eskuche (Axis) vs. YueJin v1.01 (Done)

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eskuche
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eskuche (Axis) vs. YueJin v1.01 (Done)

Post by eskuche »

Until save/load for the other game gets resolved, let's hop into another AAR.
Again, mostly me listing my thoughts and deducing things without prior experience without WPE. Hopefully this will be less disastrous than my other game, but there should be more wiggle room for the IJN, at least starting off.

Without further ado...a review of forces and economics.



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eskuche
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RE: eskuche (Axis) vs. ??? v1.00.01

Post by eskuche »

At turn zero, Japan is missing roughly 60 air strength and 200 ground strength. Total replacement cost is roughly 1150 production, or six turns of production. The first thing any player should (probably) do is turn off reinforcements (hotkey e) to every single, yes, every single, unit.

Naval HP is particularly precious, as each damage point is about 40 production cost.
Manpower is enough to support 3 divisions, or about 100 production, worth of units a turn, so we should not have to worry about this over time.
Shipyards are mostly occupied, but we will have to think very hard about committing resources to ship production. COMINT and specialty discussed later when relevant.
Most important is oil. Out of the starting stockpile of 160, about 40-60 will be expended turn 1 alpha strike. Conquering DEI turn one gets us about 55 per turn to play with, which is enough to support the entire navy and specified airstrikes. The turn 1 goal, then is to secure DEI immediately.
eskuche
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Towards an optimal turn 1

Post by eskuche »

This will be too big to outline, so I will write it piecemeal.
Malaya peninsula
I think the optimal play here is to shatter/surrender both Indian divisions. You do this by claiming all ZOC around them with the weaker division and attacking with the army.
Cons: army is slightly fatigued (recovering 6 + 9x2 + 4 = 28% of ~70% effectiveness to about 80% next turn). Also the army won't be able to make multiple attacks on Singapore next turn.

Air: probably double bomb singapore with both air groups for a chance to sink the Repulse. Unsure if it's worth the oil because only one is naval air specialization.


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eskuche
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RE: Towards an optimal turn 1

Post by eskuche »

Dutch East Indies
I think there is very little case to be made for not taking this turn one. To do so, you need Bandar Lampung, Batavia, and Surabaya, which comprise all the production centers and force a surrender.
I use SNLF's for both garrisoned cities (invasion spaces noted). This should be done first in the turn because either attack has a chance of failing. If they do, you need to not take the second attack and instead move the unit away, land another unit, and attack again. This is because you need another op point to move into the city. Surabaya can be taken only with a 10-strength unit, which is a waste, but nothing else is available to land here.

CL De Ruyter is forced out of port but very low reconnaissance, so not worth attacking.



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eskuche
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RE: Towards an optimal turn 1

Post by eskuche »

The only remaining given is the Pearl Harbor attack. I get perhaps the most abysmal results ever recorded. I bring in two DD in case Allies want to counterattack here, which is a real danger. Destroyers/cruisers have a high profile for surface attack and in essence act as a meat shield for the carriers.

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eskuche
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RE: eskuche (Axis) vs. ??? v1.00.01

Post by eskuche »

Philippines

There are probably two ways to go about this. One is to land historically at Aparri and Legaspi (is the latter historical, actually?) and slowly grind down to Manila. This is unnecessary but safer. A riskier alternative is to land the 12th army directly west of Manila and take the 3:1 attack with air support and bombardment from all naval units that have nowhere else to blockade this turn. Once Manila falls, the Philippine infantry go poof. I make bombed naval with the 12th air division instead of using it for air support, but that may have flipped the odds. A failed initial attack by the 12th army perhaps warrants landing an SNLF aid in the attack next turn, as I have done. Failure necessitates beachhead supply. You can preemptively do it this turn with a coastal patrol, which is nifty and ups your effectiveness immediately. I'm not too concerned with taking a port because next turn Manila should fall.

On a side note, The rest of Borneo/Brunei's UK possessions can be taken by embarking one Indichina brigade, although this costs 10 of your precious transports (why they're precious to be seen later). It is probably worth the extra turn of 9 oil, but it's hard to say for absolute certain.



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RE: eskuche (Axis) vs. ??? v1.00.01

Post by eskuche »

Considerations for next moves.
The IJN has unrivaled control of the waters for the next 7-9 turns until Allied transports come into play. This means one should use this opportunity to make opposed landings (Fiji, Port Moresby, India/Australia?!) because you can still whack the USN and small UK groups out of the water. For turn one, you have 50 total extra transports and 130 or so landing craft after the previous moves. How far you want to go necessitates blockading the small islands appropriately to prevent reinforcements. Fiji and New Caledonia are bigger, and Fiji gets the 3x defense bonus (while some other places do not). Going after the Solomon islands and friends requires you park overwhelming naval forces here, which means they're unavailable for British harassment. This is also where the idea of only selectively reinforcing matters. Those bad 1-2 strength garrison units? They take only 1-2 transports and craft to land on empty islands, which is a huge economic boon (until this gets patched, which I probably would do. Perhaps a minimum of 5 transports per unit embarked?). That's all for now, good night!
eskuche
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Turn 1 end

Post by eskuche »

And to finish up.

A. China is relatively straightforward. Go for the jugulars. The problem here is entrenchment, surface area, rivers, and partisans, in order of annoyance. Probably should have manned the 10 resource hex NW of Qingdao, may have done so in the screenshot. The key problem that can be tackled differently, IMHO, is surface area. Most of your forces are Japanese divisions, which will be hard-pressed to get that 3:1 or 4:1 ratio attacking from 2 hexes. My solution is to exchange 2 divisions with 1 Manchurian army ASAP. This will take a few turns to shuffle and ungarrison, but doing so allows one to press down with two armies in multiple places. Bonus points for getting your armies more experience this way.
B. Railed up a few divisions, moving down cavalry and armies when possible. As long as total ground > 159 strength, you're good.
C. Double Port Moresby landing and blockade of port. Note that you're able to exert ZOC terrain control even in the presence of an enemy unit (is this because it's weak?). Rabaul is taken by an SNLF, which might be overkill, but it's impossible to take the port on the same turn due to lack of a road for 1 OP movement.
D. Various island activities, ranging from single ship blockade to prepping a landing force. It's slightly possible that these can be pursuit attacked, but that will engender a counterattack on the allied ships. Screwed up on New Caledonia and didn't have 3 boats to blockade.

For the island hopping, there are so many permutations that it's impossible to find the best solution, which may be in fact depend on Allied response. Fiji will probably take ~2 full divisions to take, so I don't commit there yet until seeing Allied naval moves, which may involve a PH counterattack.

Production: 3 x landing craft, ungarrisoning a lot of units.
Advancements: (IIRC) carrier, interceptor, naval air, assault, amphibious, long range subs

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eskuche
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RE: eskuche (Axis) vs. ??? v1.00.01

Post by eskuche »

Oil production hasn't fully ramped up yet but should get there next turn. DEI surrenders. Build 2 x landing craft, 1 x trucks. It is my inclination to believe that Japane should never be limited by land force number per se, but more by getting forces to where they need to be at a healthy effectiveness. This means landing craft and supply are paramount. I don't plan on building much navy at this point. The opportunity cost is too high for the variance in naval combat.

Asia: We should take Sarawak to prevent recon emanating from Borneo.
Retreat by both Chinese armies in the Northern region. Setup continues per last turn's directives. I shift a few more divisions out and a few more armies in. Nothing too interesting.
The Indian lines are set up near Chittagong per COMINT in the general forum posts. Thai royal army cuts off Rangoon, and more infantry are brought up. We can land at Rangoon soon for reinforcements.
Singapore III Corps divides and is conquered thusly. Splitting is bad when there is no retreat or stacking. 25th Army will probably shift to the Indian front soon.


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1941-12-17

Post by eskuche »

Papua/Australia/Philippines
1. Buildup for the attack on Manila. Odds weren't terrific, so we build up another turn with beachhead supply, claim the port for more recovery next turn, and blockade the remaining ports. Next turn should be decisive. Unfortunate critical interception by the USAFFE sinks a coastal patrol. Unfortunate.
2. Australian northern ports are well defended, as are the southeastern ports (not shown). This is fine for now.
3. Port Moresby still blockaded, so no reinforcements are incoming. Scouting attacks that could have succeeded didn't. Next turn will fall for sure.

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eskuche
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1941-12-17

Post by eskuche »

Finally, Solomons & Co:
Much to high command's consternation, it's rain, rain, rain. This prevents any landings and surface combat, well, unless of course you're being interdicted. Sayonara Aussie navy!. Blockades remain intact, but landings will have to wait...except for a top secret mission boxed in red. There are multiple hints about where that might be going...

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eskuche
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1942-01-04

Post by eskuche »

1. Task Force Ceylon (SNLF was sitting SW of the tip of India in very low recon) captures Bombay and Mangalore! This cuts off the femoral artery (running out of blood vessels to use soon) of the British Empire. Forces advance up the Burma road, but ABDA has a tough decision to make in the coming months. The task force proper sits at sea... somewhere... waiting for prey.
2. Singapore falls, and those units will join the India campaign after a short rest and refit.
3. We maneuver in China for an attack on Xian as well as Changsha. Notice the XXXX units with relatively higher CVs. Divisions are interspersed to prevent partisan attacks on critical rail junctions.

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RE: 1942-01-04

Post by eskuche »

1. Manila is conquered, and the Americans are driven north (forgot screenshot, sorry).
2. Meanwhile, Port Moresby is taken, and hex painting begins, mainly with smaller units, as our landing craft stocks are being depleted very rapidly, mainly because...

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RE: 1942-01-04

Post by eskuche »

1. 51st, 56th, and Truk divisions are landed on Fiji. Again, rain prohibits any useful attack (at -50% penalty), but we sit and eat beachhead sandwiches until the weather clears.
2. Minor naval skirmishes at New Caledonia. A decent bunch of Allied assets here, so coastal groups skitter away. We lay some Fijian cheese in front of siege and again wait to see if the Allies take the bait. Kidō Butai lies in wait...somewhere!
3. We try to get a foothold for air north of New Caledonia but somehow messages were misinterpreted and the entire Marshall Island Division tagged along in transports! Not good.
4. Tonga and Samoa should surrender soon, with multiple turns of effective blockades.

On the next episode of WPP...the Battle of the Coral Sea!

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eskuche
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1942-02-04

Post by eskuche »

The invasion of India proceeds, as armies are unloaded at Bombay (size 5 port giving 100 supply), and a second minor force claims the southern subcontinent from Mangalore. This is all that ports will support, at least until Madras is taken. The pincer from Thai continues to close in. Allies will likely have to rail in 4 more divisions, unlocking the eastern approach from us. Unfortunately, there wasn't a small enough unit to invade at Calcutta this turn. Rangoon falls after heavy fighting from the 15th army, but they and the 3rd Air get some nice experience for their trouble.

The British naval garrison at Ceylon gets poked at but hide too well. Ceylon is fully blockaded and demands an Allied response.


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eskuche
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1942-02-04 Battle of the Coral Sea

Post by eskuche »

Allied high command capitalize on an unescorted transport of the Marshalls Air Division en route to their outpost on the New Hebrides. Since the Kido Butai needed to recuperate after their long trek to Hawaii, this seemed like the perfect time to interfere with Japanese aggression...

2 Feb: Houston CA task force seeks to intercept the lone convoy but was unable to find it. Additional British assets and the returning subs from the Philippines are called in as well to no avail.
3 Feb: Combined fleet HQ at Rabaul determines this is the opportunity to claim the South Pacific. Mild air interdiction assaults incoming naval groups from four different locales. Surprised, the Americans and British are happy to skirmish, seeing only destroyer and patrol groups. However, further surprise assault of the third arriving task force reveals that in fact the Kido Butai was refueled as sea and makes their move. The Japanese forces finish assembling but take a few more losses from the Americans. After the carriers are finally prepped, however, the entire Houston CA task force is demolished in turn. The British escape relatively unscathed, but the subs take minor damage.
4 Feb: Combined fleet rush another group of destroyers to cover Kido Butai, including a damaged Kaga CV, in case Allied subs decide to stick around.

Otherwise, the unrelenting rainclouds remain in action, preventing a full-on assault of Fiji.

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eskuche
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1942-02-18 Ceylon Skirmish

Post by eskuche »

The battle for India rages on! More armies are deposited in Bombay, while smaller forces pacify the countryside at the very modest rate of multiple Indian states per week per division [&:]
Not as many Indian units as expected move back. The IJA are happy to oblige their negligence.

The main action happened at Ceylon. Having received news of blockade relief from Allied high command, the British naval garrison venture out to try to link up. However, the patrolling CVL task force catch them in the act, costing the cruiser Cornwall and several escorts. The British promptly scamper off right before the promised relief arrives, which is promptly turned on. While the IJN CVL put up a decent fight, mis-steering by the BC Haruna lead to its sinking. A lasting battle sees a sizeable chunk of the USN carrier plane complement destroyed, leading them to break off the engagement. The CVL force gives chase but is unable to locate them in foreign waters. Unsure of the exactly escort (British AND American heavy assets were spotted), the blockade retires to separate ports.

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1942-02-18 Coral Sea cleanup

Post by eskuche »

As expected, USN sharks smelled blood leaking from the Kaga in the water and stuck around to try to pick her off, but without success. Unfortunately, their skippers ventured far too close to the Hebrides, giving us spotting and a swift reprisal. Two thirds of the sub group is sunk. Kidō Butai goes for a much needed rest, while blockade of Noumea and Fiji still continue under their watchful eye. Presence of major Allied assets in India assures dominance in the Coral Sea, at least for another month.

While SNLF battalions continue island hopping in the Solomons and far away in the South Pacific, a defensive perimeter starts to come into shape in Guinea, as many air assets are shipped in. Surprisingly, the Aussies shift to their southern coast. This is fine, as landing craft are completely depleted by the almost-Blitzkrieg level of of expansion undertaken in mere two months.

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CrackingShow
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RE: 1942-02-18 Coral Sea cleanup

Post by CrackingShow »

Amazing first couple of turns dude.

By the way, you only need Batavia to capitulate DEI.

Are you going to go after Australia and or New Zealand? New Zealand are an easier target, you can bomb the trade route from the northern port, and there is only 1 VP in Australia, same as in New Zealand.

Not that I know much about the Axis lol, I've only played one PBEM as Japan into like turn 3 on the Axis side, and I've done worse than you have.

Is it possible to invade India if he just garrisons all the ports?
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EwaldvonKleist
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RE: 1942-02-18 Coral Sea cleanup

Post by EwaldvonKleist »

Wow amazing advance. Did the allied side make unusual mistakes or are you the greatest wargamer of all time or is the game unbalanced?
Not an expert on the Pacific war but Japan landing on the West coast of India with an entire army while doing historically well or better everywhere else seems a bit weird?
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