Sailing in harms way: InHarmsWay (J) vs Andav (A) Scen2

[InHarmsWay]

Quick update on the China front. A deliberate attack has been ordered in Chengtu. About 2600 Japanese AV will assault 1870 Chinese AV. I hope to drop forts, and cause alot of disruption. As soon as this attack is over, they will retreat and swap places with Army number two which is several days out. As a reminder to all you gentle readers out there, Chungking fell on Dec 22nd, so this will be one week later. The race is on! Additional Japanese units are on the move as well.

Dec 28 1942 Chengtu attack going in.jpg (845.05 KiB) Viewed 459 times

The daily airmail continues and between that and the Arty bombardments, the Chinese AV is falling ~30/day.

[InHarmsWay]

PaxMondo, alas the Imperial research department has not yet had a breakthrough on the Frank airframe just yet. Close though! There are ten 30 sized factories with the following repair status : 29 / 26 / 22 / 22 / 20 / 19 / 19 / 18 / 18 / 16 and one size 55 factory with 30 repaired... Engine bonus is in effect with 1133 Nakajima Ha-45 in the pool. Japanese laborers are gradually building up the engine pool so that once the Franks go in production, we will be able to keep that engine buffer.

[InHarmsWay]

The latest combat reports have been forwarded on to high command and first indications are further progress has been made at Chengtu on the China front. Continued reduction of the fortifications have occurred, and that combined with what must have been some good tactical decision by the commanders (good roll), resulted in achieving even parity (1-1 odds). Lower casualties were taken and there is growing optimism that the Chinese front will finally see the light of day! The second Army group is two days out so another attack will be ordered in three days.
-------------------------------------
Ground combat at Chengtu (75,41)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 87328 troops, 934 guns, 1335 vehicles, Assault Value = 2863

Defending force 65864 troops, 286 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1851

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 3

Japanese adjusted assault: 3279

Allied adjusted defense: 1943

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 3)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 3

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
5192 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 154 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 55 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 65 disabled
Guns lost 27 (1 destroyed, 26 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
3665 casualties reported
Squads: 65 destroyed, 144 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 110 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Guns lost 19 (1 destroyed, 18 disabled)

Assaulting units:
26th Engineer Regiment
23rd Tank Regiment
12th Indpt Infantry Regiment
3rd Tank Regiment
13th Indpt Infantry Regiment
19th Ind.Mixed Brigade
58th Infantry Regiment
6th Division
37th Division
102nd Infantry Regiment
15th Tank Regiment
9th Tank Regiment
12th Division
13th Tank Regiment
3rd Ind.Mixed Brigade
13th Ind.Mixed Brigade
35th Division
11th Tank Regiment
7th Ind.Tank Brigade
Tonei Hvy Gun Regiment
2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment
2nd Mortar Battalion
1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment
15th Ind.Medium Field Artillery Regiment
12th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
52nd Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
11th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
6th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
3rd Hvy.Artillery Regiment
8th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
1st Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion

Defending units:
44th Chinese Corps
24th Chinese Corps
100th Chinese/A Corps
2nd Chinese Corps
80th Chinese Corps
90th Chinese Corps
13th Chinese Corps
60th Chinese Corps
40th Chinese Corps
92nd Chinese Corps
100th Chinese/C Corps
9th Chinese Base Force
10th Chinese Corps
3rd Chinese Base Force
9th Group Army
36th Group Army
15th Group Army
31st Group Army
5th War Area
100th Chinese/B Corps

[PaxMondo]

Chengtu Forts 3, looking very good.

Frank @ 29 is now day-to-day ... just need some luck. Frank@ 26 is about 1 month out ... maybe a bit less. Frank@22 is about 2 months ... thus in 2 months, or less, you will have 4 factories fully repaired earning 8%/day with engine bonus => advance 1 month every 12.5 days .... so Frank by April 43 is possible .... wow. really good ... your opponent is going to hate you very much ...

[InHarmsWay]

Admiral Harmasaki continues to look at his inbox for the latest news from the Chinese front. A second attack at Chengtu had been ordered on Jan 1, 1943, only 3 days after the first attack went in. Now with the plans in motion, he chides himself for impatience ...

[PaxMondo]

Oh, yes, we are anxiously awaiting the outcome ...

[InHarmsWay]

The turn arrived... Adm Wa has some family issues to take care of so it was expected.

The staff Major hurried into the room as Admiral Harmasaki was sipping his 4th cup of tea in as many hours... it had been a long wait but the expression on the normally stoic Major caused him to set down the cup. "Yes Major?".... After a few seconds to gather himself, the officer handed over a coded message that had been received from the Chinese Expeditionary Force commander. Adm Harmasaki unfolded the message and read the results... Finally he thought, good news from the front. Chengtu had fallen, and it sounds like the final battle had completely collapsed the Chinese forces. This is a good beginning to 1943! The new Years Day attack had succeeded.

Combat report - Jan 1, 1943
-------------------------
Ground combat at Chengtu (75,41)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 118872 troops, 1317 guns, 1495 vehicles, Assault Value = 4135

Defending force 62389 troops, 283 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1579

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Japanese adjusted assault: 5624

Allied adjusted defense: 557

Japanese assault odds: 10 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Chengtu !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(+), disruption(-)
experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
5695 casualties reported
Squads: 12 destroyed, 184 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 89 disabled
Engineers: 12 destroyed, 77 disabled
Guns lost 24 (2 destroyed, 22 disabled)
Vehicles lost 83 (5 destroyed, 78 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
67380 casualties reported
Squads: 2969 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 2594 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 195 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 210 (210 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 20

Assaulting units:
7th Ind.Mixed Brigade
3rd Tank Regiment
19th Ind. Engineer Regiment
23rd Tank Regiment
13th Division
41st Division
15th Tank Regiment
9th Tank Regiment
13th Tank Regiment
34th Division
110th Division
11th Tank Regiment
6th Division
26th Engineer Regiment
26th Recon Regiment
39th Division
12th Division
35th Division
7th Ind.Tank Brigade
5th Field Artillery Regiment
6th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
1st Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
13th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
13th Army
12th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
6th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Mortar Battalion
12th Army
9th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
8th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
52nd Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
Tonei Hvy Gun Regiment
11th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
3rd Hvy.Artillery Regiment
4th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
7th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment
15th Ind.Medium Field Artillery Regiment
12th Ind.Hvy.Art Battalion

Defending units:
2nd Chinese Corps
60th Chinese Corps
40th Chinese Corps
90th Chinese Corps
24th Chinese Corps
80th Chinese Corps
13th Chinese Corps
92nd Chinese Corps
69th Chinese Corps
44th Chinese Corps
100th Chinese Corps
36th Group Army
9th Chinese Base Force
31st Group Army
9th Group Army
10th Chinese Corps
5th War Area
15th Group Army
3rd Chinese Base Force
8th Construction Regiment

-------------------------

[PaxMondo]

Congrats!!!

CHI forces will no longer respawn, so you can kill them with impunity (and prejudice ).

Normally, I do mop-up with mid-exp level forces to gain exp, both air and ground. push them into groups, encircle them, and them mop-up. No time element here and no rush. As forces get exp, rotate them out with new units, etc. You can get hundreds of pilots and a lot of ground units up to 70 EXP this way.

Now pick your next target ... I hate to relinquish the initiative to the allies until I must, but it is a fine line that you can only learn through experience. Depending upon your opponents' losses and agro level, you should be good for at least one more venture. Good LUCK!!!

[RangerJoe]

Don't forget to target any Chinese bases that can produce supplies. Those should be your next targets but attack any Chinese where you are equal or better.

Bomb, bomb, bomb . . .

Bombard, bombard, bombard . . .

Buy out as many weakened Japanese units are you can, if you don't have enough PPs to buy all of the units that you want to buy then use those in combat to weaken them without having those units receiving replacements.

[InHarmsWay]

Good comments RangerJoe and PaxMondo. I have started bombing the secondary targets in China and will continue until nothing is left! Also I have a core group of very high exp Divisions now. Will rotate out them and bring in mid level ones to finish off Sian and the other holdouts. End of year staff review coming up!

[InHarmsWay]

Admiral Harmasaki steps into the briefing room and a hush falls over the assembled staff. It is Jan 03, 1943 and the war has dragged on longer than expected. After that first initial wave of success, the war had become one of attrition, which the Admiral had feared. Now it was time to take stock of the various fronts and think on how best to approach 1943, which would be crucial!

"First off, lets discuss China, which we recently had some significant successes in. Notably both Chungking and Chengtu have fallen within the last month. This has staved off what could have been a much more protracted battle. My commendations to General Takamori and the Chinese Expeditionary Army. The next step over the following few months will be to crush remaining Chinese holdouts and push forward across the Burma road and meet up with the Japanese armies currently in Burma. They are being pushed back towards Mandalay and will need support. However for discussions on the Chinese front, we will divide up the main army group in Chengtu into three corps, one to pursue the Chinese further north into the interior, and two corps to push west toward Kunming and Tsuyung. I expect heavy air support on the remaining strongpoints. Please note that as the year progresses, some of the more experienced units will be transferred into the Southern Army. "

Adm Harmasaki continued discussion troop dispositions for several more minutes before wrapping up. "To summarize, the key focus in China over the next 3 months will be first to capture Kunming and Tsuyung, open the Burma road and clear it of remaining allied units in that order. Of secondary focus will be the reduction of Chinese holdouts at Changsha, Sian and the interior. Given the large army we have in China currently, I do not forsee undo problems, and as such will begin the gradual withdrawal of key units for supporting other fronts."

Jan 03 1943 China.jpg (841.27 KiB) Viewed 213 times

[InHarmsWay]

Moving on to the Burma front, which is closely related to China. As everyone is aware, we have lost the initiative in this area as defending forward in India was felt to be too difficult from a supply standpoint. Admiral Was has been his usual agressive self and pushed the allies into Burma in several places. There is one main Army group that has now cut the rail line to Myitkyina. Another force moved into Akyab several weeks ago but has not been seen since. Recon flights are in the area looking. Our navy has been periodically bombarding the airbase at Chittagong with some success. All that said, the front has seemed to slow a bit, which is helpful, yet worrying. Further indications are that there is less air activity from the allies in this area in the past few weeks. Looking forward, I see several option that the Allies are taking as follows:

Option A - The Allies are regrouping, and will continue a strong push into Burma as that has been where a large portion of their army and airforce has been located the past 6 months. The only reason we have not seen further pushes recently is their need to cross the Irrawaddy river and stay supplied. The allies will continue pushing here, hoping to meet up with the remaining Chinese units before they have been reduced.

Option B - They have reduced their forces somewhat but are still keeping up some pressure until they run into significant resistance. The forces pulled back are still in theater and preparing for a naval landing at Ceylon (likely), a landing bypassing Rangoon (less likely) or a deeper raid into Sumatra (not considered likely). Given KB is mostly intact, the only likely option would be to take Ceylon first. Note 4Es have been raiding Colombo over the past month.

Option C - Allies have reduced their forces here but keeping some to maintain some pressure. The LCUs and air formations have been moved elsewhere in preparation for opening a second front. Likely would be the Coral Sea, a revisit into the Marshall Islands or a move up near Alaska.

I currently believe Option B with an invasion of Ceylon is the most likely path Adm Wa will take. This is due to my understanding that supplying a large army from India into Burma is difficult. Taking Ceylon also opens up a threat to Sumatra and the rest of the Indian Ocean area. To counter this, plans will be needed.

Jan 03 1943 Burma.jpg (731.81 KiB) Viewed 208 times

[PaxMondo]

Good assessment. Will watch with great interest.

[RangerJoe]

According to your picture that you posted, you have not yet captured Ramree Island. I suggest doing so before the enemy flies in supplies and engineers to build a port so he can supply Burmese operations. You won't need a lot there but be ready with some good torpedo bombers to smash any amphibious TF that tries to capture the base.

[RangerJoe]

You should recon that base that is 2 hexes SW of Imphal, some supplies are probably coming from that base. You might want to recon all of the other bases behind the lines to see if any are empty that your parachutists could drop in on, which just might mess up his supply lines!

[InHarmsWay]

And now on to Australia. The IJA has succeeded in slowing the Australian counterattack, and in the process destroyed several LCUs. This front looks to be stagnating for the moment. Imperial Japanese High Command needs to be vigilant here for when the expected Allies do counterattack. My expectation is it will be by sea trying to outflank our bases in Darwin and the area. Possibly a landing somewhere in Java. I have no interest in pushing down past Daly Waters as that has no strategic benefit and may only allow the Allies to land in our rear. The Allies can run faster than we can attack. One area that I may go after is the base east of Darwin, as that is exposed and it would be good to kill some LCUs there.

Jan 03 1943 Darwin.jpg (495.93 KiB) Viewed 157 times

[PaxMondo]

And now on to Australia. The IJA has succeeded in slowing the Australian counterattack, and in the process destroyed several LCUs. This front looks to be stagnating for the moment. Imperial Japanese High Command needs to be vigilant here for when the expected Allies do counterattack. My expectation is it will be by sea trying to outflank our bases in Darwin and the area. Possibly a landing somewhere in Java. I have no interest in pushing down past Daly Waters as that has no strategic benefit and may only allow the Allies to land in our rear. The Allies can run faster than we can attack. One area that I may go after is the base east of Darwin, as that is exposed and it would be good to kill some LCUs there.

Jan 03 1943 Darwin.jpg

So, you're fiddling undecided here. Time to decide. OZ is always a tough call on whether to fight here. Issue is that most of the units in OZ are restricted, so you are fighting units that can't hurt you in the long run. OTOH, reinforcements for OZ units are very limited, as are all Brit/Commonwealth devices, so you can wear them down pretty fast.

Generally, the approach here is:
hack-n-slash: Darwin/Perth

OR

total submission: Melbourne/Sydney and everything else.

Darwin/Perth: this isolates OZ from western reinforcements which is a big deal as most of its devices/units come from there. OTOH, it leaves the eastern LOS open, which means they have plenty of supply from US. This is garrisoned with disposable units as the Death Star will take this back at its leisure.

Total Submission: Reasonable harvest of VP's, especially if you strat attack for a bit before conquest. You get some VEH factories (always a perk) and some HI. Downside: LONG LONG WAY from Japan, but it is close to DEI, and as long as you have Sydney, you have the best RSY in the theatre. Allies have to go back to PH (which is much better though). When I take OZ, I usually build the RSY up to 80 min so that it can repair any CV/BB. For me, this also means NZ is taken as well, providing me a good defense of OZ with my RSY being much closer.
This OZ strategy will not work if you allow the allies to assemble their Death Star.

[InHarmsWay]

PaxMondo, yes fiddling is probably a good description here. I have been lucky in killing a few allied units outright (I think a Aus Division and some other lesser units). I have killed quite a few devices and squads from multiple retreat outcomes. However I am not planning on going further than just slowing him from getting a jump off back into the southern DEI. Very valid point on the allied deathstar, and time is ticking on what to do next I do have a plan and will share once pieces are in place. I should have done it a month ago, but have been fixated on the Burma / India area as well as thinking there was a chance I only got a single US CV back in June.

[InHarmsWay]

Now looking at the wider casualty picture. I have nearly a 3/1 in points currently. What is nice is that I have racked up quite a few LCU points in this game vs our previous game. Looking back, I think I only ever got to ~20k LCU points into early '45 and I am reaching that about now, with quite a few Chinese units still to be killed.

Jan 03 1943 summary score.jpg (361.27 KiB) Viewed 120 times

Looking at the capital ships lost, I have seen no change in seeing both the Lexington and Yorktown sunk back in June. I am starting to believe I now got both, which means they will not be back till start of '44. That leaves 4 US CVs out there, plus the Brit ones. I am probably being over cautious here, so will start to be more aggressive. In the Cruiser loss column, the IJN have lost 6 CLs and zero CAs! Destroyer losses are 19 total. Allies have lost 5 CA's and 12 Cls, along with 33 DDs.

Jan 03 1943 capital ships sunk.jpg (194.24 KiB) Viewed 120 times

My goal is to keep KB relatively intact unit I get the Sam, at which time I can keep him honest in covering his invasions, at least up until the back half of 44. Key defensive areas are Saipan, northern home islands, and north half of the Philippines, all to be held as far into '45 as possible. Looking back, I have not been as agresssive as I should. Admiral Wa's skill intimidates me! But I am getting better!

[RangerJoe]

Their automatic replacements are turned off unless the scenario designer turns them on. The replacements in the build cue are the historic replacements for the actual lost ships.

I think that you should start harvesting VPs in Australia. Start by bombing Resource bases in the Australian boondocks where he probably has few to no defenses! Get over a 4:1 VP ratio . . .