Notes from a Small Island

[Canoerebel]

5/20/45

Nanking: If forts are high it may take three or four attacks before this base falls. But I can't see Erik saving it, given the totality of the circumstances.

[RangerJoe]

Another use for the Nanking and Shanghai garrisons until the SEAC forces arrive would be to use them for I & I purposes for your troops while they recover disablements.

[CaptBeefheart]

The 4th Division is looking quite good for having made a quick landing.

EDIT: Any ideas on the huge Ki-84R ops loss? Did you sink a couple of xAKs?

By the way, I recently started reading the Corps series of books by W.E.B. Griffin (may he rest in peace). I'm not 100% sure of the authenticity (a Marine can comment on that), but they are definitely entertaining books and the historical events seem to be fairly well represented.

Cheers,
CB

[palioboy2]

What are the downsides to not meeting the garrison requirements? I know you'll lose the occasional VP point and the airfield and port will take damage. Are there any other issues?

Did you buy out the Chinese corps in Indochina? Are there many more Chinese corps present in the south? Are the Chinese in the mountains noticing less enemy troops on the MLR? I imagine the Chinese Army is in immaculate shape right now.

W.E.B. Griffin's books are great. There is another author who writes similar books about the British Air Force in WWII. I'll have to try to track down his name.

[CaptBeefheart]

ORIGINAL: palioboy2

W.E.B. Griffin's books are great.

I'm thinking USMC recruiting sergeants have to love the books. Every Marine in a uniform picks up a hottie and gets her in the sack that evening, if not sooner.

Cheers,
CB

[jwolf]

ORIGINAL: palioboy2

What are the downsides to not meeting the garrison requirements? I know you'll lose the occasional VP point and the airfield and port will take damage. Are there any other issues?

I'm wondering about this, too. Strategically, maybe this would be worth it.

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: jwolf

ORIGINAL: palioboy2

What are the downsides to not meeting the garrison requirements? I know you'll lose the occasional VP point and the airfield and port will take damage. Are there any other issues?

I'm wondering about this, too. Strategically, maybe this would be worth it.

In games against the AI where I have a 245k to 71k point advantage in September '45 I have never cared if the other side gets 3-5 victory pints per turn for bases I haven't bothered to garrison.

If I'm not using the airfield or port I don't care about the minor damage.

Have never checked to see if resources or factories can be damaged by partisans.

In a competitive game it might be more important, but as players we tend not to agonize over the loss of 1 victory point ships no matter how frequently those losses occur so I can't see many players agonizing over the 1 VP loss for the garrison failure.

[Canoerebel]

It's a fluid situation. When the Allied army landed, the plan was to move NW and N, seeking to engage and destroy the enemy army at the dot hex. When that army withdrew, and when Nanking appeared vulnerable, the plan morphed for a quick strike on the base. If it falls soon, as I think it will, there'll be new decisions to make. Resume the march N and W, seeking to engage and to threaten the main enemy rail line? Remain in a tight perimeter and go after Shanghai/Hangchow while waiting for the SEAC army to come up? Etc. The garrison requirements are just one factor that'll be considered. It's a relatively small factor but one of the few certain ones.

[Canoerebel]

5/21/45

TNNBT: A good day. Nanking falls easily and Allied troops and ships aren't molested by enemy forces.

Now comes the big decision: What next? I've elected to scrub the earlier plan of moving north into the open country. Instead, the Allied army will move to isolate and then reduce Shanghai and adjacent bases. This is wooded terrain, so I like the notion of keeping a tight perimeter while dealing (on advantageous terms, I think) with Erik's army in this vicinity. Once it's secure, I can turn to the open terrain to the north. I don't think Erik can make an effective stand there, even given time to bring in lots of reinforcements and build some forts.

NoPac: Every now and then I try something new, just in case it works. Today I tried some 1EB on nighttime strategic missions on Hokkaido. It didn't work. Those things went down in flames against Erik's night fighters.

SEAC: Erik's fighting a clever, well-thought-out rear-guard action to hold Udon Thani, in upper Thailand, to delay Allied armies from moving into Indochina. But the Allied attack there today came off at 1:1 and dropped forts to 3. More Allied units are coming. I think (think, not certainty) the Allies will take this base inside a week, which will be satisfactory.

Another, smaller Allied army is moving on Saigon. I don't think he's making a stand there.

Malaya: Erik has set up strong points on the little railroad, again meaning to prevent Allied armies from Strat-moving towards Singapore. The Allies are moving to counter his efforts. Overall the Allies are making much better progress than I had expected.

Singer's garrison is up to 80k and will grow larger. It'll take time to reduce it, but that's fine too. In a month, Singers will be isolated and open to attack by the Allied air force and navy.

Elsewhere in the DEI, Erik is largely withdrawing, so the Allies an pick up many small bases worth modest victory points.

[RangerJoe]

If you want to entice an air raid with no CAP, consider a flak trap. Some ground units moving in combat mode with a lot of AAA units in combat mode as well. Just make sure to include radar. No fighters lost on your side but lost of bombers lost and damaged on his side. That could make moving in the open easier until his air units get rebuilt. That might not take long but he will then always be wary of a trap.

[JohnDillworth]

Yup, close that pocket around Shanghai.

[Canoerebel]

5/22/45

TNNBT: Allies clear enemy opposition at Nanking and Wusih. The army will move SW and the S to envelop Shanghai.

Moonlight to 92% tonight. Erik likes full moonlight, so I gave extra thought to defenses, especially against riff-raff, subs and small raiding TFs. For some reason, I just don't think he's ready to attack yet, but I have to assume he is.

What if he doesn't attack? In that case, I need about two to three weeks to fully attend to the Shanghai sector. It's possible Erik will send an army to its relief but I doubt it given the power of the Allied forces and position. If I'm right, once the Allies have Shanghai isolated and fairly suppressed (via bombing and bombardment), and once Tungchow airfield is at level 9 (giving me 2x av support [at level 8] plus unlimited stacking), the sector may be secure enough to permit new operations. That might include a move into the South China Sea to neutralize any threat from KB, allowing RN Death Star and RN Herd to move in from the Andaman Sea. That will then give me the ability to secure the China sector while a force of nearly equal power handles raids or invasions in the DEI/Philippines sectors.

That's the three-month plan leading to Russian activation.

During that interval, I'll see if strategic bombing is efficient.

[Canoerebel]

5/22/45

SEAC: Udon Thani falls much sooner than I had expected. This is a significant development. The road into Indochina may be open now. Erik may or may not make serious stands in hopes of delaying the Allied army's arrival in China.

[RangerJoe]

One reason why the KB is down there may just to be close to a source of fuel that does not immediately support the Home Islands industry.

It is looking good. [&o]

[CaptBeefheart]

Kudos again on your concise and informative AAR style. Makes it easy to quickly grasp what's happening.

Cheers,
CB

[Canoerebel]

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying reading.

[Canoerebel]

5/23/45

TNNBT: A lot of troops and other units in motion today, moving towards the next base, the next target, the next confrontation. Erik's going to hold strong at Shanghai, it appears, and that suits me giving current deployments, strengths, and vulnerabilities.

SEAC: Ditto here - a lot of forward movement by Allied troops today, chasing down the next base or retreating enemy units. More action will take place in a couple of days. Overall, the shifting of the Allied army from the Burma/Thailand sector to Indochina seems to be going smoothly and faster than I had expected.

[jwolf]

How big is the Soviet air force -- and how good? Will they be enough to tip the balance of air power over Honshu so that you could do widespread strat bombing there at last?

[BillBrown]

Their fighters have short ranges. I do not think they can fly from Soviet territory to Japan. CR will have to get them to Korea to be able to use them effectively.

[Canoerebel]

The Soviet air force is sizeable and will have the latest models in play. The pilots are trained well. But I don't know if a late-model Soviet fighter in the hands of a good pilot can handle a Ki-83 or Randy or Frank-R. I suspect I'll find out that they are adequate or even good on defense and poor on offense, which pretty much sums up the Allied air force in general.

Soviet bombers have short legs, so they'll mostly be useful in the ground war. And that's fine. The USAAF and RAF can handle the strategic war, once I get airfield on Korea or vicinity.