Empire of the Rising Lemon? SqzMyLemon (Japan) v Smeulders (Allies)

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

I really need to stop surfing the internet looking for various aftermarket photo-etch and detail sets for various models I'd like to complete. I always made a point of supporting my local hobby store, but the fact they don't stock many of these items on a regular basis and it's takes months to special order things through them, I can really see the appeal of ordering online. Within ten days I'll receive an order from Czechoslovakia, which just blows me away at how small the world has become. I'm becoming quite the little international shopper. I ordered some sets for three Japanese CV's. Shinano, Akagi and Shokaku. A few other goodies as well.

It's already March, and I've only completed one kit out of five for the bet with my spouse to complete five model kits in one year. Time's a ticking and I blame WitP AE for the lack of model time!

Sorry, not game related, just bored at work and thinking I'd rather be somewhere else.

I found (and purchased) a Ki-44 II model at my local geekwad hobby store that I sometimes peruse. It's been sitting in my 'do this soon' drawer, awaiting my attention for about 2 months now...

This whole "responsibility, job, mortgage...blah blah blah" stuff is for the birds sometimes...[;)]

[SqzMyLemon]

I'll try and post a few here soon. I'm going to stick to the Pacific theme. One of the models towards the bet is a Ki-46 Dinah III and I'm also working on a 1:700 CL Nagara. When I get the photo-etch, I may work on the CV Shinano as well.

The dream kit is the 1:350 CV Akagi. That will be one heck of an undertaking. I find the larger scale ships take so much longer though and I've been dragging my heels on a 1:350 King George V for years here.

Another undertaking is a 1:350 USS North Carolina. I'm actually going to build it for my other PBEM opponent who's a big fan of the ship. I thought it would inspire me to complete it and give it to someone who would really appreciate it. I just hope to do it justice.

I'd love a year long sabbatical to just work on models. Man, I would totally nerd it up.

[ny59giants]

China - What are your daily attacks on Chungking looking like?? You are within extended range of your Tojo for sweep missions and then to be followed up by bombers with Oscar escorts. His supply situation is not good just from the amount of territory he has lost. If not this main base, then other AFs should be bombed to destroy supply.

I would consider spending PPs to buy out some of the brigades in China for use in South Pacific that cannot be combined into full divisions. I know some players do this with brigades that have been trashed in combat because it is cheaper than a full brigade (yes, some consider it gamey, but it is an option).

[Schlemiel]

I can easily see the argument on how someone would consider that gamey, but I have to  imagine that any command is going to put up much less of a fuss when a trashed unit is moved to another command than a fully ready unit.  

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

China - What are your daily attacks on Chungking looking like?? You are within extended range of your Tojo for sweep missions and then to be followed up by bombers with Oscar escorts. His supply situation is not good just from the amount of territory he has lost. If not this main base, then other AFs should be bombed to destroy supply.

I would consider spending PPs to buy out some of the brigades in China for use in South Pacific that cannot be combined into full divisions. I know some players do this with brigades that have been trashed in combat because it is cheaper than a full brigade (yes, some consider it gamey, but it is an option).

Hi Mike,

Right now I'm concentrating on the Chinese forces heading back into Tuyun. Once my troops have invested the base, my bombers will be directed to hitting Kweiyang's and Chungking's supply. There is zero Chinese air opposition over Chungking as I've swept the base periodically. I'm sure the Allies don't want to waste supply supporting air operations.

As to the Ind. Mixed Bde.'s, I have no trashed ones to buy out on the cheap [:D]. As to it being gamey to buy them out when they are not full strength, I have no issue with this because of the changes in the new patch allowing destroyed units to be rebuilt anyway for peanuts in terms of PP expenditure. If anything, buying out a trashed unit probably would be more expensive in terms of PP's as it still has squads and devices. If a player wants to strategically redeploy a trashed unit from a restricted command and payed the PP's to move it to a quiet front to reform, I don't see an issue. I would have zero problem with it if my opponent did it.

[SqzMyLemon]

Another mind-numbing day at work. Just awaiting the turn back from Bart. Hopefully I'll have a turn to run/prepare later, but if not I can work on the Dinah. I need to find a job where I can build models all day.

Watched "The Last Picture Show" last night and remembered what a good movie that was. Perhaps a little depressing, but still a good film. Cloris Leachman actually looked rather hot in 1971.

And just like that the turn arrives from Bart. Now just a few hours till I'll have time to run it.

[SqzMyLemon]

Last turn was uneventful and there is no sign of Allied ships anywhere in the Solomon or Gilbert areas other than submarines. I did get a SigInt report stating "heavy volume of radio traffic at Pago Pago" which leads me to believe the Allies are withdrawing their damaged CV's and CVE's. I was thinking of sending KB to try and interdict ships routing back to Pearl Harbor, but I'd be spotted easily by enemy search and it could end up just being a wild goose chase anyway.

So, with apparently time to prepare defensive measures without fear of enemy naval interdiction, I'm moving a lot of forces around right now. The hardest decisions are who goes where and why. In deciding that protecting the fuel/oil facilities should be my priority, I'm focusing on the DEI. I've freed up two infantry regiments, one from Burma, the other China, for deployment to the DEI. I think Timor and area need to be reinforced as enemy bombers based here will make my life extremely difficult.

About 75% of the recent air support and engineering reinforcements I've received are en route to the DEI. I'm completely restructuring my air unit deployments as well. My main bases will be in the rear, covering every possible invasion site. I do not want my forward airfields loaded with bombers and susceptible to enemy bombing or naval bombardments. The lesson learned from Guadalcanal is to make sure my air power is massed enough to deal a crushing blow to the enemy when they initially land.

I've allowed enemy lodgements in the Gilberts and Solomons, I will not tolerate one in the DEI. It must be counterinvaded from the start and I will prepare my defences in order to meet that requirement.

My movements in the Solomons are going well. Bases are expanding, combat LCU's moving forward to provide a more substantial effort from the Allies to dislodge, and supplies and fuel stockpiled to allow sustained defensive efforts. The lack of enemy 4E bombing to hinder my operations is most welcome.

I think the game will enter a new period of sitzkrieg, with the Allies once again relying on their submarine forces to pick away at targets of opportunity. Tarawa and Merauke are high on my list of next objectives for the Allies and they would require little to no Allied CV commitment.

As much as this game is frustrating, I'm learning a lot right now about how to better defend Japan next time around. I also know that luck has not been on my side, and had some die rolls been in my favour, the invasion of Guadalcanal could have been a mess for my opponent's naval forces. This game is teaching me you don't have to be good to be lucky, you just have to be lucky.

[SqzMyLemon]

Ack, another crappy day at work. I need a pick me up. [:D]

[Crackaces]

As much as this game is frustrating, I'm learning a lot right now about how to better defend Japan next time around. I also know that luck has not been on my side, and had some die rolls been in my favour, the invasion of Guadalcanal could have been a mess for my opponent's naval forces. This game is teaching me you don't have to be good to be lucky, you just have to be lucky.

One thing I find abou this game and reading AAR's is that there is no one solution. You have learned some harsh lessons in playing a brave sir robin approach with very carefully planned and risk adverse Allied operations. Your next opponet might be far more agressive in operational intensity and a different approach might be needed ...

Certainly luck is a factor in this game but one makes their own luck so to speak by calcualting the benifits and risks of a mvoe and maximizing the benifit while minimizing risk .. still USN submarines in 1942 find IJN CV's and smack them even though the IJ have 8 DD's and there is only a P(.20) for each torp .. stuff happends ..

But over the long haul the former usually works itself out ..

One thing alhtough .. in Scenario #1 .. The IJ are going to lose .. luck .. no luck .. whatever ...unless the Allies suffer from SCLS ....[;)] there is just too much stuff in 1944 for even a dunderhead like myself to not defeat Japan ..[8D]

[SqzMyLemon]

Hi Crackaces,

It isn't about winning or losing as Japan, I'm not thinking that deep here. It's about putting 8 Japanese CV's within 4 hexes of 41 enemy ships, without adequate air cover and sinking only two DE's and an AK confirmed by 111 bombers out of 240 and worse yet only one attack was launched. My opponent had no clue my CV's were about to strike, he withdrew his CV's not expecting an attack. He made a big mistake, and got off so lightly as to be ridiculous. Was that smart play on his part, or luck? To me that was pure luck. Don't forget, that was the second running of the same turn. If the first turn stood I wouldn't have attacked Lunga at all, but PT boats 7 hexes away. Was that poor planning on my part, or simply bad luck?

With his play style, I won't get that many more opportunities like I just had, so every missed opportunity is HUGE in this game simply due to the lact of them. You'll have to forgive me for still being upset by that turn, but this isn't chess. Any game that generates random outcomes based on a die roll is hugely affected by luck. Yes, you do what you can to put the odds in your favour. What were KB's odds for success? KB's strike might have had a 5 in 6 chance for a successful outcome, yet the 'roll' was still a 1. I did everything right and yet suffered an extremely poor result. I get that there's always that chance. It's just happening far too often.

I played a boardgame against a friend one time. I had a 6:1 attack odds to win the game as long as I didn't 'roll' a 1. Well guess what, I rolled a '1' and lost. Was I a poor player, did I not plan my attack properly? No, I was unlucky. I don't discount luck whenever playing a game that has random outcomes such as this one does. I just ask that I get some good luck now and then when I have the odds in my favour, I don't think that is unreasonable. [:D]

You really need to be in my shoes to understand. These kinds of results can be devastating, especially when applied directly in the context of how this particular PBEM has gone. I honestly can't understand the acceptance of KB's poor strike by other players. I don't see how any person would have been happy with those results considering the circumstances. Is it just me? [&:] And Chickenboy or Pax, don't say it's just me.

Anyway. I am trying to put myself in a position to garner better odds for the next appearance of the Allied Fleet, I just hope that isn't until the Essex arrives!

I'm going back to looking at pictures of Dana. [8D]

[SqzMyLemon]

Awaiting the Allied turn, but a few thoughts from when I was completing the turn last night.

The supply situation in the Home Islands is sorting itself out. Just a case of exporting too much at once, coupled with short term expenditure expanding some production. Supply should be stabilized within a few more days and the stockpile increasing again. I think my next game with Japan, I will actually increase LI factories in the Home Islands. They will be around long enough to make good the supply expenditure expanding them and make use of the huge resource surplus that will be available in the late game. How much will be the question.

With the completion of the CV Taiho due in 9 days, I can scale naval shipyard HI expenditure down somewhat. I'm slowly increasing vehicle production, but still can't seem to generate much of a surplus. Armour units have not conducted sustained combat operations in general, yet are still understrength. The 3rd Tank Division, since being formed, has never reached 100% TOE. I'm also short of motorized support squads and the pools are low.

I'm debating where to deploy the two Tony Ia Sentai's. With their short range, they may be best deployed in Burma allowing me to send the longer range Tojo Sentai to the DEI or Pacific. The arrival of the Oscar IIb in May will increase the number of fighters I can field for defence.

In China, the Chinese have left a small Chinese unit to block the road to Tuyun, while the remainder of the enemy arrived at the base last turn. I will launch a deliberate attack with only one unit to try and force a retreat of the enemy and put my remaining forces on reserve(pursuit) to springboard my move to Tuyun before enemy reinforcements arrive. Once my ground troops arrive, I will concentrate on bombing airbases at Kweiyang and Tuyun to lower supply levels. A preparatory artillery bombardment will be launched to gauge enemy AV and see if any squads are destroyed indicating low supply. Then most likely a deliberate attack will follow.

Lunga will be bombarded by two BB's today and I'm trying to slip some minelayers in to make life uncomfortable for enemy submarines parked in the hex. I've also ordered an air attack against the port. There are ships disbanded at the base, as indicated from the previous bombarment, but because Lunga doesn't have a port no anchor symbol appears on the map, nor are they indicated by recon. I think this is an oversight and will bring it to michaelm's attention should the bombers actually find and hit any ships still there.

Other than that, nothing crazy on my end. Just continuing to shuttle troops around and get the engineers and air support units to where they need to be.

[SqzMyLemon]

A rare Thursday no show for a turn from Bart, so it was a model session last night. I've decided to build an older Tamiya 1:700 Shokaku kit with a laminated wooden deck and photo-etch details from various sets. Should keep me occupied over the weekend while waiting for turns. I'm going to attempt my first ship diorama using aluminum foil for water.

Work on the Dinah is progressing as well and I hope to start getting some paint on her soon. Just finishing up the niddly photo-etched pieces in the cockpit before closing it up. I'll be trying a new technique here as well, using sea salt as a mask to simulate paint wear. I've read a lot about it in magazines and i like the effect.

Hopefully I'll have more to post on the game soon, but this week we seem to have hit a slow period for turns. Then again, not much is happening so we should be moving right along unless Bart is up to planning his next Op. Sorry for non-game related posts lately, but work is just brutally slow and I'm trying to make the time go faster. [>:]

[Dante Fierro]

Personally - I enjoy the Off Topic asides. Good luck with the Tamiya 1:700 Shokaku kit! [:D]

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

A rare Thursday no show for a turn from Bart, so it was a model session last night. I've decided to build an older Tamiya 1:700 Shokaku kit with a laminated wooden deck and photo-etch details from various sets. Should keep me occupied over the weekend while waiting for turns. I'm going to attempt my first ship diorama using aluminum foil for water.

Work on the Dinah is progressing as well and I hope to start getting some paint on her soon. Just finishing up the niddly photo-etched pieces in the cockpit before closing it up. I'll be trying a new technique here as well, using sea salt as a mask to simulate paint wear. I've read a lot about it in magazines and i like the effect.

Hopefully I'll have more to post on the game soon, but this week we seem to have hit a slow period for turns. Then again, not much is happening so we should be moving right along unless Bart is up to planning his next Op. Sorry for non-game related posts lately, but work is just brutally slow and I'm trying to make the time go faster. [>:]

Have you tried using resin for your water? It has a pretty amazing look and isn't so hard to learn to use, but maybe a bit tough to get affects like this below. I'm definitely curious to see your finished (or even in process) work.

You probably know the guy's stuff. I can't remember if I linked you to him before. Just amazing at 1/700.

http://katsflyby.blogspot.com/

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: obvert

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

A rare Thursday no show for a turn from Bart, so it was a model session last night. I've decided to build an older Tamiya 1:700 Shokaku kit with a laminated wooden deck and photo-etch details from various sets. Should keep me occupied over the weekend while waiting for turns. I'm going to attempt my first ship diorama using aluminum foil for water.

Work on the Dinah is progressing as well and I hope to start getting some paint on her soon. Just finishing up the niddly photo-etched pieces in the cockpit before closing it up. I'll be trying a new technique here as well, using sea salt as a mask to simulate paint wear. I've read a lot about it in magazines and i like the effect.

Hopefully I'll have more to post on the game soon, but this week we seem to have hit a slow period for turns. Then again, not much is happening so we should be moving right along unless Bart is up to planning his next Op. Sorry for non-game related posts lately, but work is just brutally slow and I'm trying to make the time go faster. [>:]

Have you tried using resin for your water? It has a pretty amazing look and isn't so hard to learn to use, but maybe a bit tough to get affects like this below. I'm definitely curious to see your finished (or even in process) work.

You probably know the guy's stuff. I can't remember if I linked you to him before. Just amazing at 1/700.

http://katsflyby.blogspot.com/

That guy is an artist just for the water alone. The carrier is amazing. I have not seen anything like that before. Thanks for sharing.

[SqzMyLemon]

overt,

Great link. His work is all over the internet in various model sites and his work appears regularly in some model magazines I get. I didn't know about his own site though and had never seen the CV diorama. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!

crsutton,

I think he does the best water I've seen. There is a post by him on some model ship forum where he describes his method, but I can't remember where. I should have saved a link for future reference.

Dante,

I like the non-game related chatter at times too. Amazing what you can learn about other people's interests besides the game, and there are some very interesting people on this forum. I'm glad there are some modellers here as well.

The PBEM:

We hit a slow period with no turn from Bart arriving until Sunday (yesterday) and the next Japanese turn has already been sent back. Things have calmed down since the initial flurry of the Lunga invasion. No sign of any Allied ships larger than a PT boat. Lots of Allied recon of Tarawa, Merauke and Milne Bay. I continue shifting troops around and a large number of support units have reached Babeldoab. They will head towards the DEI as I've committed enough to the Solomons to get bases expanded.

Allied ships are definitely disbanded at Lunga despite there being no port, and recon does not indicate an anchor symbol. If I didn't know I'd damaged those CVE's and AK's initially and if the recent naval bombardment hadn't further hit any of the ships, I'd have no clue any were actually there. I think that is an oversight in the game design. I'm happy though, Betty's sank one of the damaged CVE's in a port attack, so that's two confirmed CVE's lost.

KB is still at Rabaul, but it may be time to move them. I'm not sure what my CV's will accomplish sitting there, and it may be time to put the Allies in the dark as to their location again. The aggressive response of the Combined Fleet and the damaging of two Allied CV's may have bought me some time while the Allies recover. I can't see the Allies sending surface forces to secure the sea around Lunga until they gain air superiority, but if I can keep Lunga closed and limit the damage from 4E's, I may be able to draw some Allied surface assets out.

I think there will be a move on Tarawa or New Guinea soon.

In China, it looks like the Chinese are abandoning Tuyun. I have to move aside a small blocking force, but will be in Tuyun in 2-3 days. If the base is abandoned and the Chinese expect me to perform another river assault they will be disappointed. I will move to flank the river line and march directly on Kweiyang.

I think I'll have 3-4 days of updates to provide, but will post those later. I'm going to try and pick up the pace of the turns on my end so hopefully things will get moving forward again. We've just reached Feb. 1/43.

Model Update:

The crunch is on. I'm in a model building frenzy to get those kits completed for the bet. I can't believe I'm down to 4 months already. A steak dinner is on the line!

[SqzMyLemon]

Gotta love having two turns in the inbox. After I have a big, fat donair for supper, I'll be able to relax and get some turns in before the grease induced coma sets in.

Couple things I forgot to mention. Bombardment of Lunga ordered for today and a sweep in strength against Katha in Burma, just to mix it up a little. Mines have been laid at Lunga. It would be great to hear a bang today from an enemy submarine hitting one, but hopefully my bombarding BB's stay clear.

[SqzMyLemon]

The grease induced coma kicked in sooner than anticipated and I was unable to complete the turn. The replay was a little more eventful than the last few.

The sweeps against Katha had mixed results, the initial sweep of Oscar's was beat up badly while the second sweep of Tojo's went well. A third sweep of Oscar's encountered little resistance. The air losses on the day were roughly even, about 24 each side, although I lost 14 pilots KIA/MIA. The Oscar, lacking any punch, just can't down the enemy armoured fighters. They did degrade the initial CAP which then allowed the Tojo's to strike enemy fighters committed to battle piecemeal, so their sacrifice wasn't in vain.

No mine hits at Lunga as enemy submarines left the shallow waters to avoid my naval ASW. The bombardment of Lunga was ineffective, with two BB's targeting the 27th Division and not the airbase. This has me concerned about whether I'll be able to keep Lunga's airbase shut down when my bombardments don't actually hit the airfield. These kinds of bombardment results bug me, but I'm not going to worry about it since that's how the game works. If you can choose the target for air bombing attacks against different industries in a base, it makes sense to me that you should be able to order a naval bombardment to hit facilities rather than troops. I'll add more ships to my next bombardment, so hopefully the results will improve. I targeted the port again with Betty's and hit another CVE and an AK. Something sank, but what I don't know. Unfortunately only 60 kg bombs are hitting, not the 250kg ones.

The direct line to Tuyun is open. Troops should arrive in two days if they march at their full potential. 5000 AV are marching against the base with another 2500 AV en route. There is no movement from Chungking or around Chihkiang yet. I expect them to move when they see I'm flanking the river line and not assaulting across the river once Tuyun falls.

I've ordered an all out airfield strike against Chungking to cause supply hits and then will start pounding troops at Kweiyang and concentrate on trashing Chinese airfields in Central China to really put the supply hurt on. I'm not optimistic I have time to get to Kunming and Paoshan before the Allies move in Burma, but I'm going to give it everything I have. That could allow me to pull back a little in Burma and free up reserves for the DEI.

Things are going somewhat according to plan, but there are some problems that need to be addressed. If I had the reserves I'd definitely counterinvade Lunga, but I don't. I don't want to stay tied to Lunga indefinitely, but I'm going to have to figure out how best to keep it neutralized while allowing my fleet to deploy against the next Allied move. The bombardment results are discouraging and I may have to rely more on air attack. I have the initiative right now, but I just can't exploit it. [:@]

Reinforcing engineer and air support units are pouring into the DEI and the Marianas.

[Dante Fierro]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

Dante,

I like the non-game related chatter at times too. Amazing what you can learn about other people's interests besides the game, and there are some very interesting people on this forum. I'm glad there are some modellers here as well.

You know - I remember many decades ago getting hooked on hexed based wargames when first watching two High School students setup and play Avalon Hill's France1940 in an empty school room - after classes were over. (I know I have just dated myself!) I used to subscribe to "The General" and "Strategy & Tactics" (mini-wargame in each magazine) when a teenager. Over the years one constant in my life has been gaming - though not always wargaming. When pretty good computer games first started to be developed (Civilization I anyone? Railroad Tycoon?) my gaming interests shifted. Then there was the "Magic" cardgame phase phenomena. Recently it's been the MMO market. Now I have drifted back here to find (somewhat surprised) that the hex based wargame community has not completely disappeared, and in fact, here on the Matrix sponsored website - some pretty sophisticated products are offered based on a very old genre of games. What is a big draw (for me) with wargames - like WiTP AE - is the level of complexity you get - the gaming strategy involved - at a level that to be honest - you just don't get with MMO gaming and a good deal of other computer games (there are perhaps a few exceptions). Which is why I feel drawn back into grognarding - because it still offers considerable value for someone seeking a complex in-depth gaming experience - with the added benefit of learning a bit about human history (and geography).

Anyway - where was I going with all this? Oh yes - what I wanted to say, is that - now that I'm decades older, and have participated in many different gaming communities over the years - I have to really say - the wargaming community has invariably been the most polite, most interesting, and perhaps among the most friendly (and funny) gaming communities I have repeatedly encountered. I find it even more amusing that this is so - considering the gaming genre is based on war! Perhaps the most heinous of all human activites (and not something I would ever want to be part of in real life - as war will make corpses of us all). I suppose the reason wargamers are so friendly and engaging - is likely because you need half a brain to play these hexed base games - or some other yet discovered gene.

Your discussion of modeling here has made me add to my todo list: purchase model (likely Pacific Naval WWII Warship) via Internet. Eventually. [:D]

[ny59giants]

Reinforcements that you can pre-prep: You have many Infantry Groups and other LCUs that eventually fill out to a full division. When you click on the units that is already active, you can click on the "components" and see the ETA of the rest of that division. When you click on each component you can ste those parts to start prepping for a future objective. It may be a small thing, but is may be needed to have this division to be 100% prepped for a particular target.