The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

[Canoerebel]

7/30/42

Bay of Bengal: No major IJ activity. Marine EAB ashore at Ramree (airfield advances from 2.17 to 2.30, a significant rate increase). RN bombardment TF refuses to fire guns against enemy division in coast hex. Unsure why. I'll try again tomorrow. Pensacola needs eight more days in Colombo's yards.

Burma: USA 41st Div. transports arrive at Bombay. It was a long, hard journey from the USA made harder than it should have been by my gaffe with political points. USMC tanks and a paratroop battion arrived a few days back and are en route to Chittagong via rail.

Pacific: USN carriers to slide by SE of Tahiti tonight, refueling with AOs stationed a few hexes out of the port. Hornet is 22 days out of Balboa. Most of the amphibious ships coming from Capetown are now less than 10 days out of Balboa. Once those ships make it to Seattle, the Allies could, if desired, commence the invasion (the carriers - except Hornet - will already be in position).

Oz: USN S-boat torpedoes an xAKL near Exmouth. That's the kind of activity meant to slowly ratchet up tensions in that theater.

[Chickenboy]

Nothing to add here, just a (vain?) attempt to keep up with the other multitude of posts in GreyJoy's thread. [;)]

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

Nothing to add here, just a (vain?) attempt to keep up with the other multitude of posts in GreyJoy's thread. [;)]

[:'(][:'(][:'(]

[Canoerebel]

7/31/42

NoPac: John is landing two assault brigades at Cold Bay. I thought maybe he wouldn't come this far - he didn't follow his usual pattern of heavy bombardments and air activty, nor did my Kodiak patrols report any enemy ships nearby. This base has an Army RCT. Mutsu and Nagato are still up here. Kodiak has 600 AV, four forts and is about to go to max size (six port, six airfield). So I don't think John will come that far, but I'm watching even as I continue to organize the potential move on the Aluetians.

Pacific: Four USN CVs refuel and continue NNE - probably heading to San Fran, but possibly to Pearl.

Bay of Bengal: No enemy activity of note today. Ramree airfield to level 2.44 (so an .14 increase/per day). Revenge BB TF again refuses to bombard the coast hex (which has 21st IJA Div.). Lots of Allies shipping moving to and from Colombo - this is dangerous, and I'm angling for a time when I can mostly send empty bait ships, but for awhile I've got some important ships moving in (support, including an AE) and one (Illustrious) to move out.

Burma: I've looked at this carefully and still like what I see. John has moved his troops forward and they are strung out. He doesn't pose a threat to the Allies from an offensive standpoint (I think), but the Allies should be able to concentrate and attack in detail when the time comes (upon arrival of 18th UK Div., which will be on point in a couple of weeks, and 41st USA Div., which just left Bombay for Calcutta).

[Crackaces]

Burma: I've looked at this carefully and still like what I see. John has moved his troops forward and they are strung out. He doesn't pose a threat to the Allies from an offensive standpoint (I think), but the Allies should be able to concentrate and attack in detail when the time comes (upon arrival of 18th UK Div., which will be on point in a couple of weeks, and 41st USA Div., which just left Bombay for Calcutta).

The picture is begining to complete for me. So, it looks like your strategy is to tie up IJA divisions, and then committ a UK and a USA division to a weak point. The IJA divisions will be unable to react and simply you expolit what comes your way. This is quite diabolical in a way ...the answer for the IJA is to committ more than you can and tie up everything you have complementary.to your deployments ... Something tells me that John will not do this ...

[Canoerebel]

Right. There were two possible out comes of the Allied position in Burma:

1. John defends the bases rather than contesting the open ground. Had he done so, the Allies would have moved en masse on Schwebo or Prome or Toungoo, threatening to isolate the IJ units further north. This was the strategy that Bullwinkle and I were discussing a few weeks back, because the Moose had doubts John would defend forward.

2. John defends forward in the jungle, as he's now done. He's sent divisions into hexes into which he has control of only one hexside (though he'll probably work on obtaining more). Now the Allies can move laterally, combining to hit a weak spot while the Japanese have trouble moving. The proximity of the big Allied airfields will help in the cause of slowing enemy movement and hitting enemy units.

There was a third possibility briefly discussed a long while back - John could defend further back around Prome/Toungoo, but that was deemed most unlikely. An IJ player - especially one with such native aggression as John - wouldn't think of abandoning so much territory.

[comsolut]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

CR,I too have been bemused by all the emotional opinion offered of late. Maybe it is just because I think along the same lines as you about establishing solid launch points at multiple points around the map to enable future offensives where there is the best opportunity to do so. It would be foolish to decide on Dec. 8, 1941 to focus on one theatre as the only axis of advance. If he happens to go all-in for the same area, it can quickly bog down before the Allies get enough oomph to push them out [say around September, 1943]. Others have said it before - the game, and RL war, is 80% about logistics. Get your supply and transportation ducks in order and the pointy end of the stick can do its job wherever it is aimed.

You have been abundantly clear about your thinking and your calculation of risk/reward for your moves. I have not read any of John III's AAR, but his moves seem to support the idea that he is not thinking of his own long range plans and is doing what seems like fun at the time. Two different styles, each player getting some of what they want in the game. I hope it continues for a long time![:)]

Post count +1 [8D]

Complete agreement with this post!

[Canoerebel]

8/1/42
 
NoPac:  SigInt that an IJA regiment is inbound to Agattu (near Attu).  An IJ sub stumbles across a big transport TF moving through the sound to Seattle (and also sinks two good TK earlier in the day). These events seriously dampen my enthusiasm for the Aleutians invasion, as I'll explain in a moment.  IJ forces bombard at Akutan and will probably take the base tomorrow.
 
Bay of Bengal:  IJN carrier force appears west of Port Blair (true) and damages DD Norman on picket duty. I don't know if John will come further this time, but I think it's likely.  I have TFs scattered across the western rim of the bay.  Some are at risk, perhaps, but we'll see.  Illustrious is at Viz (level five airfield) covered by 125 very good fighters. Colombo, Chittagong and Akyab also have heavy coverage.  Calcutta/Diamond Harbor have little cap but few ships.  Revenge bombardment TF fails to accept its mission for a third time.  This time I'm going to adjust range (from 1 to 10) and turn off "escorts bombard).  I'll see if that changes anything.
 
Strategy:  It is increasingly unlikely that I'm going to trigger the Aluetians move (not out of the question, but unlikely).  I think I'm going to continue moving my carriers north (probably to Pearl) just in case.  I'm mulling over "what ifs" for other plans.  If successful, the Aleutians really offered a hard punch at manageable risk, but there's not much else out there that interests me at the moment.  I thought about Port Blair, but dismissed it.  I haven't made any decisions yet, but one possibility is to focus for the next two months on beefing up garrisons at Kodiak/Anchoage, Pago Pago and Fiji, to fully stabilize them in the face of John's aggression.  I have troops in NZ/Oz highly prepped for Noumea and the Milne Bay area, so I could transition to the offensive there should the KB move into the Bay of Bengal.  I'll keep thinking, but for now my main emphasis will be the Bay of Bengal, which I really like both for its offensive and defensive potential. 

[paullus99]

I would suspect that John believes you'll utilize the Northern Route (or at least heat up that section of the map), based on previous experience. If he is moving / prepping additional units - it is a good sign that he's preparing....besides forcing him to commit additional units, is there any material reason to go on the offensive up north this early in the game?

Committing to amphibious ops, against John who seems to like nothing better to than commit his fleet to crush whatever toehold you achieve, seems like a losing proposition. Don't play to his strengths - force him to play to his weaknesses - which seem to be land combat. Burma / Bay of Bengal is a limited space, with lots of close airfields (and the ability to quickly reinforce) & forces John to either concentrate on the ground (which he isn't good at) or better yet, send in ships to close quarters against a prepared foe (i.e. - you).

If I recall, RA is very much focused on making the Allied Advance across the Pacific as difficult as possible (i.e. the Japanese design their fleet & ground forces to hold islands and atolls). So, don't - focus on large land moves that can be supported by air and concentrated sea forces (not to mention the larger and well-equipped allied land forces).

Just my $0.02

[Canoerebel]

Good points, Paullus.

If I do stand down the Aluetians operation, I will definitely then make an elaborate display of force to feed John's impression that I'm actually coming. In conjunction with that, I'll make sure that my "you can't take these no matter what" posts are secure. Prince Rupert is safe (and not a likely target). Kodiak is pretty safe (600 AV, four forts, nearly level six airfield). Anchorage could use a little work. And I probably need to beef up one base inbetween, such as Juneau or Skagway (I need to look and see which are best situated and can be built right).

I'll work some angles in the Pacific. Addressing Fiji and Pago Pago's defenses will be a high priority.

And for the fun aspect of the game - fighting! - I'll have to be satisfied with Bay of Bengal for a time.

[Canoerebel]

8/2/42

Bay of Bengal: Too much fun! Quarter KB is eight hexes east of Viz and launches Zeroes and Kates in a medium-sized attack. The Kates somehow get through decent CAP and score one bomb hit on BB Resolution. Several detachments miss Illustrious and Hermes. 20 Zeroes and eight Kates splashed. I don't think John knew Illustrious was here, though he might have guessed. Surely having carriers in his grasp will just drive him bonkers! I've increased the CAP to 150 - stripping Diamond Harbor/Calcutta and leaving Colombo with only 50 fighers. I've left Chittagong, Akyab and Ramree strong. I disbanded my carriers and created a small combat TF led by Resolution under command of Tennant.

Burma: John may be moving a little stack to Ramree - perhaps a division and two mixed brigades. That would be okay - I have 400 AV 100% prepped behind three forts in jungle terrain. My Revenge TF still refuses to bombard. I have no idea why.

NoPac: Cold Bay stands against a 1:1 deliberate attack.

CenPac: Four BBs and five CAs bombard Abemama.

[Canoerebel]

8/3/42

Bay of Bengal: Quarter KB pulled back out of range of my patrols. I thought there was a decent chance John might "Charge!" Revenge TF refuses to bombard for about the sixth day in a row. This time I'm changing her orders to "coastal" in hopes the captain might realize what I'm trying to get him to do. For all I know, changing orders to "coastal" might mean: "Apply flank speed and beach all craft in mangrove swamps." Elsewhere things are quiet. Airfield building at Ramree is really moving now. Level three in a day or two.

NoPac: Cold Bay withstands another 1:1 attack (almost a 2:1). Forts drop to one, but the Japanese incur much higher disruption. An IJN sub sinks an escorting DD at Seward.

Waving Red: I just can't imagine anything more likely to make John "Charge!" than putting a carrier in his sights. Everything I know and everything I've learned tells me he'll come. Let's see.

[BBfanboy]

I wonder if Revenge's bombardment is a no-go because it has no DL on the enemy troops? Have you tried recon of the hex by her float plane?

[Canoerebel]

Yes. Revenge doesn't have a floatplane contingent, so a CA in the TF is lending hers to the effort. I also have land-based recon overlying the hex.

I just can't figure out what the problem is.

[witpqs]

Is 'Threat Tolerance' set to 'Absolute'?

[Canoerebel]

Yes - "direct" and "absolute." This turn, I'm even adding "coastal" (you can include that with direct) to see if that is some kind of magic setting. There's no rational explanation for failing to sail two hexes to bombard. I control the seas. I control the air. I have the right settings. But no go, turn after turn.

[Chickenboy]

You know, I'm gonna have to chuckle a JFB chuckle if, this turn, you finally get all the settings right, but a lucky IJN RO-class boat puts one into Revenge's side because of its inertia over the last few turns. [:D]

[Lomri]

Bombarding a non-base hex has always seemed less effective than at a base to me. I'm guessing but BB is probably right (and shouldn't he be?? that you require a certain level of DL to target a non-based LCU. (Makes a little sense, you know where the base is, which is roughly where force is concentrated around, as opposed to an LCU marching around wherever - sort of need to know where to shoot).

I'm a bit late to the discussion about the digital troops being destroyed and all, but if both sides think they are winning that means both players are happy playing. Having followed a few of CRs games, this seems win win for readers. Less likely the game will get canned! In fact it seems quiet sportsmen like to give your Japanese opponent a few places to counter attack and feel good all the while building the sledge hammer.

[SqzMyLemon]

Are you using waypoints for your bombardment TF?

[Canoerebel]

No waypoints (it's only two hexes).