Turnaround? Lowpe (J) vs Tiemanj (A) Stock

[JocMeister]

I´m thinking: Why bother with the backdoor at Chungking when your greatest threat is about kick your front door open? You can bet your opponent right now have troops prepping for landings on Luzon and/or Mindanao. He got the Marianas almost for free so he won´t need long for the next jump.

You need to set up some proper defenses on Okinawa and Luzon/Mindanao. You need to make him fail one big landing to buy time or this game will be over before you hit 45. Or you can try and isolate his forces and bases in the Marianas and buy time that way. Not sure what of those two that are most viable though. Both are tough to do. My instinct tells me you have a better shot in the Marianas though then you will in 3-6 months...

[Lowpe]

Well, the thing is the Chinese troops are pretty much restricted to China.

I agree with you Joc...

[JocMeister]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Well, the thing is the Chinese troops are pretty much restricted to China.

I agree with you Joc...

Yes, but you will have to be very careful with supply starting very soon. I´m not sure how your overall supply situation are but you could end up pumping in a couple of 100k to China to maintain the Chungking offensive. Had this been early mid 42 the cost might have payed itself back. Now I don´t think so? I know next to nil about the Jap industry but you JFB keeps complaining about supply all the time! [:D]

There is also the VP perspective take take into consideration. If you do take Chungking that is a buttload of VP that could buy you a couple of months more before allied AV...

Many, many things to consider. That is what I love (and miss) about AE... [:)]

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Well, the thing is the Chinese troops are pretty much restricted to China.

I agree with you Joc...

Yes, but you will have to be very careful with supply starting very soon. I´m not sure how your overall supply situation are but you could end up pumping in a couple of 100k to China to maintain the Chungking offensive. Had this been early mid 42 the cost might have payed itself back. Now I don´t think so? I know next to nil about the Jap industry but you JFB keeps complaining about supply all the time! [:D]

There is also the VP perspective take take into consideration. If you do take Chungking that is a buttload of VP that could buy you a couple of months more before allied AV...

Many, many things to consider. That is what I love (and miss) about AE... [:)]

Chungking is the biggest VP well on the map for the IJ player. And Chungking-Chengtu is the biggest VP well on the map by at least an order of magnitude - +5400 VPs for the IJ player alone, and -1200 for the Allied player... not to mention the LCUs destroyed, which in this case looks to be at least 1000 (for me it was >3000).

[Lowpe]

Given the forts and the AV present I think I have a real good shot at taking the base. I can easily get 1500 AV there fairly quickly. 5 attacks to drop the forts...five to six weeks?

The supply drain won't be too huge, I don't think.

We have a house rule no strategic bombing in China...so if I can do it fairly quickly, it will be a real boon.

I also have 50+ Corps cut off and surrounded in the interior that I could also destroy.

[JocMeister]

Then go for the VPs. Will probably buy you a couple of months worth of allied strat bombing VPs. [:)]

[Lowpe]

Turn is away...we will see what happens.

Trying some night strikes, moving the KB for a strike potentially, moving a few destroyers into Pagan with 150 fighters flying CAP perhaps I can kill some planes.

Diverting troops meant for Marianas to other bases and evacuating from Kusaie, etc. Got an Air Div HQ heading for Naha, they will be able to provide torps for Daito and the surrounding bases. Started to really look at the likely advance across Indochina back thru to China and checking on forts there as well as building them on select choke points down to Singers.

In the good news department, I am still holding on the Tuang Gyi road. However, with the imminent circumventing of Moulmein, my real defence will be one hex north of Uttaradit which now has 1 1/3 divisions digging in.

I have every tanker, practically, moving oil out of Singers. Cam Ranh Bay is up to 250K oil...it seems to move east from there.

Working on not losing heart with being so spanked in the Marianas...[:)][:)]

[Lowpe]

Nov 5, 1943

Night bombing bounces some bombs off a battleship at Rota, and sadly this event.

[Lowpe]

Allies bombard Saipan. Multiple 5" batteries knocked out, radar destroyed, severe damage to parties, no penetrating hits on the Colorado or Louisville, but they all penetrated on the destroyers.

Intel list two destroyers destroyed[:)], and they look like they were in trouble with internal explosions, so one can hope. Sinking sounds heard.

[Lowpe]

And, they do it again. Some good 20cm short hits in here.

[Lowpe]

Two destroyers act as bait at Pagan...Pagan not swept...the fighters stop this first attack, but an afternoon raid, down low manages 3 hits I think on a destroyer. Note to self, if the KB goes in have a full squadron flying low cap. 5K raid. I have been doing this, but it is good to repeat oneself.[:)]

[Lowpe]

At first I thought the fighters were strafing...but no,they swept ahead of some Helldivers. So far so good...

[Lowpe]

Low flying B25D1s get thru and savage the Fubuki, and then the final raid with 47 Helldivers puts her down.

My trap at Pagan costs Japan the Fubuki, but nets lots of planes. Allied sweeps of Saipan and bombardments costs me some a fair amount of planes, but Japan downed 7 P47s which isn't shabby for me. Unfortunately, his pools of those planes are deep.

[Lowpe]

It costs me 7 Emilies, but a splinter of the overmatched defenders of Tinian are flown out. Impressive that they got a tank onboard somehow.

[Lowpe]

A closer look at the Saipan Coastal Defense unit. I will have to go back and watch to see if the heavy artillery did any good, some of it is quite large: 30 cm Howitzers and 24 cm T45 Howitzers. Nope, all damage done by the CD guns as I thought. One could hope, right.[:)]

[JocMeister]

Don´t let it get you down. It will get much worse before it gets any...ah...never mind! [:D]

Seriously though. Its always easy to blame yourself. "Should have done this and that". Hindsight is always easy. [:)] There are still opportunities to delay him in the Marianas. I still strongly feel that KB can rule the seas at this time. If you can drive the USN away and start working over his supply for the air and sea he will run out of supply for base expansion pretty quickly. Your opponent is unnecessarily aggressive. Use that against him!

Reading your AAR really makes me miss AE. Keep it up. [:)]

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

It costs me 7 Emilies, but a splinter of the overmatched defenders of Tinian are flown out. Impressive that they got a tank onboard somehow.

This is something that was apparently a database error in Babes. A lot of tanks can fly!

You might have a convo with your opponent to make sure he knows that when there is a tank in a larger unit it might get flown around, and that maybe it's best not to fly M5 and Valentines to Chungking! [:D]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

A closer look at the Saipan Coastal Defense unit. I will have to go back and watch to see if the heavy artillery did any good, some of it is quite large: 30 cm Howitzers and 24 cm T45 Howitzers. Nope, all damage done by the CD guns as I thought. One could hope, right.[:)]

The 30cm/24cm guns might batter his landings though. They usually only fire when troops are coming ashore. These guns are outrageously huge! Looking forward to it.

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

Don´t let it get you down. It will get much worse before it gets any...ah...never mind! [:D]

Seriously though. Its always easy to blame yourself. "Should have done this and that". Hindsight is always easy. [:)] There are still opportunities to delay him in the Marianas. I still strongly feel that KB can rule the seas at this time. If you can drive the USN away and start working over his supply for the air and sea he will run out of supply for base expansion pretty quickly. Your opponent is unnecessarily aggressive. Use that against him!

Reading your AAR really makes me miss AE. Keep it up. [:)]

+1

Jocke took the words out of my mouth!

This is only the beginning of the pain. Endure, resist and keep on pecking away. It suddenly dawns on a Japanese player, usually sometime in late 43, that no matter how good the defensive arrangements, the Allies will break through. This is demoralizing. Think about playing for the point ratio better than 1:2. Make sure you taking a tithe for every move.

One thing that will be a surprise to your opponent is the NF preparation you've done. Another that could go in your favor is that since he's made this breakthrough in the Pacific, maybe you'll have more time than you thought to ship oil/fuel up to the Home Islands. Get the PI absolutely ready, The Jimas, Okinawa and Amami Oshima, and any of the other closer islands that allow fighter sweeps of the HI.

Also, the closer he gets, the sooner you get kamis! Kamis early is tough for the Allies.

Before all of that though, go knock the snot out of those Allied CVs now that they're low on airframes/pilots! [:)]

[Miller]

Good read this. One tip for when the inevitable CV showdown comes, make sure all your CV TFs contain less than 200 planes to minimise the chance of any co-ordination penalty. In my current game I managed to get a 700 plane mega strike to launch all as one that made it through a 500 plane CAP to do major damage to the Allies, so don't be afraid to take him on sooner rather than later in this regard. What are respective CV strengths at the moment?

[Miller]

Double post deleted.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Miller

Good read this. One tip for when the inevitable CV showdown comes, make sure all your CV TFs contain less than 200 planes to minimise the chance of any co-ordination penalty. In my current game I managed to get a 700 plane mega strike to launch all as one that made it through a 500 plane CAP to do major damage to the Allies, so don't be afraid to take him on sooner rather than later in this regard. What are respective CV strengths at the moment?

Are you sure on that? I want to maximize my AA too, and I like what Mr. Kane did to Joc very much, and that was with a 500 plane limit. The massed AA performed very well for Mr. Kane in that fight...I think I will go re-read that particular fight.

I am struggling now with how to make the approach hopefully unseen.