Always with them negative waves... Aaffins/Cheesesteak v. RADM Yamaguchi

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: aaffins

ORIGINAL: Bif1961

NZ triggers additional reinforcements, maybe not in this mod however.

We're playing stock, so an NZ attack would trigger the auto reinforcements.

So does an OZ attack below Brisbane hex row.

[aaffins]

1/6

Feeling a bit chagrined after saying not much was going on, eventful day yesterday. The KB showed up off Fiji and hammered us. We had a trio of USN CAs that we had been hoping to use against Noumea pulled back there, but they came in too fast. Also had a convoy unloading a FA Bn and Construction Regt. Good news is the units were ashore, so only lost trucks. Bad news is CA Northampton was sunk along with AMC Monowai and 9 other ships, list below. CA Indianapolis is heavily damaged, attempting to fight fires in port at Suva. CA Chester is damaged but will probably make it.

On top of that Subs got CA Houston off Sydney and he landed troops at Norfolk I.

[aaffins]

The other big data point in addition to the above is the amount of sub activity off Australia's main ports, image from our most recent turn below. To me that looks like an attempt at a blockade. I could maybe ascribe the KB raid and pushing south to normal IJ early game activity, but taken in combo with this stuff I'm basically convinced this is going to be a SoPac game, as several of you surmised. If not it's a hell of an elaborate ruse.

The biggest immediate issue we need to solve is that we need to get supplies into place. NZ has about 30K, with 33K more about a week out in large convoy from PH. That's a start but need a good deal more.

Key reinforcement convoy with 8th Marines, 2x P40 squadrons and a USMC DB squadron left PH two days ago. They're on fast AKs so should take approx two weeks.

[jdsrae]

Might have to postpone the surf carnival at North Wollongong for a few weeks

[Encircled]

He's coming for Oz, and he's coming fast.

How are your forts at Sydney and Melbourne?

If you haven't already, get all your engineers there asap

Worth remembering as well if you don't want to risk supplies or fuel being moved around Oz just when you don't want it, Tasmania makes an ideal base to store all of it and you just shuttle it across to Oz as and when required

[GetAssista]

ORIGINAL: Encircled
He's coming for Oz, and he's coming fast.

Too early to tell.
Taking low hanging fruits in SoPac is natural for the min-maxing player no matter his 42 goals. Close sub blockade in OZ is also a rational move since Allies do not have enough escorts/subchasers or trained ASW pilots yet to effectively repel it

[Encircled]

Taking Norfolk Island is a step further I think.

It forces convoys around the south of NZ or through the Cook Strait, and the first is a massively increased transit time and the 2nd easy to block with subs.

But there is a possibility that he's just going to grab Fiji.

But this looks like an "Grab Oz before the allies can reinforce" to me.

[aaffins]

Not a lot to report on the 1/7 turn, but some HK refugee PTs did run into the big convoy below moving east. With such a light escort I suspect this is only supplies or transiting ships, but if they're moving from the DEI towards Truk/Rabaul that seems like one more indicator of his SoPac focus.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Sorong at 81,107, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
PB Chitose Maru
xAK Kimishima Maru
xAK Africa Maru
xAK Iburi Maru
xAK Hiyoshi Maru
xAK Kokai Maru
xAK Tasmania Maru
xAK Yamagata Maru
xAK Sumanoura Maru
xAK Toba Maru
xAK Teihoku Maru
xAK Hauraki Maru
xAK Eiko Maru #2, heavy damage
xAK Ikuta Maru
xAK Kensin Maru
xAK Konsan Maru
xAK Manyo Maru
xAK Ronsan Maru
xAK Senyo Maru
xAK Tyuwa Maru
PB Ginyo Maru

Allied Ships
MTB 7
MTB 9
MTB 10
MTB 11
MTB 12

[aaffins]

ORIGINAL: Encircled

He's coming for Oz, and he's coming fast.

How are your forts at Sydney and Melbourne?

If you haven't already, get all your engineers there asap

Worth remembering as well if you don't want to risk supplies or fuel being moved around Oz just when you don't want it, Tasmania makes an ideal base to store all of it and you just shuttle it across to Oz as and when required

Good point here, haven't started building that far back yet...have been building at Auckland, Suva and Townsville.

If he does focus on Australia it seems likely he would take Tasmania to use as a forward base most likely wouldn't he? Worried the supplies would get trapped there as he'll most likely be able to interdict even coastal shipping across the Bass Strait.

[aaffins]

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

ORIGINAL: Encircled
He's coming for Oz, and he's coming fast.

Too early to tell.
Taking low hanging fruits in SoPac is natural for the min-maxing player no matter his 42 goals. Close sub blockade in OZ is also a rational move since Allies do not have enough escorts/subchasers or trained ASW pilots yet to effectively repel it

I'm pretty sure all the subs are ones that start near PH, if the sole goals was to take advantage of limited ASW assets wouldn't that be the more logical place to employ them since so much Allied shipping goes through there? As is any convoy to the other Pacific bases like Samoa is basically unopposed.

[Encircled]

Good point here, haven't started building that far back yet...have been building at Auckland, Suva and Townsville.

If he does focus on Australia it seems likely he would take Tasmania to use as a forward base most likely wouldn't he? Worried the supplies would get trapped there as he'll most likely be able to interdict even coastal shipping across the Bass Strait.

Have to be honest, you can't hold Townsville if he wants it, but losing Sydney and Melbourne would make it very hard for you to hold Oz.

If you've strong forts and few inland airbases he can't bombard, and decent numbers of land troops you can stop him dead in SE Oz.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Encircled

Good point here, haven't started building that far back yet...have been building at Auckland, Suva and Townsville.

If he does focus on Australia it seems likely he would take Tasmania to use as a forward base most likely wouldn't he? Worried the supplies would get trapped there as he'll most likely be able to interdict even coastal shipping across the Bass Strait.

Have to be honest, you can't hold Townsville if he wants it, but losing Sydney and Melbourne would make it very hard for you to hold Oz.

If you've strong forts and few inland airbases he can't bombard, and decent numbers of land troops you can stop him dead in SE Oz.

+1
A few years ago an IJ player went "All In" for OZ, landing in the North, down the west coast as far as Adelaide and down the East coast as far as Brisbane. He marched forward from there and pushed the allies so all they had was Melbourne and Sydney and a tenuous link between them. Thanks to an All-In Allied response at sea and careful withdrawal of Aussie units from forward positions the Allied player kept his "Pusan Perimeter" around Sydney and Melbourne and the Japanese suffered heavily.
IIRC, at the point that the Japanese were forced to withdraw the IJ player quit the game - too bad as the game might have been really interesting given the losses on both sides.

[Encircled]

+1
A few years ago an IJ player went "All In" for OZ, landing in the North, down the west coast as far as Adelaide and down the East coast as far as Brisbane. He marched forward from there and pushed the allies so all they had was Melbourne and Sydney and a tenuous link between them. Thanks to an All-In Allied response at sea and careful withdrawal of Aussie units from forward positions the Allied player kept his "Pusan Perimeter" around Sydney and Melbourne and the Japanese suffered heavily.
IIRC, at the point that the Japanese were forced to withdraw the IJ player quit the game - too bad as the game might have been really interesting given the losses on both sides.

Very similar to what happened in my last game. Japanese had me penned in around Adelaide in the west and Newcastle in the north, but he couldn't stop the gradual allied build up.

Fought him off but it still took me to Sept 44 to beat him after a couple of bad carrier defeats (he quit due to supply issues)

Has to be said, if the Japanese player does that, he's trading supplies to try to get AV and it is to his credit that he keeps playing after that as the trade off is no chance of having supplies in the later game.

[GetAssista]

ORIGINAL: aaffins

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

ORIGINAL: Encircled
He's coming for Oz, and he's coming fast.

Too early to tell.
Taking low hanging fruits in SoPac is natural for the min-maxing player no matter his 42 goals. Close sub blockade in OZ is also a rational move since Allies do not have enough escorts/subchasers or trained ASW pilots yet to effectively repel it

I'm pretty sure all the subs are ones that start near PH, if the sole goals was to take advantage of limited ASW assets wouldn't that be the more logical place to employ them since so much Allied shipping goes through there? As is any convoy to the other Pacific bases like Samoa is basically unopposed.

Not every convoy goes through PH, the ocean is vast, and far from the Japanese bases. But every convoy needs to go into one of the few OZ ports, with handy Rabaul/Noumea ports to reload subs.

[aaffins]

1/10:

KB has disappeared, last seen 2 days ago at Luganville. Could be moving north to cover a Wake landing or could be heading back to replenish. We're landing another USMC Def Bn at Wake, they should arrive tomorrow so we should be able to get them in before KB shows up.

Kaga & Friends moved south and hit Darwin. Not much there for them.

Fighter sweep over Rangoon two days ago; AVG went about 1:1 with them. Entire 17th Indian Div is now ashore.

Fortification building underway at all major Australian bases.

2x regiments of Americal Div. loading at SF for transit to SoPac.

Couple of DDs went past Norfolk to test his defenses. No reaction so a bombardment TF with NZ CLs and CA Astoria will move in to put that airstrip out of action and figure out what ground units he has there (base was occupied so didn't find out when he took it)

CA Chester was sunk by subs east of Fiji.

[aaffins]

Not a lot to report the last week. Batavia and Bataan have fallen which is a little unfortunate this early, but not a great deal we could have done I don't think.

First real interesting situation of the war has developed near Wake I.

[Encircled]

The first question the allied player should ask himself in 1942 is quite simple

Do you know where the KB is?

if the answer is "no", then the Portland Grp, the Concord Grp and the Yorktown should run east at full speed.

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: Encircled

+1
A few years ago an IJ player went "All In" for OZ, landing in the North, down the west coast as far as Adelaide and down the East coast as far as Brisbane. He marched forward from there and pushed the allies so all they had was Melbourne and Sydney and a tenuous link between them. Thanks to an All-In Allied response at sea and careful withdrawal of Aussie units from forward positions the Allied player kept his "Pusan Perimeter" around Sydney and Melbourne and the Japanese suffered heavily.
IIRC, at the point that the Japanese were forced to withdraw the IJ player quit the game - too bad as the game might have been really interesting given the losses on both sides.

Very similar to what happened in my last game. Japanese had me penned in around Adelaide in the west and Newcastle in the north, but he couldn't stop the gradual allied build up.

Fought him off but it still took me to Sept 44 to beat him after a couple of bad carrier defeats (he quit due to supply issues)

Has to be said, if the Japanese player does that, he's trading supplies to try to get AV and it is to his credit that he keeps playing after that as the trade off is no chance of having supplies in the later game.

Has to be said that if the Japanese players quits after his all out gambit for autovictroy fails, he wasn't worth playing against in the first place.

[Encircled]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

ORIGINAL: Encircled

+1
A few years ago an IJ player went "All In" for OZ, landing in the North, down the west coast as far as Adelaide and down the East coast as far as Brisbane. He marched forward from there and pushed the allies so all they had was Melbourne and Sydney and a tenuous link between them. Thanks to an All-In Allied response at sea and careful withdrawal of Aussie units from forward positions the Allied player kept his "Pusan Perimeter" around Sydney and Melbourne and the Japanese suffered heavily.
IIRC, at the point that the Japanese were forced to withdraw the IJ player quit the game - too bad as the game might have been really interesting given the losses on both sides.

Very similar to what happened in my last game. Japanese had me penned in around Adelaide in the west and Newcastle in the north, but he couldn't stop the gradual allied build up.

Fought him off but it still took me to Sept 44 to beat him after a couple of bad carrier defeats (he quit due to supply issues)

Has to be said, if the Japanese player does that, he's trading supplies to try to get AV and it is to his credit that he keeps playing after that as the trade off is no chance of having supplies in the later game.

Has to be said that if the Japanese players quits after his all out gambit for autovictroy fails, he wasn't worth playing against in the first place.

I got the game till Sept 1944, and its safe to say both of us where exhausted and we both kept making silly mistakes.

I'll take Dec 1941-Sept 1944 in a game like this to be perfectly honest.

[aaffins]

ORIGINAL: Encircled

The first question the allied player should ask himself in 1942 is quite simple

Do you know where the KB is?

if the answer is "no", then the Portland Grp, the Concord Grp and the Yorktown should run east at full speed.

Sorry that's extremely relevant info I forgot to include. Yes we do know location, it's about 10 hexes west of suva. We do not know location of mini-kb exactly but it was seen 3 days ago in DEI so could not be this far east. It's possible he detached a cv from main kb but this is most likely CVEs and maybe Shoho in my opinion.