Tokyo Rose was a Hussy! Chez (J) vs. Canoe (A)

[Canoerebel]

11/29/42
 
Das darf nicht war sein!  (This cannot be!)
 
Borneo:  Japan may be evacuating Singkawang.  This isn't confirmed yet, but one unit has moved out on the yellow road that ends in jungle a hex from Kuching.  I should know more tomorrow or the next day.  This would be an unimagineable misallocation of resources - evacuating the key base while focusing on lesser bases (Kuching and Singkep).  This whole region is important, but Singk is the key.  The Allies army made eleven miles again, with just 19 remaing.  Barring a slow-down, the Allies should be in position to attack Singkwang in three days.  An enemy attack at Kuching built on a weak armored unit got 1:1 odds but failed to dislodge the Marine 'chutes, who are holding on by their fingernails.
 
Singkep:  Two more enemy regiments coming ashore here, though in bad shape due to lack of prep.  Allied strike aircraft sank two xAK but took heavy losses in doing so.  Japan has 200+ AV and the Allies just 70 to 90 light infantry, but disruption may be playing the gremlin with Japan's abilities at the moment.
 
Java:  The Allies have been reconning western Java bases for month, but I've recently switched a few units around to target eastern bases including Soerabaja.  This is mainly to give Steve something to think about (acting as though I am using Java as a feint while the real effort will be towards Miri, when in fact Miri will be the feint and the real effort will go to Balikpan).
 
Malaya:  With Singkawang possibly becoming an open city, the Allies have reversed the 26th Div. transports and vectored them towards the Andaman Sea.  Recon still shows Victoria Point open.  I have lots of small units at Madras that need to be bought to join in the invasion.  Especially important will be armored units that can move forward quickly to claim other vacant bases and sever Japan's LOC down the peninsula.  Four Allied carriers will be available for action in six days, though it may take some time to retrieve the fighter elements of several (currently deployed at Sumatra-and-vicinity bases).
 
Burma:  The Allies take Prome easily and achieve a 1:1 attack at Pegu.  The IJ position is rapidly deteriorating.  Allied recon will switch to Moulmein today, which should worry Steve.
 
NoPac:  I have troops and ships ready to move to the front from Victoria, Canada, but no political points.  Right now, SWPac (restricted units in Oz bound for the DEI) and Malaya (restricted troops in India) are higher priority.  I still have three months to buy units going to NoPac, but the road seems wide open and therefore highest priority in the other two locations.
 
SWPac:  Garrison and base force troops ashore at Taberfane and Saumlaki without detection.  The Allies paid for an Aussie brigade at Townsville that will embark (along with a base force) for Boela (still Allied controlled) tonight.  Also have Aussie troops prepping for Babo, Sorong and Morotai (also Allied controlled).  Given all the activity in the western DEI and South China Sea it seems highly likely that Steve is ignoring the eastern DEI and hasn't attended to housekeeping.  I want to push the envelope here as quickly as possible.
 
Das darf nicht war sein!  It very much looks like the Allies will be communicating a peace feeler to Japan by the end of 1942. 

[obvert]

The Allies paid for an Aussie brigade at Townsville that will embark (along with a base force) for Boela (still Allied controlled) tonight. Also have Aussie troops prepping for Babo, Sorong and Morotai (also Allied controlled).

Boela and Babo have oil. It's obvious that he didn't really plan for being in this game long-term from quite early on. You don't pass up any base with oil playing the Japanese.

I had thought that he just stuck to pre-conceived or wildly optimistic new plans in the South Pacific. It now seems to me that he hasn't really been attempting to play with any eye toward the future from very early on in the game. Those weren't strategic plans in the Pacific, or anywhere else. They were tactical escapades or tests of equipment and logistics for future games.

[Cribtop]

Wow. Just wow.

[Canoerebel]

[X(]
 
The theater reserve for all of SoPac and SWPac is a few unrestricted units in New Zealand that were prepping for targets like Fiji and Noumea.  Scrap that.  They're going ino the eastern DEI.  The first tranport TF is loading now.
 
The Allies didn't move into the eastern DEI earlier because doing so would have been counterproductive.  Steve hadn't performed necessary house cleaning, leaving important bases in Allied hands, albeit undefended.  Until the Allies could get some decent troops in it would have been foolish to draw Steve's attention to the theater, provoking him into attending to matters.  Instead, I let things lie while awaiting an opportunity to use some PP to buy units to shift into the theater.  Now, with Steve's attention draw to the western DEI, I have both the resources (limited as they are) and circumstances to make some headway here.  Steve can reassert control, but to do so will require that he pay appropriate attention, which he hasn't done yet, and shift critical resources here.
 
Steve still has a vast army (why hasn't he committed divisions to garrison critical forward bases or to counterinvade?) and airforce, but his navy - especially capital ships - are stretched to the breaking point.  He's in a tight spot now.
 
The Allies should be in a position by year's end to present peace feelers to Japan:  Is it worth continuing the war under these circumstances?

[BBfanboy]

Your sportsmanship and consideration for your opponent are outstanding, to let the game end before he suffers the agonies of 1943-44 [this game won't get to 1945].
OTOH I was looking forward to seeing you demonstrate another brilliant island-hopping campaign through the central Phillipines and likely Formosa/China while simultaneously pressing in from the NPAC. Oh well, it's been instructive and entertaining to watch the campaign thus far so I can't complain too much.
Muchos graçias señor[sp?]!

[Cribtop]

Only the players can truly answer that question, but clearly the war has been decided for some time now.

I would seize Singkawang, invade the eastern DEI and cut the Peninsula at Victoria Point/Chumphon, then offer terms. By that point all hope will be lost for Japan and Chez could yield with honor. He may throw the IJN at one or more of these Ops and get it whipped. If that happens, offer peace the next day.

[BBfanboy]

IRL Japan had lost the war by the time the Guadalcanal campaign ended [and New Guinea was pretty much hopeless for them]. However, there was still lots of fighting and drama on the long road to Japan. I wanna see another Leyte Gulf!

[Capt. Harlock]

I wanna see another Leyte Gulf!

Mixed emotions here. I confess I want to see as much action as possible in this well-written AAR. But I am highly impatient for it all to be over so we can find out what in Tartarus your esteemed opponent was thinking!

[crsutton]

CR, Did you get my PM response about Forty Oaks? I am not sure if my PMs are going out.

[JeffroK]

Chez could try something brilliant, CR's reaction of CV's get hung up on mines and SS and the whole game change in another direction.

Pigs might fly.

[Canoerebel]

11/30/42
 
Borneo:  The Japanese reclaim Kuching.  No additional IJA troops left the Singkawang hex, so I'm not sure yet the unit that left yesterday (a cav regiment) is the beginning of a general exodus.  I'm bombing that unit, though, to slow it down to prevent it from returning to Singk timely.  The Allied army is only eight miles short of Sngk and should arrive tomorrow.
 
Singkep:  The Japanese continue to land a sizeable army here - now more than 300 AV facing about 75 Allied AV.  If the Allies can hold until Singk falls, I'll turn my attention here next.  If this base falls before then, however, the Allies will probably try to pick up Kuching (though I'm kind of hoping Steve will be focusd on reinforcing there).
 
Java Sea:  Four good Allied TFs operating out of Billiton now with another arriving tomorrow.  A CA group will patrol at Singkep tonight, hoping Japan has been lulled into a false sense of security since no previous clashes have occurred there.  A Marine CD unit prepped for Singkep is on transports near Biliton, but I see no way of getting this force to the island intact.  Instead, I will land it at Pontianak.  From there it might march to Singk, or perhaps will try air- and fast-transprot missions to Singkep.
 
Sumatra:  Isolated IJA army at Padang has seen its AV drop from 930 to 898 in the past fifteen days - a drop of two points per day.  Lack of supply is the problem.
 
Malaya:  Still waiting to see if 26th Indian Div. is needed for Singk, but the transports are enroute to a rendezvous point near Andaman Island.
 
Burma:  Japanese air force showed back up in Burma after being absent for weeks (doing duty at Singkep, Muntok and Kuching).  The Allies will have to reinforce to take Pegu in all likelihood.
 
NoPac:  Quiet.
 
SWPac:  Landing of garrison units at Taberfane and Saumlauki continue (forts go to one at each base).  More units enroute to theater from both Townsville and Auckland.

[ny59giants]

I know you are focused on Borneo, but taking Burma (mainly Rangoon) and opening up the Burma Road to China would add more headaches for little cost. If you were able to get a few large supply TFs to Rangoon and then use the supply draw buttons to get it into China would allow you to become very offensive minded here. A few large BFs with aviation support would be nice, if you can afford it. [:)]

[BBfanboy]

Couple of thoughts:

Are you sure that APDs can take the big guns for that Marine Defence Unit? I know you can also use fast merchies for fast transport missions but aren't they the valuable ones that can be upgraded to APA/AKA later? Not worth the risk to the ships IMO.

Re: the isolated IJA units on Sumatra, I think you can accelerate their decline by bombarding. This will increase their disruption/fatigue and make them more vulnerable to diseases that will reduce their ranks. If you have units in the same hex and not short of supply I recommend it.

[Canoerebel]

The Allies bombard at Padang every day.  We also tried a bombardment mission with BB North Carolina many months ago with terrible results for me.  I won't try that again (the bombardment TF elected to stick around during daylight hours and got damaged moderately, plus the mission was a total fizzle).
 
APDs won't carry bing guns from a Marine CD unit, but raw AV alone would be a big help to the garrison at Singkep.
 
NYGiants, the Allies are targeting Burma and have been for months.  Japan is pretty weak here, primarily because Steve recognizes (I believe) that he can't defend Burma if Singapore and the Malacca Straits get shut down.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

The Allies bombard at Padang every day.  We also tried a bombardment mission with BB North Carolina many months ago with terrible results for me.  I won't try that again (the bombardment TF elected to stick around during daylight hours and got damaged moderately, plus the mission was a total fizzle).
...

Well, good then! Only 449 days more before they are eliminated! [;)]

[Canoerebel]

That's what I was thinking last night when I did the figures. [:)]
 
I think it would drive me crazy if I had two divisions isolated.  I think I would do just about anything to relieve them rather than lose them.  I keep thinking Steve will try something dramatic or major at some point. 

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

That's what I was thinking last night when I did the figures. [:)]

I think it would drive me crazy if I had two divisions isolated.  I think I would do just about anything to relieve them rather than lose them.  I keep thinking Steve will try something dramatic or major at some point. 

Well, this being Scenario 2, perhaps he is using his research points to invent helicopters ... or that nifty "balloon tied to soldier" airborne snatch system the USAF used in Vietnam. It did require a pretty big clearing though, or the soldier got pretty minced by the trees. [8|]

[vettim89]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

That's what I was thinking last night when I did the figures. [:)]

I think it would drive me crazy if I had two divisions isolated.  I think I would do just about anything to relieve them rather than lose them.  I keep thinking Steve will try something dramatic or major at some point. 

Well, this being Scenario 2, perhaps he is using his research points to invent helicopters ... or that nifty "balloon tied to soldier" airborne snatch system the USAF used in Vietnam. It did require a pretty big clearing though, or the soldier got pretty minced by the trees. [8|]

Sorry but for some reason this post has triggered a song going off in my head :

Fighting soldiers from the sky
Fearless men who jump and die
Men who mean just what they say
The brave men of the Green Beret

Let me guess, Dan, you don't like that movie either?

[Canoerebel]

No, it's not one of my favorites.  But it's better than We were Soldiers Once...and Young.  It's better than The Patriot too.  Mel Gibson needs to stay the heck away from American history.  He needs to form a club with the muckrakers, yellow-journalists, numbskulls, and idjits that produce things like Cold Mountain, Dances with Wolves, and TMTSNBN.

Not everything that comes from Hollywood and Friends is bad.  Many movies have done a credible job in portraying history - striving to give people an idea of what it might have been like to have been there.  Saving Private Ryan, Titanic (lame love story and all), Gettysburg, and Enemy at the Gates deserve plenty of accolades.

[zuluhour]

I really enjoyed Eastwoods Iwo Jima story from the Japanese perspective. I thought very well researched and portrayed. Kudos to the actors who played the roles of the doomed garrison.