Making Allied Lemonade-Chickenboy (IJ) vs. SqzMyLemon (AD)

[crsutton]

Yeah, I have to keep my "yapper shut" cause I am looking into SML's AAR as well. Otherwise I would be glad to chime in amd point out what you are doing wrong. It is what I do best..[:)]

[Chickenboy]

Are you kidding me? It's been over a year since I updated this AAR? That's pathetic. [:-][8|]

This is a note to let you know that I'll be addressing this wrong and posting an update shortly.

The game is still moving along and has become an interesting match. We're in early September 1942 and the worm is turning against the Sons of Heaven.

More to come soon...[8D]

[Chickenboy]

Baby steps, Chickenboy. Baby steps.

OK. I'll start with the general overview.

China:

Allies have fallen back in a more or less orderly fashion. They've been squeezed out of the Northern resource producing areas and Sian, falling back from the East across the forested mountain hexes towards the central Chungking plains.

Allied air force resistance has disappeared, leaving the IJAAF unopposed.

In the South, the Nanning-Wuchow-Kweilin-Changsha road / rail network has been cleared. The Chinese have fallen back to a line north of here. Probes towards Tuyun and Kweiyang (to the West) have been met and blocked.

"Low hanging fruit" in China has been collected. Gains from this point forth (until a breakout onto the Chungking plain can be managed) will be slow and grinding. Although most recent combats have seen the "(-) supply" indicator on combat reports for the Chinese, their good defensive terrain has ensured their maintaining a reasonably effective defensive pocket.

Japanese army commitment to this theater is ongoing, but only with the dedicated / restricted LCUs provided. Good to very good quality infantry and armored divisions, when identified, are bought out for duty elsewhere in the Empire.

[Chickenboy]

India:

From the "it sounded like a good idea at the time" school of thought:

Ceylon:

Large Japanese landings occurred on Ceylon in April-May 1942. Most troops landed at Jaffna, marched south, splitting the island. Trincomalee and Colombo were reduced and captured in turn. The Allies lost all "indigenous" troops on the island, but avoided losing additional forces that may have been temporarily based there or transshipped there. This lessened the blow for the Allies.

Ceylon stands, reinforced, as the right flank bulwark against the Allies.

India proper:

India was invaded in May 1942, with landings on the (map) southern coastline at Cocanada and Vizakapatnam (sp?). Landings were lightly opposed, but lateral extension of the bridgeheads was slow and cumbersome-particularly towards the west (bearing on Madras).

However, between June and July, both Madras and Calcutta (in the East) fell. The latter was a particularly rich plum in terms of HI, resources and VPs.

Late July-early August marked the high water mark for the IJA in India. Efforts to expand across the subcontinent towards Bombay were checked outside Hyderabad. Allies brought in significant reinforcements by rail into these defensively favorable hexes.

B17s in particular and Allied airpower in general found a haven in the defensive role here. Japanese troops in open terrain were smothered by Allied air, leaving them open to subsequent exploitation by ground LCUs.

In late July-August, the Allies began a general counteroffensive, attempting to split the Japanese forces in the West (Madras and Bangalore) from the East (Calcutta and the eastern Indian plains). Not wanting to be destroyed in detail, the vast majority of the IJA abandoned the western area of the subcontinent. Taking full advantage of the fine rail network, the IJA refocused its defensive efforts in and around Calcutta, where the defensive focus currently lies.

While the USAAF in particular and Allied air power in general was a very unpleasant surprise for stemming the Japanese tide, Japanese losses have been small to modest. All sizeable forces to the West were successfully evacuated, leaving only skeleton garrisons. Most of these groups are back on Ceylon recuperating. During the expansion phase, a few IJA armored regiments were roughly treated by Allied air and, ultimately, destroyed. These units are reconstituting back in the HI or Manila.

In late August-early September, the consolidated defensive lines around Calcutta were probed from the (map) North. Japanese were forced out of Patna. Two Allied para assaults on Rangpur (Allied dot hex by Darjeeling) and Jessore (one hex east of Calcutta) were attempted. The former was successful in capturing this undefended rail center. The latter jumped on top of reinforcements being railed into the area. A battalion of USMC paras evaporated. Efforts to move on Tezpur (dot hex far right on map) were met and reversed by IJA defenders.

[Chickenboy]

Since the India screenshot was taken, Darjeeling has since fallen. The IJA 5th ID has debarked shipping at Chittagong and will be tasked with defensive efforts in eastern India.

Two IJA armored and one infantry regiment have moved from Calcutta in an effort to interdict Allied rail reinforcement of their Darjeeling-Rangpur bridgehead. These will be in position within 2-3 days. It is likely that the Allies will violently respond to this incursion atop their rail network.

[Chickenboy]

Pacific:

After a flurry of initial expansions (with one notable exception), this has been the most quiet theater.

By May 1942, the Japanese had captured New Caledonia, Suva, Pago Pago and Christmas Island. The latter was relinquished after a massive Allied attack recaptured it. Two SNLF / Naval guard units and an engineer unit were destroyed with its recapture.

Currently, the 48th ID is en route to Noumea to reinforce the garrison there. Sizeable air forces (62 Nells and 27 Zeroes) and an AirHQ with torpedo device are present at Noumea to discourage any but the strongest Allied invasion efforts.

The 4th ID holds Suva on Fiji along with another 300 (mostly SNLF) AV. Pago Pago is reinforced with a small air support garrison and an infantry regiment.

The 18th ID is currently en route to Port Moresby where it will replace an existing regimental garrison. There has been scant Allied activity of any form on the NE Australian coast line and surrounds.

Engineer units were placed on all of the Marianas islands within the first few weeks of the war. Their orders? Dig! Saipan will soon be at Port 3, A/F 5 and forts 6. At that point, I'll cease port and A/F expansion and focus on getting forts to 7. Guam, Rota, Tinian and Pagan will be capable of self defense as well. The 14th ID has reinforced Saipan, where it will stay for the foreseeable future.

Historically, the focus on Saipan's defense came too late for the Japanese and they tried to nickle and time supply and land reinforcements to the garrison. The book "Japanese Military Strategy of the Pacific War" considers this delayed reinforcement of the Marianas to be one of several significant errors in strategic defensive management. I'm not about to make the same mistake.

The Allies have built Nuka Hiva and Hiva Oa in the Marquesa islands. More recently, Tahiti has been seen to be growing as well. I'm still not sure how much of the Allied flow of materiel is going through these islands to Australia. A number of convoys (through SigInt) have been identified transporting to or from Hawaii, but very few have been sighted that far South. It is possible that the Allies have reduced their use of the Pacific convoy system to get supplies to ANZAC and are, instead, using the "wormhole" and Western Australia (via Capetown) instead.

[Chickenboy]

-duplicate post deleted-

[Chickenboy]

DEI/ Northern Australia:

Java fell in March-April 1942.

Allied troops buttoned up at Bataan surrendered en masse held out until June-July 1942. They had been bottled up successfully there since late 1941 by a small garrison force at Clark Field while the rest of the IJA rampaged through the DEI.

Northern Australia was invaded successfully in May-June 1942. See screenshot for further troop dispositions.

Koepang (W. Timor) is the site of an air HQ (with torpedo device) and several air groups. Nells and Zeroes are present in abundance. Broome has also been built up for a similar purpose. Inland Australia at Katherine is lightly held. He doesn't seem like he wants to fight for this area much, so I'm mostly using it as a buffer to make his expansion opportunities into the DEI more time prohibitive.

Exmouth has been the site of several skirmishes. That side of the continent has been an increasing 'hot corner' for some time now.

[Justus2]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

DEI/ Northern Australia:

Java fell in March-April 1942.

Allied troops buttoned up at Bataan surrendered en masse held out until June-July 1942. They had been bottled up successfully there since late 1941 by a small garrison force at Clark Field while the rest of the IJA rampaged through the DEI.

Just noticed you are updating this one, I will need to go back and catch up!

Did you notice any downsides with not securing Bataan sooner? I assume you couldn't use Manila as a port, did you find you missed it, or were other bases nearby sufficient?

[Chickenboy]

Holy Crap! Someone posted in my AAR! Thanks, Justus2!

[:D]

[witpqs]

Yeah, good show Justus2! [:D]

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Justus2

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

DEI/ Northern Australia:

Java fell in March-April 1942.

Allied troops buttoned up at Bataan surrendered en masse held out until June-July 1942. They had been bottled up successfully there since late 1941 by a small garrison force at Clark Field while the rest of the IJA rampaged through the DEI.

Just noticed you are updating this one, I will need to go back and catch up!

Did you notice any downsides with not securing Bataan sooner? I assume you couldn't use Manila as a port, did you find you missed it, or were other bases nearby sufficient?

Hi Justus2,

No downside at all to letting Bataan stew in its own juices for a few months, as far as I'm concerned. Bomb them with a rotating cadre of IJAAF training groups for additional disruption effect and supply degradation-and to prevent fortification repair / entrenchment efforts.

I'd keep a Division (+) at Clark, just to be sure, but once the Allies go into Bataan, it's unlikely they're going to want to come out to attack entrenched troops in heavy urban territory while low on supplies. In fact, I'd welcome that.

For Luzon, I used Batangas quite a bit-it's one hex SW of Manila and can be easily built to a 3/3 port / AF-which is fine for an interim port facility in the area. Batangas is a great place to pick up troops for other duty or deliver troops for R&R at Manila.

To the south, Naga (s. Luzon) sits on a rail line, so it's a good rail spur for bringing resources from the rest of the Philipines into Manila.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

Yeah, good show Justus2! [:D]

Hory crap! A second one! [:D]

[Grotius]

Fight on, Chicken-san!
Do not let the Allied fox
Into our hen-house.