The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

[AcePylut]

What's the largest size ship you can steam up the river to Wuchang? Got any xAKL's about that can spring a "fun" surprise on J3?

[Canoerebel]

Wuchang should be cut off soon, long before I could put together an amphibious op.

I do think the China Plains are about to resemble France in the late summer of 1944. The Allies kept trying to put together a parachute assault, but the army advanced so fast that it kept overrunning the assault targets before the plan could come to fruition. I think/hope that's what's going to happen here.

[MakeeLearn]

Did Japan bomb Pearl Harbor or did China drop the Petrol Dollar! [;)]


Are Japan's cities ashes?

Are ships coming and going out of her ports?

[crsutton]

At this stage, I would go after him. You can afford to lose a carrier battle and he can't. Simple. If you are just playing for VP, then you are just playing to bore me...[:D]

[Canoerebel]

1/13/45

KB East: KB is continuing west, rather slowly, and without detection on my guys. I've decided to pull the trigger.

The orders were entered, the turn sent, and then I checked here. crsutton's thoughts pretty much reflect mine. This is a tight squeeze but every now and then I want to take a chance.

[Canoerebel]

1/14/45

Fancy Pants: The Allies clear Lang Son (116th Div. evaporates), Shanghai should be clear of opposition in two to four days, and John pulled his only decent fighting unit out of Nanking.

About the AAR: I understand the frustrations and sentiments expressed by some Forumites. A few comments sorta got under my skin. But I consider just about every person in the Forum a friend, whether your know it or not, whether you want me to or not. The Forum is a unique and incredible group of people from all over. So I'll just leave it as: Thank you for reading.

About China: Lowpe is a good guy and smart player, but I disagree with him about China in my game. I'm operating based on my experience level and what I perceive about the game. Strategic Bombing will get the Lion's Share of the credit for the eventual victory. There's still a lot of SB to come. But China will also contribute efficiently and materially to the harvesting of VP. John's army is in tatters. Huge groups are isolated worth hundreds (thousands?) of VP. My guys an efficiently (at low cost and at low opportunity cost) get those VPs. And there are lots of bases out there that can be built big, worth a good number of points.

But the whole idea is to press forward, seizing (eventually) Allied airfields for SB purposes, trying to break the back of the Japanese army, and seeing if Russia will activate (I won't go out of my way, but as long as I'm in the neighborhood....)

As for the KB Raid: I didn't give those points away. I knowingly offered them as a sacrifice. In return, I whittled John's carrier aircraft appreciably and reduced his ammo loads. I understand that may be investments in a stock (a carrier clash) that bodes ill....but I just wanted to see if I could work it out. I've played this game pretty carefully, most of the time, but here was a case where I felt I might be able to work an advantage. We may know soon if I was having a bad day.

[MakeeLearn]

About the AAR: I understand the frustrations and sentiments expressed by some Forumites. A few comments sorta got under my skin. But I consider just about every person in the Forum a friend, whether your know it or not, whether you want me to or not. The Forum is a unique and incredible group of people from all over. So I'll just leave it as: Thank you for reading.

Hope I didnt do that. I have to be careful in what I write since I read both AARs. I like to see different strategies, not the same recipe over and over. Not critiquing. Asking questions that "cut" to clarify. I took the the position of FDR asking about the running of the war.

[Canoerebel]

No, it wasn't.

To clarify: One time, years ago, a Forumite told me that he felt the forum sometimes got "tone deaf." That occasionally comments were made in AARs that were shrill or critical or insensitive or rude.

I've seen that on rare occasions in this AAR and in others. It's always a surprise. Sometimes, there is a history between two Forumites - both good men, who have managed to rub each other the wrong way over the years. Other times it's a guy who doesn't realize how his comments might come across to others or to the Keeper of the AAR.

I've seen some pretty crazy things. I've had at least one good man accuse me of cheating. I've had people tell me they were bored by my AAR, or that I was "plodding," or other descriptive words that suggested pretty clearly that they thought I was pretty dim and that somebody else could do a lot better job with the game.

Sometimes, I think the AAR is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. I put a lot of time and content out there. I like doing it. But I think it may irritate a few folks. They may feel I'm taking this way too seriously.

What can I say? I don't have a television, so I spend a lot of time doing this.

[MakeeLearn]

I don't have a television

Been several years since I stopped TVing. Enlightening.

[MakeeLearn]

Consider the comments on a AAR as the political flak you would take as a military commander.

[Canoerebel]

I've never had cable or satellite. But when wife and I married and moved into our little house 30 years ago, we had an antenna and could generally pick up three stations from Chattanooga. We watched a fair bit of television. But gradually a lot of good stuff migrated to cable or got born there. So then there came the day around 2010 when everybody with an old TV had to get a converter to transform from Analog to digital (am I putting that right?). We simply decided, "Nah. The heck with it."

So we haven't had television in about seven years.

I haven't missed it, but then I wasn't a big watcher anyhow. I do a lot of stuff with AE, but I also do a lot of reading, a lot of studying (preparing to teach mostly), and a lot of time in the woods. For me it was a good trade.

[Canoerebel]

1/14/45

Pending Carrier Clash? I don't know if John will run the turn this afternoon or not. But in the lull before the storm, I'll post a few images relevant to a carrier action.

These are my two biggest Corsair squadrons on Bennington and Randolph. The pilots are okay but not great. My great pilots are with Death Star, mostly. I had to work steadily and quickly to bring these guys in.

P.S. It's possible there won't be action. John may do something unexpected or weather may not cooperate. But probably there will be action.

[Canoerebel]

Oops, Oldest Son just called me. We're meeting for dinner while Wife and Youngest Son are out of town. So I'll post later. I hope all news will be good when that time comes. Friends, beware the "Banzaii!"

[Canoerebel]

1/14/45

In the flurry of turns today, I lost track of the date. This post is the correct date.

KB East: The two carrier forces end up just five hexes apart! They get good detection. No sorties fly. Foiled by the weather!

My guys will retire to the NE. John probably figures I'm going to pursue him, since I've obviously been pursuing him. But fuel limitations require a turn-around.

What an anticlimactic end to a flurry of intense turns. It's not often I use flank speed for carrier TFs, but here two TFs used it twice. The excitement of the chase was intense...but now will come a letdown. John probably won't want to do another turn for a week.

[Capt. Harlock]

KB East: The two carrier forces end up just five hexes apart! They get good detection. No sorties fly. Foiled by the weather!

Rats. But I know the feeling. [:(]

[Canoerebel]

1/14/45

Fancy Pants: Nanking falls, quickly and decisively. Suddenly the gate to the Northern Plains is open. I'm going to push hard that way, even while contemplating an invasion of Korea in 10 days to two weeks.

I don't know what John has up there. I get the feeling his army is in a bad way, with not much behind it. But even if he pulls rabbits out of hats, that terrain isn't rabbit habitat. I'm sure he's a bit shy of Allied bombers after what just transpired outside Hong Kong.

And how will supply hold up? Will it flow over good roads all the way from the Burma Road? If not, that will slow things down. In that event, I'll probably move to the coast and ferry the troops to any bridgehead that develops in Korea.

[Canoerebel]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

KB East: The two carrier forces end up just five hexes apart! They get good detection. No sorties fly. Foiled by the weather!

Rats. But I know the feeling. [:(]

I'm blaming the Moose and Lowpe. They whispered secret incantations and spells that voided my mojo. Everyone knows that there's nothing more helpless than a mojoless AE player.

[BBfanboy]

Now that you have Indochina, you can probably shove supply into Tavoy and have it migrate to Bangkok and then Saigon. Load up a few xAKs at a time there and carry it past China to wherever the need is greatest, or just go upriver to Nanking and dump it on the rail line to chase the troops further along. It will take a couple of weeks for the migration to move along but it should happen. Even better if you have Vic Point and Chumphon so supply can flow back to Bangkok and down to Saigon (good rail and hard roads all the way). You could even draw the supply all the way to Vinh and have a more secure convoy route from there.

[Jellicoe]

Kudos to the Manilla Bay for sticking its head in the noose having nearly been sunk earlier in the war. CVE bragging rights for that ship!

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel
while contemplating an invasion of Korea in 10 days to two weeks.

You are now learning the pitfalls of using the deathstar to sweep. I always loved it when the sweeps coordinated, because they almost always fly in and fly out with very little impact. It looks ugly, but seldom is it. I am not sure why that is, but it is. Luckily, there are other tactics to try than simply the biggest wrench.

It is either Korea, or an invasion of several of the Japanese Islands to give you fighter access to Honshu that you so desperately need. Hokkaido is an option, but poor since it is further away from your axis of advance. Steaming past the Kuriles and taking Sakhalin is intriguing and likely can be done with few assets but can't be done if it slows your fighter base acquisition closer to Honshu. You have almost complete freedom of movement around Honshu, and you should be taking advantage of it.

Korea provides several synergies you don't get with the Japanese Island strategy...further economic strain on the Empire, many potential bases & easier to supply, bypass whatever Japan's next MLR is, potential but unlikely awakening of the Bear, access to Northern Honshu with ships, access to ports that are likely full of shipping.

But of course, you can make either strategy work, plus other options not explored.