Hi SqzMyLemon
I have read that post too... Counting hexes, and imagining oil only flows from oilfields to refineries and ports (under no circumstance, I think, would Kiuchuan or Hami stock oil), Urumchi is 24 hexes of "good road" (ie supply cost = 3/hex) to Lanchow, and 31 to Sian. Oil might flow, but probably very slowly and only if the road is all cleared, and Lanchow and Sian badly need oil (which is not necessarily the case all the time). I suspect you need to repair and perhaps expand the refinery in Lanchow to help oil travel. Another solution would be to expand the refinery in Urumchi. It sure costs a lot, but this is one of the places you have a good chance of keeping until very late in the game... I might be totally wrong, but I tend to believe that, if you can effectively prevent any late Chinese attempt at reconquest, growing a strong industrial base in Northern China is a good late game strategy.
Also, I tend to bet on the correction being available long before I reach the moment when I actually need this oil.
If you can take Urumchi with a division or so, I think it is worth the investment.
Francois
Now when the land rings with the clash of arms –No soliinvictus please
Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
February 15th 1942
After an almost frantic Valentine day (like 2 bases taken and 4 deliberate attacks a day, yay! talk about action!), we’re back to our regular program: gorilla fight in the mud.
East Indies
Today, the only significant battle happened in Palembang. I achieved 2:1 odds, reduced forts to zero (again) and killed a score enemy squads. One thing that puzzles me is the indication that neither oilfields nor refineries are damaged. A month battle should bring some damage, and, having my boys there in the trenches, I should know all about it, eh? Or does it mean damage will be very light when I finally take the base? I am a bit puzzled about this.
North of Palembang, a SNLF landed in Bengkalis today. I never had realized you don’t really need to hold Singapore to move across the straits of Malacca. I probably won’t overuse this feature. Somehow, it does not seem right.
In Malaya, the two divisions from Luzon arrived in Kota today. I am sending them to Johore, and will have about 1100 AV, to complement the 2000 already in Singapore. The slugging match will go on for a couple of weeks, I’m afraid.
China
Troop concentration for the move on Lanchow is almost done. Two divisions and two tank regiments are one hex north of the base, and will move across the Yellow River to invade the city. The enemy sports 11 units and 60k troops, and I believe my 1000 AV will not be enough. However, besieging Lanchow will cut production there, 150 supply points per day... I also expect to cut disrupt supply transport from Sining to Sian and Sichuan. Right now, the Urumchi fuel is certainly not flowing (since I hold the silk road), but resources from Amdo (the northern part of Tibet, where Sining is situated) are.
While preparing the drive on Lanchow, I noticed my troops had difficulty remaining supplied. I have a base in Ningsia, close enough, but since it is not garrisoned, it does not seem to draw supply to feed my troops. I corrected this using the “draw button”, but I believe this is a bug in the supply allocation routine. Apparently, bases only determine their supply needs for the units in base, not for those around. If this were true, it would mean that garrison requirements are actually much higher than the manual says, since you need garrisons both to get the VP accountants happy, and to let supplies flow to the front.
Thoughts about the game
It is all about the oil
Since very little worthy of note is happening right now, I have plenty of time to think about the game.
I am a board wargamer. Over the last 30 years, I have played lots of games, and one thing I kept noticing is that every design tends to revolve around a few ideas: the “lessons learnt” by the game designer about the campaign, war, or era.
These core principles materialize in different ways. Sometimes, it is the turn sequence, like the move-fight-exploit scheme (with or without overun combat) in WWII games descended from Panzergruppe Guderian, or the “action based” sequences you find in VG designs (eg Vietnam or Pacific War, basically, you play as much as you want, expending "action points" in the process, to be fair, it existed before VG, SPI's Campaign for North Africa used that too, in the late 70s). Sometime it is the combat system as a whole, which enforces a particular vision of combined arms, or material superiority. I would believe all Great Battle of History games, ASL and a good number of naval wargames fall into this category (the game revolves around the TOE charts, and the combat sequence and bonuses). Sometimes the focus is more in the control and maneuver aspects. This would be the case with the Gamers, or La Bataille series about Napoleonic warfare. Sometimes, it is even modeled into the map and counters, eg some North Africa games where everything has to happen within short distance of a very limited number of (coastal) roads, with panzers having huge movement allowance, and all others very small ones, or, in some specific games, one “special terrain” which is given such defensive bonuses that the whole battle revolves about it.
From one game to another, those principles change. This is what makes playing different simulations of the same campaign interesting. However, inside one specific game, you cannot escape these ideas: they ARE the game.
These core ideas are important, because they usually give each design a specific feel. Somehow, they make the game a historical simulation, as opposed to checkers over a map. However, they also emphasize a specific vision of the war. By forcing all games into specific directions, they can be the game’s undoing (fortunately, most wargames take too much time to play to be replayed a lot, and these problems never materialize)
In AE, I believe one core idea is the “it is all about oil” paradigm. I do not dispute its historical validity, but I think its implications for game play are worth exploring.
WITP/AE is three games in one. You have a land game, a naval game, and a production/logistics game (only logistics for the allies). Both the naval and production games largely depend on fuel and oil, and Japan is very short of those.
Oil, the prime resource for fuel, is available from a very small number of oilfields, which are easy to damage, and costly to repair. Oil production is Japan’s main weakness, and should be the first target for both sides.
This explains why Japan will usually go for northern, rather than central, China, and why Fortress Palembang strategies are gaining favour among Allied players: they delay the capture of oilfields and usually result in irrecoverable damage. I believe fortresses could/should also be built, if not held, in Balikpapan and Samarinda. They will be captured in the end, but damage will be done. Oil is also the reason why Burma tends to be recaptured much earlier than historically. The oilfield in Magwe, and the necessity to "refuel China" makes it a much important area for the Allies than it were in real life. I believe a good player would arrange to make a stand in both Rangoon and Magwe.
This focus on oil results in a disproportionate amount of attention given to a very small number of bases.
Can Japan prevent the destruction of oilfields? Barring pretty gamey behavior (eg landing in Palembang on the first turns of the game, before even securing northern Borneo, and bypassing Ambon for Balikpapan), I don’t think so. Japan can certainly capture some of these resources, but a competent Allied player can probably destroy most of the fields before or just after capture.
Can Japan do without? I believe so. Without the oilfields, Japan can probably feed its industry for most of the war, but not conduct significant naval operations. This does not doom the Empire, I, for one, believe a strictly continental approach to the game is possible, but it makes for a less interesting, and somehow less historical game (the Pacific war on land sounds like an oxymoron).
Still, I believe a Festung strategy, which would send troops to die in place on oilfields, and turn South Sumatra into Verdun, in order to deny the oilfields to Japan is the most logical alternative to a Sir Robin. If you intend to fight, why let him have the best bases?
As a Japanese player, I would welcome this. I would let the Sumatra fortress build, grow, and even fatten it if I can. Then I would probably bomb the place to kingdom come and let all those nice units die in place, Luzon style. Once you get over 500 AV in Palembang, and a few hundred in other places, the oilfields are toast anyway, and Sumatra is so deep into Indian country, once Java falls, that the chance to rescue the defenders are small.
What happens next? Japan has less oil, and therefore less fuel, and needs less ships. Perhaps halt most late warship construction (including some CV), and fortify a historical perimeter (plus northern Oz, perhaps). Totally playable for Japan, I believe, not sure that such a game is to the liking of most players, though…
To summarize, I believe the way oil is modeled here is flawed. First because it is too central, second because production sources are way too concentrated and way too brittle. Many players have noted the problem with resources in China, the same is true with oil and Japan, the difference being that destroying all resource centres in China implies much more work than crippling the Oil Indies…
This is one of the cases where I believe a coarser model for resource production would work better.
Just to make everything clear, I am not complaining. This is not really germane to the game in progress, and I am not planning for heavy fuel use through extensive naval operations. Just me discussing the model, like I would for many games I love and play.
After an almost frantic Valentine day (like 2 bases taken and 4 deliberate attacks a day, yay! talk about action!), we’re back to our regular program: gorilla fight in the mud.
East Indies
Today, the only significant battle happened in Palembang. I achieved 2:1 odds, reduced forts to zero (again) and killed a score enemy squads. One thing that puzzles me is the indication that neither oilfields nor refineries are damaged. A month battle should bring some damage, and, having my boys there in the trenches, I should know all about it, eh? Or does it mean damage will be very light when I finally take the base? I am a bit puzzled about this.
North of Palembang, a SNLF landed in Bengkalis today. I never had realized you don’t really need to hold Singapore to move across the straits of Malacca. I probably won’t overuse this feature. Somehow, it does not seem right.
In Malaya, the two divisions from Luzon arrived in Kota today. I am sending them to Johore, and will have about 1100 AV, to complement the 2000 already in Singapore. The slugging match will go on for a couple of weeks, I’m afraid.
China
Troop concentration for the move on Lanchow is almost done. Two divisions and two tank regiments are one hex north of the base, and will move across the Yellow River to invade the city. The enemy sports 11 units and 60k troops, and I believe my 1000 AV will not be enough. However, besieging Lanchow will cut production there, 150 supply points per day... I also expect to cut disrupt supply transport from Sining to Sian and Sichuan. Right now, the Urumchi fuel is certainly not flowing (since I hold the silk road), but resources from Amdo (the northern part of Tibet, where Sining is situated) are.
While preparing the drive on Lanchow, I noticed my troops had difficulty remaining supplied. I have a base in Ningsia, close enough, but since it is not garrisoned, it does not seem to draw supply to feed my troops. I corrected this using the “draw button”, but I believe this is a bug in the supply allocation routine. Apparently, bases only determine their supply needs for the units in base, not for those around. If this were true, it would mean that garrison requirements are actually much higher than the manual says, since you need garrisons both to get the VP accountants happy, and to let supplies flow to the front.
Thoughts about the game
It is all about the oil
Since very little worthy of note is happening right now, I have plenty of time to think about the game.
I am a board wargamer. Over the last 30 years, I have played lots of games, and one thing I kept noticing is that every design tends to revolve around a few ideas: the “lessons learnt” by the game designer about the campaign, war, or era.
These core principles materialize in different ways. Sometimes, it is the turn sequence, like the move-fight-exploit scheme (with or without overun combat) in WWII games descended from Panzergruppe Guderian, or the “action based” sequences you find in VG designs (eg Vietnam or Pacific War, basically, you play as much as you want, expending "action points" in the process, to be fair, it existed before VG, SPI's Campaign for North Africa used that too, in the late 70s). Sometime it is the combat system as a whole, which enforces a particular vision of combined arms, or material superiority. I would believe all Great Battle of History games, ASL and a good number of naval wargames fall into this category (the game revolves around the TOE charts, and the combat sequence and bonuses). Sometimes the focus is more in the control and maneuver aspects. This would be the case with the Gamers, or La Bataille series about Napoleonic warfare. Sometimes, it is even modeled into the map and counters, eg some North Africa games where everything has to happen within short distance of a very limited number of (coastal) roads, with panzers having huge movement allowance, and all others very small ones, or, in some specific games, one “special terrain” which is given such defensive bonuses that the whole battle revolves about it.
From one game to another, those principles change. This is what makes playing different simulations of the same campaign interesting. However, inside one specific game, you cannot escape these ideas: they ARE the game.
These core ideas are important, because they usually give each design a specific feel. Somehow, they make the game a historical simulation, as opposed to checkers over a map. However, they also emphasize a specific vision of the war. By forcing all games into specific directions, they can be the game’s undoing (fortunately, most wargames take too much time to play to be replayed a lot, and these problems never materialize)
In AE, I believe one core idea is the “it is all about oil” paradigm. I do not dispute its historical validity, but I think its implications for game play are worth exploring.
WITP/AE is three games in one. You have a land game, a naval game, and a production/logistics game (only logistics for the allies). Both the naval and production games largely depend on fuel and oil, and Japan is very short of those.
Oil, the prime resource for fuel, is available from a very small number of oilfields, which are easy to damage, and costly to repair. Oil production is Japan’s main weakness, and should be the first target for both sides.
This explains why Japan will usually go for northern, rather than central, China, and why Fortress Palembang strategies are gaining favour among Allied players: they delay the capture of oilfields and usually result in irrecoverable damage. I believe fortresses could/should also be built, if not held, in Balikpapan and Samarinda. They will be captured in the end, but damage will be done. Oil is also the reason why Burma tends to be recaptured much earlier than historically. The oilfield in Magwe, and the necessity to "refuel China" makes it a much important area for the Allies than it were in real life. I believe a good player would arrange to make a stand in both Rangoon and Magwe.
This focus on oil results in a disproportionate amount of attention given to a very small number of bases.
Can Japan prevent the destruction of oilfields? Barring pretty gamey behavior (eg landing in Palembang on the first turns of the game, before even securing northern Borneo, and bypassing Ambon for Balikpapan), I don’t think so. Japan can certainly capture some of these resources, but a competent Allied player can probably destroy most of the fields before or just after capture.
Can Japan do without? I believe so. Without the oilfields, Japan can probably feed its industry for most of the war, but not conduct significant naval operations. This does not doom the Empire, I, for one, believe a strictly continental approach to the game is possible, but it makes for a less interesting, and somehow less historical game (the Pacific war on land sounds like an oxymoron).
Still, I believe a Festung strategy, which would send troops to die in place on oilfields, and turn South Sumatra into Verdun, in order to deny the oilfields to Japan is the most logical alternative to a Sir Robin. If you intend to fight, why let him have the best bases?
As a Japanese player, I would welcome this. I would let the Sumatra fortress build, grow, and even fatten it if I can. Then I would probably bomb the place to kingdom come and let all those nice units die in place, Luzon style. Once you get over 500 AV in Palembang, and a few hundred in other places, the oilfields are toast anyway, and Sumatra is so deep into Indian country, once Java falls, that the chance to rescue the defenders are small.
What happens next? Japan has less oil, and therefore less fuel, and needs less ships. Perhaps halt most late warship construction (including some CV), and fortify a historical perimeter (plus northern Oz, perhaps). Totally playable for Japan, I believe, not sure that such a game is to the liking of most players, though…
To summarize, I believe the way oil is modeled here is flawed. First because it is too central, second because production sources are way too concentrated and way too brittle. Many players have noted the problem with resources in China, the same is true with oil and Japan, the difference being that destroying all resource centres in China implies much more work than crippling the Oil Indies…
This is one of the cases where I believe a coarser model for resource production would work better.
Just to make everything clear, I am not complaining. This is not really germane to the game in progress, and I am not planning for heavy fuel use through extensive naval operations. Just me discussing the model, like I would for many games I love and play.
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
February 16th, 1942
Philippines
Clark Field is bombarded daily. Enemy units are bottled there (I control all hexsides but the one back to Bataan), and I have a little less than 1000 AV, against 2400 enemies. I believe I will attempt a deliberate attack at some point, just to see what I am facing. In general, those reduce a couple of fort levels, cause lots of disablements and little combat losses.
On Mindanao, we’re still attacking every other day in Malaybalay, where the remnants of the island garrison are concentrated. This is your typical jungle battle: enemy forts are gone, supply (-) indicators have appeared, yet each battle does little damage.
Elsewhere, two small amphibious task forces are slowly mopping all the little islands between Luzon and Mindanao. A couple larger garrisons are left and will be dealt with after Mindanao falls.
Sumatra
Bengkalis fell today. The base force left there had no chance against an infantry battalion. This confirms that southern Sumatra is pretty much left undefended. Everybody is in Palembang.
Speaking of which, there was another deliberate attack there (owing to the 1:1 odds yesterday). I got 100 disabled squads for 60 enemies, but only 6 destroyed squad for 30 enemies. Forts remain at zero.
China
In Yenan, another deliberate attack destroyed 50 enemy squads. It takes time, but casualties are mounting. The good thing about this is that once the base finally falls, whatever retreats out of it will be thoroughly squashed. After the battle of Taiyuan, I have decided not to reinforce Yenan. It will take a bit longer to fall, but reinforcements would take too much time to go there.
Instead, reinforcement are moving towards Tsiatso, then to Loyang and the battle in the woods. I will have more than 2400 AV there tomorrow, and about 1000 more on the way, plus the 1500 from Loyang.
In Wenchow, I now have 1200 AV, against 1500 enemies. I am trying a deliberate attack tomorrow, to see what I am facing.
The tomorrows that sing
The war is not going badly, but it is terribly boring at the moment. The risk, with this state of affair, is to do something very silly, just for the sake of doing something. Throughout history, lots of embarrassing defeats can be attributed to generals with too much time on their hands (although, in their memoirs, they would invariably blame it on the politicians, kings, or whichever scapegoat they could find).
Some reinforcements from Japan are on their way, and will be available in a few weeks. Meanwhile, I am trying to gather whatever troops I have, to conduct a number of local actions.
In New Guinea, I am invading Buna and Finschafen tomorrow, units with then hop from base to base, down to Milne Bay. Reconnaissance suggests Port Moresby is lightly defended. I am sending a regiment there, and KB (who has seen very little action so far) is moving to support it. I want KB detected, if possible. The less the enemy interferes with my small landings, the better.
Between Timor and Java, I am hoping from base to base. Endeh will fall tomorrow, Waingapoe too. A regiment has embarked in Bandjermasin, to Denpasar. Mini KB is kept around, to strike fear in the hearts of Swordfishes and Vildebeests.
In Southern China, I plan to probe Nanning and Liuchow. An IJA mixed brigade and a Vietnamese militia regiment are marching on the former. An Infantry group is moving towards Liuchow. Since the base is in clear terrain, there is a strong possibility that the enemy evacuates it (so far, he has done that all the time). The two bases are very close from each other. If I can conquer one, I can reinforce the other… Liuchow is the prize: it produces over 100 resources.
In Central China, I am shifting a division from Hankow to Nanchang. A Chinese corps has been stationed for a while, in clear terrain over the river. This is inviting trouble… After the hapless corps has been punished, I want to proceed north, towards Changsha, and try to occupy Pingsiang. Again, this is a big resource base. My division will be very exposed there, but a major Chinese attack would probably cost them an arm, supply-wise.
Speaking of which… It seems my opponent is still repairing his industry in Changsha. Since the beginning of the month, 21 points were repaired, for a cost of 21k supply points. I am, of course, very happy about this state of affairs: total supply stocks in China (including supplies stored within combat units) are probably under 100 000 now…
As I said, the game is slightly boring right now, but this is no reason to despair…
Philippines
Clark Field is bombarded daily. Enemy units are bottled there (I control all hexsides but the one back to Bataan), and I have a little less than 1000 AV, against 2400 enemies. I believe I will attempt a deliberate attack at some point, just to see what I am facing. In general, those reduce a couple of fort levels, cause lots of disablements and little combat losses.
On Mindanao, we’re still attacking every other day in Malaybalay, where the remnants of the island garrison are concentrated. This is your typical jungle battle: enemy forts are gone, supply (-) indicators have appeared, yet each battle does little damage.
Elsewhere, two small amphibious task forces are slowly mopping all the little islands between Luzon and Mindanao. A couple larger garrisons are left and will be dealt with after Mindanao falls.
Sumatra
Bengkalis fell today. The base force left there had no chance against an infantry battalion. This confirms that southern Sumatra is pretty much left undefended. Everybody is in Palembang.
Speaking of which, there was another deliberate attack there (owing to the 1:1 odds yesterday). I got 100 disabled squads for 60 enemies, but only 6 destroyed squad for 30 enemies. Forts remain at zero.
China
In Yenan, another deliberate attack destroyed 50 enemy squads. It takes time, but casualties are mounting. The good thing about this is that once the base finally falls, whatever retreats out of it will be thoroughly squashed. After the battle of Taiyuan, I have decided not to reinforce Yenan. It will take a bit longer to fall, but reinforcements would take too much time to go there.
Instead, reinforcement are moving towards Tsiatso, then to Loyang and the battle in the woods. I will have more than 2400 AV there tomorrow, and about 1000 more on the way, plus the 1500 from Loyang.
In Wenchow, I now have 1200 AV, against 1500 enemies. I am trying a deliberate attack tomorrow, to see what I am facing.
The tomorrows that sing
The war is not going badly, but it is terribly boring at the moment. The risk, with this state of affair, is to do something very silly, just for the sake of doing something. Throughout history, lots of embarrassing defeats can be attributed to generals with too much time on their hands (although, in their memoirs, they would invariably blame it on the politicians, kings, or whichever scapegoat they could find).
Some reinforcements from Japan are on their way, and will be available in a few weeks. Meanwhile, I am trying to gather whatever troops I have, to conduct a number of local actions.
In New Guinea, I am invading Buna and Finschafen tomorrow, units with then hop from base to base, down to Milne Bay. Reconnaissance suggests Port Moresby is lightly defended. I am sending a regiment there, and KB (who has seen very little action so far) is moving to support it. I want KB detected, if possible. The less the enemy interferes with my small landings, the better.
Between Timor and Java, I am hoping from base to base. Endeh will fall tomorrow, Waingapoe too. A regiment has embarked in Bandjermasin, to Denpasar. Mini KB is kept around, to strike fear in the hearts of Swordfishes and Vildebeests.
In Southern China, I plan to probe Nanning and Liuchow. An IJA mixed brigade and a Vietnamese militia regiment are marching on the former. An Infantry group is moving towards Liuchow. Since the base is in clear terrain, there is a strong possibility that the enemy evacuates it (so far, he has done that all the time). The two bases are very close from each other. If I can conquer one, I can reinforce the other… Liuchow is the prize: it produces over 100 resources.
In Central China, I am shifting a division from Hankow to Nanchang. A Chinese corps has been stationed for a while, in clear terrain over the river. This is inviting trouble… After the hapless corps has been punished, I want to proceed north, towards Changsha, and try to occupy Pingsiang. Again, this is a big resource base. My division will be very exposed there, but a major Chinese attack would probably cost them an arm, supply-wise.
Speaking of which… It seems my opponent is still repairing his industry in Changsha. Since the beginning of the month, 21 points were repaired, for a cost of 21k supply points. I am, of course, very happy about this state of affairs: total supply stocks in China (including supplies stored within combat units) are probably under 100 000 now…
As I said, the game is slightly boring right now, but this is no reason to despair…
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
I think you are unlucky in this. I know my subs are mine magnets ... they don't just find one mine, they keep on until they find two or three... [;)]ORIGINAL: fcharton
I have mined Nauru and Miri, but subs seem to go there unharmed.
So, keep mining ports. It does work....
Pax
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
Oh, when your opponent discovers that, he is going to kick himself. [:D]ORIGINAL: fcharton
Speaking of which… It seems my opponent is still repairing his industry in Changsha. Since the beginning of the month, 21 points were repaired, for a cost of 21k supply points. I am, of course, very happy about this state of affairs: ...
Pax
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
ORIGINAL: PaxMondo
Oh, when your opponent discovers that, he is going to kick himself. [:D]
Probably... The funny thing is that you cannot achieve this without a certain amount of preparation. To rebuild 3 points in Changsha every other day, you need to maintain over 10k supplies there, and this can only be achieved if you set the draw button to inordinate levels (esp now).
One point often made about the Allies in China is that "if you leave repairs on, it will destroy all the stocks and the army". I don't think it is true. You will lose a couple thousand SP to rebuild, but unless you tinker with the draw buttons, or decide to put all your troops in Changsha, your bases will soon drop below 10k and not repair and everything will be fine.
My best guess is that my opponent believes China is so bad it isn't even worth the effort. Hence the lack of reinforcements from Burma, the fortress strategy in Wenchow, the bases reinforced and the abandoned in the plains, and the supply waste.
Sometimes, I wish I'd play the Allies just to have a try at defending China in the early game... Maybe this summer when I have a little more time, and this game is progressing smoothly.
Francois
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
Nice AAR! Especially Like the quotes and well-written discussion of combat events, plans and strategy.
So far I've only been able to gloss through parts of it, but when time permits I will do it justice (read: paragraph by paragraph)
So far I've only been able to gloss through parts of it, but when time permits I will do it justice (read: paragraph by paragraph)
'Well, Comrade Boldin, this is the third time you've gotten yourself encircled by the Germans. Don't you think that's a bit much?' - Zhukov, late 1941
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
Hi Reedster,
Thanks for the compliment, I realize I have stopped using quotes for a while… They’ll be back.
February 17th, 1942
Still no turn from my opponent. He has been needing lots of time to play his turns, recently. Either real life is keeping him busy, or he might be planning something big.
In my opinion, his best move right now would be a spoiling attack on the Burmese coast. I am stretched thin there, and the stalemate in Singapore guarantees I will have problems reinforcing the area. I doubt this would happen, though. He evacuated all his troops from Burma in December, he would not come back in March. Besides, he already proved (and admitted) that he prefers naval operations.
Since he has seen KB a lot around the Solomons, I doubt he will try anything against the Marshalls or Gilberts. Wake strikes me as pretty useless at this stage, and I have 130 AV behind forts (on a 6k island). It would be very costly. Marcus is a bolder target. I need to reinforce the place (I lack engineers and forts now).
If he wants to try something bold, the most logical target is the Kuriles, either as a small landing, or a raid. Since I have not done much to build the area, landings would succeed, but I don’t see how you can hold such a forward base… A raid on northern Japan, supported by carriers or not, seems like a possible option. If he has no carriers, I have quite a few ships waiting in the area, this might be interesting. If the carriers are there, will it will be the time to see what LBA can do…
Ships, everywhere!
Yeah, you wish, dear reader !
A few invasion forces hit the beach today. In New Guinea, I’m in Finschhafen and Buna. In Timor, I’m in Waingapoe and Lomblen. My invasion force to Denpasar is one hex away, and Endeh fell to a deliberate attack.
On Borneo, a defeated enemy unit has come back in Sandakan. It is apparently a base force, without assault value, and the base will not fall. I am sending a marine company from Jesselton to punish them. They should arrive tomorrow.
I am not sure why my opponent does this. Perhaps he wants to rebuild the unit, and need them destroyed first. Does this make sense? I mean, this is a British unit, do you have so many replacements that you are short of units to accommodate them?
In the air today
Over the last few days, air battles were kept to a minimum. I had realized I lost a good number of planes (notably to operations), for very little benefit. There are no enemy fighters to destroy, very few ships in port, but the flak is still there…
But there was some action today. First, the AVG reappeared in China. It had been weeks since I last saw them. Four of them appeared in Kukong, and killed a handful of Idas that were bombing the airfield. I will send in Zeroes tomorrow, just in case my opponent leaves them on CAP. They are advertised at AVG 3rd Squadron A. Apparently, the Volunteers have been split into many subgroups, to defend more bases. I apparently have destroyed 30 AVG planes, 20 to operations. In Wenchow and Yenan, some were destroyed on the ground, for lack of support probably. It seems that the volunteers are becoming less effective.
Revenge for the slaughter of my Idas came when a couple of bombers from Surabaya tried to attack mini KB, which was travelling in the area. All Dutch fighters have been destroyed by sweeps, and bombers flew unescorted, against mini-KB’s Zeroes. It wasn’t even fair. 2 swordfishes and 5 Vildebeests were shot down.
Over Palembang, the enemy sent unescorted bombers to attack my troops. It does succeed in keeping disruption high for some of my attackers, but at a cost of a few bombers every day. I am reinforcing the long range patrols from Singkawang by a few Oscars from Djambi…
At the end of the day, I still lose 18 planes to 12 enemies, half of my losses being ops. I don’t know what to do about it, but I must solve this problem.
Empty battlefields
The only attack for today was a probe against Wenchow. I have 1200 AV against 1500 enemies, in defensive terrain… I had hoped that they would be unsupplied, I was wrong.
Ground combat at Wenchow (89,58)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 33518 troops, 260 guns, 116 vehicles, Assault Value = 1221
Defending force 48374 troops, 238 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1576
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2
Japanese adjusted assault: 670
Allied adjusted defense: 3457
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 5 (fort level 2)
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
1401 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 99 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 166 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 22 disabled
Vehicles lost 23 (6 destroyed, 17 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
228 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 25 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 55 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Ouch! It is mostly disablements, so I’ll survive, and I have a couple hundred more AV on the way, but Wenchow is not falling tomorrow, that’s for sure.
A riddle explained
While loading the turn in Tracker, I noticed victory point ratio got slightly worse today, because my VP total had gone down 100 points: yesterday, I had 8585 points, today, 8485…
Inside Tracker, this loss cannot be explained. My VP total is the sum of points for sunk ships, shot down planes, and destroyed enemy units (which can only go up), and base points. Any decrease must come from the base, but today, Tracker says the total went up, from 4528 to 4543 (corresponding to the bases captured)
A look at the victory screen reveals a discrepancy. In-game VP are quite different from those in Tracker (and much more consistent with the total…), and tell a different story.
Apparently, Japanese base points did go down yesterday in the game, by more than a hundred. This must result from one or several places becoming unsupplied, and, lo and behold, Rabaul was depleted of its supplies by the amphibious task force bound to Port Moresby.
Supplies have been sent from Truk, and this situation will not last, but I must say I find this a bit strange…. Apparently, a task force can deplete a base from all supplies, despite the fact there are troops and supply needs there. This seems to run contrary to the manual, and is all the more troublesome as there is no way to limit the quantity of supplies a TF will load (it is either full load or none…). Or is there something I am missing?
Another interesting learning is that monitoring enemy base victory points, and comparing it to Tracker, allows one to have an idea of enemy supply status. I don’t think the information is precise enough to qualify as a breach of FOW, but still, for very large bases (VP-wise, eg Singapore, or Clark Field), VP could help guess when supplies run out.
Further comparison of Tracker and game victory points yield a few more findings.
First, whereas my VP total is close to the total of the four components (air, ship, land losses and bases, there are no strat points now), the allied sum is more than 200 points higher than the actual score. Assuming that my losses and base points are not subject to FOW (is this correct?), it means that, whereas allied losses include fog of war, its effect is neutral : some losses are overestimated, others underestimated, and the two even out…
In term of air losses, figures from the game and from Tracker are close.But ship losses are 50% higher in Tracker, which seems to use the “reported sunk” list to generate the total. This suggests that out of three ships reported sunk, one is still afloat.
The 200 point difference on the Allied total must result from base points, and unsupplied bases. The manual explains how VP for bases are lost because of supplies. Practically, a base without supplies has its VP quartered, a base at half rations has them at about 60%. 200 points missing would mean about 500 VP worth of bases at half rations, or 300 VP worth of bases almost completely unsupplied. That's quite a few bases...
Thanks for the compliment, I realize I have stopped using quotes for a while… They’ll be back.
February 17th, 1942
Still no turn from my opponent. He has been needing lots of time to play his turns, recently. Either real life is keeping him busy, or he might be planning something big.
In my opinion, his best move right now would be a spoiling attack on the Burmese coast. I am stretched thin there, and the stalemate in Singapore guarantees I will have problems reinforcing the area. I doubt this would happen, though. He evacuated all his troops from Burma in December, he would not come back in March. Besides, he already proved (and admitted) that he prefers naval operations.
Since he has seen KB a lot around the Solomons, I doubt he will try anything against the Marshalls or Gilberts. Wake strikes me as pretty useless at this stage, and I have 130 AV behind forts (on a 6k island). It would be very costly. Marcus is a bolder target. I need to reinforce the place (I lack engineers and forts now).
If he wants to try something bold, the most logical target is the Kuriles, either as a small landing, or a raid. Since I have not done much to build the area, landings would succeed, but I don’t see how you can hold such a forward base… A raid on northern Japan, supported by carriers or not, seems like a possible option. If he has no carriers, I have quite a few ships waiting in the area, this might be interesting. If the carriers are there, will it will be the time to see what LBA can do…
Ships, everywhere!
Yeah, you wish, dear reader !
A few invasion forces hit the beach today. In New Guinea, I’m in Finschhafen and Buna. In Timor, I’m in Waingapoe and Lomblen. My invasion force to Denpasar is one hex away, and Endeh fell to a deliberate attack.
On Borneo, a defeated enemy unit has come back in Sandakan. It is apparently a base force, without assault value, and the base will not fall. I am sending a marine company from Jesselton to punish them. They should arrive tomorrow.
I am not sure why my opponent does this. Perhaps he wants to rebuild the unit, and need them destroyed first. Does this make sense? I mean, this is a British unit, do you have so many replacements that you are short of units to accommodate them?
In the air today
Over the last few days, air battles were kept to a minimum. I had realized I lost a good number of planes (notably to operations), for very little benefit. There are no enemy fighters to destroy, very few ships in port, but the flak is still there…
But there was some action today. First, the AVG reappeared in China. It had been weeks since I last saw them. Four of them appeared in Kukong, and killed a handful of Idas that were bombing the airfield. I will send in Zeroes tomorrow, just in case my opponent leaves them on CAP. They are advertised at AVG 3rd Squadron A. Apparently, the Volunteers have been split into many subgroups, to defend more bases. I apparently have destroyed 30 AVG planes, 20 to operations. In Wenchow and Yenan, some were destroyed on the ground, for lack of support probably. It seems that the volunteers are becoming less effective.
Revenge for the slaughter of my Idas came when a couple of bombers from Surabaya tried to attack mini KB, which was travelling in the area. All Dutch fighters have been destroyed by sweeps, and bombers flew unescorted, against mini-KB’s Zeroes. It wasn’t even fair. 2 swordfishes and 5 Vildebeests were shot down.
Over Palembang, the enemy sent unescorted bombers to attack my troops. It does succeed in keeping disruption high for some of my attackers, but at a cost of a few bombers every day. I am reinforcing the long range patrols from Singkawang by a few Oscars from Djambi…
At the end of the day, I still lose 18 planes to 12 enemies, half of my losses being ops. I don’t know what to do about it, but I must solve this problem.
Empty battlefields
The only attack for today was a probe against Wenchow. I have 1200 AV against 1500 enemies, in defensive terrain… I had hoped that they would be unsupplied, I was wrong.
Ground combat at Wenchow (89,58)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 33518 troops, 260 guns, 116 vehicles, Assault Value = 1221
Defending force 48374 troops, 238 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1576
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2
Japanese adjusted assault: 670
Allied adjusted defense: 3457
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 5 (fort level 2)
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
1401 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 99 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 166 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 22 disabled
Vehicles lost 23 (6 destroyed, 17 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
228 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 25 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 55 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Ouch! It is mostly disablements, so I’ll survive, and I have a couple hundred more AV on the way, but Wenchow is not falling tomorrow, that’s for sure.
A riddle explained
While loading the turn in Tracker, I noticed victory point ratio got slightly worse today, because my VP total had gone down 100 points: yesterday, I had 8585 points, today, 8485…
Inside Tracker, this loss cannot be explained. My VP total is the sum of points for sunk ships, shot down planes, and destroyed enemy units (which can only go up), and base points. Any decrease must come from the base, but today, Tracker says the total went up, from 4528 to 4543 (corresponding to the bases captured)
A look at the victory screen reveals a discrepancy. In-game VP are quite different from those in Tracker (and much more consistent with the total…), and tell a different story.
Apparently, Japanese base points did go down yesterday in the game, by more than a hundred. This must result from one or several places becoming unsupplied, and, lo and behold, Rabaul was depleted of its supplies by the amphibious task force bound to Port Moresby.
Supplies have been sent from Truk, and this situation will not last, but I must say I find this a bit strange…. Apparently, a task force can deplete a base from all supplies, despite the fact there are troops and supply needs there. This seems to run contrary to the manual, and is all the more troublesome as there is no way to limit the quantity of supplies a TF will load (it is either full load or none…). Or is there something I am missing?
Another interesting learning is that monitoring enemy base victory points, and comparing it to Tracker, allows one to have an idea of enemy supply status. I don’t think the information is precise enough to qualify as a breach of FOW, but still, for very large bases (VP-wise, eg Singapore, or Clark Field), VP could help guess when supplies run out.
Further comparison of Tracker and game victory points yield a few more findings.
First, whereas my VP total is close to the total of the four components (air, ship, land losses and bases, there are no strat points now), the allied sum is more than 200 points higher than the actual score. Assuming that my losses and base points are not subject to FOW (is this correct?), it means that, whereas allied losses include fog of war, its effect is neutral : some losses are overestimated, others underestimated, and the two even out…
In term of air losses, figures from the game and from Tracker are close.But ship losses are 50% higher in Tracker, which seems to use the “reported sunk” list to generate the total. This suggests that out of three ships reported sunk, one is still afloat.
The 200 point difference on the Allied total must result from base points, and unsupplied bases. The manual explains how VP for bases are lost because of supplies. Practically, a base without supplies has its VP quartered, a base at half rations has them at about 60%. 200 points missing would mean about 500 VP worth of bases at half rations, or 300 VP worth of bases almost completely unsupplied. That's quite a few bases...
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
As far as I know, FOW applies to the VP's. I have checked both sides in AI games and there are VERY different VP values reported on both sides. I assume this also applies to PBEM games.
Pax
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
February 17 and a half, 1942,
Let’s talk about the real thing : Victory Points
Hi Paxmondo,
Since there was no turn to play, I have been looking at intelligence screens yesterday, and I am a bit puzzled by what I observed.
There are three victory point totals in the game, plus one in Tracker.
On the intel screen, you have a total for each side on the bottom left of the screen. Then, on the right part of the screen (under SCORING) you have totals split into 5 components (base, air, ships, land, and strategic) for each side. If you sum up the components, you’ll notice they don’t match the bottom left ones.
For the air and ship totals, you have the air loss and ship sunk screens, which provide yet different totals (much higher for the ships, and sometimes quite inconsistent with later sightings). And, finally, you have Tracker, which provides air and ship losses consistent with the air loss/ship sunk screens (with slight difference in values, though), yet different base point estimates, and the bottom left totals.
My impression is that the bottom left totals are FOW-less. Those are used to determine victory (you can see that in small scenarios), and having FOW to determine victory could yield strange results (like both sides winning, or losing, at the same time, thanks to FOW), which might cause elderly wargamers armed with pitchforks to assemble on the front lawn of Matrix main office (or not, but I like the image anyway).
If you look at both player screens in an AI vs AI game (screenshot below, your mileage may vary with PBEM, but I doubt it), you can see
1- That the bottom left totals are identical
2- That all columns of the scoring are the same for both sides, except the sunk ship
3- That, supposing that each side has a correct knowledge of the ships they lost (which seems fair), enemy losses seem to be heavily underestimated, probably because ships sunk when trying to return to base are not take into account.
4- That the sum of the five components in the allies screen (Allied losses plus Japanese bases) yield the Japanese bottom left total, which suggest that, apart from ship sunk, the other figures are without FOW.
5- That this does not work for the Allied total in the Japanese screen (Japanese losses plus Allied bases), by about 200 VP, I have seen that in several games already
This suggests:
1- That scoring values might be FOW-less except for enemy ship sunk
2- But that, as the Japanese, you can know enemy ship sunk by difference
3- And that, as the allies, you could guess it, up to a few points, by assuming that 200VP discrepancy is more or less constant (it is not quite constant, though)
If this were correct, this would suggest allied ship point lost are about 915, a little higher than the 880 reported in the intel screen, but much lower than the 1200 Tracker boasts.
This also suggests that the intelligence screen is much more “intelligent” than we usually believe.
Let’s talk about the real thing : Victory Points
Hi Paxmondo,
Since there was no turn to play, I have been looking at intelligence screens yesterday, and I am a bit puzzled by what I observed.
There are three victory point totals in the game, plus one in Tracker.
On the intel screen, you have a total for each side on the bottom left of the screen. Then, on the right part of the screen (under SCORING) you have totals split into 5 components (base, air, ships, land, and strategic) for each side. If you sum up the components, you’ll notice they don’t match the bottom left ones.
For the air and ship totals, you have the air loss and ship sunk screens, which provide yet different totals (much higher for the ships, and sometimes quite inconsistent with later sightings). And, finally, you have Tracker, which provides air and ship losses consistent with the air loss/ship sunk screens (with slight difference in values, though), yet different base point estimates, and the bottom left totals.
My impression is that the bottom left totals are FOW-less. Those are used to determine victory (you can see that in small scenarios), and having FOW to determine victory could yield strange results (like both sides winning, or losing, at the same time, thanks to FOW), which might cause elderly wargamers armed with pitchforks to assemble on the front lawn of Matrix main office (or not, but I like the image anyway).
If you look at both player screens in an AI vs AI game (screenshot below, your mileage may vary with PBEM, but I doubt it), you can see
1- That the bottom left totals are identical
2- That all columns of the scoring are the same for both sides, except the sunk ship
3- That, supposing that each side has a correct knowledge of the ships they lost (which seems fair), enemy losses seem to be heavily underestimated, probably because ships sunk when trying to return to base are not take into account.
4- That the sum of the five components in the allies screen (Allied losses plus Japanese bases) yield the Japanese bottom left total, which suggest that, apart from ship sunk, the other figures are without FOW.
5- That this does not work for the Allied total in the Japanese screen (Japanese losses plus Allied bases), by about 200 VP, I have seen that in several games already
This suggests:
1- That scoring values might be FOW-less except for enemy ship sunk
2- But that, as the Japanese, you can know enemy ship sunk by difference
3- And that, as the allies, you could guess it, up to a few points, by assuming that 200VP discrepancy is more or less constant (it is not quite constant, though)
If this were correct, this would suggest allied ship point lost are about 915, a little higher than the 880 reported in the intel screen, but much lower than the 1200 Tracker boasts.
This also suggests that the intelligence screen is much more “intelligent” than we usually believe.
- Attachments
-
- VP.jpg (88.31 KiB) Viewed 390 times
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
fcharton,
I'm not sure that the aircraft always agree, but maybe they do. As you note, ship VP's are definitely part of the FOW.
I'm not sure that the aircraft always agree, but maybe they do. As you note, ship VP's are definitely part of the FOW.
Pax
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
February 18th, 1942
Why are generals stupid? Because they are chosen among colonels (Anatole France)
New Guinea pigs
Evil Imperial Headquarters launched operation Langueur, the New Guinea invasion, out of boredom. It turns out that the area was abandoned, so the pigs are rushing to the trough. Buna and Finschhafen fell today, Lae and other neighbouring bases are next…
As the main task force, bound for Port Moresby reached Woodlark Island, an enemy surface group was detected, moving in our direction. The amphibious forces were held back for a day, and KB rushed forward. If the enemy tries to be cute, he will see what pigs are capable of, when they are hungry and bored.
Elsewhere in the East Indies, a regiment landed in Denpasar. Vildebeests and Swordfishes flew from Surabaya, and succeeded in damaging a cargo ship, but no heavy damage was done. Further south, Lomblen and Waingapoe were captured.
In Palembang a deliberate attack achieved 1:1 odds, reduced forts, and destroyed 40 enemy squads for five Japanese. The enemy is sending unescorted bombers from Batavia, Oscars from Djambi are butchering them, the usual routine…
Surprise in South China
Since a small AVG contingent had been reappearing in Kukong, a squadron of Zeroes was sent there. Two enemy planes were shot down. I still don’t understand why the AVG is penny-packed this way. The enemy has only lost 32 planes (two third of those to ops, only 8 air to air), so it should still be a pretty strong force. Why they don’t get used is beyond me.
In Nanning, a Japanese regiment and a Vietnamese Militia unit crossed the river to the south, and shock attacked. I was a bit worried about this, but it turned fine. Forts were reduced and casualties were low. The enemy had a supply minus, which confirms that the situation is degrading.
I will push on in Nanning, another regiment is marching towards Liuchow, Kweilin would be a nice follow up, if the enemy does not try to stand there.
I don’t really have a plan in South China. I want to snatch a couple of bases, and resources, keep pressure there, but little will happen until Wenchow falls, and the three divisions fighting there move south. Then, Tuyun and Kweiyang might be tempting targets.
North China woes
East of Sian, Japanese AV overtook Chinese forces in the hex, and a first deliberate attack was launched. The results were pretty typical of closed terrain battles. Allied AV were probably adjusted up for terrain, and down for supply. We achieved 1:2 odds, and heavy casualties (disablements, mostly). More infantry is arriving tomorrow, which would put force ratio to 3:2. Then, I have a stack of artillery arriving a few days later, and a division, moving overland to cut retreat towards Sian the day after tomorrow (it seems that I’ve won this race. If this still proved unsufficient, 1500 AV from Taiyuan are ten days away.
Ground combat at 85,43 (near Nanyang)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 68515 troops, 637 guns, 337 vehicles, Assault Value = 2453
Defending force 69555 troops, 391 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2202
Japanese adjusted assault: 975
Allied adjusted defense: 2320
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
4015 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 292 disabled
Non Combat: 18 destroyed, 245 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Vehicles lost 81 (7 destroyed, 74 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
2947 casualties reported
Squads: 9 destroyed, 75 disabled
Non Combat: 11 destroyed, 214 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 19 disabled
In Yenan, a routine deliberate attack destroyed forty enemy combat squads (and disabled forty more, for none destroyed and thirty disabled)
Shifting submarines
Under the sea, the war is very calm again. My submarines seldom see or hit anything, and enemy subs get detected often, but seldom damaged. My opponent is apparently changing his strategy. There are now very few attacks on my convoys around Japan. Instead, subs seem to be prowling on the front lines, around Palembang, Balikpapan, Kendari and Tulagi.
I probably need to review my submarine strategy. In defense, I want to move more ASW resources to the front lines, and increase ASW patrols from aircrafts. In offense, I probably need to use my Glen equipped sub as advanced detectors, and better place the others. The sad fact is that, three months into the war, I have little of idea of the routes enemy convoys follow.
Why are generals stupid? Because they are chosen among colonels (Anatole France)
New Guinea pigs
Evil Imperial Headquarters launched operation Langueur, the New Guinea invasion, out of boredom. It turns out that the area was abandoned, so the pigs are rushing to the trough. Buna and Finschhafen fell today, Lae and other neighbouring bases are next…
As the main task force, bound for Port Moresby reached Woodlark Island, an enemy surface group was detected, moving in our direction. The amphibious forces were held back for a day, and KB rushed forward. If the enemy tries to be cute, he will see what pigs are capable of, when they are hungry and bored.
Elsewhere in the East Indies, a regiment landed in Denpasar. Vildebeests and Swordfishes flew from Surabaya, and succeeded in damaging a cargo ship, but no heavy damage was done. Further south, Lomblen and Waingapoe were captured.
In Palembang a deliberate attack achieved 1:1 odds, reduced forts, and destroyed 40 enemy squads for five Japanese. The enemy is sending unescorted bombers from Batavia, Oscars from Djambi are butchering them, the usual routine…
Surprise in South China
Since a small AVG contingent had been reappearing in Kukong, a squadron of Zeroes was sent there. Two enemy planes were shot down. I still don’t understand why the AVG is penny-packed this way. The enemy has only lost 32 planes (two third of those to ops, only 8 air to air), so it should still be a pretty strong force. Why they don’t get used is beyond me.
In Nanning, a Japanese regiment and a Vietnamese Militia unit crossed the river to the south, and shock attacked. I was a bit worried about this, but it turned fine. Forts were reduced and casualties were low. The enemy had a supply minus, which confirms that the situation is degrading.
I will push on in Nanning, another regiment is marching towards Liuchow, Kweilin would be a nice follow up, if the enemy does not try to stand there.
I don’t really have a plan in South China. I want to snatch a couple of bases, and resources, keep pressure there, but little will happen until Wenchow falls, and the three divisions fighting there move south. Then, Tuyun and Kweiyang might be tempting targets.
North China woes
East of Sian, Japanese AV overtook Chinese forces in the hex, and a first deliberate attack was launched. The results were pretty typical of closed terrain battles. Allied AV were probably adjusted up for terrain, and down for supply. We achieved 1:2 odds, and heavy casualties (disablements, mostly). More infantry is arriving tomorrow, which would put force ratio to 3:2. Then, I have a stack of artillery arriving a few days later, and a division, moving overland to cut retreat towards Sian the day after tomorrow (it seems that I’ve won this race. If this still proved unsufficient, 1500 AV from Taiyuan are ten days away.
Ground combat at 85,43 (near Nanyang)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 68515 troops, 637 guns, 337 vehicles, Assault Value = 2453
Defending force 69555 troops, 391 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2202
Japanese adjusted assault: 975
Allied adjusted defense: 2320
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
4015 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 292 disabled
Non Combat: 18 destroyed, 245 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Vehicles lost 81 (7 destroyed, 74 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
2947 casualties reported
Squads: 9 destroyed, 75 disabled
Non Combat: 11 destroyed, 214 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 19 disabled
In Yenan, a routine deliberate attack destroyed forty enemy combat squads (and disabled forty more, for none destroyed and thirty disabled)
Shifting submarines
Under the sea, the war is very calm again. My submarines seldom see or hit anything, and enemy subs get detected often, but seldom damaged. My opponent is apparently changing his strategy. There are now very few attacks on my convoys around Japan. Instead, subs seem to be prowling on the front lines, around Palembang, Balikpapan, Kendari and Tulagi.
I probably need to review my submarine strategy. In defense, I want to move more ASW resources to the front lines, and increase ASW patrols from aircrafts. In offense, I probably need to use my Glen equipped sub as advanced detectors, and better place the others. The sad fact is that, three months into the war, I have little of idea of the routes enemy convoys follow.
-
SqzMyLemon
- Posts: 4239
- Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
- Location: Alberta, Canada
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
ORIGINAL: fcharton
I don’t really have a plan in South China. I want to snatch a couple of bases, and resources, keep pressure there, but little will happen until Wenchow falls, and the three divisions fighting there move south. Then, Tuyun and Kweiyang might be tempting targets.
Under the sea, the war is very calm again. My submarines seldom see or hit anything, and enemy subs get detected often, but seldom damaged. My opponent is apparently changing his strategy. There are now very few attacks on my convoys around Japan. Instead, subs seem to be prowling on the front lines, around Palembang, Balikpapan, Kendari and Tulagi.
I probably need to review my submarine strategy. In defense, I want to move more ASW resources to the front lines, and increase ASW patrols from aircrafts. In offense, I probably need to use my Glen equipped sub as advanced detectors, and better place the others. The sad fact is that, three months into the war, I have little of idea of the routes enemy convoys follow.
I've encountered the same submarine frustrations for the majority of my AAR as well. Not sure where the transport routes are, even when I find something I'm easily shaken off by weak escorts and often target escorts over transport ships if my subs even launch an attack at all. Japanese ASW effectiveness seems to fluctuate wildy from game to game. I do the same things in one game that are successful, while in another game doing the same thing results in nothing but frustration. I fear it's a simple matter of escorts, if the Allies escort their TF's with even the weakest ASW assets the effectiveness of Japanese subs seems to really decline. I read other AAR's and can only envy how effective many of the Japanese submarines are in those matchups compared to mine.
All you can do is persevere, escort your TF's, aggressively set up your air and naval ASW and hopefully you'll get the "rolls" for successful attacks. Decide on whether you want to locate the enemy convoy routes or use your subs in a more tactical role supporting your naval operations. I reached the point where this aspect of the game means nothing to me. I do my best to put my forces in the right position and that's it...the rest isn't up to me and so far my efforts have not been rewarded. This aspect of the game is quite frankly dead to me, which is too bad, as I really like submarine operations.
I think the key to China is mobility and a determined single thrust that can overcome any defence. Once the Chinese can mass in strong fortified bases or terrain it becomes a slugfest. More often than not the Japanese forces will prevail, but the cost will be heavy. You've already noted that supply is China's weakness so exploit it for all you can. Disrupt the sources of supply, keep the Chinese moving and taking losses so they are always using up supply and can't mass. I think a northern or central thrust is the key to taking China against a competent Allied player. Once you get near Tuyun, Kweiyang and area the terrain and the compactness of so many Chinese units make the South a far tougher route to Chungking.
I'm really enjoying your AAR. I too hope to play the Allies one day and see how I'd fair defending China. [:D]
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
Hi SqzMyLemon,
Frustration, that’s the word I was looking for… Happens all the time, because my subs don’t sink enemy ships, because ops losses won’t go down, because I didn’t bring enough in Singapore, and lost a month in the process, because Palembang won’t fall, because Wenchow is still supplied, because yet another week was lost, because I forgot to double check some move order, because I’m too lazy to do the right thing, and properly reorganize my convoys, because…
One day turns make it even worse. We want things to happen every day, even though this is not reasonable. I suspect this is the heart of problem with the Silent Service. My subs do kill a few enemy ships, not every day, but they do, and for no damage in return (the only sub I lost was to a mine, when I stupidly sent her through a chokepoint). Perhaps this is a worthwhile goal.
For Japanese players, added pressure comes from the idea that “every day counts”, and that we need to rush, lest we “fall behind schedule”. I call it the “home before the leaves fall syndrome”. In history, this frequently happened, but only resulted in bloody battles, delays, and sometimes defeats. Japan needs to act, and be aggressive, that’s for sure, but mistaking speed for precipitation is a recipe for disaster.
Besides, if we look at the victory conditions, ie what the game system asks from us, we can see that the best way to keep decent point ratios, and prevent early Allied autovictory, is to play conservatively, and avoid unnecessary losses. Trading planes, or ships, at 1 for 1 is not enough. In other words, maybe a good Japanese player is, in fact, a prudent one, and not the rash “banzai” types we’re accustomed to, who will conquer themselves white.
Would this doom Japan by allowing earlier Allied reconquest? I don’t think so. So long the IJN is intact, allied amphibious operations become chancy affairs. The less planes you lose, the more you have to upgrade (your Nates, your Claudes, etc…), and the more you can have waiting on the shores. The less you go raiding to sink three merchies (yeah, like the Allies are short of those), the less dependent you are on fuel. Perhaps we need to accept that in the Pacific our mission as JFB is to defend, and that we should only attack and grab territory so that we can better defend them later...
But I’m rambling, sorry about that…
Re China, maneuver is important because, despite what we often are told, Japan is not that strong and the Chinese are not that weak. But maneuver is not an end, but a means to an end. In my opinion, China is a war of annihilation: you want to conquer the whole place (it is probably doable, see Fletcher’s AAR, he was very close, I think), and destroy most of the enemy forces, which means a lot of base points, and unit points (I believe China might allow for autovictory, if you get both the bases and the units, and avoid losses elsewhere). But the Chinese have lots of troops, and direct confrontation will not work, hence maneuver.
Allowing the Chinese to mass in defensive terrain is both a blessing and a curse. Those big Chinese stacks are difficult to fight, but they also are unsustainable. This is what I am trying to prove in Wenchow and in Sian… We’ll know soon enough.
Finally, South China strikes me as a target of opportunity. There are quite a bit of resource production there, and gaining ground there might be a good idea. My plan (still in the making) is to try to gnaw small bases, and create a number of salients (in Kukong, Nanning, but also in Tuyun, once the rail line is cut in Liuchow) which force the enemy to either reinforce, and split his forces, or evacuate.
February 19th, 1942
Meet Mister Butai
In the Coral Sea, off Woodlark Island, an enemy task force was going a-raiding. I suspect they were trying to catch my invasion transports to Lae. They met KB, instead, and had a lively but brief exchange with its screen.
The enemy had brought three Dutch destroyers. Van Ghent and Piet Hien are sunk, Kortenaer is on fire, with three hits. She might make it back; but it is a close call. The Port Moresby invasion force, held back in case this was a larger task force (the Kiwi cruisers that made a port call in Tulagi a week ago, say), is resuming its move, and should be on target in two days.
Petit Lapin (KB’s real name in this timeline) is now sailing northwards, will wait off Buna to support the invasion, and then will return to Truk to refuel. Since I have not been using my carriers a lot, I did not need their oilers, and somehow have misplaced them. I have to find them back and send them to Truk (and I’ll probably get the general in charge of this blunder court-martialed, hung, quartered, demoted and sent to garrison duty in western China)
Japan on the move
The only battle, today, was a shock attack over a river on the road to Ankang. The 17th division fought three Chinese corps, into an inconclusive draw. A second division (the 9th) is marching to the sound of the guns. The long term goal is to push towards Ankang and cut the road link between the Sichuan Basin and northern China.
I believe the enemy has about half his forces between Sian and Lanchow. At some point in the future, a very large battle will happen there, where the fate of China will be decided. Since this theater is short on resources, I want to isolate it first. Right now, far western resources don't flow, I will soon be in Lanchow and cut the flow there too, the road from Sichuan is the third lifeline.
East of Sian, 3000 AV will attack tomorrow, and see where the enemy stands. The 41st infantry division, who has been marching overland to cut enemy retreat towards Sian shall arrive soon. Apparently, attacking my troops ten days ago cost the enemy this hexside (all their infantry attacked, and those who continued marching were probably HQ and Engineers, which travel much slower).
This means the 2200 AV in the eastern pocket, between one quarter and one third of the forces around Sian, and almost 15% of Chinese forces, are doomed.
In Yenan, a bombardment attack managed to destroy one enemy unit. This is the first time I see this happen. It says a lot about the situation of the defenders.
In Wenchow, the pocket is closing on the defenders. I don’t want to rush: the besieged city produces no supplies, and I only have 1300 AV there, against 1500 enemies. About 650 AV are on their way, and should arrive in a week or so. By then, supplies will be lower.
Lots of attacks are scheduled for tomorrow. Stay with me, reader!
Frustration, that’s the word I was looking for… Happens all the time, because my subs don’t sink enemy ships, because ops losses won’t go down, because I didn’t bring enough in Singapore, and lost a month in the process, because Palembang won’t fall, because Wenchow is still supplied, because yet another week was lost, because I forgot to double check some move order, because I’m too lazy to do the right thing, and properly reorganize my convoys, because…
One day turns make it even worse. We want things to happen every day, even though this is not reasonable. I suspect this is the heart of problem with the Silent Service. My subs do kill a few enemy ships, not every day, but they do, and for no damage in return (the only sub I lost was to a mine, when I stupidly sent her through a chokepoint). Perhaps this is a worthwhile goal.
For Japanese players, added pressure comes from the idea that “every day counts”, and that we need to rush, lest we “fall behind schedule”. I call it the “home before the leaves fall syndrome”. In history, this frequently happened, but only resulted in bloody battles, delays, and sometimes defeats. Japan needs to act, and be aggressive, that’s for sure, but mistaking speed for precipitation is a recipe for disaster.
Besides, if we look at the victory conditions, ie what the game system asks from us, we can see that the best way to keep decent point ratios, and prevent early Allied autovictory, is to play conservatively, and avoid unnecessary losses. Trading planes, or ships, at 1 for 1 is not enough. In other words, maybe a good Japanese player is, in fact, a prudent one, and not the rash “banzai” types we’re accustomed to, who will conquer themselves white.
Would this doom Japan by allowing earlier Allied reconquest? I don’t think so. So long the IJN is intact, allied amphibious operations become chancy affairs. The less planes you lose, the more you have to upgrade (your Nates, your Claudes, etc…), and the more you can have waiting on the shores. The less you go raiding to sink three merchies (yeah, like the Allies are short of those), the less dependent you are on fuel. Perhaps we need to accept that in the Pacific our mission as JFB is to defend, and that we should only attack and grab territory so that we can better defend them later...
But I’m rambling, sorry about that…
Re China, maneuver is important because, despite what we often are told, Japan is not that strong and the Chinese are not that weak. But maneuver is not an end, but a means to an end. In my opinion, China is a war of annihilation: you want to conquer the whole place (it is probably doable, see Fletcher’s AAR, he was very close, I think), and destroy most of the enemy forces, which means a lot of base points, and unit points (I believe China might allow for autovictory, if you get both the bases and the units, and avoid losses elsewhere). But the Chinese have lots of troops, and direct confrontation will not work, hence maneuver.
Allowing the Chinese to mass in defensive terrain is both a blessing and a curse. Those big Chinese stacks are difficult to fight, but they also are unsustainable. This is what I am trying to prove in Wenchow and in Sian… We’ll know soon enough.
Finally, South China strikes me as a target of opportunity. There are quite a bit of resource production there, and gaining ground there might be a good idea. My plan (still in the making) is to try to gnaw small bases, and create a number of salients (in Kukong, Nanning, but also in Tuyun, once the rail line is cut in Liuchow) which force the enemy to either reinforce, and split his forces, or evacuate.
February 19th, 1942
Meet Mister Butai
In the Coral Sea, off Woodlark Island, an enemy task force was going a-raiding. I suspect they were trying to catch my invasion transports to Lae. They met KB, instead, and had a lively but brief exchange with its screen.
The enemy had brought three Dutch destroyers. Van Ghent and Piet Hien are sunk, Kortenaer is on fire, with three hits. She might make it back; but it is a close call. The Port Moresby invasion force, held back in case this was a larger task force (the Kiwi cruisers that made a port call in Tulagi a week ago, say), is resuming its move, and should be on target in two days.
Petit Lapin (KB’s real name in this timeline) is now sailing northwards, will wait off Buna to support the invasion, and then will return to Truk to refuel. Since I have not been using my carriers a lot, I did not need their oilers, and somehow have misplaced them. I have to find them back and send them to Truk (and I’ll probably get the general in charge of this blunder court-martialed, hung, quartered, demoted and sent to garrison duty in western China)
Japan on the move
The only battle, today, was a shock attack over a river on the road to Ankang. The 17th division fought three Chinese corps, into an inconclusive draw. A second division (the 9th) is marching to the sound of the guns. The long term goal is to push towards Ankang and cut the road link between the Sichuan Basin and northern China.
I believe the enemy has about half his forces between Sian and Lanchow. At some point in the future, a very large battle will happen there, where the fate of China will be decided. Since this theater is short on resources, I want to isolate it first. Right now, far western resources don't flow, I will soon be in Lanchow and cut the flow there too, the road from Sichuan is the third lifeline.
East of Sian, 3000 AV will attack tomorrow, and see where the enemy stands. The 41st infantry division, who has been marching overland to cut enemy retreat towards Sian shall arrive soon. Apparently, attacking my troops ten days ago cost the enemy this hexside (all their infantry attacked, and those who continued marching were probably HQ and Engineers, which travel much slower).
This means the 2200 AV in the eastern pocket, between one quarter and one third of the forces around Sian, and almost 15% of Chinese forces, are doomed.
In Yenan, a bombardment attack managed to destroy one enemy unit. This is the first time I see this happen. It says a lot about the situation of the defenders.
In Wenchow, the pocket is closing on the defenders. I don’t want to rush: the besieged city produces no supplies, and I only have 1300 AV there, against 1500 enemies. About 650 AV are on their way, and should arrive in a week or so. By then, supplies will be lower.
Lots of attacks are scheduled for tomorrow. Stay with me, reader!
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
I have a turn to process and play, the enemy is waiting, but the weather here is just too nice to pass. I’m posting this, and then will go out boating, water the strawberries, maybe even play croquet with the girls, and forget Palembang, Sian and all those forlorn places for a while.
With such armchair generals, who prefer deck chairs and canoes to the smell of cordite at dusk in the jungle, Japan is doomed indeed!
February 20th, 1942
Holidays in the East Indies
No other enemy surface forces have been sighted today (save that poor Dutch cruiser rowing back to Cairns). The Port Moresby invasion force ran the sub gauntlet off Milne Bay, and is now proceeding towards its destination. I shall be there tomorrow.
In Denpasar a deliberate attack eliminated the four enemy units defending the base. The force mix was interesting. Apart from the local garrison, there was a British HQ (ABDA), a RN base force, and a fragment from an Australian Brigade, all from Singapore. It seems the enemy tried to evacuate Malaya at the beginning of the game.
Anyway, I’m there, and will probably proceed and establish a beachhead in southern Java. A base force will be sent to Denpasar, which looks like a nice place to base planes…
In Palembang, it was business as usual. A deliberate attack destroyed a little more enemies than friendlies, disruption and fatigue are high, so I need to rest. I should not have rushed all this.
Paddling on the Yellow River
Near Sian, my forces reached 3000 AV today, and launched their second attack. Casualties were better (squadwise, we’re about 1:1, which favors me in terms of force ratio), but the enemy is still far from crumbling. The 41st has arrived, and closed another hexside. It seems like the enemy is cornered, here.
Japanese ground losses:
3838 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 192 disabled
Non Combat: 9 destroyed, 220 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 21 disabled
Vehicles lost 22 (7 destroyed, 15 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
2819 casualties reported
Squads: 21 destroyed, 218 disabled
Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 199 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
I have a big stack of artillery arriving tomorrow, and then more infantry in a week. I will bombard first…
In Yenan, another deliberate attack brought 1:1 odds, and destroyed a couple of squads. Enemy raw AV are in the 300s, adjusted around 200.
Further west, I shall cross the river to Lanchow tomorrow. Wish me luck, reader, this will probably be bloody…
Even further, we’re halfway to Urumchi, will let you know when we get there…
Horror in Nanchang
On such a nice sunny day, the IJA could have spent some time canoeing on the Yantze, off Nanchang. But they wouldn’t, those darn war criminals. Instead they crossed the river and attacked poor 78th Chinese corps, which was sunbathing in open terrain.
Japanese ground losses:
420 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 43 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 42 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Allied ground losses:
2037 casualties reported
Squads: 74 destroyed, 12 disabled
Non Combat: 81 destroyed, 22 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled
Units retreated 2
Come VDay and the trials, the general commanding the 40th Division will have to answer for this...
That's about it for today, dear reader (and I want to go canoeing!)
With such armchair generals, who prefer deck chairs and canoes to the smell of cordite at dusk in the jungle, Japan is doomed indeed!
February 20th, 1942
Holidays in the East Indies
No other enemy surface forces have been sighted today (save that poor Dutch cruiser rowing back to Cairns). The Port Moresby invasion force ran the sub gauntlet off Milne Bay, and is now proceeding towards its destination. I shall be there tomorrow.
In Denpasar a deliberate attack eliminated the four enemy units defending the base. The force mix was interesting. Apart from the local garrison, there was a British HQ (ABDA), a RN base force, and a fragment from an Australian Brigade, all from Singapore. It seems the enemy tried to evacuate Malaya at the beginning of the game.
Anyway, I’m there, and will probably proceed and establish a beachhead in southern Java. A base force will be sent to Denpasar, which looks like a nice place to base planes…
In Palembang, it was business as usual. A deliberate attack destroyed a little more enemies than friendlies, disruption and fatigue are high, so I need to rest. I should not have rushed all this.
Paddling on the Yellow River
Near Sian, my forces reached 3000 AV today, and launched their second attack. Casualties were better (squadwise, we’re about 1:1, which favors me in terms of force ratio), but the enemy is still far from crumbling. The 41st has arrived, and closed another hexside. It seems like the enemy is cornered, here.
Japanese ground losses:
3838 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 192 disabled
Non Combat: 9 destroyed, 220 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 21 disabled
Vehicles lost 22 (7 destroyed, 15 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
2819 casualties reported
Squads: 21 destroyed, 218 disabled
Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 199 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
I have a big stack of artillery arriving tomorrow, and then more infantry in a week. I will bombard first…
In Yenan, another deliberate attack brought 1:1 odds, and destroyed a couple of squads. Enemy raw AV are in the 300s, adjusted around 200.
Further west, I shall cross the river to Lanchow tomorrow. Wish me luck, reader, this will probably be bloody…
Even further, we’re halfway to Urumchi, will let you know when we get there…
Horror in Nanchang
On such a nice sunny day, the IJA could have spent some time canoeing on the Yantze, off Nanchang. But they wouldn’t, those darn war criminals. Instead they crossed the river and attacked poor 78th Chinese corps, which was sunbathing in open terrain.
Japanese ground losses:
420 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 43 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 42 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Allied ground losses:
2037 casualties reported
Squads: 74 destroyed, 12 disabled
Non Combat: 81 destroyed, 22 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled
Units retreated 2
Come VDay and the trials, the general commanding the 40th Division will have to answer for this...
That's about it for today, dear reader (and I want to go canoeing!)
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
February 21st, 1942
Idiots dare everything. As a matter of fact, that’s how you tell them apart. (Michel Audiard)
To see Collier Quay and Raffles place, the Esplanade, and all of us…
That’s ok if you don’t get this title, gaijin. It is just a marching song we sing here in Singapore, around the campfires, to the sound of banjoleles, and while roasting marshmallows on fixed bayonets.
We’re almost there.3300 AV are in Singapore, disruption is reduced, fatigue is correct. One more day for the last divisions in strategic move to revert to normal, perhaps another more to allow supply to follow, and we attack. Hope it works, this time…
There is an interesting lesson to this. There is no point coming to Singapore (or any strong point) with barely enough. Get everyone, have 3000 AV, 4000 if you can manage, you’ll save time. Unsufficient forces will not harm you, note, but they'll take forever. This suggests a "sequence approach" to the DEI...
Elsewhere in the East Indies, the 144th regiment landed safely in Port Moresby. I will probably wait a day or two, to let disruption fall, before I attack. On Timor, Roti was captured.
In Malaybalay, another deliberate attack failed to deliver damage. My troops are exhausted, I am diverting an infantry group earmarked for Java (which was in the area) to try to finish the stack off.
That fateful river crossing
Two infantry divisions and two tank regiments crossed the Yellow river, in Lanchow. They faced equivalent numbers behind level three forts, and the shock attack was quite bloody.
Japanese ground losses:
8146 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 370 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 420 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 26 disabled
Vehicles lost 61 (3 destroyed, 58 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
1257 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 78 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 81 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Most of the losses are disablements, and, as often in river crossing, one division took most of the damage (went down from 450 AV to 110!) Disruption is very high, and this will take a while to recover, but we’re in.
The enemy might try a counterattack tomorrow. This would be typical of my opponent. I very much doubt it can succeed: they have roughly equivalent numbers, less trained, and terrain is good…
I will wait a few days to let disruption fall down. Then the armor regiments will retreat one hex, to prevent enemy maneuvers. After that, little will happen until Sian falls, but enemy supply situation will be slightly more complicated.
Better news from China
In Yenan, another deliberate attack went fine, allied adjusted AV are down to 170, 50 squads are destroyed, 150 disabled, against light Japanese losses. I am bombarding tomorrow, and attacking again the day after.
Near Sian, the big artillery stack has arrived. A first bombardment (without them) caused more than 300 casualties today. We will know tomorrow how much can be achieved by artillery concentrations. Enemy raw AV is now at 1860, down 15% from 2200 three days ago, this is beginning to look nice.
Reinforcements from Taiyuan are now in Loyang, they’ll probably arrive just in time for the kill. Then, the 4500+ AV will proceed towards Sian.
I am still undecided whether I want to defeat the troops in the woods west of Sian, or move north, cross the river, and attack Sian across the Wei. This would cost a couple of days and one shock attack, but it would save the preliminary battle in closed terrain.
Idiots dare everything. As a matter of fact, that’s how you tell them apart. (Michel Audiard)
To see Collier Quay and Raffles place, the Esplanade, and all of us…
That’s ok if you don’t get this title, gaijin. It is just a marching song we sing here in Singapore, around the campfires, to the sound of banjoleles, and while roasting marshmallows on fixed bayonets.
We’re almost there.3300 AV are in Singapore, disruption is reduced, fatigue is correct. One more day for the last divisions in strategic move to revert to normal, perhaps another more to allow supply to follow, and we attack. Hope it works, this time…
There is an interesting lesson to this. There is no point coming to Singapore (or any strong point) with barely enough. Get everyone, have 3000 AV, 4000 if you can manage, you’ll save time. Unsufficient forces will not harm you, note, but they'll take forever. This suggests a "sequence approach" to the DEI...
Elsewhere in the East Indies, the 144th regiment landed safely in Port Moresby. I will probably wait a day or two, to let disruption fall, before I attack. On Timor, Roti was captured.
In Malaybalay, another deliberate attack failed to deliver damage. My troops are exhausted, I am diverting an infantry group earmarked for Java (which was in the area) to try to finish the stack off.
That fateful river crossing
Two infantry divisions and two tank regiments crossed the Yellow river, in Lanchow. They faced equivalent numbers behind level three forts, and the shock attack was quite bloody.
Japanese ground losses:
8146 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 370 disabled
Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 420 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 26 disabled
Vehicles lost 61 (3 destroyed, 58 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
1257 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 78 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 81 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Most of the losses are disablements, and, as often in river crossing, one division took most of the damage (went down from 450 AV to 110!) Disruption is very high, and this will take a while to recover, but we’re in.
The enemy might try a counterattack tomorrow. This would be typical of my opponent. I very much doubt it can succeed: they have roughly equivalent numbers, less trained, and terrain is good…
I will wait a few days to let disruption fall down. Then the armor regiments will retreat one hex, to prevent enemy maneuvers. After that, little will happen until Sian falls, but enemy supply situation will be slightly more complicated.
Better news from China
In Yenan, another deliberate attack went fine, allied adjusted AV are down to 170, 50 squads are destroyed, 150 disabled, against light Japanese losses. I am bombarding tomorrow, and attacking again the day after.
Near Sian, the big artillery stack has arrived. A first bombardment (without them) caused more than 300 casualties today. We will know tomorrow how much can be achieved by artillery concentrations. Enemy raw AV is now at 1860, down 15% from 2200 three days ago, this is beginning to look nice.
Reinforcements from Taiyuan are now in Loyang, they’ll probably arrive just in time for the kill. Then, the 4500+ AV will proceed towards Sian.
I am still undecided whether I want to defeat the troops in the woods west of Sian, or move north, cross the river, and attack Sian across the Wei. This would cost a couple of days and one shock attack, but it would save the preliminary battle in closed terrain.
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
February 22nd and 23rd, 1942
In the beginning, is a rabbit
We know that, behind, comes a big grey wolf
But this theater must have an exit
It is early
We can still wait
And see
Something crazy might happen
A tank might rush across the stage
And then the big grey wolf is here
We decide to leave
But the beginning is no more
There no rabbit anymore
The only way out is through the wolf
(Yu Jian)
I am procrastinating, waiting for supplies to arrive, for odds to improve, for the next deliberate attack. I keep postponing work on aircraft production and ship conversion. I know I need to ship garrisons and build bases, in the Kuriles and other exposed corners of my empire, yet…
This is probably the most difficult aspect of the game : keeping focused, and concentrated on all those little things that need attention, time and again, instead of just rushing turns.
Clueless in the East Indies
My troops in Singapore are not yet in supply. I am waiting… It is fine: the enemy won’t go, and won’t grow new forces either.
In Palembang, I am attacking every other day, trading destroyed enemy squads for disablement and fatigue, and keeping the forts to zero. The enemy still seems to reinforce from the air: a new fragment appeared today. This does not strike me as a good idea. Air transport is unsufficient to tilt the balance, it will probably not destroy the oilfields more (they are most certainly utterly trashed, anyway), and it weakens Java.
Speaking of which, the infantry regiment that took Denpasar and a tank regiment from the Celebes are now embarking for Banjoewangi, at the eastern tip of Java.
The more I look at the East Indies, the more I believe I am totally clueless about this campaign. Apart from the obvious ‘take everything, avoid enemy raiders, and try to grab the oil’, I do not have, nor have felt the need for, a detailed plan. Since the beginning, it is an opportunistic campaign
I believe this is a direct result of the fact that in this area, the Allies have most of the initiative. Whereas they probably cannot hold the SRA throughout 1942, they can make life difficult for a careless Japanese player. Invasion forces can be sunk, defensive forces can be kept for a while, roadblocks can slow advances. But they can’t defend everything, and each Japanese advance makes further defense more difficult.
In this theater, a good Japanese player should probably try to keep his options open for as long as possible (early or late Celebes? What order for Java and Sumatra?), and try to understand first the Allied strategy.
Which means Allied strategy in this area should be based on deception.
This stresses one point I believe is true, although somewhat paradoxical. Being on the offensive, and enjoying superiority, does not necessarily mean you must have the initiative, and be the active player. In situations like this one, where the defender are thin, and must cover a lot of ground, it is wiser to let the defender take the initiative, and react. Early offensive moves are then a way to force the enemy to act, and choose a defense.
I believe Malaya is a case in point. Unless you go for an early invasion of Mersing, the Allies will choose the battle grounds, and whether they want to defend forward, just pack into Singapore, or even try to evacuate their troops, will have a large effect on Japanese commitment.
In this game, Japan probably did a decent job at being opportunistic in Borneo and the Celebes, but badly botched the job in Malaya and Sumatra. In Singapore, I failed to understand the consequences of the fortress Singapore strategy, and the need to deploy larger forces. In Palembang, acting too early and letting the situation drag on allowed my opponent to react, reinforce, and make the situation drag even longer.
I will most certainly start a new game at some point in the future (next summer perhaps), to try to apply all those ideas. A fun side of it will be that my opponent will probably have read this…
Langueur
The invasion of New Guinea is right on tracks. Lae fell on the 23th. A first deliberate attack on Port Moresby reduced the forts from three to two, achieving 1:1 odds. Interestingly, I don’t really need more troops there, but I need base forces and engineers, to build those bases.
I have decided not to push South of Guadalcanal. Horn Island will be taken, and probably a few Australian bases as well, just to make reconquest complicated, but I am clearly going for a historical perimeter, plus Port Moresby.
Once New Guinea is conquered, northern Australia is the next target. It might have to wait until I am firmly in Java, though.
South China, too good to be true
In Nanning, a second deliberate attack did not succeed. The enemy has roughly the same strength as me. I will go on attacking but another Vietnamese militia has been ordered to march.
Curiously, Liuchow, a more important base because it lies on the railroad and produces resources, was much less defended. A first attack by an infantry regiment reduced the forts, I expect it to fall very soon. This would be a good thing as it would isolate Nanning, and the cut the railroad between Changsha and Tuyun.
Of course, I don’t have much strength in the area, and the enemy could very well reinforce the place. To prevent this, I am mounting small offensives towards Changsha. One division from Nanchang is moving west, chasing two defeated Chinese corps. Another small column has left Kanhsien and is marching west towards a Chinese corps defending a river crossing. I have been sending lots of reconnaissance over Changsha and the neighbouring bases.
My goal is to press my opponent in Changsha, thus preventing counterattacks in the South.
The situation is Wenchow is unchanged. I still have 1400 AV, against 1600 enemies. A division and a brigade are two days away, and the pocket is being reduced to one or two hexes. I believe there is a strong probability it will fall in early March. This will free three divisions that can be used in Central and Southern China.
Victory in the (North)West
The big headline today is the fall of Yenan. Combat odds and outcomes had slowly gotten better in recent days. A deliberate attack did the job.
Ground combat at Yenan (88,37)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 25356 troops, 285 guns, 137 vehicles, Assault Value = 639
Defending force 17511 troops, 183 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 325
Japanese adjusted assault: 475
Allied adjusted defense: 139
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Yenan !!!
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
292 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 25 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 35 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Vehicles lost 9 (2 destroyed, 7 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
6674 casualties reported
Squads: 238 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 365 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 113 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 17 (17 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 10
No enemy units were destroyed, but the number of squads eliminated suggests the ten retreated units are in very bad shape. I will try to pursue for a while, since they will probably be moving towards Sian, which is where I am going too…
Overall, the siege of Yenan last a month, two division-equivalents were committed, a relatively small force. Together with the current siege of Lanchow, this secures my lines of communications to western China.
In the far west, a tank regiment will arrive in Urumchi tomorrow. No enemies are in sight. This is strange, since Urumchi is the last base in the region that produces supplies. Without it, units in Wasu and Kashgar are doomed. Or has the enemy evacuated all his troops from the West?
In Lanchow, the enemy has been bombarding. I am happy with this : it burns supplies.
East of Sian, bombardments destroy five to ten squads a day, and disable twenty more. Air attacks do a little more damage, and probably keep disruption levels high. I am trying another deliberate attack tomorrow, just to see. I can’t really judge whether this stack will collapse in a matter of days, like the one in Taiyuan, or hold for several weeks. Waiting is fine, so long I don’t lose troops in the process : every day in Northern China probably makes the supply situation in Sian and Lanchow a little worse, and my task there a little easier.
On the road to Ankang, my division is fighting equivalent numbers in closed terrain: stalemate again. Reinforcements should arrive in ten days. I don’t know whether a second division will be able to drive the enemy away (especially since my opponent could reinforce the hex), but this certainly protect the southern approaches to Sian.
I am very happy with Northern China. The fall of Yenan seals Japanese control over the northwest, and freeing all troops there but garrisons and support. Concentration for the battle of Sian is progressing nicely.
I probably need to send engineers now, to build bases, airfield, and create a good victory point capital in the North (Chinese bases have good VP multipliers). Since I will most certainly retain control over this area until very late in the game, those points are probably my best long term insurance against Allied autovictory.
Victory points reached parity, today. We both have a little less than 9000 points. Allied total is mostly made of base points (7700 out of 9000), whereas Japanese total is half base points, a quarter ground losses, and the rest more or less evenly split between naval and air losses.
This is before the fall of Singapore, which will cause the loss of about 2000 points for the allies (and a significant number of ground losses). I believe a 2:1 VP ratio (allies around 7000 and Japan around 14000) would be a worthwhile goal for April 1942.
I realize it has been a while since I last posted a map. I will add one in the next installment.
In the beginning, is a rabbit
We know that, behind, comes a big grey wolf
But this theater must have an exit
It is early
We can still wait
And see
Something crazy might happen
A tank might rush across the stage
And then the big grey wolf is here
We decide to leave
But the beginning is no more
There no rabbit anymore
The only way out is through the wolf
(Yu Jian)
I am procrastinating, waiting for supplies to arrive, for odds to improve, for the next deliberate attack. I keep postponing work on aircraft production and ship conversion. I know I need to ship garrisons and build bases, in the Kuriles and other exposed corners of my empire, yet…
This is probably the most difficult aspect of the game : keeping focused, and concentrated on all those little things that need attention, time and again, instead of just rushing turns.
Clueless in the East Indies
My troops in Singapore are not yet in supply. I am waiting… It is fine: the enemy won’t go, and won’t grow new forces either.
In Palembang, I am attacking every other day, trading destroyed enemy squads for disablement and fatigue, and keeping the forts to zero. The enemy still seems to reinforce from the air: a new fragment appeared today. This does not strike me as a good idea. Air transport is unsufficient to tilt the balance, it will probably not destroy the oilfields more (they are most certainly utterly trashed, anyway), and it weakens Java.
Speaking of which, the infantry regiment that took Denpasar and a tank regiment from the Celebes are now embarking for Banjoewangi, at the eastern tip of Java.
The more I look at the East Indies, the more I believe I am totally clueless about this campaign. Apart from the obvious ‘take everything, avoid enemy raiders, and try to grab the oil’, I do not have, nor have felt the need for, a detailed plan. Since the beginning, it is an opportunistic campaign
I believe this is a direct result of the fact that in this area, the Allies have most of the initiative. Whereas they probably cannot hold the SRA throughout 1942, they can make life difficult for a careless Japanese player. Invasion forces can be sunk, defensive forces can be kept for a while, roadblocks can slow advances. But they can’t defend everything, and each Japanese advance makes further defense more difficult.
In this theater, a good Japanese player should probably try to keep his options open for as long as possible (early or late Celebes? What order for Java and Sumatra?), and try to understand first the Allied strategy.
Which means Allied strategy in this area should be based on deception.
This stresses one point I believe is true, although somewhat paradoxical. Being on the offensive, and enjoying superiority, does not necessarily mean you must have the initiative, and be the active player. In situations like this one, where the defender are thin, and must cover a lot of ground, it is wiser to let the defender take the initiative, and react. Early offensive moves are then a way to force the enemy to act, and choose a defense.
I believe Malaya is a case in point. Unless you go for an early invasion of Mersing, the Allies will choose the battle grounds, and whether they want to defend forward, just pack into Singapore, or even try to evacuate their troops, will have a large effect on Japanese commitment.
In this game, Japan probably did a decent job at being opportunistic in Borneo and the Celebes, but badly botched the job in Malaya and Sumatra. In Singapore, I failed to understand the consequences of the fortress Singapore strategy, and the need to deploy larger forces. In Palembang, acting too early and letting the situation drag on allowed my opponent to react, reinforce, and make the situation drag even longer.
I will most certainly start a new game at some point in the future (next summer perhaps), to try to apply all those ideas. A fun side of it will be that my opponent will probably have read this…
Langueur
The invasion of New Guinea is right on tracks. Lae fell on the 23th. A first deliberate attack on Port Moresby reduced the forts from three to two, achieving 1:1 odds. Interestingly, I don’t really need more troops there, but I need base forces and engineers, to build those bases.
I have decided not to push South of Guadalcanal. Horn Island will be taken, and probably a few Australian bases as well, just to make reconquest complicated, but I am clearly going for a historical perimeter, plus Port Moresby.
Once New Guinea is conquered, northern Australia is the next target. It might have to wait until I am firmly in Java, though.
South China, too good to be true
In Nanning, a second deliberate attack did not succeed. The enemy has roughly the same strength as me. I will go on attacking but another Vietnamese militia has been ordered to march.
Curiously, Liuchow, a more important base because it lies on the railroad and produces resources, was much less defended. A first attack by an infantry regiment reduced the forts, I expect it to fall very soon. This would be a good thing as it would isolate Nanning, and the cut the railroad between Changsha and Tuyun.
Of course, I don’t have much strength in the area, and the enemy could very well reinforce the place. To prevent this, I am mounting small offensives towards Changsha. One division from Nanchang is moving west, chasing two defeated Chinese corps. Another small column has left Kanhsien and is marching west towards a Chinese corps defending a river crossing. I have been sending lots of reconnaissance over Changsha and the neighbouring bases.
My goal is to press my opponent in Changsha, thus preventing counterattacks in the South.
The situation is Wenchow is unchanged. I still have 1400 AV, against 1600 enemies. A division and a brigade are two days away, and the pocket is being reduced to one or two hexes. I believe there is a strong probability it will fall in early March. This will free three divisions that can be used in Central and Southern China.
Victory in the (North)West
The big headline today is the fall of Yenan. Combat odds and outcomes had slowly gotten better in recent days. A deliberate attack did the job.
Ground combat at Yenan (88,37)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 25356 troops, 285 guns, 137 vehicles, Assault Value = 639
Defending force 17511 troops, 183 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 325
Japanese adjusted assault: 475
Allied adjusted defense: 139
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Yenan !!!
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
292 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 25 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 35 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Vehicles lost 9 (2 destroyed, 7 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
6674 casualties reported
Squads: 238 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 365 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 113 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 17 (17 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 10
No enemy units were destroyed, but the number of squads eliminated suggests the ten retreated units are in very bad shape. I will try to pursue for a while, since they will probably be moving towards Sian, which is where I am going too…
Overall, the siege of Yenan last a month, two division-equivalents were committed, a relatively small force. Together with the current siege of Lanchow, this secures my lines of communications to western China.
In the far west, a tank regiment will arrive in Urumchi tomorrow. No enemies are in sight. This is strange, since Urumchi is the last base in the region that produces supplies. Without it, units in Wasu and Kashgar are doomed. Or has the enemy evacuated all his troops from the West?
In Lanchow, the enemy has been bombarding. I am happy with this : it burns supplies.
East of Sian, bombardments destroy five to ten squads a day, and disable twenty more. Air attacks do a little more damage, and probably keep disruption levels high. I am trying another deliberate attack tomorrow, just to see. I can’t really judge whether this stack will collapse in a matter of days, like the one in Taiyuan, or hold for several weeks. Waiting is fine, so long I don’t lose troops in the process : every day in Northern China probably makes the supply situation in Sian and Lanchow a little worse, and my task there a little easier.
On the road to Ankang, my division is fighting equivalent numbers in closed terrain: stalemate again. Reinforcements should arrive in ten days. I don’t know whether a second division will be able to drive the enemy away (especially since my opponent could reinforce the hex), but this certainly protect the southern approaches to Sian.
I am very happy with Northern China. The fall of Yenan seals Japanese control over the northwest, and freeing all troops there but garrisons and support. Concentration for the battle of Sian is progressing nicely.
I probably need to send engineers now, to build bases, airfield, and create a good victory point capital in the North (Chinese bases have good VP multipliers). Since I will most certainly retain control over this area until very late in the game, those points are probably my best long term insurance against Allied autovictory.
Victory points reached parity, today. We both have a little less than 9000 points. Allied total is mostly made of base points (7700 out of 9000), whereas Japanese total is half base points, a quarter ground losses, and the rest more or less evenly split between naval and air losses.
This is before the fall of Singapore, which will cause the loss of about 2000 points for the allies (and a significant number of ground losses). I believe a 2:1 VP ratio (allies around 7000 and Japan around 14000) would be a worthwhile goal for April 1942.
I realize it has been a while since I last posted a map. I will add one in the next installment.
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
February 24th, 1942
Java on rails, Singapore dead in tracks
The regiment that took Denpasar landed today in Banjoewangi, on the tip of Java, against light opposition. I will attack tomorrow. One tank regiment from Macassar, and an infantry group from Japan will reinforce it in a few days, at which point I will have about 400 AV on Java. This is obviously not enough for the whole campaign, but it should help securing a nice perimeter in the southern part of the island, perhaps even to threaten Surabaya. Current plans are to seize this port, and use it for the second phase, the drive on Batavia.
Not far, Denpasar is being reinforced by an air support company, it looks like the right place to base planes. Small bases between Timor and Java are being occupied. This area is quickly becoming a Japanese lake, even enemy subs are leaving
Further north, my troops in Singapore never seem to get supplied. They are connected with the rest of the continent (and notably Manchuria), in a huge network, but supplies never seem to flow south. I have increased the requirements in Johore, to see if this helps, if it does not I will send convoys.
Meanwhile, I have to wait… The silver lining is that all my troops are now fully rested.
The fall of Liuchow
Liuchow fell on the second day of attack, it was almost too easy. This means 120 less resources for the Chinese. The facilities were 50% destroyed. It is not like I badly need them, but I find this a bit high. Liuchow was defended by one very small unit. Resources, there, are probably mines, and certainly not inside the city, where the base force would have been. There were no aerial bombings, little bombardment (all I had was a regiment) and the combat was a mere deliberate attack. How this could ruin 50 resource facilities, which probably represents a lot of mines and plants, is strange.
In Nanning, another deliberate attack achieved nothing. I will wait for the Vietnamese militia. After the fall of Nanning, Southern China will probably remain calm for a while. I will go on reconning Kukong and Kweilin, in case the enemy decides to evacuate them (I am all for easy captures of abandoned bases…), but most probably, the enemy will not move, and neither will I.
Bandits in Urumchi
A tank regiment arrived in Urumchi, and detected five enemy units there. So this is where they all went (should have guessed, there is oil, and my opponent seems to be convinced oil is the key). An infantry division is two days away, terrain is woods, we will soon know if I have enough… If I don’t, I might reinforce with a regiment from Kiuchuan, but I don’t intend to send more forces there. I’ll just lay the siege, and wait for them to be unsupplied…
The rest of western China is calm. The enemy stopped bombarding in Lanchow, where my infantry divisions are slowly recovering. Units in Yenan are pursuing the enemy, since we are in rough terrain, this will take a while.
East of Sian, another deliberate attack destroyed 30 enemy squads, and caused heavy disablements on both sides. Odd were 1:1, so this will continue tomorrow. Raw AV were 3440 vs 1820 today, adjusted to 2430 and 1670. I am curious to see where they will be tomorrow. Previous experience, on Mindanao and in Taiyuan, suggest that those battles in closed terrain follow a pattern, where you first get balanced (and heavy) casualties, but that since the attacker replaces disablements better than the defender (because the attacker is supplied, I believe), a tipping point is soon reached, when the balance breaks and the defense collapses.
I had promised a map, here is one showing the front in China. The red line is the front, the yellow circles the current battles.
Java on rails, Singapore dead in tracks
The regiment that took Denpasar landed today in Banjoewangi, on the tip of Java, against light opposition. I will attack tomorrow. One tank regiment from Macassar, and an infantry group from Japan will reinforce it in a few days, at which point I will have about 400 AV on Java. This is obviously not enough for the whole campaign, but it should help securing a nice perimeter in the southern part of the island, perhaps even to threaten Surabaya. Current plans are to seize this port, and use it for the second phase, the drive on Batavia.
Not far, Denpasar is being reinforced by an air support company, it looks like the right place to base planes. Small bases between Timor and Java are being occupied. This area is quickly becoming a Japanese lake, even enemy subs are leaving
Further north, my troops in Singapore never seem to get supplied. They are connected with the rest of the continent (and notably Manchuria), in a huge network, but supplies never seem to flow south. I have increased the requirements in Johore, to see if this helps, if it does not I will send convoys.
Meanwhile, I have to wait… The silver lining is that all my troops are now fully rested.
The fall of Liuchow
Liuchow fell on the second day of attack, it was almost too easy. This means 120 less resources for the Chinese. The facilities were 50% destroyed. It is not like I badly need them, but I find this a bit high. Liuchow was defended by one very small unit. Resources, there, are probably mines, and certainly not inside the city, where the base force would have been. There were no aerial bombings, little bombardment (all I had was a regiment) and the combat was a mere deliberate attack. How this could ruin 50 resource facilities, which probably represents a lot of mines and plants, is strange.
In Nanning, another deliberate attack achieved nothing. I will wait for the Vietnamese militia. After the fall of Nanning, Southern China will probably remain calm for a while. I will go on reconning Kukong and Kweilin, in case the enemy decides to evacuate them (I am all for easy captures of abandoned bases…), but most probably, the enemy will not move, and neither will I.
Bandits in Urumchi
A tank regiment arrived in Urumchi, and detected five enemy units there. So this is where they all went (should have guessed, there is oil, and my opponent seems to be convinced oil is the key). An infantry division is two days away, terrain is woods, we will soon know if I have enough… If I don’t, I might reinforce with a regiment from Kiuchuan, but I don’t intend to send more forces there. I’ll just lay the siege, and wait for them to be unsupplied…
The rest of western China is calm. The enemy stopped bombarding in Lanchow, where my infantry divisions are slowly recovering. Units in Yenan are pursuing the enemy, since we are in rough terrain, this will take a while.
East of Sian, another deliberate attack destroyed 30 enemy squads, and caused heavy disablements on both sides. Odd were 1:1, so this will continue tomorrow. Raw AV were 3440 vs 1820 today, adjusted to 2430 and 1670. I am curious to see where they will be tomorrow. Previous experience, on Mindanao and in Taiyuan, suggest that those battles in closed terrain follow a pattern, where you first get balanced (and heavy) casualties, but that since the attacker replaces disablements better than the defender (because the attacker is supplied, I believe), a tipping point is soon reached, when the balance breaks and the defense collapses.
I had promised a map, here is one showing the front in China. The red line is the front, the yellow circles the current battles.
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SqzMyLemon
- Posts: 4239
- Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
- Location: Alberta, Canada
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
How do the defences look at Tuyun and Kweiyang? Is this going to be your main thrust into Central China? If Tuyun and Kweiyang are lightly held or you've brought a large enough army it looks like you could completely flank the Changsha position.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
RE: Now when the land rings with the clash of arms (fcharton(J) vs soliinvictus(A))�NCNo soliinvictus
Hi SqzMyLemon,
I don't know yet. I have not reconned those bases, not wanting to attract attention before I have enough forces in the area. The key, I believe, is to reinforce Liuchow. Tuyun is just five major road hexes from Liuchow, if the base is not adequately defended, the enemy will not be able to reinforce it in time (unless he has reserves in Kweiyang). Once Tuyun falls, the railroad back to Liuchow becomes a huge advantage, and both Kweilin and Kukong are threatened.
To prevent the building up of reserves in Kweiyang, I would like to feint on Changsha... I have been trying this recently, pretending to push in two columns, from Nanchang and Kanhsien. It seems to be succeeding (more about it in tomorrow's report), and the enemy is really shifting his reserves towards the Hunan basin (ie the plains around Changsha). I will probably just leave troops in forward positions there. An attack towards Kukong would probably help too.
But reinforcing Liuchow is quite a problem. The Wenchow troops would take a long time to arrive... I'd rather use them for the feint on Changsha. The best solution would be to reinforce from Indochina, by train to Langson, and then over the road to Nanning and Liuchow. At present, I can probably move the Vietnam militia to garrison my bases in southern China, which will free a few regiments, probably a little more than a division. This will not be enough. I can reinforce with a brigade or two, from Cam Ranh, and in a month I have the Guards Division arriving there... This would allow for a decent offensive, but it would also mean not reinforcing Burma, where I am very thin on the ground...
Another solution would be to use some of the troops freed by the fall of Singapore. This means not attacking Clark Field, waiting until May or June for it to fall, and ordering, say, half of the Singapore force (that would be 1600 AV) to Burma and South China.
This makes me even more continental than I used to be, but it makes a lot of sense too... threatening to cut off Changsha and Kunming, after Sian falls, at a time when the supply situation in China will probably be very bad (supply (-) are already popping up everywhere) is a very tempting option.
Thanks a lot for this idea...
Francois
Right now, my reinforcements there have gone to Singapore, or Palembang, and some should be sent to Burma (where I'm terribly thin on the ground)
I don't know yet. I have not reconned those bases, not wanting to attract attention before I have enough forces in the area. The key, I believe, is to reinforce Liuchow. Tuyun is just five major road hexes from Liuchow, if the base is not adequately defended, the enemy will not be able to reinforce it in time (unless he has reserves in Kweiyang). Once Tuyun falls, the railroad back to Liuchow becomes a huge advantage, and both Kweilin and Kukong are threatened.
To prevent the building up of reserves in Kweiyang, I would like to feint on Changsha... I have been trying this recently, pretending to push in two columns, from Nanchang and Kanhsien. It seems to be succeeding (more about it in tomorrow's report), and the enemy is really shifting his reserves towards the Hunan basin (ie the plains around Changsha). I will probably just leave troops in forward positions there. An attack towards Kukong would probably help too.
But reinforcing Liuchow is quite a problem. The Wenchow troops would take a long time to arrive... I'd rather use them for the feint on Changsha. The best solution would be to reinforce from Indochina, by train to Langson, and then over the road to Nanning and Liuchow. At present, I can probably move the Vietnam militia to garrison my bases in southern China, which will free a few regiments, probably a little more than a division. This will not be enough. I can reinforce with a brigade or two, from Cam Ranh, and in a month I have the Guards Division arriving there... This would allow for a decent offensive, but it would also mean not reinforcing Burma, where I am very thin on the ground...
Another solution would be to use some of the troops freed by the fall of Singapore. This means not attacking Clark Field, waiting until May or June for it to fall, and ordering, say, half of the Singapore force (that would be 1600 AV) to Burma and South China.
This makes me even more continental than I used to be, but it makes a lot of sense too... threatening to cut off Changsha and Kunming, after Sian falls, at a time when the supply situation in China will probably be very bad (supply (-) are already popping up everywhere) is a very tempting option.
Thanks a lot for this idea...
Francois
Right now, my reinforcements there have gone to Singapore, or Palembang, and some should be sent to Burma (where I'm terribly thin on the ground)