...the destroyer of worlds. - An Armageddon AAR (no Nemo)

[Hortlund]

This will be the Allied side of the Downfall - Armageddon mod.

Im in the process of doing the first turn as the allies now, but I wanted to open up this AAR for discussion.

With the changes Nemo has done to the game, this will not be a pushover at all. Instead of an easy air-war over Japan, we will have to fight our way through high-exp (or at least normal-exp) pilots flying good (or at least not-crap) aircraft. He has also added some AAA units, which means there will be a couple of flak cities in a few months.

The addition of the Ki-264s mean he can also reach out and touch my airfields as far out as 44 hexes. Im expecting a very flexible defence and airstrikes, paradrops or sub-invasions.

Some things I need to remember.
1) Remember the rear bases for Japan. Truk, Palembang, Cam Rahn Bay. With Ki264s based here, he can strike almost any base except Pearl Harbor. The Ki-264s come in three flavours, with bombs, okhas or as transports.

2) He did not add all those mine laying subs and increase the number of mines for nothing.

3) Nor did he add all those perfect Kamikaze-planes Tokas and Ki-115s. REMEMBER that the Ki-115s are carrier capable...meaning that you could face a swarm of Kamikazes anywhere on the map (he still has 5 CVs).

4) There are no points for second place.

Feel free to add to the list.




One thing seems to jump at me when looking at the map. Can there really be an alternative to invading Hokkaido? It is isolated, has good bases, is relatively lightly defended and not easily reinforced? It seems too obvious though. I will need to do a Maskirovka here.

[Canoerebel]

Suggestion:  Use atomic bombs on turns 1 and 3.  Game ends.  Allies win.  Nemo humbled. 
 
Then you can start another game late this week.
 

 
P.S.  Always a pleasure reading your posts.  Natalie sure is a looker!

[Hortlund]

Here is a list of the main combat units...

[Hortlund]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Suggestion:  Use atomic bombs on turns 1 and 3.  Game ends.  Allies win.  Nemo humbled. 

Then you can start another game late this week.



P.S.  Always a pleasure reading your posts.  Natalie sure is a looker!

Haha, thats a brilliant plan! Right now it feels like a much better plan than what Im trying to conjure up.

[Hortlund]

Judging from mouseover-intel, Nemo is expanding armaments and is focusing his aircraft factories on Ki-94II and J7W1 Shinden.

It makes sense I suppose, I doubt there is a better heavy-bomber killer than the Shinden with 4 x 30mm cannons and 30 accuracy. The Ki-94II has a service ceiling of 48170.

We can expect the pilots flying these monsters to be at 70+ exp.

Intel estimates the following production numbers for these two types alone to be at:
450 x Ki-94II
300 x J7W1

No Sir, this will not be easy at all.

[Capt. Harlock]

Intel estimates the following production numbers for these two types alone to be at: 450 x Ki-94II 300 x J7W1 No Sir, this will not be easy at all.

So much to bomb, so little time . . .[:D]

Do you have any targeting priorities? Industry, manpower, airfields, etc?

[Hortlund]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

Intel estimates the following production numbers for these two types alone to be at: 450 x Ki-94II 300 x J7W1 No Sir, this will not be easy at all.

So much to bomb, so little time . . .[:D]

Do you have any targeting priorities? Industry, manpower, airfields, etc?

Target for tonight:
B-29s will hit the Ki-94II Factories at Gifu.

I was planning on hitting the armaments factories in an attempt to prevent his AAA-units to grow too big. However I noticed that the Japs have 50 000 armaments points in stock, so I decided to hit the aircraft production instead.

[jds1978]

1. Use the nukes

2. Feel free to ignore Coronet (landings on Kuyushu) and concentrate on Olympic (landings on Tokyo plains) if he doesn't capitulate.

3. Expect a Mass Casualty event

[Canoerebel]

Where are your B-29s flying from?  Based upon admittedly limited data (my game with Miller, which reached Summer '45, plus Bullwikle's game vs. the AI of similar date), Superforts at long range (flying from Tinian, Saipan, or distant Chinese bases) facing decent fighters are far, far less effective than in real life.  This is one aspect of your game I wish to follow carefully to see if that trend continues.

[Hortlund]

Main effort for the first day of the war: Formosa.

Im sweeping all the main airbases and following up with airfield attacks. I want to see how he organizes his defences without committing too much against his main defences over Japan.

Im moving alot of airunits away from Iwo and Okinawa to the Philippines. I dont want to be overstacked at bases too close to Japan. You never know if an airfield attack hits you at night or a bombardment mission.

Im positioning all my subs around Japan. I dont expect them to sink much because I dont think he will venture out to sea with that many ships.

Im moving the fleet back to Pearl together with V Amphib Corps from Manila. Im also sending small invasion forces to the islands off Okinawa. I need more bases before I want to go head to head with the Japan defences.

[Hortlund]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Where are your B-29s flying from?  Based upon admittedly limited data (my game with Miller, which reached Summer '45, plus Bullwikle's game vs. the AI of similar date), Superforts at long range (flying from Tinian, Saipan, or distant Chinese bases) facing decent fighters are far, far less effective than in real life.  This is one aspect of your game I wish to follow carefully to see if that trend continues.

Im actually rebasing alot of B-29s to Manila. I will only be flying night missions for a while. I have been looking over his fighter defences, and I dont want to send in B-29s unescorted against intact fighter defences just yet.

[Hortlund]

ORIGINAL: jds1978

1. Use the nukes

2. Feel free to ignore Coronet (landings on Kuyushu) and concentrate on Olympic (landings on Tokyo plains) if he doesn't capitulate.

3. Expect a Mass Casualty event

I dont have any nukes. Build rate is 1 starting in 06/46.

I have not decided where to land yet. I want to test his airdefences first and then decide how and where to land.

[ADB123]

I dont have any nukes. Build rate is 1 starting in 06/46.

Did you mean 06/45?

[Hortlund]

ORIGINAL: ADB123

I dont have any nukes. Build rate is 1 starting in 06/46.

Did you mean 06/45?

No, 06/46.

This scenario starts in 09/45, so I assume the first two have already been dropped.

[ADB123]

ORIGINAL: Panzerjaeger Hortlund

ORIGINAL: ADB123

I dont have any nukes. Build rate is 1 starting in 06/46.

Did you mean 06/45?

No, 06/46.

This scenario starts in 09/45, so I assume the first two have already been dropped.

Oh, okay, I didn't dig that far into the original set-up discussion.

Has Stalin already captured Manchuria and/or Sakuhin Island?

[Hortlund]

Ive been looking at the map for two days now, and Hokkaido keeps staring back at me. Its relatively lightly defended, it is a nightmare for Nemo to try to reinforce, it has several good airbases. Together with the small islands it will provide 11 airbases in the temperate zone, 7 of which can be built up to lvl 9.

The thing that strikes me though, is that it seems too obvious. What am I missing here?

Right now Im thinking of loading two amphib corps to sieze a bridgehead and then use two army corps to clear the rest of the island. I was thinking of building up the port at Adak Island to use as staging-port, but then I realized that Nemo will probably spot the build-up in the operations report, and therefore be forewarned. Do you think it is too far to sail the invasion fleet all the way from Pearl? I can fit all 6 divisions in the first wave in APAs and AKAs.

I think Ive more or less decided to invade Hokkaido first to use that island as an unsinkable aircraft carrier, and use it as staging area for the invasion of the main island. That way I can decide to invade from the Sea of Japan-side aswell as the pacific side.

So...the Maskirovka will be to convince Nemo that I am invading somewhere else. To achieve this Im planning to pick off all the islands around Okinawa, and I will stage an invasion of Formosa. It will be a small invasion, consisting of two divisions only. But it should at least grab his attention and force him to react to the possibility of an all-out invasion of Formosa and, eventually Kyushu.

So...a quiet build up at Pearl, as I relocate most of the USMC and the fleet there, and at the same time, lots of actions around Formosa and Kyushu. I will use most of the CVEs and all of the RN around Formosa to add to the impression that Im serious there.

I want to invade Hokkaido in as poor weather as possible. So, sometime in December/January will probably be the target date.

[fcharton]

ORIGINAL: Panzerjaeger Hortlund
So...the Maskirovka will be to convince Nemo that I am invading somewhere else. To achieve this Im planning to pick off all the islands around Okinawa, and I will stage an invasion of Formosa. It will be a small invasion, consisting of two divisions only. But it should at least grab his attention and force him to react to the possibility of an all-out invasion of Formosa and, eventually Kyushu.

Since it is such an obvious target, wouldn't the right way to do it be to give the impression that you are going to invade, and... actually invade?

Or, to put it differently, do you think your opponent would buy the idea you haven't noticed Hokkaido?

Francois

[paullus99]

My recommendation would be to stage as many high-intensity operations against Nemo as possible - get his attention by hitting him everywhere, then you can prepare your coup de grace behind this smokescreen. Given his past behavior - expect that he may try an offensive of his own, if only to throw you off balance - don't fall for it.

Take the fight to him - sweep, sweep, sweep, and bomb the crud out of him. The more aggressive you are now, the less he will have available to fight when you really take the war to him (on the ground).

Be imaginative (because you know he will), and don't be afraid of losses - because he won't be either.

[stuman]

ORIGINAL: ADB123

ORIGINAL: Panzerjaeger Hortlund

ORIGINAL: ADB123



Did you mean 06/45?

No, 06/46.

This scenario starts in 09/45, so I assume the first two have already been dropped.

Oh, okay, I didn't dig that far into the original set-up discussion.

Has Stalin already captured Manchuria and/or Sakuhin Island?

Hmm, would it really have taken the US a whole year to build another nuke ?

And your point about the Soviets is very good. Any scenario such as this that does not have them ranging throughout Korea and China once they are committed is not realistic IMO.

Nemo seems to have stacked the deck a bit here [:D]

[DTurtle]

Hmm, would it really have taken the US a whole year to build another nuke ?

In short, no.

The US already had a few more ready for deployment and was gearing up for continuous production of 7 nuclear weapons a month at the time Japan surrendered in the real world. When that happened those lines were stopped - as they were not completely up to standards - and therefore no new nuclear weapons were produced for about a year until new production lines were completed.

Though I think given that many nuclear weapons, even Nemo wouldn't have much of a chance