Zen and the Art of Waging War - TLG (J) vs adsoul64 (A)

[TheLoneGunman_MatrixForum]

[center]Zen and the Art of Waging War
TheLoneGunman (Japan) versus adsoul64 (Allies)

"It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell."
Buddha[/center]


Greetings! Having recently found enough time to proceed with a PBEM game, I have decided to start an AAR of my version of the war for everyone to read and participate in. As the titles suggests, I will be quoting heavily from Eastern philosophy in an attempt to both inspire and guide my campaign. Turn progress will be at a relaxed pace and methodical, though it may speed up as the war goes on, I'm in no hurry and want to enjoy this game with no pressure. adsoul64 has been kind enough to work with me to make sure we both had an understanding of what we wanted from a long-term game, so I'm looking forward to matching wits with him. I'll also give adsoul64 a chance to post in here once before banishing him from the thread until our game is concluded. With the introduction complete, let's move on to the game settings and rules shall we?

Game Settings:

DaIronBabes C (Beta MP Version)
- FOW: On
- Advanced Weather: On
- Allied Damage Control: On
- PDU: On
- Historical First Turn: Off
- Dec. 7th Surprise: On
- Reliable USN Torps: Off
- Realistic R&D: On
- No Unit Withdrawals: Off
- Reinforcements:
Allied: +-15 Days
Japan: +-15 Days
- Combat Reports: On
- Auto Sub Ops: Off
- Set All Facilities To Expand At Start: Off
- Automatic Upgrade Ships and Air Groups: Off
- Accept Air and Ground Replacements: Off
- Turn Cycle: 1

House Rules:

- You must pay PP for restricted units crossing national borders
- No 4E bombers below 10K ft (Naval attacks only)
- Invasions only in base/dot hexes
- No invasions with fragmented units
- No new Allied TFs on Day 1, no new orders to A/C and LCUs (Except China)
- Fighters should fly CAPs and Sweeps no higher than their second highest MVR band
- The Soviet military should operate completely independent of the other Allied powers when activated (so no US base forces or bombers attacking Japan from the Soviet Union or Soviet-controlled territory)
- No Turn 1 Mersing Gambit
- No unrealistic manual resizing of air groups (max size: 42)
- We play on if auto-victory is achieved

House rules of course are not set in stone, and myself and adsoul64 reserve the right to discuss, change, remove, or add house rules as the need arises. That being said, we are both interested in having a plausible game, so expect to see us working towards that. The premise is that the Japanese were better prepared for their war against the Allies, and so start the war with some additional forces.

Also, as of this time I believe adsoul64 is not planning on writing an AAR (if you guys would like to try and convince him, feel free!), but just in case he does change his mind, please remember to respect the OpSec of both parties.

I hope everyone enjoys the AAR!

And goodluck adsoul64!

[adsoul64]

Hi everybody,

TheLoneGunman has been so kind to give me the chance of posting on his AAR. I’m really excited to start a game against him. He looks a very competent player and after 2 PBEM started against players who has showed themselves not very dedicated and left after about a month I’m looking forward to a good game. OTOH, I understand he’s planning to slaughter me or at least I can infer from his willing to go on even after an auto-victory! [;)]
Anyway I will try and make his life harder and harder. Last months I read a lot of AAR and I’ve some ideas that I hope will be unexpected. I would like to thanks especially GreyJoy v. Q-Ball and Panzerjager Hortlund v. Canoe, I hope I’ve learnt a lot from the four of you. Now, let’s talk guns, and enjoy the reading.

[obvert]

I'll be looking forward to the philosophy discussions!

Banzai!

[TheLoneGunman_MatrixForum]

Ok now that adsoul64 is out of the picture, we can get to the meat and potatoes of my campaign planning.

Our HRs (and lack thereof of certain ones) open up some possibilities.

We have no HR against strat bombing, so I'm free to bomb the pesky Chinese into the stone age and hopefully conquer all of China. A Chinese conquest should make doing an India invasion possible if I want to go that route. This also means I need to be careful with my invasion of certain areas such as Palambang. If I seize the DEI without proper air cover, he'll be able to wipe out all of my oil capacity.

I'm also considering using the Kwantung Army to cross the Sino-Soviet border early due to our HR that the Soviets are to operate independently of the other Allies. One clarification to that HR is that the Allies are allowed to ship convoys of supplies to the Soviets if war starts, since there was historical precedent for that, but there won't be any B-17s bombing the Home Islands from Vladivostok. The Soviets shouldn't get any real reinforcements until 1945 correct? If I can attack and cut off the majority of the Sovet's Far East troops in '42, what chance does he have of mounting an effective counterattack until the war in Europe is over?

I intend to be aggressive. Right out of the gate I have some daring opening moves planned out. The goal of the Japanese Navy will be to draw the Allied carriers out in a decisive battle, and I will focus on stretching the Allied supply lines and means of transportation as close to the map edges as possible. VPs are not important to me and so are not really going to be taken into account, what I want is to fight as successfully as possible against the Allies for the longest possible time. If I'm in a much stronger position by August of '45 than the Japanese were historically, I'll consider that a victory. If no Allied boots have reached Japanese soil by '46 I'll consider granting them some of the Emperor's mercy. [:D]

And one last thing from you guys. R&D. We have no HRs limiting R&D of Japanese aircraft and PDU is on, so my goal will be to streamline the units in place for the IJAAF and the IJNAF. What is the best way to handle my R&D factories? I know to expand them to 30 once they're set to the aircraft I want and to stock up on extra engines to get the engine bonus. But I've never fully understood the procedure for rushing aircraft into service. I want to set my R&D to the earliest available model initially so that I can get my factories built up the fastest, correct? Then I want to upgrade my fully built 30/30 factories over to the desired model I wish to accelerate, and I suffer no loss to my factories as long as the model is in the upgrade path, right?

As an example let's use the Ki-44 Tojo. Let's say for the sake of this disucssion that I want to acquire the Ki-44 Ic Tojo earlier than its historical date. To do so, I take my 0/30 R&D factory and have it set to the model of Ki-44 that is initially available the earliest, so we'll set the factory to the "Ki-44" model, which is the prototype model. Once the Ki-44 factories reach 30/30, I can then upgrade the factory directly to the Ki-44 Ic model? Or must I first upgrade the factory to the Ia, then the Ib, and finally the Ic?

I understand if I rush a particular model of aircraft, but not its preceding models, that I will not be able to use existing production without incurring penalties or losses (ie. I'd have to build my factories back up from scratch or convert one of my R&D factories over to production).

Any insight that the R&D gods of the forum could provide would be appreciated. Having seen Rader battle GreyJoy with late model aircraft has me thrilled to think with a little foresight and proper planning I too can field some awesome Japanese planes.

[ny59giants]

I'm also considering using the Kwantung Army to cross the Sino-Soviet border early due to our HR that the Soviets are to operate independently of the other Allies. One clarification to that HR is that the Allies are allowed to ship convoys of supplies to the Soviets if war starts, since there was historical precedent for that, but there won't be any B-17s bombing the Home Islands from Vladivostok. The Soviets shouldn't get any real reinforcements until 1945 correct? If I can attack and cut off the majority of the Sovet's Far East troops in '42, what chance does he have of mounting an effective counterattack until the war in Europe is over?

I would 'strongly' advise against attacking the 'Bear.' There is very little economic gain and once those troops get their full TO&E, you will be in trouble, IMO.

As an example let's use the Ki-44 Tojo. Let's say for the sake of this disucssion that I want to acquire the Ki-44 Ic Tojo earlier than its historical date. To do so, I take my 0/30 R&D factory and have it set to the model of Ki-44 that is initially available the earliest, so we'll set the factory to the "Ki-44" model, which is the prototype model. Once the Ki-44 factories reach 30/30, I can then upgrade the factory directly to the Ki-44 Ic model? Or must I first upgrade the factory to the Ia, then the Ib, and finally the Ic?

You can R&D the Tojo IIa. Once the factory (size 30) is fully repaired, you can move it to the next model in the series (IIb). You will not want to produce the "B" model, but you cannot skip it in your R&D efforts. What I do is change the "A" model to the "B" for one turn and then move it to the "C" model. Your factories will stay fully repaired. Skip it and many will be damaged. [:-] If you want the R&D factory to NOT go into production, the buttons to the right of the airframe need to be set to N-Y-N.

Suggestion - Read my recent posting in GreyJoy's AAR about using your PP differently at start and how the 56th Division can be combined at Babeldoab or on Mindanao (most of it starts pre-loaded at Hiroshima). I convert about 1/3 to 1/2 of my Aden's, all Toho, all Ehime, and all Akasi to carry troops. Use the largest ports to do this as it cuts down on time to do so.

Tracker is a Japanese players best friend!!

[TheLoneGunman_MatrixForum]

I would 'strongly' advise against attacking the 'Bear.' There is very little economic gain and once those troops get their full TO&E, you will be in trouble, IMO.

It's merely a consideration at this point, but my premise was that I'd much rather fight the Soviets early on better terms, than in '45 when they have tons of replacements and experience and are right in my own backyard. If an invasion is performed, how long would I be able to beat them back until they are nearly equivalent to their fighting power in a historical Soviet activation?

My goal for fighting the Soviets wouldn't be for any real economic gain, it would be to deny the enemy the chance of hitting me hard in '45 and would be making use of a bunch of troops I'd otherwise have simply sitting by idle.

You can R&D the Tojo IIa. Once the factory (size 30) is fully repaired, you can move it to the next model in the series (IIb). You will not want to produce the "B" model, but you cannot skip it in your R&D efforts. What I do is change the "A" model to the "B" for one turn and then move it to the "C" model. Your factories will stay fully repaired. Skip it and many will be damaged. If you want the R&D factory to NOT go into production, the buttons to the right of the airframe need to be set to N-Y-N.

Ok, that's about how I understood things to work. Good!

Suggestion - Read my recent posting in GreyJoy's AAR about using your PP differently at start and how the 56th Division can be combined at Babeldoab or on Mindanao (most of it starts pre-loaded at Hiroshima). I convert about 1/3 to 1/2 of my Aden's, all Toho, all Ehime, and all Akasi to carry troops. Use the largest ports to do this as it cuts down on time to do so.

Tracker is a Japanese players best friend!!

I'll definitely be looking into converting some of my ships to carry troops. Keep in mind that I'm playing the C version of DaIronBabes, so I have to be careful when it comes to my shipping, as supply capacities are reduced for both sides. It also means that if I can sink enough Allied shipping and stretch him thin enough, I can put a hurting on adsoul64's war efforts as well.

[obvert]

If you take care of China first, then go over the threshold into Soviet territory, you'll have a good chance to beat them back. If you haven't read it check out radar's 'Taming the Bear' AAR. A somewhat successful Soviet campaign that had problems later due to Allied 4Es being based in Soviet fields. You won't have that problem.

[TheLoneGunman_MatrixForum]

ORIGINAL: obvert

If you take care of China first, then go over the threshold into Soviet territory, you'll have a good chance to beat them back. If you haven't read it check out radar's 'Taming the Bear' AAR. A somewhat successful Soviet campaign that had problems later due to Allied 4Es being based in Soviet fields. You won't have that problem.

I've checked out Rader's AAR before. It was an interesting take.

I think I'll position my troops for a possible strike, but I won't make up my mind until China is handled first. My only problem would be that I'd be using the IJAAF squadrons that are normally used for pilot training in active combat.

[TheLoneGunman_MatrixForum]

Just a quick update.

The AAR is not dead, I've simply had RL interrupt my plans for December 7th. I spent all week staying late and today I went for an interview for a promotion at my job. I won't know the results for a few weeks, but I've spent the rest of the day plotting like any good JFB should. [:D]

Part of my ongoing efforts is determining what aircraft I'd like to produce throughout the war. One of the early major issues is that the A6M2 does not have an updgrade path to any of the other Zero models with the exception of the Sen Baku model, and that particular model is not available until 1944. Obviously, I do not plan on keeping the A6M2 in production any longer than I have to, as the A6M5 is the better aircraft. Am I crazy if I want to try to hold off increasing the A6M2 factories? In my opinion, those factories are nearly useless once the better models are available, and I'll lose half of them if I switch them over to a different model. I've seen some AARs where the player simply halts production and waits for the Sen Baku, but I can't seem to justify not utilizing a factory complex in favor of waiting for a model of aircraft I probably won't need by the time it arrives.

Opinions as always are welcome.

[obvert]

Once the Sen Baku does arrive in 2/44, you can go through it to the A6M5b (6/44), the next in this path, without them being damaged. That puts you back on the main path to the A6M5c and the A6M8.

[TheLoneGunman_MatrixForum]

Couldn't I just follow an alternate path and get those models much faster?

...

After re-reading I see what you are saying. I can upgrade the factories without them being damaged if I stick to that path, the only downside is I'd have to wait.

For aircraft like the Zero that have so many different variants, I'm not sure an effective strategy is to focus on bringing a single particular late-model aircraft into service much earlier. I think a better strategy might be to actually follow the upgrade path and expedite each variant by a few months so as to not cause any damage to production. Still makes me want to switch out the A6M2 factory as soon as a better model arrives. It will be damaged that one particular time, but will suffer no further damage and would add to production.

It's still simply a consideration.

Either way, I'd suffer a ton of damage to my factories if I wanted to bring the best models forward ahead of their earlier models. The only way to potentially avoid it would be to organize my R&D as such that I can allow some of the factories to convert once that model is advanced enough, and reserve the rest for future research projects. Then again, if I can get my late-war aircraft significantly earlier, how much extra research do I really need (except for maybe trying to get some jet fighters by 45)?

Edit: I'm rambling now, because I have at least 2 different ideas for how to handle this effectively, and can't make up my mind which route I'd take.

[TheLoneGunman_MatrixForum]

Plotting for Turn 1 is nearly complete. I have the next two days off of work and adsoul should be returning home after being away for a few days. His Turn 1 should be much shorter, but I expect his Turn 2 will be much more intensive.

As for Japanese plans, we'll go into further details of them after the turn has been sent away, but I do plan on bold action right off the bat.

[PaxMondo]

With PDU off, and a "no holds barred" situation, you should look at what you want to end up with and research from there.
 
Meaning, A6M series is good until 6/42 and ok until 12/42.  After that it is really dated.  What you need is the A7M series.  When you get the A6M8 is really moot as what you are facing at that point is far more potent.  So, I tend not to worry about researching the A6M series and instead first focus on the A7M Sam.  You could get it in late '43 with effort.  To me, that is far more interesting than whatever A6M plane I might have gotten.  Ditto for all of the other air platforms.
 
And, there are some choices to make. I haven't seen where there is complete agreement yet on the late war aircraft.  Lot of opinions.
 
Just my htoughts ....
 

[TheLoneGunman_MatrixForum]

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

With PDU off, and a "no holds barred" situation, you should look at what you want to end up with and research from there.

Meaning, A6M series is good until 6/42 and ok until 12/42.  After that it is really dated.  What you need is the A7M series.  When you get the A6M8 is really moot as what you are facing at that point is far more potent.  So, I tend not to worry about researching the A6M series and instead first focus on the A7M Sam.  You could get it in late '43 with effort.  To me, that is far more interesting than whatever A6M plane I might have gotten.  Ditto for all of the other air platforms.

And, there are some choices to make. I haven't seen where there is complete agreement yet on the late war aircraft.  Lot of opinions.

Just my htoughts ....

To get the A7M in 43, I'd have to dedicate most, if not all of my R&D towards advancing that aircraft would I not? I'd need probably a dozen sets of 30(30) R&D factories and a surplus of A7M engines. Having never really seen the Sam much in any AARs, I'm slightly worried that their performance may not be worth the investment. A good example is Rader vs GreyJoy. Rader got the J7W Shinden much earlier than it was supposed to appear, but the aircraft itself faired worse in actual combat against GreyJoy than some of his other fighters.

Doing some quick re-reading, if I'm going to hedge my bets on particular late model fighter aircraft, I'm going to put my efforts into 3. The Ki-83, the Ki-84, and the A7M (I'd much rather invest in the A7M than the J7W so I at least have a decent carrier-capable aircraft in the late war). Once those aircraft are researched, all the excess R&D when they're complete will go towards jet fighters... [;)]


Edit: And PDU is On.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: TheLoneGunman

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

With PDU off, and a "no holds barred" situation, you should look at what you want to end up with and research from there.

Meaning, A6M series is good until 6/42 and ok until 12/42.  After that it is really dated.  What you need is the A7M series.  When you get the A6M8 is really moot as what you are facing at that point is far more potent.  So, I tend not to worry about researching the A6M series and instead first focus on the A7M Sam.  You could get it in late '43 with effort.  To me, that is far more interesting than whatever A6M plane I might have gotten.  Ditto for all of the other air platforms.

And, there are some choices to make. I haven't seen where there is complete agreement yet on the late war aircraft.  Lot of opinions.

Just my htoughts ....

To get the A7M in 43, I'd have to dedicate most, if not all of my R&D towards advancing that aircraft would I not? I'd need probably a dozen sets of 30(30) R&D factories and a surplus of A7M engines. Having never really seen the Sam much in any AARs, I'm slightly worried that their performance may not be worth the investment. A good example is Rader vs GreyJoy. Rader got the J7W Shinden much earlier than it was supposed to appear, but the aircraft itself faired worse in actual combat against GreyJoy than some of his other fighters.

Doing some quick re-reading, if I'm going to hedge my bets on particular late model fighter aircraft, I'm going to put my efforts into 3. The Ki-83, the Ki-84, and the A7M (I'd much rather invest in the A7M than the J7W so I at least have a decent carrier-capable aircraft in the late war). Once those aircraft are researched, all the excess R&D when they're complete will go towards jet fighters... [;)]


Edit: And PDU is On.

Sorry, I meant my comments to be PDU ON as well.

I agree with your thinking for the same reasons. A7M as it is carrier capable. 84 is one of the best, although the "b" model (I think) has much better armament but it is not in the path of the "a" model. (something to think about) [:(]

As for how many R&D factories ... if you have 4 fully repaired size 30, they will advance one month for each month you go. let's say you have them repaired by 4/1/42. So by 4/1/43 you will 'pulled' an aircraft in by 12 months. So an aircraft with a start date of 4/1/44 will then be available. by 10/1/43 you will have 18 months, so an aircraft with a start date of 4/1/45 will be available. The key is how fast can you get those factories fully repaired ...moreso than how many you set up for repair. (This is without the engine bonus, which I would definitely attempt to get on the Ha-45)

Last thought: nothing you have in your future will match the 51H or even the last Bolt straight up on specs. That means with evenly skilled pilots you have to have more numbers.

PS: don't forget the other aircraft ... bombers are a big deal ....

[TheLoneGunman_MatrixForum]

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

ORIGINAL: TheLoneGunman

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

With PDU off, and a "no holds barred" situation, you should look at what you want to end up with and research from there.

Meaning, A6M series is good until 6/42 and ok until 12/42.  After that it is really dated.  What you need is the A7M series.  When you get the A6M8 is really moot as what you are facing at that point is far more potent.  So, I tend not to worry about researching the A6M series and instead first focus on the A7M Sam.  You could get it in late '43 with effort.  To me, that is far more interesting than whatever A6M plane I might have gotten.  Ditto for all of the other air platforms.

And, there are some choices to make. I haven't seen where there is complete agreement yet on the late war aircraft.  Lot of opinions.

Just my htoughts ....

To get the A7M in 43, I'd have to dedicate most, if not all of my R&D towards advancing that aircraft would I not? I'd need probably a dozen sets of 30(30) R&D factories and a surplus of A7M engines. Having never really seen the Sam much in any AARs, I'm slightly worried that their performance may not be worth the investment. A good example is Rader vs GreyJoy. Rader got the J7W Shinden much earlier than it was supposed to appear, but the aircraft itself faired worse in actual combat against GreyJoy than some of his other fighters.

Doing some quick re-reading, if I'm going to hedge my bets on particular late model fighter aircraft, I'm going to put my efforts into 3. The Ki-83, the Ki-84, and the A7M (I'd much rather invest in the A7M than the J7W so I at least have a decent carrier-capable aircraft in the late war). Once those aircraft are researched, all the excess R&D when they're complete will go towards jet fighters... [;)]


Edit: And PDU is On.

Sorry, I meant my comments to be PDU ON as well.

I agree with your thinking for the same reasons. A7M as it is carrier capable. 84 is one of the best, although the "b" model (I think) has much better armament but it is not in the path of the "a" model. (something to think about) [:(]

As for how many R&D factories ... if you have 4 fully repaired size 30, they will advance one month for each month you go. let's say you have them repaired by 4/1/42. So by 4/1/43 you will 'pulled' an aircraft in by 12 months. So an aircraft with a start date of 4/1/44 will then be available. by 10/1/43 you will have 18 months, so an aircraft with a start date of 4/1/45 will be available. The key is how fast can you get those factories fully repaired ...moreso than how many you set up for repair. (This is without the engine bonus, which I would definitely attempt to get on the Ha-45)

Last thought: nothing you have in your future will match the 51H or even the last Bolt straight up on specs. That means with evenly skilled pilots you have to have more numbers.

PS: don't forget the other aircraft ... bombers are a big deal ....

I'll take R&D away from all non-critical aircraft. Aircraft I intend to actually produce will retain at least one set of R&D factories so that they may upgrade directly to production. Bombers won't be neglected, I just won't be trying to advance them far ahead of schedule like I will the Sam and Frank. I'm also going to try to advance the Ki-44 IIc model to get it a little earlier since the IIb is almost worthless.

[TheLoneGunman_MatrixForum]

Another question for the readership.

There are two infantry divisions in the Japanese Home Islands that are not restricted. I'd like to have them planned out for some nice juicy objective in the far off future. Any suggestions?

Also, there are a number of restricted infantry groups on the Home Islands, if I plan on using the Kwantung Army to fight the Bear, I'll be paying PPs for these units instead to use in my other campaigns, therefore I'd like to start planning where to use them now, since I won't be buying them out until I really need to utilize them. I'm guessing India or Ceylon would be the best place to start prepping them.

adsoul returned on Monday, only to inform me that he has more family events for the rest of the week, so now I no longer have a real solid deadline to finish my turn. I've got all of my Turn 1 naval invasions finalized, and most of my aircraft orders are now completed too. The attack on Pearl is also planned to as close to perfection as I can get it from my point of view. I'm sending a convoy of 15k supplies from the Home Islands to the Chinese Theater as well.

I fiddled slightly with production, but I didn't jump to any huge number of upgrades, factories only repair one per turn anyway, so I simply selected the factories I desired to upgrade and bumped them up by 1. I'm upgrading port size in any Japanese base that has room for expansion available and engineers present, and ordered any major airfields to expand if there was room. A few areas in the Home Islands also got orders to fortify.

I still haven't touched R&D yet. If I upgrade the factories to 0(30) do I pay for the expansion up front? Or do I only pay as they are repaired?

[PaxMondo]

I think one of the things every IJ player has to decide is what, if any, second level targets they will go after.  Your first level is the DEI and Burma.  After that, what do you intend to do?  China, OZ, India, the Bear?
 
Right now, I like China followed by India.  China completely secures your western flank until Soviet activation and even then reduces that threat as you have so many more div's to deal with the Bear.  India just gives you so many more HI mid-game that it allows you to have a very strong bank of HI for mid-game.  The other reason I like these two is that they do not depend upon any IJN outcomes.  I can play conservative with my KB and as long as it is a real threat, the USN can't start island hopping until late '43 .... maybe later if I get lucky and chew up their a/c and a few div's in India.
 
Just my thoughts .. plenty of other opinions on this.  Not sure any are better or worse, just player preference.

[TheLoneGunman_MatrixForum]

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

I think one of the things every IJ player has to decide is what, if any, second level targets they will go after.  Your first level is the DEI and Burma.  After that, what do you intend to do?  China, OZ, India, the Bear?

Right now, I like China followed by India.  China completely secures your western flank until Soviet activation and even then reduces that threat as you have so many more div's to deal with the Bear.  India just gives you so many more HI mid-game that it allows you to have a very strong bank of HI for mid-game.  The other reason I like these two is that they do not depend upon any IJN outcomes.  I can play conservative with my KB and as long as it is a real threat, the USN can't start island hopping until late '43 .... maybe later if I get lucky and chew up their a/c and a few div's in India.

Just my thoughts .. plenty of other opinions on this.  Not sure any are better or worse, just player preference.

I'd like to be fairly ambitious. Phase 1 is the Southwest Pacific, to include the DEI, Philippines, Malaya, and New Guinea. Phase 2 should focus on Northern Oz, Ceylon, and Burma. Depending on how adsoul plays, I have options for a possible Phase 3 after this time. Phase 3 would consist of India proper, and Western Oz. During all of those phases, China will also be a priority. I'd like to take most of China without having to divert from my other objectives. If the Chinese theater needs a temporary shot in the arm to keep the offensive going, I have no problem moving troops from the Philippines over to assist once the Manila-Clark-Bataan trifecta is seized. I've got plans to put an early end to his defense of Luzon, so we'll see how that goes.

I believe that my success will hinge upon my ability to quickly wrap up the fighting in Luzon and Singers, so that those forces can be freed for the next set of objectives. My restricted units at home will be used for the later phases of the war, giving them ample time to prep (in anticipation of actions after the invasion bonus has gone away) as well as ample time for me to save up the required PPs.

Regarding the Bear. I've done some peeking around the Turn 1 Allied side of things (aside from my earlier games as the Allies) and I see that the Soviet Union has (correct me if I'm wrong) 1600 Light Industry, but no resources other than what are stockpiled to supply all of that industry. The only route for the Soviets to get resources if I cut the railways to the Far East is via China. Would a successful push in China combined with the cutting of the Trans-Siberian railway result in the Soviets slowly starving for supplies? Or would they receive some off-map resource convoys that I am unaware of? Successfully dealing with the Soviets is predicated on my ability to cut off the majority of his forces on the Pacific Coast, and destroy them there. The Soviet replacement rate is such, that I need to pocket and destroy his units, in rather the exact opposite fashion of dealing with the Chinese, who because they respawn in Chunking if destroyed with free replacements are better left to retreat as worthless shells. I believe I will need to come to a decision on whether or not to commit to an invasion of Russia by Jaunuary of 1942. The invading Kwantung Army must be capable of handling the fight by itself, the only exception being supply shipments to keep them fighting. I don't want to pull forces from other theaters to deal with the Soviets (unless it's 1944 and they're attempting some massive counteroffensive).

I believe due to our HRs, we could expect a rather realistic campaign against the Soviets, with the other Allies attempting to support Uncle Joe via supply convoys and trying to open up second fronts, instead of the highly implausible campaigns I've seen thus far where B-17s and US Army Divisions are fighting side-by-side with Russian Il-2s and T-34s.

Edit: I got so caught up in the final part of my post that I forgot to add something else. In regards to how you like the China-India style of invasions, I am in 100% agreement. A successful land-based campaign against the Allies opens up a ton of possibilities that the actual Japanese military never had a chance with. It allows for Japan to maintain a stronger presence even after the Japanese Navy loses naval supremacy. It also frees the carriers to go out and do more damage. One big goal of mine is force the US carriers to commit before they are truly ready. I have a few targets in mind to try and lure them out to play, but we'll need to see how aggressive adsoul is in the initial month of conflict.

[TheLoneGunman_MatrixForum]

While I'm waiting for adsoul to get back from his family getaway, I took the liberty to do most of my ship converisons.

I converted several xAKLs over to ACMs, and the rest over to PBs. I also converted many of the CMcs I started off with over to PBs and other craft (I've got plenty of large mine layers more suited to the task after all). Then I took some of my faster xAKs and converted them to hold additional troops in order to supplement my xAPs and help me transport my armies in the early going. The slower vessels can move supplies for me. Also, all of the Ansyu-C's I had at a proper shipyard are now converting to PB as well. The 14 kt speed is great and they pack some larger guns than the rest of the patrol boats.

I also converted a bunch of TKs to AOs. I realize that the AOs hold less fuel, but I like having the extra refueling capacity for my naval forces while underway, and they get a nice boost to their AA suite when they make the change as well, which to me is an added bonus. I'll take survivability over max capacity any day.

What ships would make good tenders and repair vessels?

On the R&D side of things, I've begun to consolidate around my key future models. I've looked at taking the R&D facilities away from aircraft I have no intention of ever building. Next, I may take away some of the redundant R&D from other aircraft that I plan on building, but not on advancing. All research for A6M Zero models has been focused on the closest available variant, which is the Rufe float fighter, once the Rufe comes on line, the A6M5 is next in line. Current focus has been on the A7M, the Ki-83, and the Ki-84. I would also like to include a few additional facilities for the Ki-44 so I can progress to the Ki-44 IIc model quickly. If I have room to spare, I'll try to accelerate a better dive bomber for my carriers as well. Everything else will simply be waiting for the default date so I can switch to production.

I'm excited to think that monster Turn 1 is just about done, and I've run several test runs throughout the process. I'm also debating on what to do with my Vals when I strike Pearl Harbor. Their 250kg bombs don't penetrate the large battleships, but they do at times seem to knock out weaponry on top of them, and also sometimes hit a DD or CA in port as well. The other alternative is of course to strike the airfield with them.

Further advice, questions, or words of encouragement are always welcome!