Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice)

[JohnDillworth]

Mets fan here. Not too nostalgic about Shea being replaced by Citifield. Saw hundreds of games there but Citifield is a much better facility than Shea in every possible way

[Canoerebel]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
...
BTW, I don't see any IJN subs in your area of the map, just one off Sorong. Withdrawal or issues with your detection of them?

He's pulled his subs back. Each time he commits in droves, they get chewed on and eventually he withdraws them. Then they come again.

Right now, Mouseover shows another massive stack of 1-ship TFs at Sorong. I assume (thanks to you or Ranger or some other helpful reader) that these are subs.

[Mark VII]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

One thing about baseball, it can bring the young and old together to talk about something that they both can enjoy.

And I do like eye-candy.

But the Bears?

You mean "daBears".

[Canoerebel]

Shortly after finishing 7th Grade in June 1974, I turned on the television and found the Braves playing St. Louis. That was the beginning of my love affair with the Braves.

The love affair made sense, for in the '70s, there was no baseball in Florida. The closest team was Atlanta. They were carried on WKAT Radio, but only on weekends. Apparently they were occasionally on television down there, too (this was before the Superstation made them popular). I went to my first game in the summer of 1977 - Braves vs. Phillies, with Dick Ruthven starting for the Braves. The Braves got chewed up, in a high-scoring game.

During my University of Georgia years, I attended a handful of games. But I found I enjoyed them on television and radio more.

I've been to perhaps four games since 2000. It would suit me not to go again. There are so many other things I enjoy doing more, if that makes sense.

Similarly, my last UGA football game was in 1997. I took my then three-year-old son.

I'll only go to one more football game in my life: if UGA ever plays the University of Miami. My dad was a huge Hurricanes fan and played for the team in the '40s (after WWII). He didn't miss a home game from the late '60s until well into the '90s. I waited for the day that the two teams might meet on the field, thinking it would be fun for Dad and I to go. Only, UGA and Miami haven't met on the field since the 1970s! Georgia has played every other team imaginable in the southern half of the country - Virginia Tech, Virginia, North Carolina, Clemson, Florida State, Tulane, etc., but not Miami.

Sorry for excessive reminiscing here.

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Shortly after finishing 7th Grade in June 1974, I turned on the television and found the Braves playing St. Louis. That was the beginning of my love affair with the Braves.

The love affair made sense, for in the '70s, there was no baseball in Florida. The closest team was Atlanta. They were carried on WKAT Radio, but only on weekends. Apparently they were occasionally on television down there, too (this was before the Superstation made them popular). I went to my first game in the summer of 1977 - Braves vs. Phillies, with Dick Ruthven starting for the Braves. The Braves got chewed up, in a high-scoring game.

During my University of Georgia years, I attended a handful of games. But I found I enjoyed them on television and radio more.

I've been to perhaps four games since 2000. It would suit me not to go again. There are so many other things I enjoy doing more, if that makes sense.

Similarly, my last UGA football game was in 1997. I took my then three-year-old son.

I'll only go to one more football game in my life: if UGA ever plays the University of Miami. My dad was a huge Hurricanes fan and played for the team in the '40s (after WWII). He didn't miss a home game from the late '60s until well into the '90s. I waited for the day that the two teams might meet on the field, thinking it would be fun for Dad and I to go. Only, UGA and Miami haven't met on the field since the 1970s! Georgia has played every other team imaginable in the southern half of the country - Virginia Tech, Virginia, North Carolina, Clemson, Florida State, Tulane, etc., but not Miami.

Sorry for excessive reminiscing here.

The best part of watching football is the cheerleaders. I find that I actually prefer college games more than the professional teams. But right now, I am like you with no television. Unfortunately, no radio.

Did you like the 1991 World Series games? I think that some people in my hometown may have been rooting for one team while rooting for a player on the other team since his grandfather was from my hometown.

[Canoerebel]

I lived and died a thousand deaths during the 1991 World Series.

The Braves were terrible, awful, epically bad from the late 1970s through 1990. Suddenly they got good and ended up in the World Series. It was magical beyond belief.

The Series was awesome - close games, back and forth, tight, well-played. By the last game, I was exhausted. (Partly because I'd been up late every night for months, watching and listening to games that sometimes went after midnight - every Braves fan did the same thing.) I knew the Braves were going to lose Game 7. Smolts vs. Morris. Epic game. Scoreless late. Very tight. By about the 8th inning, I had the biggest headache of all time. I was give out. I finally gave up and went to bed, knowing what result I'd find when I awakened the next morning.....

[RangerJoe]

Yes, both teams went from worst to first in their respective leagues. The final game could have gone either way. If I remember correctly, it has been rated as the best World Series ever.

[Canoerebel]

5/25/44 to 6/1/44

Points: The Japanese lead is down to 55 points. It's 31.3k to 31.3k. Onward to victory, ever-proclaiming this inspiring motto: "It's the denominator, stupid!"

China: MLR is intact. Dave withdrew his army from Sian a few months ago. I thought they were making a long and circuitous march around my flank. It's increasingly likely that he's pulled into his own MLR. He may be done with major offensive operations in China.

Burma/Bay of Bengal: Dave is strongly entrenched. The Allied army withdrew in early '42 and never returned. It's been biding it's time. That time probably isn't too far off, now. The army is prepped for points from Pegu to Sabang to Benkolen. Dave has a number of level 8 and 9 airfields that require plenty of carrier CAP and some kind of confidence that KB is employed elsewhere.

DEI: 4EB found a bunch of enemy combat ships in port at Soerabja (shame on Dave!), doing heavy damage to a CL and four or five DDs. I think that's the last we'll see of meaningful enemy ships in port there.

Sorong and Ambon airfields are shut down. Dave brought in Irvings to try to restore nighttime order over Sorong. I feel sure he'll counterinvade Ternate, at some point.

I'm still working to push engineers forwards, to expedite airfield building for the campaigns to come; and getting units forward for the next round of action. The Namlea, Sorong and Ambon armies are mostly at Darwin now.

DS returned to Darwin a few days ago and took the opportunity to allow June '44 upgrades to the Essex Class carriers. That takes 14 days.

Triage of the ships damaged during all that fighting will take a bit longer than I had hoped. There are a bunch of them from Sydney to Townsville to Pearl and even a few (New Jersey and Alabama) about to reach West Coast yards.

Franklin and two repaired CVLs are inbound to Darwin, about ten days out. But most of the other damaged ships need a good five or six weeks in the yards.

What a great, great game this is.

[JohnDillworth]

This has been fun to read. I expect the bleeding is not done and it's hard to tell who has the advantage.

[jwolf]

Triage of the ships damaged during all that fighting will take a bit longer than I had hoped.

I enjoy reading your account -- and similar accounts in other AARs -- of the constant struggle to keep or return ships to active duty, repairing both minor wear and tear as well as major damage from combat. It's another aspect to the war: we have the air war, the naval war, the ground war, the production war, the supply war, the intel war, and now the repair war. I am not familiar with the Japanese side at all, but I wonder who has the decisive edge in what we might call the "repair theater" of operations.

[Canoerebel]

ORIGINAL: JohnDillworth
This has been fun to read. I expect the bleeding is not done and it's hard to tell who has the advantage.

The pressure cooker will build and build in the DEI. It'll pop it's lid when Dave pulls the trigger or when most of the American carriers are back online. That'll be fun.

[Canoerebel]

Yup, fun layers upon layers.

ORIGINAL: jwolf

I enjoy reading your account -- and similar accounts in other AARs -- of the constant struggle to keep or return ships to active duty, repairing both minor wear and tear as well as major damage from combat. It's another aspect to the war: we have the air war, the naval war, the ground war, the production war, the supply war, the intel war, and now the repair war. I am not familiar with the Japanese side at all, but I wonder who has the decisive edge in what we might call the "repair theater" of operations.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Triage of the ships damaged during all that fighting will take a bit longer than I had hoped.

I enjoy reading your account -- and similar accounts in other AARs -- of the constant struggle to keep or return ships to active duty, repairing both minor wear and tear as well as major damage from combat. It's another aspect to the war: we have the air war, the naval war, the ground war, the production war, the supply war, the intel war, and now the repair war. I am not familiar with the Japanese side at all, but I wonder who has the decisive edge in what we might call the "repair theater" of operations.

The Japanese start with the advantage of interior LOC to several shipyards. The Allies have a long trek to PH or Brisbane/Sydney from most of the naval fighting areas.
But it looks like the Allies get several big ARDs in this mod that make up for the shortage of shipyards, and once the Japanese LOC is pinched a bit so that subs can hunt their cripples, the advantage is really Allied.
OC, the biggest advantage is the superior Allied damage control on every vessel.

[Canoerebel]

That's good analysis by BBfanboy. I agree that Japan starts with an advantage the narrows. In this case, it'll flip entirely once the Allied get Soerabaja's big yard.

I'm not sure Allied damage control works any more. My past three games, damage control has appeared vastly different than it did during the early years. BAck then, an Allied ship that was afloat had better than even chance to make it somewhere. Now it seems that Allied ships are more likely to sink than not. (That's a thought that's been lurking in the background for the past three years or so; not enough to form a theory, but perhaps a hypothesis; but I don't sandbox.)

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

That's good analysis by BBfanboy. I agree that Japan starts with an advantage the narrows. In this case, it'll flip entirely once the Allied get Soerabaja's big yard.

I'm not sure Allied damage control works any more. My past three games, damage control has appeared vastly different than it did during the early years. BAck then, an Allied ship that was afloat had better than even chance to make it somewhere. Now it seems that Allied ships are more likely to sink than not. (That's a thought that's been lurking in the background for the past three years or so; not enough to form a theory, but perhaps a hypothesis; but I don't sandbox.)

If you have been playing mods like DBB and its offshoots, it is possible that the modders just went into the editor and reduced the number of damage control points the Allied ships get, or their durability (although the latter would change the ship's VP value).

[Canoerebel]

6/2/44 to 6/6/44

Intel: The Allies finally take the lead! It aint much. It really isn't important at the moment, nor is it necessary to monitor this day by day, but it helps to keep it in mind and to check it occasionally to make sure I'm on track. "It's the denominator, stupid!" It should be much easier to achieve 2x AV starting from this point than it was in my game with John (56k denominator at the point I caught him, I think) or Erik (75k denominator at that point, I think).

DEI: Neither side has major forces "up front," at the moment. The Allies are successfully suppressing the major airfields and continue to send engineers forward. In particular, Waingapoe airfield will go to level 7 in a week or less. I want to make sure I have plenty of supply and aviation support available, because there may be a very nice target of opportunity.

[Canoerebel]

6/7/44 to 6/9/44

DEI: Suddenly it seems enemy subs are flooding down towards Ambon. I think this marks the beginning of a campaign to reinforce there and/or to counterinvade Ternate.

Allied nighttime and daytime airstrikes on Waigeo and Sorong airfields several hundred aircraft on the ground over about four turns. Ambon is also closed. Dave can operate from Namlea, Kendari and Manado.

Ternate is held by 300+ AV but is low on supply. Several upgrading Essex-Class carriers need another six turns or so before they're ready for action at Darwin. CV Franklin and two CVLs are about a week out. At that point, DS may return to the high seas, though I'd rather wait another 30 days or so, when a number of the ships currently in triage will be ready.

[jwolf]

Dumb question: do the Japanese every run low on subs, and if so, how many do you have to sink to get there?

[Canoerebel]

Yeah, Japan runs low on subs, but it takes awhile.

I think Japan gets roughly 160. In this game, I think I've sunk about 70 or 75. That's a lot but there's a lot to go.

In my game with Erik, he used up a vast number of his subs during the cataclysmic (for both sides but especially for the IJN) Siege of Shikuka. He sent scores of subs in to lay mines and to lead the attack (they scored some hits on Allied capital ships including a BB or two) when he committed his bombardment TFs. Plus he employed them against DS, which had lots of ASW. He used them thoughtfully and en masse. When that campaign ended, he basically had no subs left. There are a few on the map, here and there, but after September 1944, I never again faced a sub threat (to date, October 1945).

[Canoerebel]

6/10/44 to 6/13/44

The first half of June was fairly quite, on the surface, but there was a lot going on.

Singapore: Regular but well-spaced recon of Singapore for the past six months consistently showed a lot of ships disbanded there without CAP. It didn't matter, because no Allied bombers were within range. As Waingapoe airfield finally began to approach level 7 a week ago, I transferred three or four additional B-29 squadrons from India to Timor and stood down those plus the ones already there. On the 12th, the airfield went to level 7. It is 29 hexes from Singers. The question: Did Dave notice, so that he inserted CAP or pulled out the ships? If he inserted CAP, I might lose 50% of my Superforts, gutting them for a month or two. But Dave had a big op inbound to Ternate, and I had a feeling he had lost track of Singers and its potential vulnerability. I elected to roll the dice. If the weather cooperated....and it did.

Ternate: A major Japanese counterinvasion force lands. Disablements are very high, as is common with IJ invasions at this point. The Allies have a pretty good garrison but supply is about nil. I'm considering an all-out relief effort, but my carriers need one more day at Darwin to finish upgrades. Will they be in time?

Fortunately, Dave's major airfields are shut down (mostly). But he has lots of subs present.

I don't want to lose Ternate, but if it bought the time necessary to triage my fleet and get it up and running again, and if in return the Allies can hold on to Bima and one or more of the Celebes bases, that would be great. But I'm gonna contest Ternate, unless it falls before the relief force can make it there.