Thought the real Japanese were incompetent? warspite1 (J) vs AllenK (A)

[warspite1]

One of the reasons I didn't get into this game before is the thought of playing a Chinese Campaign.... I'm struggling for motivation here. Apparently there were two attacks but neither achieved anything for the loss of nothing [>:]

There were three attacks in and around Hong Kong with precisely the same effect....

[warspite1]

And that leaves just the Philippines. There were two attacks against Clark Field

[Anachro]

Motivation for you, the Japanese player, in taking China should be: 1) you eliminate the ruinous potential of full, trained high-AV Chinese units combined with US/British units overrunning your forces and reaching airbases on the Chinese/Korean coast that put the home islands in bomber range and 2) you can free up and eventually buy out a number of good Japanese army divisions to strengthen defenses elsewhere.

Don't forget to leave some Chinese alive to use as training practice for your bombers, as they don't have any organic AA.

[warspite1]

To the northeast an attack is made on an airfield we'll just refer to as T [;)]

[warspite1]

And the airfield at Iba also comes in for some attention

[warspite1]

The opportunity to bomb the port at Davao was taken

[warspite1]

The final action of the turn sees the island of Batan taken.

[Anachro]

So what are the plans for the second day? Stick around to sink as many BBs as possible and rack up some VPs or move back to the DEI to help with landing ops there? Or something else? West coast invasion?! [:D]

[Zorch]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

The final action of the turn sees the island of Batan taken.

Play theme from Jaws.
Do rifles work underwater?

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Anachro

So what are the plans for the second day? Stick around to sink as many BBs as possible and rack up some VPs or move back to the DEI to help with landing ops there? Or something else?

warspite1

A very good question to which the answer is "I haven't got a scoobie".

I don't appear to have destroyed many US fighters and so can assume I'll get a hot reception in any follow-up attack.

As I haven't got a clue about how to play this game I think my preference will be to stick with a broadly historical path - at least initially.

[warspite1]

I've seen the incredible work that Kull did for US and Japanese set up. I will be paying close attention to this. I noticed a comment he made about keeping the Kido Butai at Pearl for turn 2. This has made my mind up on that (and suits my preference for an historical approach initially). Nagumo will not be sticking around.

[warspite1]

This game is huge! I am just going to have to take it one step at a time and try and understand what is what.

I will focus my initial attention on Malaya.

Whilst not possibly the best approach in game terms, I am going to continue with the historical approach as this will at least help me focus on what troops I am looking to get to each theatre as I try and work out the mechanics of the game.

So for Malaya I need to find:

25th Army
Imperial Guards Division
5th Division
18th Division

I'll worry about the air force later.

[warspite1]

So lets start with Kota Bharu, where I have the following units.

[Lovejoy]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

This game is huge! I am just going to have to take it one step at a time and try and understand what is what.

I will focus my initial attention on Malaya.

The best analogy I've ever heard for learning this game is that its like eating an elephant. You have to digest it one slice at a time.

[Zorch]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

I've seen the incredible work that Kull did for US and Japanese set up. I will be paying close attention to this. I noticed a comment he made about keeping the Kido Butai at Pearl for turn 2. This has made my mind up on that (and suits my preference for an historical approach initially). Nagumo will not be sticking around.

The conquest of oil resources is priority #1. This is the logic behind not striking Pearl Harbor, as KB's presence speeds up the destruction of Allied forces in the Far East. Many Jap players split up the KB death star in the early going because you don't need all 6 big carriers in 1 place.

Look for clues as to enemy strategy - can you force an early carrier battle by invading/raiding somewhere? Or bait him into a raid that turns into a trap?

[rustysi]

I bought the game solely because I wanted to play a Mediterranean game - and it certainly scratched that itch (sadly too little naval action but a really fun campaign all the same).

Yeah, I looked in on a bit of the AAR for that Med campaign. Yes, I have one of the older versions. Not too concerned about some of it being a bit off. I'll probably find the few scenarios I like and stick with them. Its nice to play a 'simpler' game on occasion, as this one is off the charts for complexity.

Thanks for the response.

[rustysi]

OK, back on point.

You're posts (very nice job BTW) indicate a fairly typical historical first turn for Japan.

Let me go back and look for some specifics.

[rustysi]

Meanwhile 27 Nells attack Wake in preparation for an invasion of the island. I don't know if the runway and airbase hits (or the damage to the Wildcats) will stop them flying - we shall see

Wake's AF is most likely still operational. Further unescorted Nell's will likely suffer.

What I prefer to do here is to give the joint a whack with the KB as they sail past. Not much danger to A/C losses and it'll help prep the place for invasion. I'll even detach some surface forces from the KB (temporarily) for a bombardment.

The Bettys and Nells of the 22nd Air Flotilla appear to have made short work of HM Ships Prince of Wales and Repulse. However the follow up attacks against the destroyers proved to be a mistake as the fighters took a heavy toll.

Getting these two 'thorns' out of the way is huge, IMHO. Your freedom of movement is now exponentially increased. As for your A/C losses, I don't think they amount to much considering the return.

This stupid game is borked. Apparently a couple of Stringbags have badly damaged (or possibly sunk) one of my transports....

These little nasties are a PITA. You think this is bad, try getting your CV's into torp range. Unless you have massive CAP I don't recommend it. Go ahead, ask me how I know.[:D]

The subsequent air battles you show here are much like I've experienced in all my games. Watch unescorted bomber strikes unless you know his fighters are out of range or you'll accept heavy losses. As for the Nate's don't expect too much from this plane. Too slow, too under gunned, too short on range, and too fragile to be of much use. They are what you have for the moment and can hold their own against the poor and limited Allied forces. That being said you need to get your Oscar's into production in order to replace these pigeons (Nate's).

[Anachro]

Wake Island can be a tough nut sometimes and the initial invasion force the game sets to land there can fail on its own, not including the Allied player can set the Wildcats there to strafe/naval strike the coming landing force. Historically, it was the site of the first setback of the war for the Japanese.

[rustysi]

One of the reasons I didn't get into this game before is the thought of playing a Chinese Campaign.... I'm struggling for motivation here.

You want motivation here? OK, without conquering all or most of China you won't have the 'stuff' needed to make it to the late war game, IMHO.

China has tons of resources that'll make the endgame much easier for you. In addition to that if left alone, she will eventually rise up and assault you at the most inopportune moment. That being when the rest of the Allies will be applying full pressure on the Empire from all sides. Neglect this theater at your own risk.

The rest here is typical of turn one.

The only other thing I'd care to comment on here is your decision to not (if I get your gist right) stay at PH for day two. The way I see it, you've already quite a few carrier fighter groups that are under strength. You have at least one CVL out there flying the Claude, essentially a naval version of the Nate. They need to be replaced with Zero's. If you look about you'll find that at this point you don't even have too many good fighter pilots to resolve these shortcomings.

As for you CV fighter groups you'll most likely need to strip some quality pilots from you LB units. Here's one lesson you should never forget. Never, never, never put rookie pilots into carrier air groups. Don't forget, the CV's are your blood, without them you are dead.