Hellsenstrat (J) vs. JochenHeiden (A) - Scenario 2 [Closed]

[BananaConvention]

Introduction to our new Campaign!

I am happy to announce that I have initiated a new PBEM campaign using scenario 2 with the highly experienced veteran player Hellsen. He will be playing as Japan, and I'll be trying my hand as the Allies once again, hopefully taking all the painful lessons learned from playing Lodrik and putting them to good use here. Take a look at this introduction to see what our rules package will be, as well as the overall intent for this campaign.

https://youtu.be/rYfv1b0N2hs

[BananaConvention]

As expected, the December 8th turn was ugly. There were a few surprising developments however. Take a look at this damage report and let's take stock of the situation. While it's pretty bad, it's not all doom and gloom. See what ships made it out of port and what didn't, and crack open a bottle of champagne for a few lucky British Buffalo pilots at Rangoon that were handed a gift on a platter!

https://youtu.be/e0VXAH6zJrU

[BananaConvention]

The retreat from Singapore continues but unfortunately the IJN was ready and waiting for us. It was a slaughter...

https://youtu.be/66sJ71w40oI

[BananaConvention]

It's not all doom and gloom this turn. We're wrapping up the naval evacuation of Singapore and a decent amount of important ships managed to make their escape, much to my delight.

In China, our P-40s don't exactly impress anyone, but at least they're there. In the Philippines, Hellsen turns Clark Field into a smoldering pile of ruin and bomb craters. At Pearl Harbor, multiple task forces loaded with goodies sneak past his submarine blockade bound for the war zone.

Finally, our Dutch sub captains turn the heat up near Cam Rahn Bay, sending a slew of torpedoes at some hapless Japanese victim ships. Did we bag them or did they get away? Watch and see!

https://youtu.be/LkKtXfbp6Nc

[BananaConvention]

I believe we are entering a period where everyone is catching their breath after the craziness that was the first few days of the war. This turn was relatively quiet as everyone is positioning and getting ready for the next big push.

At Hong Kong, the British were subjected to a massive aerial bombing effort following by a deliberate attack by the equivalent of 3 Japanese infantry divisions. Will the defenders of Hong Kong hold out, or will Hellsen continue his unstoppable domination?

Watch to find out!


https://youtu.be/vE8IPyX9X8Q

[BananaConvention]

Anyone ever remember those Japanese AMCs that they start off with deep in the South Pacific? Yeah, me neither. Well, we found them, and it didn't go well! The large guns of the armed merchant cruisers massacred our unsuspecting ships. Take a look and see what all transpired this turn and what we have to work with going forward.

https://youtu.be/PUgvLh5z7zE

[BananaConvention]

*WARNING: Extreme SALT Alert!*

I get a little salty and put-out at the end of this video... please don't take it the wrong way. I'm frustrated at the situation I am finding myself in, but I realize that's just how it goes when you play a l33t master like Hellsen. No shade or disrespect intended to my opponent. I was just venting. Now, on to the summary:

We got our butt kicked today in the air, and at sea. The jig is up in Java, and the unofficial cease fire has been lifted over Burma, leading to a complete and total blow-out over Rangoon. The situation is grim, and the long-term implications for our campaign are becoming abundantly clear to me even by the 14th of December. Watch, listen, and give me your opinion on whether or not I'm reading these tea leaves correctly or not.

https://youtu.be/UOSGDhWFn60

[BananaConvention]

I'm feeling a little better after today.

Hellsen is continuing his air war over Burma, and while it didn't go particularly well for us today, it didn't go so well for him either. We're still hanging in there by a hope and a prayer, and after today hopefully we bought ourselves a little breathing room for the following days.

Both sides' subs were active this round, but we actually manage to trade a little thanks to our American sugar boats. Thank goodness for the Mark 10 torpedo!

Finally, Hellsen launched another assault on Hong Kong. Did we hold, or did we fold? Watch with me and let's see how our brave Commonwealth troops faired this round.

https://youtu.be/Af2-o8msr6k

[BananaConvention]

I have to say I was a little disappointed today. Hellsen's aircraft disappeared from the skies over Rangoon. For whatever reason, he elected not to press the air war over Burma. Either he's got some other devious plan in the works, or we hurt him more than I thought we did. It's no matter, we have brought help and I'm feeling comfortable with our position in the air for now.

Elsewhere, things in China were mostly quiet, but I am seeing an opportunity to rescue some troops from the central part of the country who are currently trapped behind enemy lines. It may be time to let some of our Chinese troops out of the wire and into the field to help their comrades make it in.

Finally, trouble is on the horizon for Rabaul in New Britain. Several task forces were sighted steaming in the general direction of the base, and I think it'll be a matter of a day or two before it falls. He's also bringing air cover along, which shows he's prepared for multiple contingencies.

https://youtu.be/_vVlh_sTqS4

[BananaConvention]

Talk about a triple whammy.

First of all, Singapore fell... on December 17th. This has to be some sort of record, right? I don't think I've ever heard of anyone taking Singapore this early in a campaign, but then again, I haven't been playing very long. Regardless, this is a major blow to us and it means that we will be dealing with swarms of Japanese planes, ships and troops in Burma and the Indian ocean very soon.

Next, we are dealing with Japanese subs everywhere. He has fully determined our convoy routes and is even giving full chase to our ships off the coast of Los Angeles. On top of that, he's finding the ships relocating from Australia to Los Angeles in wide open open. Unbelievable.

Lastly, the Kido Butai is back, and it's almost to Port Moresby. There are so many directions he can strike out on, and now we have to put everything on pause. It's hard to stay motivated for this campaign when I am not getting a break anywhere! Hellsen's just doing his job and shutting down the Allied player very early. If we make it to June 1942 I'll be amazed.

https://youtu.be/AqZnIHOox2Y

[BananaConvention]

Normally I laud the Dutch submarines and their captains for their performance... but not today!!

In a shocking display of incompetence, a Dutch sub attempted to attack on the surface and got mauled by a light cargo ship's guns instead. When that captain returns home, he can expect the firing squad.

Elsewhere, we deal a potentially deadly blow to one of Hellsen's subs stalking our convoys near the US West Coast, and another Japanese subs finds its range near Seattle. Overall, Hellsen's sub campaign has been outstanding to date and very damaging to us.

Finally, the world waits with baited breath as the Kido Butai sits menacingly in the Solomon sea. It's just sitting there.... and we are waiting to see which direction it heads to, if any.

https://youtu.be/oP236Qldm2U

[BananaConvention]

This is the birthday turn! The 19th of December is my real birthday. Did Hellsen leave us any gifts?

The skies over Rangoon were dark with Japanese aircraft. It's a possible foreshadowing of problems to come. We need to make a decision quickly about what we want to do with this situation.

Hellsen is quickly grabbing every available base in the area around Rabaul, and he's landed there too. He didn't come light either. An entire infantry division came ashore and should have no issue taking the place in short order.

Finally, the Kido Butai is in the move in the Solomon Sea. Watch the video and make your predictions in the comments sections as to which direction he's going to head in. Either way he goes will be nothing but pain and sorrow for us.

https://youtu.be/yJ3uCuhOIB8

[BananaConvention]

Nevermind Hellsen's Kido Butai... what about these subs?!

We have subs coming out of our ears, hitting us now in the most obscure and ridiculous places. Our losses to subs this turn were high, and very frustrating.

To add insult to injury, the Kido Butai has left the area, and is out of sight. Is this a feint or are they heading back to rearm and refuel? Tough decisions need to be made as to whether or not we re-commit or wait out until they're spotted again.

https://youtu.be/ssPk5HBFxfI

[BananaConvention]

Whoever gave me command should have me fired immediately.

I ordered what I thought would be a decent attack in China, and it turned into a massacre. Overnight, Hellsen brought in thousands of Japanese infantryman and tanks in a hex that was previously lightly guarded, and they cut us down to shreds. With this failed attack, the end of China is becoming more of a possibility.

In Celebes, Hellsen grabs an important base, but not without cost. One of our Dutch sub captains got lucky today!

In the Solomon Sea, Hellsen's Kido Butai has reappeared and it is dangerously close to Luganville. It's a race against time to get ships out of there before it's too late!

Oh, and I have a bad attitude at the end of the video and I do my best to walk it back. But I do have a serious question I need you guys to answer for me. Watch the video and post your replies in the comments section or on Discord and tell me what you think.

https://youtu.be/RgwXnYhPHuI

[DesertWolf101]

Hi mate,

Haven't followed your campaign from the start but I watched the last turn.

The bad news: There does seem to be a mismatch here between the players as your opponent appears to be a decent player while you appear to be more of a novice. No offense intended, this is just what I see based on the map, intel screen, and the single turn I have seen. Given the mismatch and you playing Scenario 2, it's not going to be an easy ride.

The good news: This is far from over. You are still in the first month of the war and I certainly haven't seen any game changing plays by the Japanese side. You still have ample opportunity to turn things around, so don't despair.

If you would like, you can shoot me one of your turns and I can write you back with some comprehensive advice.

Cheers.

[BananaConvention]

Hi mate,

Haven't followed your campaign from the start but I watched the last turn.

The bad news: There does seem to be a mismatch here between the players as your opponent appears to be a decent player while you appear to be more of a novice. No offense intended, this is just what I see based on the map, intel screen, and the single turn I have seen. Given the mismatch and you playing Scenario 2, it's not going to be an easy ride.

The good news: This is far from over. You are still in the first month of the war and I certainly haven't seen any game changing plays by the Japanese side. You still have ample opportunity to turn things around, so don't despair.

If you would like, you can shoot me one of your turns and I can write you back with some comprehensive advice.

Cheers.

Hey man,

Thanks for your feedback. Hellsen is not your average IJ player. I regard him as top 3 in this entire WitP community.

I would like to invite you to my Discord server (link in the signature). I've got almost 150 members there and it's almost entirely WitP focussed. I have special channels in there that are role-restricted where we can talk about more OPSEC-related stuff if you like. Also, if you want to take a look at files just for your reference I'd be willing to give you that chance, but I would prefer to do that business on Discord. Hope to see you there!

[DesertWolf101]

I am a bit busy running two games, two AARs (and largely falling behind on those), plus real life commitments, but I may drop by your discord at some point.

I am curious though - you mentioned that Hellen is one of the top 3 players in the entire WitP community? That's an incredibly bold claim so I was wondering what you are basing that on and relative to what/who? Truth is I don't know much about him as I am only aware of the one AAR where he was briefly the opponent of AndyMac and where AndyMac was clearly outplaying him. Now I have played Andy and he is a very good player, but I wouldn't consider him top 3, so its not like he was being bested by the very best.

[BananaConvention]

As I predicted, we had another bad day in China, but it was even worse than I imaged. I am certain this will doom my China campaign in the long run.

The Kido Butai has disappeared from the Coral Sea once again, but it's hard to know if they straight moved off or we had a failure of naval search.

Oh, and good thing our fighters left Rangoon last turn because they would have all been erradicated this turn if we had gone up in the air!

I'm going to stick this out but it's going to be a slog.


https://youtu.be/DzFfe7r-kI8

[BananaConvention]

Merry Christmas Eve from the frontlines of the Pacific!

This was a turn that we sorely needed. No catastrophes, no massive attacks, and NO SUBS! Not every turn is going to be a banger, and I'm fine with that. We need time to get our act together. Come watch this turn with me and listen to my analysis as we get our act together and draw new lines of defense against the Japanese invaders.

https://youtu.be/Pj6zYQh5aIk

[BananaConvention]

I've had better Christmases than this...

Although things were relatively quiet, Hellsen has landed at one of the most strategically-important bases in all of the Dutch East Indies, and within a turn he will likely have it under control. Our engineers better work overtime to get the demo charges set.

Near Ternate, our naval operation didn't go exactly as planned, namely, it just didn't go. We've got one more turn to make something happen there before we have to return for fuel.

And where is Kido Butai? Their lack of presence on the map is disturbing. I wish I knew where they were at, so I know where we could be safe on the map. Without knowing where they are, we're safe nowhere.

https://youtu.be/3ma29Yzz2Ao