Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice)

[jdsrae]

Has MacArthur tried to resign yet seeing as you’re making him go sideways?!

[Canoerebel]

The McArthur in this universe vowed "I shall return!" to Loemadjang. So Allied progress has him in ecstasies.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Even the best/most accomplished writers wrote with mixed success. I like a lot of Robert Frost's poetry but not all of it. Ditto the writing of Mark Twain and Jack London. I like some of the works of E. A. Poe and John Grisham but not a majority of it. I loved many of the early works of Kenneth Roberts, Alistair MacLean, Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy but not much of their later works (why they tailed off - writing under the pressure of big contracts, no doubt - makes a topic of its own).

Don't forget in this day and age of deadlines that a lot of a successful authors work is written by associate or ghost writers. Example: Clancy, after his first couple of books never credited less than 3 others. And it is fairly well known that Creavey wrote the majority of his last few and has taken up the lead role in the series since his death. Creavey, while no doubt a good writer, hasn't displayed the imagination in the stories that Clancy had. Red October, Cardinal are two good examples of Clancy's inventiveness for a good story line.

The other aspect is that successful author comes up with something akin to a formula for his work. Maclean, Crighton, Grisham, Clancy all demonstrate this. Pickup one of their books without a cover and it doesn't take long to recognize the master's hand, does it? Not only the style of writing, but how they put the story together. It follows a certain logic (or illogic) that is quite discernable.

Just my thoughts...

Anyway, just my thoughts.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

4/21/42 to 5/3/42

We are flipping turns - usually four to six a day. The turns don't take long, at this early stage of the war. This marvelous uncomplexity and the speed we're playing at is a great deal of fun.

As IJ, I can't imagine that pace. It generally takes me several hours, not including the replay, to get through one turn. Ergo, I simply can't play a PBEM. RL intrudes sometimes for weeks …

[Canoerebel]

Glad to have you dropping by, Pax. Thanks for reading.

[Canoerebel]

7/13/44

DEI: While DS waits for CV Enterprise to come up, enemy subs stumble into a minefield. KB disappears, which is annoying. Knowledge is everything. Certainty is electrifying.

[Canoerebel]

7/14/44 and 7/15/44

Battle of Java: On the 14th, DS & The Herd remained stationary while CV Enterprise TF came up. On the 15th, DS & The Herd moved two hexes north, into the dangerous bite east of Soerbaja. There they encountered the biggest nest of subs - ten total interactions in that hex and the two hexes to the east. Dave's wolves damage a CL and sink a CM. In return, my ASW gets four probable kills and six others damaged.

Now comes the fun part. DS & The Herd break into the Java Sea via the dangerous strait by Soerabaja. If Dave wins a carrier battle, forcing me to pull back, then all bets are off and Soerbaja becomes a stalemate (in all probability). If the Allies win (or can remain on the battlefield), then I should be able to (eventually) take control of the battlefield for eastern Java, which will be pretty cataclysmic for Dave, partly because he's going to feed men, ships and planes into this campaign.

It's going to be brutal. It's going to be exciting.

[adarbrauner]

no brutal, without land based he can't do anything

[Canoerebel]

That's not the case. We've seen Japanese players do a lot even when the forces they have are outnumbered. And I didn't say he would be without LBA. He has a bunch of airfields nearby. He just doesn't have a level 9 in immediate proximity, since Soerabaja is currently shut down (or badly damaged).

[BBfanboy]

If AKEs are getting in short supply, an AG of sufficient capacity can rearm depth charges on vessels smaller than a DD.

[Canoerebel]

Thanks for the tip/reminder. I have about 11 zillion AKEs. I also have a zillion AGs. I converted far too many xAKs to AGs at the start of the war, as I had no idea what I was doing.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Thanks for the tip/reminder. I have about 11 zillion AKEs. I also have a zillion AGs. I converted far too many xAKs to AGs at the start of the war, as I had no idea what I was doing.

Well you can either scatter AGs all along your LOCs to ensure you can rearm small ASW vessels if necessary, or use them as cargo ships. Or send them into enemy harbours to check for mines ...[:D]

[Canoerebel]

Good ideas. The string of ports is mostly in place. Darwin is "in the rear" now, safe, and filled with support and fuel ships. Koepang and Waingepoe are closer to the front but pretty secure. I wouldn't hesitate to park a few AKEs there. Banjowangi is on the front lines, under pretty stiff CAP, and should be safe, especially as long as DS is out in front, drawing Dave's attention. I'll send one or two AKEs there.

[CaptBeefheart]

Getting interesting. What's the balance of forces at Malang?

Cheers,
CB

[Canoerebel]

That's a good question with a simple answer that would be so highly misleading that I have to expound further. Otherwise I'd be giving a most inaccurate picture.

Malang is currently the focal point. Both sides have equal forces of roughly 1500 AV. It's 2x terrain. Stalemate, right?

But Dave has another 60k troops in adjacent Soerabaja. And I have 650 AV further east, most of it moving to Malang.

He also has an army on the other end of the island, with advance elements trying to restore the rail network to open the contested zone to his reinforcements.

I, in turn, am about to land a major army at Tjepoe with the hope of enforcing the rail-network disruption (or, if not, at least creating such a large army that the Allies will ultimately prevail).

To add to all that, an Allied unit is trying to enter Malang from the NW side. If it succeeds, most of the Allied army at Malang will move north, leaving behind only a holding force.

It's tremendously complicated. I'm fighting the clock here, because Dave is pouring in reinforcements. I've decided not to contest, as the higher priority is to land the new army at Tjepoe.

Probably this will turn into a quagmire. But that's okay for the Allies, because airfield-building and 4EB would ultimately prove decisive. Dave would be fighting without air superiority and probably without sea priority (unless he wins a carrier battle), which isn't sustainable.

So it all comes down, once again, to carriers. Maintain superiority and the Allies win this campaign eventually.

[CaptBeefheart]

Thanks for the explanation. A lot going on under the hood.

Best of luck. That level 65 shipyard is a great prize.

Cheers,
CB

[Canoerebel]

7/16/44 to 7/18/44

DEI: A critical land battle will take place tomorrow for the new Allied base hex that sits astride the key railroad severing the railroad between Batavia and Soerabaja. Dave's 3rd Tank Div. just arrived. It faces an infantry detachment of 21 AV. But an Allied tank brigade and two AT units may arrive tomorrow. There's a chance the Allies can hold this hex. In a few more days, 18th UK Div. and other reinforcements begin arriving. If the Allies manage to hold this hex, the campaign is really decided. If they lose it, then it will be a longer, tougher fight to prevail.

[Canoerebel]

7/19/44

Battle of Madioen: Allied reinforcements arrived - perfect timing and just the right kind of units (anti-tank) - and repulsed the shock attack by 3rd Tank Division.

This is critical. Instead of having the upper hand, now Dave has to fight like crazy to try to open the railroad between Batavia and Soerabaja. He'll fight like crazy, but I like the odds here.

Two things I should admit here. First, it is almost pure accident that anti-tank units showed up when they did.

Second, I found it impossible to know whether my best course of action was to detach DS to attack the reinforcements pouring into Batavia or to keep The Herd landing the army at Tjepoe protected. By a single day, the latter turned out to be the right choice.

[Canoerebel]

7/19/44

Battle of Madioen: Victory in this battle went a long way to clearing up the many uncertainties about how this campaign will develop. A somewhat similar battle may happen tomorrow, in the clear hex to the east. The stakes aren't as high, as Dave will still have to work to reopen additional hexes or hexsides, but it would be a start of him. Allied 4EB will target the enemy unit in this clear hex, and an African division may arrive during the turn.

[Canoerebel]

7/20/44

Battle of Java: Dave commits more combat ships vs. DS. They're sticking their fingers into the hornet's nest.