The Fleet the Gods Forgot: ALLIED Perspective

[John 3rd]

As Luke says in the greatest sequel EVER made "I'll NEVER join you!"

My attack by the CVs miscarried on the 1st. Bad weather pretty well socked everything in and I got no flights. Ordered the CVs to move due west (away from CarDiv2 and hit Koepang's Invasion Force. Should note that CA Aoba got hit by a TORP from a...GUESS WHAT...VILDEBEEST!

Hee-Hee

Here is the warships losses to date for the Japanese side:

[ny59giants]

As Luke says in the greatest sequel EVER made "I'll NEVER join you!"

John doesn't have the patience. [;)]

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

As Luke says in the greatest sequel EVER made "I'll NEVER join you!"

John doesn't have the patience. [;)]

As Kreese said "Patience is for the weak. We do not train to be patient here. A man confronts you in the street he is an enemy. An enemy deserves NO PATIENCE!"

[John 3rd]

These have been far lighter then I imagined:

[Canoerebel]

John, you've got this all wrong.  The JAPS are supposed to run amock at the beginning of the war; the Allies are supposed to take it on the chin for many months.
 
If I were the Japanese player and this was happening to me, I'd be beside myself.  You're tearing them up.

[John 3rd]

Felt like it might be a good idea to show what the Americans have done to create an Inner Defense Line around Hawaii. This is the Northern half:

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

John, you've got this all wrong.  The JAPS are supposed to run amock at the beginning of the war; the Allies are supposed to take it on the chin for many months.

If I were the Japanese player and this was happening to me, I'd be beside myself.  You're tearing them up.

Morning Dan! I completely concur with this thought. If I can continue to bob-and-weave and add the occasional solid punch this will be great!

This is what makes me a bit nervous with Lex and Ent attacking Koepang shipping this next turn. IF I can land a solid punch and then RUN that will be a great victory. If Ken reacts aggressively...it...could...be...bad...

[John 3rd]

There are the current garrisons in Palmyra and Canton.

[John 3rd]

We shift to the South Pacific. I forgot to list aircraft in this area: Suva has 16 PBY and Noumea has 12 PBY. There are numerous crated aircraft on thee way to these locations.

[John 3rd]

...and over to Port Moresby...

[paullus99]

John - great play so far. There is a good chance that you'll run into the KB if you're not careful - though the strike and fade is a good gambit. He'll probably concentrate for his next attack, so jabbing at quiet areas of the front & picking off shipping is a pretty safe bet.

Be wary of traps.

[Canoerebel]

It's not much of a gamble, really.  Given the havoc the Allies are creating all over the map, it's a good move.  Even if he loses the carriers, they come back in 1.5 years, plus he can afford to lose them by taking calculated risks that if successful will add to the confusion and disarray into which he is throwing the Japs.
 

[flaggelant]

Are most of the Jap units accounted for by now?
 
when i look at the battles fought up till now i feel that either there is a big Japanese reserve, or you managed to block a big heap of AV
with a minimum of AV of yourself.
 
Do you expect a new (or reinforced) offensive at someplace anytime soon?
or do you think that the Japanese are still frowning their eyebrows to what the allies are pulling off????

[Nemo121]

Flaggelant,

After having read this AAR ( this side only ) I think that John need not really fear a strong, co-ordinated offensive with synergistic use of all arms.

His opponent should have a large mass of troops available to throw in but his conduct of the war to date shows that he isn't able to bring multiple axes of force to bear on a single crucial point simultaneously. If you look at the current situation there are a lot of Japanese forces thrown around but they aren't being thrown around in any intelligent, concentrated manner. This is a key indicator as to ability.

As such he is squandering any advantages he has. When a Japanese player runs into an Allied player who is better than him ( as John most assuredly is better than his opponent ) this always has a possibility of happening.

Now the true test for John3rd is going to be whether he crows about his successes and self-deludes as he did in his AAR vs Canoerebel or whether he examines his plans and outcomes unemotionally and without ego and parses what he did well and what he did poorly. If he doesn't then he'll still be able to run riot against a weaker opponent but he'll never move up to the next level of play which would allow him to live with a good Japanese player ( which his opponent, unfortunately, isn't ).

One of the most important things which made the German Army so superior in 1940 to 1942 was that after the Polish and French campaigns ended so succesfully they STILL conducted rigorous examinations of what had happened and how they could improve. It is often overlooked as it is much "sexier" to talk about combined arms and stukas etc etc but their conduct of the French campaign was much better than their conduct of the Polish campaign and it had much to do with their ruthless analysis of even massive success.

[Canoerebel]

I'm not familiar with John's opponent, so I don't know his experience level or ability.

I am familiar with John's, of course.  Unquestionably, John has the benefit of intimate knowlege of Jap disposition and capabilities in the war, and is using that to great advantage.  If, on the other hand, his opponent is less experienced, then that's not a mix for a good head-to-head game.

One can't help but wonder what would be the case if John was facing off against a player of his caliber or even his better.  Given his aggressiveness, it would be very interesting.

As it is, this game may be close to already finished.   The Jap player only has so long to "run amock."  That clock is ticking.  He has experienced a series of missteps and reversals, but instead of reorganizing and getting back on track, things are continuing to deteriorate from him.  (John's play has had alot to do with that; John's opponent wouldn't have been in this situation had I been his Allied opponent since I'm far more conservative).  The Japs can drag out the war for many more years, but it's essentially over if they are robbed of momentum during the key opening months and unable to really take the war to the Allies.

[Nemo121]

Aye Canoerebel... That's one of the reasons I always advocated a forward defence for the Allies.
 
If your opponent is great then he'll still take time reducing your positions and while he will gain Java etc it'll cost him more time ( which is hugely valuable to you ) but if he is poor then bleeding him so badly in the first few weeks is going to utterly rattle him and will find the Japanese stuck in the DEI until mid-1942. I've done this in several games and it has never ever ended well for the Japanese who usually falter on the rocks of their own expectations.

[John 3rd]

Hi Guys.  Sorry I didn't jump in earlier but I was watching a MAGNIFICENT CV Victory in the 2x2!  BANZAI BABY!

Nemo and I are on the same page here.  The single biggest mistake most Allied players make is NOT FIGHTING from square one.  All it does is encourage the Japanese player to go farther and faster.  The intelligent use of a Forward Defense is the single biggest reason the Allies can seriously throw off and/or stop the Japanese Offensive.  Unless the player has been on the Japanese side (as Michael is finding out) they have no idea just how close run the entire Japanese Offensive is in 1941/1942.

Am not sure of Ken's experience.  I know he has other campaigns running right now so he isn't a rookie.  Past that I'm not really sure where he sits.

The next couple of weeks will really tell regarding his adaptibility to an aggressive Allied player. 

Would love to chat more but I have to CROW SOME (this for Nemo [:'(] ) in the 2x2...  

[John 3rd]

The raid could have gone better but then again it could have been a lot worse!

Other news around the board:

From Singkawang fly out a small group of Martins who hit 2 AP with 1 Bomb each causing 43 casualties. Looks like the Japanese are coming here. Move rested TB planes there to hurt the Invasion Force.

The last strike from Koepang sees 7 Vildebeest and 6 Hudson hit an Invasion Force NW of the city. Once again 2 AP are hit. One takes a Torp and another gets a Bomb.

The Japanese are shifting around their troops in Malaya so we'll see what they are willing to try. Order my weakest Brigade at 23,47 to return to Johore Bharu for R&R.

My moves in the Philippines are about done. The Japanese move forward and retake Vigan. My boys will fallback to their starting point at Lingayen. Forts there have gone from 0 to nearly 2 so that will help. The 'elite' Philippine units arrive at Manila for some R&R.

I order out my first Squadron of P-40 from the Philippines. There are nearly 100 still flying CAP over Manila and Clark. This is a mistake by Ken where he stopped bombing each of these places and allowed my Fighters to recover. A raid of 22 B-17 flew out of Clark and hit Aparri's AF destroying a pair of bombers on the ground. That should certainly get Ken's attention!

[ny59giants]

Order my weakest Brigade at 23,47 to return to Johore Bharu for R&R.

I would go to Singapore where it is malaria free.

[Hornblower]

Sorry, i'm a little late in reading this.  For what its worth, i like the raid with the Enterprise and Lex, and it paid off.  He's got another thing to think about now- gutsy move. He'll no doubt go hunting now in the Timor area hoping to get them.  swinging them to darwin, ready to head to coral might catch him trying to get rabaul/morsbey on the cheap.  By that i mean without enough air assets/CV's...  To me you seam to have the ineciative now.  Your right - your knocking his time table all off...