The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

[Reg]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Mini KB indeed steamed north, nine more hexes, and is certain now to complete a JEG Stuart circumambulation.

He must be wondering where your supply train is, especially since the Kongos didn't flush any.....

[JohnDillworth]

I completely understand why you'd be happy. You're accomplishing your goals while John sails around waving the flag and beats his shield. He needs the carnage, you don't. You stuck to your guns and kept the plan in mind. Your window of opportunity to catch his fleet is only getting bigger as time progresses.

Besides damaging one CV and accomplishing your goals John must have burnt 100,000 gallons of fuel. Every once of that had to be brought forward and now it all has to be replaces taking TK's and AK's away from bringing stuff out of the DEI and every once he brings forward does not go to the Home Islands to build stuff

[Canoerebel]

A week ago, as the Allied TFs neared the Marshalls, John understandably deduced that the targets were Kwaj/Roi (or possibly Kausaie or Tabituea). Big force of carriers and combat ships and large number of merchantmen and support ships. What he had no way of knowing was that I had combat troops necessary for the mission "marooned" on Jaluit - and that I'd have to pick them up before I could proceed with the invasions, and that delivering supply was a higher priority than those invasions. That huge group of merchantmen was carrying no more than a Canadian brigade, two Canadian battalions, and one partial and one complete US RCT. Most of the merchants were loaded with nothing but supply.

[Canoerebel]

8/27/43

Thin Man: The Japanese carriers have (temporarily?) vanished from the screen. But my carrier TFs are likewise not showing any detection. So John's could be hiding in plain sight, or they might've retired to the west. Mini KB is 19 hexes NE of Death Star and 15 hexes SE of Wake Island, well into the curve that will take it back to Japanese dominated waters. What seems to be a powerful combat TF is 23 hexes SW of Mili (close to the Solomons). I think these are the Kongos. A big "DD" force is SW of Jaluit. In total it seems that the Kaigun remains spread out enough that I needn't fear a sudden convergence. That eans the Allies will proceed with their main mission.

All Thin Man combat troops have been successfully lifted from Jaluit and are unloading at Mili. In two days, they should be aboard APAs and prepared for amphibious ops (if the green light is given). There is one other important "troop retrieval" mission, but this one is unrelated to the invasions. 7th US Div. was broken up into many combat teams and used as necessary combat reserves to help take Maloelap, Majuro and Mili. These units are being retrieved to Mili and will then reload and return to Pearl. 7th Div. is fully prepped for Ponape.

I still have a lot of supply distribution to do, but some progress has been made. Mili has 35k and is in good shape. Jaluit's garrison is down to 10k and it has 20k supply, so it's substantially better now. But I need to offload 20 to 30k supply at Wotje, Maloelap, Ailiglaplap and Tarawa. Mines have been delivered to Mili and Maloelap (with subs about to drop them at Jaluit), but I hope the minelayers can reload at Jaluit (when and if there isn't real danger) and deliver another load or three. ACMs are already disbanded at Mili and Maloelap, but the five or six ACMs had to retire in the face of KB (they were making only 10 knots and lagged behind the other two by five or six hexes; that was enough to force them to go backwards, and then more backwards when Mini KB began its ride).

John has suddenly gotten pretty quiet with his combat ships and carriers. He may be replenishing/refueling in preparation for pouncing. The fact that NoPac is missing its combat ships leads me to believe John is concentrating an immense force in this theater. I have seen only part of this force to this point. I expect him to return to the Marshalls soon. In fact, he just went out of town (no turns until late Wednesday). I think he left the game a bit flummoxed. I bet he returns with renewed fire in his belly.

There is still the quesiton of whether the Allies will invade Roi and/or Kwaj. I'll have all the combat troops loaded and concentrated at Mili in two or three days and will make the decision then. If the coast is still clear, I'll probably proceed with one of the two, peferring to move sequentially so that bombardment TFs can really hammer one target. Both bases are overstacked and probably will be very tough against the assembled invasion forces.

If KB returns, I'll probably look for a chance to return to Pearl. If the Allies make it back there without suffering meaningful losses, from that point forward I won't feel the need to be quite so tentative with my carriers given incoming reinforcements.

I do need another five days or so to attend to supply offloading in the Marshalls. I'm only addressing a base or two each day, and with but a modest numbers of ships at each exposed island. I don't want an enemy combat TF to overwhelm a significant portion of my loaded supply in one pouncing attack.

Circus: Quiet up here. An ACM disbanded at Adak to tend to 120 mines. Supply is abundant from Umnak back to Anchorage. Fuel is abundant at Kodiak and now there is some at Dutch Harbor. Adak has plenty of supply but not abundant levels. Ulak is getting low. LSTs are en route.

Reinforcements: Cowpens arrived in 12 days; Bunker Hill in 13. Both should be part of the next op, whether it's NoPac or CenPac. 1st Marine Div. arrives at San Fran in four days, but it will take months to rebuild.

hichever op is next, Allied troops will be mostly fully prepped (a few exceptions for those Thin Man troops that have been aboard ships for weeks now).

[Canoerebel]

Thin Man on August 27.

[Bullwinkle58]

What are your reload factors at Jaluit? Can they do a mine reload?

[Mike McCreery]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

What are your reload factors at Jaluit? Can they do a mine reload?

I have never been able to figure out mine reloads.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Wargmr

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

What are your reload factors at Jaluit? Can they do a mine reload?

I have never been able to figure out mine reloads.

What is hard about them. It is right in the appendix.

[Canoerebel]

Jaluit has a level four port and a USN base force with naval support. I think when I put an AE or AKE there that it will allow me to replenish CM and DM mine loads. This is based upon the fact that I was able to reload mines at Sabang (at level one and level two) with AKE/AK and naval support. So, I have the advantage of a bigger port (but I don't have nearly as much naval support, which is what makes me a bit uncertain). I've tried loading mines at Mili, which has AE/AKE but is only level one without naval support, and it hasn't worked.

As you can see, I'm doing this more from a general feel of the factors that aid in minelayer replenishment rather than detailed knowledge that would allow me to say for certain.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Termite2

Pretty sure that all the JP 28 pt & 19pt tankers can convert to AO.

One thing I did not see mentioned - I don't think the conversion to AO brings an increase in speed. So while he has more AOs they will be slow and not suitable for operations near the combat area. They will have to hang back at least two days steaming from Allied interdiction. This could be why KB has disappeared from the area for the moment - cannot refuel near the front.

[Canoerebel]

A word about commander ratings.

As you can tell, I'm having alot of fun in this this match, and overall I am pleased with where things stand as of August 1943 and how Thin Man (a weird-looking but important operation) is going thus far.

But I am aware that there are certain players that would have jumped on the chance to strike Mini KB. Certain players would have enjoyed the challenge of using flank speed to deal a decisive blow. Other players (me, with hand raised) erred on the side of not taking the chance, weighing factors and concluding there was too great to the merchantmen).

Player aggression ranges from timid to reckless, as do commander ratings in the game.

I think the situation with Fletcher, Turner, Ghormley and Vandegrift at Guadalcanal had to be one of the most interesting studies in commander personalities and decision making of the Pacific War. I bet there are some fascinating doctoral theses that deal with that in amazing detail.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

A word about commander ratings.

As you can tell, I'm having alot of fun in this this match, and overall I am pleased with where things stand as of August 1943 and how Thin Man (a weird-looking but important operation) is going thus far.

But I am aware that there are certain players that would have jumped on the chance to strike Mini KB. Certain players would have enjoyed the challenge of using flank speed to deal a decisive blow. Other players (me, with hand raised) erred on the side of not taking the chance, weighing factors and concluding there was too great to the merchantmen).

Player aggression ranges from timid to reckless, as do commander ratings in the game.

I think the situation with Fletcher, Turner, Ghormley and Vandegrift at Guadalcanal had to be one of the most interesting studies in commander personalities and decision making of the Pacific War. I bet there are some fascinating doctoral theses that deal with that in amazing detail.

Good observation! I have the impression that interference from Washington also coloured some of the decisions made.
Fletcher was under pressure not to risk his carriers too much.
Ghormley was handed an operation (Shoestring) triggered at least three months ahead of schedule with lack of everything, so he had to devote far too much time to logistics.
Turner's landing force had suffered losses from Betty strikes and after the Battle of Savo Island he had no way of knowing if the IJN would return for the transports, which were also scarce and precious to Washington. When Fletcher withdrew to replenish he had to take his transports with him.
Vandegrift, to his credit, took an offensive posture whenever he saw a weakness in Japanese lines, but initially he had little to work with.

The game does a great job recreating the background and dynamics of the Guadalcanal situation.

[Mike McCreery]

I believe that the decision not to attack is often more important for the allied player in this game than a knee jerk reaction. Certainly through 1942 and 1/2 of 1943 at least.

You may want to ask NJP how many times I saved my butt by not chasing after seemingly helpless merchants.

[Lowpe]

Does pressure from Washington equate to the peanut gallery here?

[JeffroK]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Does pressure from Washington equate to the peanut gallery here?

In which case JIII is being showered with compliments for stopping an invasion of Truk & Saipan, only giving away a few sand bars which will become a death trap for the Anericans!!!

[Canoerebel]

This "through the glass darkly" thing probably works both ways. John is presented with a great deal of data as Operation Thin Man unfolds (ships, ships, ships, planes, movement, where are they going, what are they doing). He is probably greatly in the dark as to what was going on. He might draw the conclusion that he stopped invasions, stymied the Allies, and left me looking gangly and awkward. Those would be reasonable deductions given the information presented.

From my perspective, the Operation is proceeding nicely (with the added benefit of seeing the Kaigun running around expending fuel) with supply delivery and excess troop extraction well underway; with the two amphbious elements still on the table, and with the Allied naval OOB thus far intact (oh, that this remains so). And with the overspreading canopy that the Allied naval OOB is about to increase substantially, making future (near future) operations have a decidedly different balance of power.

So I fully understand if John is feeling awesome at the moment (hey, he just took his cavalry division on a gallop around the Army of the Potomoc, generating favorable press and making General Meade look clumsy). That's exactly the feeling I'd have in his place.

Ah, but I know better.

[crsutton]

It is like watching "Game of Thrones." I mean, when will the f**king thing ever come to a conclusion? [:D]

[Miller]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

It is like watching "Game of Thrones." I mean, when will the f**king thing ever come to a conclusion? [:D]

Jon Snow is alive! Alive I tell thee!

[Canoerebel]

I've never watched that show. Heck, until about three weeks ago I thought it was the name of a video game. See, I don't have television or cable or satellite etc., so I'm out of touch and don't have my finger on the pulse of popular culture.

But I do get crusutton's excellent application of the simile.

[Mike McCreery]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I've never watched that show. Heck, until about three weeks ago I thought it was the name of a video game. See, I don't have television or cable or satellite etc., so I'm out of touch and don't have my finger on the pulse of popular culture.

But I do get crusutton's excellent application of the simile.

The books are better. Truly dark medival fantasy series.