Lunacy in the Pacific: Mogami vs. Oleg

[mogami]

Hi, The large number of units in Manila he was concerned about were all the small SNLF used early on moving there to recover. SAA HQ is located at Manila. Along with construction units sent to build facilities on Luzon (Clark Field and ports at Manila and Legaspi etc)
I've been very lazy about this game. OLeg is beating my brains out as Japan and I just can't seem to be able to duplicate his success.
I think I am a bad WITP player. I do alright planning turn 1 and the first month or so but then my caution takes over and I end up without anything to do.

In this game I was trying to see what attacking Soviets would do but was never able to gather the forces. I don't like fighting in China (The lunacy games are the only ones as Japan where I am fighting. As Allies I always get stuck trying to fight there because my Japanese opponents won't let me leave them alone.

[Oleg Mastruko]

We were both AWOL for couple days and now the war continues.

I bombed Nagasaki from Changsha, merely as menacing sign of things to come (and because I noticed disbanded ships there):

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/28/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Nagasaki , at 58,42


Allied aircraft
LB-30 Liberator x 8


Allied aircraft losses
LB-30 Liberator: 4 damaged

Japanese Ships
AS Heian Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Yura, Bomb hits 1

Japanese ground losses:
11 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Port hits 2
Port supply hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x LB-30 Liberator bombing at 6000 feet
4 x LB-30 Liberator bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He sent his biggest strike against PM so far:

Day Air attack on Port Moresby , at 53,91

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 50
G3M Nell x 102
G4M1 Betty x 27

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 27
P-40E Warhawk x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 11 destroyed
G3M Nell: 14 destroyed, 9 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 5 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk I: 10 destroyed, 5 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 8 destroyed, 4 damaged

Runway hits 10

I also notice some transports unloading troops at Marcus Island. He obviously concluded heavy troop buildup on Wake is my preparation to invade Marcus, and is building up his defence.

O.

[mogami]

Hi, Or Marcus is my staging point to invade Wake.
I was invited to a party. They even came and got me. I was there around 30 minutes when everyone left. I was there now with 5 childern (3 girls and 2 boys 3 still in diapers)
All of them are afraid of unknown adult males. There was no food, no money no diapers. I was with them for over 2 days. [X(]

When their mommies and daddies finally came back none of the kids wanted to leave (lots of crying "I want to stay with Bullwinkle") [X(]

[Oleg Mastruko]

ORIGINAL: Mogami
Hi, Or Marcus is my staging point to invade Wake.

LOL, please do....

Coming up next.... The Battle of Staging Points [:D]

That lady you mentioned once, that wanted to, cough, reproduce with you, perhaps you should reconsider her offer seeing how good you are at handling kids [X(]

[mogami]

Hi, I was not crying "Please let these brats stay with me" what I was saying cannot be said in front of children or on the internet.

[Oleg Mastruko]

This game is over. Mog gave up. I believe his situation now really is hopeless, and lunacy or no lunacy I understand his decision. I will post more detailed report when I find time.

O.

[Oleg Mastruko]

OK, we had discussions about the war, and attempt at peace talks (held at Geneve, mediated by Swedes).

First Mog sent me the mail with his 05/29/42 turn (nothing happened in the turn), basically saying he thinks I proved my point, and the game is becoming "just another Japanese game" for him, AV attempt is out of his reach etc. (which, in short, is what I predicted will happen right from the start I just didn't expect his balloon to go flat so soon).

Quote: "But I think you have proved your point. Unless Noumea is naked. (I think I can bulldoze my way into Port Moresby)"

This is my reply:

"If you think I proved my point we can stop. I would not say that I proved my point as I didn't have any point to prove It would be more precise to say you failed to prove your point [;)]

I have ~1000 AP in Numea behind level 5 fort (and building). I am not sure about PM but I think I have 700 AP there also behind level 5 and building. Some good CD guns in PM too.

But those are all ANZAC guys + some evacuated Dutch and couple UK air support units. I didn't send a single US soldier anywhere south of Palmyra. My global strategy was that preferred by ancient Romans (at least until Kanna) - one big central thrust, and let flanks care for themselves. So if you go bulldozing your way into PM and Noumea - and you gotta use at least 4-5 divisions for each - I plan to respond by landing couple US army/marine divisions at Marcus and/or some of Kwajalein group of islands (forgot their name). Perhaps even some British landing somewhere. With 4-5 divisions committed to South Pacific you can't effectivelly defend all those places simoultaneously.

Anyway, yes, I believe AV is out of your reach now, and it's downwards from here for Japan, so we can stop.

Now knowing I didn't send a single US guy to south Pacific, anyone can guess it took some significant time to gather 1700 ANZAC APs to send to PM and Noumea. (ANZAC guys take their time to appear at Sydney and elsewhere and for many of those I had to pay PPs to carry them away from their homelands.) So you had at least 3-4 months to do anything you wanted with at least those two places. I was prepared to concede PM and Noumea to you without fight (unlike Tom), but seeing you aren't coming, I began to re-populate those places with ANZAC soldiers by mid-April I think. Now they are hard enough to crack, as to allow me to plan my own offensives, the very moment you start invading them (and if you don't invade, so much the better)."

OK...

Then there was slight case of "gekokujo" within Japanese command, as it often happens to them. Hawks from Navy and Army temporarily seized power, wanted to fight the battle for Wake first and sent this message to Allied command couple days later:

"I am attached to my plan to destroy eveything enemy at or around Wake. The entire IJN and mega SAA land force are headed there."

Soon, the order in Tokyo was restored, and coup by hawks was smothered in blood (translation: Mog changed his mind, decided to drop the Wake agenda).

Thus the game ended....

My final position was more than solid, and I am very much sure war would be effectivelly over by the end of 42. If anyone wants to try, take over the game from Mog, I am ready to continue.

I have ~1000 AP in Noumea, ~700 AP in PM - all ANZAC troops, no US soldier is "wasted" in South Pacific. All Central Pac islands are defended by 800-1200 APs worth of US troops, all have 250+ air suport and 60k+ supply. All except Wake are level 4+ air (Wake is building) and level 9 forts (Wake is 8 and building). Eeverything in Cent Pac is bursting at the seams, and very willing to take on the offensive => towards Marcus or Eniwetok (north of Kwajalein). It's just a matter of time.

I believe all CenPac islands are unconquerable. Perhaps, if IJN commits all its ships and all available IJA divisions, Wake would fall in one crazy carnage, but would pull most of IJN and IJA striking force with it.

Also, Brits would not be sitting on their asses, in case IJA commits 8-10 divisions somewhere. Mog never entered Burma at all. I evac'ed it, but very soon I would begin to "repopulate" the place, as I did with Wake and Noumea etc.

In China, Changsha and Wuchow are well defended. I can reach Nagasaki from Changsha using my B-24s, of which I have abundance.

In short, war is all but decided in my humble opinion, and Mog would have done best to switch on strategic defence. He would lose all the same, but he said yet another regular game as Japan would be boring, and I don't want to force him to play against his will.

Game over. (If anyone wants to take over from Mog be my guest - I am sure Mog would supply the password to new commander via private mail.)

O.