no sign of activity in Burma (and two divisions are arriving there soon, which will make any attempt at recapture a slow affair).

[fcharton]

While nothing's official, it seems very likely this game will end. Differences in playing styles and interests make prospects very dull. It is a game, after all, worth playing only if both players have fun, and getting bored for commitment's sake seems very futile. (There is still a small chance it might go on, no fare thee well yet).

My opponent and I have been discussing playing as a Japanese team in a Reluctant Admiral campaign. We'll most probably send an invitation soon, to begin a game later this autumn. If we can find opponents (I'm not too concerned about that), we're agreed I'll handle the AAR, a good thing, since I have come to realize writing the AAR is the best part of this game.

Since this AAR began with a chinese poem, I can't help closing it (though perhaps temporarily) with another one. This is Laozi 47, translations and errors mine (tried to put the chinese original, in case anyone is interested, but it seems the forum software won't allow me...).

Not cross one's gate
Yet know the world,
Not gaze at one's window
Yet see Heaven's ways

The farther one goes
The less one knows

Therefore the wise
Travels not, yet knows
Watches not, yet grasps
Acts not, yet achieves

I like this one, because I think it nicely characterize us, the armchair generals...
Francois

[PaxMondo]

Ach. Very sorry to see this end (if in fact it does). You had a good game going from the IJ POV.

[SqzMyLemon]

I echo Pax in being disappointed in not seeing this match continue, but your point of not being bored simply for commitment's sake is a valid one. Sort of felt we had parallel games going somewhat, both historical perimeters and awaiting the onslaught. It is a long haul though when there is no action.

I have another PBEM partner that may be interested in a 2v2, I think he'd prefer scenario two though. We were thinking of starting a 2v2 at some point as Japan, but I'm sure he could be convinced to play the Allies . He's very good, he's been schooling me for awhile now and my tactical improvement is owed to him. Just a thought, I'll run it by him and if you would be interested I can send you a PM another time.

Sad to see this one end, but really enjoyed your thoughts and game analysis Francois.

Joseph