Islands of Destiny: RA 5.0 Japanese Side

[JohnDillworth]

long time lurker and occasional poster. I read both AAR's but rarely comment beyond asking a question or 2. I am the guy who was wondering if the Allies might have any torpedo bombers in the Burma area. The universal answer was no. I was as surprised as you were. Dan kept that little present under wraps until after the battle. Sometimes you want to scream when you are reading both AAR. In this case it's a bit different. I'm convinced both of you are 100% correct and are playing the better game. Clearly I am an idiot[:)]

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Commander Cody
Regarding comms between you guys, how about sending one e-mail entitled "Turn," with just the save file attached, and another entitled "Banter," in which you communicate your thoughts on the game. This would allow CR to open the "Banter" e-mail at leisure after he views the movie.

Great idea, Commander Cody!

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

What EXACTLY does he have left in India? Could a late-winter/early spring counter-landing be possible while all this firepower is struggling along the jungle and barely passable trails?

Have just about enough PP to buy out an ID. Given now to February I could buy out three more. Could a landing of 4-5 ID and a TK Div do anything at this stage? Just thinking out loud my readers...

We've been there....done that in WITP. Remember ?!? [:-]

+1. IIRC, Dan referred to that as an inexplicable detour of forces. "Rocks rattling around in a can" was a common phraseology that he used to describe the lack of strategic impact on his execution of the war.

[John 3rd]

OK. Time for extensive Posting on various facets of the campaign to October 31, 1942.

[John 3rd]

Here is the 'Big Picture' stuff with the economy. Just a few months ago I had less then 100,000 built up HI. Look at the number currently: 541,000 and climbing.

Take a look at the rest and if you have questions sing out:

[John 3rd]

Here is the shipbuilding for Capital Ships. I am working to bring the 3 Sho-Kai in together, then the first 3 Unryu, and--lastly--the second three Unryu. The CB will come in close and become additional heavy escorts for the CVs joining with the 4 Kongo BC and 2 Yamato.

[John 3rd]

A lot people say what are you building? What are you researching? OK. Here is the top group at the moment. Tojo, Tojo, Tojo, and the Sea as well as land variant of the Zero.

Look at research with Tony and Frank. Tony gets built just enough to equip several groups and then we move on. George is a pretty tough Japanese plane. We left it in RA due to it being an independently built aircraft. Note that there is no Jack.

[John 3rd]

Current WORLD Map:

[John 3rd]

Here are losses for the Kaigun to date:

2 BB, 6 CA (3 of the old Kako/Kinugasa Class), 10 CL (6 of them Training CL), 34 DD (16 Modern and 18 Old), and 7 SS (5 I-Boat and 2 Ro-).

I was surprised at the number of DDs until I thought about how we just added 8 to the total with recent not-a-fight at Akyab. Fact is the losses sustained in the two major attacks near Akyab resulted in about 50% of these losses.

No CV of any sort. Junyo is a cripple in Gasmata (SYS 10, FLOT 52, ENG 15)

ADDITIONS: 2 CV (Junyo-Hiyo), 2 CVL (Nisshin and Ryujo), 4 CVE, 2 CA (Tone-Kai), 4 CL (Agano), 18 DD (10 Kagero and 8 Moon's), and roughly a dozen SS.

[John 3rd]

I was fairly depressed when I went through my losses but feel a little better totally Dan's Losses. These are his losses by the game (with Fog of War):

8 BB, 1 BC, 9 CA, 15 CL, 41 DD, and 20 SS

[John 3rd]

OK. This is everything for the moment. Am currently speaking with War Minister Benoit discussing strategic and tactical planning...

[Capt. Harlock]

I was fairly depressed when I went through my losses

Really? I would have thought that losing only two battlewagons and no CV's by the end of October '42 is doing pretty well. It certainly contrasts favorably with the historical.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: John 3rd
I was fairly depressed when I went through my losses

Your losses are not insubstantial. However, I keep having to remind myself that you get some pretty slick toys in 1943. As others have stated, your carrier power should be substantial by the middle of next year. [&o]

[John 3rd]

Just looking as I spoke with the War Minister it appears I should get (by June 43) 3 CV, 2 CB, 2 CL, and about 12-14 more modern DDs

[PaxMondo]

John, I'm always lurking ... [;)]

[Kitakami]

As am I... I get posts to this AAR via email, and it is a great read, which teaches me much.

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

John, I'm always lurking ... [;)]

I ALWAYS know that the Big PM is LURKING! [:'(]

[John 3rd]

Thanks Kitakami.

Had a 50 minute 'War Conference' with Minister Benoit and it managed to make me late for a meeting with our bank. My wife and I are buying an Apartment Building here in town so the bank is making us jump hoops.

Michael managed to totally dissuade me from looking at the the Rear of Burma/India as a possible target. Have also been thinking about moving on Lashio to the east. Danger lurks there eventually...

Am simply jittery. Really want to do SOMETHING. This is very a-typical play for me and it is a constant fight for me NOT to go all out and seek battle. Must settle for drinking heavily!

[John 3rd]

October 31, 1942
Burma Theatre

Current Army Units Deployed in Theatre:

ACTIVE: Inf Div--12th, 16th, 18th, 21st, 33rd and 2nd TK Div
Refitting: 4th, 48th, and 59th ID

Regiment--Brigade-Sized Infantry: 4.
TK Reg: 4
Para Raiders: 3

Eastern ENEMY:
1. Lashio has six units in it. Will start a couple of bombs runs to see if I can get specifics.
2. Bhamo has a Chinese Inf Div

I like the idea of moving against Lashio and trying to kick him out of each area. It is manageable and might force him to divide his air units...

[ny59giants]

Dan's troops at both Lashio and Bhamo are probably very, very low on supplies....unless he is air transporting them in. [;)] Try to LRCAP one of them to see if you get an an intercept message during the "Air Transport" phase. Ground bomb Lashio to get specifics vs AF.

Don't forget to use Changteh in China to bomb Chungking. Remember!![:D]