Yep. Every single turn early on in the game I think: "I've got to get to X by Feb 15 and Y by March 1 in order to take Z by March 31." I'm actually looking forward to going over to the defensive just so I don't feel so rushed. [:D]
I agree. As a JFB I feel more comfortable on the defensive rather than the offensive.....
For me the offensive is great but it is that mid-portion of the war that I love. Give-and-Take where victories are harder for Japan but still yet possible
Member: Treaty, Reluctant Admiral and Between the Storms Mod Team.
4/15/42
Indian Ocean: Things have settled down to a blessed state of quiet that I think will last for awhile - long enough for Allied ships to replenish and for reinforcements to move. The Allies carriers will again take position south of Sumatra, and will launch cross-the-island air attacks should Japan try to reinforce its little army on the northwest (true map) coast.
KB: Still in the vicinity of Kuching.
Hornet: Just departed Capetown for Colombo.
China: A three-stack Chinese army will all arrive at Chengchow tomorrow (if I had tried to coordinate arrival of three separate stacks it wouldn't have worked, but I didn't try so voila!). The Japanese have four units at Chengchow, but unless at least two of them are divisions I think the Japanese are about to get a rude awakening, for this Chinese army will total 6,900 AV. The objective is to act as a Death Star, zapping every unit possible. Territory isn't a concern, because eventually Japan will send enough that the Chinese will have to scurry back to safe ground.
NoPac: Still some IJN carriers up around Shikuka. Two USN DDs wiped out a PC picket ship. The Japanese unit at Amchitka shock attacked, but failed miserably at 1:2 with disproportionate casualites even with a gross AV advantage of 250 to 85.
Vacation: Canoe HQ is taking some R & R for a week - lots of reading, some card playing, watch a little baseball, and pretend not to notice pretty women in bathing suits sauntering down the beach in plain view. I'll just watch the terns, seagulls and crows. See you guys on the waning side of June.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
4/16/42
I saw plenty of pretty women and managed not to get clocked by my wife...and I didn't even wear sunglasses! Skilled in the art of surveying.
Sumatra: Oosthaven arifield goes to level seven and Lahat to level one. Palembang forts up to 4.90. Japanese shipping at Merat - possibly Steve is unloading the remnants of his Port Blair invasion there - I'm sending my carriers to investigate, but they are a couple of days away (this is close to their regular patroling station, so it puts the CVs into good position anyhow). Ship losses for Japan over the past four days as the Battle of Port Blair ends: (Total # Lost in Game/Total Allied Points in Game): April 13 - 110/1332; April 14 - 116/1375; April 15 - 127/1821 (Ise and Haruna go under); April 16 - 131/1848.
China: The Allies will try a probing deliberate attack at Chengchow with 4,500 AV tomorrow (I was wrong as the rest of the army is still a day or two away).
NoPac: Steve is busy building Shimishura Jima and Shikuka. Supply is running low for the Allies at Onne and Para.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
4/17/42
Sumatra: Two USN CV and one RN CV to take station six hexes due south of Merak tomorrow in hopes of hitting some enemy shipping unloading there. The carriers will be nine hexes from the enemy's level four airfield at Georgetown, so I am a bit concerned about leakers.
China: 5,000 Chinese AV blew through the enemy garrison at Chengchow, mauling 36th Division (the second IJ division forced to retreat in recent weeks). The Chinese will follow the enemy, which retreat to Hangkow (spelling?).
Australia: The Allies just bought another Australian CD force at Perth, this one will load and make for Oosthaven.
Ebb and Flow: The recent slap on the face near Port Blair probably stunned Steve a bit. Things along the front are quiet, which is good for the Allies. That operation bought time, and here it is April 17 already. I'm unsure if Steve will come for Sumatra short term, or if he'll switch up and try to take a stab at NW Oz. Meanwhile, the Allies are awaiting arrival of 27th USA Div., due to arrive on map in ten turns. Once that unit arrives at Colombo, the Allies will have possibilities - reinforce Sumatra (unlikely), invade Malaya/Burma (possible), or hold in reserve to strike a bit later.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
4/18/42
The quiet after the storm continues, though I have no doubt Steve is being a busy little bee behind the lines where I can't see what's going on.
Sumatra: The Japanese ships vacated Medan, so my carriers didn't fly any sorties and apparently weren't detected. They shall proceed to the south to take patrol station south of Sabang. Steve has gotten 38th Div. ashore and it succeeded in taking Langsa from a weak Allied force. This division is strong enough to handle what the Allies have, so I either have to reinforce strongly (very unlikely) or do a mini Dunkirk (likely). Over in eastern Sumatra, things remain blissfully quiet as Allied engineers continue working on forts and airfields. Palembang forts to 4.95.
Port Blair: This garrison is only 110 AV strong. I'm sending a strong Brit base force (36 AV) there and contemplating landing a Brit brigade currently offshore in transports.
China: The Chinese 5,200-AV stack is three days or so from crossing the river to attack a reinforced IJ stack of eight units at Hangkow. Four of those units are trashed, but the other four could be just about anything.
NoPac: The Allies managed to land supply at Para, but this still has the makings of a shoestring operation as I try to figure out whether Steve is coming sooner or later. He has built up a massive army at Ominato, which I think is his counterinvasion force. But he'll need PPs to buy units, and that may take time. My BB TF continues to patrol northeast of Para, ready for duty if called upon.
SoPac: The enemy haven't yet tried to reinforce Pago Pago. The Allies have a seven-DD force patroling to the east. This will interdict enemy shipping unless a strong combat TF is in escort.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
4/19/42
A decidedly quiet turn as the Allies continue to position themselves for the next attacks, or to be in place to meet the enemy should he attack.
China: The 5,200-AV Chinese stack on the move for an across-the-river assault against eight IJ units has made 30 miles in two days in "Move" mode. I am taking a chance that the units will continue to make 15 miles per day. I am leaving them in "Move" mode one more day, then I'll switch them to combat mode for the river assault. If, however, my units decide to move more than 15 miles today, I am going to be most put out with myself.
Sumatra: Allied carriers are rendezvouing at a pont south of Sabang, where they'll be in position to meet any Japanese moves towards the Bay of Bengal, Sumatra, Java, or even Oz, though I doubt I'd go that far afield. In th event Steve moves on Oz in a big way, the likely response by the Allies would be to ratchet up activity in the Bay of Bengal. Palembang forts at 4.97.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
4/20/42
China: Tomorrow, the Chinese stack of 5200 AV will cross the river and shock attack the Japanese garrison at Kaiefen (not Hankow as I erroneously stated previously). I think the IJ army is weak, with reinforcements rushing to the area but still many hexes distant. We'll see.
Burma: A little Burma army unit slipped by the IJ flank and will reclaim vacant Magwe tomorrow.
India/Capetown/Sumatra: An American coastal artillery unit arrived at Capetown. She'll cost 280 PP, and right now I only have 180, so it'll be a few days before I can make the purchase. This unit will go to Benkolen or Oosthaven. As previously detailed, two Aussie CD units are enroute to those two bases, with the first set to arrive at Oosthaven in about three days. Pretty quiet in this region at the moment.
SoPac: The eneny hasn't tried to reinforce it's beleagured Pago Pago army invasion force yet. About seven American DDs are lurking just to the east, hoping for a good intercept target.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
CR, are you becoming TOO focused on the Palembang Fortress? I don't think it matters much, as I believe you are playing an opponent that is psychologically defeated anyway, but his best bet is to grab the rest of the oil in Borneo, the other half of Sumatra and elsewhere and try to survive w/o the Palembang crude. That implies a by-pass move of some sort (again, I am not reading his AAR). I do not think he'll forget Java, so would it perhaps be better to send those CD units to the likely point of initial attack there rather than to continue to pour things (especially CD units) into a fortress he will not likely attack anyway?
It just seems a bit of overkill to continue to spend PP to put CDs into the fortress. Better to spend those points getting the offensive ground forces bought and trained for themonths ahead. Your shift from the strategic defensive to the strategic offensive may began earlier in this game given the damage the enemy has sustained to this point. It would be nice to have a few extra large infantry units (Infantry divisions/Marine regiments) out of political hock rather than to spend those points on CDs anyway.
You have defended grandly...now comes the hard part of conducting an equally grand offensive to strangle Japan and start the war crime trials.
Great question, Princep, but one that (I think) exemplifies how difficult it is for the writer of an AAR to give a reader enough information to have a full picture. This game is so massive that a writer simply can't relay all the information upon which he is making decisions.
Sumatra is the key to this game now, but not because of fuel. Rather, it's the fact that the Allies have a large base lodged in Japan's heartland, which stretches from the DEI through Borneo and the Philippines up through Japan to Sikhalin Island and the Kuriles. Anything outside the heart is of much less importance, including Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and even India. Anything Japan throws at those objectives would be a diversion of assets from a critical theater at this point.
Usually, it takes the Allied player well into 1943 or even into 1944 to get a strong lodgement in the Japanese heartland. But here the Allies have acheived that in early 1942. If the Allies can keep it, they'll have one or more level seven airfields (Oosthaven can go to level nine). With multiple interlocking major airfields, the Allies can then move forward much more easily under cover of LBA towards new important places - Singapore, western Java, southwestern Borneo, when the time comes to go on the offensive. In other words, Japan's MLR will have been decisively compromised from the outset.
Also, the Allies at this late stage can't afford to allow Sumatra to fall unless the fall exacts an equally terrible toll on Japan. The Allies have nearly 4,000 AV in Sumatra now and will commit most of its navy to Sumatra's defense. A bad result here could throw the Allies back by months or even years.
While Sumatra is the key to everything now, the Allies aren't sitting back doing nothing, though they are enjoying a brief reprieve after the recent Battle of the Andamans Sea. The Allies are contemplating an invasion of Malaya/Burma and are still involved in the struggle over the Kuriles.
Finally, placing coastal defense guns anywhere but Sumatra doesn't make sense, because it would be pure guesswork as to where Japan might land. There are so many bases in Java, Oz, etc, for Japan to choose from. But I KNOW Japan has to land at either Oosthaven or Benkolen (well, I'd say those two are 90% sure bets, with Palembang and Padang sharing the other 10%). So CD guns there are going to be put to use at the most critical point in the game.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
China: The Chinese stack of 5,200 AV shock attacked the weak IJ stack at Kaifeng, but not before that weak IJ stack first tried a deliberate attack (there had been just one small Chinese unit in the hex, so Steve was taking a chance he could whack it before reinforcements arrived, but he guessed wrong). On the day, the Japanese lost 500 squads plus lots of guns, to just 25 Chinese squads lost. 36th Div. was further roughed up in the process. The Chinese have blown a whole in the weak Japanese MLR north of Sian. The Chinese will rest a day or two and then seek the next victims - the goal here is finding and mauling IJ units, not taking bases. Another goal is to create a crisis that might force STeve to expend valuable PP to buy reinforcements for this area, when he might need those PP to buy units to counterinvade in the Kuriles. Trying to stress the lad a bit.
Burma: A small Burma Army unit recaptures Magwe and will now move down a causeway to see if Prome is defended. Here the purpose is to measure enemy strength in Burma, as that will be useful info as the Allies consider an invasion of upper Malaya and Burma. I think the IJ presence in this theater is weak and under-supplied.
Sumatra: Palembang forts go to five. Netties night bomb the airfield at Oosthaven, destroying two aircraft on the ground. The Allies will try to raise the ante by night bombing the port and airfield at Singers. I won't use night bombing missions unless Steve does, since it seems to be borked a bit. Hopefully, this will discourage him from further such raids. If so, I'll halt. Meanwhile, the Allied carriers have rendezvoued and will take station south of Oosthaven. This is much further east than the last patrol location, which was meant to permit quick action in the Bay of Bengal, as indeed turned out to be needed. The new station will permit quick response to a move on Java. There are six fleet CVs (two RN) plus CVL Hermes. Hornet is on the way from Capetown, about two weeks from reaching theater.
Kuriles: Permit reports Mikuma and Ashigara in the Kuriles. That's good for the Allies in Sumatra. IJN cruisers are deadly and scarce, so the less I have to prepare for or face in the DEI, the better.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
He's got to be re-combining the KB. I would expect to see those six carriers back in the DEI within the week (depending on how long it takes the carriers to move back from the Kuriles) - but, he could just as easily send all of them back north as well, perhaps to try to eliminate your presence there that much faster.
Of course, if he does that, he's again barking up the wrong tree. The longer he delays moving against your Sumatran position, the worse it is going to get for him.
Never Underestimate the Power of a Small Tactical Nuclear Weapon...
Paullus, I agree, and was just mulling over that very thought on my way to the office a few minutes ago.
I was trying to put myself in Steve's shoes. What would he do now? He's got Singers, most of Borneo, Denpassar, Makassar and Kendari. He's just taken a whacking when he tried to move on Port Blair. He knows the Allied carriers are in theater. He probably can't afford to commit anything less than the entire KB. And I haven't seen any of the KB elements in several weeks (the one that was up in the Kuriles and the one that pulled back from Singers just after the Battle of the Andamans Sea).
So, I think he'll reconstitute the KB in the DEI. He might move on NW Oz, again choosing a relatively cheap and therefore easy target over the more risky and costly prospect of Java or Sumatra. But that's fiddling while Rome is burning. At this point he would be best served tackling Sumatra. It will be a big battle, but if he were able to win the air, sea and land companents, it would set the Allies back a long time. This is the only chance he has now to restoring order in the game. Even bypassing Sumatra and targeting India now would be a collosal waste of time. It's Sumatra or nothing.
I have to carefully patrol the waters south of Java lest Steve somehow slip the KB past that point undetected and ambush my carriers. That's my biggest concern at the moment.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
It helps to conduct night bombing mission with a high degree of moonlight.
If you haven't done so already, I would go through all your air units and carrier air units to replace leaders as needed in the Sumatra area. There is so much of a pressing need to spend PP on LCUs early in the war that this area is often overlooked.
That is interesting that he was seeing reports of your CVs around Oosthaven (sp?), but thought there were in Aussie... still a pretty risky move...do you have the confirmed shipping losses from that battle yet? I still don't understand whey he thought that island was more important than Sabang...oh well. He did what he did based on the information he gathered.
Life is tough. The sooner you realize that, the easier it will be.
I decided not to rest them - they'll pursue the defeated units to the NW. I had originally wanted to give them a turn or two to recover disruption, but I ultimately decided to move them out now, in part because I have another 1,000 AV that will meet them in the target hex.
NYGiants, that's a timely reminder, thanks. I'm buying that last coastal defense unit next turn. Then, my highest priority will be to attend to commander in critical areas, beginning with air unit commanders in Sumatra, per your suggestion.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
One more word about the Japanese position north of Sian. It's clear Steve stripped the region when he moved on Changsha. Now, the Chinese are just encoutnering token defenses, and for reinforcements he had to dig deep and send for a division all the way down at Changsha. That's a long way away, so that means he had nothing closer, which means he's short of PP and couldn't buy out Kwangtung units. That he's short on PP is probably due to his desire to buy restricted Home Island units to counterinvade the Kuriles. That's a fair bit of intel from just dribs and drabso of information, but I think it's on target.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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