The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

[Canoerebel]

Some sharp insights here and some funny comments.  Thanks for giving me thinks to think about and laugh about.

My replies:

1.  I'm enjoying the game immensely.

2.  John is a friend and a good opponent.  Irritating at times, but no big deal.

3.  Perhaps it is me who provides a psychologist with fertile evaluation possibilities.

4.  I can't "not read" John's emails, because almost every one has important info about his availability: "If you flip this turn, I can do one more before work." Or, "Take your time with this turn as I'm done until late tonight."

5.  I've always gotten a heckuva lot of information from John's emails.  There are two general kinds (Crackaces latched onto this):  (a)  He's very excited and up to something big:  "Banzai!" or "I'm ready to get the steamroller going again."  (b)  He's frustrated, surprised or worried:  "Wow, I'm surprised your big ships are in the Arctic in winter; I bet their SYS damage is high." Or, "I guess those forest hexes in China work both ways."  Or, "Wow, your constant bombardments and bombings in China must be using alot of supply."  (He sent me the latter comment a few days ago).

So this isn't a huge deal, but it's a little courtesy that I can't undersand an opponent not willingly or enthusiastically complying by.

[ny59giants]

Perhaps it is me who provides a psychologist with fertile evaluation possibilities.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Perhaps it is me who provides a psychologist with fertile evaluation possibilities.

It's obvious - Canoerebel, you are an explorer and you love the feeling of discovering things. That is why you want to see the turn results for yourself rather than have them telegraphed to you. It's why you love hiking/canoeing in new areas. Nothing wrong with any of that!
You are also considerate of others and find it hard to understand when self-involved people do not treat you with the same consideration. Don't let it get to you - it's just the way they are and it is very hard for them to change quickly.

[artuitus_slith]

Why not play the replay, then go back and read the e-mail? While it would be nice of your opponent to simply stop with the messages altogether, this way you can avoid hearing about the turn before seeing it yourself. And there is some value in reading his remarks as stated by others. Getting into your opponents head is only going to make his final defeat that much easier. Just ask the Japanese and the Befehlshaber der U-Boote. Not only did sigint allow the Allies to tell exactly where enemy forces would be, it also allowed them to get an idea of the enemies general strategy and mindset. This in turn allowed the Allies to plan operations tailored to take advantage of weakness in the enemies plan. So I say let him keep ranting, in fact encourage it and ask questions. Just don't read the e-mail until after you have run the replay.

Good luck with it, enjoying reading this AAR. Even if his carrier raids are wasteful they are at least fun, at least for the readers.

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Perhaps it is me who provides a psychologist with fertile evaluation possibilities.

[:D] Tough crowd.

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Perhaps it is me who provides a psychologist with fertile evaluation possibilities.

It's obvious - Canoerebel, you are an explorer and you love the feeling of discovering things. That is why you want to see the turn results for yourself rather than have them telegraphed to you. It's why you love hiking/canoeing in new areas. Nothing wrong with any of that!
You are also considerate of others and find it hard to understand when self-involved people do not treat you with the same consideration. Don't let it get to you - it's just the way they are and it is very hard for them to change quickly.

Dang, Dood. You are WAAY better than my therapist. Do you make weekend appointments?

[ny59giants]

John does have strong Narcissistic Personal Disorder tendencies. They are reasons John acts the way he does some times, but these are not an excuse. Sorry for being so blunt, but I did not get home till around 5am from seeing a suicidal child in an ER today. You knew what you were getting into when playing John. You had that epic game back in old WITP days and I was around from early '43 on when I helped get his economy off the shoals. He may restrain himself for a little while, but his emails will go back to comments that tell you something significant happened that turn. Sad, but true. If in doubt, just read John's AAR for proof.

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

It's obvious - Canoerebel, you are an explorer and you love the feeling of discovering things. That is why you want to see the turn results for yourself rather than have them telegraphed to you. It's why you love hiking/canoeing in new areas. Nothing wrong with any of that!
You are also considerate of others and find it hard to understand when self-involved people do not treat you with the same consideration. Don't let it get to you - it's just the way they are and it is very hard for them to change quickly.

Dang, Dood. You are WAAY better than my therapist. Do you make weekend appointments?

OTOH, the above is exactly what my horoscope said today. And it didn't take 50 minutes to say it. Or bill me.

[Q-Ball]

Dan, just catching up on this excellent AAR. Couple points:
--I did ditch our game, but I would be willing to pick it up. Understand if you aren't
--One thing I learned in that one is that the Japanese need to be able to finish what is started. I've been re-thinking Western Australia for this reason; although it's not as big a prize as India, unlike India West Oz can be finished.

Western Oz is essentially an island, even better for Japan one that can't be approached from all directions. It's an island because it's way too far from any effective LBA support, so CVs are the only way to invade.

Possession of it greatly simplifies the Japanese defensive perimeter; the IO is a no-go from that direction while the Japanese hold Perth, limiting advances to the Torres Strait/Solomons/Cent Pac. That is ALOT less territory to cover for Japan!

Defending it isn't easy, mostly because it's so remote from the rest of the Empire; but I think it can be held into 1943.

But mostly, you can seal it off and finish. This is the big problem with India; it is nearly impossible to go all the way in latest versions, but there isn't a clean finish.

[Cap Mandrake]

Seems to me the problem with western Oz (and of necessity Northern Oz) as a defensive barrier for Japan is the risk of the Arries getting around your flank and having a substantial proportion of your unrestricted combat power trapped.

If you just take Perth, they might sail around you and come down from Geraldton. If you take everything from Perth to Horn Is then you have a substantial committment. If Perth is part of a strategy to get an autovictory then perhaps.

Taking Horn Is to Broome seems to make more sense to deny the Arries the northern Oz bases for a bit.

[Canoerebel]

John was pointedly nonresponsive for a prolonged period before firing off this line this morning: "Fine. I will not communicate regarding the turns whatsoever."

That's probably the best solution, but I'm guessing this is a commitment he won't be able to keep. We'll see.

Anyhow, the game will continue later today. Thanks for the various thoughts about Oz. My thoughts are that it's nearly impossible for the Allies to successfully defend Western Oz at the dawn of the war...and that it's not necessary to do so because losing the region isn't a crippling blow. However, the region is obviously important (as many of you have pointed out) and, since we're no long at the dawn of the war, I now want to fight to save the region. I'd much rather have it in April '42 than lose it and have to regain it in December '42 or May '43.

[Canoerebel]

I think my failure to communicate clearly may have left readers thinking I don't give Western Oz sufficient import.  The opposite is true, so let me clarify my thoughts.

Western Oz is more important going forward in mid '42 than it was going backward in early '42.  The region is not critical to the ability of the Allies to survive the early game.  Early on, Japan can overwhelm the Allies at nearly any one point or several points.  The Allies therefore have to determine which points are so important that they must be defended no matter the cost.  Certainly, the West Coast USA, southeastern Oz, and the Karachi/Bombay sectors of India fall into the "critical category." Lose them and you may well lose the war.  Lose Perth (or New Zealand or Hawaii) and, while hurtful, you generally aren't critically injured.

But Western Oz is a crucial area for the Allies going forward, because the area is a threat to the DEI, the Japanese heartland.  So, whereas I wouldn't take unnecessary chances to defend Perth in January '42, by April '42, I am beginning to have sufficient firepower to wage war successfully.  I'd much rather not lose Perth in April, then I'm not in the position of having to reclaim her later.

[Canoerebel]

Wow. I just ran the turn. I think this explains why I hadn't heard from John for unusually long.

The KB launched an all-out air strike against Perth, going up against a good mix of Allied carrier air and some Kitty/Warhawks. The Allies were greatly outnumbered, but performed very well - to say the least.

To top it off, the target wasn't even the airfield. It was the port. John was going after New Orleans, which fled two days ago. He got a half dozen small fry, but for a crippling price. More to follow, but here's the tally sheet.

[Encircled]

Ouch!

Thats quite an inbalance to be honest

High fatigue among the KB pilots perhaps?

[Canoerebel]

4/5/42
 
Battle of the SW Cape:  One ill-advised attack by Japan and the balance sheet in this battle has shifted rather dramatically.  As I see it, Japan has one chance to save a campaign for SW Oz:  bombard Perth and shut down the airfield.  If John does that, he can get back on track.  If he doesn't do it - or delays - or doesn't think of it for awhile, I think this may have been the decisive day.  John will be most reluctant to repeat this little exercise.

Oz:  Two USAAF squadrons landed at Melbourne today and three more come ashore tomorrow.  I need about four more days to get the rest of the reinforcement convoys into port.  I'm worried because a picket ASW ship near Lord Howe Island reported a carrier divebomber and detection level of 1/1.  Most of John's carriers are NW of Perth, but most of my carrier air is over there too.  My CVs are naked and posted SW of Tasmania.

India:  Nothing major happening.  No imminent invasion of Port Blair.

China:  John has an IJA division penetrating into the interior behind Hengyang.  Okay.  He's pierced by MLR.  But I don't know what he's doing.  A lone division without a real LOC and support can only get messed up.  Other IJA divisions are already hung up with no hexside control along the Hengyang to Kweilin railroad.  There is some risk here that if he manages to seize control of a key contested hex (and all its hexsides), I might find myself with severe problems of my own.  But right now he's just dispersing his troops ineffectively. I'll cut around behind that one division and leave it high and dry in the woods.

[GreyJoy]

ouch[:(] That hurts...

[paullus99]

That's a couple of carriers out of action (because of lack of aircraft) at least - perhaps more.....he'd be better off turning tail and making for home, he can't afford those types of losses in the short term & expect to keep a competitive edge on you.....

[Crackaces]

ORIGINAL: paullus99

That's a couple of carriers out of action (because of lack of aircraft) at least - perhaps more.....he'd be better off turning tail and making for home, he can't afford those types of losses in the short term & expect to keep a competitive edge on you.....

If I were JJ .. I would not be worried about planes .. those are replaceable .. the highly experinced pilots lost are a real long term consequince. This game requires so much time to train up pilots to the intial levels JJ gets to start in this scenrario ... plus CR's pilots got some real experince boosts depending on leadership values of the squadron leaders .. a double whammy ...

This game is s series of decsions rather than one huge mistake ... I sense this is going to lead to eventually "a bad die roll" and the KB taking it on the chin due to the loss of experience here at Perth ..

[Cap Mandrake]

<face palm> Uggh.

Why would you risk all those elite pilots going after a damaged cruiser in port? The airfield, maybe, but a 45 point cruiser that is already out of the action?

Maybe he bad intel and thought a carrier was in port?

[Crackaces]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

<face palm> Uggh.

Why would you risk all those elite pilots going after a damaged cruiser in port? The airfield, maybe, but a 45 point cruiser that is already out of the action?

Maybe he bad intel and thought a carrier was in port?

Hubris is blinding to all facts shown before ... [8D] I do believe John thought the KB as completely invulnerable at this point, and would destroy Perth with little trouble .... like that scene in Braveheart where the Lord barks out "We will mow them down like grass ..." then the tree spikes come up [;)]