End of the Japanese Empire, Dmitry (Allies) vs LoneRunner (Axis)

[LoneRunner]

January 1941, UK and colonies declared war on Japan and invaded every Pacific island scheduled to receive Japanese reinforcements. Yes, every island, plus several others containing NM objectives. An imaginative and audacious plan. Controversial too.

Dmitry and I decided to provide you with an AAR of this interesting and exciting game. Perhaps based on our experience, the developers can respond to the UK gambit with adjustments to the game and the rest of you can figure out how to counter UK's strategy.

Will UK's dastardly plan work? Is Japan doomed? Well, in our game, Dmitry and I are currently in 1942, more than a year after the invasion, and the game is still a nailbiter. New strategies, new ideas make for a great game.

Feel free to comment and offer ideas. Dmitry and I are hoping that this AAR will be informative and fun.

Japan Mar 41 screen.jpg (382.79 KiB) Viewed 3071 times

March 41, two months after the UK invasion, several Allied ships raid the critical DEI convoy. In response, the Japanese fleet moves into position. Dmitry is a dangerous foe on the sea, so the advance is cautious with a small destroyer/cruiser screen and a line of battleships protecting the carriers. Japan just doesn't have a lot of ships available at this point in the war. All resources have been focused on the battle in China.

Notice that both Formosa and Okinawa are Allied occupied. Okinawa is my target because it contains only one land unit. However, not much is available. The only available Japanese land unit, a corps, loaded onto a assault transport in Korea. A couple more corps move into China ports to prepare for loading. A maritime bomber was destroyed at the north end of Okinawa in preparation for assault.

Despite a tenacious defense, the China conflict is going well. Sian is under attack and Kweichow has been captured. Japanese forces are approaching Chungking. The Chinese army has been whittled down to 23 land units.

[LoneRunner]

March 1941 Germany declares war on Russia!

Despite terrible weather, I decided Germany needed to move quickly to crush Russia before Japan fell. All German forces were focused on Russia, nothing for North Africa. With Japan on the ropes, a fast Russian defeat would decide the war.

Russia DoW Mar 41 screen.jpg (338.36 KiB) Viewed 3055 times

The screenshot shows the beginning of my move after the declaration of war. Yeah, horrible conditions, frozen, snow, rain. I split my armor fairly equally between north and south. Yugoslavia surrendered in February and units from that battle are still racing to the Russian front. The units on the Baltic coast are heading to Finland. I plan to make a strong push on Leningrad from the north while cutting the Murmansk rail.

Interesting defense, Dmitry left the fortified cities on the Russian border empty, pretty much pulling all his troops back and conceding the border reinforcements to their doom

Russia North Mar 41 DoW screen.jpg (307.38 KiB) Viewed 3055 times

Here's my end of turn on the Northern Front. Due to bad weather I couldn't kill all the border reinforcements, so my objective was to surround as many units as possible. Then kill them next turn.

Unfortunately the halftrack near Riga got away. Dmitry used force march and slipped it past the tank, dang.

Russia South Mar 41 DoW screen.jpg (290.15 KiB) Viewed 3055 times

Same situation with bad weather on the Southern Front. Surround units rather than kill them. I got lucky and killed the light tank in Zhitomir, woohoo.

[calcwerc]

Great read!
Few questions:
1. which countries did Germany take before Barbarossa? what happened in Yugoslavia?
2. Is winter still triggered in 41 by early attack (to your advantage, since you are not so deep in the country)?
3. Has Kriegsmarine been hiding so far or were there any naval battle so far?
4. When did France fall?

[LoneRunner]

Great read!
Few questions:
1. which countries did Germany take before Barbarossa? what happened in Yugoslavia?
2. Is winter still triggered in 41 by early attack (to your advantage, since you are not so deep in the country)?
3. Has Kriegsmarine been hiding so far or were there any naval battle so far?
4. When did France fall?

Good questions Calcwerc. Yes, some background would be helpful.

Up to this point Germany conquered the standard countries, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland.

Germany declared war on Yugoslavia in February 41 and conquered in one turn. I decided not to wait for the UK coup because it's hard to predict when that will occur and sending troops back from Russia to conquer Yugoslavia would be a pain.

The winter effect still occurred in January 42. Anyway I didn't want to trigger the winter effect in 41 because that seems too gamey. And I thought the developers fixed the problem of an early trigger. Maybe not.

The surface fleet of the Kriegsmarine is busy destroying the Russian fleet in the Baltic. I placed five subs in the Norwegian and Barents Seas. Also, two maritime bombers and a fighter were based in northern Norway. UK responded with one carrier and a lot of destroyers. However, most of the UK navy was in the Pacific so the Germans ended up sinking a lot of MPPs.

In response to convoy losses, UK cut back on Russian convoys. As a result Russia received less supplies either way, so I considered the campaign a success.

In order to limit Russian mobilization I used a two-turn conquest of Poland. As a result, Russia mobilization was 20 after Poland's surrender and didn't reach 25 until after both the Luxembourg and Belgium DoWs.

Luxembourg surrendered Oct 39
Belgium surrendered Nov 39
France surrendered May 40

I don't think the two-turn conquest of Poland had much of an impact on the timing of the fall of France.

[LoneRunner]

April 1941 The Japanese fleet goes on the attack.

During the Allied turn a Japanese destroyer in the front screen was sunk. Several Allied ships remained visible after the attack.

At last the feared Japanese fleet sailed in revenge. First strike! Usually that determines the winner. Woohoo.

Pacific battle Apr 41 shot.jpg (219.95 KiB) Viewed 3014 times

OMG. As the Japanese sailed forward a massive Allied fleet became visible. Two UK carriers. Half a dozen capital ships. Destroyers, submarines, cruisers. Dang, I realized most of the UK and Australian fleet waited in ambush in the South China Sea. Nice work Dmitry! My saving grace was that rain storms blanketed Formosa where at least one fighter, maybe two, hid.

Well, as they say in poker, all in. Only one carrier was within reach and considering the number of Allied ships I decided to concentrate on damaging as many capital ships as possible rather than sinking an extra one or two. By doing so, I figured I could withstand the Allied counterattack. Also, I figured, UK has spent so many MPPs on invasions they couldn't possibly repair their fleet.

The plan went pretty well. Japanese battleships and carriers inflicted massive destruction with minimal return fire. Glorious (carrier) and Rodney (battleship) met Davy Jones. Most of UK's heavy cruisers were critically damaged.

I pulled my relatively unscathed fleet back into a strong defensive line to await the coming counterattack.

My amphibious assault on Okinawa failed, inflicting two damage on a maritime bomber and unable to land. Now the transport was a sitting duck off the Chinese coast.

[LoneRunner]

China Apr 41 shot 2.jpg (78.25 KiB) Viewed 2938 times

Bad news. Chinese forces destroyed an expensive mobile army south of Sian. Hitting it from multiple directions, including pulling an army off the Chunking/Ichang highway. Ouch, that pretty well delayed the Sian attack. Dmitry is a dangerous foe on the counterattack.

Good news. A mobile 12 strength army surged forward to the outskirts of Chungking after destroying a defending Chinese corp. In addition, the departure of the defending army on the Chungking/Ichang highway left an engineer undefended. A Japanese army advanced and hit the engineer for 6 damage and forcing it to retreat into the mountains, effectively sealing its doom.

Chungking is finally within reach!

[LoneRunner]

Russia North Apr 41 shot 3.jpg (61.73 KiB) Viewed 2937 times

Clear weather! Cleaned up the surrounded Russian units and advanced as far as possible. Dmitry is playing the "trade space for troops" strategy. With the new scorched earth changes, that plan may actually work. Dmitry is dangerous on the counterattack and running my tanks into low supply is a risky plan.

Notice that I've taken advantage of open space and raced units into Daugavpils and Minsk. My objective is to grab cities as soon as possible to use as supply centers.

Russia South Apr 41 shot 3.jpg (52.71 KiB) Viewed 2937 times

I was happy to destroy a corps and grab Kiev on the second turn of the invasion. And Kiev at 3 supply! A huge success. Everyone gets medals for not destroying the city.

Also heavily damaged a corp in Cherkasy. He's not getting away.

No armies in sight. I'm cautious about approaching Dnepropetrovsk. Maybe a heavy tank and armies waiting.

Finland Apr 41 shot 3.jpg (71.28 KiB) Viewed 2937 times

I've invested an HQ, a mech, two armies, and two corps in Finland. Rocket artillery in transit. That's in addition to the existing Finnish forces. A big investment.

The two corps in the north make a run to break the Murmansk rail, while the units in the south attempt to get organized. Supply in Finland is horrible. And movement even worse. Typical weather appears to be mud.

[LoneRunner]

OMG, UK threw everything but the kitchen sink at the thin Japanese line of defending battleships. UK's assault included at least three carriers (that makes four UK carriers assigned to the Pacific including the one I already sunk), four or five battleships, and a horde of cruisers, destroyers, and subs. The huge fleet crushed the Japanese. Japanese losses include 1 carrier, 3 battleships, and a light cruiser. UK lost one battle cruiser, plus a lot of damaged battleships.

Surprising that UK assigned practically their entire fleet to the Pacific. That means I'm facing one carrier and a few destroyers in the North Sea. Can't be much else. As a result, I should be able to shut down the Russian convoy. Interesting strategy to give up the Russian convoy in exchange for a massive Pacific attack. This should be an exciting game.

The Japanese navy can't recover from such losses but at this point it's no retreat. I struck back with my remaining two carriers, battleship, heavy cruisers, and escort carrier sinking two more UK carriers and a heavy cruiser. The screenshot below shows the aftermath of the battle. Japanese capital ships had to wind through a double defensive line to reach the carriers, leaving them vulnerable to counter attack. Yes, I would have loved to sink that last UK carrier.

Pacific battle May 41 shot.jpg (47.55 KiB) Viewed 2943 times

As you can see, the once proud Japanese fleet is gone. One carrier fled north off screen. The other carrier hides in port while an escort carrier lurks on the far side of the Philippines. My last battleship lies concealed in a rainstorm on the coast. Did anyone mention Pearl Harbor? I don't think that's going to happen.

[LoneRunner]

The Axis raced through mostly empty terrain during May. Mud slowed my advance in the north but nice sunny weather in the south.

Russia north May 41 shot.jpg (101.05 KiB) Viewed 2934 times

Russia South May 41 shot.jpg (83.75 KiB) Viewed 2934 times

I've assigned five panzers to the south and three to the north. I noticed that two fortifications have been built in front of Moscow and none in the south. So Dmitry plans to make a stand in front of Moscow.

Usually I go for Moscow first but I've decided to take advantage of the open defense and good weather. Hopefully I'll capture both Stalingrad and the Caucasus in 41. Then swing north and take Moscow from the south.

I was able to kill two Russian corps so the turn wasn't a total waste. However I've got to significantly increase Russian kills.

Units May 41 shot 2.jpg (31.24 KiB) Viewed 2934 times

This is a good month to review the number of units arrayed against the Axis. Russia has 50 land units vs 68 German. I've got to improve that ratio soon. Notice that Japan is down to 9 ships and 3 air compared to UK's 26 ships and 11 air. Ouch. Japan doesn't stand a chance against UK's full fleet.

[pjg100]

Thanks for the AAR LR, very interesting and well written. I wonder if your best move at this point might be to minimize US mob by avoiding aggressive JA moves like annexing Indochina? Also, building out JA's MB fleet would probably deliver good bang for the buck, keep the UK/US fleet away from China and JA.

[LoneRunner]

Thanks for the AAR LR, very interesting and well written. I wonder if your best move at this point might be to minimize US mob by avoiding aggressive JA moves like annexing Indochina? Also, building out JA's MB fleet would probably deliver good bang for the buck, keep the UK/US fleet away from China and JA.

Thanks for your comments pjg. Yes, I definitely need to delay USA's entry into the war. And, I immediately built two maritime bombers. But it's going to be a long wait for them to get in the battle.

[LoneRunner]

China Jun 41 shot 2.jpg (204.47 KiB) Viewed 2801 times

After battering at the gates for several turns Japanese troops destroyed the China Youth Army and triumphantly marched into Chungking. Some whisper this could be the end of China, maybe the end of the war.

Chungking is a tough hex to enter even when cleared. Even on the road it takes 3 action points to move one hex from the south into the city (one for the hex, one for the zone of control, one for the major river). I kept a mobile corps in the rear with five action points specifically for running into the empty city hex.

Instead of attacking the Chinese corps to the SE of Chungking, I let it sit for the turn. The advance into Chungking will push the corps into zero supply and it should be easily destroyed next turn.

While things look good on land, the war on sea darkens. Allies sink a heavy cruiser and escort carrier during their turn. Japan's three remaining carriers race into hiding in the Yellow Sea. With only two or three support ships they are extremely vulnerable.

[LoneRunner]

German panzers rushed deeper into Russia through mostly open terrain. The majority of Russian forces continue to hide. Only two Russian corps were destroyed on the entire front.

In the north, I slipped a couple bombers into Tallin to support the assault on Leningrad from Finland. Notice the parachute unit south of Parnu. That placement proved fortuitous next turn.

I force marched a couple armies to join the panzer near Pskov. Hopefully Dmitry will leave that corps out front of the fortifications.

Russia North Jun 41 crop.jpg (129.56 KiB) Viewed 2799 times

In the south, panzers race ahead of infantry into low supply taking Kharkov. I know enemy tanks are waiting just out of sight, but I got to take some risks to take advantage of the good weather. I placed the armored car out front in order to view three hexes out. Unfortunately he's only seeing one or two hexes. I guess due to blocking terrain.

Russia South Jun 41 crop.jpg (186.08 KiB) Viewed 2799 times

Notice that I shifted the five panzers even further south than last turn. I plan to make a major push on Stalingrad and the Caucasus while establishing a weak defensive line through Kursk. Risky? Yeah!

[LoneRunner]

July 41 the Russians launched a major counterattack aimed at Tallin. I'm guessing that Dmitry saw the two German bombers in Tallin and decided to respond.

Here's the situation at the beginning of my Aug turn. The two bombers escaped unscathed. As you can see the Russian forces are already battered, but not destroyed. I held back on some of my July attack because I wanted to wait to actually kill Russian units until they were in low supply.

Russia North beg Aug 41 crop.jpg (147.63 KiB) Viewed 2795 times

In July, I was able to land a paratrooper in Narva cutting off retreat and supply to the entire Russian counterattack. Yeah, all the Russian units in the pocket are zero supply. Luckily both Tallin and Parnu were at level 5 supply, so I operated every unit available onto the Tallin/Parnu rail.

Here's the situation at the end of my August turn:

Russia North Aug 41 crop.jpg (139.95 KiB) Viewed 2795 times

The entire pocket was destroyed. And even at zero supply the Russians were tough. I used every unit available on my counterattack. Even the 3 strength army!

Over the entire Eastern front, during the August turn, the Russians lost one tank, two armies, one mech, three corps, and a cavalry. Most of them at low supply. Enormous losses that the Russians can't replace.

Notice I moved up another paratrooper.

Units in Finland spent the turn in resupply, bringing everyone up to full strength in anticipation for the attack on Leningrad next turn.

[Taifun]

Very nice AAR LoneRunner. That was a very costly counterattack, Stalin surely not happy. Leaving Narva unprotected with the German paras so close was a risky affair. Waiting for more Pacific action... good job!

[LoneRunner]

Thanks Taifun. You are right. Always expect paras in the Leningrad area even if you don't see any.

[LoneRunner]

In July, Japan's three remaining carriers fled to the Yellow Sea. Perhaps a couple months of rest and refit.

Korea Jun 41 crop.png (462.6 KiB) Viewed 2730 times

Nope. The Allied fleet immediately charged into the Yellow Sea and inflicted massive damage on the Kaga. Kaga barely survived the enemy turn, one hull point remaining, surrounded by enemy capital ships, a tragic end to a glorious ship.

Luckily Japan's other two carriers were able to slip the enemy net and escaped to Japan leaving the Kaga to her fate.

However, on the last possible hex, one carrier turned and launched a furious last gasp attack on Kaga's trap. And a miracle occurred. A heavy cruiser and destroyer were sunk. A gaping hole opened in the enemy line. OMG, I woke my wife with cheers of joy.

Kaga immediately slipped though the hole and raced to the only port within range, Seishin.

Pacific Aug 41 crop.jpg (99.22 KiB) Viewed 2730 times

Next turn Dmitry found the Kaga in port and sank her.

[LoneRunner]

Second Half of August 1941

The vastly outnumbered Japanese fleet hides in port while UK controls the seas. Japanese are down to one destroyer, one cruiser, a couple subs, a one strength battleship, and two carriers.

Japan's strategy is to survive as long as possible. And it's going to be tough. Japan's production is down to 252 MPPs a turn. 252 MPPs will barely cover army and air losses each turn. Therefore, rebuilding a fleet is out of the question. I've placed a couple maritime bombers and a fighter in production but that's it for navy.

The best Japan can do is delay USA's entry into the war and crush China. USA is currently at 62 mobilization. So, perhaps, without provocation the USA's entry can be delayed until mid 42.

No way will Japan capture China's third capital however I may be able to beat China down enough that it will be tough for them to build back when the inevitable demise of Japan occurs. I'll use a three pronged attack, Kunming in the South, Chengdu in the Center, and Lanchow in the North.

Japan's national morale is down to 55%. I can already see the effect of low Japanese morale on the battlefield. Attacks are not nearly as effective and losses are higher.

China Aug 2 41 crop.png (1.07 MiB) Viewed 2676 times

Here's situation at the end of August. For the second turn in a row I destroyed an army in Sian but had no one left to move into the city. Japan just doesn't have enough units to reinforce the coast and conduct an effective offensive. Notice that due to low morale the Japanese units took massive losses in the attack. If Dmitry sends another unit forward into the city, I'll need to waste a turn rebuilding.

In the south I've pushed to the outskirts of Kunming, hopefully I can take Kunming and Wanting quickly before Allied reinforcements arrive.

[LoneRunner]

Second half of August 1941, Good News on All Russian Fronts

Northern Front
Hit Leningrad from both north and south. In Finland Axis units destroyed a corps and advanced into the city hex. To the south of Leningrad Germans punched a hole through Russian defenses, reached the southern outskirts of Leningrad, and cut off reinforcement with para drop.

Russia North Aug 2 41 crop.jpg (137.63 KiB) Viewed 2671 times

An HQ and army are both trapped in the city. A German corps almost reached Volkhov. One hex short. Unfortunately Volkhov would prove to be a thorn in my side in later turns.

Central Front

Russia Center Aug 2 41 crop.jpg (129.29 KiB) Viewed 2671 times

Axis destroy defending units and capture Smolensk. The road to Moscow is open!

Southern Front

Sevastopol falls. Axis break through Russian defenses and race to outskirts of Stalingrad. Recon unit reaches Caspian Sea cutting off reinforcement to Caucasus.

Russia South Aug 2 41 crop.jpg (259.97 KiB) Viewed 2671 times

For a second turn Russia incurred enormous losses, two armies and five corps. Russia can't sustain this level of kills. With a few more turns of good weather, I might capture Stalingrad and Caucasus and be able to turn on Moscow.

Right now I have to deal with a pretty sizable enemy force around Rostov. My objective has always been the Russian army not land, so I turned the panzers and mech back toward Rostov. Hopefully will quickly eliminate that force.

Supply is always a problem. Another reason not to send the panzers at Stalingrad just yet. The recon unit near the Caspian is out of supply. Notice the Rommel HQ is only 4 strength. Dmitry slipped a unit through German lines last turn and almost destroyed the HQ. He's a dangerous opponent.

However, Morozovsk, in front of Stalingrad, was captured at level 4 supply. A huge stroke of luck. Next turn I can operate armies from Leningrad to the gates of Stalingrad.

Here's the unit count for the end of August:

Units Aug 2 41 crop.jpg (61.32 KiB) Viewed 2671 times

Russia is down to 30 land units. Not enough units for a continuous line. Dmitry is going to be forced to choose among defending Moscow, Stalingrad, or Caucasus.

German land units have increased to 77. I've been purchasing land units all summer, almost to the exclusion of anything else. Germany needs to enter 1942 with a lot of units especially with Japan going down.

[LoneRunner]

Sep 1941 Rain and mud over the entire southern front, aaagh!

So much for my quick strike on the Caucasus area. Instead of racing across the steppe, this turn became a slog just to drag low supply units to attack positions.

I was able to operate Manstein and two armies near Stalingrad. I had hoped to grab control of the two hexes next to Stalingrad, pull back my advance units, and operate the armies adjacent to the city. But mud put a stop to that move.

The recon unit survived an attack from a mech unit and is now back in supply. However, the mech unit reopened the rail into the Caucasus. Now Dmitry has the option to reinforce the Caucasus or pull his trapped units out. Bummer.

Russia Sep 41 shot.jpg (82.17 KiB) Viewed 2651 times

The month wasn't a complete loss. Leningrad surrendered. Also, I was able to destroy an HQ, 2 armies, an anti-air, and a corps during the turn. Russia was down to 28 land units at the end of September.