NFC East Showdown: Cribtop (J) vs NY59Giants (A) - Between the Storms

[Cribtop]

December 17, 1941

Subs

I-123 misses the AV Ely, heavily damaged at Manila and struggling south.

Spearfish misses a CM escorting the South Seas Detachment to marry up with its parent division in Burma. S-40 takes a shot at a TB at Aparri and takes a penetrating DC hit in return.

5th Fleet

Empty Adak is occupied. Ominato goes to forts 1.

4th Fleet

We are preparing to invade the Gilberts with KB support shortly. We will dangle the CVEs in hopes of attracting USN assets for KB to eat. Faint hope, but worth a try.

Roi Namur hits level 2 forts.

16th Army

We start things off here with a bang Michael didn’t expect, dropping paras on both Ternate and Sorong. The bases were empty save for Do-24 units supported by AVPs. Those units are destroyed and that kills off the air search watching approaches to Ambon.

25th Army

Kuantan goes to forts 1 as we continue to march. 3rd Air Division has successfully unloaded at Kuantan and torpedo enabled that base. This establishes the pre-conditions to move to phase 2 in Borneo and Palembang.

15th Army

We will “recon bomb” the unit we are about to bump into near Pegu.

China

DA Hong Kong finally takes the base with 4:1 odds on a better die roll. 6 LCUs are destroyed with casualties 6165(1,000) vs 233(1). Facilities are barely scratched and minesweepers will enter the hex tomorrow. 38th Division will be employed in the DEI and NW Oz. We capture a really huge fuel stockpile – over 284K. This may be normal but if so I never noticed.

DAs at 88,49 and 51,78 retreat enemy LCUs a second time as the romp across the northern plain gets going in earnest. Two KMT corps take casualties of 1664(82) and 995(77) respectively.

DA Hwaiyin pits a small Chinese collaborationist unit against the hapless Lusu War Area HQ. Forts are dropped to 2, casualties are nil to nil. Cribtop HQ imagines a shouting match with some furniture broken instead of an assault here. We suspect Tokyo Rose will claim a massive victory, of course.

[Cribtop]

December 18, 1941

Subs

I-154 misses an xAKL near Denpasar. I-123 misses an AM near Donggala. Come on guys, shoot straight!

SE Fleet

33rd Division departs Tokyo to Guam, where the unit will await progress here before attacking targets in SOPAC. KB will arrive at Truk tomorrow. All other elements of the Pearl Harbor strike and the Wake Invasion have already arrived.

14th Army

Still unloading and marching. Boac occupied by rowboat. Aparri goes to airfield 2 to allow IJAAF operations against Manila.

Annoyingly, 50K tons of supplies race ahead of our forces to occupied San Fernando. If Michael knew, he could reap a huge reward. We will order Aparri to draw the max in order to deal with this bizarre issue.

16th Army

Today we drop more paras on Boela and seize the facilities intact. This is done to ensure the surrender of the decent sized Ambon garrison. In case you are wondering, we aren’t doing the para fragment thing. One of the yummy additions in the BTS mod is a paratrooper division at Babel that can be divided into three still capable units.

The Ambon invasion, KB-3 and a TF with 4 Myoko CAs are converging on Ambon. This place is a bit tricky to invade due to geography. Cribtop HQ is concerned that major surface assets and/or the Banshees included in this mod will try to intervene. We have a plan to deal with it, but best laid plans and all, so there is some concern.

25th Army

Sweeps ordered to hit Singapore don’t fly yet again. This is becoming a real issue, all we can do is keep ordering them. Interestingly, Singers suddenly shows 0 aircraft. What a pain. We have tons of supply, aviation support, etc. Maybe need some new leaders or just better weather.

China

3 DMS sweep mines in Hong Kong until 1 sweeps a mine the old fashioned way and sinks.

A brigade pursuing a beaten corps SAs over a river and forces another retreat, odds 80:1, casualties 868(74) vs 95(0).

Our offensive near Loyang and Chengchow is finally on the move, now two hexes past the river crossing and ready to threaten those two cities and Nanyang.

[Cribtop]

December 19, 1941

Subs

I-123 sinks a small tanker near Samarinda.

SE Fleet

We notice an uptick in air search out of Rabaul after dangling the Kavieng invasion TF. Will Michael take the bait here? KB 1 & 2 arrive at Truk without incident.

14th Army

Marching on. Camiguin Island is occupied by rowboat.

16th Army

KB-3 sails ahead of the invasion fleet to a point between Ceram and Sorong. A small Val strike sinks two Dutch ships caught in range (a PC and an AVP).

We have flown an IJNAF company into Ternate and today that base hosts Mavii who light up the Ocean between Ambon and Kendari. They spot several small TFs fleeing and what looks to be a powerful SCTF at Kendari itself.

Tomorrow we will close up with Kenari using the Myoko TF, the invasion TF, and a Kongo class TF. Cribtop HQ is glad that KB-3 advertised its presence as it will make adventures by the enemy navies more risky. The plan is to have all the TFs converge on the Ambon hex from a distance so that they are not present during the dangerous night phase. KB-3 will swing around the south side of Ceram to take station between Kendari and Ambon, hoping to make life very dangerous and force the enemy fleet to leave before the invasion occurs on the 21st.

25th Army

After trying for a week, we finally sweep Singapore with Zeros, Tojos and Oscars. No CAP is present – our recon was accurate. We will begin daily bombing to suppress forts but stay alert to the danger of CAP traps.

DA Victoria Point by an element of the Royal Thai Army seizes the base with 14:1 odds, casualties 110(10) to nil.

China

Finally noticeably encroaching in the northern plains. Attacks on Nanyang and Chengchow are imminent.

DA Hwaiyin drops forts to 1 and gets 3:1 odds. Due to the toothlessness of both sides, casualties are again nil/nil.

Canton hits forts 3. This base will be a level 9 festung in the late war for us.

[Cribtop]

December 20, 1941

Subs

K XVIII misses a DMS at Ambon and is later attacked by escorts without hits on either side.

14th Army

A DA near Atimonan continues to push the defeated PA unit ahead of 16th Division with high odds and casualties 88(11) to nil. It is possible this action destroyed the unit as it disappears in later replays.

16th Army

We are poised to invade Ambon. Main concern is the possible intervention of Allied surface ships stationed at Kendari, but they appear to have withdrawn to Makassar. Still, if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that nav search is iffy beyond 10 hexes. Who knows what is lurking within a flank move of Ambon?

25th Army

Taiping is occupied by rowboat, which is a nice bonus as it allows our follow on forces to rail up a few hexes for free in Malaya.

China

Lots of attacks against fleeing KMT units in the southern reaches of the plains near Nanyang. Two high odds attacks against previously defeated forces generate casualties of 900(186) and 985(59), respectively. Total IJA losses for both battles is 10(0). At Hwaiyin, the hilarious phoney war continues with a DA that drops forts to 0 and again results in no casualties. SA tomorrow.

[Cribtop]

December 21, 1941

Subs

Escorts chase off O-19 at Ambon

14th Army

IJAAF raids at Manila begin to keep forts down.

Cabanatuan is occupied.

16th Army

We shift the heavy cruiser Nachi to the invasion TF to soak up CD fire, but frankly it doesn’t do a very good job in this role, I believe because it runs out of ammo. Two xAKs are sunk by CD fire, but troops get ashore in good order with plenty of supply. Raw AS is 201:61. Hudsons try to intervene but are swatted away by LRCAP from KB-3. No sign of the enemy surface fleet that we worried about, perhaps too much.

A word on that from Michael, who chided me in e-mail for exposing the transports to CD fire. I replied that my main fear was Force Z plus the CL Dallas, and that the few fast BBs I had in the area were watching that threat. Plus I thought Nachi would help more than she did. Further, the IJN doesn’t start with any older BBs in these waters. Finally, losing a few transports is fine. Don’t want to make a habit of it but Ambon is a bit tricky if the Allied player makes a max effort. Obviously, Michael didn’t, but he could have. He still chided me despite these explanations. [:D]

25th Army

IJAAF raids on the Singers airfield begin.

Moving in support of upcoming phase 2 invasions here, KB-4 sinks 3 HDMLs at Tarakan more or less on accident. Nice shooting by the Kates, though I’d rather they had avoided this particular glorious victory. At least they were using bombs since it was a range 9 strike.

Saigon goes to airfield 7 and is now able to upgrade air groups.

China

SA Hwaiyin and things go from comic to tragic. After three days of throwing rocks at the Lusu War Area, Cribtop HQ orders a bayonet charge SA that takes the base with 2:1 odds, casualties 610(34) to nil. Poor Lusu command slinks into the swamps to lick its wounds.

[Cribtop]

December 22, 1941

Subs

I-5 sinks a YO near San Francisco.

Escorts chase off O-19 again at Ambon.

14th Army

Bayombong occupied as we continue to close in for the siege.

16th Army

CD fire sinks another xAK at Ambon. Sigh.

DA Ambon obtains a 1:1 and drops forts to zero. Casualties 62(0) vs 64(0).

25th Army

Phase 2 invasions commence here with cover from KB-4 and two SCTFs. Kudat and Brunei are up today, then Kuching and Sinkawang. Netties from
Kuantan are torp-enabled and subs are converging on Sinkawang in case the Royal Navy or the Dutch want to show.

Burma and China

Marching, marching. The show should begin in both theaters soon. Really noticing the impact of the slow roads mod, but that’s a good thing.

[Cribtop]

December 23, 1941

In which we do begin to worry about Ambon a bit.

Subs

I-8 sinks an xAKL near Christmas Island (Pacific).

5th Fleet

Ominato goes to forts 3.

FT TF invasions of Amchitka and Attu are imminent. Michael has a history of snooping around up north with his CVs, so we want to get in and out here in a hurry.

4th Fleet

We are moving to invade Makin, Tarawa, Tabitauaeaafd;lkfd or however you spell the island that I shall refer to hereafter as “TB,” Ocean and Nauru. Shortly thereafter we will make a play for Baker and Canton. Then things might get really interesting. This is part of “The Plan.”

CVEs and the torpedo CLs are in close support. KB-1 and 2 are hanging back hoping to jump a USN response that we frankly doubt will come. That’s why we will up the ante here soon.

16th Army

KB-3 Vals sink an AVP near Babar.

DA Ambon is a disappointment. Although the Allied units are down to only 3 AV showing in the replay, and although our SNLF Assault Division is in fine fettle, we only get a 1:2 despite forts 0. Casualties are 290(1) vs 61(0). Hmm. Presumably we can grind them down without further help, but we order massive port attacks to keep damage up and prevent fort recovery. Our boys are still at 98% combat effectiveness and have high prep, but we will take a day off to get DIS very low again before the next attack. If two more attacks fail, we may have to bring in more. Cribtop HQ believes the stiff resistance is due to the jungle rough terrain. The Plan relies on using this base for Netties to keep the seas safe for further invasions.

25th Army

Borneo invasions galore. Kudat is occupied, Brunei falls to a DA with 9:1 odds, casualties 736(65) vs 15(0). Facilities are at 10(10). Is that how they start the war here?

The Kuching invasion is in position and goes tomorrow. Protection comes from a group of Mogami CLs (the Mogamis are light cruisers in this mod, and rather nasty ones to boot), two older BBs, KB-4’s CVLs, several subs on the approach routes and Netties at Kuantan. Will Michael bring it or continue the pattern of force conservation? If he comes, he will sail over a couple of subs and the Mogamis before reaching the Kuching hex, where he will hopefully arrive damaged and low on Ops points to be cleaned up by the BBs and air attacks. Time will tell.

China

DA Chusien takes the empty base. Primary intent here is to isolate Chunkging from Wenchow’s industry. All efforts in China are aimed at destroying supply and terminating the enemy army’s ability to fight.

DA Kweiteh takes the base and opens the rail line; odds 11:1, casualties 1687(95) vs 192(0).

[Cribtop]

December 24, 1941

Subs

I-154 causes massive explosion damage to an xAK in the Java Sea.

5th Fleet

Amchitka and Attu invasions are in position and go in tomorrow. So sign of detection.

4th Fleet

Makin is invaded and taken by the atoll SA. Tarawa and TB are next. None of the Carriers are spotted.

14th Army

Babuyan Island occupied.

16th Army

A night raid hits Cagayan looking for hiding P-40s but comes up empty.

Our air raids against Ambon are again scrubbed by weather. Fortunately the base still shows port damage of 1 and thus hopefully hasn’t rebuilt level 1 forts yet.

25th Army

Kuching is invaded with BB Nagato dueling the CD guns into silence. Landing losses for Japan are tiny. Troops ashore in good order without any interference from the Allies. Allied BA shows raw AS 32 vs 65. Should be doable.

An annoying situation at Temuloh as despite our best efforts to have two divisions arrive first all our troops pour over the river on the same day and reveal the identity of the forces that landed at Kuantan. We also eat some unnecessary DIS and FAT. In the greater scheme these are minor, however. In fact, since we landed follow on troops at Singora this may make us appear too weak here to Michael, which is good (more on that later).

The attack itself goes well, odds 217:1, 3 enemy LCUs destroyed and 2 retreated, casualties 2735(283) vs 231(6). From here on the roads get better and progress to Singers will accelerate rapidly.

China

Our troops are finally arriving near Nanyang and Chengchow. Time to get to the real fighting.

[Cribtop]

December 25, 1941

In which Cribtop HQ gets a small Christmas present as we pick up steam.

Subs

Thresher twice tangles with the Attu invasion TF without result. Pollack duds on a DMS in the Amchitka TF. S-35 is chased away at Makin as the invasion TF re-loads for Ocean and Nauru. Michael seems to like to park subs in likely invasion targets, eh?

5th Fleet

Attu and Amchitka are invaded by FT TFs. The sub actions delay matters and they don’t depart the islands during the day phase, but other than Catalina overflights there is no allied response.

4th Fleet

Tarawa is invaded and falls to the atoll shock attack. TB, Ocean and Nauru are next. One element of an SNLF Assault Division at Wake finishes loading and will ship out for Baker.

14th Army

Iba is occupied. One more day before we re-unite 48th Division at Bayombong and get down to formal sieges. Once this occurs, we will pull everything we can get away with for further efforts in SE Fleet and the southern PI.

16th Army

After LBA and carrier air raids, Ambon finally succumbs to a third DA. Odds are 5:1, all four Dutch LCUs surrender, casualties 3261(297) vs 71(0). This will allow an Air HQ waiting on a nearby TF to land and establish Netty coverage in the area. On to phase 2 in this AO – Kendari and Timor.

25th Army

Kuching falls to another 5:1 odds attack, 3 LCUs retreat with casualties 622(46) vs 95(0). Sambas is invaded by the Sinkawang forces to avoid overexposure to enemy SCTFs and CD guns. Then we ship in an air HQ and move on Palembang with 21st Mixed Brigade. Recon of Palembang shows several ships lurking of unknown type.

We spotted a few xAKLs at Sabang yesterday and today Vals from Singora pay a visit, putting two in sinking condition.

Very pleased to note that all damage to CAs from the Boise/Chicago battles will be made right in about 3 days. Those battles are looking more like IJN wins than winning draws given the quick repairs at Cam Ranh Bay.

China

BA Chengchow shows raw AS of 693 to 132. DA tomorrow.

Analysis

Michael appears to be sitting back for the most part after the initial thundering herd clashes. We are finally getting things organized the way we like them and are beginning to gain some momentum. Cribtop HQ has an Op planned very soon to try to hit Michael somewhere he won’t like as a first effort to draw him out. Unlikely he will fully respond, but it’s time to poke him a bit to see what happens.

[Cribtop]

December 26, 1941

Subs

S-35 puts four torpedoes into CM Tokiwa as we reload troops at Makin. Down she goes, taking a small number of troops with her. Over at TB, our invasion force enters the hex and puts a DC hit into S-34. K VII duds on an ASW PB just off Saigon. Using USN torps, I guess. Finally, Gar duds on a PB on picket and distraction duty SW of Truk.

5th Fleet

Amchitka is occupied, later a DA takes empty Attu. Phase 1 up here is complete, time to ship in supplies and base forces to allow air ops. Then we may push on farther east.

A kamikaze xAKL approaching Attu twice claims to encounter enemy surface ships but twice no combat occurs. We’ve seen this before when small TFs bump into each other. No idea what, if anything, Michael has up here.

4th Fleet

TB is invaded and taken by atoll SA.

14th Army

Empty Atimonan falls.

Early returns on airfield raids at Manila are poor, primarily due to the fact that Aparri is overstacked until it builds up to level 4 or so. Several construction units are seeing to this task.

16th Army

The Air HQ TF arrives at Ambon, covered by LBA Zeros and a force of Myoko CAs. This unit will unload tomorrow and torpedo enable the base.

25th Army

Bettys out of Kuantan waste torpedoes on MLs at Singers. Further recon of Palembang shows the possible enemy SCTF spotted yesterday has pulled back.

Another empty base DA takes Sambas. On to Sinkawang.

Burma

Tomorrow should see the initial river crossing attack near Pegu.

China

DA Pucheng takes the empty base (bit of a theme today).

DA at 89, 49 retreats a KMT corps for about the third time, casualties 151(24) vs 6(0). This unit is almost dead but we need to keep pushing it away from key road and rail junctions.

Other

CVL Nisshin arrives at Tokyo. A nice little carrier and one of the new ships (or accelerated ships, in this case) in the mod. We toy with the idea of using her to put a terror into the Aleutians, but that is probably too adventurous for one CVL.

[Cribtop]

December 27, 1941

Subs

Allied escorts chase off I-19 NE of Pearl, but this contact is clearly a convoy bound for CONUS. Several subs in the area are given intercept orders.

O-20 is also chased off by escorts at Ambon. K VII misses a DD near Cam Ranh Bay.

Once the initial invasion madness calms down, Cribtop HQ intends to divide the sub force between longer range subs intended to act as commerce raiders and short or medium range subs that will be used primarily locally, often as picket boats. The latter group will steal a few Glen equipped vessels as scouts and group leaders. We’ll see how this works out, bit of a different approach in this game.

5th Fleet

Another phantom surface encounter at Attu.

4th Fleet

CL Yura, escorting the CVE TF operating in the Gilberts, is suddenly spotted by Allied aircraft. Probably just a Catalina out of the Ellis Islands, but there is a tiny chance Michael is taking the bait here.

15th Army

Action at last as the lead elements of our force shock attack over the river 1 hex East of Pegu (hex 56, 53). Two IJA regiments force the 4th Burma Rifles Bttn to surrender with 68:1 odds, casualties 643(52) vs 120(1).

Moulmein is occupied after an RTA Division entered the hex last turn.

Screenshot of situation in Burma (this is from Dec 30th, a few days after this entry):



China

DA Chengchow takes the base from a rear guard corps with 18:1 odds, casualties 4099(209) vs 146(0). Facilities (Resources and LI) are taken at 30(30).

[Cribtop]

December 28, 1941

Subs

I-17, I-19, and I-25 execute a wonderful mid ocean intercept of the convoy NE of Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately they all choose to attack the same xAK, which eventually sinks after taking about 6 torpedoes.

Plunger guns a kamikaze xAKL delivering supplies to Adak and sinks her. No more unescorted ships – USN guns work and Michael clearly likes to camp his subs on Japanese bases.

O-16 is attacked by escorts near Saigon without result.

14th Army

Aparri goes to airfield 3, necessary to support suppression of Manila and Clark.

25th Army

Exploratory BA at Georgetown finds raw AS of 127:54. DA tomorrow.

China

BA Loyang shows AS of 341:45. DA tomorrow.

Other

Banji occupied. I can’t remember where that is, so it gets its own special heading.

[Cribtop]

December 29, 1941

Subs

I-164 guns and torpedoes an xAKL just off Singapore. The ship goes down with troops aboard trying to sneak out of town. More subs are ordered into position to deal with this sort of evacuation attempt.

O-19, still in the Ambon hex despite numerous air and naval ASW efforts, puts two torpedoes into an unloading supply ship. Surprisingly, the vessel survives and disbands in port. We may still lose her with fires at 40, however.

4th Fleet

We invade Ocean Island with the Makin force. Between bombing raids by the CVE based Vals and Kates and the invasion support gunfire by escorts, the defending unit is destroyed before the mandatory shock attack. Needless to say, the base falls. Nauru is next.

No sign of Allied planes or ships moving to intervene despite yesterday’s spotting of the CVEs.

SE Fleet

Cribtop HQ puts the final plans for the invasions in this AO into motion. They will commence as soon as KB is done in 4th Fleet.

25th Army

DA Georgetown nets a 2:1 and drops forts to 0. Casualties 216(1) vs 29(0). This base should fall tomorrow, and we moved a small IJA unit into position on the remaining Allied controlled hexside to ensure a surrender.

Also, our milk runs over Singapore are seeing some nasty flak. Planes aren’t destroyed but they are being damaged in high enough numbers that it is a concern. Better flak is a component of the DBB rules this mod is based on. We already went up to 15k altitude, may have to go up higher.

China

Interesting day here as our offensive heats up.

Tsiatso is occupied as the KMT flees the hex. Industry and level 3 forts are taken undamaged.

DA Loyang nets a major screw up as we forgot to change to combat op mode. Result is a silly 1:2 attack with casualties 121(1) vs 231(0). We’ll take the base in a day or two.

DA 89, 46 (near Kweiteh) forces the former Kweiteh garrison to retreat a second time. Odds are 12:1, casualties 904(65) vs 28(0).

DA Nanyang catches only a single HQ unit, the combat troops fled down the road to Sian. Odds a humorous 1311:1, casualties 1517(106) to nil.
The HQ unit is destroyed. All forces at Nanyang will now race to the yellow road to Ankang.

Speaking of the road to Ankang, the lead elements of our forces enter the first bad terrain hex and find only two enemy LCUs. Four more KMT corps from the Ichang area are marching to join them but must do so through wooded rough terrain with no roads, while we have a division 1 hex away on good roads. We bomb the 4 units in the woods to slow them down, and the Chinese Air Force makes its first appearance of the war attempting unsuccessfully to slow down our armored vanguard. Looks like we got the enemy’s attention here. Cribtop HQ hopes to get up the road toward Ankang before the KMT can get into defensive position, thus isolating all defenses to the east and starving Chinese HI of its oil at Sian and Lanchow. Time will tell whether we can get there quickly or whether it will be a slog, but this is our main effort in China at the moment.

Hankow goes to airfield 7 which will allow upgrade of useless 1E bombers in the field.

Screenshot of situation in North China:

[John 3rd]

Looking pretty good so far.

[Cribtop]

Thanks, John. It always takes me a while to get things organized but we are starting to pick up the pace as I shake things out to where I want them. The race in north China will be fun.

[Mike Solli]

ORIGINAL: Cribtop

December 28, 1941

Subs

I-17, I-19, and I-25 execute a wonderful mid ocean intercept of the convoy NE of Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately they all choose to attack the same xAK, which eventually sinks after taking about 6 torpedoes.

[:D]

[Cribtop]

December 30, 1941

Headquarters, Combined Fleet

Saipan

The offices of Combined Fleet were in the uniquely messy condition of a large organization that is preparing to move. Initial operations were overseen here in the Marianas, but everyone had been given a warning order to be ready to move to a new location. In theory the group’s destination was a secret, but everyone knew it would be Truk.

Lt. Commander Konai Jisaburo had things easier than most. First, he was senior enough that no one expected him to put in much physical labor. Second, he had only arrived in Saipan a few days ago, and his possessions consisted solely of the same two bags he brought with him on the plane from Yokohama.

Konai looked up as Ensign Fukudome Hansu entered with purpose, a sheaf of reports clutched in his hands.

“Sir, I think I’ve got something,” said Fukudome breathlessly. “Look at these action reports. Notice that in every case – Tarawa, Tabiteuea, Nauru, even operations in other theaters – Allied submarines were present and waiting. This even occurred when we were certain the invasion force was unspotted.”

“What do you conclude from this, Ensign?” interjected Konai.

“It seems like our enemies know where we are going – they must have some sort of insight into our planning. I thought it might be a spy at first, but then I discovered that Naval Intelligence suspects a partial copy of our war plan may have fallen into American hands when the Embassy in Washington was abandoned. I am shocked our personnel there were so lax in destroying secret documents.”

“Ensign, please close the door.”

Konai composed himself while the junior officer complied. “Thank you for this information. Please speak no more of it to anyone.”

Fukudome’s face showed concern as he replied, “But Sir, it is more than just submarines. I’ve got other reports that clearly show the enemy anticipating our plans…”

Konai rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed, “You won’t let this go, will you?

“But why should I, Sir? This information could be vital.”

“What I am about to tell you cannot leave this room, Ensign. The copy of our plans in the Embassy was lacking in details, but it was correct in its general thrust. And it was left there on purpose.”

Fukudome’s face was a mask of surprise. “Why?”

“Because Admiral Yamamoto is trying to lull the Americans into a false sense of security. He disagrees with the Army that the war will be short and simple. Given time, America’s industrial might will allow her to produce a navy and an air force the likes of which the World has never seen. Japan cannot hope to compete in a long war. We must bring the Americans to a Decisive Battle quickly in order to allow for a negotiated peace.”

“But how will revealing our invasion targets help with that?”

“Because as strong as America will be in a few years, right now she is weak compared to Japan. If we can convince them they have an advantage, they may choose to fight before they are ready. And that is a fight we just might win.”

“What should I do, Sir? This knowledge is stunning… and dangerous.”

“Well Ensign,” said Konai with a wry half smile, “I’ve always wanted an aide-de-camp.”

[Cribtop]

A little explanation here. Obviously I haven't actually provided a copy of my war plan to Michael. What I mean to convey with this vignette is that we are intentionally making our opening look a bit Vanilla. Invading Luzon with all of 14th Army, including the Legaspi landing. No Mersing gambit. Landing on all the little targets in Borneo with the troops prepped for those targets. Taking Makin. You get the idea.

Some of these moves are intended to avoid sticking our neck out too far in the face of the new Allied toys (Kuantan instead of Mersing falls into this category), but most of them are intended to lull Michael a bit. Cribtop HQ has concluded that his style of play is such that it will be difficult to bring him to battle until he is ready, but this is one small part of a broader effort designed to try.

[temagic]

Hi Cribtop. Great to see you writing another AAR. I'll be sure to watch this one too.

[Cribtop]

Hey, Temagic. Welcome back! I'm a few days behind but need to catch up. My little plan to draw Michael out worked a bit TOO well. Details soon. [:D]