Turnaround? Lowpe (J) vs Tiemanj (A) Stock

[Lowpe]

Stalking the Queen.

I would like to get torpedoes into these battleships, anything to get them in drydock and not bombarding.

[Skygge]

The trick is to assign the E's to Escort task forces, and then when they encounter the Allied blockade of Fletchers, they avoid, and with the lowish moonlight, and poor weather, they are avoiding combat!

A very useful little ploy to avoid peowling Fletchers.

[Lowpe]

Okayama, the key hex.

If the Allies move tanks into this hex on the morrow, they will block two days worth of SR'ing troops to the east.

If he moves a very powerful force there, then he can trash them aerially and with ground attacks starting the following day. Those troops would then retreat to the west...not Kobe because of the enemy unit there.

I have tried to give the picture that I am fighting where the troops are, with the exception of the troop movement from Shikoku which is on roads and can't really be hidden.

The movement onto the landing beach is mere deception.

Here is hoping the Allies reinforce Kobe and not Okayama! Probably a futile hope. Or that the troops rail past Okayama into Kobe before the Allies reach Okayama - which doesn't seem likely if the Allies move in on the ground. It has been my experience movement mode goes first, and SR mode goes last.

[Lowpe]

Two days of replacements on.

I won't be able to get a lot of tanks in here, but I will use them like artillery now!

Perhaps for the final fight on the outskirts of Tokyo. You know we are headed for that, don't you![X(]

[Lowpe]

Turn is away....I successful ground turn on Honshu and I can delay the end of the game. A very aggressive Allied move could really hurt.

Roll the dice...

[Lowpe]

September 14, 1944

Midnight, and the troop movements look interesting.

A good victory point trade here I think...

[Lowpe]

Run Away!

[Lowpe]

Nagasaki falls...

[Lowpe]

Ships destroyed at Nagasaki. Hurts, but expected. Really no more than a normal day of strategic bombing.

I trade a 3 VP E for 5 1 VP PT boats...

[Lowpe]

Plan losses for the day...

[Lowpe]

The Allies have a 2 unit block at Okayama, and stop the trains.

I think I will keep sending in the troops, on the off chance he doesn't send in enough troops, or that perhaps I can retreat into Kobe...I think that may give me the best chance of prolonging the game. It is a gamble...and I need to think on it some more.

The other choice is to defend Fukuoka and Hiroshima and make him dig me out there, but without rails and all the naval bombardments he will throw at me there, I think my defense would be short lived.

[DanSez]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Sept 13, 1944

I have gotten in the habit of sending out one xak with a very strong ASW force, as much as 48 ASW guns, in an effort to sink more submarines.

Here I trade an xak for a submarine. I will take it.

That is an interesting idea.
Thanks again.

[Lowpe]

My pleasure, Dan.

We are all learning together![:)]

[Lowpe]

Another turn done, and we are half way thru this miserable month that has featured some spectacular Japanese successes and failures.

Okayama is getting stuffed to the gills with troops. I think now it has the largest concentration of AA in the game.

A neat thing I have discovered, and kudos to whoever told me about it, is that when you rail troops in SR mode, that first day they start unpacking, although immobile, they seem to fight with a very high degree of efficiency when they are in combat mode (but still unpacking). Even with 2 days of unpacking ahead of it, the base force brought all of her guns against the Yankees landing for instance.

This is a pretty pivotal idea to grasp on the defense, since you can rail troops in. They arrive after all aerial and naval bombardments, but prior to ground combat. So, if you can time their arrival to avoid deliberate and shock attacks, the following day they can really add to the defense. Or in nasty terrain with good forts can provide a nice boost to the AV.

Remember, you can't rail out of a contested hex, but you can rail into one.[;)] Considering troops don't retreat to a contested hex, you do have quite a lot of influence over controlling the battlefield. Something the Allies aren't doing, thank goodness![:)]

That the Allies abandoned Kobe, means, I think given the retreat from the landing yesterday, that my troops in Okayama if forced to retreat will now head towards Kobe. An important goal in my plan.

I am reinforcing Osaka with tanks and artillery and AA, since he seems interested in it again, although not to the degree I initially thought. The Allies were closing off hexsides...the big fight will be at Okayama and with all the troops arriving there this day, the Allies will know my plans.

Elsewhere, I have some two Lilly IIc squadrons and escorts flying out of Iwo Jima with a fair amount of search. They are providing friendly air cover over the horde of escaping E's. Roughly 14 of them are fleeing to the Luzon area by widely scattered routes.

Running the E's at flank speed seems to really knock out the depth charge launchers for some reason. Plenty of damaged devices among the E's.

My transports have recovered, to the degree they could, from the drubbing they took flying into OkiShoto and now for the most part are in Formosa bringing in troops from the surrounding islands like Daito and Amami which are low on supplies and big on garrisons. I am moving the Wake CD unit to Formosa, from Bataan (where it was rebuild after the first landing on Honshu). Perhaps it will do some good there, or perhaps I will try to get it above Shanghai or protecting Korea.

The Allies might be pondering an invasion of Formosa, and I can keep it in supply, if just, so it makes sense to beef up the troops there from the bases I can't keep in supply.

The 1st & 4th Divisions are at Fusan, and I have turned on replacements to get them up to a 100 or so AV. They will garrison the likely invasion beaches in Korea.

The 1st Tank made a dangerous crossing in SR mode from Fusan to Fukuoka yesterday, and now is railing to Okayama. The 2nd Tank continues to rebuild near Tokyo (very good progress as artillery), the 3rd Tank Division (my best) will arrive in Okayama to fight the Marines on the following day. The 4th Tank Division is beefing up Osaka's garrison and likely attack there...although it could move to reinforce to the west or north very quickly.

Tokyo is a huge artillery and AA park right now, as all the units destroyed in Vietnam have come back and are taking replacements and resting. A huge boost in the strength of eastern Honshu.

Tomorrow I get two SSTs at Kobe...and I have halted production of E's at Tokyo and Yokohama with 1 day left to build, so to build up another group for the dangerous run to the SRA. 4 more days of refitting at Port Arthur to get my second radar equipped Iboat.

I am surprised the Allies took Nagasaki the way they did...there was a lot of VP to be garnered there thru bombing, but I suspect they really want the shipyards.

Japanese fighter strength continues to recover, it is for the most part dispersed over Korea, and over 100 fighters are in Tokyo being worked on by ground crews. They should be in shape for action tomorrow somewhere, if the opportunity presents itself -- and I am sure that it will. Plenty of opportunities but lack of assets hurts.

[Lowpe]

September 15, 1944

The E's continue their breakout from Yokohama and none are intercepted. Run Es' run!

During the day, Okayama is visited by every bomber the Allies have. If it can fly, it bombs. The Allied fighters patrol the skies.

And Japanese AA isn't helpless.


Tracker has 98 Allied planes destroyed.

[Lowpe]

What have the Allies moved into Okayama?

Meanwhile almost all troops are railed into Okayama during the day...and they try to take shelter behind the level three forts.

Then the American tanks attack![X(]

1-43 odds even with all the malus for op mode and all the bombing.

[Lowpe]

Okayama bursting at the seams,and all the infantry divisions arrive today. Unless the Allies drop some paratroopers...a definite possibility.

[Lowpe]

Damaged xak sinks at Hankow...while it looks like mines claim another loss.

[Lowpe]

Run,E's run...Allies trying to catch up to them I fear.

Catalina's detected the TF to the east...

Another group of E's is running closer to Daito...some DLs there too.

Can I get them to safety?

Will it change the course of the war?

Perhaps...anything that distracts the Allies for more important endeavors could be huge!

[Lowpe]

The tank division is rebuilding nicely. Some of the items are on stockpile, but I think this unit will fight again in defence of the Empire!

I rebuilt it for the picture, but they are broken into thirds and resting to maximize the repairs.