Rev, a PBEM turn cannot be opened without the correct password so that ability to gain intel does not exist. That would also fall into the catagory of cheating. If you can't play without cheating, wargaming really isn't for you (not aimed at you personally)
As far as putting together a large scale attack to strike it the rear, it is not as simple as it sounds. It requires far more thought then you might think.
(a) Mines must be cleared from the destination. Japan only has a very few mine sweepers that can be used with any speed or fuel capacity. Therefore an advanced network of refueling ships must be planned to keep these ships on station. One of the very first lessons you will learn is that MSW ships that are sweeping automatically abandon their task and run for home when low on fuel. These ships also sink if even a SG manages to tag them making them very difficult to use in hostile waters. Due to the extreme number of minefields in these rear area bases, you have to plan to keep a group of MSW alive in the base hex for at least 4 turns. Loose them, and you loose your invasion. To protect them means you need a large CV force in a nearby hex. This group has to not only protect all the transports, but also LR Cap the MSW or the invasion fails.
(b) AA Ammo is depleted from ships as air attacks pick on them turn after turn. There is no option to reload ammo so as the invasion progresses, the losses increase dramatically.
(c) Main ammo is depleted from Capital ships for each TF that attempts to block the invasion fleet. These ships run for home as soon as they run low which strips the fleet in a matter of 2 turns of much of their firepower. Again, since there is no ammo within 8 odd days steaming, there is plenty of time to destroy these sub-fleets on the way home as they can't fight back.
(d) Bombardment cannot be used for these invasions as it depletes the very ammo that must be used to fight off surface/air attacks that will abort the invasion.
(e) Constant refueling efforts cause operational points to get burned causing problems with reaction abilities and ship speeds, making keeping ships in formation a pain in the butt. No fuel, you loose.
(f) constant air ops drain fuel from CV/CVL at incredible rates, no fuel, no planes, invasion wiped out (see Mogami's unload airgroups tactic which removes fuel issue for the other side)
(g) Allies get to attack MSW fleet with surface fleet while it is prepping the base for landing. Only defense is to risk Capital ships to support the MSW which causes Capital ships to take mine damage at high rates.
Many many other parts must be carefully planned to pull this off successfully, it is not a simple matter of just putting everything on a AP and heading for these bases.
The Allied side starts with 3 divisions worth of troops to protect the Aussies and gains a 4th division shortly thereafter. Japan NEVER has enough troops to counter this. Only by misallocating these Allied troops can Japan pull off a invasion.
If one wants to talk about history, one should look at history. Operations such as Market Garden, D-Day, Pearl Harbour, Ardennes, etc all fall into your catagory of ahistorical, yet they all happened, so I guess it becomes rather impossible by your "imposed" rules to even have a war game that models these actual events. I too have been playing wargames as long as you have, and I accept the limitations of the gaming system that I happen to be playing with and work within what is technically capable.
An auto victory rule exists within UV. Use of such a rule is within the game or Gary would not have programmed the possibility. By calling use of this rule (rule 19.2 in the manual) ahistorical or unrealistic, you are basically challenging the developer who wrote the rule into the game.
Rule 19.2 is not a quirk in the game scoring mechanism. It is a fundimental part of the game. I'm sorry you don't like the rule, but it is not in any way an abuse of the system.
If you remove Rule 19.2, you might as well remove rule 19.0 and 19.1 completely and simply say that there is no winner at all, we are just going to play the game to have fun. I would think you might find trouble locating Japan players to even play the game without rule 19.2 as there is no other way for the game to end in other then a Allied Decisive Victory as per rule 19.1.
I don't take these threads seriously because everyone has their own views on things, but I do fail to understand why people question things when they loose to someone who is simply following the same set of rules. If you don't like rule 19.2, what do you think the Japan player should do? Sit back and wait for the Allied steamroller?
Without Rule 19.2, Japan's only option is to send EVERY ship back to Japan, disband/withdraw EVERY air unit/troop and deny every possible victory point to the Allied player by having NOTHING to loose.
