Hell Hath Not Frozen Over (Lowpe (A) vs Scout (J) ... Open)

[scout1]

This will be an open forum (Lowpe welcomed) for the good guys *that would be me" to share general comments ... I'll avoid specific strategy .... not that I have any ......

Jeff was gracious to take this challenge on and I expect a severe beating at some point in the future .... In the meantime, I intend to be a thorn in his side .....

We started a Andymax Sc 2 scenario ....... (2 day turns)

I opted to split my turn 1 port attacks (with permission) between PH and Manilla ... ultimately was a mistake as neither was terribly successful .... But at least I bagged the PoW and Repulse for little loss as they tried a night sortie against the might of the IJN in Malaysia .......

More news to follow

[Anachro]

Good luck! [:)]

Initial plans and goals would be interesting. Also, what the OOB look like in this scenario in terms of additional ships, LCUs?

[offenseman]

Good luck! I am sure he will give you an entertaining game. Have fun

[scout1]

Can't share plans .... as this is intended to be an open forum ...

Most/all info will be dated but with a slant of detail from the good guys point of view ...

I will say that the expanding presence of the Dutch pigboat navy is being a pain the the arss and will need to play wack-a-mole in order to explain to them the errors of their ways ...

[scout1]

Though the Allied surface and air fleets have fled like cockroaches when the lights are turned on .... no surprise here ....

[Bif1961]

Bagging TF Z was a good start as they weren't sunk historically, until 10 December, and should not be seen as an automatic loss to long range naval air. Hopefully splitting your KB will bare fruit as you push forward with your ambitious time table. I have never played 2 day turns and you are brave to play them. I have enough trouble thinking and livivng one day in advance. Good luck and enjoy the wild ride.

[RangerJoe]

Yes, take one day at a time. When two or more it all at once, it can be a little too much.

[Q-Ball]

I am not a fan of Manila KB attacks on T1. Yes it positions CVs in a slightly better spot, but the targets in Manila just aren't all that interesting IMO, and bombing from Formosa works fine. Curious what others think.

I have detached KAGA to the SRA via Magic move, to cover early landings on Palembang, etc. Paired with RYUJO, ZUIHO, and HOSHO, that's a respectable Mini-KB early. I think it worked, though it does dilute the PH strike a bit, and all those Dutch subs are dangerous.....

[Jorge_Stanbury]

For me the key benefit of a Manila strike is that you get the (minor) benefit of sinking some submarines and/ or Manila tenders against very minimal KB losses, as Manila's AA defenses are weak. A second benefit is that KB ends well positioned to move to the SRA and or the Pacific

PH, in the other hand, attacks BBs that are almost unsinkable, and at the cost of at least a dozen KB pilots lost. What ends happening is that most BBs survive, damaged and out of action for a year or two, which is exactly the timeframe in which the Allies won't use them anyway. Then KB is also far away in the Pacific, and will need some time to get where most of the fight is happening

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball
all those Dutch subs are dangerous.....

Hello, everyone....

Q-ball...don't get Japan started on Dutch subs.[8|][:D]

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: scout1

Though the Allied surface and air fleets have fled like cockroaches when the lights are turned on .... no surprise here ....

Fleeing? Task Force Z steaming up the coast to Kota Bharu? RN Destroyers from Hong Kong moving between Pescadores and Formosa?

[RangerJoe]

"Dutch subs are such small ones that they are not worth worrying about."

Reads the communique from ABDA command to the Combined fleet. [;)]

[Alamander]

If you are looking to better position KB for a move into the SRA, Singapore seems much better than Manila for KBs opening move. They often get PoW and Repulse, Mauritius, and the other CL, which is a better tally than most Pearl Harbor strikes are likely to accomplish, cause havoc with TKs and merchants, support early landings at Mersing, Singakawang, and Palembang, which happens to be the most important hex on the map for Japan.

Except for the E-boats, the subs at Manila will not have functioning torpedos for some time, and in the grand scheme of things: between massive BB bombardments, 4 Es, Lightnings and Jugs, Fletchers, Deathstar, and a flotilla of APAs, submarines are, on the list of allied assets, among the least threatening to Japan.

[Lowpe]

re splitting the KB strike on Pearl...

Probably the only traditional target worth it would be Task Force Z/Mersing Gambit. Using it to secure Palembang early is very dangerous as the waters are so constricted.

Nailing the Catalinas and 4E bombers, hopefully a cruiser or light cruiser plus those battleships at Pearl....

You don't need the KB in the SRA to accomplish normal objectives unless you have some kind of accelerated master plan.

[RangerJoe]

With the KB in the DEI, Cent Pac is open . . . [:D]

[Alamander]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

With the KB in the DEI, Cent Pac is open . . . [:D]

So what? If the allies want to move some high-value assets onto atolls in Centpac during the amphibious bonus, more power to them, in my opinion. There really isn't a base anywhere in Centpac worth a hill of beans to the allies in 1942, except Truk and Rabaul, and the more the allies want to expend assets quibbling over atolls in 1942, the better for Japan.

[Jorge_Stanbury]

Yes, Allies can cause some grief in the Pacific, if the KB is not there, but that is it; any atoll invasion will be laughable and easy to counter in a month or two

Japan just need to hold on invading places like Wake or Rabaul for a few days/ weeks

[RangerJoe]

wrong place.

[Alamander]

When Yamamoto planned the Pearl Harbor attack, he did so to try to sink the U.S. CVs. He was not terribly interested in the old BBs. Although old-guard like Nagumo, felt these were high-value targets, Yamamoto knew better. If he had known, like the Japanese player in WiTP, that the CVs would not be at Pearl, I highly doubt that he would have attacked Pearl Harbor. Given that he believed that the only way in which Japan could win the war was via an early peace deal to free up the U.S. to deal with Germany (i.e. auto-victory in WiTP), it is hard to say what he would have done in place of the Pearl Harbor attack.

[scout1]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball
all those Dutch subs are dangerous.....

Hello, everyone....

Q-ball...don't get Japan started on Dutch subs.[8|][:D]

Alright, for the record, the two biggest PITA's are pigboats and the 4E fighters (aka bombers) to the Empire ..... Anything that can kill these efficiently are of the highest value .....