Banzais Don't Make Victories - Anachro (A) vs John 3rd (J) BTS 5.7

[Anachro]

Aircraft Losses for the Day

[Anachro]

John's message to me in his email:

I was SOOOOOOOOOOO right in my AAR! Thanks for the reveal…

He might be right and guessed it since he had pretty good DL to suspect my carriers there over the past week, but the message is nonetheless trying to downplay bad news for him this turn.

[Canoerebel]

That's quintessential John.

[Anachro]

@Canoerebel Yes, I remember you mentioning that John will really play up his victories and really play down his losses and turn them into victories. It reminds me of the Japanese euphemism for retreating from Guadalcanal as "advancing in another direction," or something to that effect.

VP Gain for the Day:

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Anachro

@Canoerebel Yes, I remember you mentioning that John will really play up his victories and really play down his losses and turn them into victories. It reminds me of the Japanese euphemism for retreating from Guadalcanal as "advancing in another direction," or something to that effect.

Well they did take the evacuated troops to New Guinea eventually, so they got the different direction part right. I don't think they advanced anywhere there though.

[Anachro]

June 15-16, 1942

A sound, a whisper, unprovoked feelings of dread slowly creeped upon me as I lay in fitful sleep. Banzai, banzai, banzai. As I tossed and turned in discomfort, these dreadful utterings soon became hard, scornful shouts of triumph ringing in my ears. BANZAI, BANZAI, BANZAI! Unable to withstand this vicious mockery bringing violence to my senses, I awoke to cold sweat and unceasing, shallow breaths.

Still, the visions would not stop. Dancing all around me, whooping and hollering, were figures of Yamamoto, that famous admiral of yore. NIPPON DAI-TEIKOKU BANZAI, BANZAI, BANZAI! They shouted. What was this? Portents of the future? Vengeful spirits bent on my destruction? And why were the Yamamoto figures seemingly wearing Subway franchise uniforms? I cowered and cried, muffling my ears to make it all stop, but stop it did not. It never stopped. TENNO HEIKA BANZAI, BANZAI, BANZAI!

I knew it. The Japs had come, they would keep coming, and banzais would ring out unceasingly to disrupt my peace of mind. A carrier raid at Tahiti, bombardments on Ports Hedland and Moresby. Destruction happens in many places.



But banzais don’t make victories, minor raids do not alter the strategic calculus. New ships will be built, supply and fuel sent out anew, defenses hardened, trade routes re-routed. We learn and alter and improve. Avoid calamity, and the results will come as attrition does its grisly work. The figures disappear as the the banzais slowly echo away into nothing. Silence reigns again, and peace. I go back to sleep and make ready for another day.

[Anachro]

I got a 90 exp fighter pilot in India last night in one of my AVG squadrons, so there's that. Don't want him to die easily in the India grinder, but he's only at 4 kills so I want to get his Ace status somewhere. Might use him as an instructor in my army fighter training squadron perhaps. As for the raid, not sure why I still had stuff at Tahiti as it's not really necessary. I've been developing it as a backup trade depot if need be, but it seems I forgot to change one of my CS convoys away from it.

[BBfanboy]

Anachro: And why were the Yamamoto figures seemingly wearing Subway franchise uniforms?

[:D] Looks like he plans to give you your sandwich toasted to a crisp! Would you like hot peppers with that?

[modrow]

ORIGINAL: Anachro

June 15-16, 1942

A sound, a whisper, unprovoked feelings of dread slowly creeped upon me as I lay in fitful sleep. Banzai, banzai, banzai. As I tossed and turned in discomfort, these dreadful utterings soon became hard, scornful shouts of triumph ringing in my ears. BANZAI, BANZAI, BANZAI! Unable to withstand this vicious mockery bringing violence to my senses, I awoke to cold sweat and unceasing, shallow breaths.

Still, the visions would not stop. Dancing all around me, whooping and hollering, were figures of Yamamoto, that famous admiral of yore. NIPPON DAI-TEIKOKU BANZAI, BANZAI, BANZAI! They shouted. What was this? Portents of the future? Vengeful spirits bent on my destruction? And why were the Yamamoto figures seemingly wearing Subway franchise uniforms? I cowered and cried, muffling my ears to make it all stop, but stop it did not. It never stopped. TENNO HEIKA BANZAI, BANZAI, BANZAI!

I knew it. The Japs had come, they would keep coming, and banzais would ring out unceasingly to disrupt my peace of mind. A carrier raid at Tahiti, bombardments on Ports Hedland and Moresby. Destruction happens in many places.



But banzais don’t make victories, minor raids do not alter the strategic calculus. New ships will be built, supply and fuel sent out anew, defenses hardened, trade routes re-routed. We learn and alter and improve. Avoid calamity, and the results will come as attrition does its grisly work. The figures disappear as the the banzais slowly echo away into nothing. Silence reigns again, and peace. I go back to sleep and make ready for another day.

Very nice post ! I like it a lot [&o]

Hartwig

[adarbrauner]

One of best posts ever!

But there's a virtue and a strategic advantage in these raids, if he manage to keep up their pace and frequency, thing he failed doing against Adm Roper in their last confrontation

[Canoerebel]

Playing John is a rip-roaring ride. He really is a lot of fun, partly because he's willing to take chances and loves springing surprises. He's a good player though he has a few serious holes in his game.

As I've mentioned before, I think he needed to learn three major lessons from our last match. I have no doubt he learned the first one (dealing with China). I don't think he learned the other two. I think his DNA prevents him from learning them. I could contact him in good faith and say, "John, you need to do these two things above all else." He'd reply: "I hear you!" And then he wouldn't do them. Ever.

[zuluhour]

agreed Dan, and that in itself is why opposing AARs with John involved are among the most enjoyable to me.
It is also why I can seldom comment here and elswhere.

[Anachro]

@everyone always fun to see reactions and I agree with you, Canoerebel. John does seem to have an eery ability to find holes to raid into, partially abetted by my sloppy playing at the moment in securing my LoC.

June 17-20, 1942

John launches a number of carrier raids. Continuing his attack, John's CVs loiter around Tahiti through the 19th before disappearing on the 20th. However, various allied bases near Tahiti show various states of DL, so his CVs are nearby. I'm hoping they stick around for more, as John mentioned in an email he had oilers nearby. I'd like for him to try and hit Suva where I have 125 fighters and a small amount of DBs. Meanwhile, my carriers from the Aleutians are now directly west of Pearl Harbor and will continue proceeding south instead of heading to Pearl for refueling. I have already stationed oilers on the way to Palmyra to meet up with and refuel them. That, coupled with additional fuel at Suva means they should be good for fuel needs getting south and operating. There is a chance, however small , that I might be able to catch John's CVLs.

In India, John launches an attack on Socotra. I had spotted this earlier and had thought most of my ships were out of harms way, but a number of tankers on CS automated routes appear on map nearby before I notice them. I moved them away last turn, but John's carriers were a lot closer to Socotra than I thought. I thought I had another turn to go before they would appear, but I made a big mistake and accidentally had my patrol craft at Socotra on training instead of nav search. DERP!

Important thing here: My US ID was 1-day from appearing on-map heading for Bombay and now will promptly turn around. Small blessings. My (Sep) Infantry Regiment managed to get to Bombay a few days before his carriers moved north.

I'm not worried about the shipping losses. I hate giving away the VP's though. Another mistake from early on was trying to send a bunch of the ships from offmap at Abadan to the East Coast. Due to the shipping lanes not being open yet, they have been in off-map movement hell, stuck on the edge of the map unable to move with the homeport set to the east coast. Due to being unable to change their homeport based on limitations on off-map movement, they have been perennially stuck there for weeks. I'd expect John to move and attack them next turn. So more VP's lost.

The 27th division has been bought out and with some other units already prepping will land and take back Midway shortly. Not necessary on the grand scheme of things, but makes operating in the large expanse between Pearl and the Aleutians without DL a lot easier. Denies John a sub base and base from which to recon near PH. Various other units are prepping elsewhere to be expanded upon when preparations are complete and I can say without too much fear of opsec problems.

Sidenote Anyone else following the Chess World Championships? Go Fabiano! Shame he couldn't seal the win yesterday.

[Anachro]

I should add that most of my Indian naval forces are off-map, excepting some CLs and DDs that will now head off-map given John's carriers near Socotra. Half my carriers previously at Socotra moved back to Capetown and are now 9-days out from appearing on-map heading for Perth. They will see if there are any landings nearby in Northern Australia, particular for Port Hedland. They will promptly move south if discovered early and will link up with my other carriers to re-combine and re-organize my forces.

No more division. Big stick and all that. John seems to ignore putting his forces in the SoPac and it should be easy for me to establish insurmountable local superiority there with all my carriers excluding the presence of the full KB. I will probably send some unneeded CVEs to India to show the flag every once in awhile to his recon without engaging. Make him think I still have assets there.

I'll write a post on the reorganization when it happens. Needless to say, the large majority of my navy will be in the Pacific. India does not require one unless I plan offensive invasions there.

[BBfanboy]

You know that dark strip at the off-map/on-map interface? You can let your convoys go there and he cannot attack them (although he might see them if he has search in the area). You don't have to go all the way back to Cape Town.
For your ships moving from Abadan to CT, send them first to the map edge strip, then change their home port to CT, then send them if it is safe to do so. Otherwise, wait him out without losing actual transit time or ships.

[Anachro]

I believe I discovered a bug and am seeking input. Given John's appearance with KB up near Socotra, I re-routed my transports that were off-map carrying a US ID back to Capetown. In the subsequent turns, John was heading back south and so I re-routed my transport TF to head back to Bombay last turn. Now, the TF has suddenly warped from off-map directly to Bombay.

It seems I discovered an exploit that can be used to instantly move troops to ports from off-map, but its an exploit I'd rather avoid as John is nearby with the KB, spotted the TF, and can sink it. It should be nowhere close to where it is and this is disheartening. I have sent an email to John to inquire.

Current Turn - June 23rd

[Anachro]

Previous Turn - Note Date and Location (June 23rd here means day of orders, combat report would show June 22nd).

[BBfanboy]

Monkeying with the movement orders (other than speed) of a ship in transit between off-map and on-map confuses the game engine which does not use a hex count to track the TFs in the off-map holding box. Instead it calculates an arrival date and hex for the TF to appear on-map and does not otherwise track it. When you change direction/target port for a TF already on-route, the game engine does not know where it is during its transit (not counting hexes, remember) so it might send it anywhere. As often as not, I have had my TFs to hex 0,0 and stay there for months. You had that happen to your TFs you were trying to send between off-map ports that did not have a direct sea link in the off-map paths.

In this case you got a lucky "miscalculation" by the game engine and I know of no way to avoid or fix the "problem" directly. I suggest you offer to keep the units on the ships until they were due to arrive at Bombay and ask John not to attack those ships until then. Alternately, sail the ships out to the map edge and back again using indirect routing and hope to dodge John's raids.

[Anachro]

I think what we are electing to do is KB ignores it and I will avoid unloading the cargo for awhile. In the future, I now know to never play around with off-map movement routes.

[Anachro]

June 23, 1942

Getting back to the game, but I'm a bit tired so I'll keep this one short.

India



In India, my airforce does a decent job in attrition warfare, usually either fighting the Japanese airforce on equal terms or, as like today, better terms. However, my airframe production is not yet at a rate that can keep up with John's factories, I'm sure. Already, I am low on P40, P39 airframes, not including British ones.



West of Ranchi, I have various armored units converging on three tank regiments, but John seems to have reinforcements coming in from the west to reinforce them. This could be a division, more tanks, or a brigade. I am amassing armor and infantry at Bezwada to rolle up on John's lightly-defended left flank. The goal is to take Cocanada and Viza quickly and then probably move back towards Raipur from there.

SoPac

John's CVLs are still loitering around Tahiti. My carriers, with the help of refueling AO's along the way, are just north of Palmyra... Can I catch John's raiding force? I know the rest of the KB is in India due to the Socotra raid... Sinking some of his light carriers would help lighten my mood. His carriers are seen moving northeast, which would be in a direction TOWARDS Palmyra.



I have a few minor DD's raid Canton Island last night, sinking a PB and an xAK and finding a minefield. One DD is hit but should be able to limp back to Pearl for repairs. I also have a fast bombardment fleet backed by French BC's nearby that I'm considering using as a lure for John. Surely he wouldn't try and go after my BCs if he saw them, not with my carriers nearby? [8|]



China



Taking horrendous losses here, but a number of troops will make it to Chungking and Kweiyang protecting the way to Kunming. I have had good success defending these areas in the past.