A Japanese Debacle - Sqz (J) vs. fcharton (A)

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon
One thing I'll have to do when I get the turn is lock in my air R&D. I have waffled on a few airframes and made some changes that I probably shouldn't have. I need to re-examine a few airframes and switch some factories over that may have a greater impact than what I first envisioned.

Post what you have so we can give fully informed advice. R&D can be very confusing with terms, and upgrades, etc.

I always sleep on any change, a day or two won't hurt anything in the long run.

[SqzMyLemon]

March 18/42:

An actual game update for a change!

CV Yorktwon may have officially sunk today. During the turn sinking sounds were heard and 6 SBD's and 4 TBD's were shown as Ops losses in the intelligence report. Compared to the following screenshot that shows a two ship TF composed of a CV and CL with 10 bombers, I think this confirms the sinking.

CV Enterprise appears to be just north of where CV Yorktown went down. The number of aircraft in this taskforce raises concern, and perhaps it was a good thing that Japanese carriers were out of range by one hex. I definitely don't want to trade carriers with the Allies. Japanese forces will therefore return to Sabang and a large land based CAP will be assigned to provide additional protection during the return journey.

In other news, the Allies take back control of Sydney. A part of me regrets giving it up so easily, but I also feel it was in my best interest to do so. I simply have to put it behind me.



I must have goofed completing my orders. I could have sworn I set two deliberate attacks in China, but in both cases there was no combat today. Frustrating to make such a stupid mistake at this stage of the game.

[SqzMyLemon]

The next turn is away.

I made sure my orders were correct in China. There should be two deliberate assaults near Kweilin tomorrow, unless the Chinese vacate either or both hexes beforehand.

In the IO, Japanese naval forces are ordered to return to Sabang to regroup and refuel prior to deploying back to Singapore for repairs.

The Horn Island amphibious force is two days out from the atoll, supported by KB. Unfortunately, I had the entire KB's air wing set to ASW and missed a chance to attack an Allied taskforce spotted at Portland Roads 120 miles away. Initial naval search reports indicate five xAP's. Japanese minesweepers are ordered ahead to clear Horn Island of any mines before the bombardment and amphibious task forces move in. I don't feel good about rushing this invasion with un-prepped units, but I can't afford to wait so will take what comes.

[SqzMyLemon]

March 19/42:

DMS's reach Horn Island and detect no minefield. The amphibious invasion force is 80 miles out. Bombardment taskforces will hit the base tomorrow prior to the landing. KB is still undetected and will hopefully remain so.

In China, one of two deliberate attacks occur near Kweilin. Kweilin now shows 12 Chinese LCU's in the base. Two Japanese divisions will invest the base within four days and await reinforcement. Two more Japanese divisions will enter the wooded hex southeast of Liuchow in two days. It will take a week for them to invest Liuchow, which still shows only two Chinese LCU's present. If this remains the case the base should fall easily.

American bombers target Japanese forces moving on Lanchow. This suits me fine as I'd rather not have to deal with enemy bombers disrupting my forces near Kweilin. Then again, the enemy bombers face no opposition in the north so it makes perfect sense why they are being deployed here.

Japanese naval forces reach Sabang without incident. Japanese damage so far has held its own with neither CVL Shoho or CV Kaga sustaining additional damage en route. The light carrier currently sports 60 floatation damage, but if she can avoid enemy submarines between Sabang and Singapore she'll make it.

A disappointing sub on sub encounter in the DEI has SS I-24 duding on a Dutch boat. I hate missing opportunities like this simply to bad luck.

[Lowpe]

60 flood damage is really high to be cruising around with.

Check to see how much is major flood damage, and perhaps a short stay at Sabang pumping out the minor flood damage makes sense.


Depends a little on what is at Sabang to help--naval squads,port size, etc.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

60 flood damage is really high to be cruising around with.

Check to see how much is major flood damage, and perhaps a short stay at Sabang pumping out the minor flood damage makes sense.

Depends a little on what is at Sabang to help--naval squads,port size, etc.

Trust me, I know 60 flood damage is high. [:D]

I think the key for both carriers has been the system damage. For both carriers it's in the low 30's. Any higher and the pumps start failing and such.

Sabang has neither decent port size nor any naval support. I'll risk getting the carriers to Singapore for repairs.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

60 flood damage is really high to be cruising around with.

Check to see how much is major flood damage, and perhaps a short stay at Sabang pumping out the minor flood damage makes sense.

Depends a little on what is at Sabang to help--naval squads,port size, etc.

Trust me, I know 60 flood damage is high. [:D]

I think the key for both carriers has been the system damage. For both carriers it's in the low 30's. Any higher and the pumps start failing and such.

Sabang has neither decent port size nor any naval support. I'll risk getting the carriers to Singapore for repairs.

Definitely agree, good Captains, a spare ship or two, low system damage, and cruise speed can be pretty safe.

[pontiouspilot]

In one of my PBEMs (Allies) it is Xmas '41 and the Hun has landed in force at Cairns and Townsville. It appears to be 2 full Divisions plus assorted supports. It will be interesting! I had moved about 250 AV to Townsville and 150 to Cairns. The former held on 1st attack...I await the 1st at Cairns. We'll soon see if the earlier attack on Oz any easier than yours.

To do this so early the Japanese player always gives something up...here the attack in Malaya is tepid.

[SqzMyLemon]

I'm actually impressed with the damage control on CVL Shoho. When I first saw the damage I thought she was a goner. However, fires went out on day one and despite the high flotation damage, the movement rate was a respectable 3/1.

I will be extremely happy if all my damaged ships make Singapore. I would consider this a tactical victory over Allied forces.

Speaking of Captains, one thing I definitely have to do is reassess a number of surface ship Captains. I was not happy with the poor tactical performance of the Tanaka taskforce. I expect much better results from Japanese ships at night. PP's are at such a premium right now. I'm trying to save up 550 PP's to buy out the last component of IJA 8th Division, the expensive artillery.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: pontiouspilot

In one of my PBEMs (Allies) it is Xmas '41 and the Hun has landed in force at Cairns and Townsville. It appears to be 2 full Divisions plus assorted supports. It will be interesting! I had moved about 250 AV to Townsville and 150 to Cairns. The former held on 1st attack...I await the 1st at Cairns. We'll soon see if the earlier attack on Oz any easier than yours.

To do this so early the Japanese player always gives something up...here the attack in Malaya is tepid.

My problem was not making sure I could accomplish my goals in the DEI while I landed in Australia. I overcommitted the navy to Australian operations and didn't provide enough ground forces to the DEI. Even landing on Luzon with IJA 48th Division, artillery and aviation support was a huge mistake. Had I sent these forces to the DEI I could have achieved my goals there, instead I went in light with ground and aviation support and paid the price. I never got into rhythm and left myself vulnerable to aggressive Allied play. No offence to Francois, but the only reason I'm behind in that theatre is because of my own poor play. Had I played that theatre smarter, I'd never have needed to withdraw from Sydney and I'd probably be sieging Melbourne right now.

The whole point of landing at Sydney was to knock the country out quickly before the emergency package arrived, but I needed the fuel from Balikpapan and a safe LOC to do so. As we all know, I dropped the ball.

I think you'll be fine with a Japanese top down approach to invading Australia. It will give you time to organize your defence in the south and build up forts. If your opponent should then cross the LOD it will be too late.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

Having settled in and dealt with my angst over changes to the game, I'm actually contemplating starting another game. As always, I like to post here first to see if there is any interest. I'm ok playing either side and even another DBB (eating crow here). Drop me a line if inclined.

I may have great news on this front. Lowpe would be proud!

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

Having settled in and dealt with my angst over changes to the game, I'm actually contemplating starting another game. As always, I like to post here first to see if there is any interest. I'm ok playing either side and even another DBB (eating crow here). Drop me a line if inclined.

I may have great news on this front. Lowpe would be proud!

I've got goosebumps![:D]

[SqzMyLemon]

An update on the Japanese divisions in the Pacific.

IJA 33rd Division is currently mopping up Australian units in New Guinea and will redeploy back to Australia.

IJA 21st Division is about to amphibious land against Horn Island.

IJA 56th Division will reform once all its components arrive at Rabaul.

IJA 2nd, 4th and 16th Divisions are earmarked for Darwin, Timor and Java.

Components of IJA 1st Division are still in Australia, but will reform at Babeldoab. Will be used in the Philippines.

Components of IJA 8th Division will reform at Babeldoab. Will be used in the Philippines.

IJA 55th Division is in Sumatra.

IJA 18th Division is deploying to Burma via the land route.

IJA 38th Division will amphibious land against Port Blair, then reinforce operations in Burma.

IJA 5th and Imperial Guards Divisions will amphibious land at Pegu.

Not an ideal use of my divisions, but I need to get Burma, Java and the Philippines sorted out quickly.

The intent now is to use my forces to destroy as much of the Allied army, air and naval forces as possible for the remainder of 1942. I am planning a large scale Nemo type operation in the future to catch the Allies off guard if they extend themselves during their counter push in the Pacific.

[Lokasenna]

The number of aircraft in that Enterprise TF tells me that she has the Yorktown remnants onboard. She may have been unable to conduct flight ops on that particular day due to "overstacking" (remember CVs can go up to 115% capacity and still conduct ops, but can actually carry more than that before any are pushed over the side - I believe 130% is the magic number there).

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

The number of aircraft in that Enterprise TF tells me that she has the Yorktown remnants onboard. She may have been unable to conduct flight ops on that particular day due to "overstacking" (remember CVs can go up to 115% capacity and still conduct ops, but can actually carry more than that before any are pushed over the side - I believe 130% is the magic number there).

That's a good point and it never occurred to me that could have been the situation. That might explain why there was no enemy naval air strike during the day against Tanaka's cruiser TF (range was 5) after the night surface engagement. I will definitely remember that nugget of information for the future, thanks!

I may have missed an opportunity, then again, I could have pursued and ran into the British. Japanese damage control could have failed as well. I really needed a successful night engagement against the CV Enterprise taskforce to turn this into a decisive defeat for the Allies. It just wasn't meant to be unfortunately.

[SqzMyLemon]

The next turn is away.

The amphibious landing against Horn Island is scheduled to land tomorrow, preceded by two separate battleship bombardment missions. Due to the lack of preparation, I expect IJA 21st Division to take heavy losses with high disruption.

KB and a strong cruiser taskforce will take up a position west of Horn Island.

Working on the turn yesterday was a marathon session. I addressed a number of issues to better organize my rear area dispositions. There is going to be a flurry of activity in the DEI over the next month.

I finalized my air R&D...again! I'll post more in a month or so to show progress. As mentioned earlier, I'm heavily investing in fighters rather than bombers for the mid-late war.

[SqzMyLemon]

True to his word, another turn arrived from Francois. With his work schedule a little lighter for the next few weeks, the turns should be flowing regularly again.

I was supposed to take my Mother grocery shopping this evening, but she has postponed until Friday (she's not starving apparently) so I get to settle in for another evening of getting my Japanese act together. I'm curious to learn just how bloody Horn Island is going to be for IJA 21st Division.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

I've got goosebumps!

I see obvert [Erik] has posted, so I'll let the cat out of the bag as well.

Quite some time ago I approached Erik for a chance at a game, or to pick up one of his ongoing PBEM matches and allow him to complete either one. Historiker has graciously consented to allow me to finish up his Allied campaign against Erik. More importantly, Erik has graciously agreed to let me substitute in for Historiker.

I'll start a new AAR once we get set up and pick up where Historiker left off. I'm pretty excited to get to play the mid/late war, having never had a chance to before.

[obvert]

It'll be good to finally play one after all of these years! [&o]

Good to hear you'll write about it too. I like that we're continuing and aiming to get into the late game. It's daunting to move all of that stuff around, but pretty fun to pay with the late war stuff for both sides.

[Lowpe]

Congratulations! Picking up a game is like a box of chocolate. You never know till you bite!

The good news is you are in enviable shape.

The better news is you have a wonderful opponent.

The best news is you have a chance of end game joy without the misery of early game kicking.

Have fun.