Days of Infamy--RA Scen 70

[John 3rd]

After the latest re-write of Reluctant Admiral (hopefully the LAST one for a while), AdmNelson (Lew) and I restarted the war about a week ago. We manage about one turn a day and are currently at December 15th.

Earlier readers of our first Days of Infamy AAR will remember that I was stunned to be fighting a highly aggressive Allied player who had already staged several highly successful attacks upon the Sons of Dai Nippon. While I worked to adjust to that it also dawned on me that I was simply playing the game without any clear idea as to short- and long-termed strategic goals for fighting the war as Japan.

As FatR, Red Lancer, and I fine-tuned RA into the current 2c version, I spent some real time trying to create a set of plans to govern my first six months or so of the war. Hopefully there is now real planning and direction for the Japanese war effort.

The goals within the campaign shall be:
1. Normal initial moves for grabbing Rabaul and Lae in the South.
2. Rapid conquest of Malaya by bringing a large Japanese Force to grab Mersing with the hope of winning the Campaign in Malaya by early-January 42.
3. The capture of Wake and Midway by the end of December 41.
4. The capture of Dutch Harbor in early January.
5. Normal DEI takeover as fast as possible.
6. The capture of the bare-minimum amount of Aussie real estate protect the eastern DEI.
7. The 'left hook' of capturing NE India. A limited offensive here to gain the Industry and Resources of this region. There is hope for a large land victory but realism governs the probability of that.
8. The building and development of the 4th Circle Plan (3 Shokaku-Kai CVs, 2BC, 2 CA, etc...)

Those are the broad brush strokes to begin with. More to follow...

[Canoerebel]

Good luck, John.

[John 3rd]

Initial Planning for the Campaign:

Philippines
Luzon will see a highly conventional set of landings and movement. Initial sites are Vigan, Aparri, and Antimonan. 14th Army’s Primary Infantry used here will be the 48th Inf Div and 65th Brigade as well as the 38th Inf Div.

The 16th Army shall attack Mindanao and then lead the thrust into the Eastern DEI (Sulawasi, Timor, and Darwin). The main punch of this army consists of 4th Mixed Brigade, 35th Brigade, and Imperial Guards Brigade. There will be a small landing at Butaan on the north coast while the main landing will occur at Dadjangas

Malaya
The goal is to divert and then cutoff the British forces in Malaya prior to them being able to retreat into Fortress Singapore. Lew is aggressive and I shall count on that with this campaign. The initial moves will be a conventional landing at Kota Bharu and the thrust from Singora towards Alor Star. These moves shall be given a few days to rivet Lew’s attention and then the axe will descend at Mersing.

This is a truly massive land operation. Units attacking from the north shall consist of the Imperial Guards ID, a reinforced ID moving down from Sinagora. Kota Bharu shall see another Inf Div attack there. The Mersing Landing starts with a two division landing with tank support followed a few days later by the 33rd from Nagasaki. All sorts of support troops and engineers will see to the rapid expansion of the AF and Port at Mersing.

The true surprise here may be my intention of landing my three Paratroop units somewhere in central Malaya with the hopes of stopping/slowing the Brit retreat so my troops at Mersing may cut across the Peninsula and then choose where they want to go…

China
For a person who hates this area, I have clear plans starting Day One. Troops shall be shuffled to create a drive into northern China. Beyond this the normal clearing of Chinese troops from behind Japanese lines and the capture of Chinese port along the south coast shall take place.

Western/Central DEI
No army HQ assigned here. I’ll use the Naval Guards, Army Detachments, and SNLF to take NW Borneo, Tarakan, Manado, and Balikpapan. The Kaigun will directly support these operations with the forward deployment of the six older BBs of the fleet. Any serious invasion shall be covered by a minimum of 2 BB.

Burma
For there to be ANY hope of gaining sizeable troop capture with my Left Hook, I must have a slow but REAL advance from Thailand into southern Burma. Will immediately grab Victoria Point with Paras and then start an overland campaign from Bangkok towards Tavoy with an Inf Reg and two Tank Regiments. Once Tavoy is grabbed then we advance up the coast towards Moulmein.

Manchuria
I buy the Imperial Guards Inf Brig in Tokyo on Day One to ship to Babeldoap in a ‘warp speed’ convoy then will turn to Manchuria for the next few months of reinforcements. The first purchases shall be Tank Regiments and then Artillery. These will be sent in groups from Port Arthur to gain some real-life experience and then help in the India Operation (need an Operational Name here and haven’t come up with anything yet.

North Pacific
In this Mod, Adm Yamamoto begins the full withdrawal of all IJN land units from China six months before war begins. He sees China as the Army’s business and not his.

Three of the recently pulled Chinese SNLF units start the war in Paramushiro Jima to serve as either garrison troops for the Kuriles/Western Aleutians or as an Offensive cadre to use for attack.

What will the Reluctant Admiral do? ATTACK of course! All the normal 5th Fleet units will sail to PJ, build the base up a bit and then launch a winter offensive aimed squarely at Dutch Harbor. Once this base is grabbed the troops will back-fill towards Attu and dig-in. Pending on the Allied response, we might advance slightly farther to the east and grab Kodiak if the situation presents itself. The goal will be for an attritional situation in this area…

Central Pacific
Wake will be taken about the 12th or 13th by 3 Naval Guard/SNLF units. Saipan gained two of the China SNLF veteran troops also and they will be used to capture Guam. As soon as Guam falls they begin prepping for Midway. I will load the 2 SNLF from Guam and the 2 strongest SNLF from Wake to form the Midway Invasion Force.

Why Midway? I want Lew to THINK I am coming east. Additionally it does make a fine Sub Base and Recon point. There is no intention of keeping the base in the long-term. It will have 2 SNLF, a Construction unit, and Base Force as its garrison through the Spring of 42.

Pending on his reaction I may also grab Johnston atoll for the same purpose.

South Pacific
In a true departure from my normal aggressiveness, the Japanese intentions here are to grab the normal historical points from Lae to Rabaul to Lunga. Milne Bay will be used to weaken Port Moresby and I may eventually take that base as well. There will be NO OTHER offensive movements here with troops. Pago Pago, Noumea, Suva, Tahiti, and the Panama Canal are not to be threatened in this campaign.

India
Saving this part of major operations for last to discuss. As soon as Singapore falls I intend to take the better part of six Inf Div, all the Tanks and Artillery I can find and drop them in the Vizagatapan (Sp?) area. Might move that target slightly east but need to study it a bit more before pulling the trigger. Once this target is claimed then the troops will drive north and east attempting to cutoff and defeat any troops that may get in the way. As said earlier, I want to resources, industry, and buffer space more then anything else…

Land war is not my strength so, therefore, I am going to try to ‘grow’ my skills and see just what can be done in a major operation against India.


Carrier Operations
The beginning of the war finds the Japanese CVs organized along the following lines:

For the Pearl Harbor Strike:
KB-1 Akagi, Kaga, Zuiho
KB-2 Shokaku, Zuikaku, Shoho

These six CVs will hit Pearl Harbor, cover Wake, replenish at Kwajalein, cover Midway, and then split. KB-1 will head back to the Marshalls and look for raiding opportunities to the east and SE. KB-2 moves north to raid and cover the Dutch Harbor Operation. The division of the carriers shall only be for this instance, otherwise, they stay together and work as a team…

This CV organization is somewhat unique. I’ve been doing a lot of reading of the Japanese thinking going into Midway and then what lessons they drew from their defeat there. What stands out is the concept of the CAP carrier freeing up a Division of Fleet Carriers to use their Air Groups in a more aggressive manner. This is what I intend to try. The CVLs have 21 Zero and 9 Kate for their complement. This will add some offensive power but REALLY help with fighters.

Babeldoap
KB-3 Hiryu, Soryu
KB-4 Ryujo, Taiyo, Hosho

CarDiv2 will provide the punching power in this theatre. The five CVs will hit Manila and then split. The Fleet carriers will move in to support the Mindanao landings as well as Manado and Tarakan. If Lew reacts aggressively I hope to nail some warships in this region. The smaller CVs will move away from the Philippines and provide direct coverage of the Mersing Landing. This will be slightly risky as there will be a number of good submarines and torpedo aircraft in the vicinity. These carriers shall continue to operate in this arena throughout the first months of the war up to and including the India Operation.

Reinforcements
Due to our discussions, debates, and decisions, there is a unique moment in RA. Within a period of about 10 days the IJN gains the services of CV Junyo, CVL Nisshin, and BB Yamato. These capital units begin at about 85-91 days from completion when the war starts. I look forward to gaining them and having some fun in deciding where they should deploy.

[John 3rd]

As always Dan--Thanks!

[John 3rd]

The only other major note to add is that this is a long-haul campaign. Lew took me by surprise with his play style in our first game. I was complacent and sloppy due to lots of distractions--work, family, life, etc...--not gonna happen in THIS campaign. We are locking horns and we'll see just how bloody it will be!

BANZAI!

[John 3rd]

I started a thread about 10 days ago about PH Strikes issues. My poor KB Pilots got the shaft when it came to coordination. Out of a possible 138 Zero, 98 Val, and 114 Kates only 83 Zero, 48 Kate, and 98 Vals flew. Only about 40% of my Kates carried their ordinance to target.

Oh, well...

On the bright side a magazine explosion does always help to brighten one's day when it comes to Pearl Harbor. Results of the Attack:

Arizona 4 250Kg Bombs--1 Torp
Nevada 3 800Kg and 5 250Kg Bombs--Heavy Fires
Maryland 1 800Kg and 2 250Kg Bombs--2 Torps--Heavy Damage
Tennessee 1 800Kg and 1 250Kg Bombs as well as 1 Torp--On Fire
West Virginia 1 800Kg and 4 250Kg Bombs--2 Torps--On Fire, Heavy Damage
Oklahoma 1 250Kg Bomb and 1 Torp--BLOWS UP!!--Sunk
Pennsylvania 2 250 Kg Bombs
California 1 800Kg and 3 250Kg Bombs--1 Torp--On Fire

A CA, CL, and DD take damage...

TERRIBLE attack but what the heck. I did not want to have to start a new turn where the coordination roll could be made again.


In a total change of topic, I saw this picture of the Home Islands with all my shipping moving around at the end of the 7th day of December in the year 1941:

[bklooste]

 John , IF  you do Singapore early enough consider sending 2-3 divs to Ceylon before Java say around early february ...  Conquering Java early doesnt achieve much and the PI forces can do it in a reasonable time frame . The purpose of this is
 
1) Stretch his defences in India  By strethching his forces between Ceylon , South India and Burma the left hook should be more successfull. 
2) Kills brittish LCUs while exp is low ( possibly isolated) with their low replacement rate
3) Create an early war of attrition over your bases as he attacks you from India, as stated you have unlimted air frames  he doesnt  , kill his air frames and his training programs suffer so early attrition is a must ( prefferably by not using your better pilots) .
4) possibly setup a fleet encounter with the british fleet. 
5) As a launching base , the 2 divisions can participate in the left hook , once it starts Ceylon looses importance.  This would mean you could do the left hook in March or early April. The Ceylon divs could land and then be followed up by other units if speed is needed.
6) With a bit of luck he will commit those useless 20 experience guys or redeploy them instead of training them to usefull units.
 
Also if you want him to think something is up in the pacific change some of your manchurian divisions planning and capture Johnson . Johnson is far more important than Midway for a HI attack.

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: bklooste

 John , IF  you do Singapore early enough consider sending 2-3 divs to Ceylon before Java say around early february ...  Conquering Java early doesnt achieve much and the PI forces can do it in a reasonable time frame . The purpose of this is

1) Stretch his defences in India  By strethching his forces between Ceylon , South India and Burma the left hook should be more successfull. 
2) Kills brittish LCUs while exp is low ( possibly isolated) with their low replacement rate
3) Create an early war of attrition over your bases as he attacks you from India, as stated you have unlimted air frames  he doesnt  , kill his air frames and his training programs suffer so early attrition is a must ( prefferably by not using your better pilots) .
4) possibly setup a fleet encounter with the british fleet. 
5) As a launching base , the 2 divisions can participate in the left hook , once it starts Ceylon looses importance.  This would mean you could do the left hook in March or early April. The Ceylon divs could land and then be followed up by other units if speed is needed.
6) With a bit of luck he will commit those useless 20 experience guys or redeploy them instead of training them to usefull units.

Also if you want him to think something is up in the pacific change some of your manchurian divisions planning and capture Johnson . Johnson is far more important than Midway for a HI attack.

unlimited airframes for the Japanese? What kind of mod is this? [X(]

[bklooste]

You going to stick around for another strike ? If so i would run away a bit   in case his Naval units come and then attack on day 3 with his 100% cap hopefully a bit fatigued . How many planes you get that is just as important  ?

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: bklooste

You going to stick around for another strike ? If so i would run away a bit   in case his Naval units come and then attack on day 3 with his 100% cap hopefully a bit fatigued . How many planes you get that is just as important  ?

I've always been a proponent of not hitting PH again, however, Michael would tell you that I REALLY thought about it. Finally I decided to simply let the bombs and torps fall where they were.

We've gotten to December 15th at this point and I thoroughly plan to update the AAR to this date ton ight. Am staying at a hotel in Denver doing two days of training and purposely plan to get a beer and pizza and totally enjoy the silence of the room while I play a turn, eat, and do my AAR.

Once again...

"Hello. My name is John and I am an AE addict."

[ny59giants]

The first purchases shall be Tank Regiments and then Artillery.

The price for artillery is too high for the amount of damage they do. I would go for the larger BF, smaller BF, and any construction units along with those independent engineers.

[Q-Ball]

What version/game are you playing? Is it the Reluctant Admiral mod? If so, can you re-fresh the comparison to Scen 1?

I am a proponent of multiple PH hits, as Dan can attest.

[FatR]

ORIGINAL: castor troy
unlimited airframes for the Japanese? What kind of mod is this? [X(]

That was an exaggeration, man. Production-wise, Japanese just get a headstart with naval air production and more shipyards. But less oil and resources in stock.

Anyway, good luck, John!

[FatR]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

The first purchases shall be Tank Regiments and then Artillery.

The price for artillery is too high for the amount of damage they do. I would go for the larger BF, smaller BF, and any construction units along with those independent engineers.

Japanese tanks suck too. Armored regiments actually drop in experience after seeing serious fighting, because they take losses easily. Artillery was awesome, for its PP price, under early versions of the game, now it is pretty bad. Wholeheartedly approve the idea of buying out engineers and base forces.

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

What version/game are you playing? Is it the Reluctant Admiral mod? If so, can you re-fresh the comparison to Scen 1?

I am a proponent of multiple PH hits, as Dan can attest.

Hey Sir.

This is RA 2c. Here is the description of the Mod I used when I started my first AAR with Michael several months ago:

For those unfamiliar with Reluctant Admiral this Mod is premised on Adm Yamamoto winning more arguments within the Imperial Japanese Fleet and taking the role of Navy Minister in 1939 instead of transferring into Combined Fleet. As Navy Minister he oversees the creation and implementation of the 4th Circle building plan.

Naval Building Changes:
1. Scrap the 3rd and 4th Yamato-Class BB as well as the excellent Taiho design and instead build 3 improved Shokaku-Class CVs to be ready during 1943.

2. To keep the Gun Club Admirals somewhat mollified, Yamamoto allows the building of 2 quick modern Battlecruisers.

3. Another pair of Tone-Class Scout Cruisers are ordered.

4. The Agano-Class CLs (with Oyodo and Niyodo added into the class) are built as designed (without 18 months of arguing) with 8 6" Guns (4x2) and arrive in pairs. Agano and Noshiro are serving with the Fleet at the time of Dec 7th.

5. An additional 18 DD (Yugumo and Moon-Class) are ordered with the orders going to only 2-3 shipyards allowing for specialization and quicker building.

6. CV conversions are somewhat hastened with CS Nisshin, specifically, coming in as a CVL.

7. The 3.9"/65 is adopted earlier as Japan's prime heavy shipboard AA weapon. All Japanese heavy ships get conversion to these far superior guns. The carriers, then BCs and, lastly, CAs gain this weapon. Only problem is that this upgrade is a LONG one reflecting the changed weaponry.

In doing this Japanese shipyards are expanded somewhat in the Home Islands but also in Port Arthur. A major new naval shipyard is added in Shanghai to handle a portion of the construction.

IJNAF Changes:
1. Yamamoto's time as Chief of Aeronautics pays off handsomely as he encourages more A6M2, Betty, and Emily work to be done bringing the planes in slightly faster and in greater numbers.

2. The Val and Kate see slight expansion of their production lines.

3. Added Research aides in the creation of follow-on Carrier Dive-Bombers and Torpedo Aircraft coming in earlier.

4. The Zero Design team is not pulled away to create Jack. Instead the Team works to create two lines of Zeros--Land-Based Interceptors and Ship-Based Fighters.

5. Yamamoto's popularity forces the Army to cooperate slightly more in the sharing of Machine Gun and other useful technology.

6. A major new Air Command becomes available for deployment in late-February. The 9th Air Fleet is based out of Kyushu and contains the Command HQ, 3 Air Flotilla, and 3 large BF. This powerful command is available for immediate deployment and contains 3 Daitai of Claude, 2 Daitai of Nell, 1 Daitai of Kate, 1 Daitai of Val, and a Daitai of Mavis. All these Daitai are available for deployment and start with experience between 58-68. They are OK but need new planes and training.

IJN Ground Forces:
1. Several small plants are created in Japan near the Navy Arsenals that build earth-moving equipment: steam-shovels, bulldozers, and rollers. Though there are not that many, these valuable tools are added to Japanese Construction units, Base Forces, Air Flotillas, and HQ units. The small units only gain 2-3 and the engineers to run them while larger units get up to a dozen total. Not much but it is something...

2. The newest version of the Mod adds the Imperial Navy pulling most of its troops out of the war in China. A total of 5 SNLF redeploy to Paramushiro Jima and Saipan allowing a bit more IJN land strength in the Pacific.

The troops pulled from China are replaced by 3 Army Regiments, a Cavalry unit, and an Infantry Brigade from Manchuria.


Imperial Deployment:
The Navy is more forwardly deployed for the beginning of the war:

a. The older BBs are stationed at Cam Rahn Bay and Babeldoap to directly support the Invasion TF.

b. I've already detailed CV deployment.

c. All front-line Aerial Units start with modern aircraft. Claudes are in the Home Island and all other Fighters are Zeros on Dec 7th. More Betty and the beginning of Emily production is seen. There are roughly 150 more aircraft available to the Japanese player.

d. Several units have been moved around to facilitate the moves into the Aleutians, south towards Rabaul, and anywhere from the Marshalls.

e. A pair of Japanese ID have been moved to aid in the capture of the Southern Resource Area. The 4th ID is at Samah and the 21st at Takao.

Comparing Scenario 1 to this Mod places the Opening Japanese power at nearly the same as Scenario 1 (1 CVL, 2 CL, and a few new support ships added as well as about 150 aircraft). The real difference is in late-42 and early-43 as the new construction completes. The Japanese SHOULD be highly competitive through 1943 and then be crushed in 1944-1945.

Does that help?

[John 3rd]

Unlike the terrible strike at Pearl, the attack on Manila is a nicely solid assault that yields a pretty good amount of sunk and damaged ships. The Japanese strike this Port with aircraft from three carriers: Hiryu, Soryu, and Taiyo. The total strike package amounts to 48 Zero, 54 Val, and 45 Kate. The damage wrought is fairly impressive:

SUNK: S-41, Spearfish, Swordfish
Damaged: 3 S-Boats, 9 Fleet Boats, 2 DD, 1 AP, 2 AK, 2 AKL, AV Langley, AVD Childs, 1 TK, 1 AO, and 1 AM.

As I will detail later nearly all the damaged SS sink over the next few days. A total of 12 Subs were sunk at Manila in the opening days of the attack.

[John 3rd]

I think the Opening Rounds of the war will be covered from area-to-area from December 7-15th.

The Japanese get a much more spread out submarine fleet when the war starts. There are over a dozen near Pearl Harbor, 3-5 near the West Coat, groups of 3 near Pago Pago, Rabaul, Lae, Eastern DEI, Central DEI, Western DEI, and near Port Blair. Since they don't fit in very well with the regional reports, I will cover initial Japanese Sub Ops:

Dec 8th
I-124 sinks AV Langley near Manila
I-175 sinks AVD McFarland near PH

Dec 9th
I-121 sinks an AKL near Muntok

Dec 10th
I-165 sinks AK Wulio and AKL Ipoh near Palembang
I-166 sinks AK Neleus near Port Blair

Dec 11th
I-124 sinks an AKL near Manila
I-155 sinks TK AO Tan 5 near Soerabaja

Dec 13th
I-156 AP Rajula 1TT near Ceylon
Ro-64 AP Sarpedonia 1TT at Port Moresby

Dec 15th
I-164 Sinks APs Poelau Tela and Van Imhoff near Port Blair with 2 Torps each. NICE!

Dec 16th
I-162 sinks AP Australia Star carrying troops near Ceylon

Dec 17th
I-8 sinks AK Meigs at Suva

Dec 18th
I-8 sinks AP Bloemfontein at Suva

[bklooste]

ORIGINAL: FatR

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

The first purchases shall be Tank Regiments and then Artillery.

The price for artillery is too high for the amount of damage they do. I would go for the larger BF, smaller BF, and any construction units along with those independent engineers.

Japanese tanks suck too. Armored regiments actually drop in experience after seeing serious fighting, because they take losses easily. Artillery was awesome, for its PP price, under early versions of the game, now it is pretty bad. Wholeheartedly approve the idea of buying out engineers and base forces.

Agree base forces , engineers , whole divisions and AA . ( Japan AA is crap in 42 but it improves quite a bit in 43 - i think like subs there are overall modifier so its nice to get some AA units who get experience and can be decent when the B17 swarms hit)

[John 3rd]

BK--Don't you remember (but we didn't TELL anyone) there are NO B-17s or P-38s in this Scenario!?? We didn't want anyone to know until they started playing...

Yaaaaaaaaa....right!

The AA Idea is pretty good. I will pull some of those units out periodically and get them ready for Burma/India. I expect they will get PLENTY of experience there.

Am waiting for PP to build-up again and will then buy out a batch of Engineers. So far I have bought 3 Tk Regiments, an Artillery Regiment, and an Artillery Battalion. Imperial Guards were bought on Turn One.

Another aspect to RA is that the PP accrue at a slightly faster pace. I believe I set them at 60 a day. It might be 55 but am fairly sure about 60.

[John 3rd]

Malaya Report
December 18, 1941

The plan to grab Malaya and Singapore by January 1, 1942 is well underway. The Japanese began with a very mellow, traditional landing at Kota Bharu with a Division+-sized landing. From Singora and by rail through Thailand the Imperial Guards Infantry Division moved in to provided the hammer in the northern area of the country.

Once Kota Bharu was captured and its AF repaired, the troops who landed there were reloaded and scooted down the peninsula to land at Kuantan on the 15th.

The Anvil within the attack was the 5th and 18th ID landing at Mersing on the 14th. These heavily reinforced divisions rapidly drove out the the Aussie Brigade that was present and immediately began to cross the peninsula as quickly as possible. Behind the initial two ID are the 33rd, 56th, and 2nd Infantry Divisions which can be seen in their convoys making for the target.

Dec 19th will see the peninsula cut and nearly 20 units in the North shall be isolated from Fortress Singapore. At a minimum 50% of Singapore's defense will be cutoff and then destroyed.

To facilitate this situation the three Japanese Parachute units were moved from Day One to Singora to await an opportunity. This opportunity came on the 14th when only one units was spotted at both Temoloh and Kuala Lumpur. The 1st Raiding Regiment and 1st/3rd SNLF jumped into the fray. Though they were unable to capture their targets (missed a 2-1 at Kuala Lumpur by ONE point!!), they did stop the British use of the rail-lines and forced time consuming clearing of the contested hexes.

The British have responded with air attacks whenever possible but to little avail. The CVEs (Taiyo and Hosho) and CVL Ryujo provided CAP over the Mersing Force and no damage occurred. I do have to admit that KXVII did plant a Torp into my CVL but it safely made Singora where an AR was waiting. Flooding is, thankfully, controlled and coming down.

Here is a map of the peninsula slowing the current situation: