Matrix Games Forums

10/6/44

Battle of Chaochow: Stakes are pretty high here. John has a chance to beat up an American division. At the moment, though, there is a viable retreat path, so I don't think destruction is possible. On the flip side, if the 4EB fly on time (good weather) against John's stack, he's going to see yet another army get clobbered. It's possible that the tables could turn completely in a few days: Allied army resupplied (when Death Star arrives) goes after badly beat up enemy army.

So lots at stake here.

John may be moving a large stack to the coast. I'm a bit nervous, because my army in his target hex is low on supply

BTW, where are your transport aircraft? MAybe too late here but if you can get a bunch in you can airlift supply

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Yeah, I hated it too. There seems to be a sharp divergence in how people view Thin Red Line. A respectable percentage of forumites really liked it (Obvert, for one). Probably a majority didn't like it.

In my personal rating, The Thin Red Line is best war movie I've ever seen, by far. Two or three levels higher than save private ryan, for example .

My measuring meter, as well as yours I figure, is realism. In this I find that film over any other, by far .

Had it been shooted at Guadalcanal , on the Austin (?) mountain hill and on Lunga Point, as it in first intentions to be done but then discarded due to the prohibitive costs, then that would had been the ultimate of the ultimates.

+, its beauty. because is beautiful.

No AA in that stack moving towards you, except for what is inherent in the the Tank Divisions.

Open, coastal terrain hex.

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel
I have to maintain status quo for about another week until Death Star (the sheriff) arrives and imposes order throughout this theater.

If Death Star is The Sheriff, does that make KB Superman?

ORIGINAL: Lowpe
No AA in that stack moving towards you, except for what is inherent in the the Tank Divisions.

Open, coastal terrain hex.

I've long had the impression that John really went all-in to protect the Home Islands from strategic bombing, going back to late '43. He has tons of fighters posted there plus a lot of his AA. As a result of the decisions he made, he left too many forward areas without adequate AA, hastening his losses in Burma, Indochina, Luzon, Formosa and China. He probably would do things differently if he had it to do over again.

10/7/44

Death Star closing on Luzon....and at Manila, all troops for the next phase are loaded aboard transports.

10/7/44

Peep Show II: Movement dots raise the possibility that John is re-thinking his plans to besiege Chaochow. I hope that's the case but I'm still preparing for the siege.

On Formosa, two US divisions will attack at Karenko tomorrow. The enemy stack seems very worn down and about ready to give it up.

Your Formosa campaign went much faster than I've seen up to this point. John still really needs to get a handle of defensive tactics - though, his use of the KB has been much restrained over the past months of gameplay.

Any chance that you'll be able to pounce on these divided sections at some point in the future?

I assume you mean the KB divisions?

I'm hoping to lull John into accepting as a matter of course the slow, deliberate pace of Death Star as it always (always!) sticks close to the merchantmen it is shepherding here or there. I've been doing it just that way for more than a year now. Never deviating. Never leaving the merchantmen behind. Never using flank speed. Never doing anything unexpected.

One of these days, Death Star will escort a group of empties that are nothing more than decoys. Then, if something juicy turns up, Death Star will do the unexpected and radically pounce.

Other than that one possibility, the only thing I know to do is to keep applying pressure in John's heartland so that he faces a Hobson's Choice: commit KB against Death Star or risk a gasping, wheezing death by increments in which KB is either irrelevant or eventually whittled down in rather hopeless Banzai attacks or rather meaningless battles on the fringes.

If history books were to be written about this campaign, they would cover the Formosa/China campaign in the summer of '44 followed by the China campaign in the autumn of '44. They wouldn't touch what happened in the interim - the long, boring spell where nothing of interest happened.

In actuality, three shadowy ops took place during that interval that were keys to what's going to happen next: (1) 335 empties were successfully escorted from Luzon to the DEI, and many are now en route to beefing up logistical operations needed to prosecute the war; (2) Death Star rendezvoused with, and then escorted to Luzon, the big merchantmen TFs inbound from CenPac (had John managed to knock out these merchantmen via LBA, combat ships or carriers it would've been a serious setback); and (3) with Death Star out in CenPac for several weeks, Formosa and Coastal China were vulnerable to enemy attacks by air, sea and land; my biggest concern was rampaging bombardment TFs tearing up my Formosa airfields and hammering my vulnerable ground units in China, plus any Japanese army attacks against Allied army stacks in those coastal China cities; effective use of bombardments could've really messed up my airfields and my supply situation and big victories in coastal China might've derailed pending offensive moves while giving John an infusion of points.

I really thought Formosa would be a battle ground while Death Star was absent. Instead, Allied defenses and positions remain strong and everything is green-lighted for immediate offensive activity when Death Star returns in less than a week.

The interval between Peep Show II and what comes next (I need a name) was productive. The Allies are about to be in a position to really increase the pace of operations.

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel
(I need a name)

In light of my previous post, I submit Super Bowl [;)] Or SB-50, or some such.

In keeping with the themes that started with "Carnival," "Circus" and "Roller Coaster" back in mid '43, I gotta use a carnival, fair or circus theme.

I think I'll dub it "Fancy Pants" (descriptive of what a clown or Bullwinkle would typically wear).

I was going to suggest 'Bearded Lady' or 'Coconut Shy'

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

In keeping with the themes that started with "Carnival," "Circus" and "Roller Coaster" back in mid '43, I gotta use a carnival, fair or circus theme.

I think I'll dub it "Fancy Pants" (descriptive of what a clown or Bullwinkle would typically wear).

I was going to suggest High Wire or Acrobat, but the image of Bullwinkle in polka-dot pants does stay with you! [:D]

How about "Freak Show"...

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

I was going to suggest High Wire or Acrobat, but the image of Bullwinkle in polka-dot pants does stay with you! [:D]

They were a gift from Jackson Pollock. My retirement fund.

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

In keeping with the themes that started with "Carnival," "Circus" and "Roller Coaster" back in mid '43, I gotta use a carnival, fair or circus theme.

I think I'll dub it "Fancy Pants" (descriptive of what a clown or Bullwinkle would typically wear).

I was going to suggest High Wire or Acrobat, but the image of Bullwinkle in polka-dot pants does stay with you! [:D]

Operation Cotton Candy

Dapper, I must say.