See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

[apbarog]

Region Summary: China

China has been quiet for a long time. Walker made some limited efforts at bombing China industry. I responded by bringing in Chinese, Brit, and US fighter squadrons.

Supply is the name of the game in Allied China. I've managed to keep most units in supply, but supply is low. Chungking has about 12,000 supply. Some bases, like Kukong, have none. I'm flying lots of C-47s from Ledo, but when I see thunderstorms, I rest them. And there are lots of thunderstorm days.

The most interesting development with China, for me, was the 5th Chinese Corp. At the beginning of the war, this corp is broken down into many sub units. These sub units are some of the very few Chinese units that are not permanently restricted. (Remember, this is a DBB game. May be different than a stock game.) I spent the political points on these sub units as quickly as I could. Many had to march clear across China, but I got all of them to and through Burma before Burma was cut off. One sub unit remained, and it was able to be completely extracted by C-47s. All sub units then traveled to India, combined as a corp, and then rested and took on reinforcements. For a long time.

As I had decided not to make a major push through Burma, I chose to send this corp with many other units to Australia. Moving a Chinese unit out of theater was my action that made me most uncomfortable in the game. It didn't seem to fit a reasonable type of game that I like to play. But I certainly wanted to use this monster, and it wasn't going to be in Burma. I justified this to myself by promising that this corp would eventually be used in an amphibious landing on the Chinese mainland. As such, although currently being used on Java, it is prepping for Hong Kong. A direct landing on Hong Kong. I couldn't justify what I did with this corp to Walker, but I do so now. I thought an amphibious liberation of Hong Kong by a Chinese unit would be interesting to see. I may have abused history by using this corp in Java though.

The Hong Kong invasion would be timed at or about the time of a Formosa invasion.

[apbarog]

Region Summary: Java

Malang is isolated but stubbornly defended. I was trying to reduce the defenses with a US division, but losses are high, and the division is getting wrecked. I decided to switch plans and move units to control the hexsides, and keep just enough units there to hold the siege.

Madoien was just captured. The next position of strength is the dot base in the woods west of Tjepoe. The enemy tank division is there but may be withdrawing. Ships in small task forces continue to come and go at Batavia. It is unknown which direction troops are heading. Every base taken by the Allies is a future bomber base in range of Palembang and Singapore.

I'll take what I can capture here, but the Chinese corp and 2 Indian divisions are slated for landings in China, and will be removed from the line for this when appropriate, even if all of Java is not cleared at that point.

I'm already making use of Soerabaja's shipyard. Mostly for a sub or two. Nothing big. Don't want to draw too much attention to the port.

I believe that enemy troops at Christmas Island (IO) are being removed.

[apbarog]

Region Summary: The Marshalls and Gilberts

Since the capture of Tabiteuea long ago, this area has remained quiet. Limited US recon has shown weak enemy defenses at Tarawa and Makin. I bomb these islands once in a long while. I could have cleaned up this area but decided to just skip it. Going around it to supply Australia hasn't been a problem. (This is a DBB-B game. If it were a DBB-C game, things might be different)

[apbarog]

Region Summary: The Solomons and New Guinea

Mostly quiet. I just swept Rabaul for the first time, and there's still 100 enemy fighters there. Down from 200 though.

I've extracted lots of units from this area. The only division in the area is at Milne Bay. Earlier plans included an invasion of Kavieng and the base just east of Rabaul, with the hope of isolating Rabaul completely, but not invading it. I cancelled this plan and sent the divisions to Darwin, where they were reassigned other targets.

Small US units were on the move in the mountains of New Guinea to keep the enemy units isolated. Movement southwest out of Madang had been noted, and all Walker had to do to free his units was control the hexside of the contested hex west of Wau.

[apbarog]

Region Summary: The Philippines

Landings on Palawan just occurred and will be successful. Enemy air at Manila has been reduced with the unsuccessful strikes that just occurred. Enemy units on the northwest part of Mindanao are being isolated. 2 divisions at and near Cotabato will move to Cagayan. A division is moving toward Davao from Dadjangas.

Landings at Batangas and Lucena, south of Manila, are next. A division plus lots of support is prepped for both, and other units will followup, including 2 other divisions set for Manila. This fight will not be quick. Manila already has over 40,000 men, and will certainly be where the line is held. The island of Busuanga will be taken, with its size 3 port. It could be useful for damaged ships.

As such, I have 2 divisions and support prepped for Bataan. This will then threaten Manila from the north. Clark may or may not be reinforced at this point.

Then I'll make another landing at Lingayen, northwest of Clark. A division and lots of support are prepping.

I don't know if this will be enough to conquer Luzon, but it will certainly cause chaos for the defense of Manila. Manila is the objective. All of Luzon will follow.

[apbarog]

Here's the points page.

[apbarog]

And now the game must end.

Walker and I have discussed the game situation, and have mutually agreed to end the game. As I've said before, playing this game for me is all about the journey, not the destination. It's always a sad day when a game ends, regardless of who "wins".

We started this game in August 2014. It's been a fun ride. This was my first game in AE as the Allies, at least one that went on longer than a month. I learned a lot from the experience. I learned that, for me, playing as the Allies is much easier on an emotional level than playing as the Japanese. Losing at battle or a carrier isn't desirable, but as the Allies, it probably doesn't matter in the long run. With decent play, the Allies are going to "win". As the Japanese, it's more emotionally taxing to lose a battle or carrier. Your assets are limited. You have to make the most of them while you have them, and when they can have an impact. It's a very different mindset.

At this point in our war, the Japanese are in a very bad situation, and it was about to get worse. Allied subs, based at Balikpapan, are roaming the South China Sea. Tankers with oil and fuel for the Home Islands are being sunk regularly. With Palawan about to fall, the South China Sea will be wide open to Allied ships. Getting fuel and oil to Japan is about to get much more difficult. And that is if there is any oil and fuel to ship. With bases opening up on Java, Palembang is threatened. Northern Borneo is already close to Allied bases. Not a good outlook for the Japanese.

As I just posted, Luzon was going to be the next target, followed by Formosa and a landing at Hong Kong and possibly Chinese bases just north of Formosa. The Hong Kong landing's purpose was going to be to open up a supply pipeline to the rest of China. Then the troops can upgrade and reinforce, something that I've not done due to supply considerations. The associated landings east of Hong Kong were not to be exploited. They would have been just to create a threat, and hoped to cause a general withdrawl to the east. Troops were prepping already for all of these targets.

I will allow Walker to read this thread shortly. He may post here also, if he chooses. We could continue this discussion and maybe learn a few things why things were done as they were, and what we were thinking at certain points.

I'd like to learn if the Japanese divisional losses in India and New Guinea had any effect on setting up defense elsewhere. Was there a unit shortage for where Walker would have liked to defend?

Finally, I'd like to thank Walker for his dedication to the game. I always hope for a "gentleman's game", where the game engine isn't exploited, and actions taken are fairly reasonable. Not a duplication of history, but an alternate reasonable conduct of the war. Something where I can still relate the game to actual events, despite the events varying from history. Walker has always been considerate and dependable and is an ideal person to play the game. When you make a long term commitment, and easily spend over 1,000 hours playing, you want someone like Walker as your opponent.

Thanks to all of you who have posted here, and all of you who just read the thread. I hope that my day-to-day postings have given some incite into how I play the game, good and bad. There's always more to learn, and I'll do so again with another game. Probably sooner rather than later.

[Aurorus]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

And now the game must end.

Walker and I have discussed the game situation, and have mutually agreed to end the game. As I've said before, playing this game for me is all about the journey, not the destination. It's always a sad day when a game ends, regardless of who "wins".

We started this game in August 2014. It's been a fun ride. This was my first game in AE as the Allies, at least one that went on longer than a month. I learned a lot from the experience. I learned that, for me, playing as the Allies is much easier on an emotional level than playing as the Japanese. Losing at battle or a carrier isn't desirable, but as the Allies, it probably doesn't matter in the long run. With decent play, the Allies are going to "win". As the Japanese, it's more emotionally taxing to lose a battle or carrier. Your assets are limited. You have to make the most of them while you have them, and when they can have an impact. It's a very different mindset.

At this point in our war, the Japanese are in a very bad situation, and it was about to get worse. Allied subs, based at Balikpapan, are roaming the South China Sea. Tankers with oil and fuel for the Home Islands are being sunk regularly. With Palawan about to fall, the South China Sea will be wide open to Allied ships. Getting fuel and oil to Japan is about to get much more difficult. And that is if there is any oil and fuel to ship. With bases opening up on Java, Palembang is threatened. Northern Borneo is already close to Allied bases. Not a good outlook for the Japanese.

As I just posted, Luzon was going to be the next target, followed by Formosa and a landing at Hong Kong and possibly Chinese bases just north of Formosa. The Hong Kong landing's purpose was going to be to open up a supply pipeline to the rest of China. Then the troops can upgrade and reinforce, something that I've not done due to supply considerations. The associated landings east of Hong Kong were not to be exploited. They would have been just to create a threat, and hoped to cause a general withdrawl to the east. Troops were prepping already for all of these targets.

I will allow Walker to read this thread shortly. He may post here also, if he chooses. We could continue this discussion and maybe learn a few things why things were done as they were, and what we were thinking at certain points.

I'd like to learn if the Japanese divisional losses in India and New Guinea had any effect on setting up defense elsewhere. Was there a unit shortage for where Walker would have liked to defend?

Finally, I'd like to thank Walker for his dedication to the game. I always hope for a "gentleman's game", where the game engine isn't exploited, and actions taken are fairly reasonable. Not a duplication of history, but an alternate reasonable conduct of the war. Something where I can still relate the game to actual events, despite the events varying from history. Walker has always been considerate and dependable and is an ideal person to play the game. When you make a long term commitment, and easily spend over 1,000 hours playing, you want someone like Walker as your opponent.

Thanks to all of you who have posted here, and all of you who just read the thread. I hope that my day-to-day postings have given some incite into how I play the game, good and bad. There's always more to learn, and I'll do so again with another game. Probably sooner rather than later.

Too bad. I can see why Walker would want to give in, however. The situation is deteriorating badly and quickly for Japan. I reread much of this AAR the past two or three days to try to glean something about what went wrong for Japan, and I did notice a distinct lack of ground units in the correct locations. I got the sense, trying to place myself in Japan's position as I followed through from the beginning, that Walker gave up some time ago and that he stopped moving many units and doing much of the rear area stuff some time ago.

A good game, and it is nice to get a game past 1942.

[Lowpe]

Very well played, congratulations!

[BBfanboy]

Many thanks to you for a very good AAR and congrats on your campaign! [&o]

Kudos to Walker for sticking it out after his carriers were lost. As you pointed out, a very hard thing for a player who knows how much they are needed to stem the Allied tide.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Kudos to Walker for sticking it out after his carriers were lost. As you pointed out, a very hard thing for a player who knows how much they are needed to stem the Allied tide.

Yes, I forgot to mention that.[&o] Playing Japan is simply unforgiving.

[Aurorus]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Kudos to Walker for sticking it out after his carriers were lost. As you pointed out, a very hard thing for a player who knows how much they are needed to stem the Allied tide.

Yes, I forgot to mention that.[&o] Playing Japan is simply unforgiving.

You Get No Second Chances... jajaja.

[apbarog]

Summary: Aircraft Losses

[apbarog]

Summary: Leading Pilots

My leading pilot was Major T.J. Lynch, US Army, flying a P-47, with 13 kills.

Here's a summary by branch, with # double aces, # other aces, and most kills:

US Navy 4 69 12
US Army 4 45 13
US Marine 0 13 8
Australian 0 6 8
New Zealand 0 3 8
British 0 4 9
Dutch 0 1 6
Chinese 0 2 7
Canadian 0 3 7

[apbarog]

PDU On or Off?

This game was PDU Off. It was my first PDU Off game, and I loved it. I enjoyed having to use older models throughout the game. It adds flavor, and feels right to me. The fights are different. It isn't always my best against your best, over and over. I like it, and would prefer PDU Off again, no matter which side I play.

Walker may have another opinion. I do feel that PDU Off favors the Allied player. With PDU On, I can make lots of units P-38, but I can't increase the production of P-38s, for example. The Japanese can make lots of Tojos or Franks, and increase the production to high levels to fill them. In a game where the goal is winning by victory points, PDU On makes sense.

I've played both now, and would play both again, but I really like PDU Off.

[Aurorus]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

PDU On or Off?

This game was PDU Off. It was my first PDU Off game, and I loved it. I enjoyed having to use older models throughout the game. It adds flavor, and feels right to me. The fights are different. It isn't always my best against your best, over and over. I like it, and would prefer PDU Off again, no matter which side I play.

Walker may have another opinion. I do feel that PDU Off favors the Allied player. With PDU On, I can make lots of units P-38, but I can't increase the production of P-38s, for example. The Japanese can make lots of Tojos or Franks, and increase the production to high levels to fill them. In a game where the goal is winning by victory points, PDU On makes sense.

I've played both now, and would play both again, but I really like PDU Off.

I agree. PDU:off is much more realistic, and it does favor the allies. The best advantage of PDU:off is that there can be no question about what is gamey and what is not in Japanese air R&D. Each unit must go through each step in upgrades. Can the Japanese game Zero research and jump directly to the A6M8 in PDU:off? Yes... but they cannot use those M8s until they have the M5c first.

[jwolf]

Kudos to both of you for a great game. I'm sorry to see it ending now but I have to concede that it looks very grim for Japan. Apbarog launched wave after wave of offensive missions, just about perfectly planned, and never gave the Japanese much of a chance to regroup. I don't know exactly what it looked like from Walker's end, but it must have been really difficult.

[Bif1961]

Sad to see it end but that gives you a fresh chance for a new adventure.

[IdahoNYer]

apbaraog and Walker - REALLY enjoyed your AARs - was hoping this one would have gone longer in '43! Learned a lot watching you two go at it.

[apbarog]

Thanks, I've enjoyed the game and doing the AAR. It would have been interesting to see the impending invasion of Luzon, and the Chinese storming the beach at Hong Kong. But it was not meant to be.

I'll certainly do an AAR when (and not if) I start up a new game. It became part of doing my turn. It began as a way to keep some locals current with the game, and I enjoyed the process.

Walker may be reading this, or not, I'm not sure. He is welcome to comment also. I have some questions I'd like to ask, like whether the infantry divisions he lost at Diamond Harbour and in inland New Guinea made any difference to his plans. I've also left open a standing offer with Walker to switch sides next time.