Against the Wind: Cuttlefish (Japan) vs. Q-Ball (Allies)

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: JonReb

Great points Cuttlefish, especially how the best way to defend the DEI is to be offensive and stop the allies from having an easy leap board. I'm interested though, now that you've experienced such a challenging fight in the DEI which network of bases do you think are the most important to build up for future games, in case the uninvited imperialists manage to batter their way into the DEI? It really is a nasty way for the Allies to significantly shorten Japan's lifespan.

There are so many good potential air bases in the area that this question has a lot of different answers. I would look at bases in mutually supporting groups of three, with further overlap among the trios. For example, a trio of Koepang, Waingapu, and Kendari; Kendari, Ambon, and Lautem; Ambon, Manado, and Sorong, and so forth.

There are some bases that are critical, I think, however you set up your defensive network; Koepang, Ambon, Manado, Makassar, Kendari, Balikpapan, etc. And of course Java has to be protected; a surprise Allied attack against, say, Tjilitjap could unhinge the entire Japanese position almost instantly.

Even this doesn't provide a complete defense. What about that entire chain of islands with large potential air bases on the Indian Ocean side of Sumatra? I would love to see some enterprising Allied player try attacking there as an opening to a DEI campaign sometime (but against someone else, please, not me).

I think it will be a while before all the possibilities of attack and defense in this region alone can be explored.

[erstad]

Even this doesn't provide a complete defense. What about that entire chain of islands with large potential air bases on the Indian Ocean side of Sumatra? I would love to see some enterprising Allied player try attacking there as an opening to a DEI campaign sometime (but against someone else, please, not me).

Yeah, like Sinabang or Siberoet! I wouldn't even have to invade, they're still mine!

[Cribtop]

The key is a network of bases with decent (lvl 2 - 4) bases that are in range of an HQ that can provide torpedoes. For example, look the small islands just north of Timor. An air HQ with a 5 hex range can "torp enable" something like 10 bases from this area. If each such base has at least an air battalion of support and a lvl 2, 3 or 4 AF, you can hop LBA around and still cover the field. The 4Es can't bomb everything into submission.

Watch out for bombardments though!

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

I would look at bases in mutually supporting groups of three, with further overlap among the trios.

So! The cephalopod thing was just a clever bit of misdirection - you're really a Tripod!!!

[:D]

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: Cribtop

The key is a network of bases with decent (lvl 2 - 4) bases that are in range of an HQ that can provide torpedoes. For example, look the small islands just north of Timor. An air HQ with a 5 hex range can "torp enable" something like 10 bases from this area. If each such base has at least an air battalion of support and a lvl 2, 3 or 4 AF, you can hop LBA around and still cover the field. The 4Es can't bomb everything into submission.

Watch out for bombardments though!

What Cribtop said. Another good tip is to keep one or two units of transport aircraft on standby in the region. If you find your air HQs aren't set up quite right for an Allied attack they can be moved very quickly by air to a better base (one or two turns and they have no equipment that can't be moved by air).

ORIGINAL: erstad

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

Even this doesn't provide a complete defense. What about that entire chain of islands with large potential air bases on the Indian Ocean side of Sumatra? I would love to see some enterprising Allied player try attacking there as an opening to a DEI campaign sometime (but against someone else, please, not me).

Yeah, like Sinabang or Siberoet! I wouldn't even have to invade, they're still mine!

Someone else! I said someone else should be invaded like this!

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

I would look at bases in mutually supporting groups of three, with further overlap among the trios.

So! The cephalopod thing was just a clever bit of misdirection - you're really a Tripod!!!

[:D]

Shh, no one is supposed to know this.

[Heeward]

What can you do to harass his supply lines / remote bases vs. your oil reserves.
One possibility is a CVE raid on his line of communications in the vicinity of Pago Pago. Even a small surface raid on the port may cause him to divert some resources to defend across the pacific. Remember if he is strong in the DEI and Burma that must mean he is weak somewhere else. The questions is where is that?

[Cuttlefish]

[font="Arial"]It ain’t over until the fat lady sings.[/font]
- Yogi Berra

---

July 14, 1943 – August 7,1943

The fat lady is tuning up in the wings, though.

The DEI has been pretty quiet during this period. The Allies captured Miri and occupied a couple more bases in the Philippine archipelago but I get the feeling that Q-Ball is building up forces and infrastructure and repairing and acquiring ships before tackling Luzon.

It hasn’t been completely quiet, of course. Allied fighters began making sweeps over Manila and after several days of combat in which I suffered about 8:1 losses I was compelled to withdraw my fighters. My pilots are as good or better than his and score at least as many hits in air to air combat; the problem is that a Zero or Tojo hit by a P-47 or Corsair goes down in flames, whereas more often than not a hit on an Allied fighter produces no appreciable result. This is, of course, exactly what happened in real life. My compliments to the dev team for producing such a good model – and I curse their scurvy hides.

Just kidding. Nice job, Elf and the others responsible.

Allied carriers have raided into the northern reaches of the South China Sea looking for my warships, but all they have found are a couple of Luzon-bound supply convoys. These were annihilated. Q-Ball also sent a couple of minesweepers up to Bataan to clear mines, and these ran into my coast guns. Farewell minesweepers, but it gave away the fact that the guns are there. Allied forces also captured an unoccupied base on the north coast of Java, though I am not sure why. He may have his eye on Soerabaja for the repair facilities there. That will take some work, though.

On the plus side Japan has scored a couple of small victories. More merchant ships strayed too close to Guadalcanal and six to eight freighters and tankers were sunk. And a Japanese force built around Yamato snuck through the San Bernadino Strait while Q-Ball’s carriers were elsewhere and sank five tankers, two destroyers, and four PT boats at no cost. Japanese subs have also continued to score victories, sinking a couple of APAs, an AVD, and an AP. I-173 also put a torpedo into CVL Independence in the Torres Strait. Heavy fires, heavy damage – it might be a kill.

Allied subs have been quiet, mostly because there is little to no Japanese shipping to sink. Two Allied subs were sunk, one by Japanese destroyers and one by a subchaser in the East China Sea. I think this was the first kill by a Japanese SC of the war.

Burma-Shaved: this area has fallen completely apart in the face of a massive Allied attack. I am trying to extricate units and bring them back to Moulmein but it will not be easy. Burma is a nightmare to defend in AE. It might be possible to hold off the Allies for a while in a scenario 2 game, with all the extra ground forces available, but in a scenario 1 game I just don’t see any defense. I think my strategy in future games will be to fortify the Thai frontier and fall back there as soon as the Allies start to move.

The only good thing is that this particular game is so borked that losing Burma, even Thailand and Malaya, will not make a great deal of difference. It’s a sad commentary on my skills, but there you are.

[FOW]

Falling back to the Thai border too soon will have one big drawback - it'll open the Burma Road to China. What's worse for the Empire: A re-invigorated China or loosing a slugfest in Burma?
Pushing a large Allied army cross the border into Burma is a logistical nightmare now, since supply pull was neutered in a patch - is your game using the new code or still suffering the old supply movement rules? (I recall some code changes required a restart - and your game hasn't)

Re your mention of IJMS Yamato's raid - the combat report for the Allied side reported it as Musashi - I just love the FOW element of the game.

[LoBaron]

On the other hand if you manage to draw a stable defense line through rough/mountain terrain in China, the reopening of
Burma road is not such a big issue since, with or without supplies, the Chinese units have not enough offensive capability.
 
Depends on the ability to do that but if this is possible with the troops at hand I´d trade a reinvigorated China for a slugfest in Burma any day.

[Cuttlefish]

[font="Arial"]Then there is nothing left for me but to go and see General Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths.[/font]
- Robert E. Lee

---

August 8, 1943 - August 31, 1943

It has been an unkind month for the Empire of Japan. Luzon is under siege, its airfields bombed flat despite the determined resistance of my best fighter groups. Allied troops have landed at San Fernando. My surface units tried to intercept his carrier forces but failed; the result was the loss of battleships Yamato, Nagato, and Yamashiro; heavy cruiser Takao; light cruisers Agano, Abukuma, and Yubari; and no fewer than eleven destroyers. Oy vay!

In Burma trapped Japanese divisions fought their way back into Mandalay and recaptured the place but are thoroughly trapped there. Rangoon is still in Japanese hands but weakening. A blocking force is at Moulmein but I can no longer build forts there as the entire region is out of supply.

There is not a single drop of fuel left in the Home Islands. What warships remain are being supplied with fuel siphoned from idle merchant ships – fortunately this constitutes quite a reserve. With HI reserves exhausted few airframes are being built – some days two or three planes, some days none.

My opponent has tactfully suggested that he understands if I am getting a little frustrated and would accept my surrender if I wished to pack it in. Running turns has become an exercise in anguish but I hate to give up. Q-Ball has played an excellent game and deserves the chance to enjoy all the fun late-war toys the Allies get. I guess the thing to do is leave it up to him. If he wants to continue we will, but if he would rather move on to something a little more challenging I can certainly understand that.

Any opinions or thoughts on this matter from out there in reader-land?

The VP screen for the end of August:

[FatR]

I would accept the offer. At this stage there is no chance for Japan to mount a credible defense anywhere, because the Empire's throat is already torn out before the arrival of troops that can allow protracted land defense of approaches to Home Islands, or even kamikazes. At this point Allied advance is limited mostly by Allied logistics, and, as logistics are easy in AE, Q-Ball can basically just take the points he needs to conclude the game by the spring of 1944 anyway. There is little to learn about how a "proper" endgame might play out in this.

[vaned74]

Hi there Cuttlefish - hard times for the empire but I must say a fabulous AAR, well done yet again.

I am kind of curious on several points/have comments. Obviously Luzon is a lost cause. I am not sure it held any value for the Empire anyway at this point. With the Central Phillippine Islands in Allied hands and a secure supply chain for the Allies up through the DEI, your supplies of fuel from the SRA are mostly cut off. CV raids into the South China Sea can easily stop any shipping except maybe the occasional single ship, etc. Holding or losing Luzon at this point does not change that picture.

By my guess you should have about 200-250 Oil centers producing for you; all mainly in the Home Islands or Manchuria. This should feed about 2,000 heavy industry points per day; or 60,000 per month - assuming no fuel is required for fleet operations. My guess is at this point most of your HI is going to pilot training, which unfortunately you cannot turn off. Pilot training consumes 5 HI per pilot in the training pool per month. If you have about 10,000 pilots training this is 50,000/month; but, it should only happen at the end of the month as a "one time charge". Does the system allow your HI pool to go negative or does it simply decrement to 0?

If it goes to zero; then you should have a good chunk of the, admittedly paltry, 50-60K HI available for air production. At this point, I would think all ships except maybe some small destroyers, MTBs, and maybe a few subs are turned off. I would see little need for vehicle production either. That said, you should I would think be able to pull about 20-30,000 HI per month into production of airplanes - this would be on the order of 700-800 single engine planes.

I would also tend to think there is little to no point in garrisoning anything southeast of the Marianas (or even the Marianas for that matter except to deny VPs to the Allies). My guess is all ships and troops would load up with everything possible and head home; excepting maybe a few recon/patrol planes and support units. In fact, as radical as it sounds - I don't see much need in holding Indo-China, Thailand, or Malaya at this point.

The only other sources of oil that could be perhaps obtained for Japan are in North China and/or Sakhalin Island. Ironically, the oil in far north China (Urumchi area, 50 centers) is probably the easiest to obtain. A strong armoured force can move quickly down the roads with some paratroop support, the mobile infantry brigades, and seize this area. Sian, the other Chinese oil location, is a much tougher nut to crack. I would think also that most, if not all, mobile flak would start to be concentrated around your oil centers; especially those in reach of Allied bombers.

How is your supply situation in the home islands?

I would think your biggest defense priorities at this point are the Ryukus (Okinawa) and the China coast from perhaps Amoy on north. I am not even sure if Formosa is a useful asset now, excepting maybe from a delaying standpoint to buy time to salvage forces from the SRA, et. al.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish
Any opinions or thoughts on this matter from out there in reader-land?

As always, Cuttlefish, an entertaining read.

As a reader, I would find value in your late war defensive woes. It's selfish on my part, I know, to ask you to continue enduring pain. However, I think the late defensive struggle is the IJ lot in life-I'd like to see how you do it.

Too often, this is glossed over in AARs and games-the IJ player quits or disappears when the tide turns against them. If nothing else, please hold out until the Divine Wind manifests.

Respectfully submitted,

Chickenboy

[CapAndGown]

This is beginning to look like someone pulling the wings and legs off a fly. Just crush the thing and be done with it. No need to drag it out. The allies have won a decisive victory. Move on to another game.

[Xxzard]

The smoke of the biggest and most decisive battles has cleared, and unlike the real Japanese High Command, you can concede inevitable defeat when it is clear the war is lost.

I do think it would be interesting to see an endgame, but I think we all know it will be month after month of B-29 raids destroying everything in sight, and I don't think it would be all that fun for you to run all those turns. So, you may as well call it at this point. It was an interesting game, but you definitely ran into some bad luck, and I'd say your opponent was very capable.

It must have been losing the Hibiki early on that doomed the campaign!

[witpqs]

Point out to Q-Ball that you have more points than he does, and you accept his surrender!

Splendid game, Sir.

[Cuttlefish]

Q-Ball says that, because he is very busy these days and because what is left for him in this game is largely a matter of managing logistics, he is willing to accept my surrender rather than keep playing. Accordingly, the Emperor has ordered the armed forces of Japan to lay down their arms. The war is concluded. That this was an overwhelming Allied victory cannot be doubted.

We have exchanged passwords and tomorrow I will look over Q-Ball's position. I will also post some final thoughts on the game and what went wrong for Japan. I hope everyone had fun following our game (and picked up some useful tips on what NOT to do when playing Japan in AE). I had a lot of fun playing this one despite the outcome.

[Cribtop]

Bravely fought and gamely ended, Cuttlefish. I think surrender was the only realistic option at this point.

[SqzMyLemon]

Great effort Cuttlefish. I learned much about the Japanese side of things, and maybe a few what not to do's in some cases [:'(] following your AAR. I appreciate all the time and effort you put into it. Thank you. [&o] Once more unto the breach.