Northern Korea: Allies closing on Genzan and should take it within three or four days.
I don't think there's meaningful opposition NE of Genzan, although John is probably attending to that. I think his highest priority is to adequately garrison the big bases, like Mukden.
But once Genzan is taken, I'm going to shift a fair amount of the Allied army to the southern end of the Peninsula, where there's a lot of fighting to be done. John has a stout army there - worth a lot of points. And if the war were to last more than a fortnight or so, Fusan would be a key base necessary to future ops in the Sea of Japan.
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042045N..Campaign.jpg (439.01 KiB) Viewed 267 times
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Battle of Taikyu: This is the key to Korea, now. I'm trying to unhinge John's defenses by threatening to outflank his MLR to the W and NW. He has interior lines and good units here, but the Allied army is strong and the air force is nearby in massive numbers.
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042045B..fTaikyu.jpg (421.07 KiB) Viewed 267 times
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Battle of Chengting: Probing bombardment suggests the Japanese infantry units are weaker than expected. The Chinese army of some 4000+ AV will attack tomorrow.
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042045B..hengting.jpg (536.58 KiB) Viewed 267 times
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
KB South: Raiding, probably in hopes of bushwhacking the RN carriers at Colombo. Now that his carriers have been spotted, what will John do. He might Banzai, given the date and the circumstances of the war. I'll augment the CAP just a bit.
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042045K..rCeylon.jpg (272.2 KiB) Viewed 267 times
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Intel Screen: Allies seem fated to score roughly 500 points per turn. That's a decent rate, so I'm not complaining. It'll end the war in 20 days or less. But I had expected more, since the Allied air force is far forward and is mostly unopposed by enemy fighters. I'll keep fiddling with the recipe, even as the sand runs through the hourglass.
And what about John? What's his thought process? Resignation and acceptance of the status quo as the end comes? Or does he take a dose of sake and trigger the Banzai charges.
Weird game. He has yet to employ kamikazes in meaningful numbers, even as the Allies romped all over his back yard and then knocked in the back door. I know he has a serious case of "Can't Take on Death Star," but that was the same dilemma the real Japan faced.
I think he'll pull the trigger at the last moment, even if he's not thinking that way now.
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042045I..lScreen.jpg (151.97 KiB) Viewed 267 times
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
I think it's easier to work from the raw numbers than a ratio, but I'll try to post the ratio too.
Lecivius, you're right about the current ratio and the ratio needed for AV.
On a separate note, I don't know if and to what extent FOW will toy with my AV calculations. For instance, there are ships that have been sunk that I haven't gotten credit for (yet), and the same for John. So the numbers we're going by probably aren't true duo to that FOW.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
But I had expected more, since the Allied air force is far forward and is mostly unopposed by enemy fighters. I'll keep fiddling with the recipe, even as the sand runs through the hourglass.
You seem to have found the recipe for Strategic bombing. It's all great until you send in every bomber and the sweeps go in last against a well defended target. BTW, are the bombers going in all at once or do they come in waves? Are you mixing altitudes? Lower is probably better but I'd keep the B-29's up a big higher and maybe go in really low with the low service rating stuff. Bad, bad times for the Empire when the 2E bombers are showing up
Today I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter's gun in the other. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. I repeat, do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. - Yasser Arafat Speech to UN General Assembly
I have a good flow going right now. I've tinkered with lots of different configurations - day, night, low, medium, high, escorts, no escorts, etc. Right now, I'm usually able to pick targets that are largely undefended or which my fighters easily handle, making things easy on the 4EB. I'm setting them at 8k - high enough that flak isn't a killer and low enough to score points. For a long time, I was setting them to 2k, which resulted in tremendous accuracy but attrition that wasn't sustainable. (Sometimes I set the 2EB lower than 8k when I think a target has little flak.) Usually all my 'Forts are set at the same altitude. Usually the raids are broken into several large contingents and a few smaller, straggling contingents. Overall, I'm pleased with mission coordination - the raid last turn from something like five different bases was a good example.
Operation Unicycle has been going on for about three weeks. Losses to the Superforts have been low. But accumulated wear and tear is beginning to factor in. For the next few days, I'm likely to rest most of the 'Forts while using the other 4EB to hit ground targets in Korea.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Intel Screen: This turn was really bad for Japan on the map - so bad that John expressed some lighthearted but genuine dismay in his email. As you'll see shortly, a carrier raid fizzled badly with him losing a lot of strike aircraft; a heavy 4EB raid vs. Kobe scored well; and his main stack in the Kaifeng Pocket in China took a very bad beating. It was a BAD turn for him.
....except in the Points department. As you can see, it was a decent but not spectacular day for the Allies. I'm satisfied, partly because I know things are building to a climax on the map (a cascade of points will come in eventually, I think) and partly because of the apparent "fix" to score around 500 points per turn.
John is one of many players who scoffs at Victory Points. If he just knew. If he could just step into the shoes of players like Lowpe and Obvert (and several others) who understand the depth and richness of the VP system. Right now, the war is a disastrous shambles for John, but the Victory Point system is making me work my weary butt off to achieve auto victory. Apart from Victory Points, there's really nothing left to fight for...nor has there been for quite some time.
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042145I..lScreen.jpg (138.26 KiB) Viewed 267 times
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Raid on Colombo: John blunts the tip of his spear against a hardened target. It's fun playing against an opponent who is raiding from Pago Pago to Ceylon in late '44 and '45.
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042145R..Colombo.jpg (355.2 KiB) Viewed 267 times
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Battle of Chengting: Chinese successfully attacked most of the main IJ stack I'm trying to surround and isolate (some of the other IJA units cleared the hex during the course of the turn). A lot of IJA squads destroyed - and a lot more disabled. A lot of points to be scored if I can close the Kaifeng Pocket and destroy the encircled Japanese army.
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042145B..hengting.jpg (639.08 KiB) Viewed 267 times
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
China: With today's attack by the Chinese, the last real IJA offensive potential in the massive Kaifeng Pocket vanished. John may be able to find friendly hex sides to escape through, but I doubt it.
Korea: Major ground battle at Taikyu in about two or three days.
Strategic Bombing: Big raid on Kobe scores well. All bases from there south are now pretty much trashed. I can still find some points to raid at Nagasaki, Fukuoka and Shimonoseki, but pretty soon I'll have to take on a major target in middle Japan.
The Liberators and Mitchells will concentrate on ground targets for a few days, so many (not all) of the Superforts will stand down for maintenance.
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042145Asia.jpg (883.81 KiB) Viewed 267 times
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Apart from Victory Points, there's really nothing left to fight for...nor has there been for quite some time.
As long as there are Japanese CV's afloat, and the Rising Sun flies over Singapore, I can't agree. Yes, I know you're going for Victory Points in cheaper ways -- but if you were both ignoring VP's, that's where I would aim.
Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?
In the real war, the Allies ignored Singapore and Sumatra and Java and Korea and lots of other critical places. They had a plan and it didn't involve those place.
Ditto in this non-real war. I've taken what I need to win the war and don't need to take long chances. Those were taken long ago - the risky deep invasions of Sumatra and the DEI and Luzon and China and Formosa and Korea.
But I stil haven't won the game, because the victory points system tells me I haven't. I'm persuaded that the VP system is rather magnificent.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
