Notes from a Small Island

[Lovejoy]

Maybe he's a bit distracted by trying to manage his game with Lowpe. Having the Soviets active in that game probably increases the burden of organization on the Allied player in 1942.

[Canoerebel]

3/25/44

Small Favors: When I stepped in, a fragment of 1st Cavalry Div. was at Pearl and another fragment at Wake Island. In total, I think the division had 4 AV. As detailed previously, a small troop TF went to Wake, retrieved that fragment, and brought it back to Pearl. Now the unit has been divided and has a total of 50 AV. It's prepping well and will be ready for what comes whenever it comes.

I think this unit was nearly destroyed in Historiker's invasion of Marcus Island, which turned disastrous. I'm very thankful he and Joseph preserved the fragments, as the unit has good experience and, when filled out, should be formidable.

[Canoerebel]

3/25/44

Sum Total of the Combat Report: This is all. The only altercation of the day. That's useful information to Erik. I think this same sub has been loitering near Canton Island for weeks. Two ASW TFs heading that way.

[pontiouspilot]

Just a note to say I'm following this closely...I love the format of AAR both you and opponent use.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

3/25/44

Small Favors: When I stepped in, a fragment of 1st Cavalry Div. was at Pearl and another fragment at Wake Island. In total, I think the division had 4 AV. As detailed previously, a small troop TF went to Wake, retrieved that fragment, and brought it back to Pearl. Now the unit has been divided and has a total of 50 AV. It's prepping well and will be ready for what comes whenever it comes.

I think this unit was nearly destroyed in Historiker's invasion of Marcus Island, which turned disastrous. I'm very thankful he and Joseph preserved the fragments, as the unit has good experience and, when filled out, should be formidable.

Except that it's seemingly a magnet for the leaders(+),leaders(-) syndrome.

[Canoerebel]

3/25/44

I am trying a little experiment for tomorrow's turn:

Air Raid Toungoo: Perhaps 70 B-24Js from Cox's Bazaar and Chittagong are to hit Toungoo's airfield at night. During the daytime, a mishmash of fighters will sweep the airfield. John has 200+ fighters there. I want to get a rough idea about the effectiveness of night bombing and day sweeps. I probably have 150 fighters set to sweep. Losses may be high. That's okay as long as I develop some helpful information.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel
I'm very thankful he and Joseph preserved the fragments, as the unit has good experience and, when filled out, should be formidable.

As the unit fills out the experience level will drop. But you did save PP and time.

[Canoerebel]

You just tinkled on my Frosted Flakes.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

You just tinkled on my Frosted Flakes.

Don't worry, 1st Cav is an absolute beast.

[BillBrown]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

3/25/44

I am trying a little experiment for tomorrow's turn:

Air Raid Toungoo: Perhaps 70 B-24Js from Cox's Bazaar and Chittagong are to hit Toungoo's airfield at night. During the daytime, a mishmash of fighters will sweep the airfield. John has 200+ fighters there. I want to get a rough idea about the effectiveness of night bombing and day sweeps. I probably have 150 fighters set to sweep. Losses may be high. That's okay as long as I develop some helpful information.

I believe in this game your opponent is Erik(sp?).

In my pickup game I find myself doing some LCU bombardment attacks and Air Ground Bombing on various stacks just to see what information I can dig up.
is there.

[Canoerebel]

4/3/44

Strategic Map: The false war continues. Erik is playing a "soft defense" in the PTO. He has negligible troops forward, doesn't employ ships or aircraft forward, and only has a few subs in my waters.

I'm playing a soft offense right now. The Allies are picking off small lightly defended or undefended CenPac islands. The most recent to fall was Nauru, two days back. I'll keep going, both to clean up the LOC between Pearl and SWPac and to see if I can develop the "line" that Erik doesn't want me to cross.

Behind the curtain, Oz is a very busy place. Tons of clicking. What has been a huge and critical op - pulling back ships and LCUs from forward positions - has gone remarkably smoothly. Erik didn't offer opposition. 90% or more of the LCUs are now back at marshalling points and prepping for the next round. Prep will be key since I'm not expecting to find holes in Erik's defenses. Full prep may take two months or so. That's okay, because the Allied carriers damaged before I stepped in need about that long for repairs.

As time passes without major ops, Erik will become more and more sure I'm going deep. And he'll know my history.

I may cross him up by not going as deep as he might expect. But the real advantages bequeathed to me by Joseph - carrier superiority, strong combat ship OOB, vast merchant fleet, and tremendous quantities of supply and fuel already far forward - suggest a deep move.

Erik won't have holes...but neither can he cover everything on the map. Even if he's clever and guesses well, a strong garrison (say, two divisions) in open terrain would have a hard time standing up to 2,500 AV and the Allied navy.

Of course, KB and Kaigun will have something to say about all this....but there is some merit in drawing KB into battle, since Erik's carrier OOB has been whittled down materially.

So two months from now things will get very busy. And so much rides on what may appear to be an all-or-nothing move. But the Allied OOB is so strong this deep into 1944 that it behoves the Allies to take the war to Japan.

[Canoerebel]

I think these are the House Rules we're using. I've sent a copy to Eric for confirmation and I've added this to the first post of this AAR.

1. Pay PP for border crossing of restricted units
a) Restricted Chinese units were moved in bulk into Burma and India by previous Allied player. Per our previous discussion, I am not using restricted Chinese in Burma to fight. I’ll move them back to China eventually, where they belong.

2. Max 50 planes per base for night strikes on port and airfields.
a) No restriction on numbers for strat bombing at night.

3. No strat bombing in China.

4. No altitude limits on fighters [if this turns out to be borked, we can revisit].

[Canoerebel]

Assuming that Erik has expedited his carrier builds and that all are now on the map, we are about even in fleet carriers. I have a significant advantage in CVLs and CVEs. Overall, though, he can fight toe-to-toe if he is able to combine carrier air and LBA in a contest against the Allied fleet.

I'm going to give him that opportunity, at some point.

But first I'm going to take a stab at inviting a major carrier clash. This will take place in the Marshalls or around Marcus.

I've been picking off area islands easily, as Erik has removed most of his defenses. He didn't even leave behind subs, patrol aircraft or small DD TFs. So Tabituea, Abemama, Tarawa, Ocean and Nauru have fallen.

In about a month, I'll put together what seems to be a massive invasion TF covered by all Allied carriers available. These TFs will move on several islands in the Marshalls - probably Roi, Kwaj and Eniwetok. Those are lightly held and aren't likely to draw a response. If they don't, then the fleet will appear to move on Marcus, though I'll have no invasion troops present.

I want to clean up the Marshalls for LOC reasons and I'd like to draw a carrier clash if possible.

[Canoerebel]

I also want to post fast and furious here, since over the past few days I've been sending emails to Erik about house rules, asking for copies, asking for clarifications, etc. Nothing major is up right now but he'll wonder.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel
I'm very thankful he and Joseph preserved the fragments, as the unit has good experience and, when filled out, should be formidable.

As the unit fills out the experience level will drop. But you did save PP and time.

It will only drop towards the national average, though - it won't just keep dropping.

[Lecivius]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I also want to post fast and furious here, since over the past few days I've been sending emails to Erik about house rules, asking for copies, asking for clarifications, etc. Nothing major is up right now but he'll wonder.

Devious [;)]

I'm in [:D][:'(]

[Lovejoy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I also want to post fast and furious here, since over the past few days I've been sending emails to Erik about house rules, asking for copies, asking for clarifications, etc. Nothing major is up right now but he'll wonder.

I'll do my bit as well!

[BillBrown]

OK, we can all do a little bit.

[Mike McCreery]

This would be unfair to your opponent... I love it :]

[GetAssista]

ORIGINAL: Wargmr
This would be unfair to your opponent... I love it :]

Oi, why not make the post title a bit more compelling too [:D]