An early conquest of Singapore could mean that it will be possible an early trip to India.... Rader landed in India in our game on the beginning of April....
If Singa falls by the first days of 1942, Java and Sumatra should be finished by the end of Feb.... so in March we could be packing up for India... who knows[:D]
Just call me the "voice of pessimism," but Singapore isn't going to fall in the first days of 1942. Your opponent is very, very tough. He's going to slow you down in many areas. If you have an unrealistically ambitious timetable, you're going to find yourself frustrated, then desperate, then willing to gamble by trying for inside straights to "get yourself back on schedule." That's a recipe for disaster. Against a foe as good as Q-Ball, you need to have well though out plans (as you're doing now) but tempered with realism. Only if some breaks go your way opening some doors will you be able to crash through and do something big early. But that isn't likely.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Dan....no, you're not pessimist. I perfectly understand you. You are realistic.
The fact is that i never opened jap's side before this match. Not even against the AI...so my only "perception" of what is doable, what is easy and what is a tough call for the japs is based on my game against Rader where he seemed to me like an unstoppable train running at 200 mph.... but that vision was distorted by my inexperience and so everything seems to me easy now, while it is not. I get it.
At the same time i know that the first 4 months are vital for Japan. I need to secure the historical perimeter asap in order to be able to defend against allied hordes in 1943/44.... so i'm constantly torn between two dichotomic feelings when i look at the map
"It's easy. Com'on, grab that base asap and then push forward. Those ants won't harm your mighty armies!" ....and then "Wait, remember what you read in the AARs.... war can easily be lost by Japan in the first months.... go slowly but steady"....
....i know....i have much and much to learn.... and my opponent is a very experienced jap player....and probably a jap player is the most dangerous opponent you can find when he plays the allies
Just call me the "voice of pessimism," but Singapore isn't going to fall in the first days of 1942. Your opponent is very, very tough. He's going to slow you down in many areas. If you have an unrealistically ambitious timetable, you're going to find yourself frustrated, then desperate, then willing to gamble by trying for inside straights to "get yourself back on schedule." That's a recipe for disaster. Against a foe as good as Q-Ball, you need to have well though out plans (as you're doing now) but tempered with realism. Only if some breaks go your way opening some doors will you be able to crash through and do something big early. But that isn't likely.
+1
CR, on the contrary, you are far from the voice of pessimism. Let me show you how. [;)]
primary plans. then fallback plans. then contingency plans. then disaster plans. you need to have them all when playing against someone as good as QB. The reason for them all is so that before you launch any operation you can clearly see the price of failure. Always make sure that the fruits of a potential victory are greater than the outcomes you would face in the event of a failure. Your oppoent knows he has to force only one or two failures in '42 for the game to be over in early '44 (or sooner). He also knows all your potential targets and you have a lot of them. He only has to pick a couple and interupt those that you are prepared for ... ooops.
As opposed to your last game:
1. the IJ has little to no recovery capability.
2. you can maintain your offensive, or at least the capability of offensive operations, only as long as you have your carrier dominance. Lose that and you become one dimensional vastly simplifying your opponents decisions.
The combination of the above two items is what makes playing the IJ so difficult as opposed to the allies. It means once you suffer your "Midway" and the allies are aware of it, you are one dimensional (defensive) and worse without a fast reaction force (witness what PZB is able to do on defense with a complete KB even though out numbered). Good Luck!
One small question.... does it make sense to halt musashi and accelerate 3 1944 CVs (while leaving the 1942 CVs as they are) ?
I do .... gives you the possibility of maintaining your CV superiority into late '43 ...
Thanks Pax! That's what i was looking for![&o]
Actually, what I do is halt the Musashi for a little bit, accelerate all the Unryu's, build a little NSY, halt a bunch of other ships so that I can restart the Musashi. Musashi is effective for me in '43 ... but by '44 it is only allied VP's. I have to do a lot of playing around with ships to get this to happen right ....
I'm 6 weeks ahead of you as the Allies. You are playing a mod that has stacking limits. Some of the lessons you learned against Rader no longer apply. No 'death star' in China. You will need to focus on one of those two objectives. In front of Sian, I've pulled back to the woods/jungle/rough hexes that are about 3 to 4 hexes out in a small arc with me meeting the stacking limits. He is trying to break through but it is very difficult with him unable to use a large stack of units to just bulldoze his way through.
Malaya is doable in early Jan '42, if you know how to do it. It took me three games to learn how to do so. The question will be how much an effort Brad puts in stopping a landing at Mersing that will destroy almost all his air force over that one effort. How much of his navy will he commit here?? The key is the priority you place on follow up forces to land behind the 5th Division at Mersing.
I have two games going with Babes + stacking limits. The AARs (both from my side as Allies) might give you some ideas about how or how not to handle China.
I have two games going with Babes + stacking limits. The AARs (both from my side as Allies) might give you some ideas about how or how not to handle China.
I am already following your first game (the one which is in june 42) and really enjoying it!! it's a constant bloodbath! Your Burma campaign has been thrilling with that constrictor japanese strategy! However it's fearsome from a japanese point of view...
Burma is clearly a pita for Japan even with the stack limits... it's an open door for Indichina and so for northern DEI.... i'm thinking about a long term strategy to prevent it...or at least to postpone the moment when the allies can overcome the japanese Burmese defences.... but the only way seems to try your luck into an Indian campaign...
In China i got the message: no Death Star. Flank and manouvre.... and i know japan has a more mobile army so i have to take advantage of that. Flank and move, flank and move. Pinn the enemy and flank him. Cut his supply routes....
But to do that....to take care of Burma and China... i need first to secure DEI and SRA....and do it fast.
...Oh God, the good days are back....i can't wait for another turn....just as it was with Rader....this game is a drug!!!!![&o]
The question will be how much an effort Brad puts in stopping a landing at Mersing that will destroy almost all his air force over that one effort. How much of his navy will he commit here?? The key is the priority you place on follow up forces to land behind the 5th Division at Mersing.
That's what i'm thinking....it's risky, i know....but it gives me the chance to destroy his air force in a single battle.... that would open me the doors for an early Singapore bombing suppression....
The question will be how much an effort Brad puts in stopping a landing at Mersing that will destroy almost all his air force over that one effort. How much of his navy will he commit here?? The key is the priority you place on follow up forces to land behind the 5th Division at Mersing.
That's what i'm thinking....it's risky, i know....but it gives me the chance to destroy his air force in a single battle.... that would open me the doors for an early Singapore bombing suppression....
If you were doing the conventional malaya invasion what else you could try is barge seaborn flanking moves down the coast. The extended map has some bases just for this. From George town or Alor Star you can hit Ulang Melingtang, Port Swettenham, Port Dickenson, all the way down to Batu Pahat all by barges and I don’t think anybody pays much attention to those bases. If they do it spreads out the defenses. Port Swettenham is on a line with Kuantan and batu Pakat is on a line with Mersing. You can use small coastal ships and those cool IJA Shipping Engineer units to do the same thing on the east coast, or at least threaten to do that and spread out the defenses even more.
DBB has a special breakout for some IJA Malaya divisions where the artillery is separate and the Infantry Regiments are just squads and battalion guns so they are easy to move this way. But you don’t want to recombine them and then split them up again because then you get some of the big guns in each split and you can’t load them quickly at all without leaving fragments behind.
A good trick is to suck the British up into defending the line of Kuala Lumpur, Temulo, Kuantan and then cutting them off with landings at Port Dickenson and Batu Pahat. When your opponent reacts to that, then hit Mersing with a coastal amph TF….it’s risky, I know.…but you sound like a risk taker.[;)]
It's the GreyJoy drinking game. Everytime GJ mis-spells a place name you most make a mental note to have an extra shot next time you are imbibing. [:D] Try it! But no driving!
Today I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter's gun in the other. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. I repeat, do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. - Yasser Arafat Speech to UN General Assembly
Cool idea on the barge invasions along the "West" coast of Malaya. They couldn't, however, have any escorts unless the IJN can also spawn patrol craft (like PT boats) from Georgetown for example.
In my view, QBall is much too experienced a player to get "sucked into defending" midway up the Malay peninsula, US878. Give the guy some credit. That is why he is building up Mersing and running from northern Malaya like the devil is right behind. Oh, wait, the devil IS right behind!
You can try the Mersing gambit Ser Greyjoy, but I do not think it will bear much fruit. Maybe by bombing his retreating forces you can knock them out of strat/move mode, slowing their headlong race toward Singers and giving you a chance to cut a few off. Good luck on a rapid conquest of Malaya. I think it is quite possible to get Singers by mid to late January. Before that....against QBall, doubtful.
So, I'd economize, take a slower but forceful approach and aim/plan for Singers to surrender in late January. He may try the evac game, so suppressing the AF as soon as reasonably possible would be a priority along with cutting off the sea lane with a SCTF.
I have seen IJN players run minesweepers into Singers over a few days, then follow that up with BB bombardments. The coastal guns might get some large caliber hits, but the 6" guys will not hurt your BBs much at all.
In my view, QBall is much too experienced a player to get "sucked into defending" midway up the Malay peninsula, US878. Give the guy some credit. That is why he is building up Mersing and running from northern Malaya like the devil is right behind. Oh, wait, the devil IS right behind!
You can try the Mersing gambit Ser Greyjoy, but I do not think it will bear much fruit. Maybe by bombing his retreating forces you can knock them out of strat/move mode, slowing their headlong race toward Singers and giving you a chance to cut a few off. Good luck on a rapid conquest of Malaya. I think it is quite possible to get Singers by mid to late January. Before that....against QBall, doubtful.
So, I'd economize, take a slower but forceful approach and aim/plan for Singers to surrender in late January. He may try the evac game, so suppressing the AF as soon as reasonably possible would be a priority along with cutting off the sea lane with a SCTF.
In my practice 1st turn with GreyJoy, I set him up for a successful Mersing landing. He comes ashore with the 5th Division with all its components on the 10th. Up at Kota Bharu, he lands with all the components of the 18th Division.
Kota Bharu is taken on the 8th. The 18th Division is recombined and then divided into three combat commands. One heads SW along the rail line. The other two reload to make the short hook down to Kota Bharu. It will follow the 5th Division. Don't forget that the 5th Division is an elite formation with an experience of 90.
The Allies have the two Aussie brigades, but both their experience levels is just 50 with an AV of 77 each. The one at Kluong (remember this is DBB and there are a few more bases) can make it in time, but the other one at Johore Bharu will probably not. The Allies have to get the 11th Indian Division which starts up at Alor Star and Taiping into Strat Mode and recombined.
In my game as the Allies playing this mod (now in late January), I reacted like he was going to land at Mersing and he did on the 8th. I was barely able to get the 11th through and into Singapore, but he wasn't aggressive enough with his follow up forces, IMO. The 38th after Hong Kong, the 21st at Shanghai, and the 33rd at Nagasaki are a must at Mersing as follow up (if not these three, then another group of whole divisions). He just came across with 5th, 38th, & IG along with 5 infantry regiments. Needless to say, those 5 regiments are out of the war for the next two months. You have to come into Singapore with recombined infantry divisions or your regiments will be almost totally disabled.
It took me three games of failure in Malaya before I finally got the Mersing landing right. The first one had me keeping my troops in combat mode most of the time as I hadn't figured out the movements mechanics then. Getting into Singapore quickly is tough as I have learned.
AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Dec 09, 41
Ok guys, my Mersing invasion fleet has finally being rebuilt (with the Kongos joining the Kaga and Ryuho) 5 hexes far from Mersing. However it seems that Bradd is really foreseeing this move and apparently he is mining Mersing (sunk 2 minelayers and 3 more are spotted at Mersing), while at least a CL is spotted in Singapore harbour.
At the same time our subs, east of Palembang, exchanged blows against brit DDs...they are probably part of Force Z (the mouseover shows a CV and a BC...so i guess its the POW and the Repulse).
Brad ambushed my Vals from Singora, placing 3 xAKLs at Georgetown...obviously my crack pre-war Val pilots went after those useless ships and got butchered by the AVG that was waiting for them.... My sallies, that were ordered to bomb the troops that were moving back southwards from Georgetown, got ambushed too.... at the end of the day i lost 18 pre-war priceless bombers and 28 planes....for no gain[:(]
I'm still undecided what to do with Mersing....he's clearly waiting for me there...i should push forward but the disaster is always close..... this afternoon i'll think about it....
Thanks for your great ideas guys...the "barge" operation sounds really nice but first i gotta get the controll of the skies...and i'm still far from that gain!
His ships fleeing from the PI are moving east....some of them got intercepted by CVL Zuhio which is moving with the BBs towards Babodealp in order to support the operations in the southern DEI.
KB still moving towards Wake, while my Kavieng invasion force got ambushed by a group of Vindicators coming from Rabaul.... where do the come from? a CV? The Yorktown or the Saratoga probably....
Addak and Mitichikta are conquered without problems.
Now i fear the dreaded CAP trap over Mersing....if he puts there a SCTF with some LRCAP of the AVG i'll lose too many precious pilots.... what to do!? I need to get close but....
In China we're still moving.... our invasion force entered HK today and will soon start to bombard...
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Submarine attack near Muntok at 52,89
Japanese Ships
SS I-153
Allied Ships
AVP Poolster, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
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Submarine attack near Tioman Island at 52,84
Japanese Ships
SS I-155
Allied Ships
CMc Pro Patria, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Lubang at 77,78, Range 12,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
DD Nenohi
DD Hatsushima
Allied Ships
xAKL Paz, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Corregidor, Shell hits 12, and is sunk
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Night Time Surface Combat, near San Fernando at 80,74, Range 10,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CA Maya
CA Ashigara
CL Natori
CL Kuma
DD Satsuki
DD Minazuki
DD Fumizuki
DD Nagatsuki
DD Asakaze
DD Harukaze
DD Matsukaze
DD Hatakaze
Allied Ships
DD John D. Ford
DD Peary
DD Pillsbury, Shell hits 1
DD Pope, Shell hits 1
I hoped my CAs did a better job....[&:]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Toboali at 51,91
Japanese Ships
SS I-153
Allied Ships
DD Tenedos
DD Vampire
DD Express
DD Electra
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Day Time Surface Combat, near Bataan at 76,77, Range 19,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
DD Hatsuharu
DD Wakaba
Allied Ships
TK La Estrella Caltex, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
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Submarine attack near Oosthaven at 47,97
Japanese Ships
SS I-122
Allied Ships
xAP Poelau Telo, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
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Submarine attack near Merak at 48,97
Japanese Ships
SS I-121
Allied Ships
xAP Poelau Telo, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
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Submarine attack near Billiton at 52,92
Japanese Ships
SS I-165
Allied Ships
AMC Manoora, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
AMC Manoora is sighted by SS I-165
SS I-165 launches 2 torpedoes at AMC Manoora
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Morning Air attack on 2/215th Bty 80th AT Gun Regiment, at 49,75 (Taiping)
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid spotted at 24 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes
Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 16
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 8
Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 9 *AVG*
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 1 destroyed
No Allied losses
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Morning Air attack on 8th Indian Brigade, at 51,76 , near Kota Bharu
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes
Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 19
Ki-30 Ann x 17
Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 4
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27b Nate: 1 destroyed
Ki-30 Ann: 1 destroyed
No Allied losses
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Morning Air attack on TF, near Kavieng at 106,121
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid spotted at 10 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes
Allied aircraft
SB2U-3 Vindicator x 16
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
xAKL Kaijo Maru #2, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
xAKL Tateyama Maru, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
Japanese ground losses:
639 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 3 (3 destroyed, 0 disabled)
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Georgetown at 49,74
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid spotted at 13 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes
Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 7
Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 17
Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 4 destroyed
No Allied losses
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Georgetown at 49,74
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid spotted at 13 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes
Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 7
Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 16
Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 4 destroyed
No Allied losses
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 51,82 *Mining???*
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid detected at 32 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 13
B5N1 Kate x 8
B5N2 Kate x 22
Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 1
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 1 destroyed
Allied Ships
HDML 1062, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
MMS-51
ML No. 310
ML No. 311
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Submarine attack near Billiton at 52,92
Japanese Ships
SS I-165
Allied Ships
AMC Kanimlba, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
Nates - CAP and Escort missions
Oscars - Sweep and LRCAP of TF
Zero - CAP (CVs), LRCAP, and Sweep (I think they will not encounter many planes over Singapore as Brad will have his Buff on Escort to get his TBs through).
DMS - how many of them are in your transport TF headed for a possible landing at Mersing??
Transport TF - If Brad sends in some CL based TF to get into your transport, what warships do you have in them to counter?? They may get by your SC TF, so you need something there.
Heavy SC TF - Do you have one that you 'may' need to place south of Mersing as he will likely send in Force Z for a night time attack at Mersing.
Kaga and Co - You may have to have it placed so her Kates can range out to 7 hexes and be within 9 hexes of Mersing. Why?? To get a Force Z 'if' he comes for Mersing at Full Speed. How much will be devoted to LRCAP of transports??
Consider diverting a large Zero group from Takao to this area (Kota Bharu to help with LRCAP. Use your transports to airlift BF to Malaya. I set some of my TF at Full Speed to get those BFs across.
Edit - Vindicators have a transfer range of over 40 hexes. They came from a CV via Wake. Thus, they can be in the SRA in another day or two if he wants and with drop tanks, they can reach out to 10 hexes. They are old, but they carry a nasty punch. [:-] Beware!!
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