Guadalcanal AAR – A Beginner's Foray into MWiF

[rkr1958]

September/October 1941. Allied Impulse 4.

The CW reinforced their task forces in the South China Sea with 3 BBs moved to sea box 2 and 2 CAs moved to sea box 4. These ships had been stuck in Bombay by the IJN air units flying patrols in the Bay of Bengal. However; with the storm in the bay, they easily slipped by the enemy air to join up with their fleet in the South China Sea. One positive effect of storms is that they make it easier for surface units to move past enemy air patrols.

Try as they might the CW was unable to find the Japanese (and vise versa) in the South China Sea, so no combat occurred. In the other 2 sea areas both sides declined to fight.

[rkr1958]

September / October 1942. Japanese Impulse #5.

I noticed that the game is calling this impulse #7. So the weather has advanced the number of impulses from 5 (actual # played) to 7. I also noticed that there's a 10% chance that this turn will end on this impulse. I'm still a rookie and I'm still making rookie mistake; but I'm starting to learn (and see) how the game mechanics work. I can't, while actually I can, image how hard it must have been to learn the rules / mechanics of WiF playing paper and cardboard. I really do have an appreciation for all you "old-timers" that learned to play WiF that way! I see now that MWiF would be an invaluable tool even for those who still are, and intend to continue to play WiF with cardboard and paper. OK, now back to my game ...

The weather across the map cleared and the Japanese chose a naval option. I used the naval movement to address, as best as I could, the VERY ROOKIE mistake of not putting warships in Sea Box 0 with my convoys. In the China Sea, the IJN moved 2 heavy cruisers from Sea Box 3 to Sea Box 0 and in the South China Sea the Yamato from 2 to 0 with the convoys there. I wasn't sure if I could move from Sea Box to Sea Box in the same area but MWiF allowed me so I assume this must be a legal move. I also tried moving ships on patrol from one sea area to the other and couldn't so I assume this must not be a legal move. Again, having MWiF take care of all this for me is definitely luxury.

So this ends the IJN naval moves. If naval combat occurs then it will be covered in my next post. Now on to see what happens ...

[rkr1958]

HELP -- I've hit a snag in my game.

I've caused my game to hang and I'm not sure how to proceed. In the Solomons the CW found and surprised the IJN BB and sub there. Great, I thought. The CW had 8 points and used 6 to increase their combat column 3 times and 2 to decrease the IJN column once. So I was set to fight the battle. I decided to save the game and come back to this battle later. When I loaded it, the form to fight the battle is gone and I don't see a way to get it back. The button for advancing the phase is greyed out so until I can get the naval battle form back, I can't proceed.

Is there some simple pulldown or checkbox that I'm missing to get the form back?

FOLLOW UP: I found in the auto save directory the game at the point where I choose which sea areas to fight in. So I can enable the "Set die rolls" under interface and get back to where I was. I'm not out of the woods yet, but I think I'm close ...

[rkr1958]

Phew ... the autosave and set dice rolls really saved me there. Now back to the action.

There were three areas where naval battles could occur this impulse.
(1) South China Sea - The Japaneses declined to initiate combat. The CW did; but both sides failed to find each other so no combat.
(2) The Marianas - The Japanese initiated combat; but the USN chose not to commit their 2 subs, so no combat.
(3) The Solomons - Saw 2 rounds of surface action. The IJN initiated combat but were unable to find the CW. The CW found, and thus surprised the IJN. They choose to only include the IJN BB and went for the kill; but only managed to damage it. In return, the CW BB and CA were each 1/2 aborted. Both forces were still relatively intact and both chose to stay and fight. In round 2 the IJN search was successful but the CW wasn't. The result was that the IJN only managed to damage and abort the CW BB, leaving the CA. The CW was able to force both the IJN BB and sub back to port. The last man standing in the Marianas was a lone CW heavy cruiser.

[rkr1958]

End of Turn.

There was only a 10% (1 out of 10) chance that the turn would end at the end of this last impulse and it did. This was a short turn with only 5 actual impulses played.

In the stay at sea phases I left patrols, where I could, in all sea areas that had ships in sea boxes 1 and above. In the return to base I learned what it meant for the enemy to control sea areas between where you are and where you want to base. Only IJN ships in the Aleutians with a movement of 5 sea areas and 6 MPs could make it back to Truk. There weren't that many of them. Most had to rebase to Tokyo. Now I'm beginning to understand why it's important to control a continuous line of sea areas between where you move a major task forces and where you want to base them at the end of the turn. And by control, I mean sweeping all enemy ships from the area.

In the cap below, ship(s)/unit(s) with text next to them are in that port. Those without any text were left at sea and are on patrol in a given area.

[rkr1958]

Apparently the Japanese player (me!) failed to keep a patrol in the Bismark Sea.

[rkr1958]

The allies increase their lead by 3 to 16 VPs over the Japanese. This was not a good turn for the Japanese. They lost Yamamato in his bid to capture Dutch Harbor in a high risk 50/50 operation. Not only did the Japanese player lose Yamamato and his HQ but they missed out on 5 VPs. To make matters worse the CW raided the South China Sea sinking 2 and aborting 1 of 5 convoys. And before the Japanese felt secure enough to bring those convoys back to 5 and avoid the loss of 3 VPs, the turn ended on a 10% roll.

It's a 1000 cuts! Though there has been no major battle between USN and IJN carriers, the IJN have captured both Guadalcanal and Midway, nearly captured Dutch Harbor they still are way behind the allies in VPs. However; they have 2 left to readdress this situation. The allies better be cautious; but not too. I wonder how the Japanese might be aggressive, and without being reckless, to attempt to turn war around more in their favor?

[rkr1958]

November / December 1942. Allied Impulse #1.[/i]

The allies win the roll for the initiative and choose to go first. The weather is fine across the map. The initiative, moving first and the fine weather gives the allies two significant opportunities to turn the tide of this war forever in their favor. The first opportunity is in the Marshalls and the second is in the Bay of Bengal. Both involve amphibious invasions and while they favor the allies do come with some element of risk. But what is war without risk versus rewards?

In the Marshall the USN forms up an invasion task force composed of the USN marine corps and an US motorized army corps. Their target is Kwajalein, which is defended by the 11th infantry. The USN invasion task force is supported by naval air, battleships, crusiers and a second task force containing 4 frontline USN carriers. Estimates give the US an 80% chance or better of successfully carrying off this invasion.

Is the US island hoping campaign in the Pacific about to get started or will this invasion result in a spectacular failure? Either way this is exciting!

[rkr1958]

In the Bay of Bengal, the CW pull a weak 3-3 corps out of India, load that corps on invasion transports and sail those transports towards the undefended port of Singapore. This invasion is really no more than a raid. It is supported by 2 RN carriers, 3 heavy cruisers and 1 battleship.

Will the CW return to Philippines before MacArthur?

[rkr1958]

The invading marines and army corps are given maximum shore bombardment from the BBs and CAs in the area and air support from the 4 USN CVs there. This gets the odds to 27:8, or 3:1. The Japanese select the assault table, which puts the odds of a successful landing at 60%, and not the estimated 70%. Not bad; but a 3 out of 10 chance of failure raises my blood pressure several points. This indeed is exciting. The resolve combat button is pushed, the program does its random number generation and the result is ...

[rkr1958]

In the Bay of Bengal the amphibious raid on Singapore is launched. Battleships and cruisers in both the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea provide maximum bombardment support. The 2 RN CVs, the Formibdable and Indomitable, launch their air groups to provide air support. The IJN, desperate not to have this raid succeed, launch their nearby Betty Naval bomber and Ki-6 fighter units to support the hastily organized (notional) unit. The Ki-6 fighter destroys the Indomitable air group but is forced to abort. This leaves the carrier planes from the Formidable providing support for the CW and the Betty bombers providing support for the Japanese.

The result of all this is a 2:1 attack on the assault table. This gives the raid only a 40% chance of success. However; the risk of a 3-3 infantry corps for a 40% chance of grabbing Singapore, and 5 VPs, seems like one well worth taking.

But before this battle, the invasion of Kwajalein needs to be resolved. Now, where was I in the resolution of that battle?

[rkr1958]

Marshall Islands. The invasion of Kwajalein.

The resolve combat button is pushed, the program does its random number generation and the result of the die roll is a 7, modified to an 8. That's good right?! It is! The defender is eliminated and both US units, though disorganized, land and capture the island.

Sidenote: I personally like to fight the most important battles first. I'd hate to get a good result in a minor battle only to get a poor one in the major one. For some reason, getting a poor result in a major battle followed by a good one in a minor doesn't sting as much, though the result is the same.

On a high from this successful invasion the allies move on to the raid against Singapore.

[rkr1958]

Raid on Singapore. Bay of Bengal.

The die is rolled again but this time a 1 pops up, which is modified to a 2. I don't even have to look at the result to know the outcome. The CW 3-3 corps is destroyed and the raid is repulsed. Oh well, the loss is insignificant and if I had to lose 1 of the 2 invasions, this was the one to lose.

By the way, I'm confused by the text in the Result: box. It says attacker loses 0 units. But isn't a 2 on the assault table under the 2:1 column a 2/-, which means the attack is destroyed? That's the result I got; but I'm still confused by the text.

[WIF_Killzone]

Didn't we talk about those low odd attacks Good job on the other one. What's Jp going to do, the world is holding its breath. Not too many offensive options, it could even be argued the should play the whole scenario in a defensive role, countering where it makes sense. Enjoying your AAR!

[AxelNL]

ORIGINAL: rkr1958

Raid on Singapore. Bay of Bengal.

The die is rolled again but this time a 1 pops up, which is modified to a 2. I don't even have to look at the result to know the outcome. The CW 3-3 corps is destroyed and the raid is repulsed. Oh well, the loss is insignificant and if I had to lose 1 of the 2 invasions, this was the one to lose.

By the way, I'm confused by the text in the Result: box. It says attacker loses 0 units. But isn't a 2 on the assault table under the 2:1 column a 1/-, which means the attack is destroyed? That's the result I got; but I'm still confused by the text.

Looks like a minor bug. Together with some others in the combat form it should be tackled in the future. If you post a small descirption and a link to this AAR and the post number in the tech forum it will go on the list.

[rkr1958]

ORIGINAL: WIF_Killzone

Didn't we talk about those low odd attacks Good job on the other one. What's Jp going to do, the world is holding its breath. Not too many offensive options, it could even be argued the should play the whole scenario in a defensive role, countering where it makes sense. Enjoying your AAR!

I'm a conservative player by nature; but I'll risk a 3-3 unit for a 40% chance to capture Singapore every time. [8D]

The IJN is planning on going CV hunting. The USN and RN have deployed all but 2 of their CVs and the IJN is planning on going after them. While wounded, the IJN still has a lot of fight left in them and they're looking for a fight to turn this game around. The IJN has only lost 1 CV and have 15 CVs and CVLs versus the 6 USN CVs and 2 RN CVs. Of the 8 allied CVs, 2 RN CVs are at sea in the Bay of Bengal and 4 USN CVs are at sea in the Marshalls. This next impulse could get tense or both sides could fail to find each other. [;)]

I'm glad you're enjoying the AAR. I know I'm making tons of rookie mistakes and I really do appreciate your help and feedback.

[rkr1958]

November / December 1942. Japanese Impulse #2.

The Japanese select a naval option and send out 7 task forces originating from Truk and Tokyo across the Pacific in a bid to dominate the sea lands and destroy allied carriers.

[rkr1958]

<->

[rkr1958]

Marshall Islands.

No Contact -- Both IJN & USN searches were unsuccessful.

Strategy Question - Should the USN run for the hills? Or should they stay? By the way, the USN has two CVs in San Diego that could reinforce the USN in this area; but in sea box 2.

[rkr1958]

Bay of Bengal.

No contact -- both IJN and RN searches fail.

The RN added a Spitfire to Sea Box 1. Same question as above. Should the RN stay? Outnumber 5 to 1 in carriers I would think not?