Hairy Yankee Reports: Q-Ball (A) v Greyjoy (J)

[JocMeister]

Hang in there. 3 CVs and a CVL isn´t that much. You can easily make up the losses by using CVEs!

[Barb]

Hi,
I am going to rephrase my post, as it seem to offend quite a number of people (without any intention on my part to do so).

I've been following the game from the opposite side. I think you had lost one round of a boxing match, but there are some more in the game, any you still have strength to finish the job (and robbing us of a chance to read through the later parts of the game). [&o]

I think your overall strategy is sound - going after the oil, thus putting the knife on Empire neck. Also some of your earlier deceptions were very interesting to be seen from other side [;)]

[Barb]

upsss.. double post

[JocMeister]

Barb,

Harsh words? You make it sound like the only reason Q-ball has been so successful is because GJ has been unlucky. I´m 100% sure Q-ball is a far better player than most of us. Its easy to sit by the sidelines and make judgment calls. Especially when having knowledge of both sides... [8|]

I don´t agree with anything you say besides point b. I think Q-ball is in fact doing everything perfectly right. There is in fact very little "tactical plans" in this game. Its all about mass and concentration of power. A quick look at the map above clearly shows only 3 allied AFs in the DEI so far. Hence the need of CV support.

Some losses are to be expected when pushing forward. 3 CVs and a CVL is not a catastrophe by any stretch. Nuisance at this stage. But using CVEs the losses can easily be made up for.

[ny59giants]

CV composition - One area that an Allied player needs to plan and focus on is the air groups on their CV/CVL/CVEs. At times, the best thing to do is remove some of your DB/TBs and place more fighter groups on them. Since you can place 5 air groups on a CV, pull off the 36 plane DB group and add two 18 plane Marine group with Corsairs as an example.

At this stage, I would devote one 8 plane group of PB4Y-1 to Naval Search vs using it as Recon just to find KB and Company.

[Thayne]

This was the Japanese route to victory in fact - to demoralize the Allies to the point of asking for peace and letting Japan keep whatever territories it held at that point.

To remove the will to fight.

One can see a peace treaty - leaving Japan wth the Philippines, Malaya, Borneo, Indochina, and Java - freeing up divisions and squadrons well fed from captured resources to finish the job in China without further allied meddling.

(I do tend to approach the game in a role-playing mode.)

[JohnDillworth]

This was the Japanese route to victory in fact - to demoralize the Allies to the point of asking for peace and letting Japan keep whatever territories it held at that point.

To remove the will to fight.

One can see a peace treaty - leaving Japan wth the Philippines, Malaya, Borneo, Indochina, and Java - freeing up divisions and squadrons well fed from captured resources to finish the job in China without further allied meddling.

(I do tend to approach the game in a role-playing mode.)

Fine, be that way. The Manhattan Project now is back on! [:D]

[MrBlizzard]

Hey you can't resign! there's a lot of readers enjoying your twin AAR!! [:)]
And your overall position seems still very sound I'm sure you'll recover quickly, don't give up[;)]

[Barb]

ORIGINAL: JocMeister
Barb,

Harsh words? You make it sound like the only reason Q-ball has been so successful is because GJ has been unlucky. I´m 100% sure Q-ball is a far better player than most of us. Its easy to sit by the sidelines and make judgment calls. Especially when having knowledge of both sides... [8|]

I don´t agree with anything you say besides point b. I think Q-ball is in fact doing everything perfectly right. There is in fact very little "tactical plans" in this game. Its all about mass and concentration of power. A quick look at the map above clearly shows only 3 allied AFs in the DEI so far. Hence the need of CV support.

Some losses are to be expected when pushing forward. 3 CVs and a CVL is not a catastrophe by any stretch. Nuisance at this stage. But using CVEs the losses can easily be made up for.

Nope, I was just saying that he was doing OK, and he can do even better (one improves with critics doesn't he?). Anyway, I am not very good in the polite ways in my mother language either - but trying to be better with each criticism of me.

In fact I do have knowledge of Jap side of this PBEM only, I jumped here to see, what Q-Ball has in mind after the battle) and support him in staying in the game.

I do not agree with the "very little tactical plans" and "all about mass and concentration of power". One can do really nicely without them (not every time, but it is possible) and the game has a better feel then.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Thayne

This was the Japanese route to victory in fact - to demoralize the Allies to the point of asking for peace and letting Japan keep whatever territories it held at that point.

To remove the will to fight.

Exactly right. The Allied player suing for peace now / resigning would be a monumental victory for the Japanese.

[reverse psychology JFB mode on/]

"Yes! Surrender Allied yellow dog! Here, borrow wakazashi! Make atonement to Babe Ruth and Teddy Roosevelt! Japanese will be forever victorious! BANZAI! BANZAI! BANZAI!"

[/reverse psychology JFB mode off]

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

I just made yet another mistake, and lost 3 CVs, a CVL. More later, but not good.

I may just resign at this point

Sillyness. You have so much still to arrive and you have every advantage from your position in the DEI. Hit the economy from where you are and begin to strangle him.

We all think of this. I had 3 CVs lost on day 2 at Pearl as the IJN. I thought for quite a while about packing it up and just asking for a restart. Probably should have. Decided it was more interesting to play on.

This game is about so much more than plowing through the competition with superior skill and strategy. Every player will have a major loss a few times during a game. You've admittedly never been this far. Don't give up your well-earned chance to play an endgame and see the Allies through to an eventual victory. You may not get another chance.

[JohnDillworth]

"Turkey Trots to Water where is.........."

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: obvert
Don't give up your well-earned chance to play an endgame and see the Allies through to an eventual victory.

+1

[Q-Ball]

Thanks for the encouraging words! I am continuing, but I have a different problem right now: I am completely swamped at work. It's going to take a day or two to get the turn back and keep this going

The pace has been slow anyway due to Greyjoy's own work issues

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball
I am continuing

Atta boy! [&o]

Now you can tell me-was it the reverse psychology that worked? [;)]

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

Thanks for the encouraging words! I am continuing, but I have a different problem right now: I am completely swamped at work. It's going to take a day or two to get the turn back and keep this going

The pace has been slow anyway due to Greyjoy's own work issues

Great!

Probably best it's slow for now. You'll have time to re-work some areas and get back to it.

Twice at least in my game with Jocke I had to convince him to keep it up. Now he's pushing ahead with what looks like a steamroller from my end in 8/44. Of course he's playing me and not GreyJoy! [:D]

You get a ton of new CVs soon and so many DDs you won't know what to do with them all, but really it's about making sure he can't support the masses of planes he can make in this scenario. Interdict supply, move forward with small craft, sweep where you can. Then hit him where it'll hurt most; oil.

[Q-Ball]

12-16-43

Carnage:

Well, you know by now that I lost a bunch of carriers. How did that happen?

Greyjoy set-up exactly 7 hexes from where my CVs sailed to. I had them set to 6 hexes strike, because a) strikes break up at max range, and b) there was a couple SCs under 200 fighters at Noemfoor 7 hexes away. I have to avoid attacking bad targets and getting pilots killed for no reason, I can't afford that.

So, Greyjoy cleverly used that fact, the ships parked under fighter cover, to attack my guys.

He also had great strikes; one had over 600 planes in a coordinated strike, which overwhelmed my 400-plane CAP

He also hit the transports at Kaimana; not sure what happened there, as I had LRCAP over that hex, from Kai Island, but in the event, nobody showed up

Losses:

I lost 3 CVs, CONSTELLATION, CONGRESS, and HORNET, plus a CVL and 2 CVE. This hurts, but I can recover, particularly since 3 CVs are about to join the fleet from minor repairs. For the 4th time now, WASP took damage and lived; who said this CV was fragile?

The only consolation is that KB is emptied of attack aircraft for the 3rd or 4th time, so whatever pre-war pilots there were are certainly gone.

With all that, I only lost 40 pilots. My Navy fighter pilots are ridiculously crack aces; one unit is 75% aces. With the sunk CVs, the silver lining is my pools are full of awesome pilots. So that's something, I guess.

I also lost 250 planes, but these are all Navy planes, of which I have plenty.

Strategic Implications:

I told Greyjoy this defeat will really slow me down for awhile.

That was a lie, however; I'm not changing anything.

I planned a month respite to reposition CVs for next move; Kaimana is the last landing I am prepped for in the DEI, for now, so I am taking a 2-month break here and opening a front elsewhere. I need to spread him out anyway, and have troops prepped and shipping in position for the next moves.

I can replace those CV losses, and next time will be careful with the strike settings. He also won't have New Guinea to shield him from a counterstrike.

So, I'll be able to continue advancing no problem. He's lost 3000 planes lately, which he can easily replace, but I hope to at least put pressure on OIL/HI to make that increasingly expensive.

[Canoerebel]

We've both been through this DEI slogging match before, Brad. You with Cuttlefish and me with Miller. It's a tough way to make progress, though you wouldn't think so at first. You'd think the Allies could take advantage of the many airfields and dot hexes to really give Japan fits, but instead it's Japan that can craft the ambushes and land-based air network that makes advancing a hazardous bloodbath. The DEI is an important vector of attack, but it seems to be a long, slow, painful one most times.

[Q-Ball]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

CV composition - One area that an Allied player needs to plan and focus on is the air groups on their CV/CVL/CVEs. At times, the best thing to do is remove some of your DB/TBs and place more fighter groups on them. Since you can place 5 air groups on a CV, pull off the 36 plane DB group and add two 18 plane Marine group with Corsairs as an example.

At this stage, I would devote one 8 plane group of PB4Y-1 to Naval Search vs using it as Recon just to find KB and Company.

CV COMP: The CVEs are fighter-heavy already; almost all have fighters. I've kept the CVs the same, need some sort of strike back. Besides, it doesn't matter much what is there more than 200 fighters, if I understand how the combat routines work.

AIRSEARCH: I saw KB the turn before; I just thought he would attack the transports at Kaimana, which I had LRCAPed and consisted of crappy ships I could lose. I transferred a British Bomber unit, and equipped with the Coastal Command Liberators (with the radar); I have very good luck with these planes, and they can fly long ranges. They also don't get shot down as much as Catalinas do.

[Q-Ball]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

We've both been through this DEI slogging match before, Brad. You with Cuttlefish and me with Miller. It's a tough way to make progress, though you wouldn't think so at first. You'd think the Allies could take advantage of the many airfields and dot hexes to really give Japan fits, but instead it's Japan that can craft the ambushes and land-based air network that makes advancing a hazardous bloodbath. The DEI is an important vector of attack, but it seems to be a long, slow, painful one most times.

This is true, and I didn't realize this, because I haven't played Scenario 2 in the late game at all. So while I've been around longer than Greyjoy, he actually has more late war experience than I do. This is one of my mistakes, I underestimated the power of Japanese air.

This is neutralized by an advance across the Pacific, but this route is not very feasible until you get the Amphib toys (more APA, LCI(R),AGCs, etc). LBA isn't usable in the blue of the Pacific, so that's a valid advance.

But until then, I have to land in places that don't require amphib support, and are within range of LBA. That's how I got to the DEI.

Regardless, he has to defend it vigorously, so even if I change vectors, it's not a total waste....he can't abandon the area at all