Once Again into the Breach - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A)

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Mike Solli
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Mike Solli »

9 Dec 41

Subs

Once again my subs did stellar work. I formed a line of 4 subs in every third hex east of Hawaii and the I-6 struck paydirt. First she found the CL Helena and put a torpedo into her. The Helena was attempting to head back to the west coast for repairs. Then, in the same TF, she found the Tennessee and put two torps into her putting her down for good. After that, for good measure, the I-6 put two more torpedoes into the Helena putting her down.

But wait, there's more. Ted was attempting to sneak out (I think) some merchant shipping to the west. Not sure why he went that way, but the I-166 spotted and sank two xAKs in two separate attacks. The Ryujo, on her way to join Kaga, put down another one in the same area. Not to be outdone, local Nells sank an xAKL. There still are a couple of ships in the area. It might have been an attempt to divert my air power. Not sure why because the remnants of Force Z have fled.

Still not done. The I-124, still sitting in the Bataan hex, sank the xAP Neptuna trying to sneak out of harbor. The mines she laid have been swept and there are a couple of TFs in the hex, one of APDs so I decided discretion is called for now and the I-124 moved one hex to the west in deep water. Hopefully, she'll get some more shots as ships leave.

Not bad for a day's work.

Malaya

The TF that headed for Mersing made it, but only 6 Zeros were there for cover. I had to split the Zeros between Mersing and the remaining amphibs 4 hexes to the east. There were numerous attacks over Mersing costing one Zero for 25 enemy planes:
11 Buffalo
1 Hudson
3 Blenheim I
2 Blenheim IV
2 Wirraway
6 Vildebeast

Unfortunately, they succeeded in sinking 3 xAKs. I did land and indeed, the Aussie Bde is moving out. I'm attacking tomorrow to hasten their departure. In addition, the rest of the amphibious fleet is moving in to land tomorrow. A few attacks against the amphib fleet were unsuccessful, and Ted lost 6 Buffalos in the process. Usually, once the Allied player loses about 100 Buffalos, the air power in Malaya is finished. He's down ~25. Not bad for 3 days work. [:)]

Burma

The 15 Army forces should complete their strat move next turn.

China

Nothing new to report.

Manchuoko

Nothing new to report.

SE Fleet

Kavieng will be invaded tomorrow. Still 3 days before the Gds Bde can be bought out. 144 Regiment is still enroute to Truk.

4 Fleet

Two days until the invasion of Wake. No sign of the Allied carriers.

5 Fleet

Nothing new to report.

Other Stuff

I've accelerated 2 CVs and 5 DDs.

The TB Hatsukari succumbed to her wounds.

I upgraded another Nate chutai with 3 Oscar Ics. I'll push more planes into it as I get them. I was able to fill most of the Nate training units with planes. There seems to be plenty in the pool.

Yesterday, I upgraded a Claude chutai (Yamada det) to Zeros and today I moved them to Kaga. Kaga now has 41 Zeros on board with Ryujo's 30 Zeros a couple of days behind. Ted finally realized that Kaga was down there. He noted that fact in an email but made no comment. I figured I'd get a comment of some type. I'm rather disappointed. [:D]

Edit:

I forgot the some things.

Philippines

Zeros sweeping Clark Field shot down 2 P-40Es for no loss. I landed the main invasion force at San Fernando which I will DA tomorrow.

The Rowboat Corps struck for the first time liberating Mauban.

Mindinao

I forgot to attack Davao today so I set the attack for tomorrow. A tank regiment landed, so it'll be that much easier to take.

Hong Kong

I made a DA, got 1:2 odds and reduced the fort level to 2. I lost 659(3) to 474(18) Allied casualties. I'll soften it up a bit more.
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Cribtop
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Cribtop »

Nice job with the subs.

I notice a few of my abbreviations creeping into your AAR. I'm honored! [&o]
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Mike Solli
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Mike Solli »

Thanks Cribtop. Yeah, your abbreviations are wonderful. And yes, the subs are absolutely amazing so far. I guess that'll settle down when all the scuttling cockroaches find cracks to hide in. [:D]
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Richard III
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Richard III »

" Malaya

I’ll start with the most critical area first. I had 4 amphibious TFs and the CA TF together four hexes away from Mersing with another 3-4 TFs on their way a day or two out. Kaga was about 8 or so hexes to the east. My initial thought was to move the 4 TFs 2 hexes due east and have everyone else congregate there then go in en masse. Then I realized that Ted moved the Aussie Bde out of Mersing. I took a risk and formed an amphib TF with the 4 CAs and several ground units to get a bridgehead. Everyone else will move 2 hexes east to congregate. They will have LRCAP from Kaga’s Zeros (18 planes) and the Yamada daitai (16 Zeros) who replaced Kaga’s Vals. The Yamada det was upgraded to 9 Zeros as well this turn so soon they will be available to fly off of Kaga to boost fighter strength even more."
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Good Luck on a Gutsy Move Mike, even with Force Z on the bottom he could cause problems with those old cruisers and the DD`s left at Singapore. Be interested to see if the capture of Singapore moves faster if you cut off the rest of the Malaya Army, and with the Kaga down there he will be hard put to evacuate the 2 good Aussie Brigades. May I ask how you got Kaga down there by 9 Dec ? When I split her off from KB as a new TF, she doesn`t get the first day movement bonus ?( playing daBabeslite#26)

Rich

“History would be a wonderful thing – if it were only true.”

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Mike Solli
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Mike Solli »

Rich, if you look back a page or two someone suggested (ny59giants I think) how to do it. There's another "*" TF in the hex. Convert it to an escort TF, transfer the Kaga into it and convert it to an Air TF. Voila! It made it all the way to Cam Ranh Bay on 7 Dec.
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Chickenboy
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Chickenboy »

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

9 Dec 41

Subs

Once again my subs did stellar work. I formed a line of 4 subs in every third hex east of Hawaii and the I-6 struck paydirt. First she found the CL Helena and put a torpedo into her. The Helena was attempting to head back to the west coast for repairs. Then, in the same TF, she found the Tennessee and put two torps into her putting her down for good. After that, for good measure, the I-6 put two more torpedoes into the Helena putting her down.

But wait, there's more. Ted was attempting to sneak out (I think) some merchant shipping to the west. Not sure why he went that way, but the I-166 spotted and sank two xAKs in two separate attacks. The Ryujo, on her way to join Kaga, put down another one in the same area. Not to be outdone, local Nells sank an xAKL. There still are a couple of ships in the area. It might have been an attempt to divert my air power. Not sure why because the remnants of Force Z have fled.

Still not done. The I-124, still sitting in the Bataan hex, sank the xAP Neptuna trying to sneak out of harbor. The mines she laid have been swept and there are a couple of TFs in the hex, one of APDs so I decided discretion is called for now and the I-124 moved one hex to the west in deep water. Hopefully, she'll get some more shots as ships leave.

Not bad for a day's work.

Nice. The IJN submarine corps are uber-cool up until the Allies 4/42 ASW upgrade and air search umbrella solidifies. Run 'em wild till then, Major!
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Mike Solli
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Mike Solli »

Yeah, that's the plan CB. Ted admitted that the Helena is a fish condo and that Tennessee is going to follow in the next day or two.
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Mike Solli »

Ok guys, big dilemma. michaelm changed the flag for withdrawals to on. Here's what he said:

"Here is the save with 'withdraw' on. Note that this only basically affects
groups, as ships and LCUs lose their withdraw settings when scenario is
first started if the option is off. Ignore that it was saved with version
r6c."

So, ships and LCUs will not withdraw. Only air units will. What do you guys think. Do I restart or continue? I'm leaning toward restarting but I'm open to your input.
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Cribtop
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Cribtop »

Check with PzB as I believe his game is withdrawals "off." I would assume that with limited production it would be tough for the Allies to fill all the extra air groups and the same would not be true for Japan.
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Dan Nichols
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Dan Nichols »

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

Ok guys, big dilemma. michaelm changed the flag for withdrawals to on. Here's what he said:

"Here is the save with 'withdraw' on. Note that this only basically affects
groups, as ships and LCUs lose their withdraw settings when scenario is
first started if the option is off. Ignore that it was saved with version
r6c."

So, ships and LCUs will not withdraw. Only air units will. What do you guys think. Do I restart or continue? I'm leaning toward restarting but I'm open to your input.

I vote restart, there are a lot of ships that need to withdraw for the Allies.
I think that the two obligations you have are to be good at what you do and then to pass on your knowledge to a younger person
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Crackaces
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Crackaces »

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

Ok guys, big dilemma. michaelm changed the flag for withdrawals to on. Here's what he said:

"Here is the save with 'withdraw' on. Note that this only basically affects
groups, as ships and LCUs lose their withdraw settings when scenario is
first started if the option is off. Ignore that it was saved with version
r6c."

So, ships and LCUs will not withdraw. Only air units will. What do you guys think. Do I restart or continue? I'm leaning toward restarting but I'm open to your input.

The LCU's will be tougher but .. you adversary can just agree to park ships at Port Stanley when it is time to withdraw ..

But .. starting over again allows you to fix some other things in your plan [;)]
"What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we know for sure that just ain't so"
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Mike Solli
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Mike Solli »

Ted thinks that if we restart, I won't do Mersing. I'm thinking of hitting Kuantan first, get a nice airbase there and then go for Mersing ~14 Dec. I'd also have Ryujo move to Cam Ranh Bay on 7 Dec to team up with Kaga initially. That would be 30 more Zeros for LRCAP. Gotta look at the loaded TFs and list the units there. Figure out what would go to Kuantan and what would go to Mersing. Decisions, decisions. I'll wait until tonight to make my decision. Keep chiming in guys. I really appreciate your input.

There are other mistakes I made as well. Not enough xAPs to Shanghai to haul the division there. Same problem at Nagasaki. Others too.
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Cribtop
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Cribtop »

I'd restart just so you can pull the gambit again - he won't expect it. Manually keeping track of withdrawn ships would be a pain, IMHO.
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by PaxMondo »

You're early enough in the game that a restart is quite plausible, particularly if both of you intended to withdraw ships.  PzB's game is in fact no withdraw for exactly the same reason as you here, but they didn't catch it until Jan or so (later even??).  Way too late to seriously consider a restart.
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by ny59giants »

Malaya - go with two regiments of 18th at Kota Bharu (hit the ground units hard on the first two days and very little on the AF to get it in working order) and the third at Kuantan. The Imperial Guards Division can use the rails to get over to Malaya to push down from the north. You get the one regiment from the 30th Division, I think, that can push south until the IG arrives. If you land at Mersing, he will probably try to send troops south to get through to Singapore. Which is a race he cannot win. [:)] Keep one or two tank landing in the north so they can get over to Alor Star quickly. If you do it right, you can take Alor Star and have IG get off the trains there.
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Dan Nichols
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Dan Nichols »

OK Mike, Kaga and Ryujo. You can upgrade the air units at Soc Trang. But, for some reason, probably to do with supply, you can not re-size Ryujo's air units there. If you re-size them on turn one order phase, then sent her to Soc Trang on turn 1 you can have both Kaga and Ryujo there for turn 2. If you put your Amphip TF 5 Hexes to the Southwest, it will be out of Allied Torpedo bomber range plus you can put the A6M2s up as LRCAP to try and dissuade the Level bombers. From that position you can land at Mersing on turn 3. That should be safe and fast enough to cut off his troops from Singapore. On turn 2 you will have to set your CV TF(s) to max speed to get them to move far enough to be in the same hex as the Amphip TF. I would also move the BB TF from Singora to meet with the Amphip TF, you can then make whatever TFs you need on turn 2 and 3.
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PaxMondo
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by PaxMondo »

I've not gotten a lot of benefit landing at Kuantan.  The march to Temuloh is pretty long, and then you have to go one more hex to block the 2nd RR line.  The only units I have ever caught are the battered ones from Kota Baru and maybe from Georgetown.  He should be able to get all the others where ever he wants them. 
 
This further divides your CAP (you have 3 landings now) and you are that much closer to his fighter cover. 
 
I stated earlier that my success at Mersing has also been quite mixed, BUT the potential gains there are much clearer.
 
Me? 
 
Kota Baru - I go there because I need the AF.  It's the most developed in the area, and let's me move Nates in for CAP saving my precious Zeros.
Singora - I go there as it allows me to cut-off the West coast of Malay and the main RR south.
 
Yep, historical landings.  But I suspect the IJ had a similar analysis.
 
However, I do like nygiants Mersing touch.  I haven't played that through yet, but I can see how it works.  When I try the Mersing gambit again, I will definitely look at that variant closely.
Pax
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Mike Solli
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Mike Solli »

Lots to ponder. I'll read everyone's suggestions and analysis more closely in the morning.

Merry Christmas my friends.
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PaxMondo
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by PaxMondo »

Santa just finished up here at my house. 
 
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! ... 
Pax
Karsten
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RE: Once More into the Breach

Post by Karsten »

Hi Mike,
i am have started my 1st PBEM as Japanese and i am learning a lot in this report. keep the good work going!
Karsten
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