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Well...

After a health (or lack thereof)-enforced hiatus, I have found someone who does not mind to play as slowly as I need to nowadays. This will be a combined AAR which is intended to be a learning experience both for the players and for those with even less experience than us that care to read. Thus, ALL COMENTS ARE WELCOME but, if there is something specific that you think one of the players would prefer to keep from the other side, please PM or email the player privately.

Scenario is Reluctant Admiral, version 4.5, which is new to both of us. I have some idea regarding what to do with the Japanese economy, but I am not a great tactician. My opponent describes himself as a new hand, so it should work well, all things considered.

THIS WILL BE A SLOW GAME. Let me stress the point: THIS WILL BE A SLOW GAME. Both of us have time constraints that preclude any semblance of anything near 1 turn/day. Yet, a human opponent is always more interesting than the AI, so we have decided to give it a shot.

House Rules:

The House Rules we have settled for are:

1. No strat bombing of Industry/Oil/Refineries in China or DEI by either side. Bombing of manpower is allowed. Strat bombing anywhere else is allowed.
2. Fighters can sweep and/or fly CAP/LRCAP at best and second best manouver altitude bands only.
3. If a player feels something is gamey/amiss or is just peeved with anything for any reason, we will talk about as soon as it surfaces.
4. Amphibious assaults only at dot and regular bases. No sub-borne amphibious assaults.
5. Must pay PP to move restricted units out of the country they are currently in. Two exceptions: India Command units can enter Akyab, and Kwangtung Army units can enter Korea.
6. No transfer of American units from the Philippines to the Chinese mainland. Other commands are OK.
7. Any allied air units based in China must be supported by base force units of the same nationality. In other words, if you want to base American B-17s in China, there must be an American base force or engineer unit at the airfield with enough AV support to handle the planes.
8. No 4E naval bombing below 10,000 feet until 1943 except for seaplanes.
9. B29s cannot be used for naval attacks.
10. No New TFs can be formed on turn one. Any existing TF can be altered. This goes for BOTH sides.
11. Only one Japanese port attack on turn one.
12. 10k minimum altitude on night bombing.
13. Dutch (incl KNIL) & Phillipine land units may not be moved out of the DEI/Phillipines
14. Dutch ships must not operate in the Pacific.
15. No British ships in Pacific until 1943
16. If one of us makes a big mistake, or if there is any other discussed and agreed reason, a turn may be redone.

Interestingly, I suggested rules that limit the Japanese more than the Allies, and Falken suggested rules that limit the Allies more than the Japanese.

Settings:

Fog of War: ON
Advanced Wather Effects: ON
Player Defined Upgrades: ON
Historical First Turn: OFF
December 7th Surprise: ON
Reliable US N torpedo: OFF
Realistic R&D: ON
No Unit Withdrawals: OFF
Reinforcements: Variable +/- 15 days

Combat Report: ON
Auto Sub Operations: OFF
Task Force Move Radius: ON
Turn Cycle: 1
Plane Move Radius: ON
Set All Facilities to Expand at Start: OFF
Auto Upgrades: OFF
Accept Air and Ground Replacements: OFF

In the next few days I will be sharing my thoughts regarding Japanese production and research in this scenario. It is a very different beast from stock (even Scen 2) and DaBabes (although the database is DBB-compliant), so it DOES need studying. I wish I had Mike Solli's mind for things logistical, but I will try to apply what I have learned from others, plus a few bits of my own.

As for the name of the AAR, I will follow the example of a certain famous, and valliant, destroyer, and once in a while post about the comings and goings of the three Japanese training cruisers (in this mod): The Kitakami, the Oi, and the Kiso.

Let the war preparations begin!

Ok... let's begin with the easy stuff (yea, right!)...

Factories

Armament - RA 4.5 has almost 200 armament factories more than DaBabes. But even in DB, I tend to turn some off, at least until I see heavy casualties. I also tend NOT to upgrade everything (it takes too much in resources), but to upgrade and accept replacements in what I am using and I know I will later use. Manchukuo rarely gets upgrades in the first few years, for example. So, I am going to turn off around 400 armament factories to begin with, until I know what the situation is like (Tracker is very useful for this).

Vehicles - This is entirely the opposite. There are never enough vehicle points, as Japanese tanks are rather frail. Although RA 4.5 has 40+ additional vehicle factories, I will increase factory size to 35 across the board, for an additional 95 vehicle factories.

Heavy Industry - In RA 4.5 there are 570 additional HI factories (which consume LOTS of stuff) than DaBabes. These I will let be until I get my bearings. 7545 HI factories seem to me that might be enough, though.

Light Industry - In RA 4.5 there are 200 additional LI factories compared to DaBabes. I wish I couldt turn them off, but can't, so them be the breaks. I am not reparing any.

Resources, Oil and Fuel - According to Tracker, I have enough resources in Honshu/Kyushu/Shikoku to last me for 54 days, oil for 344 days, and fuel for 170. That means the logistical nightmare that is transporting all the stuff back to the Home Islands will have to be designed before turn 1, and setup as soon as safely possible.

Naval Shipyards - There are around 300 additional naval shipyards in RA 4.5, but there is so much to build, that the initial deficit is a bit over 200 points per turn. That means one of two things: I either increase the naval shipyards, or I stop some construction. I am currently siding with the second option, at least to start with. Then, after the initial conquests are finished and the economy has stabilized, we can see.

Merchant Shipyards - There are over 80 additional merchant shipyards in Ra 4.5, and the initial situation is a surplus of about 400 points. Since I intend NOT to build quite a few of the smaller merchantmen, I will begin by turning off almost 400 and see where that gets me. Since there is no lead-in time required when you turn shipyards on or off, it is just a question of using Tracker to make sure everything is working according to plan.

Repair Shipyards - With the exception of increasing Tokyo to 50 points, I will wait until I conquer Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore and Soerbaja before deciding if I enlarge any repair shipyards. If I do, those mentioned might get the first shot at it.

Airframe Production

Imperial Naval Air Force:
- Initial fighter production is 100 A6M2, which helps quite a LOT. Also, all carriers carry Zeroes, so there is no need to replace planes on board of flattops. I will let it be to begin with, and then will see.
- B5N2 torpedo bombers start at 35. A little low for my taste, as I'd rather turn a factory off later than to have to increase its size. I am increasingt this factory to 60.
- C5M2 recon planes production set to 8 using a spare airframe factory. Will increase size if needed.
- D3A1 dive bomber production likewise is set at 60.
- Jake recon production is set at 30, with the smaller factory turned off.
- G3M2 land bomber production is halted, but the factory is kept, at least for the time being.
- G4M1 land bomber production is increased to 60.
- H6K4 flying boat factory is stopped but kept.
- H8K1 flying boat factory is kept operational. Its production is also increased from 24 to 30.
- L3Y2 transport production is increased to 15.

Imperial Army Air Force:
- Initial Ki-43-Ic fighter production is increased from 32 to 92. The 35-size Ki-27 factory is turned off, and will be converted to Ki-43-Ic if needed.
- Ki-46-II recon plane production is increased to 15.
- All light bomber production, is stopped. The Ki-51 factory is changed to Ki-32 to use the available engines, and because of the bomb load in the Ki-32.
- Ki-21-IIa level bomber production is increased to 60.
- Ki-57-I transport plane production is increased to 30.

Air Research

Navy:
Naval air research will be concentrated on the following planes: A6M5, A7M2, B6N1, D4Y1, G4M2, G8N1, N1K1-J, and P1Y1. Salt and pepper according to taste

Army:
Army air research will be concentrated on: Ki-44-Ia, Ki-84a, Ki-102b, Ki-49-Ia, and Ki-67-Ia (including torpedo variant). Again, personal choice as to how much is spent on each.

Engines

Initial engine production is almost 500 above DB. Balancing engine needs is better done using Tracker after having changed air production factory size.

That is all for the time being. Any and all comments are welcome

Welcome back!  Interesting choices in your economy, looking forward to seeing how they play out.

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo
Welcome back!  Interesting choices in your economy, looking forward to seeing how they play out.

Thanks Pax! It is good to be back playing
The economy I am not THAT sure of, with the RA changes and all, but I think at the very least I will not overheat it enough to melt it. Will play it by ear after turn 1, depending on what reports I get.

New, getting back to turn 1...

Ports and airfields

There are several ports that Japan NEEDS to enlarge ASAP, so that resources and oil can be shipped easier. This is what I can do on turn 1:

- Shikuka in the Kuriles: The Karafuto Bde and the 38th Const Co strat there from Toyohara. 20 engineers to add to the 8 already here. Not much by Allied standards, but for the Japanese, that is a lot (sadly)! Target size is 6+
- Hakodate in Hokaido: 7th Div and 27th JNAF AF Unit move there. 56 engineers and 3 eng vehicles. After Hakodate is expanded to size-7, they will move to Sapporo and increase it to size-6.
- Ominato in Honshu: Begins with 80 eng and 14 eng vehicles, but manyare in units that are needed elsewhere. Thus, the 54th Div will strat there to add 53 eng more. Target size is 9.
- Hirosaki/Aomori in Honshu: 53rd Div will strat there to provide 53 eng. Target size is 6.
- Sendai in Honshu: 24 eng and 4 eng vehicles are provided by the 25th Ind Eng Rgt, but the 52nd Div will strat there to add 53 eng more. Target size is 6-7.
- Fusan in Korea needs to be expanded to size-8. Thus, a few Eng Rgts from Manchukuo will strat there.
- Taihoku in Formosa needs to be expanded to size-5. It begins with only 6 Eng and 3 Eng vehicles, so a couple of Eng units will strat from Takao.

There is also an airfield that Japan NEEDS to enlarge:

- Jehol in Manchukuo will be expanded to size-9. Thus all Const Companies in Manchukuo will strat there.

There is one oil producing and refining site that needs to be repaired: Anshan in Manchukuo. That means increasing the size of the airfield, so that there is less supply spoilage there. A few engineer regiments will be sent there too.

There are MANY other ports and airfields that the Japanese needs to expand, but those are more dependent on strategy, and style. The above are necessary for the transport of raw materials to Japan, so that is why I mention them. I am sure it is not THE best way to do it, so I am open to council

That's it for now. Will post more when I have the time.

EDIT: mention of Anshan and its repair needs. Edited wording regarding Jehol's expansion.

Go get 'em! Happily involved with this. If you have Mod questions ask them here or in one of my AARs.

Have fun.

I'm only up to Dec 20th vs Mike S with me as Japan. Its weird to see Mike S playing the Allies for the first time. [:D]

Economics
Vehicles - I will increase mine to 200. In another game playing Scenario 2, I didn't have enough for the extra armor and the extra tank division. Not this time. [:-]

Naval Shipyard - According to John, he is up to near 1800. So not much of an increase from at start, but I turned off Musashi and many of my I-boats to get things under control. I accelerated Hiyo and she will come in three days after Junyo.

Repair Shipyard - Doing the same thing with Tokyo! [:D]

Vals and Kates went to 45 for me, but you could go higher like you did depending on losses.

Jakes - I went to 45 (could go as high as 60) as I will re-size most of my FPs and take off the second from CA/BBs. Since the CS go in for conversion to CVLs in 2/42, I will need to shuttle them through before the CS go into yards. The FP can fill out later and the Jake is great for naval search in places the Emily are not covering.

Glens - I increase size to 15 so it can use up the remaining engines quickly so the factory can be changed over to something useful in 43.

Sally - I increased to 60 as it will be my main Army bomber until the Helen comes on line.

Anshan (Manchuria) needs lot of supply to repair both Oil and Refineries. Since AF is size 1, then many engineers go here to expand AF to minimize spoilage.

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

I'm only up to Dec 20th vs Mike S with me as Japan. Its weird to see Mike S playing the Allies for the first time. [:D]

Agreed. Mike is the archetypal Japanese logisitics master.

Economics
Vehicles - I will increase mine to 200. In another game playing Scenario 2, I didn't have enough for the extra armor and the extra tank division. Not this time. [:-]

Mine will be 210, so we are thinking along similar lines.

Naval Shipyard - According to John, he is up to near 1800. So not much of an increase from at start, but I turned off Musashi and many of my I-boats to get things under control. I accelerated Hiyo and she will come in three days after Junyo.

I am a little leery of increasing this too much. I will stop a number of subs, definitely. But since we are playing with +/- 15 day delay on reinforcements, that will have to wait for turn 2.

Repair Shipyard - Doing the same thing with Tokyo! [:D]

Definitely! Those CVLs will come in early enough to warrant the expense.

Vals and Kates went to 45 for me, but you could go higher like you did depending on losses.

I can always turn the factories off if there is too large a surplus. But I feel better if I have the production, just in case.

Jakes - I went to 45 (could go as high as 60) as I will re-size most of my FPs and take off the second from CA/BBs. Since the CS go in for conversion to CVLs in 2/42, I will need to shuttle them through before the CS go into yards. The FP can fill out later and the Jake is great for naval search in places the Emily are not covering.

Agreed on your take on things. The second Jake factory was just turned off, so if I see the need for more Jakes, I will expand it and turn it on.

Glens - I increase size to 15 so it can use up the remaining engines quickly so the factory can be changed over to something useful in 43.

I do not see the need for the factory that soon... I have a number of unused factories that I turned off, so I will keep a leisurely pace... unless I need the planes.

Sally - I increased to 60 as it will be my main Army bomber until the Helen comes on line.

I have been thinking about this. 30 Sallys are too few, I realize, and it IS 4 months until Helens start arriving. Thanks for pointing it out!

Anshan (Manchuria) needs lot of supply to repair both Oil and Refineries. Since AF is size 1, then many engineers go here to expand AF to minimize spoilage.

THANKS! I had not noticed this! I really did not know about Anshan having unrepaired oil and refineries. Just in case, I checked all production centers, and there are no more, but if you hadn't told me, I'd have missed it completely. I have sent 4 Eng Regts to Anshan to increase the size of the airfield to a more supply hoarding-friendly level.

I will have to look for your AAR... I am sure I can learn much there!

That is the Oil Production facility that never got off the ground in any meaningful way. Here it really helps Manchuria out (once it is repaired).

I am definitely subscribed to this match, and good luck there Kitakami. [;)]

EDIT: Just a suggestion; that you will probably need to build some more C5M2 Babs, before the J1N1-C Irving comes on line in 11/42.

@John 3rd: It will definitely be a big help, yes
@DivePac88: I have chosen the D4Y1-C as my recon plane, but you are right. A small production factory of C5M2 is in order, as there are several factories that have been stopped.

Thanks to both of you. I hope to post something more meaningful either today or tomorrow... have been fighting with Chinese garrison requirements the last few hours I have been able to put into this game.

China - The greater Shanghai area has required me to send unit "A" to point "B" to free up unit "C" to move to point "D" so a full strength division can be freed up. Its going to take most of December just to reorganize my garrison requirements so I have the troops to conduct an offense. Fun! Fun!

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

China - The greater Shanghai area has required me to send unit "A" to point "B" to free up unit "C" to move to point "D" so a full strength division can be freed up. Its going to take most of December just to reorganize my garrison requirements so I have the troops to conduct an offense. Fun! Fun!

Yep, that's the IJ for Dec in China ... a lot of shuffling around to free up combat troops.

@ny59giants & PaxMondo: it is... involved... to say the least. But it IS part of the fun, no? I do intend to make some attacks before december is over, though... I do not want my opponent to have too much time to entrench.

Progress report:

I finally finished the land part of CMK, the Home Islands, and most other places. There are a few invasion TFs I need to tweak, but most of it is already done. I stress the MOST. I have at least put a bit of spice on the Japanese turn 1, since this scenario allows for some. We'll see if it works

I still have to go through all air units combing them for veterans, and change quite a number of mission profiles in certain areas. Still, the worst (at least for me) is over, the land unit planning, moving, setting objectives, etc. I hope to send turn 1 to my esteemed opponent within a week.

Ok... turn sent to my esteemed oponent.

I did some things that I had never done before, so it may be an interesting turn in more ways than one. I tried not to be gamey, but I did try to be creative

We will see how I fared in a few days.

Worst turn of the Pbem game is turn one for us JFBs, as my tummy is always in knots waiting for it.

@DivePac88: agreed!

My turn 1 in this game can be summed up as follows (can't say too much until the turn is run):

- ONE port strike (as per HRs)
- ONE island amphibious assault preceded with a naval bombardment... the question is where, and if it will succeed
- FOUR other amphibious landings... all of them standard fare.
- TWO parachute assaults. One I have seen in other AARs, the other I am not sure of.
- MANY tweaks in air mission orders... including an unorthodox decision that may pay off... or may cost me dearly in planes and pilots.
- A GAZILLION movement orders, both land and sea... which include the attempt to bag as many ships in the PI as possible.
- Setting up the air training system.

Turn 1 would have been much more involved, were it not for the HR stating that neither side may form new TFs on turn 1. So the minor nightmare (for anyone not named Mike Solli, that is) of setting up the raw material convoys was left for turn 2. Still I am certain there are a few mistakes I overlooked, which is why I fret.

Will post turn results as soon as I have them.

ORIGINAL: Kitakami

Still I am certain there are a few mistakes I overlooked, which is why I fret.

Pretty much every turn is like that for me. [&:]

Hi,

This is my first post in our combined AAR. I am extremely happy to be playing w/Kitakami. Although he refers himself as a relative Newb, I have a funny feeling that I'm going to get pounced on by my opponent...

Although I have played WITP/WITP AE since 2006, I really do consider myself a newb at this game. This is my first PBEM because, as my opponent has stated earlier, work schedules does not promote 1 turn/day games for us. So it's been AI since day 1. I do know a lot of the overall generalities of the Pacific War, as I am of a fan of it, but I am in no way an expert in the details. It was one of the reasons that I bought this game to begin with, so that I can learn those details.

Although we are playing RA (which I've been following since I first saw the earliest of threads on it), I will be playing my turn 1 as historical as I can make it. I am only going to review everything on day 1, make sure no A/C setting is going against our house rules, and make sure Force Z is heading for disaster at Mersing/Kota. I am going to spend most of my Turn 1 making notes for my second and future turns.

Although I will not be mentioning any future plans in this AAR, I will write about results and war plans that have already occurred. I will make plenty of mistakes, probably lose a lot of ships early on in the process, but since i'm the Allies, that's ok. It is a five year war. I have time to learn and recover (as Allies).

Even if Kitakami completely destroys me in this game, I know that I will have a lot of fun playing it. One, because I'm playing with a what I consider, a very good opponent, and two, it will be a tremendous learning experience for me, which I can then use for future PBEMs, and hopefully, be a better opponent later on.

Hopefully, I will return the save game to my opponent within a couple of days (unless I decide not to sleep...and finish faster.... )

Am looking forward to your game guys. Thanks for choosing the Mod and I hope you are happy with it.

Have you updated to the 4.6 version? Michael caught some issues with several Japanese LCU and Air Groups being accidentally static. We fixed that. FatR fixed another small issue as well. Anything strange or wrong that you find please contact me so we can fix it.

Enjoy the bombs and Torps falling!

ORIGINAL: John 3rd
<snip>
Have you updated to the 4.6 version?
<snip>
Enjoy the bombs and Torps falling!

No, I haven't... had laready done a lot of the turn under 4.5, so I decided not to restart under 4.6. Can it be patched just by saving the scenario?

And thanks for the good wishes!