Cracking Show (Allies) v eskuche (Axis)

[CrackingShow]

Hello

I have detected a shortage of AARs for this game, so I have decided to create one.

This decision was made AFTER I played turn 1, and thus I do not have screenshots for the 1st turn. I will therefore summarise what happened.

[CrackingShow]

Turn 1
Axis moves

Naval and Air Strikes
Singapore
2 Battleships damaged
1 Destroyer damaged
Manilla
1 Cruiser sunk
1 Submarine sunk
1 Submarine damaged
Pearl Harbour
2 Battleships sunk
1 Battleship bottomed
5 Battleships damaged
1 Cruiser damaged
1 Destroyer damaged

Summary
This was a good result, I only lost two battleships and the excellent Prince of Wales survived.

China front
Changsha area
The hex south of Changsha has been occupied, the defenders were driven out.
1 Army Group shattered in the south, it was attacked by the Army and Division unit and perished in the fighting.
Additional enemy army landed in Canton.

Summary
I am expecting to lose Changsha early on, as he already made excellent progress. Once Changsha is taken, he will be free to shift units out to apply pressure elsewhere.

Other moves in China are as expected. Pushing Sian and setting up partisan suppression.

Other moves
All other moves are mostly as standard.
Japanese pressure:
Phillipines, blockading all the ports.
Malysia, killing the two Indian divisions.
Burma, pushing the army in Thailand forward.
Fiji is blockaded, as well as other small islands nearby.
Rabaul falls, Papa New Guinea invaded.

Summary of Axis turn 1
Lots of pressure on the Allies. US fleet is damaged and needs repairs. Whilst Changsha is under a lot of pressure. We lost DEI and the Phillipines and Fiji are doomed.

Allied turn
Early game strategy
Hold India and Australia.
Hold West coast of the US.
Do not lose the US fleet, especially the carriers.
China - hold Changsha for as long as possible, do not lose Lanchow or any other VP locations.

Builds
US - transports and repair the fleet. Possible reinforcement of existing Land & Air units. Tranports are needed to fulfill strategy of holding India and AUS. We need lots of transports to have impact in those theatres.
UK - repair the fleet. After that Infantry.
India - flip units to active, reinforce.
China - reinforce, prioritising the Air unit and land units with better equipment.

Research
US
Assault, Escort Fighters, Strategic Bombers, Carrier OPs, Amphibious OPs, Long Range subs, Anti-submarine warfare

I'm not researching warships because I don't want to spend lots of production upgrading battleships. Rest of the list is self-explanatory. I want to do lots of economy damage with strategic bombers and submarines.

UK
Anti Tank, Interceptors, Close Support, Carrier OPs, Heavy Armour.

We don't need range to escort bombers so we take Interceptors.

China
Assault, Interceptors

USSR
Assault, Heavy Tanks, Interceptors, Close Support.

Moves
China front
Changsha area
I pull the units in the Changsha back, as now that Axis occupy hex south of Changsha, a lot men are in low supply and danger of being cut off.
I shuffle the units near Kumming towards the Changsha and central areas. Weak units go north and stronger units go east.
Sian area
I pull units back, I am not going to hold Sian, I am going to hold in the mountains closer to Lanchow.

India and Australia
India
I'm defending the crossing on the Salween river.
Flip units over to garrison, including the Rangoon garrison.
Shift units to the Calcutta area.

Australia
Shift units to protect the south ports. I'm also garrisoning Brisbane and Rock Hampton.
Might want a unit in Townsville as it is a level 4 port.

US
Moved damaged ships to the West Coast.
Grouped up a fleet in San Diego.

UK
Moved the Ceylon fleet south where it will link up with the Singapore fleet in Pretoria.
Will repair the damaged ships in Pretoria.
May look to contest blockades in India, but I am not sure if this is wise as the Japanese fleet outnumbers us at this time.

Turn Summary
Moved to protect India from invasion from Burma.
Protecting AUS ports.
Started to organise China units into a defensive line in the south and north.
US/UK fleets moved to repair and avoid danger.

[eskuche]

Summary of game. We called it due to a flubbed India defense.

Allies sent 3 destroyers to Midway (I think) turn 1 to relieve the one sub blockade. KB intercepted, got interdicted, and destroyed 2.5 DD groups then headed to Solomons.
Burma front pushed past the Moulmein one division defense with naval and air support. One army crosses river and cuts off two divisions into Rangoon pocket, which I think was blockaded too.

Philippines blockaded with minimal forces. Southern port invaded with 2/10 garrison unit, since the closest Allied unit has only 2 OP from blockades. One SNLF landed in northern port. 3 actual ships used to blockade Manilla.
Most of navy ran west to assist in Rangoon attack after stopping by to aid a two division takeover of Batavia on turn 1.

Turn 3-5: Tenshin para brigade landed at Chittagong and dropped SE of Calcutta, where a line was being held. One SNLF landed SW of Calcutta. The attack with mini-KB pushed the division off the city but not enough OP to take it. Ceylon broken, no naval resistance spotted. Mini KB continues along here to support one SNLF landed NW of Bombay, which was also kicked out of the city but again not enough OP to take the city. They return the next turn, so landings at Madras (Cav and small unit to cut off garrison from rail network) and Mangalore (HQ).

Australia invaded with small force. 3 Northern ports undefended and allowed landfall of one army, cav, and HQ.

Edit: Western Australia port-hopped with a 1 strength garrison unit. Philippines taken by starvation on turn 5 or so. Only 12 LC, 3 ships (I think subs or coastal), and 3 garrison units in transports committed to this blockade. China north was denuded of armies except two split Harbin armies for ZOC duties. There is not enough supply or incentive to keep pushing here. 4 armies total in southern China, which enjoys rail off HK for full supply as well as the option to naval supply at the port cities to heal up. 2 armies in Calcutta front, 2 in India proper, rest in Australia.

[eskuche]

Does this mean the game is broken? Probably not. Rangoon needs to ungarrison turn 1, and the other division can't be risked at Moulmein with a three-pronged attack with the engineer army.
Other Allied mistakes include losing some DD immediately at Midway, not keeping northern Australia garrisoned. Contrary to some thoughts, a Japanese invasion of southern Australia is not a good idea. Ports can be blockaded and any committed infantry lost even to the two low strength air divisions.

[CrackingShow]

I got smashed last game, we are now doing a rematch, with the objective to not be smashed into the ground this time.

[CrackingShow]

T1
Axis

Strikes on Singapore, Manilla and Pearl Harbour.



We lost two Battleships in total.
We lost the destroyers in Singapore, one Submarine group in Manilla and the Houston in Manilla.

He did 11 points of damage across the fleet in Pearl, but the damage was very spread out.
Good result!

India
I'm doing different things here from last game, last game I lost 2 counters in Burma.. and it went south from there.


In Burma I've got the division holding 1 hex away from the river, all I want to do is buy time for the Rangoon unit to flee.
I'm moving to hold Colombo with a small corps, and I have a unit in Bombay and N of Madras.
Also I'm going to have a line defending Calcutta.

All of India's production is going on reinforcing land units and flipping to active.

China

I'm putting up more of a fight in the North this time, instead of just immediately running away.

I've set all the units that do not have at least 1940 Tech to NOT receive reinforcements, same goes for the Air unit. Repairing air units is pricy.

Australia


I want all of the northern and southern ports garrisoned. I will swap out the weak units that are in the north for the stronger units in the south, its easier for me to blockade southern ports if he lands on them and so if he takes a southern port that is a bit less scary than a northern port.

West is of course empty.

America
I turn off repairs on everything apart from the ships that need repairs.

I send all undamaged ships south towards Australia. He's blockaded every single island that has a unit, and breaking blockades sink ships (as I learned last game) so I'm not going to try.

India/Australia are more important, even if I lose Pearl Harbour I don't lose VPs or production.



I've stuck a bunch of weak units in the south, the plan is to zoom them over to India and Australia as weak units cost fewer transports.

I will then use the British/American navy to break blockades so I can get stuff to India. Its very hard to blockade Australia as there are so many ports.

Tech - same as in the 1st game for the most part.