Rebels (Canoerebel) vs. Redcoats (Miller) - Big B 192

[Canoerebel]

6/24/44 to 6/27/44
 
Tokyo:  The combined Allied carrier fleet left Vladivostock and steamed southeast for two days, taking station just off Japan's west coast.  The aircraft sortied on the 27th, with about 136 Helldivers and 130 Avengers hitting the port of Tokyo.  I wasn't sure what was there, but learned there was plenty.  The bombers scored multiple strikes on many capital ships, setting afire and badly damaging CVE Shimane (confirmed sunk), CVEs Taiyo, Yamashiro, and Unyo, CVL Chitose, BBs Yamashiro, Yamato, Fuso, Musashi, Ise, and Hyuga, 4 cruisers, and a variety of smaller ships.  Clearly, the Japs no longer have a safe port in the Home Islands.  What can Miller do?  Move them to Truk or Batavia, I suppose, but then they are way out on a limb and subject to being hunted down and exterminated.  This was a big blow to the Imperial Navy and I think to Miller's morale, but again he vows to fight on until the Allies score an auto-victory. 

Jap Successes:  Bettys sortied from the island north of Okinawa and damaged or sank a bunch of transports (LSTs and LCIs) and torpedoed BB Iowa (which suffered only minor damage).  Miller keeps fighting.  A small Jap CA/CL TF hit a landing force at Nagasaki a few days before, punishing some other transports.  The next day, though, Miller sent this force to Sasebo where it encountered a large Allied combat TF and got chewed to pieces.

Palau:  Most of the defenders were surrounded and "evaporated."   The one unit left should follow suit in a day or two.  The Allies will next target Iwo Jima and Tori Shima (the latter before the former, I expect).

Siam:  A large Allied army is about to cross the river to join the army besieging Bangkok.  Unless the Jap defenders have somehow rested and replenished, I think they are worn out.  I expect Bangkok to fall in a week or so. From there the Allies move on Saigon.  From there they probably move up the coast and join the fight in China.  I'll leave Borneo, Java, and Sumatra to the Aussies with the possible help of the Americans.

[Canoerebel]

Update on the June 1944 Tokyo Raid:  The Allied carrier-based bombers hit Tokyo again.  So far, four CVEs and CVL Chitose are confrimed sunk.  The carriers will remain for one more strike tomorrow and will be joined by B-29s flying from Vladivostock.

P.S. On the down side, BB Revenge succumbed to battle wounds and went under.

[Canoerebel]

6/28/44 to 7/11/44
 
US CVs:  Patrolled the Sea of Japan for about two weeks, reprovisioning aircraft and ammunition in Vladivostock.  Several big port strikes re-clobbered some Jap BBs and other ships. Then the CVs headed back to Naha to both reprovision and to link up with a new invasion force.

Invasion of Furutaka: The Allies have been gathering another invasion force at Naha. This one is slated to go in at Furutaka on Kyushu. I had sworn off further commitment of troops on Kyushu since there are stalemates already at Nagasaki and Sasebo, but Furutaka looks open, so perhaps I can seize it and take advantage of the situation to begin reducing the Jap hold on the island. At least three divisions, a RCT, and several Aussie units are going in.

Jap CVs: These sortied and interdicted some Allied transports and combat ships near Nagasaki ans Sasebo, sinking a handful of smaller ships and badly damaging CA Pittsburg, and moderately damaging some other CAs and DDs. Then this force headed east, toward another big supply convoy coming from Midway. This time, though, the transports were escorted by two fleet CVs (Bennington and Ticonderoga) and a host of CVEs. So I sent my CVs full steam ahead and the two forces clashed. The Japs lost about 230 aircraft and the Allies about 100; the Japs lost one fleet CV (Katsuraga or something of that sort) with two others damaged. The Allies had four CVEs damaged with no damage to the big CVs.

Siam: The Japs at Bangkok are proving much stouter than anticipated. One deliberate attack proved that this will be a tough nut to crack.

Russia: The Russians are still trying to reduce the beleagured Jap army at Suchan, east of Vladivostock. To the west, the Russians took the city NW of Vladivostock and are moving on Harbin.

Points: The Allies lead by 16,000 (58k to 42k).

[Canoerebel]

7/12/44 to 7/21/44
 
Iwo Jima:  Miller is turning Iwo Jima into some kind of fortress.  He has 60,000 troops based there, hundreds of aircraft, and something like 200 ships.  I think he has evacuated his main assets from Japan.  I also think he has been shifting units west from his far eastern bases (Johnson, Tarawa, etc) that have been largely irrelevant for two years.  Like Iwo, Marcus Island also shows a large garrison.
 
CV Battle:  With my reinforcement convoy about to enter the gap between Iwo and Pagan, and with Miller having such a powerful concentration there, I sent my main CV force east from the vicinity of Kyushu.  So I had two CV forces, one on each side of Iwo.  The Japs showed up with a bunch of CVs, many with names I've never heard of before, and each of the Allied CV fleets became involved in large engagements on the 21st.  The western Allied CV fleet sent large strikes against merchant shipping, and smaller strikes against a CV force.  The eastern Allied CV fleet concentrated on carriers.  As a result of the battle, the Japs lost 271 aircraft on the day (185 a-2-a, 72 flak, 12 field, and 3 ops) to 131 for the Allies (81 a-2-a, 27 flak, 23 ops).  The Japs suffered the following hits on carriers:  CV Ikoma (1 TT), CV Aso (6 B, 1 TT), CV Hiryu (6 B), CVL Hosho (3 TT, and confirmed sunk), and CV Amagi (2 B).  Hits on major Allied warships:  CVE Wake Island (1 TT), CV Bennington (1 B, no damage to speak of), BB West Virginia (1 TT). 
 
Fortress Iwo:  So what does it mean that Miller is concentrating so many assets away from Japan?  It certainly seems like a radical measure indicating that the Japs are really at the end of the ropes.  I hope so, anyhow.
 
Kyushu:  The Allies came ashore at Fukuoka on Kyushu.  The base was lightly held, but once again Miller was able to transfer troops quickly enough to bog things down.  However, the Allies continue to make progress at Sasebo, reducing forts to 4.  More Allied units are prepping on Okinawa and in preparation for landings at Sasebo and Fukuoka.  In addition, 32nd Division and a few small Marine batallions (parachutists and raiders) are heading to the island due west of Sasebo, held by 2 Jap units.  It wouldn't hurt to get an airbase up and running right there at Kyushu.  The situation at Kyushu is a big stalemate, but I think the Allies are making some progress, and if I understand the rules, the presence of Allied units at Nagasaki, Sasebo, and Fukuoka prevents the Japs from taking advantage of supplies, etc?  So, the invasion is accomplishing something.
 
B-29s:  Two big squadrons based at Vladivostock regularly hit resource centers like Sapporo and Hiroshima.  The Allies are up to about 2,000 points in Strategic Bombing, and this offers the easiest way to score points.
 
Siam:  The Allies are stalemated at Bangkok and Phnom Pehn right now.
 
Points:  Allies 70,610; Japs 53,463.

[ny59giants]

If your going for the biggest band for your buck, then Resources centers may be the way to go. However, for your forces to survive, you may need to switch over to his newest aircraft factories - Franks, George and the latest Zeros for his carriers. Without his fighters, his airforce is nothing but target practice. He should have a surplus of Resources stored along with HI to be able to run his economy for some time. Take out his newest fighters and in less than 2 months you will see a big difference.

[vettim89]

Dan, if I could hijack your thread for the moment. I am playing the same scenario as Allies and I am struggling with the B-17E replacement rate. The mere 12 per month I am getting is not getting it done. Did you convert some of the B-18 units tagged to upgrade to B-17's to something else or just hold out til you had the planes to fill them?

[Canoerebel]

B-17Es have been a nonfactor in my game, because there are so few of them (the point you're making).  In this game, Wellingtons and Liberator IIIs have done nearly all the work in CBI, and B-24s and PBY Liberators most of the work in the Pacific.  I also haven't made much use of B-25s.  B-29s are relatively new to the game, but have already made their presence known in a big way.  Before all is said and done, they may be the stars of the show. 

[Canoerebel]

7/22/44 to 8/8/44
 
This has been a sluggish, difficult period as the Allies dug in and tried to make something good happen on Kyushu.  While the Allies were doing alot of shifting, consolidating, and transporting, the Japs got in some good licks.  The Allies did too.  Here's some highlights:

Kyushu:  The Allies first landed at Nagasaki months ago; then Sasebo; then Fukuoka.  So the Allies have very large armies ashore at each base, but with each landing the Japs were able to shift enough troops to the target hex to prevent an Allied victory.  A stalement has existed since then.  Miller has tried a deliberate attack or two at Nagasaki, with very bad results for him.  The Allies attack at both Sasebo and Fukuoka about once a week and have been making steady progress in lowering forts and getting decent odds.  While Allied combat ships were in the area on various missions, Jap bombers struck several times and sank BB North Carolina, several small combat ships, and a number of transports.  Finally, on the August 8, the Allies took Fukuoka.  This gives them a big base and cuts off the Jap armies at Nagasaki, Sasebo, and Kagoshima.  It will take some time to take these bases and vanquish the garrisons, but this was is a big blow to the Japanese.

Strategic Bombing:  B-29s and some B-24s regularly hit Jap bases now - resources, some aicraft factories, and a few heavy resource centers.  On the 8th, for instance, 150 B-29s hit resources at Tokyo.  The Grace factories at Gumma are out of commission.  The Allies will step up strategic bombing as time goes on.

Supply Convoy:  That big supply convoy from Midway made it to Okinawa after several sharp battles near Iwo Jima (see my previous summary).  Allied bombers finished off Hiryu on July 22.  Naga on Okinawa now has 400,000 supplies.  Scores of emtpy transports and tankers are now returning to Midway escorted by CV Yorktown, two CVLs, and a British CV.  All of these have 10-12 SYS damage are need some time "in the yard."

SE Asia:  Miller has really stymied the Allied efforts to take Bangkok.  Occasional deliberate attacks come off at 0:1 with the Allies taking far greater casualties.  Another attack on 8/8 was much closer to 1:1, so the Allies are beginning to make progress.  The Allies army greatly outnumbers the Japs, and bombers hit the Japs daily.  Miller brought in reinforcement to Kampong Som, just east of Bangkok, to reinforce his army at Phnom Penh.  But I air-transported in reinforcements to this Allied-held base and easily repulsed an attack.

The Future:  The Allies will concentrate on conquering all of Kyusha, strategic bombing of Japan, and getting supply and reinforcement convoys to Okinawa/Kyushu from Hawaii.  Once Kyushu is in Allied hands, I will NOT invade anywhere else in Japan unless something drastic happens to change my mind.  From here on out, the Allied army will be back-filling, concentrating primarily on Borneo, Java, Sumatra, and possibly even China (I still have that massive isolated army between Changsha and Nanchang; Miller hasn't been able to vanquish it and it's 3500 AV strong but without supplies).

Points:  Allies 74,702; Japs 54,769.

Summary:  The fall of Fukuoka to the Allies is another devastating blow to the Japs.  That, combined with the Allied strategic bombing campaign, makes the Japanese situation seem particularly hopeless (at least to me).  Miller vows to carry forward until I earn an auto-victory, and the guy is always good for his word.  But, gracious, how much longer can he take setbacks and hopelessness?

[Canoerebel]

8/14/44
 
Gentlemen, this message just received from the Japanese Imperial government:

"Well Dan, time for me to wave the white flag.[/align] [/align]I cant do any more meaningfull damage with what I have left. All my pilots are cannon fodder and my surviving combat ships are too damaged to put up a fight. You have a strong foothold in the home islands and your B-29 raids have crippled my industry.[/align] [/align]It has been an enjoyable and at times a frustrating game, we both got in some good victories to go with the defeats. I will take a look at your AAR and leave my comments on the game in the next day or two.[/align] [/align]Congratulations on your victory, you can now concentrate on your other game.[/align] [/align]I enclose the last turn I ran. If you want to see how bad my situation had become, my password is xxx.[/align] [/align]All the best,[/align] [/align]Paul"[/align] [/align]Over the few turns since my last post, a Japanese carrier force from the vicinity of Marcus interdicted the Allied supply convoy returning to Midway.  The Japanese lost CV Soryu and hundreds of aircraft in the ensuing battle.  On the most intense day of battle (the 13th), the Japs lost 272 aircraft and the Allies 62.[/align] [/align]At the same time, the Allies had the airbase and port at Fukuoko on Kyushu up and running, defended by AV of over 2,000, and were landing massive reinforcements (including the fresh 6th Marine Division prepped for Sasebo).  Sasebo was about to fall anyway, but this would ice things.  Once Sasebo fell, Nagasaki would be only a matter of weeks; and Kagoshima would fall next.  This represented thousands of points for bases and troops, and gave the Allies large bases to intensify the strategic bombing campaign.[/align] [/align]B-29s and B-24s have been bombing Japanese cities, hitting aircraft factories at Gumma and resources (and some heavy industry) nearly everywhere else - particularly Sapporo, Aomori, Tokyo, Nagoya, Hiroshima, and Osaka.  Intensity was growing daily and with Kyushu coming under Allied control, even small bombers could raid deep into Japan.[/align] [/align]Miller and I devoted 14 months to this game, so I'm going to make a number of post to provide information and summaries (this is for my own interest as much as anything).  These will come tomorrow or later as time permits.[/align] [/align]I'm going to make two separate posts of imporant matters - I want to separate them out from this due to their importance.[/align]

Edited to x-out Miller's password.

[Canoerebel]

I want to acknowledge my appreciation for my opponent, Miller.  He and I played one UV game all the way through, and now this.  We started this game in May 2007.  It was his third game - first as Japs.  It was my first game.  So we were both pretty green.

As anyone can tell who has followed this AAR, there is no quit to Miller.  Where most people would have become demoralized and disappeared or conceded, Miller stuck it out and did his best to come up with carefully planned and sometimes quite surprising defenses that cost the Allies a great deal of men and material and bought the Japs alot more time than I had expected.  Miller's attention to the game never wavered.  He was always there, always quick to send back turns, never cross (though, naturally, there were occasional grumbles - rare would be more accurate - where he might utter a bit of frustration over one thing or other.  He maintained his sense of humor and it was always a pleasure to be his opponent.

Given the Allied advantage in this game, it's probably tough for Miller to read even this stuff.  As I know from my game with John, it's no fun taking it on the chin for a great length of time.  The last thing Miller wants to hear is insincere flattery; therefore, I will be sincere in evaluating what happened and his skill as the Jap player.

Since this was his first game as the Japs, I believe Miller was cautious at the outset - carefully planning his offensives and protecting his assets - especially carriers and battleships (he lost only three of the latter in the entire war!).  As a result of his cautious approach, he did not penetrate deeply into Allied territory, and he took feew losses early in the war.

In early 1943, the Allies launched a massive invasion of Timor.  Miller was nowhere to be found.  I can only guess that he believed the Allied offensive would begin in CenPac or SoPac, so that the Timor operation caught him on the wrong foot.  I think it took him weeks and months to reposition his forces and prepare for a counterattack, but by then the Allied foothold had expanded to the Celebes, Flores, Ambon, and other important places.  Miller finally struck when the Allies headed for Mindanao, and in striking won a tremendous carrier battle.  Things looked bleak for the Allies for awhile.

Then the Allies invaded Java.  I think Miller felt like this threat to his resources was a priority item, so he devoted alot of resources to quashing it, and he succeeed in doing so after a number of weeks.  But that allowed the Allies time to organize and proceed with the Philippines invasion, which I think was what broke his back.

Too, Miller sent a big carrier division south of Timor and unexpectedly ran into a powerful Allied carrier force where he didn't think one would be found.  The Allies sank three or four fleet carriers, and that was the end of Japanese naval dominance in the game.  From then on, the Allied carriers were the monarchs of the sea, even though Miller still exacted a high toll throughout the game.

Miller did everything within his power to ambush the Allies, and he sank scores (literally) of CVEs, and many BBs and CAs.  His back had already been broken by the Allied thrust through the Celebes and the Philippines, but still he put up a great fight.

Miller is a crafty opponent especially gifted at tactical defense.  The only thing he lacked was experience.  I think he has that now.  I know one thing:  I'd hate to take on Miller now that he has experience.  He is tough.

Thank you, Miller, for fourteen months of challenges, excitement, and entertainment.

[Canoerebel]

Paul, when you read this, I hope you take some time to answer the main questions I have about our game.
 
What was going on from the Japanese perspective when I invaded Timor?  Where were the Japs?  Why weren't they present in force nearby?  I can only imagine you had identified another area as my target and had your forces there, and that the invasion thus caught you on the wrong foot and badly out of position.  But that's just a guess - I have no idea where your troops were concentrated at the time and what you were thinking.  I'd love to know. 

[Canoerebel]

Now that this game has ended, I am going to post yearly summaries of the major battles and events.  I hope that will give readers a better feel for how things developed in this game, as opposed to re-reading hundreds of sometimes lengthy posts.
 
This will take several days, but I'll begin with 1941 in the next post.
 

[Canoerebel]

December 7:  Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor does lighter damage than might be expected.  Only BB Arizona seems in danger of sinking, and she ultimately survives the battle.
 
December 8:  Jap bombers return to Pearl Harbor, with many ships taking additional damage, especially BBs Tennessee and Nevada, but they too will survive.
 
December 8:  Two Allied CVs raid Jap shipping at Wake Island, damaging or sinking CL Katori and 2 DDs.
 
December 12:  Japs take Davao, Victoria Point, Weda, and Kuantan.
 
December 22:  Japs take Clark Field.
 
December 23:  Mersing and Alor Star fall.
 
December 25:  The KB raids shipping at Darwin, sinking CL De Ruyter and 4 DDs.
 
December 29:  Jap troops begin arriving at Singapore.

[Miller]

Hi Dan, just got finished reading the AAR. Thanks for the praise, but lets be honest, you whipped my ass.

The game started well enough with my taking of all the historical targets more or less on shedule for light losses, although I think Manila was a tough nut to crack. Once I had my perimiter set up the mistakes started. I based far too many troops on the remote cenpac islands, which Dan simply by-passed. China was also overloaded with divisions which initially captured a few big bases but soon became bogged down.

Meanwhile, I left the Phillipines and the Timor region guarded by one man and his dog......and paid the price. By the time Dan made his first big thrust in early 43 from Northern Aus he had more than enough men and material in place to easily take all the lightly held bases on Timor and the Celebes, effectiveley cutting off any oil/resource transport from Borneo and Java.

True, I did win the first big carrier clash south of the PI in mid 43....but lost the next one badly south of Java. I was not expecting to run into any opposition so had all my CVs in one big TF, rather than several seperate TFs in the same hex. Therefore my strikes suffered a big co-ordination penalty and most of my bombers when in unescorted and were shredded. I still would have lost my 4 biggest CVs but if my bombers had escorts I think I would have done similar damage to the Allied CVs. After this clash Dan had a big superiority in flight decks which I could never overcome.

My ground units in Burma put up a good fight but overwhelming Allied air power helped his troops make steady gains, including Rangoon. Meanwhile Dan did a superb job of re-taking the PI, helped by my lack of ground forces present there. The kamikaze entered the fray and despite some good early results against his CVEs they were swatted from the sky by his huge fighter CAPs. I lost almost 1000 a/c a day on several occasions. Once his hold on the PI was secure I had no way to get anything back from the DEI to Japan.

Thus my last throw of the dice invasion of Russia to try and grab some resource rich bases......which was a disaster. After that Dan took Okinawa and invaded Kyushu. Eventually the base of Fukuoka fell and the end was nigh......his B29 raids on the HI were crippling my a/c industry and all my pilots were cannon fodder with nowhere to train them (my training in China had long since been stopped by Allied fighters).

I could have continued until the inevitable Allied auto-victory on 1/1/45, but watching another 4 months of relentless bombing whilst being able to do nothing in reply was not worth it.

Hats off to Dan, a worthy winner[&o] Now he can concentrate on his other, more challenging opponent!