Payback - jzanes (A) vs. Rader (J). A Rader-free zone.

[Jzanes]

(November 2-25, 1942 con’t)

Western Allies:

The British continue to build up and spend PPs to release Indian units from restricted commands.

The Australians continue to build up Exmouth. Some japanese subs have been sighted in Exmouth harbor, dropping mines, and torpedoeing some minseweepers. I swept the mines and small supply/fuel TFs continue to shuttle back and forth from Perth.

The Americans suffered a major hit when the KB snuck into the shipping lanes between Penrhyn Island and Pago Pago. My first 4 CVEs happened to be in the area and got obliterated. They were all of the “replacement air group” type so were minimally useful at this point. Still a heavy loss. My CVs were at Suva at the time and I sent them to the area hoping the KB would hang around but he withdrew and also didn’t attack the DD I left out in the open. My plan was to have him hit the DD and be surprised by the 200+ USAAF fighters I had on LR CAP. Then the CVs would hit the depleted carriers.

Since then the US carriers have returned to convoy protection. I’ve got another large convoy moving around New Zealand and heading for Melbourne. These are SW Pac troops intended to reinforce the Australian offensive vs. the north coast. They are about to enter the potentially dangerous waters between NZ and OZ. The ANZAC squadron is moving to meet and guard the transports. His carriers should be well to the north so hopefully I’ll get thru without damage.

[Jzanes]

Early August, 1944

I gave up maintaining this AAR because it was just too time consuming but the game has continued. I got a little time on my hands today so I thought I’d post an update.

Nearly two years have passed and the initiative has passed to the allies. The remainder of 1942 and most of 1943 were relatively quiet. In late 1943, the allies started to get some effective fighters, significant bomber production, and had built up a large powerful CV fleet. This has led to a series of offensives in Burma and the Pacific.

I’m not really happy at the slow pace of my advance but several factors have slowed me down considerably;

1. Rader is no dummy and clearly has the means and ability to smash any limited or poorly executed early allied offensive.
2. The KB remains completely intact and has been mostly hidden. This massive fleet-in-being limits me to targets I can grab quickly for fear of being smashed by massive carrier counterattacks.
3. The quantity and quality of allied airpower has been pathetic until late 1943. There are lots of air units but limited replacements has led to short bursts of activity with long periods of recovery for most of the game.
- Heavy bombers: the allies best tool. They can survive hitting CAP but will take pretty heavy losses and need to be regularly pulled back to rebuild.
- Medium bombers: A non-factor until 1944. No medium bomber can survive hitting CAP. They all might as well be unarmored, slow, and unarmed. The allies get very few replacements until late 43. At this point, I use them regularly and if they get slaughtered I quickly rebuild them, load them up with rookie pilots, and send them out again.
- Fighters. too few and too useless until late 1943. Hellcats, P47s, and Spitfire VIIIs are awesome. They mostly rip up anything they meet. The P47D25 is an absolute war winner. I regularly get 6:1 kill ratios vs. the best and brightest the japanese have to offer. P51Bs and Corsairs are useful but not any better than the japanese fighters. Late model P38s are ok but can’t be used for CAP due to high service rating. I use them as long range sweepers. Every other allied fighter is hopelessly outclassed by the japanese no matter how you use them or how good their pilots are.
4. It takes time to re-organize, re-load, and prep after each mega-invasion. Nothing is done on the fly for fear of the KB or the powerful japanese LBA swooping in and doing some major damage.

Here’s a rough update of events in each region since November 1942.

The Undersea War:

Allied subs did well until Rader got smart and deployed a large # of hunter killer ASW ships supported by ASW airpower. Since then, I’ve been forced to use my subs as a defensive screen and to lurk in remote areas hoping to ambush any wayward japanese ships. Any sub placed in a busy shipping lane will be spotted and killed very quickly. The way the game works currently, subs are a defensive weapon and a deterrent at best.

The flip side is that the japanese subs have done close to nothing. Rader seems to keep them in port and sortie them in large masses only during major operations. They’ve gotten some kills that way but have been roughly handled by allied ASW assets.

[Jzanes]

Russia:

The front solidified with the Russians bottled up in the north behind the fortress of Chita. The japanese slowly beatdown the out of supply Russian forces around Vladivostok and eventually captured the city. Much of the Russian garrison was disbanded before surrendering and the units were rebuilt from scratch at Krasnoyarsk in the northern bastion.

At this point the Russians have about 10,000 AV prepped to breakout of the northern bastion. They have very little airpower (maybe 200 Yaks and LaGGs and 300 sturmoviks) as the Russians don’t get any significant air replacements until 1945.

The plan is to commence a winter offensive around late September 1944. Hopefully, the weather will limit the effectiveness of the Manchurian Army’s air superiority. I’ll fight until things bog down and then rest until the spring of 1945 when the Russians start to get some real firepower.

[Jzanes]

China:

Absolutely nothing has happened in China for the entire period. The line remains roughly Yenan-Sian-Changsha-Nanning. Every key spot is strongly held. It’s been a struggle to keep the Chinese supplied as I’ve found that you can pull lots of supply from Russia but no matter what you do it’s impossible to pull supply from Burma. The Chinese have just enough supply to keep their units alive but not enough to go on the offensive.

Any Chinese unit that is unrestricted (or can be made unrestricted) has been sent to fight in Burma where they’ve done very well. The Chinese airforce remains tiny and pretty useless due to lack of replacements. It’s been sent to supplement the British air in Burma.

[Jzanes]

Burma:

My greatest success. The British have captured all of Burma and are pounding their way into Thailand. Let’s look at events in stages;

Late 1942-late 1943: Allied heavy bombers spar with the large IJA airforce. Over time, the oil center at Magwe is trashed and Rader and I repeatedly destroy each other’s airpower which is rebuilt and destroyed again. I slowly build up all the bases along the front to help support my airpower and more importantly, to increase the movement of supply. PPs are used to transfer Chinese troops to Southeast Asia command and they gather on the China-Burma border.

Late 1943-Early 1944: Large allied troops concentrations invade Burma by marching through the jungle. Northern Burma is uncontested but the allies bog down at Schwebo, due to a large IJA army across the river at Mandalay. Meanwhile, the Chinese attack and eventually capture Lashio. The Chinese are assisted by Rader’s trouble getting supply to flow to his troops.

Mid 1944: Airborne forces capture Bassein and Ramree Island. With a large British army marching down the coast towards Prome, Rader decides to bug out of Burma and pulls all his forces back to Thailand with blocking positions at Moulmein and the Chiang Mai-Uttardit base complex. The British grab undefended lower Burma and begin to bring up and prep their forces for the next offensive. Transport ships bring in large amounts of supply through the tiny port of Ramree Island. I’m pleasantly surprised that this provides enough supply to support my entire force. During the pause; P47D25s, Spitfire VIIIs, and B-29s arrive in large numbers.

To the Present: Allied airpower captures air superiority. My next-gen fighters prove superior to Tojos, Jacks, Franks, etc. and hundreds of japanese planes are destroyed on the ground by allied heavy bombers. The japanese still have a large air presence in Burma and remain capable of doing heavy damage but the hunter has become the hunted at this point.

The Chinese surprise both of us by capturing Chiang Mai fairly easily and shatter several IJA divisions. Rader appears to panic and moves a good chunk of the Moulmein garrison towards Chiang Mai. The massive British army crosses the river at Pegu and after a one month battle, captures Moulmein. This opens up several roads and the allies move blocking forces towards Rahaeng and Bangkok. The main force moves on Tavoy and is currently whittling away at Rader’s force. Rader moved up his Tavoy garrison to reinforce his blocking force and allied airborne troops capture the city before he can move in a new garrison. My airborne force is still behind enemy lines but appears safe until Rader moves up a strong force to retake the city. I am confidant I’ll be able to defeat his forces and hook up with the airborne troops before he can overwhelm them.

With the capture of Moulmein and Tavoy, I’ve begun to tentatively use the port of Rangoon to bring in troops and supply. Once Tavoy and Mergui are taken and consolidated, I will begun the long planned for invasion of the Andaman Islands. The British navy is currently at Aden and preparing to sail to Colombo where they’ll pickup and escort the Andaman Island invasion force.

Rader is constantly bringing in more forces to Burma. I suspect he is terrified of my troops getting much further. Flying from Moulmein, my B-29s can reach as far as Palembang. I have yet to fly any strategic missions but the threat of massive raids on his oil centers has got to be scary.

[Jzanes]

Australia/New Guinea/South Seas:

My original aim was to build up the Port Hedland/Broome area and make a leap into the SRA via Timor. However, japanese airpower proved too strong and I gave up this plan and changed focus to the New Guinea area instead. A rough timeline of events;

Early to Mid 1943: Captured Port Hedland and Broome areas without significant opposition. Japanese LBA and KB raids slows but cannot stop development of allied bases in this area. Strong allied land, air, and naval forces moved to the region.

Mid 1943: Pretty much all the allied naval and air power is used to support a 6+ division invasion forced aimed at East Timor. In a week long battle, carrier based Hellcats and land based heavy bombers destroy over a thousand japanese land based planes. In the end, attrition of allied carrier fighters forces me withdraw before landing. I lose a couple CVEs and a couple CVs are lightly/moderately damaged but not sunk. The japanese air is ravaged but Rader scores a major victory in forcing me to withdraw.

Parallel with this operation, allied forces supported by CVEs capture Norfolk Island near Noumea and Efate and Tanna in the New Hebrides. Several allied CVEs are sunk but these bases are quickly built up.

Mid 1943-Early 1944: Having given up on moving into the SRA via Timor, I quickly move everything over to the other side of Australia with the intention of attacking the New Caledonia/New Hebrides islands and Port Moresby.

A massive fleet sets sail for New Caledonia with every intention of engaging the KB if need be. Coincidentally, the KB attacks and sinks a crippled CVE in Port Hedland harbour while I’m on the way to New Caledonia. Knowing that the KB is far far away, I quickly grab New Caledonia and the New Hebrides islands with no effective opposition.

Ndeni and Vanikoro become my front line air bases well within Corsair/Hellcat range of the japanese Lunga airbase complex. Luganville and Noumea quickly are built into major bases and loaded up with fuel and supply.

Mid 1944 to present: While I was attacking and consolidating my position in the New Caledonia/New Hebrides area, I was building up my bases on the Australian north coast. Every base from Townsville to Portland Roads is maxxed out. Normanton is used as a “backdoor” to grab Merauke and Horn Island and to build up Gove. These bases are used to provide air recon and to act as barge bases for supplying Darwin.

Having captured Ndeni, the allied carriers are used to support the invasion of Port Moresby. Allied heavy and medium bombers cripple the New Guinea airfields on day 1 and Terapo, Wau, and Port Moresby are easily capture and developed. Rader doesn’t put up any fight as I march over the mountains and capture Buna and Salamau. Milne Bay is captured by airborne forces and is slowly developing.

[Jzanes]

Future Plans: Australian forces are marching on Lae and intend to capture and develop New Guinea bases as fast as the terrain allows. A 3 division amphibious force is prepped for Normandby Island and will soon set sail supported by the allied fleet. They will then move on to capture Rossel Island.

The current plan is to then pick up the marines currently training at Noumea. The target will be the Gilberts Islands. Tabiteau is a major japanese base and will be a major nut to crack. It has a max. troop capacity of 60,000 and is an atoll. I’m hoping 4+ marine divisions and 3+ army divisions will be sufficient to survive the brutal first day shock attack vs. the 24 japanese units spotted at Tabiteau. I intend to also attack Abemama, Tarawa, and Makin within the first few days.

An attack on the Gilberts will also take me into the danger zone where my LBA will not be able to effectively protect my shipping. If there is going to be a Mother of All Battles, it will happen here with my massive carrier force vs. the fully developed KB.


If you enjoyed reading this and want to know what happens, please say so and it’s likely I’ll keep this going. Otherwise, I’ll see you in 1946 at the victory parade!

[witpqs]

Thanks for the update! [:)]

A bit of unsolicited advice: 7 divisions is so big compared to 60,000 capacity that you will have 0 (zero) supplies left at the end of the first turn and every turn no matter how much you unload. BTW, the supplies you unload during a given turn will be available for combat that turn, but then be taken away by the over stacking penalty at the end of the turn.

I haven't a clue how many troops you will need, but there is a technique that I have found helpful. The numbers I am putting in here are hypothetical and for the sake of example only: Land 3 or 4 of the divisions the first day. If a division is trashed, then on the second day simultaneously pull it out and land another in its place. Do that as much as necessary.

Also, after the mandatory shock attack, order your ashore units to "Defend" until they have recovered from disruption and fatigue. Disruption below ten (<10). Fatigue can be somewhat higher. Adjust those figures upwards if the enemy is weak, but the main point is that Allied divisions have massive firepower and can perform very well once Disruption (and to a lesser extent Fatigue) is brought way down. And in case I did not mention it, get Disruption down. [8D]

After you get Disruption down, deliberate attacks will work fine and preserve your force. And remember to get Disruption down. [:D]

I hope that's helpful.

[Blackhorse]

Jzanes: I'm glad to see you've restarted your AAR. Interesting, informative, and it covers an aspect of the war (Russia) and a time period (1944) we don't often see. Please continue. I'm following both yours and your opponent's AAR, so I'll refrain from further comment.


Witpqs: Good advice. I have one question, though: What about Disruption?

[Jzanes]

Thanx for the feeback. Keep it coming. Even a little comment here and there let's me know someone is reading.

Good points regarding overstacking Witpqs. Perhaps, I'll send in a marine corps (3 divisions plus support) in the first wave against Tabiteau and have an army corps as a floating reserve. I should have no trouble dropping the entire corps in one turn with the 9 million LSTs/APAs etc. that I have in my arsenal. If a full marine corps can't win a beachhead, then nothing will.

Here's the overview map. Note the lines of green dots surrounding most of the japanese areas. This is my submarine picket line. I'd love to have them lurking in the shipping lanes but they'd die very quckly.

[obvert]

The current plan is to then pick up the marines currently training at Noumea. The target will be the Gilberts Islands. Tabiteau is a major japanese base and will be a major nut to crack. It has a max. troop capacity of 60,000 and is an atoll. I’m hoping 4+ marine divisions and 3+ army divisions will be sufficient to survive the brutal first day shock attack vs. the 24 japanese units spotted at Tabiteau. I intend to also attack Abemama, Tarawa, and Makin within the first few days.

Jzanes

At this point in the war is it necessary to worry about the gilberts? Couldn't you just bypass those and move on closer to the mainland either through the central pacific (Wake > Makin), solomans, and New Guinea? Maybe even go north and move down the Kuriles? Get close enough to bomb his industry, hit the northern resources on Sakhalin and the southern through your bombing of Palembang?

There is not much time left for prepping all of these forces and moving toward the Home Islands if you consider 2-3 months prep for each invasion.

[FatR]

I agree that there is no point in going after Gilberts. And Andamans are of dubious value too. These areas can't realistically be used to threaten your communications. Hit western New Britain and take small islands in the Solomon Sea instead. This will allow you both to freely move convoys to Bismark Sea and to suppress Rabaul/Solomons with close-range airpower. Then go for Admiralty Islands or advance along the coast of New Guinea.

[eloso]

I think it is way too late for a long drawn out war of attrition in CentPac or SWPac. You really need bases at this point in the war in range of his vital industry. You can push along 3 fronts to achieve this. Use the Russians and Chinese to apply pressure from the interior. The Brits can be used to secure SE Asia and keep him busy down there. I would use the bulk of the US forces to secure bases in the Kuriles, Hokkaido and Sakhalin. Here you can use your 4E bombers to wreck havoc on his industry.

[Jzanes]

Looks like a consensus regarding the Gilberts. I have to admit I was leaning towards cancelling that operation myself. On one hand, it'd be a good learning experience to try to take a heavily guarded large atoll but on the other hand it'd be a time consuming sideshow at best and has the potential to be a disaster.

I decided to shelve the Gilberts operation and begin preparations for an attack on the Lunga-Tulagi base complex. Recon shows 18-30,000 japanese troops on each of the bases of Lunga, Tulagi, Tassafaronga, and Thousand Islands Bay. Each base has a large airfield and there are probably a total of 1,000 japanese planes in the base complex. Each will be tough fight but none are atolls and the whole area is within fighter range of Ndeni-Luganville. A much safer, quicker, and more important target.

More details on this operation later but first I am focusing on capturing the japanese citadels of Normandby I. and Rossel I. guarding the approaches to Rabaul.

The British will continue to prep for the Andaman Islands. I need to take these islands to guard my drive into Thailand-Malaya and to safeguard ships traveling to Rangoon. In addition, capturing these islands will force Rader to protect vs. landings on Malaya or Sumatra. Regardless, the British don't have enough carrier support to grab anything more substantial anyways.

[witpqs]

It might be right to cancel the operation (not commenting on that), but the experience you get with actually doing an atoll invasion is invaluable because of the little ins and outs the game has. I suggest you fire up an AI game and ignore 99% of it until you get to the point where you can do an atoll invasion. Maybe run it head to head for a few turns and sacrifice the KB just to get it out of the way for your "training run".

[obvert]

I agree the practice of forcing a way through his forces would help you learn more ins and outs of game mechanics, but I'm also curious if this whole Russian invasion and aftermath is a viable holding strategy for the Japanese? Or are his forces now spread to thin to protect everything while the Russian front is active and you have all of that firepower ready to burst through there as well as a Navy that can stand up to the KB in the Pacific?

Once you cut through the center pacific and north pacific, all of that stuff below will begin to wither. If all of those subs I see near the Gilberts end up in a big cordon around the HI and you run through Marcus to get to the Marianas, well, then all of that to the south becomes like the Vladivostok pocket, starving away while you bomb his industry.

[Jzanes]

I hope to eventually tackle the atolls of the Gilberts as a learning experience but I'll save that for when it'll be a mop-up operation. Given my rate of advance, that'll be in 1946.

I don't think Rader intended to win the war via attacking Russia. He has mentioned that he just wanted to be one of the first to give it a shot and see how it played out. Strategically, attacking Russia is not a great move. The russian bases aren't really gonna add much to the japanese economy and taking out the russians doesn't really hurt the western allies, doesn't capture anything that's going to slow up the western allies, and doesn't really free up any japanese troops as they are still going to have to pay PPs to free up the Manchukuo garrison.

I suspect Rader will move a large bomber heavy LBA force to Russia once I commence my offensive. He knows the russians don't have any significant fighter force and it has become too dangerous to use his bombers vs. the western allies due to allied air superiority.

An offensive thru the central pacific aimed at the Marianas sounds good but I've never been a fan of this strategy. Ultimately this offensive will lead to a Mega-battle pitting the KB vs. the USN Carrier armada. My carriers will be tied to defending a massive amphibious fleet and the KB will be able to choose it's moment to strike. While the USN still is capable of winning this mega-battle, the odds are still too close to 50/50 and the implications of a defeat are too dire for me to risk it.

I prefer the slow but sure road to victory. I may not reach Tokyo before game end but I'll line up a long list of victories between now and the end and I might just tempt Rader into committing the KB at a time and place with all the chips in my favor. Rader is a talented and dedicated opponent but even he might surrender after a one sided carrier battle leaving the pride of the IJN under the waves.

[obvert]

Got it. Seems prudent.

You are apparently getting the advantage in LBA, so the Solomons will be a good advance area. Could lead to the same spot in the center pacific, but a bit later and with more support.

[Jzanes]

Early September, 1944

The last month has progressed pretty much as I planned. Let’s take a look at developments region by region;

Russia:

The long planned for “Payback” offensive has begun. A huge Russian army (9,000 AV) has marched from Chita and has engaged the japanese blocking force SE of Chita. The first attack came off at 1:2 but I will continue to pound away.

My flanking force has left Ulan Bator and is advancing on Wuteh and Ondorhaan.

[Jzanes]

Burma:

The British captured Tavoy and Mergui and Rader pulled back his forces to defend Bangkok. About 100,000 troops are embarked and enroute for Port Blair. I’m taking a roundabout route hoping to avoid rader’s naval search as long as possible. The entire British fleet is guarding the invasion and heavy bombers have pounded the Andaman Islands into rubble. Unless the KB shows up, I should be able to land at Port Blair in about a week.