Empire of the Sun - Tag Team - New Japanese AAR

[Mifune]

"I don't need all those submarines - and can send many (half?) other places - and should IMHO."I agree that they would be far more effective using them elsewhere.

[Mifune]

What are the planned initial (opening) operations? You have Hawaii, Malaysia, China already committed with forces in place. I am assuming that the Philippines is still part of the initial plan? (Or is it?) Does DEI wait till after Hawaii so it will be properly surpported by the IJN? Is the planned Hawaii forces being pulled from China, Home Defense or somewhere else? I do like Ki-43 being deployed as part of the planned defense. The duration of the Hawaii occupation will be a long term determinating factor of overall Japanese survivability, till the inevitable Allied counter-attack. It looks like the IJN will need to be fully deployed for the initial operations. Will the 1st Fleet be used as shipping interdiction or invasion support?

[el cid again]

ORIGINAL: Mifune

What are the planned initial (opening) operations? You have Hawaii, Malaysia, China already committed with forces in place. I am assuming that the Philippines is still part of the initial plan? (Or is it?) Does DEI wait till after Hawaii so it will be properly surpported by the IJN? Is the planned Hawaii forces being pulled from China, Home Defense or somewhere else? I do like Ki-43 being deployed as part of the planned defense. The duration of the Hawaii occupation will be a long term determinating factor of overall Japanese survivability, till the inevitable Allied counter-attack. It looks like the IJN will need to be fully deployed for the initial operations. Will the 1st Fleet be used as shipping interdiction or invasion support?

We do the initial ops of Japan re Malaya and PI - following with the DEI. However, I don't wait to move South from Truk, and hit Rabaul on day one (hard coded in EOS). I never made it work - but with enough force it should be possible to take Thursday Island - and really mess up things in terms of the "short" LOC between the seas for the Allies. And I like to move aggressively on Jolo and Mindinao on day one - and shortly thereafter take a corredor all the way to Thursday island down the West side of New Guinea - creating a band of bases that cuts the theater like Sherman's march did. Java can wait until phase 2.

The other major op contemplated was to go for Ceylon after the fall of DEI. I think this is feasible on a contingency basis: IF KB is undamaged, repaired back up, restocked with planes to cover it.

And I like to move from DEI on to Northern Australia (read Darwin). A denial strategy, and similar to PH - it means we can expect to fight in Australia - where I want to fight - and where we can afford eventually to lose. UNTIL (and unless) we are diven out, Java is not easy to attack. The idea is export all the oil we can before we get bombed to death! Also sieze the initiative, and define the battlefield on our terms: leaving the Allies to build up and attack from Australia is not my goal. I want to cut Australias SLOC to the US - and force it to get what it gets by long routes -
making less available for offensive ops. Then giving them something to regard as a threat, they will attack our forward units IN Aus itself - and not something we care about.

[Mifune]

"I like to move aggressively on Jolo" News to me [:D]

[Mifune]

My query has to do more with my initial operations and the disposition of forces to carry out said initial operations. I would like to start mental preparations for my end of the initial operations. Though I must say it is good to see a similar mindset on initial strategy.

[el cid again]

ORIGINAL: Mifune

"I like to move aggressively on Jolo" News to me [:D]

Mifune refers to two games in which Japanese SNLFs were slaughtered by a Brooklyn class CL at Jolo. His CL.

[el cid again]

ORIGINAL: Mifune

My query has to do more with my initial operations and the disposition of forces to carry out said initial operations. I would like to start mental preparations for my end of the initial operations. Though I must say it is good to see a similar mindset on initial strategy.

I think IJA should attempt to clear the RR in China - linking NE Asia and SE Asia - ASAP. Work both ends toward the middile - and also clear the coast. If they don't run, an enemy army group will be trapped - and I have never seen them run.

[Fishbed]

Mifune refers to two games in which Japanese SNLFs were slaughtered by a Brooklyn class CL at Jolo

Wonder which one it is...
 
[:D]

[el cid again]

Boise I think. The one in Asiatic Fleet. The first time it took on a task group of 8 ships, sank something like six
outright, and left 2 unfit to reach any base. A tiny contingent managed to land on an island one hex away - saving the unit from being elimiatated - before a ship sank. The other ship sank before it got anywhere. Seems Boise is not to be trifled with by auxiliaries and armed merchantmen.

[Mifune]

Yes the "Jolo Gambit" was employed by the Boise. I say gambit since Cid is quite determined on taking Jolo early on, hence the Boise is sacrificed. But she provided a frustrating delaying tactic against Cid.

[el cid again]

Since you are doing Grand Escort Command, this lends itself to zone command. You should command the naval units in the "safe" zone - everything not clearly part of the offensive naval forces. This zone will shift over time - but in general - you will control everything on the mainland, in Japan, and, after they become "rear" areas, also the other islands which form the natural shipping areas - e.g. Taiwan, Philippines. We should create a convoy path list and update it regularly - and you should both manage it and patrols near the convoy routes - and assemble forces to aggressively attack submarines spotted in the rear. After the convoy system is fully formed, I think we should use proper Allied style CVE escorts - and I always include a CL in the escort force. To which end we are going to make more Katoris - and give you all we have - plus we converted some ancient ships to CL - and probably others. I also think certain AV - which operate at sea - and CS - can function as CVEs. And any air group with a K in its name is essentially yours.

The IJN is organized in wings called "Air Flotillas". RHS used the WITP system of Air Fleets and Air Flotillas (renamed Koku Kantai and Koku Sentai respectively) - but CHS is now converting over to ONLY using Koku Sentai - so we can include all of the Wing HQ. There are not very many to begin with, but by converting the Combined Groups to Koku Sentais, and by constituting First Air Fleet ashore instead of afloat (which actually was done later), we have a somewhat better situation than is the case in other scenarios even to begin with. It is my proposal to divide the Air Flotillas between us - these are more or less ground organizations to which air squadrons and groups are assigned -
right from the get go. Historically the 21st, 22nd and 23rd Air Flotillas were offensive organizations, and the 11th and 12th Combined Groups and the 24th Air Flotilla were defensive ones - when the war began. I propose to use 21, 22, 23 and 24 as offensive organizations, 1st, 11th and 12th as defensive ones. We form up about one wing every two months for a couple of years - and I proposed to actually assign most of them to the "rear" as we expand - probably ending up with the 20 series as the offensive ones - along with First Air Fleet (which will be traded for 2nd Air Fleet in January 1942 - so you won't lose a wing). The 30 series - the 40 series - and the 50 series - along with 2nd, 11th and 12th - will probably always be yours. Many of the units associated with these - which their names identify by containing the Wing number to the left - will also be yours (but you can move them around to harass enemy submarines). Not only do we have the historical situation of ASW groups forming up mid and late war - but I have formed up many more - often by assigning seaplane units to the mission - then converting them over to flying ASW Kates later - which IRL were just old planes given a new job with new equipment aboard. The historical ASW groups don't get Q1W in RHS - they get ASW Bettys. Except for the flying boats. Those units get special loadouts - and even radar - after a certain date. You can ID all such units by either a K at the left (e.g. K2 Daitai) or in parens to the right = (K). IF a unit has a K - it is always yours.

In addition - the navy contributes to the air defense of Japan, Korea, and vital bases overseas. Many navy units with interceptors will be de facto yours - assigned to Army Air defense. In general, these will be navy air units with interceptors - UNLESS they are assigned to carriers or to forward bases (those of 20 series air flotillas).

In my conception, the offensive navy not only is on the offensive during the expansion, but also later, when it becomes an unpredictable arm of offensive-defensive. It has three elements - submarines - land based attack aviation - and carrier (CV and CVL) attack aviation. [In my conception, surface ships exist only to protect carriers, or to escort convoys - yours or mine - they are not offensive formations except in initial operations]. The offensive navy concentrates its main forces - but also has patrol and local units in areas not of the primary focus at any given time - to detect enemy moves and force them to cover and escort anything entering those areas. This force will generally base itself on Truk - later perhaps Saipan - later still perhaps Tokyo - and exploit interior lines to move in whatever direction seems most expedient. When it enters an area - presumably an area under contest by the enemy -
equally presumably you cannot operate convoys safely there any more. So you take out what you can - and leave what you cannot - and those units will be come elements of the offensive force for that operation (unless I can get them out - which I may do if it is practical). Like the Japanese evacuation of Kiska, I believe in saving forward units when practical.

On the other hand, if you find that an enemy submarine has become a problem near the current control boundary - and if I have air units or even undamaged surface escorts at bases near enough to matter - and the area is not part of an ongoing battle involving the offensive navy - you can take control of those units for the prosecution of the attack. The USN doctrine is operable here: if an enemy sub is detected - we don't let go until it is surely dead. Gang up on it - hound it until it is no more. Doing that means it is not attacking any convoys - and it won't be back either. The goal is nothing less than cause the enemy to refuse to send subs in our rear - for fear of their certain loss. And to that end, my units in the forward areas will always be looking for subs if nothing else is brewing.

[Mifune]

"Grand Escort Command, this lends itself to zone command." This is fine with me and was done in the war, albeit too late. This goes along with my thinking of how it should be done. To me the Grand Escort Command needs to be actively offensive in nature to achieve a proper defense. This is not a passive command in any sense, otherwise the convoys will meet the same fate as in the real Japanese merchant fleet. I need to review the air units so I can acquaint myself with the new structure and have a clearer understanding.

[el cid again]

EOS is based on the theory that the services can share aircraft - and designations are often dual - and upgrade paths defined - on the assumptions that certain options are clear. But I wonder if we should go farther - and outfit some JAAF units with naval aircraft - in a mechanism to permit something done IRL but not possible in WITP - fly off ships?
In particular, this might permit faster stand up of captured island air bases far out in the Pacific.

[Mifune]

I do like this idea, it works with the scenarios intent. It certainly lends creed to focus production with the best possible aircraft choices for their respective given missions.

[Mifune]

Yikes I just noticed that the Allied AAR is up to page 6. They must be up to something besides War Plan Orange?

[el cid again]

I have issued x.41 in a new form: with the historical planning for Hawii in place - it dated from 1910 but was rejected by Yamamoto - who concluded 2 days after PH that he should have done it after all! This used up our starting political points - but gives us the required air and land forces to do the op.

In implementing this plan, I attempted to leave the other areas pretty much as is. I also converted some Army units aircraft over to naval types - more than alreayd had happened for your use. [You will note a unit of Zeros and a unit of Bettys - both in SE Asia - in part to reduce your need for naval air forces there. These were put in about x.37.]
Where changes were made, I substituted vessels - and the only air units I "robbed" from the Southern Area came from my own units (on Formosa for use on the PI - mainly a small squadron of Ki-21s I converted over to not yet in production - but already existing preproduction - Ki-49s - since they have the range to reach Pearl from Johnston Island). I similarly took some tiny squadron of Ki-27s and used pre-production Ki-44s to provide some sophisticated intercepter cover for my vital forward command base - at Kwajalein - only 9 machines! )

In the end I took mainly units in Japan itself - although some were assigned to Southern Area ops - the strongest of which is Second Division - and the most specialized of which are the 8th Tank Regiment and a "regiment" of 15 cm guns. I took one mediocre division from home defenses - and 56th "division brigade" - a unit from which 56th Brigade at Palau was detached. And I took 1st Imperial Guards Brigade and the third reserve (Yobeiki) regiment. Otherwise only specialist units - AA regiments, engineers, CD battalions, tank companies, one naval base force, two naval aviation engineer units and one JAAF air sector HQ. I converted one regiment of Ki-27s to Claudes - not because I intend to use them as carrier planes - but to permit them to transfer off carriers properly - and another of Ki-30s was converted to Kates - for the same reasons. [This unit does NOT deliver torpedoes - but was converted to bombs - which makes it better for bombing missions - 8x100 kg bombs - but less dangerous to ships]. And I took one regiment of Ki-21s - which may or may not convert to Bettys or Nells - depending on operational factors still in analysis. If I don't need the range, I would rather lose Ki-21s - which otherwise we will be scrapping. NONE of these bombers are armored. Which causes me to think - ONLY the Ki-51 is armored. Maybe I should find a small unit of these - for the bombing campaign. [We need to pount Oahu air bases relentlessly - more than Kiddo Butai could sustain]

The scenario will begin with red ink spreading from the west enveloping Wake, Midway, Johnston, finally Hawaii itself.
But vs humans it won't do well I fear. With human guidance it might work.

[Mifune]

Has any of the Southern Area forces located in China been transfered to Indochina to replace the Imperial Guards Division? My obvious concern with the Malaysian and Burma offensives. Even with the hand tipped it this is a bold strategy that should provide much needed time till the Allies could properly respond. This gambit is worth the risk rather than what happened IRL at Midway.

[el cid again]

This is not an issue - you have confused the Imperial Guards Division in SE Asia with the Imperial Guards Brigade in Tokyo! The entire force in the Malay op remains in place. The few things I did take from Southern Area were either traded for or from Taiwan (a squadron of bombers for example - because it was small - and I needed a small unit - came from Formosa - but that was assigned to Philippine ops and is my responsibility).

You should now have the scenario to look at. It is being debugged for any remaining eratta. We should have a final product by the end of the weekend.

Preliminary testing indicates serious management issues with aircraft engines. However, I am able to get rid of the junk pretty fast - just not upgrade to the wonderful new stuff as fast as - say - Nemo would advocate. [I don't put all the eggs in "new planes" baskets - preferring to keep ALL units at full strength - and to replace their losses - even if we can't always upgrade them. But I don't want bombers weaker than the Ki-21 - and so am pleased to get rid of the light ones.]

[Mifune]

"you have confused the Imperial Guards Division in SE Asia with the Imperial Guards Brigade in Tokyo!" No I actually need to read properly, you had stated correctly. I missed the difference. The lastest EOS will be quite interesting on how the Allies react. It is certainly a new ball game.

[Mifune]

Are you planning to airlift from Midway to the Hawaii invasion once a airbase is established on one of the islands?