Empire of the Sun - DesertWolf101 (J) vs Andy Mac (A)

[DesertWolf101]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

How about artillery or AAA units? [8|]

Yes artillery for sure. Gotta love the G3M3 and its fantastic range. Used correctly one can wreak havoc far beyond the frontlines.

[DesertWolf101]

July 13, 1942

Operation Morning Mist Accomplished!

[DesertWolf101]

State of the War (July 1-15, 1942)

Andy and I continue churning through the turns and I don’t have too much time left over so instead of detailing daily events I will provide the occasional update at least until we get to the start of Siberian Winter.

Operation Siberian Winter
Preparations are ongoing and forces are arriving in northern China and Manchuria. I have found myself thinking that I may not be in too dissimilar a situation compared to that of the overconfident German General Staff on the eve of the 1941 invasion of the USSR. Perhaps my vision has been clouded by my success against the Western Allies? I will find myself with a two front war, an overstretched air force, and with guerrilla remnants making China feel like my Balkans. Yikes. It promises to be bloody good fun though!

China
The Chinese monster stack is down to about 1,000 AV and is continually getting pummeled by artillery, air strikes, and the occasional deliberate attack. Paoshan has been taken and the road from China to Burma completely cleared. Plenty of Chinese remnants running helter skelter around the countryside which is a distraction and a pain to deal with but in terms of bases the only ones still held by the Chinese are Sining and Wenchow. Sining is about to be attacked and Wenchow is completely besieged and will be dealt with in good time.

Operation Jagged Peaks
The second phase of Jagged Peaks started with the landing of the 38th Division at Cold Bay. This is nasty x3 terrain but I am confident that with the support of the Yamato task force the 38th Division will do the job. Defending the base are an American infantry Regiment, a combat engineer regiment, a base force, and an AAA unit. In the first and only attack thus far the 38th knocked down forts from 3 to 2 at minimal cost. The attacks will continue.

Operation Coiled Cobra
The Cobra has coiled but is not biting. Andy is very cautious here and has only dared to foray down south with armored car regiments on recon missions. With Morning Mist accomplished and with the Japanese forces there freed up, I now doubt he will dare go south until he is really ready. I will see what I can do to knock out some of his units in India south of the emergency line but I think Andy is too smart to let me trap his forces in major pockets.

Even with Coiled Cobra seemingly a no go, I did score some good morale victories in India. Thus far I am doing well in outmaneuvering Andy in the air, have used the G3M3 really well in going after his shipping deep in the Arabian Sea and avoiding his CAP trap countermeasures, and I have also defeated an attempted ambush on one of my roving tank regiments near Gwalior through the use of timely airstrikes. We will see how the Indian campaign develops as the victors of Ceylon arrive.

As always, thoughts and advice are welcome. If you would like me to show or explain something I haven't, I am also happy to do so.

[DesertWolf101]

State of the War (July 16-31, 1942)

China

It’s grinding work in China trying to wipe out the larger remaining pockets of resistance. The previously massive Chinese army near Sian has now been reduced to a shadow of its former self with just some 350AV remaining. I am not exactly sure why this is the case but the besieging Japanese army’s disruption and fatigue skyrocket after every attack. I haven’t really had this problem with my other Japanese armies. Elsewhere, Sining has fallen to the Empire and substantial forces are on their way to seize Wenchow, which is the last base still under Chinese control.

India

The victors of Ceylon have arrived in India and I have resolved to take Bombay by storm. Hopefully the Japanese forces in India won’t be too battered in the attempt and maybe the siege will entice Andy to come out and play farther away from the dreaded emergency reinforcement line.

Operation Jagged Peaks

The 38th Division has accomplished its mission by seizing Cold Bay. Phase 2 of Operation Jagged Peaks is a success and Phase 3, the final phase, is about to begin with a Japanese invasion force having left the home islands to land on Dutch Harbor. I anticipate this last phase will be the most difficult one thus far in the operation.

Operation Ebbing Tides

The Japanese High Command has decided to expand operations in the Indian Ocean to include the seizure of the Maldives and Diego Garcia. The former has already been accomplished with the taking of Male and Addu and preparations are about to be finalized for the landings at Diego Garcia.

[DesertWolf101]

State of the War (August 1-5, 1942)

China

In a final attack, Japanese forces destroy the last of the Chinese Corps in the pocket near Sian. The previous Chinese Army of 200,000 men is no more. This should help me meet my set timetable with regards to Operation Siberian Winter's launch in September.

[DesertWolf101]

State of the War (August 1-5, 1942) continued

India

The first Japanese attack against fortress Bombay goes in and despite level five forts actually manages to inflict more losses on the defenders than incurred casualties. Lo and behold, is Coiled Cobra still on? Andy is moving his forces forward! Keep coming south Andy, (unless you reinforced India with many more forces that I did not detect)?

Operation Ebbing Tides

Diego Garcia is captured and this operation is a wrap. Now the fortification of these islands begins.

Home Front
Fuel is at 5.1 million and supply is at 3.6 million. Both continue to rise nicely but oil is also continuing to decline at a slow but steady pace, currently at 2.65 million. Truth be told, I have no idea where this places me in terms of economic health, but I think it's not catastrophic.

[GetAssista]

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101
I am not exactly sure why this is the case but the besieging Japanese army’s disruption and fatigue skyrocket after every attack. I haven’t really had this problem with my other Japanese armies.

This is usually going together with skyrocketing experience for your LCUs. Fight against numerous but weak opponent is the best training you can have in this game

[DesertWolf101]

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101
I am not exactly sure why this is the case but the besieging Japanese army’s disruption and fatigue skyrocket after every attack. I haven’t really had this problem with my other Japanese armies.

This is usually going together with skyrocketing experience for your LCUs. Fight against numerous but weak opponent is the best training you can have in this game

Very true, experience is now in the 80s in the majority of the units involved.

[DesertWolf101]

August 5-7, 1942

Operation Jagged Peaks

Japanese forces land in force at Dutch Harbor, finding five American units there: North Pacific Command, an infantry regiment, a base force, and two AAA regiments.

India

Despite the high fort levels, the intervention of the Allied air forces, and Andy's late decision to reinforce the garrison by transporting in elements of two British infantry brigades by air, it took only three attacks to take Bombay. 50,000 supply and a million resources were seized and the industry is entirely intact. Will Andy keep coming south or will he turn back his forces now that Bombay's garrison is eliminated?

[Q-Ball]

Are you allowing your opponent to reinforce the Soviets? I would be looking to fly some fighters to the Soviet Union to aid in defense, and draw on P-40 pools to make it harder to bleed the MIGs. I haven't looked closely, but if he is in the Aleutians it should be pretty easy to stage in some planes, and maybe some bombers too.

[Evoken]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

Are you allowing your opponent to reinforce the Soviets? I would be looking to fly some fighters to the Soviet Union to aid in defense, and draw on P-40 pools to make it harder to bleed the MIGs. I haven't looked closely, but if he is in the Aleutians it should be pretty easy to stage in some planes, and maybe some bombers too.

Allied ships , troops , aircraft cant enter original Soviet teritory even after activation game doesnt let you. Only if Soviets capture a base Allied stuff can enter that captured base

[RangerJoe]

There are limitations on non-Soviets operating from Soviet national bases.

[DesertWolf101]

Yes indeed. Besides the limitations discussed above I am also in the process of clearing out the entire Aleutian chain to put some distance between the Western Allies and the Soviets.

[DesertWolf101]

Furball over Bombay

Here are the results from today's air combat over Bombay. As I mentioned before, I am enamored with the Nick. I am finding that in the correct situations and using the right tactics it can be more than a match for the P-38E.

[RangerJoe]

The Nick was actually designed for sweeping, unlike like men in a kitchen with a broom. Although many men will sweep ice . . . [X(]

[DesertWolf101]

Game Report

Here is where things stand a little more than a month before Operation Siberian Winter. Total score is a little more than 8 to 1 in my favor but that is probably as high as it will get. Will that give me enough of a head start to last till 1946? I think it's too early to tell at this point. I may be wrong but I feel like army losses are significantly higher for the date relative to the average game but on the flip side air losses by both sides are significantly lower.

[DesertWolf101]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

The Nick was actually designed for sweeping, unlike like men in a kitchen with a broom. Although many men will sweep ice . . . [X(]

That is where I am finding it best too. That and as a bomber interceptor.

[DesertWolf101]

Siberian Winter - The Ground War

Here are the advanced but not quite final plans for the land components of Operation Siberian Winter. I don’t think this is really necessary, but just in case, I would like to ask for your discretion. The Soviets can’t move until the Japanese strike and Andy is already fully aware I intend to invade the USSR, but masking my objectics and intent is still crucial to the operation’s success.

Forces

I have allocated 37 infantry and two tank divisions for the operation. This of course does not include engineer, artillery, and smaller than division sized units. It also does not include local Manchukuo forces. This is more than half a dozen less divisions than I originally envisaged for the operation but unfortunately the 25% PP rule we established prevents me from sending more forces. This does give me a strategic reserve to work with over time as I gradually free up units with PP.

Strategic Intent

The long-term (and decidedly grandiose) objective is the neutralization of the Soviet Army in the Far East and the occupation of the majority of the Russian bases from Irkutsk to Vladivostok (including Sakhalin). My timeline to achieve this objective is from September 1942 to February 1944, anticipating that the latter stages of the operation will involve many months of grinding and costly siege warfare. Neutralizing and seizing this ground will allow me to establish excellent defensive positions to slow down the latter Soviet offensives and free even more forces to face the Western Allied advance.

Especially given the absence of strategic surprise, I fully expect practically all the Soviet bases to have high fortification levels. Instead of battering myself senseless against prepared and entrenched positions, I aim to force Andy to come out and fight me on ground of my own choosing by going after critical objectives that he must hold.

Therefore, rather than focus on the early seizure of the Vladivostok area, the focal point of the operation will be to push hard towards Lake Baikal, neutralize the Lake Baikal Front, and most importantly, seize the Kyakhta-Irkutsk zone. This will cut off the lines of communication of practically the entire Soviet Far East Command from the rest of Russia and facilitate the gradual roll up of Soviet positions from Irkutsk all the way to Vladivostok along the trans-Siberian railway.

Operational Approach

The two main thrusts of this operation will be the Tachi and Katana forces. Tachi force will consist of a core of eight infantry divisions and will strike north from Mangan towards Ulan Bator and from there to Kyakhta. Katana force, consisting of a core of two tank divisions and five infantry divisions, will push towards Borzya with the intent of drawing out the motorized and mechanized Trans-Baikal forces around Ondorhaan and Chita into a fight in the open. Katana force will remain flexible and pursue Soviet forces as necessary, especially if they head towards Ulan Bator instead of coming out to face it.

Further East, Odachi force, consisting of a core of eight infantry divisions, will cross the river with the aim of neutralizing the Soviet forces around Kuibyshevka. The trans-Siberian railway will be simultaneously cut north and south of this area by small detachments to give Odachi the time needed to get into position and delay the arrival of enemy reinforcements. Odachi force itself will block the supply lines along the Trans-Siberian towards the Vladivostok pocket, creating a network of strong and weak blocks for the Soviets to overcome.

A core of eleven infantry divisions of the Tsurugi force will man a fortified line from Lopei to Rashin with the defensive mission of preventing any early Soviet penetrations into the critical Mukden/Changchun/Harbin zone and foil any attempts to cut off the supply lines feeding the Tachi and Katana forces. This force will also act as a reserve to send troops to hard pressed areas. Manchukuo forces will not be used on the frontlines and will act as garrison forces and as an emergency reserve.

Tanto force with a core of four infantry divisions will be allocated the task of striking north from Shikuka and gradually clearing out Sakhalin. In the very far east, paratroopers will pave the way with a series of hops from Anadyr to Seymchan to allow for the air transport of two infantry regiments to take Magadan. Petropavlovsk seems extremely tough to take and there are no plans to make the attempt for now.

Finally, in China, an infantry division + will be allocated the task of blocking the overland connection with the USSR from Alma-Ata to Wasu.

I am sure I forgot a bunch of details, but there it is, the almost final plan for the land component of Siberian Winter. If there are any glaring omissions or oversights, please let me know. Not much time left for me to correct matters before go time!

[DesertWolf101]

August 13, 1942

Dutch Harbor is taken by the Empire, marking the successful conclusion of Operation Jagged Peaks. With the Aleutians firmly under Japanese control, I feel a bit more confident about the the invasion of the Soviet Union.

[RangerJoe]

If you can take the base near Sakhalin then go up the river with an invasion, there should be no CD guns there but the only two Soviet on map aircraft factories. This might also cut off any automatic supplies to Sakhalin as well as fuel movements to Siberia.

Check and see where his naval units come in and try to capture those bases. I think that might destroy them.[:D] Lay mines there otherwise. Check where his minefields are, then subs can wait and lay minefields on the night of the second turn so the Soviets will not see them until the third turn - unless some of their ships clear may mines the hard way.

Take any base along the Siberian-Pacific coast that has any oil, resource, and/or supply generation to help starve the Soviets.

Switch sides and take a look at the Soviet starting position then any reserves coming in at bases as well as those fort units. If they only have 45mm AAA, those don't go up that high. Bomb all such units, even with just a few aircraft, possibly from multiple vectors to have as many different attacks as is possible. Each attack increases the supply consumption by 10%. You can also do a few naval bombardments where there are no CD guns as well.