Payback - jzanes (A) vs. Rader (J). A Rader-free zone.

[Jzanes]

(April 24, 1945 con’t)

Burma:

Since the Carrier Battle of the Andamans Islands, the Japanese have made no moves to oppose British moves in this region. The British brought in major reinforcements to Port Blair and finally captured the base and wiped out the Japanese garrison. The Port Blair force then trained a couple weeks and recently captured Little Andaman. They are now training for a landing at Great Nicobar closer to Sumatra.

Medium and heavy bombers have been pounding troops and airfields throughout the region. Rader recently moved up some troops to Chumpion and I was afraid he’d try to breakthru to Prichaup Khiri Khan. I massed my bombers and pounded these troops for a week but in the end he never attacked. I suspect he was just reinforcing his front line.

Once Great Nicobar is captured it’s time to decide what to do with the British. I see several options;

a. Go all out and try to break the stalemate in the north of the line around Chiang Mai. My Chinese expeditionary army is just about rebuilt but the terrain in the north is Jungle Rough which means the defender gets a 3x multiplier to their AV.
b. Go all out and try to breakthrough to Bangkok in the center of the line. Some of the terrain in the center is “only” jungle but there is only one road between my coastal bases and Bangkok and it’s strongly held by the Japanese.
c. Continue to make amphibious landings in Sumatra or Malaya. I can use surprise to grab a weakly held base but there is always the risk that the IJN will send strong forces to counterattack. I am pretty certain that Rader has the combined fleet at Singapore ready to counter the Brits or the Americans in the DEI.
d. “The Big Option”. Load up a large chunk of the British army and send it to the DEI to reinforce the American operations. Perhaps coordinating a landing in Southern Sumatra/Northern Java in conjunction with an American attack on South Java. I’m sure that Rader has adapted to my slow methodical approach by now and I might just have to do something “crazy” to mix it up sometime soon. The problem with this “Big Option” is that it’ll only take Rader a turn or two to mass his LBA and pound away at the British fleet guarding the amphibious force. Not being able to operate under an allied LBA umbrella will be costly to my fleet.

[Jzanes]

(April 24, 1945 con’t)

DEI:

The americans have now been on the offensive since early 1944 when they moved on New Caledonia. During the course of the countless landings in the Solomons and now the DEI, both Rader and I have been changing tactics as old strategies proved ineffective or became outdated.

My current allied amphibious strategy is in reaction to noticing how Rader runs his defense. He adapted this defensive strategy in reaction to my strategy of pounding his forward airbases in front of my invasions. On multiple occasions, he’s had his airforce smashed prior to my landing and then was unable to effectively counter massive allied carrier airpower. So, Rader started keeping his airpower deployed in the rear and then moving it forward once I commenced a landing. Recognizing this, I started running my amphibious force in very quickly, landing all my troops in one turn (2 days), and then having the transports and supporting carriers pull out on the next turn. This allowed me to “dodge” any potential air counterattack and take advantage of the lack of air opposition in the first 2 days (since Rader’s airpower is still deployed to the rear). LSTs, APAs, etc. land troops and supply so quickly, that I was able to easily capture the bases even after only landing stuff for 2 days. This worked well until about 2 weeks ago….

After capturing Kendari, the allied armada loaded up and made a move on Makassar. In the first two days, everything went fine with lots of stuff unloaded and no Japanese opposition. Then for some reason, I decided to get greedy and leave my fleet around Makassar for another two days. On that second turn, waves of Japanese planes made runs at the carriers and battleships around Makassar. Allied carrier fighters and flak wiped out about 1200 japanese planes but in case anyone wasn’t sure, uber CAP is no more. I had upwards of 1000 fighters over the fleet but many raids got thru the CAP much sooner than I would’ve imagined and many Japanese planes were able to bomb, torpedo, or ram the allied ships. In the end I lost the Yorktown and Wasp and 5 CVEs. Several other carriers were damaged but are rapidly finishing their repairs and returning to the line. Several fast battleships were slightly damaged and one of the older BBs was sunk.

Since then, the fleet has been resting and training while I finished up the invasions of Koepang and Roti (Timor area). The plan is to continue to move “up the line” of islands on the way to Java. I haven’t decided yet, but it if I attack Java, I’ll have to first suppress the complex of airbases around Soerabaja. This won’t be easy since there are lots of large airbases in Java and suppressing them all will be very tricky.

Meanwhile, the capture of Makassar and Manado (northern Celebes near the Phillipines) has effectively closed down the Makassar strait. Small Japanese TFs have tried to penetrate my blockade but have been quickly sunk by subs or marine SBDs. I’ll be jumping over to Borneo fairly soon. I’ll probably wait until I capture the Flores/Soemba airbases first to help suppress the Java airfields that could hit my fleet in the flank while I invade Balikpapan/Samarinda.

[Jzanes]

(April 24, 1945 con’t)

Gilbert Islands:

For the last several months, I’ve been grabbing the dot bases around Tabiteuea in the Gilberts. I have been using small forces and small “cheap” TFs just in case the Japanese became interested in opposing me. I have several hundred airframes in the area. These are mostly patrol planes but half a dozen Kiwi corsair squadrons should be able to fight off any light Japanese harassment. A couple light cruiser/DD squadrons provide similar protection vs. any naval raiders.

However, I’ve seen no sign of any opposition and I suspect Rader has written off this area. On Fiji, I’ve gathered a scratch force of random Kiwi and American odds and ends backed up by an American CVE force and I’m just about ready to invade Tabiteuea. This once mighty Japanese citadel now has only 8 units and 20,000 troops. I hope that my force of about 1,000 AV will be able to grab it. If not, I’ll load them up and try some of the more lightly held bases in the area. I’m in no hurry in this area and anything I grab in the central pacific between now and the end is gravy as far as I’m concerned.

[obvert]

First, congrats on the new addition! I'm sure it's tough to stay involved in this with that kind of gorgeous distraction nearby.

Second, wow! Quite an update. I love the regional analysis with the screenshots. Really gets the game up to date and gives a feeling for the struggles all over right now.

It must be hard to plow and grind through the DEI knowing a massive air assault could set you back several months.

About the B-29s, I think anything into the HI would help you tremendously. If you can reach, maybe give it a try and see if the losses are profitable and sustainable. If you can break through in Russia and keep up supply then soon you'll have some much closer bases. As a surprise beginning it would be interesting to try a port attack somewhere where he might have a lot parked or repairing.

As for the DEI, if you've closed most of the oil already, and are about to shut off the route home, I'd head North. Hit Babeldiob and Peleliu, possibly as a support stop on the way to the Marianas and Bonins. You should have Death Star Carrier TF ability by now, so it could be worth a try? Keep him jumping at least. Anything South is superflous and won't really matter once you go by it to the North. You should be able to hit most of those islands with your bigs and close the AIR before coming in, as there are far fewer airbases to use up there.

If you can manage any kind of a breakthrough in Burma I'm sure that would make him squirm too. Maybe try a fake landing to see what he brings to stop it, using a bunch of AKLs or something you don't need as much.

My two cents anyway.

[Jzanes]

ORIGINAL: obvert

First, congrats on the new addition! I'm sure it's tough to stay involved in this with that kind of gorgeous distraction nearby.

Second, wow! Quite an update. I love the regional analysis with the screenshots. Really gets the game up to date and gives a feeling for the struggles all over right now.

It must be hard to plow and grind through the DEI knowing a massive air assault could set you back several months.

About the B-29s, I think anything into the HI would help you tremendously. If you can reach, maybe give it a try and see if the losses are profitable and sustainable. If you can break through in Russia and keep up supply then soon you'll have some much closer bases. As a surprise beginning it would be interesting to try a port attack somewhere where he might have a lot parked or repairing.

As for the DEI, if you've closed most of the oil already, and are about to shut off the route home, I'd head North. Hit Babeldiob and Peleliu, possibly as a support stop on the way to the Marianas and Bonins. You should have Death Star Carrier TF ability by now, so it could be worth a try? Keep him jumping at least. Anything South is superflous and won't really matter once you go by it to the North. You should be able to hit most of those islands with your bigs and close the AIR before coming in, as there are far fewer airbases to use up there.

If you can manage any kind of a breakthrough in Burma I'm sure that would make him squirm too. Maybe try a fake landing to see what he brings to stop it, using a bunch of AKLs or something you don't need as much.

My two cents anyway.

Thanks for the kind words Obvert.

Some very good ideas in your comments. I would like to hit the home islands but I'm concerned about the limited supply of B-29s. One bad run in with some massed japanese fighters and my strategic force could be blunted for several months. I may go ahead and hit some targets in Hokkaido anyways, just to force Rader to commit some fighters to home defense.

I'm almost certain that Singapore is the main hub for the IJN. Unfortunately, it is just out of fighter range and Rader doesn't leave it without a heavy fighter presence. If I can get 6 or 7 hexes closer, I might just be able to make Singapore untenable. In the DEI, the americans have a similar situation with Batavia and Palembang. Grabbing some airbases in Borneo or Southern Java will mean the end for those bases also.

I understand your point about cutting off Java and letting it rot by moving north. I'm currently thinking about moving up the Makassar strait and grabbing Balikpapan, then Tarakan, then Jolo, then Miri/Brunei. Going the other way thru Peleliu/Babeldaob would mean I'd have to take on the Phillipines and it's clear from my recon that Rader has Mindanao very very heavily garrisoned. The recent bloody nose my carriers got at Makassar has proven to me that I need to be careful with the carriers. They are very strong but it's not quite the "Death Star" that you'd see in the original WITP.

I'll try to remember to post a screenshot showing the Borneo/Mindanao/Peleliu area next update.

[SoliInvictus202]

why not have the B-29s run a night bombing campaign? - this should limit your AtoA losses considerably! - do you have any rules against it? (ops losses might be an issue over time though..)

[Jzanes]

ORIGINAL: SoliInvictus202

why not have the B-29s run a night bombing campaign? - this should limit your AtoA losses considerably! - do you have any rules against it? (ops losses might be an issue over time though..)

Our houserule limits us to using no more than the moonlight level divided by 3 bombers on night mission per turn. So even with 100% moonlight I can only use 33 bombers at night. Given this limitation, I save the night bombers for laying mines.

[obvert]

I understand your point about cutting off Java and letting it rot by moving north. I'm currently thinking about moving up the Makassar strait and grabbing Balikpapan, then Tarakan, then Jolo, then Miri/Brunei. Going the other way thru Peleliu/Babeldaob would mean I'd have to take on the Phillipines and it's clear from my recon that Rader has Mindanao very very heavily garrisoned. The recent bloody nose my carriers got at Makassar has proven to me that I need to be careful with the carriers. They are very strong but it's not quite the "Death Star" that you'd see in the original WITP.

Sounds like a prudent plan. But it will also be what he expects, based on your recent attack paths. If you feint there then go elsewhere, you might catch him unabl to get the AIR shifted around in time.

When you're talking about MIndanao being heavily garrisoned, I assume you mean AIR. Because you wouldn't need to tackle any landings there. But if you keep the carriers to the East of Babeldiob while landing on it, does he have the range to hit you hard from Mindanao? Looks like it's 14 hexes from Davao to Babeldaob, and if you're a few hexes to the EAST, then you should be safe from the bulk of the AIR from the Phillipenes. You'd be about the same from the closest of the Marianas. So then it would only be 5 island bases to close or cripple before going in. Babs, Peleliu, Ulithi, Yap, and possibly Wolleai.

In fact, Borneo is much closer to Mindanao, and you're between several areas of large air bases down there, which to me would seem MORE hazardous. But of course I'm only sitting on the sidelines here

[Jzanes]

ORIGINAL: obvert

I understand your point about cutting off Java and letting it rot by moving north. I'm currently thinking about moving up the Makassar strait and grabbing Balikpapan, then Tarakan, then Jolo, then Miri/Brunei. Going the other way thru Peleliu/Babeldaob would mean I'd have to take on the Phillipines and it's clear from my recon that Rader has Mindanao very very heavily garrisoned. The recent bloody nose my carriers got at Makassar has proven to me that I need to be careful with the carriers. They are very strong but it's not quite the "Death Star" that you'd see in the original WITP.

Sounds like a prudent plan. But it will also be what he expects, based on your recent attack paths. If you feint there then go elsewhere, you might catch him unabl to get the AIR shifted around in time.

When you're talking about MIndanao being heavily garrisoned, I assume you mean AIR. Because you wouldn't need to tackle any landings there. But if you keep the carriers to the East of Babeldiob while landing on it, does he have the range to hit you hard from Mindanao? Looks like it's 14 hexes from Davao to Babeldaob, and if you're a few hexes to the EAST, then you should be safe from the bulk of the AIR from the Phillipenes. You'd be about the same from the closest of the Marianas. So then it would only be 5 island bases to close or cripple before going in. Babs, Peleliu, Ulithi, Yap, and possibly Wolleai.

In fact, Borneo is much closer to Mindanao, and you're between several areas of large air bases down there, which to me would seem MORE hazardous. But of course I'm only sitting on the sidelines here

I'm sure I could grab Peleilu/Babeldaob but I'm trying to avoid approaching the home islands via the Marianas. I would have to take these islands with little or no LBA support and I'm wary of giving Rader an opportunity to wreak havoc with the KB.

I prefer to advance under an umbrella of LBA support. Advancing thru Borneo seems safer as their really aren't that many (occupied) japanese bases on Borneo and they are at relatively long range from his big bases in the Phillipines. The big empty interior can protect my left flank as I move up the Makassar strait. My big airbases on Celebes will provide LBA support and each base I capture will provide new airfields that I can use to suppress the next base in the line.

Another advantage of advancing thru Borneo is that once I grab Miri/Brunei, I will then be able to interdict any shipping in the South China Sea and open up these shipping routes to my submarine armada. Advancing thru the Marianas will leave the shipping lanes from Palembang/Java still open and wouldn't allow me to safely get my subs into the action in the South China Sea.

I'm still checking out the map and haven't fully committed myself to my next objectives yet so keep the comments/opinions coming!

p.s. I don't think there is a target I can pick that will catch Rader being unable to move in his airpower in time. With his interior lines, he can probably move a couple thousands planes to any point within 2 or maybe 4 days. What I am trying to do is to get him to commit his air to various points on the map where I can attrit it and destroy it on the ground. I'm sure it takes him a week or two to rebuild his squadrons after one of these big battles. That would be the time to make a big move. Once I start the next round of offensives, I'll try to have them all going at the same time. With the russians, british, and americans attacking him on multiple fronts, maybe we can get Rader to get scared and commit his planes.

p.p.s. added a map of the area

[obvert]

So from this it sounds like you think the KB is still strong at this point in the game. I had assumed you could double its strength by now, with better quality planes and pilots.

If I were him, I would prefer you to hit Borneo, is all I'm saying. It keeps you within distance of many LBA centers, keeps him from HAVING to use the KB, (which it seems he's kept at a distance for a while if I remember correctly), and it takes longer for you to start getting B-29s in range of his Industry. But maybe you're counting on Russia for this.

I do agree with the all fronts at once launch plan. If you hit him hard for two weeks everywhere, it'll be difficult to keep the pilot quality up especially.

[Jzanes]

ORIGINAL: obvert

So from this it sounds like you think the KB is still strong at this point in the game. I had assumed you could double its strength by now, with better quality planes and pilots.

If I were him, I would prefer you to hit Borneo, is all I'm saying. It keeps you within distance of many LBA centers, keeps him from HAVING to use the KB, (which it seems he's kept at a distance for a while if I remember correctly), and it takes longer for you to start getting B-29s in range of his Industry. But maybe you're counting on Russia for this.

I do agree with the all fronts at once launch plan. If you hit him hard for two weeks everywhere, it'll be difficult to keep the pilot quality up especially.

The KB is still very dangerous. I'm sure the USN would win a toe to toe battle with the KB. That isn't going to happen though. Rader has developed a tactic where uses the KB to enhance his land based air. He swoops in and parks his carriers just out of range of the american carriers (tied to the amphibious shipping) and uses his carrier airgroups to give his LBA some extra punch.

[Jzanes]

May 8, 1945:

In the last two weeks, the Russians and Americans have made some nice progress while the Chinese and British sectors are quiet. I’ll cover the events in the soviet and American sectors in this update.

Russia (Chita area):

Small Russian forces have been marching on Arshaan and are about to cut the rail between Hailar and Borzya. Rader spotted this and immediately began to move his forces SW of Chita towards the rail lines. I suspect he recognizes the danger of having this large force cutoff and is seeking to form a new defensive line. I suspect I’ll find Russian forces entrenched in the woods east of Borzya and Hailar once I get my main force across the steppe.

I marched a single division from Chita to the far eastern part of the line hoping to rout the single Japanese unit in the hex (an infantry brigade) and cut off his multidivision force to the NE. It looks as though I got to the hex without Rader noticing my advance and my first two shock attacks got 1:1 odds and did some heavy damage to his brigade. I’ll keep pounding this Japanese brigade with LBA (including the soviet sector B29 force) and shock attacks. It will probably take Rader 2 or 3 turns to get any reinforcements to the hex.

[Jzanes]

(May 8, 1945 con’t)

(Russia con’t)

This screenshot shows the massive ground reinforcements that that Russians are going to receive in the next few weeks. Large formations arrive almost every day for the next few months. Similarly massive air reinforcements will start to flood the far east at the same time that all these ground units arrive.

I’m sure Rader is aware of these arrivals and that this is what has led him to start pulling back his exposed force north of Borzya.

[Jzanes]

(May 8, 1945 con’t)

(Russia con’t)

The next two months might be where Rader’s decision to activate the Russians comes back to haunt him. Historically, the Russians destroyed the Japanese Guangdong army in August. In our game, this might happen starting in May/June.

If the Soviets breakthrough to the Manchurian plain I will be able to start flying escorted B29 strikes on the home islands.

[Jzanes]

(May 8, 1945 con’t)

Americans:

American forces supported by carriers have captured Ruteng on Flores and are about to land on Soemba Island. However the main action is farther north around Borneo.

The capture of Bandjermasin and Sampit on Borneo has led to a series of engagements as the Japanese have attempted to disrupt the buildup of these bases. I suspected Rader would be forced to react to this move since these bases open the door to Balikpapan/Samarinda and give me airbases in easy range of Batavia, Palembang, and even Singapore.

Here’s a rough sequence of events;

1a. Massed US medium and heavy bombers destroy the small garrison of Bandjermasin.
1b. 11th airborne division (+ 503 Para rgt and 6th rangers bn) drop on Bandjermasin and 2nd Fiji commando Bn drops on and captures Sampit. Both bases are empty.

2. Barges and transport planes start bringing in reinforcements and supply. The Bandjermasin garrison is build around 38th infantry division and the key unit of the Sampit garrison is the 22nd marine rgt. About ½ the troops have arrived at this point. Both bases are supplied but just barely. Sampit is a level 1 field and has a Catalina squadron while Bandjermasin has a level 4 field and is defended by 150 marine corsairs, dauntlesses, and avengers. VII Bomber command has been flown in and can provide torpedoes to the Avengers. USN TFs composed of 4 DDs prowl the waters between Bandjermasin and Makassar.
As an aside, the DD is a wonderful tool. It's torpedoes provide a threat vs. bigger surface combatants, it shreds any smaller ships it comes across, it sinks any sub it finds, and it's speed and maneuverability make it very hard to hit by bomb or even kamikaze. Even if they are sunk, they aren't worth all that many points and at this point, I have lots of them to use even after providing 6 to 8 DDs for each aircombat and surface combat TF of the carrier fleet.

3. Japanese react:
a. First the Japanese send unescorted kamikazes that are slaughtered by the CAP. Rader said he forgot to reset their range settings and I believe him. It’s not like him to send unescorted bombers.
b. Next, the Japanese send a TF to raid Bandjermasin and another to raid Talaud-eilanden (off the Celebes). The Bandjermasin force shoots up some PTs and a barge TF but is bloodied by a US DD tf in the area. Rader makes a mistake and leaves both cruisers in the area during the day and both are attacked by SBDs and TBDs. The Bandjermasin cruiser gets lucky and escapes without damage while the one at Talaud-eilanden is hit by several 1000 pound bombs and is then torpedoed by a sub and hit by several more bombs while retreating. I’m not certain, but I suspect it sank.
c. this is followed by a CV raid. The Japanese carrier airgroups are savaged in poorly escorted raids on American shipping, do little damage, and the Japanese CAP over the carriers is unable to breakthrough the American escort fighters and stop the marines from hitting two different carriers with a single bomb each. Neither is heavily damaged but the Japanese carriers retreat to Batavia.
d. another CA raid on Bandjermasin coupled with small DD forces sweeping through the waters between Makassar and Bandjermasin. This time the CA doesn’t do much and retreats under cover of night. The Japanese DDs are harassed by subs, engaged by American DDs, and eventually 4 are sunk by a combination of cruiser gunfire and SBD bombs. 3 of these sunk DDs are the big Akitsuki class (3430 tons and 13 VPs each for these monsters).

[Jzanes]

(May 8, 1945 con’t)

(Americans con’t)

e. during the last week or so, Rader has been sweeping the main American airbase of Makassar with large #s of twin engined Ki-83 fighters. These high flying demons are the state of the art for the Japanese and were roughly handling the marine corsairs and army P38s with about a 3:2 kill ratio in their favor. This led me to switch out some P38s for P47Ns. In the last wave of sweep, Rader lost 20-some Ki-83s for 0 P47s lost. That should end those sweeps.

Here’s a side by side comparison of each side’s current top fighter. With our houserule, the Ki-83 must stay below 32,000 feet while the P47 has no limitation on altitude.

[obvert]

Well, from the one man peanut gallery here, looks pretty good. I realize I keep thinking conventionally about this game, and the campaign being open in Russia really changes everything.

Of course you really don't need the islands close to Japan as much if you get 7,000AV (!!!) this month to help push through Russia into Manchuria and B-29 range of the HI. Your moves with Air drops and barge transfers are smart and kept the main assets safe in a very condensed area of activity in the DEI. Nice work.

Once those airfields get going on Borneo, it'll shut down everything over there pretty quickly I imagine.

Didn't realize the Ki-83 was such a killer. I'll have to look into that. Stats are good though.

Keep the updates coming!

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: Jzanes

(May 8, 1945 con’t)

(Americans con’t)

e. during the last week or so, Rader has been sweeping the main American airbase of Makassar with large #s of twin engined Ki-83 fighters. These high flying demons are the state of the art for the Japanese and were roughly handling the marine corsairs and army P38s with about a 3:2 kill ratio in their favor. This led me to switch out some P38s for P47Ns. In the last wave of sweep, Rader lost 20-some Ki-83s for 0 P47s lost. That should end those sweeps.

Here’s a side by side comparison of each side’s current top fighter. With our houserule, the Ki-83 must stay below 32,000 feet while the P47 has no limitation on altitude.

With our HR Rader will be able to fly those monsters at whatever alt....[X(] Never know about those incredible planes....[&o]

[Jzanes]

May 12, 1945

Americans:

American and Australian troops land on Soemba and capture Memboro. Rader reacts by sending in another CA raid vs. Bandjermasin and unleashing his LBA and carrier air vs. allied shipping throughout the region. I had already pulled back my carriers and amphibious shipping. The only significant Japanese success was hitting the slow BB Nevada with 4 torpedoes south of Endeh. Nevada is still afloat and heading for Koepang harbor but I doubt she’ll survive.

American SBD heavily damage the raiding CA, and medium bombers, on naval strike missions, land a bomb on a CS within Rader’s CV fleet. Various US DD tfs in the Bandjermasin area damage or sink several IJN DDs.

[Jzanes]

(May 12, 1945 con’t)

(Americans con’t)

It’s a bloody turn in the air with the Japanese losing 550 planes and the allies losing 370 planes. Allied CAP shreds the Japanese escort fighters while the allies see several small SBD raids wiped out when they run into the KB CAP. As usual, the Japanese carrier based A6M5c Zeroes are the big losers. These appear to be the IJN’s top carrier based fighter but are hopelessly outclassed by most of the allied fighters.

In other news, the Burma based B29 force hit Shanghai and Canton harbours and sank at least 10 and perhaps as many as 50 japanese AKs and escorts. Rader left these bases without any fighter protection. I’m sure he’ll move his shipping out of B29 range now.