Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice)

[Canoerebel]

I'm glad you're still around and reading.

I seem to remember that, for many years, I was somehow under the impression that you were the army artillery forumite who lived in Alabama and occasionally got booted from the forum for expressing himself forcefully. Now I've forgotten his "handle." He was a fun guy to have around.

[Canoerebel]

Ahhhhh, fuggedaboutit!

[Simonsez]

I've visited Gettysburg and Vicksburg as the only two Civil War battlefileds I have fully explored. My family comes from the SW corner of WI (Lancaster) and reportedly has one of the earliest Civil War monuments on the Courthouse grounds. Apparently fund raising begain in 1862 and the monument was dedicated on July 4th, 1867. There is also a fantastic zinc statue of a Norther soldier (a "blue boy" ?) nearby. Link below to a short write up on the monument (with pictures).

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/lancas ... in.106125/

Just the one photo of names from one side of the 12 pillars of names contains three or four sir names of kids I went to junior high and high school with. I'm not aware of any of my direct family ancestory being involved in the Civial War or in any of America's wars for that matter, even though my family's roots here can be traced back to before the 13 colonies. Plenty served, but they all seemed to serve moastly during peactime. The closest anyone got to my knowledge was my Dad who received three Vietnam deferements (in college seeking his doctaral degree, then maried, then married with children (me), as he tells it.) His two older brothers were in the Army Reserve during Korea, but never made it past Seattle before the armistice was signed.

[T Rav]

CR,

Loyal follower and happy for the side jaunts into the South. I don't get enough of that as a displaced Florida-Boy. Stationed in GA, TX and AL as well.


Thank You,
Trav

[Canoerebel]

Thanks for reading.

I love the South.

[Anachro]

I love the south; I'm from the south. Southern California, that is! [8D] (I also like the south south too)

One of my favorite visits as a kid was to the Spotsylvania battlefield where a very excellent park ranger gave us a in-depth account of the battle and the brutal, trench warfare around the bloody angle.

[Canoerebel]

I think I'd love wherever I happened to live in the USA, based upon what I've seen in my travels across the country and encounters with the people I've met. If life happened to set me in Bath, New Hampshire, or Farmington, New Mexico, or Port Clinton, Pennsylvania, life would be just as good, I'm sure. I do love the South, but I don't mean it's better than any other region.

[Anachro]

I spent college in Lexington, Virginia. Also the site of VMI where Stonewall Jackson taught. Washington & Lee University there is where R. Lee went after the war and became president of the college. Lots of history there. Also very beautiful place. I did a lot of hiking in the Blueridge mountains.

[Canoerebel]

Virginia's Blue Ridge country is gorgeous.

[Canoerebel]

7/8/43 to 8/12/43

This may be a record AAR entry interval for me. Five weeks of game time!

China: The MLR remains intact but has me worried. Dave has me outnumbered and badly outgunned at Changsha, and on a smaller scale (for both sides) the two hexes to the south. He also outnumbers my guys at Sian but he doesn't have a ton of arty there. I keep plugging leaks, feeding in good units and then watching them slowly deteriorate under sustained bombardments. The MLR is eventually going to buckle somewhere. But considering he brought all of his Singapore arty over here, plus more infantry divisions to boot, the Chinese have done pretty darned well.

Carrier Forces: After the great debacle in the Bay of Bengal, the Allied carriers retired to repair and/or upgrade. The RN heavies need about 60-70 more days to complete their work. All USN fleet carriers are fully operational, as are all CVEs but two. One of those is repairing at Capetown, the other disbanded at a Pacific dot hex a year ago and now in an ARD, repairing FLT damage.

Japanese Intentions: Dave continues to work heavily on his MLR without getting fancy or aggressive. SigInt reports an Army HQ prepping for Cocos. That's a tough target for him but it's one place I can see him attacking. He has a carrier TF at Koepang - the same one that sprinted down the Oz coast when I feinted towards Port Headland six weeks back. Other than that, I don't know where the bulk of his carriers are. I don't necessarily need to know right now but it would help a lot come about two months.

Allied Intentions: I'll soon move on Majuro, the last (and lightly held) enemy outpost in the Marshalls. I have ideas for what comes next but its partly dependent on where Dave's carriers are. I don't want to suffer another carrier defeat.

What Went Wrong: I think about the Bay of Bengal battle frequently. The Allied forces (land, sea, air) were well organized and equipped and prepared and positioned. I had good information about some of his carriers and about his garrisons. I felt confident that I understood his thinking and that he had to have enough carriers in the Pacific to give me local superiority in the Bay of Bengal. I was way wrong. That bothers me - was I predictable? Did I overlook something? Was this luck or design or both? I don't have any real answers yet, so I'm glad it's not time to move forward again.

[Bif1961]

Though the Allies might forget about this the Japanese get SIGINT too, not nearly a smuch as as good but maybe enough and timely?

[Canoerebel]

8/13/43 to 9/25/43

It's been three months since the Battle of the Bay of Bengal. I've been licking my wounds ever since, preparing for the next big things. Dave, meantime, is content to work on his MLR. He never probes or attacks. Except in China, which has been the focal point the past several months. That's a challenging theater for the Allies but things are going pretty well.

China: Things were getting really dicey at Sian and the Changsha front about two months back. Daily bombings combined with big enemy arty bombardments were cutting into Allied AV and supply at a rate I couldn't sustain. I countered by bringing in three good P-47D squadrons from Burma. They've downed enough good enemy fighters and bombers to persuade Dave to almost totally stand down his airforce in China. That, in turn, has basically halved the rate of AV erosion. The current situation seems sustainable. Also, the -47Ds went to Sian for a few turns and downed a bunch of transport aircraft toting supply. Supply seems to be an issue for him in this sector. Bottom line: The Chinese MLR is exactly the same as it was last post, six weeks back, and overall security seems better.

[Canoerebel]

9/26/43 to 11/6/43

I came down with a severe UTI this week, necessitating my first doctor's visit since 2006. Dying seemed like a blissful alternative to how I felt Wednesday and Thursday. But I seem to be on the mend and the world no longer seems a dank, cheerless place without hope or succor.

Chess Match: Dave has implemented a thoughtful, crafty, extreme Sir Robin defense. He established a modest perimeter early and since then has essentially never come further forward. He's struck a few times when I've come forward (to his disadvantage in the Gilberts an to his immense advantage in the Bay of Bengal). We both appear to like the defense - like Longstreet, take the high ground and let the enemy attack. John III is so aggressive that I was able to play an aggressive form of defense that was effective against his boldness. In this game, Dave and I are circling, taking the measure of the other, and awaiting the next eruption. The carrier defeat in the Bay was a huge blow. Since then, I've been attending to planning and logistics and little probes. But the time isn't too far off when the Allies will move forward in strength. If I suffer another major carrier defeat it might be curtains for Allied hopes of a timely victory. One other note: Dave is a superb opponent. He is quiet and thoughtful and occasionally humorous. He flips turns like crazy. He's a great guy (as have been all my opponents, with some differences here and there).

China: The MLR is still intact! Dave shifted most of his hopes to Sian but the Chinese have parried the thrust thus far. B-24s at Chungking are lending a hand, disruption his 41st Div. He's having some trouble with supply and air defense. If the Chinese can hold, the future is considerably rosier.

[RangerJoe]

UTIs are not fun. I had one after a 9 by 14 mm kidney stone was removed surgically.

The next time that I had a 9 mm kidney stone, I knew what to do and I barely felt it when I passed it . . .

That said, drink cranberry juice. Blueberries are in the same family and have some of the same benefits.

[Canoerebel]

Will do, Ranger Joe. Cold cranberry juice sounds very appealing right now.

[T Rav]

CR,

Glad to see you back and on the mend.

T Rav

[Bif1961]

Glad to have you up and at'em again.

[Canoerebel]

11/6/43 to 11/27/43

Intellectus ex Nihilo: Information played the pivotal role in Allied ops in late November. As the month dawned, I had a general notion of moving on Wake Island by mid-December. Lack of information about KB, and the possibility of losing a crippling carrier battle, left me on edge trying to figure out some way to maximize Allied chances. By mid-November, I began getting information about a small carrier force responding to Allied probes in the Solomons. Then, the first recon of Singapore (from Cocos) resulted in a fantastic report - KB posted there. So I immediately triggered the invasion of Wake, despite a number of carriers still coming inbound. The invasion boarded the best amphibs, so made good time escorted by the CVEs. DS, meanwhile, took a southwesterly course, hoping to spring an ambush on the smaller enemy carriers force near Ontong Java (near Tulagi). Here's the information that counted:

[Canoerebel]

11/27/43

Wake Island: The Allies easily take the base on D-Day (thank goodness!). The plan and prepping for this were in the works for months, but information about enemy carrier disposition allowed immediate triggering and proceeding with confidence.

Carriers: Dave got detection on part of DS near the Marshalls, ending the chances for a carrier ambush. Recon doesn't show enemy carriers at Singapore, suddenly. I assume they are moving to the Pacific ASAP. But I should have about 10 days to operate in the clear - enough time to proceed with the invasion of Ponape (I think).

[Canoerebel]

11/29/43

Battle of Kusaie Island: This turn opens with report of enemy carrier search planes finding DS...and then DS search planes finding enemy carriers just to the SW. Oh my! The dream set up - I've had excellent detection on him for more than a week, he's had little or none on my carriers, and the Allies should have a sizeable advantage in quantity.

The a.m. phase opens with the Japanese alpha strike. It's far too small to take on Allied CAP, taking heavy losses and scoring no hits. And that's it - no follow up strikes.