Islands of Destiny: RA 5.0 Japanese Side

[John 3rd]

Thanks Bill. Answers soooooooooooo many questions!

[Jellicoe]

Still a lot of carriers but I wonder if now is the time to be more sneaky. I would have a sizeable but slower group led by Akagi to use as a front. Give it a BC too. A spot on this will look like KB you can keep your larger and faster element hiding in the shadows either for an ambush or to do something more interesting somewhere else

My ha'penny's worth

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

Here are the rest (slower) of the CV/CVL:

OK. I'll bite. This is too many carriers for one TF, John. You oughta break this up a bit. [;)]

That TF is a masterwork of brilliance and coordination! I, personally, like a single TF of 15 CV/CVL operating together. Nothing troublesome would ever become of this. RIGHT??!! [:'(]

Makes about as much sense as putting EVERY ship you have into one hex and traveling along with an invincible CAP to protect you...

You're killin me John.

Isn't sailing to your enemies doorstep with your invasion force protected by your unassailable carrier CAP exactly what the Japanese do for the entirety of '42?

And, yes, that carrier TF badly needs more than 4 escorts to protect 11 carriers.

[John 3rd]

That is not MY style of play Hans. Read my AARs at the start. I rarely operate KB as a single, massed force until I absolutely have to.

I think four PCs would be enough to protect all those CVs---RIGHT?? [:'(]

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: Jellicoe

Still a lot of carriers but I wonder if now is the time to be more sneaky. I would have a sizeable but slower group led by Akagi to use as a front. Give it a BC too. A spot on this will look like KB you can keep your larger and faster element hiding in the shadows either for an ambush or to do something more interesting somewhere else

My ha'penny's worth

I was thinking something akin to setting up a 'decoy' CV TF and making Dan THINK I am down in the DEI. We're pretty like minded there Mr. Jellicoe. GREAT idea!

[John 3rd]

After working on the turn for the last couple of days, I have sent it to Dan.

Now dubbed "Decoy KB," a CTF of CV Akagi, 3 CVL, 1 BC, 1 CL, and 5 DD depart Etorofu heading for Singapore. Got a hare-brained raiding idea of minimal risk but maximum exposure. Think I shall try that...

[Anachro]

That's a lot of fuel you are wasting on a decoy. Just my two cents. Instead, I would do a TF with minimal CVLs (and any CVEs you might have). No need for all your fleet CVs. I would accompany this with a heavy AO replenishment decoy to make him think there are more ships than his recon is telling him.

[John 3rd]

AOs are already there. Am making sure they keep getting spotted 'accidentally.'

Fuel is not an issue. Got buckets of it at Singers. That place is out only after I've loaded 125-175,000 Fuel/Oil in it for a homeward bound TF.

Am going to make the decoy look stronger by adding a couple of Judy Daitai on Akagi so it LOOKS like more then it is.

Don't have ANY CVEs. All lost in one in that horrific CV Battle we had in the late-summer of 1943.

[Anachro]

Oh, okay. I remember you mentioning eight lost and wasn't sure if that was ALL of them.

[John 3rd]

I've got those little ones coming in a few months but they will be used as escorts within my KT Convoys.

Dan is back and we are at it again.

[John 3rd]

February 24, 1944

I am busy playing 'whack a mole' with Dan over the skies of Burma. Staged a decent ambush over Mandalay on the 23rd and do even better on the 24th. Moved the LR CAP to the skies over the 70th ID.

He has now started sweeping every target over Burma with at least a single Fighter Squadron. They usually meet up with 38-45 Franks who fight off the Fighters and then stand a good chance at taking on un-escorted bombers. YUMMY!

[John 3rd]

There are a crap ton of Allied aircraft flying the skies over Burma and for the last 14-20 days I have gotten the far better side of the casualty numbers. Wager I have shot down 3 or 4 for every 1 I've lost in Burma during this time. Have actually made up a good amount of ground in the air-to-air department.

[John 3rd]

February 24, 1944

The decoy KB leaves Hiroshima after picking up a 'large' friend in the form of BB Musashi. TF is now 1 CV, 4 CVL, 1 BB, 1 BC, 1 CL, and 7 DD. Should be enough to stir up some potential trouble. Headed for Singapore. Hopefully, they shall be spotted on the way...

Down in the Operational Area this TF will join-up and reform with a BB, 2 CL, and 9 DDs. This will be the entire extent of the Japanese Naval commitment to fighting the DEI incursion. I want them to MAKE NOISE! (Just, hopefully, without getting killed too quickly and/or too easily.

[John 3rd]

Is it embarrassing to admit that I felt like a 10-year old again watching Rogue One and seeing it directly lead into Episode Four--Star Wars: A New Hope? LOVED it. What a way to fill in a backstory that then plugs into Star Wars Canon. Damn. I really enjoyed myself and all the little 'did you see thats?'

[John 3rd]

The boys just cued up and we watched the first 10 minutes of Episode Four. SEAMLESS! Fantastic. Wasn't sure about Disney buying the Star Wars franchise but after The Force Awakens and now Rogue One I really begin to appreciate them.

[Anachro]

I for one am NOT enthused with the direction Disney is taking it...

TFA was an atrocious, masturbatory amalgamation of hackneyed plot points held together by contrivance after contrivance. Not to mention, overall weak characters and pointless homages to the originals purely for appealing to fanboys of the most basic sort. Truly, a J.J. Abrams movie. I do think that Rogue One was better (though overall a weak plot), but it isn't hard to be better than absolute crap. I did enjoy how it connects into Ep 4 near the end.

Then again, while I was in the bathroom waiting for a stall to open up after the movie, I listened to a 8-year old boy tell his dad about how he "liked it [Rogue One] but that The Force Awakens was better." So what do I know? [8D]

Keep in mind, I'm not passing any judgments on Ep 1, 2, or 3 or making the claim that they were somehow better than Rogue One (though in some ways better than TFA). 4, 5, 6 are still by far the gold standard.

Disclaimer: I used to consider myself a huge Star Wars fan. Read the books, had encyclopedias, etc.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Anachro

I for one am NOT enthused with the direction Disney is taking it...

TFA was an atrocious, masturbatory amalgamation of hackneyed plot points held together by contrivance after contrivance. Not to mention, overall weak characters and pointless homages to the originals purely for appealing to fanboys of the most basic sort. Truly, a J.J. Abrams movie. I do think that Rogue One was better (though overall a weak plot), but it isn't hard to be better than absolute crap. I did enjoy how it connects into Ep 4 near the end.

Then again, while I was in the bathroom waiting for a stall to open up after the movie, I listened to a 8-year old boy tell his dad about how he "liked it [Rogue One] but that The Force Awakens was better." So what do I know? [8D]

Keep in mind, I'm not passing any judgments on Ep 1, 2, or 3 or making the claim that they were somehow better than Rogue One (though in some ways better than TFA). 4, 5, 6 are still by far the gold standard.

Disclaimer: I used to consider myself a huge Star Wars fan. Read the books, had encyclopedias, etc.

I concur with this assessment.

With the exception of passing judgements on Ep. 1, 2, or 3, which I am prepared to do at this time:

Rubbish. Bilge wash. Codswallop. Derivative trash.

That is all.

[AcePylut]

SPOILERS:

I thought the plot was easy to follow and much more “realistic”. Find the scientists daughter, use her to get to the scientist to kill him – seems much more realistic of a “rebellion goal” – than “find scientist daughter, use her to turn scientist - who’s spent 20 years saying how pro-empire he is – to the rebellion side”.

Also – having half of the rebels think “omg they have a weapon that will kill planets” and then argue “screw this rebellion thing, I give up” is much more likely than “omg they have a superlaser, lets all band together and launch an attack on it that has a .025% chance of success”.

Having the rebel spy guy act like a spy (killing one of his informants to escape and keep him quiet – then lying about his real mission) and not some superhero – was good.

That the rebellion was made of different factions and not “one big happy family” – brilliant.

That Vader was omnipresent throughout the movie, but his character wasn’t the focus of the movie or even necessary to it, was brilliant. That we got to see him for 30 seconds of smackdown was just the right amount, imho. Of course, I wouldn’t mind seeing a 2 hour movie about Vader spending the entire movie with that red sword of his “lit” too. 

That Tarkin was his evil self, but also a grand strategist (don’t kill the whole planet, just kill that city ) even being a total CGI creation, was pretty neat. I wonder how that CGI will hold up in 10 years.

I like TFA because I watched it with my 10 year old daughter, and she loved it, and I could see in her, the joy and excitement I had when I saw ANH in the theaters.

Now, off to watch the sequel to rogue one. I heard it’s about some farm boy that develops some basic magical powers, flies a spaceship he’s never flown before, and manages to destroy a planet killing spaceship the size of a small moon with a one-in-a-million lucky shot, all the while being hounded by the galaxy’s most accomplished dual Master Swordsman / Grand Wizard cyborg machine-man creature. Yeah that plot is believable. 

[Lecivius]

Do I detect a note of cynicism in here? [:D]

[John 3rd]

I agree with commentary regarding most of Episode 1, 2, and 3; however, I have to say that Episode 3 was worth it just see how the Jedi are destroyed with Order 66 and the final duels between Yoda/Emperor and Vader/Kenobi.

Placing Vader's 'retreat/citadel' at Mustafar was fantastic. Total irony.