Wrangling Loki - Mind_Messing (J) vs Lokasenna (A)

[obvert]

You still seem to be doing okay here. Fighting around New Britain in early 44 is not so bad.

For your bombardments, I just never use waypoints. Too much risk. I've never seen them work, but I've definitely heard the stories of them not working!

[Mike McCreery]

With bombardments unlike surface attacks it seems that the admiral does not take into account where the fleet will end up and in situations where the enemy has air superiority can lead them to do really stupid things, waypoints or no...

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Wargmr

With bombardments unlike surface attacks it seems that the admiral does not take into account where the fleet will end up and in situations where the enemy has air superiority can lead them to do really stupid things, waypoints or no...

If I have them on 'direct' and 'high' threat tolerance they go right to the base and directly back to the home base.

If you want them to go a different direction after the bombardment just set a different home base. I rely on 'direct' movement and LR CAP not the 'normal' or 'safe' threat tolerances to adjust movement based on air superiority for bombardments. Those also get ships into trouble and let that admiral make unwise decisions, because to avoid contested air space the ships will make big loops and run out of ops points in the middle of a bad place.

[Lowpe]

Also I think fuel levels and ops expenditures make a difference on bombardment runs. Make sure no ops points are spent prior to sending in the bombardment, and also make sure there is plenty of fuel.

Every bombardment is an adventure![:D] Hopefully it will mess up the Allies.

It is kind of neat to see all the AARs that just crossed the 1944 barrier. I wonder how many will be around for 1945?

[mind_messing]

Banzai! - Nomura H. in a B6N2 Jill is willing to die for the Emperor

The first of many...

[mind_messing]

January 3rd to January 5th

More of the same.

North Pacific

Snore in the Pacific, as is usual.

Central Pacific

Fletchers mount a bombardment of Kusaie, with little to show for it. I've some good CD guns here so the Fletchers need to spend more time dodging the 14cm CD guns than trashing the airbase.

US carriers mount a raid on Truk, the first of the war. They damage one heavy and one light cruiser, and sink three destroyers, but island itself is left alone. Following this, I surge my reserve fighters into the base to discourage any further attacks, which leads to the Allied carriers moving southwards towards Rabual. Two cruisers damaged and some destroyers sunk is an absolute miracle compared to the carnage that could have been caused.

The KB is re-focusing at Babeldoab, and if the Allies push that far forward again, I'll hopefully be able to get the KB up on their flank.

South-West Pacific

Preparations are well underway to activate the third line of bases in New Guinea for combat operations. Support units and isolated combat troops are being pulled back from Buna and flown out from Rabual and Kaiveng. Hansa Bay and Hollandia are being bulked up, as is Aitiape. Manus is going to bear the full brunt of the USN bombardment train for a few weeks yet, so I'm transitioning that base to a sacrificial target.

My hope now is to ram Northern New Guinea full of troops to make up for the time lost in the swift capture of New Ireland. If I can keep Hansa Bay and Hollandia in operation, I may just be able to succeed in this goal - Allied operations are severely hampered by the fact that New Britain is blocked off at both ends.

The Allies have landed at the dot bases in Western New Britain with token forces, but Japanese aircraft flying from Lae do a decent job of sinking the small amphibian ships before Lokasenna smartens up and uses CVE's to provide proper cover for his invasions.

On New Ireland, IJ troops are still withdrawing to Kavieng. If it's in Japanese hands by the end of the month I'll be exceptionally suprised - the Allies should hold it within the week.

[center]
South-West Pacific. Allied carrier forces are to the east of New Ireland, on the way back from raiding Truk[/center]

DEI

Much better news here, as the KB smashes an Allied crusier force off Taberfane. The crusiers Boston, Hawkins, Dorsetshire and Cornwall and their escorting destroyers are all sunk outright or heavily damaged. IJN battleships sail in to Taberfane and hammer the airbase, catching some Hellcats on the ground.

The KB withdraws in the face of reports of Allied carriers off of Northern Austrailia, and heads for Babeldoab. Meanwhile, I'm setting up Bolea as a forward re-arming point for the IJN surface units to shuttle-bombard Taberfane and Dobo.

On Saumlaki, I'm flying in additional troops to bolster the defenses while doing my best to keep hitting the base with cruiser bombardment runs.

Most of the IJN, including the Mini-KB, is still sitting in Soerabaja for the 1/44 upgrade cycle. The Yamato is pumping out the water from two torpedo attacks, and the Musashi is transiting back to the Home Islands for it's 1/44 upgrade and to return to NorPac.

[center]The DEI. Babar is held by an Allied Seebee unit. The task forces around Darwin are flagged as a BB force and a CVE force. I'm also trying to smuggle supplies into Kai-eilanden to get it back up and running as a forward fighter base.[/center]

Burma

I'm getting ready to effect the last few stages of my withdrawal from Central Burma. As loathe as I am to abandon the excellent airbase network of Central Burma, I suspect it's becoming a necessity. However, it will take some time for the Allies to get enough aviation support for these bases in position, and in the meantime I hope to be able to mount a massive bombing campaign on any Allied unit that wanders into the open terrain.

[center]
Burma[/center]

Industry

My supplies have taken a 400k windfall as I've dispatched massive shipments all over the empire. I'm going to slack off on sending out excessive shipments for the present and try to get the magic supply number back op over the 4 million mark.

I'll put a more comprehensive industry update up once I have the time and access to tracker.

[mind_messing]

Loka's out of the picture for some R&R till next week, and I'm switching countries for three months, so likely we'll see things slow right down to a crawl here.

The current date is January 13th

Notable events since the last update:

- KB gets a chance to mount an 8 hex strike on Allied carrier forces off New Ireland. Half the KB's planes don't fly due to the task force being on retirement allowed. Those that do are butchered by the Allied CAP for no hits. No Allied return strike.
- The Allies grind away in the SWPAC. Manus is next
- CentPac seems to be stalemated for now. Nothing more than a token Japanese air presence here.
- The Allies nearly pull off a breakthrough on the Akyab front in Burma, but Japanese troops hold the line long enough to pull back to better terrain.
- The Allies start to leak into the areas abandoned by the Japanese in Burma.
- The IJN continues to hold the Allies up in the DEI. The issue of Saumlaki is still in contention, both of us are reinforcing it as fast as we can.

[Walker84]

ORIGINAL: mind_messing


and I'm switching countries for three months

Surely this doesn't mean that you are headed for 'another country' south of Gretna Green? Somewhere more exotic, I hope [:D]

I'm still enjoying your AAR very much and finding it an invaluable resource for anticipating what Japan will be up against in the later game. Keep it up!

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: Walker84

ORIGINAL: mind_messing


and I'm switching countries for three months

Surely this doesn't mean that you are headed for 'another country' south of Gretna Green? Somewhere more exotic, I hope [:D]

I'm still enjoying your AAR very much and finding it an invaluable resource for anticipating what Japan will be up against in the later game. Keep it up!

Slightly further afield, I'm off to the Netherlands!

That reminds me, still need to get AE installed on my laptop.

I'll try to get a big update in at some point over the next few weeks to bring everything up to date, but don't hold your breath.

[mind_messing]

Minor update from me. Wrong country for screenshots etc, so you'll have to forgive the text only.

The war still grinds on. The current date is January 21st.

In the South-West Pacific, the iron ring closes tighter on Kaiveng, and Japanese troops on New Ireland will be wiped out by the end of the month.

On New Guinea, Buna remains in Japanese hands while the rest of New Guinea is frantically fortified and reinforced.

Minor sparring in the air over CentPac

In the lower DEI, Saumlaki is fast turning into the most contested real estate in the world. The Allied make a "quick and dirty" landing in response to the IJA air-bridge flying troops in. Lots of Allied troops get ashore, but most are disabled. Forts for the Japanese defenders of Saumlaki are creeping towards level 6 (currently 5.85).

At sea, Japanese aircraft flying from bases on Timor and Ceram smash through Allied CAP and get at the CVE ships covering the landing. 5 Allied CVE damaged (two likely sunk) plus a handfull of amphibious ships are damaged.

The KB and Mini-KB are combining to cover a reinforcement convoy destined for Saumlaki containing 1/3rd of a division. More or less the entire IJN is in support, and will be used to ensure that the fight for Saumlaki is drawn out even longer. Between the air bridge and landing extra troops, I hope to be able to force the Americans to fight on my terms, attacking level 6 forts, or risk reinforcing even further.

In Burma, the withdrawal is almost complete. All that remains is for the western flank, along the coastal road, to withdraw back to the hex directly east of Ramree Island. Elsewhere in Burma, the lines are more or less drawn. The Chindits were dropped on Lashio in mid-January, but an IJA division and a tank regiment, with some bombing support threw them out with heavy losses.

In China, the TOE upgrade for the collaborationist units has led to a few more units being freed up, and they're being sent to the Paoshan front to clog up the mountain passes to prevent the Allies from ever returning to China...

R&D work carries on...



OT: It's quite funny seeing De Ruyterlaan and Piet Heinstraat, made me immediately think of AE!

[KenchiSulla]

Welcome to the Netherlands!

Actually, de Ruyterlaan should remind you of this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_on_the_Medway

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: Cannonfodder

Welcome to the Netherlands!

Actually, de Ruyterlaan should remind you of this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_on_the_Medway

Thanks for the welcome! I knew a little about Dutch naval history, but I suppose the most salient association with de Ruyterlaan was with the plucky Dutch light cruiser that starts in the DEI.

[mind_messing]

General Thoughts

South-West Pacific/Central Pacific

The fall of Kavieng and New Ireland will lead to a great many units being destroyed, most of whom are aviation support units. This isn't too bad, as it will let me buy them back and redeploy them elsewhere.

Currently, I think the most pressing need is in the Marianas. The forts, troops and airbases are ready for the defense, but we still need the aviation support and the planes themselves. The units bought back from New Ireland should go a long way towards completing the air defense capabilities of the Marianas.

I'll also send some to Babeldaob and Peliliu, as I'm currently using Babeldoab as the main base for the KB seeing as Truk is no longer a safe harbor.

DEI

Now that Loka has made a big effort to reinforce Saumlaki, I want to up the stakes for this base. The chances I'll have for fighting his CV strength on my own terms becomes slimmer as the turns roll by. Ideally, I want to be able to reinforce the base and make him come back into range again to drop more troops off.

My chances of actually pushing the Allies off the island completely are very slim, but my hope is to turn the base into a meatgrinder for his ships. In that respect it's the perfect situation for me: Timor is an unsinkable airbase (and a difficult one to bombard) and I've the repair yards at Soereabaja and Manila within arms reach, as well as the fuel from Balikipapan only a few days sail away.

Philippines

The buildup on Luzon continues, but the priority for newly arriving troops in China is for the Paoshan front, so Luzon is slipping down the priority ladder at this point. Even so, I hope to have 2k AV to defend Manila by 4/44, with 400 AV to hold Bataan and another 400 AV to defend Aparri, along with a smattering of smaller units to hold the islands and bases in the south.

Elsewhere in the PI, I've some engineers en-route to Cebu, which will be my main airbase in the Central DEI. I also plan to try to get some engineers along to Cagayan, which will be the hub for the defense of Mindanao. Both of these bases will likely be built to size 9 airbases, so that the Allies have as hard a time as possible grinding up the PI.

The bottleneck at present is really troops to man the defenses. I've half of a division sitting at Davao on Mindanao, but I'm debating shipping that formation out for the struggle at Saumlaki. Thankfully, I get 7 divisions in the next 90 days, along with 9 brigades and a smattering of naval guards and the like.

Temporary assignment of these units is as follows:

Sumatra - 1 division (so that all the bases on the Indian Ocean side of the island have a division garrison)
Malaya/Thailand - 3 divisions, 3 brigades (with the Allies on the move in Burma for real, I want a strong reserve in Thailand
DEI - 1 division, 3 brigades
Luzon - 2 divisions, 3 brigades.

Obviously, there are other areas that need reinforcement, like the Kuriles, the Bonins, Formosa and the Ryukyu Islands, but of these, only the Kuriles are likely to be attacked in the next 3-6 months, and we're ready for that, though in light of recent events in other AAR's, I'm reshuffling my defense of Hokkaido to maximize the AV focused on the most exposed beaches...

All in all, I'm pretty happy with the state of things for January '44. They could be better, but they could be much worse as well.

[mind_messing]

I had a trawl through my PM folder earlier, and there's lots of good advice that I didn't heed and regret it now.

Still, it's a learning experience.

A short update that I'll fill out later:

- KB shows up at Saumlaki and sinks an USN crusier force.
- I get a 1/3rd of a division onto Saumlaki but with heavy losses.
- IJN destroyers raid Darwin, lose three destroyers but sink a fast BB.
- Allies land at Ramree and the hex between Ramree and Akyab. IJA troops should be able to roadblock them in until my stack can withdraw.
- Night bombing continues to be absurdly effective for the Allies.

[Rio Bravo]

Mind-Messing-

I can't believe you've managed to hold onto Burma this late in the war.


If El Lobo accomplishes that with me, I will be pouting big time!

Best Regards,

-Terry

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: Rio Bravo

Mind-Messing-

I can't believe you've managed to hold onto Burma this late in the war.


If El Lobo accomplishes that with me, I will be pouting big time!

Best Regards,

-Terry

I have had significant advantages in Burma:

- Numerous divisions redeployed to Burma after the fall of Chungking, more or less all of which were above 90 EXP
- The entire artillery park of the Chinese and Manchurian armies. That represents a great many guns, most of which are heavy hitters.
- Most of the support assets from China. AA, engineers, aviation support. It all adds up.

On top of that, Lokasenna has had no interest in fighting in Burma till recently. I'm not so convinced that was the right decision - it's gave me the time to make a (reasonably) good withdrawal to defensive lines that play to my strengths. On the other hand, he has a sizable force of Chinese that have spent the past year or so resting and refitting that look very, very good on paper (but seem to be performing poorly in actual combat).

I think it should be possible to hold at least part of Burma through to 1945, given my current circumstances, with a little luck and some good play from me. Trying to hold the central plains beyond '44 is a pipe-dream if the Allies attack in anything resembling a serious force, but I've some hope in being able to tie the Allies down trying to break through to Rangoon for the best part of '44.

I think the best course of action once late '44 rolls around is to start a wholesale withdrawal of troops from Burma into Malaya and Thailand. The risk of a Inchon or Anzio style landing in your rear massively outweighs the value of denying Rangoon to the Allies.

[Bullwinkle58]

OTOH Rangoon is about a 2000 VP swing.

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

OTOH Rangoon is about a 2000 VP swing.

Hmm.

For the Allies, Rangoon is about a 2.5k VP swing and the best naval and airbase on the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal.

Singapore is a 3k swing, the best base in the region and the death blow to any oil/fuel exports from Sumatra point blank.

If I get a choice, I'd want my troops to be destroyed defending Singers rather than Rangoon. I'll make the effort to defend Rangoon for as long as possible, but the fear of getting Obvert'd remains in my mind.

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: mind_messing

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

OTOH Rangoon is about a 2000 VP swing.

Hmm.

For the Allies, Rangoon is about a 2.5k VP swing and the best naval and airbase on the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal.

Singapore is a 3k swing, the best base in the region and the death blow to any oil/fuel exports from Sumatra point blank.

If I get a choice, I'd want my troops to be destroyed defending Singers rather than Rangoon. I'll make the effort to defend Rangoon for as long as possible, but the fear of getting Obvert'd remains in my mind.

2640 currently in my game with Loka. I was referring to un-built and no troop VPs.

It's a good base, no denying. I was reacting to a plan to abandon it in 1944, not whether you can keep it to the end. Most Allied players re-take it; few-ish re-take Singers. By the time you can you don't need to. By the time the Allies can take Singers Japan had better be done with long-range oil shipments. With Magwe's oil and Rangoon's LI and refineries it can be a real costly bear to take down. It's a choice to stay or a choice to go. Yes, he can do an Inchon to the south. That doesn't get him the VPs. He has to pay in blood for those.

[mind_messing]

February 3rd, 1944

I've forgotten where we stand in regards to updates, so I'll give a general overview of the situation theater by theater.

North Pacific

The snore in the Pacific continues up here. I've redeployed most of the resurrected naval guard units from the SWPAC area to the islands up here to act as stand-in garrisons until the IJA units assigned to the Northern Army start to arrive. Loka has had nearly a year and a half to dig the Aleutians into a nice string of bases, but neither my subs or search planes have detected any serious moves towards the Home Islands.

Still, complacency is something I can't afford. As daunting as attacking the Kuriles, with all the large airbases in range would be for the Allies, it is well within their abilities at this stage, so vigilance is what is needed.

Central Pacific

This theater has degenerated into petty sniping between the Allied bases on the Gilberts and Japanese footholds on the Marshall Islands. Sometimes the Allies bomb my airbases and sometimes I bomb Allied convoys transiting the region. The Marshall Islands are all ready for invasions, but judging by Allied moves the tides of war might sweep past these bases.

South-West Pacific

New Ireland has been swept clean of Japanese forces, Rabual is a smoking collection of shell craters and the Allies are on the verge of taking Buna. The 64th IJA division is trying to withdraw from Buna in the face of Allied opposition, something I had wanted to avoid,seeing as Buna is a size 7 airbase, but at this point I'd rather save the troops. The support units have already fled the base.

The news is not all bad, however, as an Allied landing at Lae goes terribly wrong, with the 37th USA Division and a supporting regiment landing into the teeth of the 15th IJA division. Behind level 4 forts and in jungle-rough terrain, the first shock attack of the American troops went badly: the Allies will need to bring more firepower if they want to dislodge the Japanese from this base. It is my hope that we can delay the Allies long enough at Lae for the units at Buna to march their way up the coast to join in the defense.

The longer the Allies spend fighting for Lae, the better. It's in range of Hansa Bay, my largest airbase, and with the first wave failing to take the base, the Allies will need to come back to land more troops. At that point I'll have my strike planes waiting - Lae is five hexes from Hansa Bay, the perfect range for me to use my resized dive bomber squadrons.

Further up the coast, every base from Lae to Hollandia is ready for the fight as well, so if the Allies persist in advancing along the New Guinea axis, it's to be a hard fight. On this side of the map the Allies have few good options for advancing beyond New Britain. Kusaie, Ponape and Truk are all fortresses, New Guinea is well prepared for an attack and Wake, Marcus and the Marshall Islands are all well defended...

DEI

Saumlaki continues to be the focus of the action here. I've sortied the KB to cover a resupply operation for the island, and they narrowly miss being able to bait another USN cruiser force into striking range.

I dislike having the KB tied down supporting this operation, but at the present I don't have much choice - I want to keep Saumlaki and tie down the Allies here for as long as possible. Once there's sufficient supply on the island the KB will be rebased to Babeldoab to watch both the Eastern DEI and the Pacific.

Burma

With an Australian division taking Ramree by amphibious assault, this theater has became vastly more interesting.

The Allies control the central plains, while my troops are entrenched around Rangoon, on the trail to Thailand and in the mountain pass to China.

I have two divisions worth of troops acting as a cork to stop up Ramree while the rest of my troops withdraw southwards from Akyab. Once my troops recombine in the hex due east from Ramree, I'm debating detaching a force of two divisions or so to retake Ramree. This is an operation that would require some bombardment support from the IJN, and to that end I've already detached a cruiser force from the DEI to support operations.

The more I think about moving against Ramree, the more I like the notion - if I do this, the hexside control of Ramree becomes mine, preventing supplies from flowing out via land. If I take the base, great, I destroy a division and retake an important base. If I stall and fail to take the base, the Allies need to throw my troops out before supplies can flow. The fact that an IJN crusier force can shuttle-bombard the base is an added bonus, and that this will in turn draw out Allied ships to defend the base is another added bonus...

Plus, it might be nice to take the initiative while I still can...

[center]
The current state of affairs in Burma. Note the IJA troops deployed in their planned defensive positions and the vanguard of Allied troops just making contact.[/center]