Beta AAR vs. Allied AI

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Dear Readers,

this is my first AAR after a couple of years.



I chose to play on expert level, but without the experience bonus.
This will give the AI a lot of extra MPPs, and it will make naval battles more challenging for me.



Manchuria.
Not much is going to happen there if I can keep the USSR out of the war.
I will transport garrisons to Manchuria as soon as possible and send the units that became free to China.



At the moment, there are very few Japanese forces in Northern China.
I need to send troop to this theater immediately.
My plan is to mount a lot of pressure on China.
This means an offensive in the direction of Sian and then to Lanzhou.
The time frame is crucial: if I can reach Lanzhou before the end of 1943, I can divert troops to the Pacific, and I guess I will need them there.



In Southern China, Changsha is the most important city.
If I can establish a rail connection from the north to Thailand, I will earn a lot of extra MPPs, and I can divert troops quickly.
To capture Changsha quickly, I need to take Yichang first.
Then I will interrupt the rail connection from Changsha to the west.
Also, I will send troops to Hongkong and Nanning as soon as possible.
So once the Phillipines and the Dutch East Indies are conquered, I will start to attack southern China from three sides.

If I can capture Changsha until late 1942, I will also be able to divert a few troops to other theaters.
The remainder will march to Chongqing.
If both Lanzhou and Chongqing are under Japanese control, China is no longer able to conduct offensives.
I think this is my most important target.
Once this is achieved, I can deal with the US.
Of course I need to avoid that the US advance until I have eliminated China.



In history, Japanese troops landed in Penang and Kota Bharu and then fought their way through the peninsula.
This also works in this game, but I will make a direct approch: amphib into Singapore directly.
If I succeed, the Capital will move to Kuala Lumpur, but this is relatively easy to conquer.
The way down from Kota Bharu is quite long, and I want to save time.
Most likely I will use the SNLF that was supposed to take Kuching.
Kuching is not vital, so I can take it later.



I will try to sink three Battleships.
Then I will move the Kido Butai back to Japan.
The carriers will be refitted, upgraded and the head to the Solomons.
My plan is to capture Rabaul and Guadalcanal before US troops arrive in numbers.
Eastern New Guinea would be nice as well, but this is a race against time.
And I want to have as many carriers down there as possible.
A nice reception Committee for the US Navy.

I will take defensive positions.
The majority of my infantry is tied in China, but I have maritime superiority.
So let`s use it.

Let us see how far I get until the AI show me its plans.

Please do not hesitate to ask questions.
Maybe I can even answer them.

[BillRunacre]

Great, looking forward to seeing how you get on.

Note to readers: HvS is a beta tester for our forthcoming Pacific game, and we have given him permission to post this AAR for your perusal and enjoyment.

[Matto]

Looks pretty nice, looking for first turns ...

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 1 - Japanese Side - December 7th 1941



An army and the Umezu HQ take positions in Northern China.
But I will need more troops to attack Luoyang.



Hongkong is taken by Japanese troops and surrenders.
I prepare an offensive against Yichang.
Changsha is well defended, so I must not even think about it.



North of Singapore, both the Prince of Wales and the Repulse are sunk by bombers and the Japanese Battleship Haruna.
The defenders of Singapore are destroyed.

One of my SLNFs takes Brunei.



General Homma and his troops land in the north of the Philippines.
My troops drive the North Luzon Corps out of Baguto.



The US Navy looses a Heavy Cruiser, a Light Cruiser and a Torpedo Boat.
As far as I know, there is just a DD and a badly damaged sub left.



Three BBs gone, but my Air Groups have lost 7 strength points.
This hurts a bit, because I will not be able to bring them back on strenght 11.

Anyway: well done, Kido Butai.
Now head back to Japan.

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 2 - Allied Side - December 17th 1941



This helps the Japanese National Morale.



The US Sub leaves to the east.
Most likely to the Leyte port.
I will let the Escort Carrier check.

Of course this Battle was a victory, but seven of my ships are damaged.
This will cost me a couple of MPPs.

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 3 - Japanese Side - December 27th 1941



More troops arrive in Northern China.
Once they are equipped with Infantry Warfare 1 and have full strength, the attack will start.



The first attack causes damage to the Chinese corps, but it will be refreshed during the Allied turn.
I need more troops to advance.
Fortunetely, I have received Paras.
They can be very valuable in case no unit has movement points left.



Thailand joins the Axis and mounts an offensive on Rangoon.



In the north of Manila, the North Luzon corps is destroyed on Low Supply.
Brings a couple of NM points for the Japanese NM account.

South of Corregidor, a US DD is sunk.

The US Sub was in Leyte and got sunk by the Escort Carrier Ryujo.

So all five US vessels have been sunk.

The Kido Butei has reached Wake Island and will continue to Japan.

During the Allied Turn, nothing happened.
So there won`t be a Turn 4-Post.

[vonRocko]

Thank you for the AAR! I'm looking forward to this game.

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 5 - Japanese Turn - January 16th 1942



The Supe Battleship Yamato and the Carrier Junyo arrive.
At the moment, I lack the MPPs to repair all damaged ships.
This has to wait, the conquest of the Dutch East Indies is more important.



In the north, my troops are almost ready.
If I close in on Luoyang, the Communists will also declare war on me.
This cannot be avoided if the Japanses player wants to conquer parts of China.



Around Changsha, I also concentrate troops.



A combination of Japanese and Thai troops take Moulmein.
I expect to capture Rangoon wihin a couple of turn.



The Japanase 15th and 28th Armies take Kuala Lumpur.
Singapore surrenders.

I did put the Yamashita HQ in an Amphib.
It will head to the Dutch East Indies next turn.



Homma and his forces capture Manila.
The Philippines surrender.

It is necessary to take Corregidor as well.
Once this has been achieved, I will spilt the troops.
A part will be transported to Hong Kong and suppport the southern approach to Changsha.
The remainder will prepare to conquer Rabaul and the Solomones.

During the Allied Turn, nothing happened.
So there won`t be a Turn 6-Post.

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 7 - Japanese Turn - February 5th 1942



The Kido Butei arrives in Japan.
All carriers will receive Elite Reinforcements and all available Upgrades.

Also, all ships that were damaged in the Battle of the Philippines are repaired.
DDs and CLs will be used for Anti Submarine Warfare.
A few CAs will be sent to Singapore in case the Royal Navy crosses the Street of Malacca.
All other CAs will join the Kido Butei which will head to the Solomons as soon all Carrieres are upgraded.



As soon as I have better weather, Luoyang will be conquered.
And I need to keep in mind that Communist China will DoW me sooner or later.



With another army and paras, the attack on Yichang will be much quicker.



I need one more infantry unit to take the Hengyang Mines.



The defenders of Batavia are destroyed.
Unfortunately I have no Action Points left.
But next turn the Dutch East Indies will be in Japanese hands.

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 8 - Allied Turn - February 15th 1942



US Bombers attack the Japanese 11th Regional Army in the southwest of Wuhan.
The Japanese suffers minor damages, but the bombers get intercepted by the 5th Army Air Fighters north of Canton.
Half of the bombers are shot down, so the price was quite high.

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 9 - Japanese Side - February 25th 1942



Next turn I will be able to destroy the fortifications.



The first unit from the Philippines has arrived.



Rangoon is under Japanese control.
Burma surrenders.



The same happens to the Durch East Indies.



Okay, the initial phase worked well.
Apart from some smaller islands in the Pacific, I am almost there were the Japanese were in history.

I will not conduct the Raid to Ceylon, and I will not attack Midway.
But my next target is almost the same as in hsitory: Rabaul, the Solomons and ideally Port Moresby.

During the Allied Turn, nothing happened.
So there won`t be a Turn 10-Post.

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 11 - Japanese Side - March 17th 1942



It will take two more turns until all carriers are refreshed and upgraded.
Soryu is the only Carrier with a strength 11 Air Group.

Long Range Aircraft 2 is quite important.
Naval Spotting will increase to 4 and Strike Range will increase to 6.



Finally, the fortifications are taken by the 4th Corps.



My troops destroy the defenders of the Hengyang Mines, but lack the Actions points to capture it.
In the south, a HQ and two armies arrive from Singapore.
Now I can start attacking from three directions.



A British HQ is trapped in Mandalay.
I guess the AI will move the fighters somewhere else.



I start to prepare for Operation Mo.
I will gather the Homma HQ and five Special Naval Landing Forces.
Prime targets are Kukum on Guadalcanal and Rabaul.
Port Moresby would be nice.

At the moment, there is just the BB Yamato and a CA down there, but I will send the whole Kido Butei down there.

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 12 - Allied Turn - March 27th 1942



Merauke is taken by Allied troops.
I need to garrison Sorong and its Oil Wells.

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 13 - Japanese Side - April 6th 1942

image upload

Japan received 4 new Battleships this turn.
My Carriers are almost ready.
Just the Akagi needs LR2.



Luoyang is captured by the 5th Army.
I expected a DoW by Communist China within 1-2 turns.



Obviously it was a good idea to attack from three directions in Southern China.
In the North of Nanning there are very few Chinese troops.



The situation for Gen. Hutton looks desperate.



Operatin Mo is going to start next turn.
I will not go for Port Moresby in the first wave, but Rabaul and Kukum are in range.
Fortunately I have a Maritime Bomber that helps a lot.

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 14 - Allied Side - April 16th 1942



Communist China declares war on Japan.
They bring a veteran army on the board.
This does not make the journey to Sian quicker.

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 15 - Japanese Turn - April 16th 1942



Japanese troops destroy another Chinese corps.

I will let my forces march to Datong first.
A frontal attack on Yanan is difficult, and an attack from two sides appears easier.
But I need more units.
Fortunately, I have reserves in Manchuria.



Yichang is under Japanese control.
The ring around Changsha is getting tighter.



Gen. Huttons HQ is destroyed on Low Supply.
And my forces a UK Fighter unit.



All Naval landings work as intended.
But I need more units.. I want to establish a defensive line in the south east of Kukum.
This is more important than Port Moresby.

US Amphibs will appear sooner or later.
If they cannot land on Guadalcanal, they will land around Port Moresby.
Which is not a problem, because they will try to move to Lae, and this takes ages.

During the Allied Turn, nothing happened.
So there won`t be a Turn 16-Post.

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 17 - Japanese Turn - May 16th 1942



My first attack on Taiyuan fails.



In the south, my troops force the defenders of Luzhou to abandon the city.
Changsha is still well defended, but the overall situation looks acceptable.



Except Port Moresby and Buna, I have all important targets under control.
So far, so good.

Two more carriers and two BBs will join the Kido Butai soon.

Strategic Assessment

Up to now, I did not experience any real fights against a prepared and well armed enemy.

My situation is almost similar to the situation in history.
I control Singapore, Burma, the Dutch East Indies, Borneo, the Solomons and various smaller islands in the Pacific.
I do not control Port Moresby or Midway.
I did not conduct the raid on Ceylon.
And I did not conduct the Battle of Coral Sea so my forces are in very good shape.

But the same applies to the Allied forces.

The enemy outproduces me 3:1, and esp. the US have a lot of units in their building queue.
The only possibility to increase my income is to take Changsha and establish the Rail connection to Thailand.
This is why I am concentrating on this theater.

And there is another very important issue: Singapore and the DEI are completely stripped of combat troops.
This can be done in the initial phase of the game, but I need to start diverting troops now.
So whatever gets free in Southern China will be transported to Java.
If the AI starts an Amphib Operation, it will come in large numbers.
Unfortunately, I do not know where.

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 18 - Allied Side - May 26th 1942



The AI has prepared a huge surprise for me.

I cannot move the IV Corps to the south.
When I do it, the Chinese 15th army would retake Yichang.
In this case I cannot send a unit to the south to interrupt the rail connection from Changsha to Chongqing.

A lot of new units have appeared, and even if I was able to send the IV corp to the south, it would not be able to interrupt the rail connection.

My unit in the south of Changsha is on low supply, and I have to draw it back.
I need another approach here.
I will use my Airforce to recon Tongren and Guiyáng.

Problem: acutally I need to send some of the units in the south to Singapore and the DEI..

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 19 - Japanese Turn - June 5th 1942



In the north, my forces takes Taiyuan.
This was quite lucky.. usually it takes 3 attacks in one turn.
In the second attack, the Chinese defenders had 5 strength points left, and the forecast was 0:4.
But the 1st Army caused 5 strength points of damage and had an Action Point left.
Usually this takes longer.

The Chinese NM takes a hit.



In the south, I consolidate my troops.
Guiyang is out of range of my bombers, and Tongren is occupied by an Anti Air unit.
Obviously I need to take the stony way through the hills in the northeast of Changsha.
The first thing I need to do is to destroy the fortifications.

And I had to moved one army to the DEI.
Otherwise I would be able to mount an offensive on Guiyang.



Next turn, another BB and an army will arrive.
I need more infantry to establish a defensive position.
I want to move a bomber to Henderson Field to interrupt the convoys from the USA to Australia, and I need to put infantry in front of the bombers, or they will be easy prey for enemy amphibs.

[HyazinthvonStrachwitz]

Turn 20 - Allied Turn - June 15th 1942



More infantry arrives at Changsha.
Two Chinese armies attack Yichang.
Both sides suffer losses.