The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

[Canoerebel]

4/26/44

A fine day all cross the map, as a Japanese shock attack in Burma fails, Japanese LBA strikes against Allied shipping in northern Oz fail, KB is sighted at Truk, Death Star strikes an enemy merchant TF, the DEI reinforcement TFs make good time steaming north, and all this has riled up John, which is good for game progress.

Fun House: See this map.

Burma: See following map.

[Canoerebel]

Burma

[jwolf]

What was on those ships near Jolo? Troops, or supply?

Things are looking very promising for the Allies, both in Burma and the PI. Good work!

[Canoerebel]

No troops aboard those ships. They were bound from the Makassar Strait north, so possibly carrying fuel or supply or resources.

[Canoerebel]

4/27/44

The Allies move forward in Burma and the Philippine Sea in preparation for the next round of assaults. See map for details.

[Canoerebel]

Nearly all of my posts are tactical and operational updates. Strategic thoughts and planning are generalized, marginalized, or avoided. Here's an update:

Operation Peep Show is the "next big thing" following Fun House. The objectives were selected at the same time, back in the early autumn of '43. The timeline calls for Peep Show in early autumn, though timing is dependent on Fun House progress or lack thereof.

There will be other major operations in the Pacific (mainly important mop-ups) and in the DEI (to seize key bases that John needs for oil or that have high points for eventual auto-victory determination). Troops are prepping and, in some cases, already moving. I have plenty of good units available for these duties, but I don't yet have the shipping to provide adequate security. John is and has been champing t the bit to bushwhack juicy TFs bound for the Coral Sea or Marcus. I think that's where KB has been all this time - at or near Truk, awaiting an expected Allied move on Marcus or Eniwetok. Until KB is dealt with, I'll have to proceed cautiously with the mop-up operations.

Overall, my priorities remain: (1) targeting the Kaigun; (2) interdicting enemy oil bases/LOCs; and (3) taking airfields that can be used in an efficient strategic bombing campaign vs. the Home Islands.

[jwolf]

Peep Show sounds a bit ... kinky. [;)] Wonder what area you're targeting.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Peep Show sounds a bit ... kinky. [;)] Wonder what area you're targeting.

A clandestine geisha hangout...?

[Canoerebel]

The first page of any Operation Peep Show paperwork features this:

[Canoerebel]

Or this, depending on the mood of the originator of the paperwork.

[Lovejoy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel


Operation Peep Show is the "next big thing" following Fun House. The objectives were selected at the same time, back in the early autumn of '43. The timeline calls for Peep Show in early autumn, though timing is dependent on Fun House progress or lack thereof.

Hurrah! Something else that the peanut gallery can start to speculate about!

[Flicker]

Shanghai!

[Canoerebel]

4/28/44

Fun House: CV Sumatra took two torpedoes today. She's in bad shape and in a bad location to try to make it to a friendly port. John has a sizeable pack of subs in the area. Sumatra, and the rest of Death Star, are caught between those subs and Mindanao.

I'm dispatching additional ASW TFs from Legaspi to rendezvous with DS, but the next few days will be dicey.

Allied ASW did damage I-200 (the sub that hit Sumatra) and another sub; and ASW aircraft reported hits on two or three other subs. Here's hoping Allied ASW tears into this pack tomorrow.

No sign of KB today. If John has used flank speed - possible but unlikely - his carrier would be in range for battle tomorrow. But I don't think that's in the cards. I think KB is somewhere north or northeast of Truk, around the Marianas or possible towards Marcus.

Carousel: The conquest and loss of Celebes was the last act in the DEI, but the Allies are about to resume the offensive. Loading of troops at one of the Ceram bases has commenced, with D-Day two days away. I'll continue using the "Carousel" name - it was originally the op to expand on Big Tent, and that's still the case today.

Burma: Important attacks tomorrow. If the Allies succeed with either or both, John's MLR will really collapse back towards open terrain. He can't stand there due to Allied 2EB hitting his troops. So if the attacks succeed - especially the one near Toungoo - John's days are numbered in Burma. Over at Prome, the big question is whether the attack can catch 18th Div. in the hex and mess it up. There are five forts there, but 4EB really messed up his ground troops today.

[Bearcat2]

What about sending Sumatra to Talaud-eilanden to pump out, enough CAP there to cover?

[Canoerebel]

She'd be naked there, easily attacked by enemy aircraft. Talaud is a level one airfield.

I've considered a number of options, including sending Death Star south to escort Sumatra back to a safer port. That has some merit.

But, overall, I think the best option is to proceed north. Sumatra TF will follow an ASW TF and try to rejoin Death Star. I put her chances at 20% - not good, but at least measurable.

Mentally, I've already written off Sumatra, and I'm more concerned about Death Star's welfare. She's amongst the pack of wolves. On the plus side, the subs are showing detection, so that makes it harder for them to attack and easier to attack them. But John may trigger kamikazes and whatever else he can put his hands on. There's blood in the water and the sharks will go into a frenzy.

By tomorrow afternoon, I think I'll have eight more ASW TFs present with Death Star, so the early phase will be the scary one.

[Canoerebel]

A day or two ago, I was looking at the screen, working on a turn. I had the thought: "Man, this is beautiful!" The screen, I mean. But more than that: The game; AE.

Many nights, I fall asleep thinking about what just happened in a turn or what I think might happen the next turn.

At this point in the game, with the Allies being so powerful, you'd think that the game would have lost some of its luster. It hasn't. I spent seven months game time planning Fun House. To finally get to implement that plan with all its complexity, risk, and reward is as much fun as anything I've experienced before in AE.

Seeing a cherished CV hit is a gut punch, and I felt it. Then I went for a long run up Lavender Mountain in the cold, with the setting sun shining strongly, and realized anew how much I enjoy the game, good times and bad.

[MakeeLearn]

BANZAI!!!

[Canoerebel]

Yikes, I'd hate to be the recruit assigned to that station by a tough drill sergeant who noticed too much emotion!

[bradfordkay]

Did you run past the reservoir or take a different route?

[Canoerebel]

I began at the old mill, heading out the reservoir road, turned right and took a steep firebreak trail up to the top of an unnamed knob, down to a gap (the gap is above the reservoir, but you can't see it), and then back around on the ridge road. Only about 2.5 miles, but it's a loop I refer to as the "Hyper Mountain Goat."