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Introduction:
The following AAR is of a Multiplayer match done during the War in the Pacific Beta Test.
Simicro takes the Americans and OldCrowBalthazor takes Japan. The objective for the US is to take all the Airfields on Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. Rota is also held by the Japanese but not a victory condition objective.

Both of us were involved with other testers in MP match tests of other scenarios, and we went blind into this one, not knowing what to expect from the scenario or each other.

Both of us did not plan to make this AAR as elaborate as it gets, as you will see and read soon enough.
This developed into some great fun as we proceeded, and took about 2 months to finish.

Not knowing what exactly to expect as Japan, I kept my strategy simple. Since Nippon basically lost the war by starting it, well, I figured this would actually give me some liberty of action to go for broke on the invaders.......

Hope you all enjoy the spectacle.
Cheers
OCB

This is brutal!
Turn 1: June 15, 1944 [Japan]
US landings are met with Japanese Artillery fire.
A US battleship is nearly sunk and a suicide attack with artillery softening almost destroys a US regiment.
Hardcore man!

Turn 2 June 17, 1944 [Japan]
As US forces move inland, some gaps are seen in their lines, exposing an American Hq. Desperate Banzai rushes with supporting artillery and Lt Tanks destroy them. A group of US forces are nearly isolated in the south.
We had no choice. 'Shigata ka nai!

Is the US of Japan AI?

Robert24 wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2024 5:26 am Is the US of Japan AI?

Multiplayer. It says in the title.

LOL - Thanks!

Robert24 wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2024 5:29 am LOL - Thanks!

No problem!
Btw, MP is how I get my rocks off. Well, when it comes to gaming anyways hahaha

"You are drugged". That is what OldCrowBalthazor told me immediately when we started to play, and he is right! One week ago I hated Discord and had never played PBEM before in any game. Fast forward and I now have 5 games ongoing, mostly with Grognards that you will probably recognize. Strategic Command WWII: War in the Pacific is definitely the game that got me hooked to multiplayer!


I've played the Marianas campaign once before, against the AI, and lost by failing to capture four flags: two in the north of Guam, where I did not advance fast enough, and two in the south of Tinian. Because I was not familiar with amphibious transport, one of the mistakes I made was to land all my initial forces on Saipan and then lost a precious time to redeploy them on Tinian after Saipan was captured. Lessons learnt.

So now, against OldCrowBalthazor, I opted for a dual landing on Saipan and Tinian with an emphasis on the former. That's my bold high level plan. It's simple but better than nothing at all. And after that? I gladly confess that I don't know, I will adjust according to the events. On landing I cleared a couple of japanese units, so empowered by those first kills, I advanced and made the mistake to expose one of my HQ which was destroyed and now the japanese are on the verge to make a breach and cut my forces in two parts...

... Next turn...

I land on Saipan a new HQ that I kept in reserve as a security, and try in my turn to isolate an enemy unit, and to close the hole recalling to the south some of my troops who advanced too fast to the north. Unfortunately for me, OldCrowBalthazor's tactic produces its effect: several US units suffer attrition.



On Tinian, despite the rain, my troops willingly move south, wiping out anti-tank artillery...


... and reducing the strenght of a japanese battalion from 10 to 5.

Turn 3 [Japan] June 19, 1944 Saipan. Artillery and the valiant Hi-Go Tankers destroy another US regiment. The horror that is Saipan is evident to the Americans.
Hell in Paradise...........

T-3 [Japan] June 19, 1944 Tinian. A suicide banzai charge is made against advancing US tanks. The entire battalion was wiped out.
We will grind any grist we got to defend our islands, for the Emperor and Nippon!

Listening to soothing Koto in the background calms the nerves while conducting these insane operations. That and a nice cup of White Peony Needle Tea does the trick.
Popular Koto Japanese Melodies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQL7xXzigJE&t=223s

On Saipan, the US eliminate the isolated enemy unit...


... and reconfigure to form a compact mass inspired by the ancient Roman turtle formation (testudo) to deter suicide banzai charge.

On Tipian the troops of Uncle Sam continue their ineluctable progress towards the south.

Turn 4 June 21, 1944 Saipan. Japanese forces dig in around Mt Tapotchau.
Tinian. Defenders still hold the line. (forgot to screen shoot)

On the Taipan island, Alisto Airfield, a strategic objective, is captured. It might be risky but I decided to send an HQ with the 2 US units in order to finish quicker the cleaning job (in case there is some sporadic resistance), and then secure the south. My progress to the north is slowed down by the lake Susupe, the geography (and the rain?).


On Tinian (screenshot below), the US troops continue their steady move to the south, after having taken control of two airfields.

Nice reports Just wanted to note, in case, that almost certainly popups in the campaign advise landing all initial forces on Saipan, and indeed it might be quite easier than splitting forces in two, for obvious reasons. MPPs for re-embarking on amphibs will be provided later by event.

Beriand wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2024 5:24 pm Nice reports Just wanted to note, in case, that almost certainly popups in the campaign advise landing all initial forces on Saipan, and indeed it might be quite easier than splitting forces in two, for obvious reasons. MPPs for re-embarking on amphibs will be provided later by event.

Thanks for that info. I only played in a hot-seat test 3 turns in and have no idea how things work for the Americans, other than they have a pool of MPPs. Japan has none, so they have to be frugal! Rice balls and captured K-Rations is on the menu boys!

Turn 5 June 23, 1944
Saipan and Tinian becoming a rainy muddy hell for the Americans, which is good for Nippon. The Sun Goddess Amaterasu has given permission to the Storm God Susanoo to let it rain and rain and rain. Lugging supplies up to the top of Mt Tapotchau maybe an issue, but it certainly will be hard for the Yankee invaders to climb up the muddy slopes.

Turn 5 June 23, 1944 Tinian and Guam
Supply is an issue for Tinian's defenders. Advanced planning for Guam defenses is considered in light of the situation on Saipan and Tinian.

Turn 5 June 25, 1944 Saipan,Tinian, Guam news.

Saipan: US troops hampered by rain and mud. Better supply is established on Mt Tapotchau Redoubt. Troop movements and locations not shown. Restricted

Tinian: Japanese forces retreat to the south end of the island once the defense works at Mt Lasso are lost.

Guam: A total re-evaluation of the defenses is made after studying the US strategy and tactics.

Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!

Beriand wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2024 5:24 pmNice reports

Thank you for visiting our thread and for leaving a comment. Appreciated! Actually these reports were not quite initially planned. The story is that after 1 or 2 turns, OldCrowBalthazor posted a report and asked me to comment. So I followed, not to let him alone. That's how it started, I would say the 'american way', or in agile mode, that is start doing something fast (instead of thinking or planning too much), and then adjust as needed. In the future, I might post every couple of turns otherwise I would have the impression to repeat myself.

Beriand wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2024 5:24 pmJust wanted to note, in case, that almost certainly popups in the campaign advise landing all initial forces on Saipan, and indeed it might be quite easier than splitting forces in two, for obvious reasons. MPPs for re-embarking on amphibs will be provided later by event.

My bad, I skipped or read too quickly the pop-up window. So thanks for the reminder and hint. When I first played the scenario against the AI, I decided to concentrate all my northern forces on Saipan and then hit hard (my prefered strategy generally speaking) before moving to Tinian. But by doing so I ran out of time for Tinian (and also Guam but that's another topic). So for my second play with Marianas, against OldCrowBalthazor, I wanted to experiment a new approach. So let's see how it goes...

Now this is what Robert24, the scenario designer, says in this thread:

Robert24 wrote: Wed May 01, 2024 1:36 am
Your observations highlight the intricacies and tactical choices inherent in the historical events represented in the game. The invasion of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam involved complex decisions, with multiple options available to players.

Historically the three Divisions of the northern TF invaded Saipan, then two Divisions embarked and landed on Tinian. The southern TF concentrated on Guam.

Some players opt to split the Saipan invasion force and attack Tinian simultaneously, while others deviate from historical tactics by sending some northern Task Force units to Guam. These strategic variations reflect the diverse approaches that players can explore within the game.

Additionally, the surprise experienced by some players portraying the Japanese forces underscores the unpredictable nature of warfare and the strategic decisions made by the opposing side. The choice of invasion points on each island, as well as the sequence of landings, offers players a dynamic and engaging gameplay experience, allowing them to explore different tactical possibilities and outcomes.

Some who played the Japanese were surprised that the US invaded in the north of the island away from the main port.
While in Guam those who played the US entered initially in the west-center and then conducted several other landings to quickly reach the dispersed victory hexes.

Thanks for pointing out these cool parts of the game!

Back to turn #7:

Until the devs implement a mouseover tool tip to the date to indicate the turn status for the next update (many thanks to them!), if you like the above manual post-it solutions you will find a tutorial here. You can use the digital post-it feature not only for keeping track of the turns but you can also add various notes related to your strategy, the dates of arrival of reinforcements, etc.

High level overview of the current situation:

Turn #... I forgot

So this is a screenshot of another PBEM match ongoing:

This is a good opportunity to highlight that the devs implemented a new turn counter added as a tool tip highlight if you mouse hover over the in game date in the upper right hand corner. It was released yesterday with v0.00.05. For me it is just perfect: elegant, discreet, not too many words, not too few, not ruining the previous design with the date, clear and understandable. I will now use it every time I play. And so will other players as I was told that this feature has been awaited by some for several years.

On Saipan, the US captured the airfield in the south of the island. Is the south totally secured? Not sure because I have not 'painted' entirely the southern hexes to the US colour. And by experience (cf. Iwo Jima vs AI), I know that some isolated enemy troops can suddenly show up in my back. I just bet that there will be none and move my troops west and east towards the middle of Saipan and I progress along the coastlines to move faster. I would have preferred to join my forces but it would have taken too much time to cross the mountainous area where movement is slowed down and resources scarce.

There were many casulaties in the previous fights so I have to be cautious even if I have naval support from my CVL and BB. And suddenly the fog of war vanishes and lets appear the japanese Wall assembled by my opponent: OldCrowBalthazor the Great! I've seen walls (front lines) like that before in wargaming screenshots but this is the first one I face for real. That's where resides the interest to play with a human because I'm not sure the AI would have been capable to do that in this scenario? At least it did not when I played in single player mode. There is not a single hole, even in the hills.

How do I deal with that?

On the west coast, maybe I made a mistake: my HQ is not protected on its right flank but I have estimated that it is unlikely that the japs would advance a unit ahead of the wall. On the other hand, as a rule of thumb, I often position my HQ very close to my front line units to grant them a bonus in attack. So I'm thinking of Robert24 who talked in another thread about the intricacies of decision making. By the way, Rob, many thanks for shifting the Iwo Jima map so that there is more space in the south.