This will be my third AE game as Japan. The first was against Q-Ball and if you read “Against the Wind” then you already know that I got beaten in that one like a red-headed stepchild. The second, against Erstad, is ongoing. That game is now in June ’43 and is doing considerably better, though I am under pressure in the eastern New Guinea/Solomons area and in full retreat in Burma.
An analysis of the previous two games shows me one obvious key to my success and will provide a touchstone for this game. The key, it seems, is destroyer Hibiki. Q-Ball sank Hibiki very early in our game and everything just went downhill from there. In the Erstad game Hibiki is still afloat (in fact, in the turn I ran earlier today Hibiki sank an AK and SS Pike up in the Andaman Islands region in a futile attempt to prevent the loss of Port Blair). My mission, then, is clear: preserve that destroyer!
If anyone is puzzled about why I obsess about one fairly obscure Japanese destroyer, all I can say is – it’s a long story. Really long.
Anyway, back to this game. The game is Scenario 1, non-historic first turn, standard settings, Allies limited to issuing orders to task forces already at sea for the first turn. This includes Force Z. The only house rule in place at the start prohibits moving restricted units across national borders without first paying the PP cost.
Thoughts, Plots, and Strategic Considerations: the methodical approach to the Japanese advance, a strategy that served me well in WITP, is not as effective in AE. My overall strategy for this game, accordingly, will be guided by the following principles:
1. Maintain a fast tempo of operations in the early going and don’t be afraid to bypass objectives in favor of striking more deeply into Allied territory.
2. It’s all about the fuel. Seize major oil and refining centers such as Palembang with all possible speed and then protect them like the Empire depends on it. It does.
3. Keep Allied forces off-balance. Hit likely build-up points with SCTFs and carrier strikes. Recon aggressively and appear to threaten as many areas as possible.
4. Maintain forward pressure while transitioning to a defensive posture behind the scenes. Do not neglect early set-up of secondary lines of defense.
In more practical terms, Japanese early strategy will be based around a swift capture of Singapore. This will free up the forces necessary to capture Java and Sumatra. Burma, which I now regard as a hopeless can of worms for Japan, will be given secondary priority early on. If Charbroiled defends it aggressively then Japan may mount an amphibious campaign against northeastern India; if he does not then I will take it at leisure (while doing early work on the Salween River line, anchored at Moulmein).
An attack against western Australia is practically de rigeur by now (heck, I’m one of the reasons this is so – my negative example, anyway) and I will probably do this, though it will be more of a spoiling attack than an occupation. In the Pacific I will commit major forces to the early capture of Port Moresby and the Torres Straits bases. While this area presents a good early option for an Allied counter-offensive I still think it’s important to take these bases to give Japan time to build up defenses in the Solomon Sea area and along the north coast of New Guinea without threat of Allied air attacks.
I intend to stay flexible in the Pacific though if opportunity presents I may isolate and bypass New Caledonia and the New Hebrides in favor of early attacks against Suva and Fiji. As with western Australia, any conquests beyond the Solomons and Gilberts will be with the intent of denying the Allies use of the bases as build-up points, not with the intent of occupying and seizing territory. The Allies will take any such bases back when they are ready and I don’t want to have a lot of troops isolated or lost when they do.
Defenses in the Kuriles will not be neglected. I may stage naval-guard sized attacks against a base or two in the Aleutians to scatter Allied attention and to provide a tripwire base for the Kuriles.
China is…well, I will do what I can in China. I think this theater is now pretty much a non-starter for both sides. I will take a few bases north and south if possible, secure the rail lines, and then look at transferring units out for use elsewhere.
Enough theory. The game is on, war is afoot. It’s time to blow things up!
Hibiki prior to the war:
