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One other thing I'd say is that one major difference between my game and this is that in my game China was a lot more active. I destroyed or bottled up about 7,000 AV of IJA troops in China ( including their armoured regiments from Manchuria ) by the end of March/mid April IIRC.

That 7,000 AV was a huge blow as it allowed me to threaten Shanghai and retake most of south-eastern China except the area around Hong Kong and Shanghai. This force 1EyedJacks to draft more troops into China, robbing those troops from the DEI and further delaying any thrust there.

In your situation though I think things will work out just fine. I'm particularly pleased to see the air force exchange ratio... This proves that with a little discipline the Allies CAN beat the Japanese in the air by mid-42, one just needs the discipline not to commit them too early... which most lack.

ORIGINAL: Nemo121


In your situation though I think things will work out just fine. I'm particularly pleased to see the air force exchange ratio... This proves that with a little discipline the Allies CAN beat the Japanese in the air by mid-42, one just needs the discipline not to commit them too early... which most lack.

Credit to your AAR, I held Palembang until late September early October and by the time , IIRC the Japanese got there in late May greeted 5 forts , 108,000 in supply and the troops held on until fall, when they were evicted the place was shattered producing 4 oil I can't remember the refinery but it was less than 10 IIRC. The troops on hand were Dutch and a combined division from Singapore nothing else.

From what I've seen the allies can win the air war in '42 if he chooses to fight on his terms instead of the enemies ,it all depends on the people playing and tactics used, air to air loses in my last PBEM which lasted to late '42 was very wide and the whole conflict was fought with non working radar.

3/14/42

Eastern DEI: Quiet though there's plenty of enemy shipping in and around Kendari.

Western DEI: The Allies have 3521 AV in the eastern Sumatra bases now. I could use more, of course, but I'm low on political points that are desperately needed everywhere. It would be awhile before I could buy another restricted unit of any size, and by then I may be looking at going on the offensive somewhere else. So, for now, the emphasis will be on bringing in non-combat units (engineers, base forces, and CD units). The enemy took lightly-defended Singkawang with a very small force. I will counter-invade if the KB shows up somewhere far away, which is possible though not likely. At Singers, AV is back up to 834, or 83% of what is was before the second IJ shock attack. More SigInt that 52 Div. is on a TF bound for Mersing. Allied combat TFs including three BBs will rendezvous at Oosthaven tonight.

India: Prince of Wales is a week from completing repairs. When she went into the yards for 75 days after the critical Battle of Singkawang in December, I never thought she'd be ready in time to participate in the decisive Battle of Sumatra. But she will. Barring losses, the Allies will have eight BBs present - two slow American, PoW, Repulse, and four R-Class RN heavies. The first US Army RCT will be arriving at Bombay in less than a week.

China: Still no sign of enemy movement on the Changsha front.

NoPac: I haven't run the Paramushiro tests yet. 41st Division TF is a few days east of Dutch Harbor. Additional transports are loading at Pearl Harbor, and the main Onnekotan Jima RCT will load at Kodiak Island beginning in two days or so. If the tests go okay so that I green light the invasion, I'm leaning towards going in even if I don't know the whereabouts of the KB. In the unlikely event the KB was up this way, it would green light the Allies to go on the offensive in the DEI, so that I could turn a calamity into something worthwhile. I seriously doubt the KB would be up in NoPac. The only possible reason would be if Steve had decided to launch a major invasion of the Western Aleutians, which would be a wildly inefficient allocation of his forces.

SWPac/SoPac: To this point, the main IJ emphasis in the game has been in this region. I would love to see that continue as in IJ operations vs. New Zealand, Pago Pago, Port Moresby, or even Oz. No signs of activity, however, since the fall of Fiji.

Canoerebel,
I think the biggest determinant of whether or not Paramushiro Jima is doable is going to be the length of time it takes to unload. Don't forget that if you can unload in 1 phase the guns will get 1 phase to shoot at your boots but if it takes 2 phases ( even if that's only for 3% of your men to unload in the 2nd phase ) then those guns are going to double the shots and a lot of ships which would otherwise get away with mild damage will end up sunk.

Overall though I'd be very, very wary of going up against Paramushiro Jima. I avoided it like the plague in my game for a reason.... and when I had no choice but to go up against fixed pre-war CD defences ( the pre-war bit is the key here ) I got crucified.

Obviously though game code changes since may negate this advice. With that said I'd be very, very wary of landing at Paramushiro Jima. Your attack will be a success but I worry about the cost. I also think that if you take Paramushiro Jima you will have ONE base and be open to being surrounded by IJA reinforcements to the surrounding bases and destroyed in detail. I think you'd do better to take 3 bases around Paramushiro Jima and just engage in an engineer race for AF Size which you'll win.

If Paramushiro Jima is a Level 1 airfield then it can't run offensive air missions yet anyways. Land elsewhere, crucify the AF with your dive and torpedo bombers and build up to AF size 2 before he does, keep two of your bases for defence and use 1 to keep PJ closed. Simple, effective, cheap and gives you a superior strategic defensive disposition when/if the riposte comes. That'd be my take anyways.

If the KB is anywhere but either in the DEI or heading there, you've already won. Everything else is a sideshow at this point & if you opponent hasn't realized the danger, he's already lost. Going ahead with the operation is a smart move (baring catastrophic testing results) - and it will put another bug in his ear & divide his attention even more.

You have a few areas of focus now - continued prepping for the coming Sumatran battle, the operations up north & prepping for offensive actions in the mid/long term.

What's the status of NG? Do you still hold Port Moresby & Milne Bay? If so, they could provide additional distractions away from the primary theater by threatening his SLOCs to the recent territorial advances into the SW Pacific.

You have the initiative now & careful planning will certainly maintain it.

I hit the Kuriles during an AI game a while back, and took four islands plus Paramushiro in 42 with only APs, AKs, and a smattering of xAPs and xAKs. On Para J I put a US regiment worth 125 AV plus a Combat Engineer group worth 40 AV. I hit it with two bombardment groups consisting of 2 BBs and few CAs for two turns previous to landing, and had a BB in the invasion TF too.

While I only took damage to the transports, and all got away after unloading, the disruption to the troops was massive, and I didn't take the base for another month. I had the four other islands up and running with level 3-4 airfields and 2-3 ports by the time Para J finally fell.

I would concur with Nemo that a concentration toward invading the unprotected islands, a quick buildup, and then a Para J secondary invasion, if still possible, might yield better results. He can't pt much air there anyway, and it will be isolated after you're in the region, so impossible to supply.

For the most southern island I hit, Uruppa Jima, I used a marine raider battalion on ADPs and only lost a few ships in spite of the air from Hokkaido.

I did this all in the autumn of 42, so the more difficult part for you is that the weather is good for the next 6 months up there and he can come back at you quickly. You'll build things up much quicker, but he can as well, and can fly a bunch of air in.

Should be fun to watch!

ORIGINAL: obvert


Should be fun to watch!

Aye, I think obvert pretty much sums up my main feeling!
Eagerly looking forward to it [8D]

The IJN should be taking Singkawang in the first week of the game, not the middle of March!

3/15/42

Thanks, Gents. I was out all day yesterday and did a turn on the fly today, so more detailed replies later. But, in short, Miller is right - Singkawang and/or Kuching should be taken at the start of the war. Nemo, I prefer to take Paramushiro if I can do so at a reasonable cost - not sure about that yet.

Eastern DEI: Quiet.

Western DEI: The Japanese are landing at Kuching and showing much more interest in this region, though this interest is very tardy. Steve loaded up his new base at Singkawang with aircraft, so Allied movements will be monitored more closely. But the Allies have alot of good fighters in Sumatra and Java, now, so I can still slip in transports as the need arises. Two IJ subs hit mines at Merak, though one managed to sink a tanker.

China: The IJ stack is sitting across the river from Siangkang.

NoPac: The enemy has garrisoned Shimisura Jima with 1k (per SigInt) and the cursor shows aircraft there. This will make sneaking up on the Kuriles more difficult, though level one bases aren't going to halt the Allies. I'll run the tests for Paramushior "any day now."

FYI, I checked PJ and they have some pretty big guns there.

3/16/42

Convergence of the Force: I've had this ominious feeling that massive IJ firepower is preparing to pounce in the DEI. My confidence in my patrols to provide warning eroded considerably when a Japanese invasion TF "suddenly" showed up at Singkawang. I had decided before receiving this turn to pull back my biggest combat TFs from Oosthaven into the Indian Ocean until the situation clears. Sure enough, this turn a host of enemy TFs are reported all over the South China Sea plus the Kendari/Makassar area. The forces includes at least one reported "CV" near Singkawang. So I issued the "retire in order" directive. Now we'll see what's going on.

Hobson's Choice: Steve is faced with a dilemma. He has to keep the KB in the DEI in order to make relatively speedly progress against sizeable Allied LBA and combat ship. (He could rely solely upon LBA, but his rate of advance would slow tremendously, permitting the Allies to reinforce and eventually to go on the offensive). If the KB is in the DEI, though, Japan will be on the defensive in the Pacific. The Allies intend to take advantage of Japan's dilemma.

China: Japan seems to be drawing off part of it's stack before Siangang, moving at least one unit to the south, where it can only threaten Hengyang. The Allies will monitor, awaiting an opportunity to pounce while hoping Japan impales itself in an ill-advised attack.

Luzon: The entire IJA stack moved from Clark Field to Bataan - those five army divisions have thus spent another week moving through the jungle to attack a depleted stack that would fall to a single division or even a mixed brigade.

NoPac: The Onnekotan troops are loading at Kodiak Island. I'll run the Paramushiro tests at work tomorrow, then make a final decision.

3/17/42

One of the most annoying things in the game is to hear Tokyo Rose bleating about some IJ conquest. One of the most stressful things is when you opponent sends an email with a short "Banzaii!!!" comment that could mean anything ranging from a minor to catastrophic for the Allies. So when I received such an email from Steve, my first thought was, "Oh no! The KB has pounced upon my battleships or carriers...or the enemy has achieved a coup de main by massively invading some vulnerable spot...or the enemy crossed the river and managed to take the critical Chinese positions at Hengyang or Siangtan..." As I began the lengthy process of opening the combat report, it occurred to me that the best case scenario for me was that comment came because Japan had taken Bataan, thus finally liquidating the Allied defenses on Luzon. Read on to find out which hunch was right...

Western DEI: Lots of Japanese shipping in the South China Sea spread from Mersing to the Singkawang/Kuching area. The Japanese have landed 13 additional units at Mersing. Once these reinforcements arrive at Singapore, I think that fortresses' days are numbered. Had I a little more time to work with, the Allies would reinforce Singapore. But I don't want to risk weakening my Sumatra defenses (especially combat ships) since that's the real key to everything. Singers AV is up to 858 with forts 4.16 and supplies 49k. All big Allied combat ships safely retired back into the Indian Ocean, where they'll remain on station until called for.

China: Most of the SigInt "prep" reports that I'm getting are focusing on Changsha rather than the other two bases, but none of these reports is for division-level units. The stack across from Siangtan is 33 units high. Steve moved one unit south to reinforce the mortar unit across from Henyang.

Luzon: Bataan falls on the first deliberate attack. The five enemy divisions have adjusted AVs averaging 325, so it may take them awhile to recover, move to port, load, and head to their next destinations. Steve exclaimed "Banzaii," but Luzon was an Allied victory in my books.

NoPac: Invasion transports continue to steam to the staging point - the Paramushiro ships will stage far north in the Bering Sea, while I think the Onnekotan ships will take a more southerly route. I will run the Paramushiro CD tests today and then make my final invasion decisions. I want to hit Para, but if I determine it's too tough, I'll instead target several of the islands south of Onnekotan.

Personally, I love hearing Tokyo Rose! [:'(]

In this case, however, she is celebrating a hollow victory that is in fact a strategic defeat for Japan.

He's going to need time to get those PI divisions back into decent shape & you'll certainly bleed him again at Singapore - all of which bodes well for the near term. Every day he doesn't pressure you means more planes, more men & more prep for you that will kill him down the road.

What's your quick reaction force look like, knowing that you've got at least two carriers in the yard for the next three weeks? If we lunges forward without adequate support, another bloody nose would certainly buy you even more time.

In addition to the AAR you mentioned I'd recommend Canoerebel's current AAR and also the team game AAR. Lastly, PzB's AAR - not a defence of the DEI AAR but one which certainly maximises advantages.

Thanks, Nemo, I'll read my AAR!

Rapid Reaction: In the DEI, the Allies currently have four BBs and plenty of supporting CAs and DDs along with CV Indomitable and CVL Hermes. I seriously doubt Steve will leap forward far enough to tackle Sumatra before the American CVs are ready for action, but I'll commit whatever I have on hand if he does.

Paramushiro Tests: These tests are taking ridiculously long. FIrst, I decided to use the "1,000-Mile War" Scenario since it takes place during regular weather conditions. It took me a long time to cycle through the turns until the Allies had enough xAP to approximate what I'll have...then the computer routed my BB/CA onto the edge of the map where it wouldn't come back...then I sent in my much-weakend amphibious TF, which took nearly no damage. Hmmm, I thought, that don't seem right. So I checked the make up of the CD force...and discovered that the 1,000-Mile War Scenario lacks the six 8 cm 41YTDP guns that cause so much damage. [:@] So now I've set up a Scenario Two test with three-day turns. It's going to take me another hour or so just to get my ships up to Para, and even then the invasion will take place during winter, which means I won't learn anything reliable about troop condition, but at least I'll learn something about the CD guns...unless something else goes wrong.

The things we do for this game...

*oops* Sorry that was meant to be in Deca's thread in the main forum. Sorry about that.

I completed the Paramushiro Jima test. I set up Scenario Two, three day turns, beginning 12/7/41 with the invasion beginning on 12/22/41. The invasion begins with a bombardment TF (BBs Maryland and Tennessee, CAs New Orleans and San Francisco), two CLs, 6 DDs, and 1 DMS. They are set to Minimum Bombard 5, Escorts Bombard. I don't know what effect they had, but these ships didn't take any damage.

They are followed that same morning by an amphibious TF: BB Pennyslvania, CA Indianapolis, 2 DD, 1 DMS, 4 AP, 4 xAP, and 8 xAK carrying 34th Infantry Regiment and 19th Combat Engineers with about 17 prep each. To my surprise, these ships take almost no damage - the only ship taking any at all was one of the APs, which had 90 FLT. The troops came ashore in good shape with lots of supplies, though the squads were disrupted mainly due to winter conditions. The Allied AV after three days was 31.

The Japanese defenses didn't take much damage - one of the six 8 CM 4YPTD guns was put out of commission. The AV dropped from 36 to 33 on day one, but recovered to 35 by day three.

Why the light damage? I don't think the Paramushiro Fortress had any less guns than it will have when I invade in the game. Also, the island only had level one forts, but I don't think that would make a difference. Could it have been the bombardment TF? The BB and CA embedded in the transport TF? Lucky die rolls? I confess that I don't know, but my conclusion is that under these conditions an invasion of Paramushiro with overwhelming force during non-winter conditions should succeed with acceptable losses.

Question: I used Minimum Bombard 5. Would anybody suggest a different level?

Caveat: Based upon Sigint, my belief is that Chez only has the fortress at Para; if he has reinforced my job gets tougher. However, the Allies have a US Army division 100% prepped and will be using a goodly number of APs, so I think that should get close to overwhelming force.

Conclusion: Unless somebody finds my logic faulty, I will proceed with the invasion of Paramushiro and Onnekotan.

Did the BB and CA soak up a lot of non-penetrating hits? I would assume so. In that case, go with at least two BBs in the invasion TF and go git'em.

That was the odd thing - there didn't seem to be any penetrating hits. The CD guns were weirdly inactive.

My plan for Paramushiro is to have BB Maryland and one other in a Bombardment TF. The invasion TF will have two other BBs.

I'm not expecting any defenses at Onnekotan, so I'll give it whatever suface combat support I can spare.

P.S. I invaded Paramushiro back when AE was new. I didn't set up my invasion force very well, as I recall. I know it didn't include any BBs, and it's possible it didn't include any CAs. I don't recall if I used a bombardment TF, though it's likely that I did. But in that invasion I suffered massive transport losses to the 8 cm guns. The difference could be subsequent patches to the game, the BBs embedded in the TF during my test, dice rolls, or a combination of these factors.