Matrix Games Forums

January 28, 1942

Slith's previous high level bombing was not accurate enough to prevent me from getting level 4 forts so he sent forth his bombers to work the airfields at Singapore, this time at low altitude. The Japanese pilots did score many more hits on Singapore's airfields from the lower height, but at a considerable cost.

January 31, 1942

Japanese troops have landed in force at Ambon, losing a few transport ships to some excellent Dutch coastal guns in the process. Meanwhile in Luzon I am sensing an imminent Japanese assault on Clark, and in China it is only a matter of time until Wenchow falls. I remain active however, especially in the air where B-17 bombers are once again striking back at strategic oil targets and forcing Slith to spread out his fighters. Tarakan was successfully hit from extreme range and this was followed by two strikes on Samarinda that severely degraded its output.

February 14, 1942

I haven't updated my AAR in a while so time for a comprehensive look at where things stand.

Over the past two weeks, Slith has pressed his offensive in the SRA and has successfully taken Palembang, Ambon, and Makassar. The Japanese did lose several transports with each of these successes but Slith has continued to bring overwhelming naval and air power forward which has prevented me from really punching back. I continued some heavy bomber operations and did some significant damage overall to oil fields (knocked out almost a 100 oil wells in Palembang for instance) but as the Japanese gained airfields close to Java, Allied bomber operations have become significantly more difficult due to Imperial air attacks on their staging bases. Both Singapore and Clark/Bataan are still standing strong, and now I expect Slith to focus on eliminating Java first before he attempts to finish those garrisons off.

I am still doing pretty well in the air overall but the losses on both sides have been a lot more similar in the past couple of weeks as the Japanese come to grips with the weaker Dutch air force. Naval losses remain relatively low on both sides. Against all odds, I have extricated both the Repulse and the Prince of Wales from the SRA despite both ships having been dreadfully damaged on the first day of the war with about five torpedo hits each.

China is always a very interesting theater. Wenchow has finally fallen to the Japanese, but in the north a large Japanese force has been successfully halted at Tsiaotso. Another Japanese field army of three divisions, two tank regiments, and some artillery attempted to flank my defenses in the Loyang/Chengchow/Tsiaotso area but I resorted to my usual mobile operations by extricating some forces from the forward defenses at Tsiaotso and bringing up reserves from Sian to surprise and smash half of this Japanese force and encircle the rest of it near Nanyang.

During the battle of Nanyang, I timed the arrival of a large Chinese force so that it would appear for only a single turn in the hex east of Nanyang before it moved into Nanyang itself. This combined with the intervention of the Chinese air force prevented the Japanese from retreating back into the city with their full army before I launched my assault.

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101
During the battle of Nanyang, I timed the arrival of a large Chinese force so that it would appear for only a single turn in the hex east of Nanyang before it moved into Nanyang itself.

You mean your Chinese are somehow faster than armor in the clear crosscountry? [8D] Edit: oh wait, the east, you marched along the road.. Good play
Great encirclement anyway! Would certainly be a hassle to clear for Japan and mess up with his schedule. Alas the potential to inflict damage to his LCUs there is limited cause of terrain and Chinese squishiness in assaults.

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101
During the battle of Nanyang, I timed the arrival of a large Chinese force so that it would appear for only a single turn in the hex east of Nanyang before it moved into Nanyang itself.

You mean your Chinese are somehow faster than armor in the clear crosscountry? [8D] Edit: oh wait, the east, you marched along the road.. Good play
Great encirclement anyway! Would certainly be a hassle to clear for Japan and mess up with his schedule. Alas the potential to inflict damage to his LCUs there is limited cause of terrain and Chinese squishiness in assaults.

Thanks!

Yes there is no beating the speed of his armor but the Chinese can create opportunities for outmaneuvering Japanese infantry/artillery through careful timing, air strikes to slow down Japanese columns, and through good use of terrain/roads. In this case Slith's armor made it back in time to defend Nanyang when he saw the trap but two out of his three infantry divisions didn't and are now encircled. Whether they stay encircled for long however is another issue.

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101
During the battle of Nanyang, I timed the arrival of a large Chinese force so that it would appear for only a single turn in the hex east of Nanyang before it moved into Nanyang itself.

You mean your Chinese are somehow faster than armor in the clear crosscountry? [8D] Edit: oh wait, the east, you marched along the road.. Good play
Great encirclement anyway! Would certainly be a hassle to clear for Japan and mess up with his schedule. Alas the potential to inflict damage to his LCUs there is limited cause of terrain and Chinese squishiness in assaults.

Thanks!

Yes there is no beating the speed of his armor but the Chinese can create opportunities for outmaneuvering Japanese infantry/artillery through careful timing, air strikes to slow down Japanese columns, and through good use of terrain/roads. In this case Slith's armor made it back in time to defend Nanyang when he saw the trap but two out of his three infantry divisions didn't and are now encircled. Whether they stay encircled for long however is another issue.

If you have the supplies to bombard, that will cause those units to use more supplies. If you can bomb and strafe, each attack can cost him an increase in supply usage of 10%.

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101

ORIGINAL: GetAssista


You mean your Chinese are somehow faster than armor in the clear crosscountry? [8D] Edit: oh wait, the east, you marched along the road.. Good play
Great encirclement anyway! Would certainly be a hassle to clear for Japan and mess up with his schedule. Alas the potential to inflict damage to his LCUs there is limited cause of terrain and Chinese squishiness in assaults.

Thanks!

Yes there is no beating the speed of his armor but the Chinese can create opportunities for outmaneuvering Japanese infantry/artillery through careful timing, air strikes to slow down Japanese columns, and through good use of terrain/roads. In this case Slith's armor made it back in time to defend Nanyang when he saw the trap but two out of his three infantry divisions didn't and are now encircled. Whether they stay encircled for long however is another issue.

If you have the supplies to bombard, that will cause those units to use more supplies. If you can bomb and strafe, each attack can cost him an increase in supply usage of 10%.

Plenty of supplies for now, but the two trapped Japanese divisions may very well be rescued before they run out. We shall see.

February 18, 1942

Japanese paratroopers dropped in and captured Merak in the northwestern tip of Java, the imperial invasion begins!

Meanwhile in China, I sensed an opportunity for a daring advance on Wuchang given Slith's forces were already heavily engaged in other sectors. Chinese troops of the Central Army scrambled out of their trenches and redoubts and assembled at Changsha where their officers bombarded them with rousing speeches before they force marched them towards the enemy's fortifications. Upon arrival the troops immediately went into battle under the cover of Chinese bombers. The Flying Tigers in turn swung into action to keep the Japanese bombers at bay, shooting down a dozen aircraft in the process.

With a large Chinese army threatening Wuchang and Hankow, and with another Chinese army marching towards Sinyang, it appears that Slith has felt that he has no choice but to pull back his forces around Ichang to reinforce his flanks. The dance around the Loyang/Chengchow area continues with the Japanese pulling back some of their divisions from Tsiaotso. I suspect he will try to go directly for Loyang or Chengchow now before trying to rescue his two trapped divisions.

February 19, 1942

With the Japanese landing troops on Java, I took the calculated risk of launching my heavy bombers against Palembang under the assumption that the bulk of Slith's fighters were likely busy covering his invasion forces. Maybe I should have gone for the oil again, but this time I went for the airfields and port.

In China I have confirmed that the Japanese have abandoned Ichang. I also sent in another attack against Wuchang, expecting it to fall this time around, but the garrison held on for another day. I don't mind though, since I am disabling more squads than I am losing which I anticipate will result in even more destroyed Japanese squads and guns once the town is finally taken.

I'm divided wrt those early war Chinese offensives. On the one hand you can do some damage to Jap LCUs, on the other you are running on borrowed supply that would be sorely needed later for defence and R&R.

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

I'm divided wrt those early war Chinese offensives. On the one hand you can do some damage to Jap LCUs, on the other you are running on borrowed supply that would be sorely needed later for defence and R&R.

No way you could get away with moving in open in China during 1942. You should be getting bombed back into the stone age.

Flying Tigers are easily handled...especially over open non base terrain.

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

I'm divided wrt those early war Chinese offensives. On the one hand you can do some damage to Jap LCUs, on the other you are running on borrowed supply that would be sorely needed later for defence and R&R.

Yeah it's a risky move to go on the offensive as the Chinese this early for a number of reasons, supply being a big one. I think it comes down to the circumstances of your game and to some extent your playstyle.

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

I'm divided wrt those early war Chinese offensives. On the one hand you can do some damage to Jap LCUs, on the other you are running on borrowed supply that would be sorely needed later for defence and R&R.

No way you could get away with moving in open in China during 1942. You should be getting bombed back into the stone age.

Flying Tigers are easily handled...especially over open non base terrain.

Yes and no, it depends on the entire picture of what's going on in the war. The Japanese player's fighter squadrons in this case are stretched thin by having to defend multiple oil fields in the SRA area so I have been able to gain temporary air superiority over China with the seven non-Chinese fighter squadrons I deployed there. Japanese air ops in China are also constrained to some extent in the very early months by a dearth of air support squads. The Chinese also have the same problem, but they mostly only need to worry about servicing fighters while the Japanese need to service both fighters and large numbers of bombers if they want to have an effect on the ground.

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

I'm divided wrt those early war Chinese offensives. On the one hand you can do some damage to Jap LCUs, on the other you are running on borrowed supply that would be sorely needed later for defence and R&R.

No way you could get away with moving in open in China during 1942. You should be getting bombed back into the stone age.

Flying Tigers are easily handled...especially over open non base terrain.

Yes and no, it depends on the entire picture of what's going on in the war. The Japanese player's fighter squadrons in this case are stretched thin by having to defend multiple oil fields in the SRA area so I have been able to gain temporary air superiority over China with the seven non-Chinese fighter squadrons I deployed there. Japanese air ops in China are also constrained to some extent in the very early months by a dearth of air support squads. The Chinese also have the same problem, but they mostly only need to worry about servicing fighters while the Japanese need to service both fighters and large numbers of bombers if they want to have an effect on the ground.

yeah, it's only February, too early for the Japanese to have built up a good sized airforce in China and the needed airfields/airsupport near the front to employ the airforce. By about April/May at the latest the Japanese can field some 4-500 medium IJAAF bombers in China and enough fighters for air superiority, if the Japanese wants to and emphasis on it. Then everything gets trashed in clear terrain but 2x terrain modifier already negates much of it, 3 and 4x modifiers and you are totally safe of air attacks.

ORIGINAL: castor troy

ORIGINAL: DesertWolf101

ORIGINAL: Lowpe



No way you could get away with moving in open in China during 1942. You should be getting bombed back into the stone age.

Flying Tigers are easily handled...especially over open non base terrain.

Yes and no, it depends on the entire picture of what's going on in the war. The Japanese player's fighter squadrons in this case are stretched thin by having to defend multiple oil fields in the SRA area so I have been able to gain temporary air superiority over China with the seven non-Chinese fighter squadrons I deployed there. Japanese air ops in China are also constrained to some extent in the very early months by a dearth of air support squads. The Chinese also have the same problem, but they mostly only need to worry about servicing fighters while the Japanese need to service both fighters and large numbers of bombers if they want to have an effect on the ground.

yeah, it's only February, too early for the Japanese to have built up a good sized airforce in China and the needed airfields/airsupport near the front to employ the airforce. By about April/May at the latest the Japanese can field some 4-500 medium IJAAF bombers in China and enough fighters for air superiority, if the Japanese wants to and emphasis on it. Then everything gets trashed in clear terrain but 2x terrain modifier already negates much of it, 3 and 4x modifiers and you are totally safe of air attacks.

Agreed. I think I have at most another month before Slith builds up the capacity to seize air supremacy in China, and that's if I am lucky. By then he will have both built up the airfields/airsupport needed and secured the SRA, thus largely freeing up his squadrons.