Pacific War: a Fleet Commander Nimitz AAR

[BanzaiCat]

I've been thinking about doing this for a while now, after reviewing this game for the site. I haven't taken the plunge because I much prefer e-copies of images instead of photographs of games, since screenshots are far easier to take than pictures. Only thing is, graphic manipulation in PS is time consuming, one of the reasons I've been delayed on continuing my Hapsburg Eclipse AAR (though I ain't gonna quit that).

I saw a thread here in the forums talking about FCN's new VASSAL module (http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=14932.0) so I reached out to DVG and they kindly sent me a copy to do an AAR with. The size is pretty large, and my monitor is big-ish (24"), so my screenshots may overlap your screens. I'm going to stick with somewhere around 1000-1200px wide; I haven't decided yet. Probably 1200 to help with the detail.



There's four Campaigns to choose from, each lasting one year; they're 1942, 1943, 1944, and 1945. Each poses it's own set of unique challenges. I say all that because I ask you guys, which Campaign do you want to see?

I'm leaning towards the 1942 scenario, maybe 1943, but am willing to go with whatever Campaign you all ask to see in the majority. Any ties or substantial lack of interest means I'll choose myself. :)

[Barthheart]

Do 1942... should offer the best challenge fer the US.

[bbmike]

1942

[BanzaiCat]

I'm going to have to play around with it for a day or so to get the hang of it. I've honestly never used VASSAL before. I've poked around it several times but I've never tried to get into the nuts and bots of a game using it. It's a bit confusing and I don't want to totally F up the game before I even get a few moves in.

Looks like we'll be going with 1942. Anyone else want to see a different Campaign?

[BanzaiCat]

Well allllrighty then. 85 views and two inputs...guess we will go with 1942.  O0

Let me mention a few basics, first, in case you're not familiar with how this game works. Fleet Commander Nimitz is a solitaire game where you take on the role of commander of all Allied forces in the Pacific. For simple references' sake, the game refers to Aussie and other Allied forces as "American" in the game...we're all on the same side and controlled by the same player (moi), so it's all good. Initially I'm going to have very few resources to stem the Japanese tide...and it'll be a veritable tsunami, one they can literally flood the Pacific with. Not only do they have more heavy ships, they have more carriers.

Carrier Forces At Start
Japanese Carriers: 14                     U.S. Carriers: 4
(CV x 6, CVL x 4, CVE x 4)               (CV x 4)

We have a slight advantage over the Japanese with our carrier air power numbers. Our CVs get four squadrons, while the Japanese CVs get three, their CVLs get two, and their CVEs get one.

The Japanese definitely have the edge, here. The only saving grace is the fact that I can add two more CVs to my rolls, though so too can the Japanese. As a human player, I at least have that advantage, while the Japanese are controlled by the game system.

In FCN, die rolls run the course of the Japanese war effort, and decide where their ships, troops, and land-based air move. Normally, the US player moves forces before the Japanese player does, which means you're hedging your bets as to where the Japanese will show up, and with what forces. In the '42 Campaign, as I said, they have a huge armada to work with, so they're going to be kicking some butt.

The only way the US player can move forces after the Japanese do (and therefore, react to their movements) is by playing Scout tokens. These cost Supply Points, though; SPs are used to repair damaged ships, to buy Battle Plans (small advantages to have during battles), to move forces, and finally, to buy Scout markers. Each Scout marker lets you make a roll for Japanese forces in an area/areas (depending of course on how many you've purchased), forcing them to move before your movement turn.

I don't want to get too far down the rabbit hole explaining rules, but knowing the above will help you interpret much of what's going on.

That's not to say I know what the hell I'm doing. I haven't played this game for a while but have always wanted to get it back to my table, and now here's my chance to not only do that BUT ALSO get my butt kicked by DVG's game system in a public forum.

My initial plan is to use Scouts like crazy in the hopes of the Japanese moving some juicy CVs out into an easy kill zone, though that doesn't happen a lot in this game. Here's hoping, though.

[BanzaiCat]

The Campaign begins with the Jan-Feb turn of 1942. Each Campaign lasts six turns, essentially. Not a lot of time.

My objective in this game is to try to get eight Objectives under my control by the end of the game. The Japanese control two of them at the game's start; if the game ends with me holding the other six like I do now, or five, I'll get a Historical result. I can get a Good result if I hold seven, and a Great result if I hold all eight.

Here's what the map looks like:



Our main body of forces is around the Hawaiian Islands. The two blue-background white stars indicate Objectives that I currently hold. (Alaska is another Objective, but that's up off the top of the picture of course.) Note that I don't have a lot to work with here, so I'll have to be very careful about what battles I choose.



Down south here, you can see the other five Objectives - New Guinea and the Gilbert Islands, both controlled by the Japanese (and the only Objectives they control at game start), and the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, and Samoa - all mine. So far, anyway.



And here's the stacks 'o doom the Japanese are fielding off of Japan and East Asia.

The game will commence soon. I'm probably going to post five or so times for each Campaign turn, to split it up. The Japanese movement orders phase alone will take a long time to generate.

Thanks for reading.  O0

[Airborne Rifles]

Looking forward to this.

[BanzaiCat]

Turn 1 (of 6)
Jan-Feb 1942

The Turn Sequence is as follows:



Advance Turn Counter
There's not much to this, other than moving the Campaign Turn marker from Start to Jan-Feb. The game is afoot!



US Resupply
During each Campaign Turn, I get a number of Reinforcement Points listed on the Campaign's Set-Up Sheet.



So, referring to the 1942 Campaign sheet, I get 7 Reinforcement points. I add the points by right clicking on the counter pictured until it reads 7.



Reinforcement Points are used to buy ships, infantry, and land-based air units. They can only be used for purchasing, and nothing else.

I also get a number of Supply Points equal to what is on the Campaign sheet. In this case, it's 20 points, so I'll mark that on the map.



At this time, too, I can make purchases. I can use Supply Points to also buy units, but I don't want to dig too deeply into that total as I intend to do a lot of Scouting. Still, a balance of forces would be nice.

I spent 5 Reinforcement Points on the CV Hornet, 2 on the 1st Marine Division, and 2 on the RAAF BG2 squadron, for a total of 9 Points. This wipes out my Reinforcement Points (remember, I only had 7) and eats two of my Supply Points. Incidentally, this is the same build that DVG shows in the rules for their sample turn; I happen to like it myself.

The CV Hornet and 1st Marine both go on the West Coast, while the RAAF BG2 squadron goes to Australia.





Next post will include Scouting. I need to think about where I'm going to place them.

[BanzaiCat]

Turn 1 (of 6)
Jan-Feb 1942
(continued)

US Scouting
I placed two Scouts on Japan, one on East Asia, and one on the Caroline Islands. There is a limit to the number of Scout counters you can play, but this means I get to go ahead and make that many rolls for each marked Area before I have to commit my forces to move. I've circled the markers in red so they're easier for you to spot.



It also means I've used up four Supply Points to use those Scouts, so I hope this pays off.



Japanese Scouted Orders
Now, I will roll Orders for each Scout marker I've placed. I'll start with East Asia, then Japan, then the Carolines.

East Asia Scout Marker
I roll a 2, which means a Hold order. For each Order, this table will detail what to do. In this case, six ships, two Infantry, and three Land-Based Air get to stay in East Asia for this turn...which is kind of a good thing.



That took a good chunk of their forces out of the running there. They still have some ships that will need a Movement Order or two once I've moved my forces, though.

What's not a good thing is that one Resupply the Japanese get. For every such marker they get, they get a +1 to their Reinforcement die roll at the end of the Turn.



Next, we move to Japan. I'll make two rolls there since I committed two Scout markers.

Japan Scout Marker 1 of 2



With a roll of 8, I get an Engage order.



This means I randomly select 3 Ships and 2 Infantry to move to the closest Area with US Forces. If the destination Area has at least 1 Japanese Infantry or Land-Based Aircraft ashore, they also move up to 2 Land-Based Aircraft.

Note: Before the game began, I randomized all Japanese stacks...a nice time-saving feature offered for this VASSAL module. So, I'm just drawing from the top of each stack.

I draw the BB Nagato/Mutsu, DD Destroyer Gp 1, and CVE Taiyo.



The closest Area with US forces (remember, all Allied forces are considered "US Forces" in this game) is Borneo. So, they're headed south for Borneo.



The 'Engage' order also stipulates if Japanese forces are already ashore, to send Land-Based Air units. Borneo already has a Japanese Infantry Battalion ashore, but there are no LBAs in Japan, so this doesn't happen.

Time for the next Japan Scout roll.

Japan Scout Marker 2 of 2

And this roll comes up '10,' which means Sortie. I need to randomly select 3 Ships and 2 Infantry to move to the closest Objective with at least 1 US force present.



I draw the CV Soryu, SS Sub Gp 1, and BB Hiei/Kirishima, as well as one Infantry Battalion.



The closest Objective with US forces present is either Midway Island or the Solomons. Both are four Areas away. Distance isn't important in this game, except when figuring out tie breakers. In this case, I'll make a roll in VASSAL...if it's even, they go for Midway, and if odd, they go for the Solomons.

I get a '10,' so I guess they're headed for Midway Island. Looks like I know where I might be moving my forces here soon.



One more Scouting roll to make.

Caroline Islands Scout Marker

I roll a '7,' which is Battle. This means I select 2 Ships and 1 Infantry to move to an Area that has both US and Japanese forces.



There are now three Areas that have both US and Japanese forces - Borneo, New Guinea, and Midway. So, each is a valid destination. I need to randomly choose which Area the units move to, and will do another die roll in VASSAL. A 1-3 means Borneo, 4-6 means New Guinea, and 7-9 will be Midway. If I roll a 10, I'll re-roll.

I get a '6,' so they're headed for New Guinea.



-----

This concludes the Scouting portion of the first turn.

Keep in mind that I can now move my forces, but after that, the Japanese have a LOT of forces to move, too. I could move a big force to Midway to counter their move there, but that doesn't mean that once the Japanese are done moving, I won't then face a huge stack o' death. It will be interesting to see what happens next.

[BanzaiCat]

I see I already messed up a minor thing - one of the Infantry units in East Asia should not be marked as 'Moved' since that Hold order only affects two Infantry, not three. I'll fix that when I post the next part of the turn.

And if anyone catches me doing something wrong or has a question, don't hesitate to post.

[BanzaiCat]

Turn 1 (of 6)
Jan-Feb 1942
(continued)

US Movement

Okay, time to do some more moving. This time, I have to move my own forces.

I have 14 Supply Points left, and it costs 1 SP to move each ship, infantry, or land based air counter. I also need SPs for any upcoming battle, to purchase Battle Plans.

Looking at the board, Borneo is pretty much a lost cause; there's not much reason to reinforce that part of the map. It might draw more Japanese forces since it is the 'closest' Area with US forces present. It is, however, not an Objective Area, and there are Objective Areas out there that are being threatened, so moving to Borneo to force a battle is out for me.

Next, there's New Guinea. It's an Objective Area, albeit one controlled by the Japanese. We have one Land Based Air unit present and that's it, and it looks like the Japanese are trying to put the hammer down there, too. This Area is more important than Borneo, but I need to consider other options.

My next option is Midway Island. The Japanese are moving in there already, so there will be a battle. With only one LBA present, facing one (for now, anyway) Japanese CV with three Carrier Air Groups, plus a Battalion, it's likely Midway will fall in that assault. Nevermind that I haven't moved the rest of the Japanese forces yet! If I leave this be, I'm about 95% certain I'll lose Midway, which is of course an Objective Area. So I think this one is my top priority.

I could try to go after the Gilberts, as it is an Objective Area controlled by the Japanese, with only one Battalion protecting it. But I might still lose Midway.

Another option is to move a small strike force to, say, Iwo Jima. This will no doubt invoke the attention of the Japanese (e.g., rolling an Order telling them to move towards the closest US forces). That sacrificial assault will keep the Japanese busy for one turn, but won't otherwise do anything except lose me some forces.

I'm going to go after Midway. Because of that, I need to make it an all-out effort, just in case the Japanese bring more forces to the Area.



I've spread out my forces so you can see what I'm moving to the Midway area.

I decided to move all three of my CVs to Midway, banking on the chance that the Japanese are going to move more CVs to the area. This could be that decisive battle the Japanese were looking for...or it could just be a colossal waste of effort on my part. This move costs me 11 SPs, so I reduce my total to 3 SPs remaining.



This will give me a chance to buy a few decent Battle Plans for the Midway battle. I'll talk more about these in a bit, when we get to that.

And that's all of my moves. Next, I'll move the remaining Japanese forces.

[BanzaiCat]

Turn 1 (of 6)
Jan-Feb 1942
(continued)

Japanese Orders

This will likely be one of the longer posts...I might split it up into multiple posts if I need a break. I'm writing this concurrently while playing.

I'm going to start with the East Asia Area.



Note that I moved one of the Infantry I accidentally moved earlier back to an 'unmoved' state.

My first roll for these guys results in an East order. This means I select 4 Ships, 2 Infantry, and 2 Land-Based Aircraft to move one Area closer to the Hawaiian Islands, to an Area that is held by Japan. This would mean they move to Japan, as it is one Area closer to the Hawaiian Islands and is (of course) held by Japan.



Since this Order calls for two Infantry to move, and there's only one present, I have to move a Battalion counter, too. This completes East Asia as there is nothing left to move.

Now, on to Japan.

I roll a '2' for Japan...which is another Hold order. No movement and they gain another Resupply marker. This isn't what I wanted...I was hoping for some more Japanese targets at Midway. This reduces my chances to find that decisive battle this turn.

Next, I roll an '8,' which is an Engage order. This sends their forces towards the 'closest' US forces, which could either be Borneo...or Midway. I'll make Borneo an odd-numbered roll and Midway an even roll.

I get a '4' so this next group is headed for Midway - that's 3 Ships and 1 Infantry.



The Shokaku, Akagi, and Zuikaku are looking to support the Midway effort. Looks like we're going to be in for a fight this turn.

There's still more ships in Japan, so I'll need to make another roll.

This time I get a '4,' which is a South order, so three Ships and one Infantry move one Area closer to Australia. This means the CVL Shoho, CRU Tone/Chikuma, and BB Fuso/Yamashiro are moving to Iwo Jima.



And that's the last of Japan's forces that can move.

Next, I move to the Philippines. There's a large contingent of LBAs there as well as two CRUs and one DD group. Let's see what happens.

The first roll is a '9,' which is Reinforce.  I'll need to move two Ships, one Infantry, and one Land-Based Aircraft to an Objective that has at least 1 Japanese Infantry or Land-Based Aircraft ashore. Looking at the map, this means New Guinea or the Gilberts qualify, so I'll have to do another roll to see where they go - odd for New Guinea, even for the Gilberts.

I get a '3,' so they'll go reinforce New Guinea.



I cannot move the Infantry unit there, since it is the last Infantry unit. The rule for this is somewhat vague, in that it says the last Infantry or LBA cannot be moved. Since both are present it seems to make more sense to leave the Infantry unit to occupy the Area and let the LBAs fly out.

The next roll for the Philippines is a '5,' so there's another East order. The CRU Ashigara/Nashi moves to the Mariana Islands, as does two LBA units.



There's still LBA remaining in the Philippines. I roll a '10,' which is Sortie, a move to the closest Objective Area where the US is present. There are no Ships left, so nothing happens there. It also asks for 1 Infantry and 2 LBAs, but only if there are Japanese forces ashore.

The closest Objective Area with US forces present is either the Solomon Islands or Midway. Odd for Solomons, even for Midway: and I get a '2,' so they're headed to Midway. Since there are no Japanese forces ashore there right now, I have to move the Infantry unit, so he's added to their invasion force. This is turning into the major effort I was looking for.

There's still four LBAs in the Philippines, so here we go again...I roll a '6,' another East order, so two more LBAs move to the Mariana Islands.

There's two LBAs left now. Only one can move, as one has to remain in place. I roll a '2,' which is Refit, but this doesn't count for LBAs so I need to roll again. The next result is a '7,' which is Battle, so this one LBA is going to join a battle already in progress but only if there are Japanese forces ashore. To avoid having to roll again, I interpret this as meaning either Borneo or New Guinea, as both already have Japanese ashore and will be battle areas this turn. I roll an even result, so the last LBA heads for New Guinea.

Whew! We're almost done.

The Caroline Islands have three Ships (one CRU, one SS, and one DD) and one Battalion. I need to roll for the ships, though the Infantry will not be able to move anywhere. This time I roll a Refit order, so up to four Ships get to move to Japan. All three Ships therefore head to the Emperor's land.

There's one more to roll for - the Marshall Islands, where there's one Infantry and one LBA. We'll have to see what the order is to see which one gets to move. My roll of '7' means that someone's joining a battle. LBA does not join a battle where there are no Japanese forces already ashore, so I need to determine where they move.

There are going to be three battles this turn - Borneo, New Guinea, and Midway. I'll make 1-3 Borneo, 4-6 New Guinea, and 7-9 Midway. With a '5' they're headed for New Guinea. As there are Japanese forces already present, the LBA could move, so I randomly determine again which one moves, and find the Infantry is going to New Guinea, leaving the LBA behind.



That's it for moves. It's time to go to battle. I'll start with the big one - Midway - to illustrate the points of battle, and then will do Borneo and New Guinea but won't report the detail if they're as laughably one-sided as I think they might be. :)

[BanzaiCat]

Turn 1 (of 6)
Jan-Feb 1942
(continued)

Battle 1 (of 3): Midway Island

Here we go...

Move US Forces to the Battle Map
US Force Placement/Carrier Aircraft Placement



The US Carriers must be placed in the US Ocean Area.

My LBAs both are placed on Midway Island, with a '2' airfield marker (indicating there are two LBAs present).

The 1st Marine Division is on a transport, so it is placed in the US Coastal Area.

I have a choice to make when it comes to my remaining Ships. I kind of went heavy here, and that's okay I think. I've placed the CRU Honolulu/Nashville, DD Desron 6, and DD Desron 2 in the US Ocean Area along with all three of my carriers. I did this because they have stronger AAA values (the top number along the right side of the Ship counters) than the ones I placed in the US Coastal Area.

In the US Coastal Area, I placed the CRU San Francisco/Astoria, CRU Chicago/Northampton, and CRU New Orleans/Minneapolis. They have stronger Surface Attack values (all 4s) and weaker AAA values than the Ships I placed in the US Ocean Area. The ships in the US Coastal Area can trade fire with Japanese ships that appear in the Japanese Coastal Area, and can attack anything on the island itself. I think this is a pretty good balance.

Note, too, the aircraft to the right of each of my CVs. Each CV carries one F4F, two SBD, and one TBD squadron. These will be placed later.

Looks like a pretty solid force. I'm not so much worried about the Japanese surface fleet as I am about their CVs and airpower - I really want to sink those flattops!

Move Japanese Forces to the Battle Map
Japanese Force Placement/Carrier Aircraft Placement



The Japanese CVs must also set up in their Ocean Area. Since the BB Hiei/Kiroshima is pretty much the only escort, it has to sit in the Ocean Area as an escort. Had I remembered this, I probably would have put one, probably two, more ships out onto the US Ocean Area to ensure, even with their lesser AA rating, that they'd have more shots at least. Oh well...

Each Japanese CV carries one A6M, one D3A, and one B5N. I've placed those counters as well.

All three Japanese infantry units are in their Coastal Area. What's good about having more firepower in my own Coastal Area is that I can fire at these buttheads, so maybe it's not so bad having my heavy cruisers placed where they are. We shall see.



This is another thing I forgot...Japanese subs are placed in the US Ocean Area if there are US Carriers present...so there you go. They have another threat to leverage against me, even if a relatively small one. My three ships escorting the CVs have decent enough Depth Charge Attack ratings (the bottom number of the three against the right side of the counter).

Roll for Battle Turns

Now, I determine how many Battle Turns there are. I roll a '7,' so there are three BTs. This means we'll get a total of three rounds to go at each other.



To Be Continued...

[bbmike]

This is turning out to be a great tutorial AAR! I'm really trying hard to resist loading this in Vassal...

[BanzaiCat]

Turn 1 (of 6)
Jan-Feb 1942
(continued)

Battle 1 (of 3): Midway Island
(continued)

Determine Japanese Battle Plans

Battle Plans are essentially 'buffs' that affect combat in a positive way for the side they're drawn for. Here, we determine how many Battle Plans the Japanese get.

The Japanese have a total of 8 Forces in this Battle (not counting the carrier air power, just the ships and infantry in the battle). So, they'll get two Battle Plans.



My side determines its Battle Plans next, but there's something important I need to note here. The Japanese get to draw their number of Battle Plans EACH BATTLE TURN. Once used, they're discarded (as are mine), but the Japanese get to refresh their hand, as it were, to continue each Battle Turn. This is a nice mechanic, actually, since I'm determining their Battle Plans from random draws, and there are Battle Plans that might not apply to the current situation (one can hope, anyway).

Select US Battle Plans

I get to select my own, as opposed to the Japanese, whose Battle Plans are drawn randomly. However, I can only use one Battle Plan once per Battle. I do not get to use my Battle Plan in subsequent Battle Turns, if I use it. So the Japanese have an advantage in this case. Considering this is a solitaire game system, the added challenge is a necessity to ensure an interesting and fun experience.

I start each Battle with three Battle Plan Points (BPPs). Also, for every Supply Point I spend, I can get three more BPPs. My BPs cost between 1 and 4 BPPs each, so I'll need to consider the situation and see which ones would benefit me most.

Considering the Japanese air power is evenly matched with mine (numbers-wise, anyway), it seems prudent to try to give myself a little extra AAA firepower.



My airpower, conversely, is the only way I'm going to sink their carriers. So I also select Barrel Roll, which will let me stop one hit on one of my aircraft.



That's it for my three free BPPs.

I'd also like to inflict some extra hits on a CV if I get one, so I also choose Diving Attack. That's another 3 BPPs, so that costs me one Supply Point, reducing me to two SPs.



I've gone this far...I might as well spend my remaining SPs to get another 6 BPPs and go to town.

I've neglected island combat. We're both approaching the island with ground forces at the same time, so neither of us are established. There's not going to be a lot of time in this Battle to get established and attack the enemy, so I'm going to go for a couple of land attack Battle Plans - Artillery and Charge. Both will give me a little extra on the ground, which I'll need because the Japanese are fielding a unit that's on par strengthwise with my 1st Marine Division, plus two Battalions.

Note: I may have been messing up the Battalion deployments thus far, but if it adds additional challenge, so be it.





Finally, I'm going to get Engaged. This will let me extend (or shorten) the number of Battle Turns by 1. If I'm getting killed, it might be good to shorten this and bug out. But if I'm winning, I might want to wipe the floor with the Japanese. It will be nice to have.



My selections are complete. Combat will begin next.