The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

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If the South China Sea bases are the next target and the goal is to put pressure on John, one thought would be to send 8-10 mini-invasions to every empty base in sight with the idea that some will stick and some may not. In this way it restricts Johns ability to react and minimises losses of more important ships. This kind of op can be APD/LST and other small invasion craft dropping marine raider units, defence units and engineers.

Against GreyJoy I employed this type of "invasion wave" in So Pac and Cent Pac and in spite of single base reversals it led to steady progress and (I felt at the time) enormous pressure on the Japanese. Not only do you gain bases now but you indicate you'll grab anything open in the future, stretching defences even more than they are currently if he wants to meet the threat.

[Canoerebel]

4/21/44

The Allied mini-operation to seize bases on the South China Sea opens smoothly and quickly. See map for details.

The purpose is much as Obvert just described - seize multiple bases, thus putting pressure on an already-stretched and stressed enemy. I don't have the infrastructure to build these bases quickly, but their very existence is a threat to John (and they can be used for PBYs immediately).

Base-building continues very fast at Legaspi an Naga. The airfields will be built out in a matter of a few weeks. Then engineers will switch to ports. Then they'll be distributed to other bases. Supply levels are pretty robust (see map).

I think John has to move to stop the sudden increase in expansion since it threatens to nearly divide the Empire in two, but in the past he hasn't done what I thought he most needed to do to protect his empire.

The foremost objective remains to attrition KB/Kaigun.

[Canoerebel]

Quite a few veterans and some newcomers are reading. Some chime in with thoughts of how they might do things. Some chime in after detailed reading and analysis; some after only reading a few entries, and those sporadically; and some after reading John's AAR and gaining information that I may not have.

As the writer, I'm glad anybody is reading (it makes the effort worthwhile). Some of your comments are right on target, some miss the mark, and many generate ideas that I test one way or another.

An example of that was yesterday, when the "coup de main on Manila" comment made me think about how I'm approaching things; that prompted me to the analogy about how I use bombardment TFs; and that, in turn, eventually led to the decision to bombard Atimonan.

The situation is somewhat akin to my work. At any particular moment, I have several dozen manuscripts in from freelance writers. Receiving, reviewing, editing, and communicating with writers usually takes hours, sometimes mounting in the dozens of hours (if a manuscript is a good story but requires a lot of editing).

Every writer who submits a story hopes for a quick response. They figure I'm seated in my office, waiting for stories to come in, and immediately pounce on each story that comes in.

In reality, I have hundreds of little chores going on all the time, from office routine (answering mail, phone calls, speaking engagements, teaching, cleaning, writing checks, balancing the books, etc.) to creative work (proofing, editing, writing, searching for photos, checking facts, checking captions, writing authors with updates or questions, etc.).

This week, I spent all my time thus far (four days) proofing the Spring 2017 issue of the magazine, leaving little time for other things, and that mostly consisted of writing checks, answering mail and taking phone calls. Meanwhile, all those writers think I've had four days to work on their story...and they're calling or writing to ask, "So, what did you think of my story?"

And it's true that I could've taken the hour or two to attend to theirs. But, in the overall scheme of things, I have a complicated schedule. I know how to work it, and I know I'm getting things done effectively and efficiently, yet each of them may think I'm lagging. And sometimes a writer or photographer or reader throws out something that makes me think, "Hmmm, there's an idea...."

And sometimes one comes along and points out where I've made a mistake.

But, overall, through twelve years of experience and working hard, I have a pretty good notion of what I can do and when I should be doing it.

Does that make sense?

[Encircled]

Perfectly

[BBfanboy]

That hole you are making in the central Philippines reminded me of an old cartoon...

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ORIGINAL: Canoerebel


Every writer who submits a story hopes for a quick response. They figure I'm seated in my office, waiting for stories to come in, and immediately pounce on each story that comes in.

In reality, I have hundreds of little chores going on all the time, from office routine (answering mail, phone calls, speaking engagements, teaching, cleaning, writing checks, balancing the books, etc.) to creative work (proofing, editing, writing, searching for photos, checking facts, checking captions, writing authors with updates or questions, etc.).

etc meaning in actuality you are ...

... reading the AE Main Forum, catching up on the progress of a few AARs, annotating maps for the AAR, emailing John to stop writing message subject lines with ALL CAPS BANZAI!!!, answering various PMs, writing back to questions on the AAR, composing long philosophical notes on the job of a magazine editor for the AAR, musing about "lost" AE forum veterans whereabouts, sharing insights and philosophical notes about the benefits or regular excursions to the segments of the Appalachian Trail, posting an occasional question about AE game mechanics, and enlightening AE forum members on minor North Georgian Civil War battles and characters.

There is a lot to do in a week!!

[Canoerebel]

*Ack!" I've been outed!

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ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

*Ack!" I've been outed!

Hopefully BBfanboy, ny59giants and witpqs don't happen to know (or be) those writers submitting to Georgia Backroads! [:D]

[Canoerebel]

No, to the best of my knowledge, none of my contributing writers is a Forumite. But crsutton is a reader!

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: obvert

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

*Ack!" I've been outed!

Hopefully BBfanboy, ny59giants and witpqs don't happen to know (or be) those writers submitting to Georgia Backroads! [:D]

I'm a little far west for that!

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

No, to the best of my knowledge, none of my contributing writers is a Forumite. But crsutton is a reader!

Yeah, Dan is pretty low key about his magazine on this forum but I am not above doing a little "pimping" for him. You don't have to be from Georgia to enjoy it. It is full of history and color, and his contributors have some pretty nice stuff to say. Plus, it is a fairly inexpensive investment. Reminds me that is is time to renew my subscription. The guy is a true renaissance man hiding out on a forum full of war game geeks...[:D]

[AcePylut]

What's the name of the magazine?

[Canoerebel]

It's Georgia Backroads, but we get phone calls for Georgia Backwoods, Georgia Blackwoods, Georgia Blackroads, and just about every other iteration that you can imagine. Our demographic is elderly too. Ninety percent of callers say they wish to order a "prescription."

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

It's Georgia Backroads, but we get phone calls for Georgia Backwoods, Georgia Blackwoods, Georgia Blackroads, and just about every other iteration that you can imagine. Our demographic is elderly too. Ninety percent of callers say they wish to order a "prescription."

[:D]
Sayyy - what kind of paper are you using? Can you smoke it?

[Xilana]

CR:

I have been enjoying your exploits from the sidelines as always. I've opted to function as an Allied observer only as I find the omnipotence one garners from reading both threads make it less fun for me. Having stated all of this, let me get to my message.

Q) Have you considered any potential scenarios where you could ambush the Kaigun or at least engage at favorable odds leading to a Midway outcome?
Q) Curious as to why Leyte hasn't yet fallen? Does John have a large garrison in place? Are the bases there build-able to high levels? Seems to me it would be a potential nice place to give you another interlocking base for your net.

Observation, I've had the opportunity/pleasure of traveling through much of the Philippines. If you ever go, Palawan was beautiful, unspoiled, and relatively sparsely visited (c2009). The central islands are nice, I liked Cebu, Boracay, and Leyte. I find it fascinating to read the electronic exploits of my old stomping grounds, both in the PI as well as the carolines, mariannas, okinawa, yap. Places I almost made it were the Marshalls on a dive trip (notoriously expensive) and Iwo with a Marine corp family related to a WW2 vet but it fell through. I'm going to hit the Solomons, NG and some other venues on my next trip.


EDIT: I forgot (and how could I forget) to add Palau to my list of have visited. Yet another wonderful location worthy of a visit!

[Canoerebel]

I wouldn't expect anybody to subscribe to Georgia Backroads unless they had a particular interest in Georgia history and/or simply loved reading this kind of material. So I seldom refer to the magazine here, because it generally doesn't mean much to folks in Manitoba, the UK or Singapore. The great majority of the forum can better us $27 to buy a new game!

But let me close by saying this. We've been in publication since 1984. We're the same dimensions, page count, and paper quality today as we were then. Our subscription prices haven't changed since 2004. And we carry less advertising than we did in 2004 by design.

I think we're the only magazine in the nation that can come close to making those claims. Many have shrunk and adopted weird "themed" issues for advertising revenue (Time). Others have vanished (Newsweek and US News and World Report). But we're just puttering along doing the same thing we've always done.

[Canoerebel]

V3, thanks for reading and chiming in.

Fun House is unfolding on schedule and as planned. I haven't completed taking bases yet, but my focus was on taking the lightly held or vacant bases first, with the exception of Cebu. Leyte is on the agenda, but Baybay is defended modestly and Tacloban probably by a mixed brigade. I have a division broken into three RCT that are prepping accordingly - one is at 100% for Baybay, the other two at about 35% for Tacloban. I'll move on those bases if I clear KB out of the way or if KB stays away.

My plan to draw Kaigun into battle is simply to force John's hand by taking territory until he concludes he has to either fight or lose. I think we're getting there, but John is pretty stubborn in his devotion to his ships. He's doing his best to find some other way than "banzai!"

[Xilana]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

It's Georgia Backroads, but we get phone calls for Georgia Backwoods, Georgia Blackwoods, Georgia Blackroads, and just about every other iteration that you can imagine. Our demographic is elderly too. Ninety percent of callers say they wish to order a "prescription."

How about changing it to Georgia Peach I guarantee you'd get all sorts of baseball aficionados calling at that point. Certainly OT, but I'm happy to see the last 2 bios on him are relying less on Al Stump. They have definitely built up from the older Alexander standard.

[Reg]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

My plan to draw Kaigun into battle is simply to force John's hand by taking territory until he concludes he has to either fight or lose. I think we're getting there, but John is pretty stubborn in his devotion to his ships. He's doing his best to find some other way than "banzai!"

You've rapped him over the knuckles often and hard enough every time he ventures near that I think that has become very leery of confronting your massed strength. I suspect he will only act if he perceives a weakness.....

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: venividivici10044a

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

It's Georgia Backroads, but we get phone calls for Georgia Backwoods, Georgia Blackwoods, Georgia Blackroads, and just about every other iteration that you can imagine. Our demographic is elderly too. Ninety percent of callers say they wish to order a "prescription."

How about changing it to Georgia Peach I guarantee you'd get all sorts of baseball aficionados calling at that point. Certainly OT, but I'm happy to see the last 2 bios on him are relying less on Al Stump. They have definitely built up from the older Alexander standard.

I think Georgia on my Mind would be better..